LeBron James Confirms He's Not Retiring (SHOCKER!!!) and Darvin Ham Has Words For Mike Malone

It's official. During Wednesday's ESPY Awards, LeBron James confirmed he's not retiring and will return to the Lakers. You may go on living the lives you were already engaged in with no change whatsoever. But all jokes aside, while the news wasn't necessarily even news by this point, there was some interesting psychology with LeBron's theatricality, as well as what we suspect was actually going on in his head when he floated the idea of hanging up his sneaks for good. In the meantime, Darvin Ham is nothing if not confident. So when visiting the #thisleague UNCUT podcast with Chris Haynes and Marc Stein, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that Ham had some spicy moments. Those 10 teams that passed him up and hired other guys? They "****ed up, royally," he said. Denver coach Mike Malone, who (along with his team) spent an unusual amount of post-title time talking about beating the Lakers? Ham heard, and remembers. "Oh wow, bring up ‘Money Mike,’ the Lakers’ daddy, right? That’s what they call him now, the Lakers’ Daddy… God bless his soul. This shit ain’t over. God bless his soul.” Could Lakers vs. Nuggets be one of the first rivalries to be boosted heavily by the two coaches, as opposed to stuff that happened specifically on the floor? Because that WCF wasn't super chippy. But now? As Darvin says, "This **** ain't over." Finally, D'Moi Hodge hit 6 of his 13 3-pointers in Wednesday's SPL loss to the Celtics. He's now shooting about 41% from downtown in Vegas, on 9 shots a game. Hodge knows exactly what will get him in the league, and keep him there: Shooting and defense. And the two-way player out of Missouri, who is already 24 and doesn't have time to screw around if he wants to make it in the NBA, has a role model that Lakers fans will recognize and respect. His choice shows tremendous self-awareness, and I'm sure impresses the Lakers. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: At the ESPY Awards, LeBron James Confirms he's not Retiring SEGMENT 2: Ham has words for Mike Malone. SEGMENT 3: D'Moi Hodge has picked the right role model to gain a foothold in the NBA. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNBA or enter promo code LOCKEDONNBA for a free Yeti style tumbler. You won’t want to take your birddogs off we promise you. Ibotta Right now, Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 just for trying Ibotta by using the code MLB when you register.Just go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app and use code LOCKED. BetterHelp This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA for 10% off your first month and get on your way to being your best self. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices