Hang Up: This NBA Final Was About the Losers

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4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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. . 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.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. You can email us at [email protected]. Podcast production and editing by Benjamin Frisch, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:02.0	It's hard and it's brutal and that's what makes it special.
0:06.0	The multi-award winning series, FX's The Bear, is back for a brand new season.
0:11.0	Upon my signal, unleash hell.
0:15.0	And every second counts.
0:17.0	When that shows zero, this restaurant ceases operations.
0:21.8	FX is the bear.
0:22.8	New season streaming June 26th exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:27.3	18 plus subscription required.
0:28.6	Teas and Cs apply.
0:36.2	It is Monday, June 23rd, 2025.
0:39.8	Welcome back to hang up and listen, the sports podcast here at Slate.
0:43.3	Back with you yet again.
0:45.3	I am Alex Kirchner, a contributing writer for Slate, and I also co-host the college football podcast, Split Zone Duo.
0:51.3	This week we're talking finals, the NBA Finals, won by Oklahoma City, the Stanley Cup final, won Zone Duo. This week, we're talking finals. The NBA finals, won by Oklahoma City,
0:56.0	the Stanley Cup final, won by Florida, and in between, a discussion of the biggest sale of a
1:01.2	sports team ever by valuation, that of the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 billion big ones.
1:08.0	As usual, joining me this week is Lindsay Gibbs, the publisher of PowerPlays,
1:12.2	a newsletter that covers the biggest stories of the moment in women's athletics. Lindsay,
1:16.8	have you recovered yet? Oh my gosh, I have not. Championship games are always exhausting.
1:23.2	I don't care how dramatic they are or not.
1:27.9	There's just so many emotions.
	...

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