ESPN’s Lisa Salters Causes Stir With Comments on Nikola Jokic
1. I'm going to do something that goes against all internet law: I’m not going to take a side and offer up a hot take on a current controversy.
The backstory: Two days ago ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters did an interview on The Rich Eisen Show and talked about only now becoming familiar with Nikola Jokić since she’s covering the Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference finals series.
Now, some of the things Salters said were definitely head scratching. But I also think she might be a victim here of people not understanding context.
We all know the internet doesn't do nuance well, so let me explain.
Salters said, “I have never seen him play before. I haven’t done a game here in Denver. It’s been at least 10 years. Maybe I had a game of theirs in the bubble. This is the first time I've had a chance to watch him play.”
O.K., now if Salters meant she has never seen Jokić play at all, this would be horrible. You’d think someone who is a sideline reporter for the league watches games during the season. But she’s clearly trying to explain that she’s never seen him IN PERSON. That’s why she brought up not doing a game in Denver for a decade.
Salters also said, “I was texting people saying, “You know what? This guy is really good.”
Now, that one is indefensible. You can't be surprised that a two-time MVP is really good. You can't act like you’re dropping a bombshell on people that a player who was in the running for a third MVP this season is really good. This is just a bad look.
While people are trying to spin a narrative that Salters has basically never heard of Jokić until this week, that's simply not true.
And what’s particularly curious about this entire saga is that the video of Salters everyone picked up cuts off right when she’s explaining that she was familiar with Jokić’s greatness.
“Of course, I know all of the great things that people say about him. I know his stat lines. I know his numbers ...”
Those three dots mean Salters was still speaking, but whoever took the video ended it in the middle of her talking about just how familiar she was with Jokić.
So while I don’t think Salters’s comments are great and she absolutely should’ve been more familiar with Jokić’s game, I do think it’s unfair that she’s getting ripped apart on social media and various blogs while being painted as someone who just heard about Nikloa Jokić this week.
2. I’d imagine many of you will watch this clip of Nuggets coach Mike Malone whining and love it because you hate the Big, Bad Lakers and LeBron James. Personally, I think this is a terrible look for Malone, who complained Thursday night after Denver's Game 2 win that everyone was talking about the Lakers making Game 1 close instead of bowing down to Nikola Jokić for his performance.
Clearly, Malone knows he’s b.s.’ing here and trying to motivate his team because there were tons of people talking about Jokić's awesome Game 1. And no matter what happens on the court, when the Lakers are playing the Nuggets, they are always going to be the narrative. The Lakers sell, just like the Cowboys, the Yankees, Duke, etc. And Malone knows that.
3. One of the reasons Jeff Van Gundy is a great analyst is because he will call out the refs for making terrible calls. The officials in Game 2 of Nuggets-Lakers on Thursday felt the wrath of Van Gundy.
4. On last week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, I talked to ESPN's Mike Breen about his signature “BANG!” call. Maybe Jamal Murray was listening, because he actually looked over to Breen after draining a three-pointer Thursday and called his own “BANG!”
5. Speaking of SI Media With Jimmy Traina, when I had Jim Nantz on last month, I asked him about taking a shot at LIV Golf, which he denied. Now, Nantz is being accused of taking another little jab at LIV. With a lot of CW affiliates cutting away from last weekend’s tournament, won by Dustin Johnson, before it ended, Nantz had this to say Thursday.
6. A brand-new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday, and it features two guests.
First up is NFL VP of broadcast planning Mike North on putting together the 2023 schedule.
Just some of the topics covered: Which game did networks want the most? What’s the philosophy behind ESPN having staggered doubleheaders instead of straight doubleheaders? Is it true the league doesn’t want to waste great matchups on days when it’s guaranteed to have a huge rating? Will the league consider a team to be a permanent fixture on Black Friday? Why does the NFL feature the Raiders in prime time so much?
After North, golf journalist Dan Rapaport from Barstool Sports joins the show to talk about the PGA Championship, what’s going on with LIV Golf, Tiger Woods’s future and much more.
Following Rapaport, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we share our thoughts on the NFL putting a playoff game exclusively on Peacock and Pat McAfee joining ESPN. We also discuss which one of us is more difficult to go away with, my recent dilemma with my father’s birthday and more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Got this text from my former Sports Illustrated colleague and current editor at The Ringer Matt Dollinger on Thursday night.
Because I’m a good friend, I immediately hit him back with this video.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
