Nobody embodies an NBA lifer more than Hubie Brown does.
The longtime NBA broadcaster is calling his very last game on ESPN Sunday with the Bucks taking on the 76ers. He’s worked both in and around the league over the last 53 years as both a head coach and one of the best broadcasters we’ve ever seen.
That journey all comes to a triumphant end on Sunday with this one last game.
During the broadcast, though, this game became so much more than that. It wasn’t just the Bucks vs. 76ers. It became a celebration of Brown’s excellent and storied career.
Several people popped in during the broadcast to say a word to Hubie and congratulate him on an incredible career. One of them was NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, who had the pleasure of working NBA games with Brown from 2005 until 2016.
He stopped by the telecast on Sunday to say a quick word to Hubie and you could see the tears welling up in both of their eyes.
It’s nice to see Brown celebrated like this. He so deserves it. In a time when NBA coverage is so overwhelmingly (and, usually, unnecessarily) negative, Brown has remained a breath of fresh air by appreciating the game that he’s watching — even at 91 years old.
Thanks for everything, Hubie. Congrats on a fantastic career.
Jason Kelce is one of the greatest Philadelphia Eagles of all-time.
He played with the team for 13 years, from 2011 to 2024. Through that time, he went to two Super Bowls (2018, 2022) and won one of them. He retired after the 2023-24 NFL season.
Despite him retiring, though, there’s no question that he still bleeds green through and through. He’s still an Eagle at heart. He’s always around the team and still roots for them.
So on Sunday when his brother and the Kansas City Chiefs play the Eagles in the Super Bowl for a second time, Kelce will have a real conundrum on his hands.
Who does he root for? His brother, Travis Kelce, or his former team? He gave an answer on the New Heights podcast.
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“I would be lying if I said I don’t want the Eagles to win. I want them to. But I also want Travis Kelce to win. So, that’s a long-winded way of saying I just want to see a good football game. And, whoever wins, I’m going to be happy for that guy,” Kelce said.
There you have it, folks. That’s his answer. It’s not really an answer at all, but it’s his answer.
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Tom Brady is no stranger to playing in Super Bowls — he’s won seven of them, after all. But when the 2025 Super Bowl kicks off in New Orleans on Sunday, Brady will be in an unfamiliar spot as a broadcaster.
Brady — who signed a 10-year, $375 million contract to be Fox’s lead NFL analyst — will be in the booth alongside Kevin Burkhardt. While Brady’s first season as an announcer was shaky, at best, the NFL didn’t exactly make his job any easier by signing off on his minority stake in the Raiders.
In an attempt to combat the conflict of interest Brady has as an owner and announcer, the league put restrictions on the former quarterback.
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The Brady Rules
Brady isn’t allowed to criticize NFL officials or teams. He isn’t allowed to attend production meetings. He isn’t allowed to attend team practices. He also isn’t allowed to visit team facilities (besides the Raiders).
Now, the NFL did suspend a lot of those rules for the Super Bowl. Brady would be taking part in production meetings, but he still can’t attend practices.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did also say that the league would reevaluate these restrictions during the offseason.
Here’s what channel the 2025 Super Bowl will air on.
We’re finally here, folks. The Super Bowl is upon is. The biggest game of the NFL season is essentially a national holiday at this point. So many televisions across the country will be tuned into the game.
That leads us to the age-old question that so many people will be asking on Sunday: What channel is the game on?
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It’s a straightforward question, yet it’s also the most crucial question of the day. The only way to watch the game is to know what channel it comes on. And, with the Super Bowl changing network hands from year to year, it’s an extremely valid one.
The game will be broadcast on Fox at 6:30 p.m. ET this year. The network owns the rights to the 2025 Super Bowl.
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Winning one Super Bowl is hard enough. Winning three straight? Man. That’s unimaginable for most teams.
But the Chiefs have a legitimate shot at doing just that this year. After they played and beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game, they now have a a shot at a third consecutive Super Bowl.
It’s one thing to go to a third Super Bowl. It’s another thing entirely to win it all — again. That’s what’s on the line for the Chiefs here.
And, if they can accomplish it, they’ll have done something no other team in NFL history has been able to do.
How many threepeats have there been Super Bowl history? The answer is none.Teams have gone back-to-back before. There have been some who’ve won three in five years. But no one has ever won three straight.
Technically, the Packers did win three straight NFL championships twice in the team’s history. But that was from 1929 to 1931 and from 1965 to 1967. Both of those stints were before the Super Bowl Era started in 1970.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve got a great weekend ahead of you. Go Birds.
Now that the NBA trade deadline is behind us, I feel like it’s a good spot to talk about the elephant in the room with all this. The timing of the deadline is always awkward, but this year things felt particularly chaotic.
Maybe it’s because of the Luka Doncic trade. Anytime there’s an earth-shattering move like that in the NBA it’ll always come with ripple effects.
After the Luka deal, the De’Aaron Fox deal happens. Then, a few days later, the Jimmy Butler deal happened. And then a whole bunch of other deals happen in the wake of those deals. Everybody is wheeling and dealing and all the players are living on pins and needles while having to prepare and play in live NBA games.
During the week leading up to the NBA’s trade deadline the league just dives as deeply as possible into transactional chaos. It can be a bit funny in the moment, sure. Seeing the Suns players react to the Luka trade, for example, doesn’t seem like a particularly meaningful or harmful moment.
But then when the implications and ripple effect begin to impact players outside of that trade, it all just gets to be a bit awkward and feel a little more extreme than normal.
That’s why I think the NBA should really consider moving the trade deadline.
Move it to a later date — maybe the end of the week after the All-Star game. The league can take a week off and get everyone off of our television screens. They can wheel and deal in peace without having the awkward moments of Steve Kerr having to stop everything to tell Andrew Wiggins that he’s going to Miami.
The transactional nature of the NBA will likely always exist, but that sort of thing sucks to read about. It dehumanizes players in a way that I don’t think is good for the fans or good for the NBA as a product.
Sticking to the script
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The next big moment in the NBA is obviously the All-Star game. This one will be interesting because of the new format changes.
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal drafted their individual All-Star teams to compete in a four-team tournament for the NBA’s big weekend.
We’re supposed to believe they drafted these teams based on the players they wanted to pick. But, when you take a look at the rosters, you can clearly see the pattern that this thing was scripted in.
See it yet? Let me help you out.
Shaq drafted the NBA’s veteran players.
Kenny drafted the NBA’s younger emerging stars.
Chuck drafted the NBA’s international stars (with the exception of Donovan Mitchell).
It’s an interesting way to format things. I guess the NBA tried to add a little drama to the picture through this farse of a draft. I won’t give them too much grief on it, but we could’ve honestly just skipped the theatrics.
Regardless, I’m hoping for a fun time. Can’t wait for All-Star weekend!
I mean, it’s the Super Bowl, obviously. There’s always a lot to play for there. But here, there’s more at stake than usual — specifically for Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Look. Mahomes is already the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen play football. Personally, I don’t need any convincing. He navigates the pocket better than Aaron Rodgers in his prime. He’s got a better arm than Tom Brady. He’s as cerebral as Peyton Manning. The dude is nice, guys. Y’all know that.
But some folks look at Brady’s seven championship rings and believe he’s still the guy — especially considering that he beat the Chiefs to get his seventh. If you’re one of those people, that’s fine! To each their own. I think you’re wrong, but I don’t mind the debate.
If the Chiefs three-peat? There’s no debating it anymore. It’s Mahomes. There’s no question.
Let’s face it, man. Kansas City isn’t really supposed to be here. Not again. Not like this. That team is 15-2, but it feels like each of Kansas City’s wins has been by the skin of its teeth, starting with a Week 1 win over the Ravens that only happened because of Isaiah Likely’s big toe.
This Chiefs team might win three games without Mahomes on the roster. The offensive line is mid. The defense is just solid. The receivers? Don’t even get me started. Travis Kelce is washed.
Yet, Kansas City is in the Super Bowl again. We’re watching the Michael Jordan of football, y’all.
To get this three-peat off, the Chiefs will have to overcome the biggest test they’ve ever had. This Eagles team is stacked everywhere. This is much better than the team the Chiefs saw in 2022. Saquon Barkley plays for those guys.
For what it’s worth, I’ve got the Birds winning this one.
But if the Chiefs pull it off? I don’t ever want to hear about those seven rings again.
An MVP Anomaly
Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Josh Allen won the league’s highest honor on Thursday night, taking home his first-ever MVP trophy. It’s certainly well-deserved. Our Prince Grimes said he locked up the award back in December after a monster game against the Rams. It’s hard to disagree. He’s had an awesome season.
But, man. While I have no problem with the pick, it certainly is weird seeing someone win MVP after not making the First-Team All-Pro.
That honor went to Lamar Jackson, who was denied his third MVP this season. Allen won it with 27 first-place votes. Jackson had 23. It was extremely close, but in the end, Allen won out.
Is it voter fatigue? I’d say yes. But there’s not enough of a gap between these two players for anybody to truly be upset about it.
That’s just how the dice rolls sometimes. Congrats, Josh Allen. You deserve it.
The awkwardness of the NBA trade deadline in one video
That’s not the best way to say it, but Dennis Schroder has a point.
While the NBA’s trade deadline is always headlined by the eye-popping moves teams are making to try and put themselves in a position to win championships, there’s always a human element of everything that goes overlooked.
These are human beings and their lives are being upended in the blink of an eye. We saw that with P.J. Tucker, who was traded by three different teams in five days.
Now, we see it in Dennis Schröder, who has found himself in a similar situation.
Schröder was shipped to Utah as part of the blockbuster deal that landed Jimmy Butler with the Warriors. The point guard wasn’t long for Utah, though.
Just before the last minute of the NBA trade deadline, Schröder was dealt one more time to the Detroit Pistons, according to the latest from ESPN’s Shams Charania, where he’ll spend the rest of this NBA season.
Detroit is acquiring Dennis Schroder from the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN.
That’s rough, man. Three teams have technically employed Schröder in 24 hours.
This is also the third time he’s been traded this season. Remember, he started the year with the Brooklyn Nets before being traded to the Warriors.
You know he hates all of this. A day before being traded by the Warriors, he talked about how NBA players are traded on a whim, comparing it to “modern slavery.”
“It’s modern slavery at the end of the day,” Schröder said. “Everybody can decide where you’re going, even if you have a contract. Yeah, of course, we make a lot of money and we can feed our families, but at the end of the day if they say, ‘You’re not coming to work tomorrow, you’re going over there,’ they can decide that. They got to change that a little bit.”
Don’t get it twisted. Anytime someone compares a multi-million dollar profession to slavery of any kind, you have to cringe.
There are plenty of other things out there that we could be comparing to “modern slavery,” as Schröder called it. Forced inmate labor is the most prevalent example of that in this country — something that’s extremely problematic. So, with that in mind, this is a terrible comparison on Schröder’s part.
With that said, the overall point that he’s trying to get at is a salient one.
NBA players — especially the rank-and-file around the league — have very little agency when it comes to how their contracts play out.
Sure, you can sign with a team as a free agent. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be around that team forever. The team can decide to trade you at the drop of a dime, depending on what other opportunities are available out there. They’ll bounce your contract around like flubber if they see fit.
Meanwhile, you could be someone like Andrew Wiggins, who now has to figure out how to move across the country with a newborn baby in his midst. All because the Warriors decided it was time to part ways.
That seems unfair. Very few players in the league can block something like that from happening.
How do we change that? Aside from making no-trade clauses a fixture in every NBA contract, I’m not sure. And we all know that’s not happening.
While there aren’t many apparent solutions now, this is something the players will have plenty of time to mull over until the league’s next collective bargaining agreement comes along in 2030.
Round and round PJ Tucker goes. Where he stops? Nobody knows.
Did you know P.J. Tucker was still in the NBA?
If you didn’t, you’ll probably be surprised to hear that, not only is he currently still an NBA player, but he’s also technically been employed by three different teams in the span of five days.
What a tough trade deadline week for Tucker, man.
You’re reading that correctly. P.J. Tucker has been traded three times in the last five days. Imagine having your job relocate you on a whim just because. Now, imagine having that happen to you three times. Now, imagine having that happen to you three times in one week. You can’t make this up.
It looks like this could be Tucker’s final stop with only a few minutes before the deadline actually hits. But with his luck this week? You never know.
This would drive me into retirement, man. PJ is a better man than me.
When Fox Sports signed Tom Brady to a 10-year, $375 million contract to lead its NFL booth, it meant that the network was prepared to demote then-lead analyst Greg Olsen to a regional broadcast team.
Now, this wouldn’t have been a huge deal if Olsen had struggled in the booth, but the former tight end was a rising star as a broadcaster and arguably the best color commentator working right now.
Last week, Olsen spoke about that frustration of being demoted, and he acknowledged that his goal is to be back in a national booth somewhere. Those remarks were taken by some as a shot at Brady, but on Thursday, Olsen made the point to set the record straight.
Speaking to NFL Network from New Orleans, Olsen clarified that he has no personal animosity towards Brady and has gone out of his way to help Brady as much as he can in this new role.
Olsen said:
“I’ve talked to Tom regularly throughout the season. We’ve gotten to know each other really well. I have a ton of respect for him, which goes without saying, as a player. But I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him as a guy since he’s joined Fox. So, this whole narrative of I hate watching him call games and all that is not true. So, here I am, on national TV … setting the record: I have no personal (animosity). I like Tom. I want to see him. I’ve tried to help him. I answer questions to the best that I can help. But I want to see him do well.”
As Olsen explained, he can root for his own personal success without it being at the expense of Brady. While there isn’t an open job currently in a lead booth, Olsen will likely be a network’s first call when a vacancy does come about.
