Welcome to the Athletic NBA show Monday through Friday on the Athletic Podcast Network.

And it's another hoops adjacent episode of the Athletic NBA show, David Aldrich here in D.C.

In LA, Waslambrae. Was, what's up, man?

I'm good, man. You know, I just, I woke up, for whatever reason, I couldn't sleep last night.

Or I just woke up really, really early. And I said, why don't I do something smart for once and work out? So I used the time to work out. I worked out this morning. I feel good. You know, I feel like accomplished, you know? I can't, I can't work out early in the morning. I've tried to. I'm like, I've tried to do like the 6 a.m. joint, roll out of bag, get right to it. I mean, I can do it, but it doesn't feel, I feel awful. I don't know. Yeah. I got to, I'm a late more. I'm like a 10 to 2. That's usually my best window for some reason. I don't know why. I don't know why that is. I can't do it late in the

afternoon. It feels wrong. Do it after like two or three. But I don't know. I'm glad you can do it,

though. It makes sense logically to get it done first thing because then you have everything ready to rock and roll.

We will have Sarah Kustak, who is the top analyst on the Yes Network covering the Brooklyn Nets in a few minutes.

Wanted to start out, though, wanted to give some props and some flowers to the great Elgin Baylor.

He passed on Monday at 86.

And, Waz, I don't think he ever has gotten really gotten his due certainly not from from the

modern heads who literally don't know what he was they don't have any idea of how great elgin

baylor was but to me he was the he's the first connection between the kind of old smoke-filled NBA with set shots and shit and the modern NBA because he's the first guy to me that played the game the way the guys played today.

Yeah. You know, with the, with the quickness, the getting to the basket, the elevation, playing above the rim, the incredible

scoring ability, as they like to say today, three-level scoring ability. So he was sensational.

And again, I always preface things like this. I did not see him play live. I was seven when he

retired. So I did not see him play in his prime. But the people they did will tell you that dude was legit, great, was legit phenomenal, unstoppable, unstoppable, unguardable, no three point line.

Average 38 a game in the playoffs in 62, which is insane to me.

38, you know, in the playoffs, you know, scored 61 in the garden, was the record before Jordan

broke it in a, you know, on a road playoff game. Yeah, dude was just phenomenal. He was great.

Yeah, if you do your homework at all, by all accounts, you know,

Elgin Baylor begat, you know, David Thompson and Dr.

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