A Rockets Gut Punch, Expectations for the Celtics and Pacers, and a Vegas Tourism Slump With Zach Lowe, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan

Sep 23, 2025

Talk Time

Bill Simmons
65.8 min (57.3%)
Zach Lowe
34.3 min (29.9%)
Sean Fennessey
8.6 min (7.5%)
Chris Ryan
6.1 min (5.4%)

Top Entities

1Las Vegas Raiders
31
2NBA
23
3Houston Rockets
23
4Gambling
22
5Fred VanVleet
14
6NBA Playoffs
13
7Boston Celtics
12
8Minnesota Timberwolves
11
9Kevin Durant
11
10Giannis Antetokounmpo
11
11Oklahoma City Thunder
10
12NBA Draft
8
13Golden State Warriors
8
14Derrick White
8
15Indiana Pacers
7
16Phoenix Suns
6
17Luka Dončić
6
18Denver Nuggets
6
19Bill Simmons
6
20Jayson Tatum
6
21Trae Young
5
22Payton Pritchard
5
23NFL
5
24Most Valuable Player
5
25Los Angeles Lakers
5
26Zach Lowe
4
27The Sports Gal
4
28The Ringer
4
29New York Knicks
4
30New Orleans Pelicans
4
31MLB
4
32Milwaukee Bucks
4
33LeBron James
4
34Detroit Pistons
4
35Dallas Mavericks
4
36Cousin Sal
4
37Collin Sexton
4
38Brooklyn Nets
4
39Amen Thompson
4
40Super Bowl
3
41Stephen Curry
3
42Scottie Pippen
3
43Philadelphia 76ers
3
44New England Patriots
3
45NBA Finals
3
46Joel Embiid
3
47Jaylen Brown
3
48Atlanta Hawks
3
49UFC
2
50Tyler Herro
2
51The Rewatchables
2
52Tari Eason
2
53T.J. McConnell
2
54Sean Fennessey
2
55San Antonio Spurs
2
56Orlando Magic
2
57Nikola Jokic
2
58New York Mets
2
59Nathan Shepherd
2
60Mikal Bridges
2
61Michael Porter Jr.
2
62Luka Garza
2
63LaMelo Ball
2
64Jose Alvarado
2
65Jalen Suggs
2
66Jaden Ivey
2
67Isaiah Jackson
2
68Ime Udoka
2
69Franz Wagner
2
70Devin Booker
2
71Cooper Flagg
2
72College Football
2
73Chris Ryan
2
74Chris Boucher
2
75Charlotte Hornets
2
76Boston Red Sox
2
77Anthony Edwards
2
78Anthony Davis
2
79Anfernee Simons
2
80Al Horford
2
81Aaron Holiday
2
82WNBA
1
83Victor Wembanyama
1
84Vegas Golden Knights
1
85Utah Jazz
1
86Tyrese Haliburton
1
87Toronto Blue Jays
1
88Tim Duncan
1
89Thanasis Antetokounmpo
1
90Tennessee Titans
1
91Sixth Man of the Year
1
92Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
1
93Sam Hauser
1
94Sacramento Kings
1
95Russell Westbrook
1
96Rudy Gobert
1
97Rick Carlisle
1
98Patrick Mahomes
1
99Pascal Siakam
1
100NFL Playoffs
1
101NBA Trade Deadline
1
102NBA Free Agency
1
103Myles Turner
1
104Miami Heat
1
105Memphis Grizzlies
1
106Mark Price
1
107March Madness
1
108Malik Beasley
1
109Luguentz Dort
1
110Los Angeles Dodgers
1
111Los Angeles Clippers
1
112Los Angeles Chargers
1
113Lamar Jackson
1
114Kyrie Irving
1
115Klay Thompson
1
116Kenneth Murray, Jr.
1
117Kemba Walker
1
118Justin Herbert
1
119Josh Allen
1
120Jordan Walsh
1
121Joe Mazzulla
1
122Jimmy Butler III
1
123Jaylen Johnson
1
124Jaylen Clark
1
125Jay Huff
1
126Jaren Jackson Jr.
1
127Jared Goff
1
128James Harden
1
129Jamal Murray
1
130Jalen Hurts
1
131Jalen Brunson
1
132JackO
1
133Jabari Smith Jr.
1
134Immanuel Quickley
1
135Hall of Fame
1
136Final Four
1
137Esa Pole
1
138Dyson Daniels
1
139Donovan Mitchell
1
140Detroit Lions
1
141Desmond Bane
1
142Defensive Player of the Year
1
143David Montgomery
1
144Daniel Gafford
1
145Dan Skipper
1
146D'Angelo Russell
1
147Cole Anthony
1
148Christian Gonzalez
1
149Chicago Bulls
1
150Chet Holmgren
1
151Charles Barkley
1
152Cam Johnson
1
153Bruce Brown
1
154Ben Sheppard
1
155Baltimore Ravens
1
156Ball Arena
1
157Amanda Dobbins
1
158All-Star
1
159Alex Caruso
1

League Distribution

NBA
182 (74%)
NFL
44 (17.9%)
MLB
10 (4.1%)
NCAAB
4 (1.6%)
UFC
2 (0.8%)
CFB
2 (0.8%)
WNBA
1 (0.4%)
NHL
1 (0.4%)

Top Players

1Fred VanVleet
14
2Kevin Durant
11
3Giannis Antetokounmpo
11
4Derrick White
8
5Luka Dončić
6
6Bill Simmons
6
7Jayson Tatum
6
8Trae Young
5
9Payton Pritchard
5
10Zach Lowe
4
11The Sports Gal
4
12LeBron James
4
13Cousin Sal
4
14Collin Sexton
4
15Amen Thompson
4
16Stephen Curry
3
17Scottie Pippen
3
18Joel Embiid
3
19Jaylen Brown
3
20Tyler Herro
2
21Tari Eason
2
22T.J. McConnell
2
23Sean Fennessey
2
24Nikola Jokic
2
25Nathan Shepherd
2
26Mikal Bridges
2
27Michael Porter Jr.
2
28Luka Garza
2
29LaMelo Ball
2
30Jose Alvarado
2
31Jalen Suggs
2
32Jaden Ivey
2
33Isaiah Jackson
2
34Ime Udoka
2
35Franz Wagner
2
36Devin Booker
2
37Cooper Flagg
2
38Chris Ryan
2
39Chris Boucher
2
40Anthony Edwards
2
41Anthony Davis
2
42Anfernee Simons
2
43Al Horford
2
44Aaron Holiday
2
45Victor Wembanyama
1
46Tyrese Haliburton
1
47Tim Duncan
1
48Thanasis Antetokounmpo
1
49Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
1
50Sam Hauser
1
51Russell Westbrook
1
52Rudy Gobert
1
53Rick Carlisle
1
54Patrick Mahomes
1
55Pascal Siakam
1
56Myles Turner
1
57Mark Price
1
58Malik Beasley
1
59Luguentz Dort
1
60Lamar Jackson
1
61Kyrie Irving
1
62Klay Thompson
1
63Kenneth Murray, Jr.
1
64Kemba Walker
1
65Justin Herbert
1
66Josh Allen
1
67Jordan Walsh
1
68Joe Mazzulla
1
69Jimmy Butler III
1
70Jaylen Johnson
1
71Jaylen Clark
1
72Jay Huff
1
73Jaren Jackson Jr.
1
74Jared Goff
1
75James Harden
1
76Jamal Murray
1
77Jalen Hurts
1
78Jalen Brunson
1
79JackO
1
80Jabari Smith Jr.
1
81Immanuel Quickley
1
82Esa Pole
1
83Dyson Daniels
1
84Donovan Mitchell
1
85Desmond Bane
1
86David Montgomery
1
87Daniel Gafford
1
88Dan Skipper
1
89D'Angelo Russell
1
90Cole Anthony
1
91Christian Gonzalez
1
92Chet Holmgren
1
93Charles Barkley
1
94Cam Johnson
1
95Bruce Brown
1
96Ben Sheppard
1
97Amanda Dobbins
1
98Alex Caruso
1

Who Talked About What

Bill Simmons

1Las Vegas Raiders
16
2Houston Rockets
15
3NBA
14
4Gambling
14
5Fred VanVleet
9
6Oklahoma City Thunder
8
7Minnesota Timberwolves
8
8NBA Playoffs
7
9Giannis Antetokounmpo
7
10Boston Celtics
7
11NBA Draft
6
12Kevin Durant
6
13Indiana Pacers
6
14Derrick White
6
15Trae Young
4

Zach Lowe

1NBA
8
2Houston Rockets
7
3NBA Playoffs
5
4Kevin Durant
5
5Golden State Warriors
5
6Fred VanVleet
5
7Boston Celtics
5
8Luka Dončić
4
9Giannis Antetokounmpo
4
10Phoenix Suns
3
11Most Valuable Player
3
12Minnesota Timberwolves
3
13Gambling
3
14Amen Thompson
3
15The Sports Gal
2

Sean Fennessey

1Las Vegas Raiders
7
2Gambling
2
3Vegas Golden Knights
1
4NFL
1
5NBA Playoffs
1
6NBA
1
7MLB
1
8Chicago Bulls
1
9Bill Simmons
1
10Amanda Dobbins
1

Chris Ryan

1Las Vegas Raiders
8
2Gambling
3
3New Orleans Pelicans
2
4UFC
1
5Tennessee Titans
1
6NFL Playoffs
1
7Miami Heat
1
8March Madness
1
9Los Angeles Dodgers
1
10Jordan Walsh
1
11Houston Rockets
1
12Dan Skipper
1
13College Football
1
14Bill Simmons
1
189 episodes · Jan 2, 2025 – Apr 10, 2026The Bill Simmons Podcast