Hang Up and Listen - This NBA Final Was About the Losers

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs talk about the NBA Finals and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s victory over the Indiana Pacers –  the comeback kings of the season. They discuss how the Pacers’ unsatisfying underdog ending and Tyrese Haliburton’s on-court injury made this one of the more bittersweet Finals of recent years. Then, the panel dissects the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers to a group of investors led by the Dodgers’ owner Mark Walter, and the team's record-breaking $10 billion valuation, and what it means for the presence of big, big money in sports team ownership. Finally they discuss the Edmonton Oilers getting iced out of Games 5 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals by the dominant Florida Panthers. They ask why Edmonton can’t get it together, and whether they might just be getting a little long in the tooth.

On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses another, less-positive team acquisition story: Mat Ishbia’s purchase of the Phoenix Suns back in 2022. Plus, the team’s blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant in 2023, undone this week when they traded Durant away to the Houston Rockets.

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NBA Finals (3:02): Thunder Vs. Pacers

The Lakers Get Sold (22:15): A Record-Breaking $10 Billion Dollars 

Stanley Cup (41:52): What’s Up With Edmonton?

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

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You can email us at hangup@slate.com.

Podcast production and editing by Benjamin Frisch, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.

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