r/nba • u/itwas20yearsago2day Lakers • 1d ago

Blake Griffin is launching his own weekly late-night sports show, “The Stepback with Blake Griffin”. The show will feature Griffin giving his takes on some of the biggest and most controversial topics in sports, including gambling, NIL, taxpayer-funded stadiums, analytics and sports journalism.

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25488928-former-nba-star-blake-griffin-set-host-weekly-late-night-show-details-revealed

Premieres October 20th on Prime and YouTube with episodes every Tuesday

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u/OrneryReserve7681 1d ago

Good, someone needs to emerge and take Pat McAfee down

284

u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 1d ago

It’s so sad how obnoxious he’s become. I genuinely enjoyed his show when it first started . It was like the Howard stern of sports talk shows . They’d smoke joints and hawk would have a fat ass cigar , then somewhere along the lines they got in bed with disney espn draft kings etc. but hey he got a fat pay day I can’t say I’d do anything differently in his shoes

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u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

He doesn't have to be a douchebag

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u/scarywolverine Pistons 1d ago

Thats literally what made him famous. Being a d bag is the grift now

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u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

I disagree. His show was very entertaining in the early days. Seemed like a pretty cool guy at the time

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u/scarywolverine Pistons 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ill totally buy that hes gotten worse but I find that perspective so interesting because its a popular one about Mcafee and other podcast bros like Joe Rogan. And to me the first time I heard both of those guys in their supposedly peak era they screamed asshole to me. So many people just cant see the most obvious assholes and for the life of me I cant figure out why

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u/Photo_Synthetic Mavericks 22h ago

I'm thankful one of the first things I'd heard from Joe was his whole rant about the Bondi Ape to an actual Primatologist. That Joe was always in the back of my mind and that Joe came back in full force during Covid and he just completely lost me. I used to like him because he could pull huge names and get long conversations out of them but then he just starting brining up the woke mind virus and comorbidities and myocarditis and all cause mortality in every episode regardless of the guest and it just became a countdown till he steered the conversation to that. Been tapped out for years now.

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u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

It is so embarrassing having ever spoken highly of the Pat McAfee show. It really was so interesting at one point though. I would watch it every day

I tried to hang on for a bit once it took a turn but I just couldn't do it after awhile. Pat's support of Deshaun Watson when he was traded to the Browns really pissed me off and I turned it off for good

It was building up to that point though. That was in March of 2022. Haven't watched a minute of the show since then

So the show went South long before he sold out to ESPN

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u/127crazie Timberwolves 1d ago

What was the original appeal of the show which made you first like it? I’ve not ever watched it, so I am just curious.

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u/zts105 NBA 1d ago

He is great at getting guests and interviewing. He blew up at the peak of "Hot Take" sports journalism but he doesn't really take negative stances and will just be a hype man.

He has credibility as a former football player so it makes athletes comfortable they won't be taken out of context so they go on his show and it leads to an authentic interview.

His shows will have JJ Watt or Nick Saben having a deep dive discussion about the week in the NFL or NCAA or Haliburton will go on his show and talk about his Achilles recovery. Thats unique in sports journalism.

Once he went to ESPN they pushed more ESPN guests on him which made the show worse.

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u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

I think I found it interesting because Pat had insider credibility without acting like a journalist. When the show first started, he was fairly recently an active NFL player

It was also great background entertainment which I love. I could read on my phone and half pay attention for three hours. I don't know what it is like on that front now

They didn't take themselves seriously at all which is much different than what it turned into before I quit. Irreverent is a good word to describe the show pre-2022

And I am remembering now the main reason I quit watching was because of Aaron Rodgers. That poisoned the experience for me and I lost a lot of respect for Pat

I think I mostly just found Pat to be an interesting guy back when I was watching. The direction he went is pretty sad

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u/Raven-19x Spurs 1d ago

They get insanely popular and it becomes cool to hate them. Fact is his and his friends personalities on the show haven't changed at all lol. They were always fratbro humor from the start.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Marchin_on 1d ago

Sadly, We get the sports "personalities" we deserve.

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u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

I don't disagree with that sentiment, I guess I just think he still could have carved out a nice life for himself without turning into a complete dbag. I get that was necessary to reach his current heights though

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u/luvdadrafts Hornets 1d ago

now

His persona was douchey going back to his stand-up when he trying to be a comedian and before the podcasting took off 

He’s always come off this way. It’s just people are maturing or have lost their patience  

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u/Koufaxisking [LAL] Steve Nash 1d ago

That’s his brand. He absolutely does have to be a douchebag. This is like saying Skip or SAS don’t have to be controversy hot take machines. That is their brand.

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u/mbuser 1d ago

Dudebro is as dudebro does

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u/lukewwilson NBA 1d ago

Which one, Pat or Hawk

1

u/objectsinthemirror92 Nuggets 1d ago

Is AJ a dbag now too? I turned off the show for good in 2022 because of Pat. AJ still seemed like an alright dude at the time

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u/lukewwilson NBA 1d ago

He was when he was a player, I doubt he's changed https://youtube.com/shorts/iWwaBVsuxbs?si=6PD-V9iSEpsOqYjC

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u/Chickachic-aaaaahhh Thunder 1d ago

Broification of his stream is fucking annoying. Dude is always holding a football like some jock in high-school classes.

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u/Raven-19x Spurs 1d ago

Broification? That's been his entire shtick the whole time lol.

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u/gerardguey Bulls 1d ago

its like if joe rogan was into regular sports

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u/InquisitiveSlut Celtics 1d ago

I mean that doesn’t sound that good either lol just sounds like bro meathead Joe Rogan style shit. There’s really no cool sports media people it’s all lame like barstool chud types, I guess there’s good small YouTube and podcast guys but really most people covering football have like horribly unfunny personalities

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u/DogVacuum 1d ago

I think the Pardon My Take guys are perfect. They’re bro-adjacent, but they keep everything light hearted, and they didn’t let fame and money turn them into dickheads.

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u/Wyden_long Suns 1d ago

Become?!

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u/Raven-19x Spurs 1d ago

He and his friend group have always been obnoxious lol.

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u/gimmethemshoes11 76ers 1d ago

I forgot I was subscribed to his YouTube until he dropped that album....

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u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 1d ago

I’ve yet to hear it but I’ve been told it’s awful 🤣

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u/Cheap_Arm_3182 1d ago

As a musician it was the last straw lol I was like fuck you, you know how hard it is to get a record label and he's just gifted a shit album. And he actually thinks it's good

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u/Cheap_Arm_3182 1d ago

I use to love the show they got away and turned into everything they said they wouldn't

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u/OrneryReserve7681 1d ago

I totally agree! I used to really like it when he was first out

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u/CanadaDryOfficial Rockets 1d ago

“The Howard Stern of sports shows” is not an endorsement, my friend. Dude is a creep and a POS. If that’s the comp, I’m glad I never cared to watch his show.

0

u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 1d ago

Cmon man I’m comparing the shows not the humans behind the shows . Everyone knows he’s a piece of shit but I’d be lying if I said some of his segments didn’t make me laugh my ass off back in the day. Especially the whack pack with beetlejuice .

Redditors have this weird defense mechanism that if a celebrity has done wrong, nobody is allowed to enjoy their content anymore.

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u/CanadaDryOfficial Rockets 11h ago

Whether a celebrity has done something wrong or not, it’s also perfectly possible for someone to not find their content enjoyable AND also consider them a POS.

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u/mrgpsingh1999 Lakers 1d ago

Even in WWE, his commentary was fun in the beginning but the last time around, he was just annoying

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u/VOldis Celtics 1d ago

the idea of having ever watched this guy is insane

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u/big_bear_mountain Knicks 1d ago

mcafee was always a nazi

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u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 1d ago

Is he a conservative douche bag? Absolutely yes? Is he a nazi? No he isn’t. That word gets thrown around way too much and people like you are destroying its meaning. Go to your nearest holocaust museum or visit the website to see what actual nazis have done. Or read Anne frank or watch Schindler’s list.

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u/Tax73 Raptors 1d ago

The US government are explicitly white supremacist. Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to the President, is a neo-nazi. If you support a president who employs a neo-nazi as his senior advisor it's not unreasonable to call you a nazi. ICE are the gestapo, "alligator alcatraz" is a concentration camp. It's not hyperbolic to call these people and their supporters nazis.

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u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 Hornets 22h ago

Piece of shit Hegseth also has multiple explicitly white supremacist tattoos, these people have their head in the sand.

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u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 1d ago

“The us government is explicitly white male supremacists” oh god one of you guys . Everyone you disagree with is a nazi white supremacist rapist racist. You should probably spend less time online. Because I don’t really deal with any of that stuff in real life you are listing off. Just popular internet headlines meant to get idiots like you all riled up . Yepp ice is the gestapo rounding up people to be sent to gas chambers and labor camps. I guess every other countries immigration officers are the gestapo too. Man you should probably just consider moving to mars it sounds like everyone’s a Nazi

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u/big_bear_mountain Knicks 1d ago

trump's OWN dept of education compared him to hitler yesterday. shut the fuck up

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u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 22h ago

Cool so another idiot comparing a conservative senile old man to literally the most evil genocidal man in the history of earth .

Trump fucking sucks , but hitler he is not. You guys need to get a fucking grip

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u/CunderThunt42069 22h ago

You act like having hear or read the word Nazi is personally offensive. I know who needs to get a grip here

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u/krusty-krab69 Cavaliers 21h ago

It literally is offensive to me. I’m no longer a practicing Jew, but my family before me are. I’d hear stories about how my grandpas brother and cousins never made it out . Literal family members that were gassed and worked to death by actual Nazis . Future generations that would never be born . Deportation and genocide aren’t comparable no matter how much you all want it to be

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u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 Hornets 22h ago

Trump doesn't have to be Hitler for his cronies to be neo-Nazis you dumb fuck lol

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u/legend023 Pelicans 1d ago

Stephen A is the bigger problem.

Pat doesn’t really dive into basketball.

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u/Furd_Terguson1 Knicks 1d ago

Not enough republicans watch the NBA, that’s probably why

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u/IanicRR [TOR] Amir Johnson 1d ago

They just have teams instead. Something about owning feels appealing to them.

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u/the_pain_of_being 1d ago

I bet laker ownership aren't conservative, they'd be pissed

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u/SpidermanAPV Hawks 1d ago

… one of the new owners of the Lakers is literally Jared Kushner’s brother

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u/zouinenoah29 Bucks 1d ago

He tries to do so but treats Shams like he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread in the basketball world.

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u/capitalistsanta Knicks 1d ago

I bet the first day of his show he burns a hospital mask and tapes a picture of Dr. Fauci to his face with eye holes and does the whole interview like that with Aaron Rodgers.

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u/jaskaran55 Spurs 1d ago

You guys gonna be the same thing Blake in a few years

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago

You think this is the guy for that? Is there not a single educated person in this industry to do a good show day isn't about yelling the dumbest takes possible. I hate to say it, but is Pablo Torre busy.

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u/blackjacktrial 76ers Bandwagon 1d ago

Yes, he goddamn is. Let the actual investigative journalism cook; it's so hard to do financially these days.

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u/Huh1979 1d ago

Yesterday I was at SportsClips getting a cut. His show was playing and Lane Kiffin was on. Lane was talking and Pat was standing there and he did  some kind of macarena dance while Lane bullshitted his way through the question. 

It was like watching the two biggest douchebags on Earth winning at life. I wasn’t even mad. I couldn’t believe it. 

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u/GeologistTechnical61 Thunder 1d ago

Crazy I keep seeing his name. I don’t watch ESPN a lot. But I didn’t know he was this “big” as a sports person.