He is a dork unfortunately

Dray can simultaneously be a maniac and also give some of the most aware quotes I’ve ever heard.

Yaxel is right too, those interviews where guys say nothing at all are such a waste of time. Shouldn’t even have them at all, nothing of value is ever said unless you get a guy ‘without media training’.

Actually goes pretty hard.

This shit hard

He called us out

No, this is insano thought.

Here’s what happens if you don’t have media training and you say whatever you want:

You talk shit about a league superstar, and then it goes poorly for you, you hit them in the nuts, and then you get traded because everyone now hates you (Brooks).

People want Lexenborg to bide his time because A: its cooler and B: it protects the player from an accidental misstep that gets him traded.

The people saying he should get media training are HIS fans, obviously people who don’t like him want to see him crash and burn.

it will be interesting to see if this does last.

I can’t think of a player this has ever lasted for. These people are like jackals waiting to tear athletes down.

Doesn’t matter that he’s putting up numbers, even if you put up 30ppg people will always find something to hate on lmao

LeBron was hated for decades for not winning a ring, then it was super team, then it was 4-6, needs to pass Jordan

Literally everyone gets hated on

the most likely option is that the post-Steph warriors arent good enough for people to care that much about him. not even hate, they just wont be as relevant. this could very well be his peak relevance.

People shit talked curry all the way up until that 4th ring. Who cares

yeh, give it a few years, a few trials and tribulations with fans/media/general nba life to give him a few scars and see his answers then.

but eh, its still great seeing somebody try to be themselves, whatever that may be and however that may change

I swear a massive number of people on the internet are just constantly daydreaming that they’re whatever they’re watching. You see people get mad when an influencer doesn’t try to get money or their favorite company doesn’t win an award like the only reason you’d give a shit is if you’re trying to live vicariously. Same with the PR obsession, I think, just people who want to be them who get scared just thinking about them making a mistake.

I think its good to do media training just so you have some techniques in mind if you do want to avoid certain questions or don’t want to answer certain things, but I agree that celebrities should be able to speak their mind. Like they’re allowed to have opinions

Media training is there to protect the individual from “gotcha!” interview questions. It’s for their own good! We’ve seen how a simple answer about something controversial can destroy a player or a team even. It’s important to at least recognise these questions and know what you’re dealing with instead of being naive and getting caught out.

It depends on what sort of media training you’re talking about. There is value in it, but not in a “Okay, here is a list of things to never ever say, here’s the approved cliche lines, never express anything resembling an opinion” way.

I mean, there is some of that (especially the list of no-no words), but if you’re going in front of a microphone and going to have your words broadcasted out to millions of people, having some training in how to make sure that what you mean is what they hear is a good thing. That’s not an easy skill to learn, and one that very few people have a lot of experience with.

Cancel culture plays a part of it.

Dog whistle

Because cancel culture now exists, the teams are companies and companies hate to lose money.

Players talking with the ball? Perfect. Players been true to themselves, that doesn’t sell shirts.

I feel like “media training” is a bit of a boogeyman at this point. Fans talk about it like it’s something that’s forced upon them that removes all personality.

Guys like Yaxel and Ant are already great talkers who don’t mind getting some negative attention here and there. They don’t lose their charisma just because they’re told how to navigate an interview. For guys who aren’t really talkers but still need to do interviews, yes it means they’re pretty cookie cutter but they probably weren’t going to be super entertaining in the first place.

Exactly. I like knowing MPJ is a dipshit because that’s means I can’t unknowingly be a fan of someone with the his horrendous opinions and morals

Tatum look attractive for me - want to watch for that

The CBA literally requires every player to participate in a media training session every season. And the union provides extra training to rookies.

Yeah that kinda thing is so the player can send the message they want to send and be aware of what others are going to think.

Avoid the shit where dude is telling everyone that’s not what they meant after the fact….

He did the regular media training, he’s just saying he’s not going to give political answers but try to be real.

Yeah, look at what happened to Mbappe and Real Madrid. I get that people want to be real and shit, but in this day and age that can cost you everything even if it’s not malicious.

nah

You say they should, but don’t explain why. Why?

Why?

Maybe, or they can just do what they feel and ignore the noise. If you can’t ignore the noise then yeah. I’m not a fan of fake speak.

For sure I respect this attitude but there comes a point you’re telling the opponents too much about yourself they can’t take advantage of.

I ran into Raymond Ridder twice - once at Safeway late night and another at Disneyland. Dude is the goat.

That entirely depends on giving a shit.

Pretty sure he don’t give af. He ain’t no hoe!

Luka FC is coming after him too when he has a bad game. As a Lakers fan, this kid is impressing me. He is genuinely good. I think the only bad game he had was the 2nd game against the Lakers. Other than that he has been the 2nd best player on the team behind Curry.

It isn’t just cool banter tho, Yax genuinely just gives honest answers at all times. When he plays poorly he’ll say as much (eg his halftime interview in the natty). I doubt he’ll regret much

Na, animosity between players makes things more interesting

He didn’t say anything wrong

I just don’t understand if 99% (obv exaggerated I know) of all people who watch basketball agree that Doncic whines too much, why is everyone expected to not talk about it?

I can understand if you think Yaxel went too far by saying he lost all respect for Luka, but I have no idea why his statements about Luka’s whining are controversial. Like literally everyone I’ve ever sat down with to watch Luka play has said the exact same thing, there’s no reason why players shouldn’t bring it up or use it for trash talk

Neh. I like him calling out players.

But he can/should be smarter than calling out other players. He should have kept 95% of what he said about Doncic to himself or at least within the locker room.

More players need to have the balls to call opponents out on their bs. He was just stating facts. Luka complains to the refs on every single possession and it’s insufferable to watch. If players speak up then perhaps they’d actually do something about it and T him up quicker.

Modern sports have curated PR robots and it’s annoying. They would kill Allen Iverson or Ochocinco if they played today. F1 is the worst culprit of them all.

Naw, I loved it and want to more stuff like this throughout the league.

He should have kept 95% of what he said about Doncic to himself or at least within the locker room.

Disagree with this. Every player that hates the constant whining and complaining should relentlessly mock the players that do it - ideally to their face during the game. Lead the crowd in a chant asking if the offending player needs their diaper changed. Grab a tissue from the scorekeeper and offer it in fake solidarity.

Ufc sucks now but its rise was almost entirely because of the personalities. Its fall is going to being correlated to the corporate bs and lack of personality. Idk why other sports leagues insist on doing the same. You have SOOO many guys who are funny and have big personalities, let them do their thing.

Holy shit yall are soft as hell on this website.

Fans are allowed to say that about Luka, but a guy who played against him can’t?

Nah, let the guy speak his mind. Steph can give the media trained answers.

but then what will we talk about it

I’d rather they talk mad shit instead of being completely uninteresting robots like hockey players

Hard disagree. He should be allowed to say whatever the hell he wants about Luka and Luka should be able to snap back too. Its competitive nature to have opinions about your opponent.

Even just reeling back the comment to something a hair less than “lost all respect for”.

It’s a hilarious nightmare for the warriors brass cus they spend so much money on messaging press and spin (legit like they’re a political party) and are ultra controlled on messaging, then here’s this chaos agent

Only idiots watch and care about the post game media crap. The fact that you are bored by them means you watch them a lot, which means…

If that’s what he thinks, he’s allowed to say it.

I would take it more seriously if he backed it up on the court playing against him, but he didn’t lol.

Maybe next time those teams play against each other he will do better, whenever that is.

Edit: clearly some of you are taking this as hate and it’s not. I also am not referring to him talking about Luka’s complaining. He said other things about the actual basketball being played too. That is what I am referring to.

Honestly wish he just kept his mouth shut, not because I don’t like trash talk but he just comes off like like your average insufferable r/NBA commenter

Nah I love what he said. He honestly spoke the truth, or his truth at least. I rather see authenticity than generic media responses.

Plus, everyone know Luka complains too much so it’s not like Yaxel was saying something crazy

Eh. He’s just saying what we all were thinking about Doncic. Luka bitches and complains more than any other player in the league.

Don’t try. This sub is full of children that think acting tough is the way to go. It’s easy to talk shit online when you’re anonymous but I bet you anything none of these losers would dare try to speak their mind at their place of work for example.

It’s almost as if media training can teach you how to still speak your mind while staying authentically true to yourself, without offending others along the way, and without burning bridges with other people.

Will remember this advice after my next game

lol who gives a shit honestly

He’s saying exactly how he feels. We need more of that. Stop the phony bullshit

Nah, he’s just saying what we all see. He isn’t lying

Brainrot opinion

He’s literally clip farming though ngl

naw. It’s only clip farming if it gives him something. He’s not a social media influencer, he’s not reporter. If he was not feeling those things, then I could see it’s still being called that.

But if that’s what he’s thinking. And saying those things doesn’t benefit him in any tangible way, then it’s not ‘farming’ anything.

100% To me, everything he says sounds so fake, it’s like he practiced the speech in the mirror 1000 times.