A Radical NBA Idea, Wemby’s Musical Comp, Despising Duke, and Baseball’s ABS Revolution With Chuck Klosterman

March 31, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman explore NBA frustrations, particularly tanking, while touching on player incentives, league evolution, standout talents like Victor Wembanyama, and technology's role in sports like baseball's ABS system.

Enhancing Tanking Rather Than Eradicating It

Klosterman proposes a radical post-All-Star break rule: the player with the season's highest individual scoring total and the team with the highest team total earn 5% of the opponent's cap space, provided they win the game. This targets tanking teams like the Wizards, humiliated in Bam Adebayo's 83-point outburst, turning losses into spectacles. Simmons endorses the idea, noting it incentivizes effort without altering draft lotteries—tanking teams still lose but face embarrassment and financial penalties transferred to winners. They compare it to NBA Cup incentives, where point totals spurred late-game hustle even in blowouts.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Intro and Housekeeping** - Ads for State Farm, Sam's Club, Ringer events, Rewatchables plugs
2 (03:27) **Chuck Intro and NBA Tanking Crisis** - Greeting Chuck, recapping seasonal sports buzz, shifting to tanking complaints in March
3 (04:31) **Chuck's Radical Tanking Proposal** - Post-All-Star high-score incentives: 5% cap space from opponent for top individual/team scoring nights
4 (09:55) **Tanking Penalties and Rewards Debate** - Bill suggests blowout penalties (ping pong balls, salary deductions), home game adjustments
5 (12:34) **NFL Parity vs NBA Struggles** - NFL schedule as parity secret (4th-place schedules flip teams); smaller games aid quick turnarounds
6 (19:08) **NBA Historical Crises** - 50 years of issues: violence (70s), cocaine (80s), low scores (90s), load management now
7 (25:20) **Adam Silver's Priorities** - Businessman (expansion fees) over game spirit/owners/players; contrast Stern/Goodell

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Chuck Klosterman to discuss a new fix for tanking in the NBA, before diving into a convo about fixing the NBA product as a whole (2:49). Then, they discuss the development of student-athletes and the draft process (40:15). Finally, they break down Wemby’s game, ABS in MLB, and more (01:05:50).

Host: Bill Simmons

Guest: Chuck Klosterman

Producers: Chia Hao Tat, and Eduardo Ocampo

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