NBA Lottery Karma Rankings, Jaylen’s Future, and a Blistering Wolves-Spurs Series With Nick Wright

Episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast · May 6, 2026 · 1 h 48 min

Bill Simmons and Nick Wright discuss the Celtics' exit and Jaylen Brown's future, the Timberwolves-Spurs series, LeBron's ranking, and 2026 NBA lottery karma rankings.

Summary

Bill Simmons hosted Nick Wright days after the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2026 NBA playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers after blowing a 3-1 lead. The two reacted to Jaylen Brown's widely criticized Twitch stream, in which Brown called it his most fun season and suggested the league had targeted him, and both concluded Brown may be open to leaving Boston. Wright floated a three-team trade sending Brown to Atlanta and Giannis Antetokounmpo to Boston, and Simmons argued Antetokounmpo's trade value had fallen because of age and injuries. Wright also questioned Joe Mazzulla's three-point-heavy approach as adding unnecessary variance for a favored team.

The pair then previewed the Minnesota Timberwolves–San Antonio Spurs second-round series after Minnesota won Game 1. Wright recounted placing a $10,000 bet at 200-to-1 in Las Vegas on the Timberwolves to win the title. Both argued Minnesota's physicality and "nobody believes in us" attitude, led by Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle, could wear down Victor Wembanyama, and Simmons said he would pick Minnesota, while flagging De'Aaron Fox's struggles as a key issue for San Antonio.

Wright objected to the Ringer Top 100 ranking LeBron James below older stars such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, citing James's series win over Houston. Simmons proposed a separate list for players at full health in a single playoff series. The episode closed with Simmons's annual lottery karma rankings, which placed Oklahoma City and Dallas at the bottom and ended with the Indiana Pacers first, followed by Atlanta and Washington, with Wright successfully lobbying to raise Memphis.

Chapters

  1. 2:06

    Celtics elimination and Mazzulla's tenure

    Simmons and Wright react to Boston's first-round collapse and assess Joe Mazzulla's four seasons.

  2. 5:30

    Jaylen Brown's Twitch stream and trade ideas

    The hosts discuss Brown's controversial stream, whether he wants his own team, and a three-team Brown-Giannis trade with Atlanta.

  3. 16:25

    Three-point variance and Giannis's declining value

    Wright questions Boston's reliance on threes while Simmons argues Giannis's trade value has dropped due to age and injuries.

  4. 22:37

    Draft prospects and Giannis suitors

    They weigh top prospects like Caleb Wilson and Cam Boozer and which teams might pursue Giannis, including San Antonio.

  5. 31:38

    Wright's 200-to-1 Timberwolves bet

    Wright recounts betting $10,000 on Minnesota to win the title at 200-to-1 in Las Vegas.

  6. 37:58

    Timberwolves-Spurs series breakdown

    The hosts analyze Minnesota's physicality against Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox's struggles, and San Antonio's final possession in Game 1.

  7. 54:13

    Stakes of a Minnesota run

    They consider whom OKC and the NBA would prefer and how a Timberwolves run would compare historically.

  8. 1:00:13

    LeBron and the Ringer Top 100

    Wright argues LeBron James is underrated in the Ringer Top 100, and Simmons proposes a healthy-playoff-series ranking.

  9. 1:05:48

    Lottery karma criteria and bottom tiers

    Simmons lays out his karma criteria and places OKC, Dallas, Charlotte, Miami, Milwaukee, Sacramento and Chicago in lower tiers.

  10. 1:22:52

    Brooklyn, Golden State, Utah and upper tiers

    The hosts debate Brooklyn, Golden State, Utah, Atlanta and Washington, including criticism of team management decisions.

  11. 1:36:12

    Indiana tops the karma rankings

    Indiana is ranked first for karma, and the hosts discuss 'fishy' outcomes and a simulated lottery.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Nick Wright

    Wright argues the Celtics were uniquely prepared to play without their best player yet still lost, and criticizes Mazzulla's playoff record outside the 2024 title run.

    “Year two, crush everyone en route to a championship. And every other year, horrifying defeat as huge favorites”

    Listen from 5:13 · Boston Celtics

  • Nick Wright

    Wright proposes a three-team trade in which Atlanta gets Jaylen Brown, Milwaukee gets assets including its own pick back, and Giannis goes to Boston.

    “Atlanta sends a bunch of stuff, including Milwaukee's own pick, back to Milwaukee, Atlanta gets Jalen Brown, who would fit with them perfectly”

    Listen from 5:52 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Linked moment · 6:54Skip to 6:54 using a listen link in the info box.

    Bill Simmons

    Simmons concludes that Jaylen Brown's comments this season show he wants his own team.

    “it's becoming very clear to me and I think to a lot of other people that he wants his own team”

    Listen from 6:54 · Jaylen Brown Twitch stream

  • Nick Wright

    Wright calls Brown's claim of a league conspiracy against him over referee criticism one of the wildest takes he has heard.

    “yeah, there was basically a conspiracy against me from the league because I've criticized the refs. Like, are you serious?”

    Listen from 11:05 · Jaylen Brown Twitch stream

  • Nick Wright

    Wright argues Boston added too much variance through three-point shooting despite being the favored team.

    “Are the Celtics underselling their position in the Eastern Conference by adding so much variance to these playoff series?”

    Listen from 16:58 · Boston Celtics

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons argues Giannis is worth less in a trade than a year and a half ago because big men age poorly and he has been frequently injured.

    “So I don't think he's worth as much as we thought a year and a half ago, where it was like, oh my God, you trade everything for that guy”

    Listen from 21:42 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons says Atlanta should keep a top-four pick rather than trade it for Brown because of the salary difference.

    “It would be irresponsible to trade that pick for Jalen,”

    Listen from 23:07 · 2026 NBA draft lottery

  • Nick Wright

    Wright views Cam Boozer as the least likely top prospect to bust but also the least likely to become an MVP.

    “I think of all the top prospects, Cam probably has the lowest bust potential. Like, the least likely to be a bust, but I think he's also the least likely to be an MVP”

    Listen from 24:18 · 2026 NBA draft lottery

  • Nick Wright

    Wright recounts holding a ticket for $10,000 on the Timberwolves to win the title at 200-to-1, which he says he will never hedge or sell.

    “On the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is unbelievable. $10,000 to win $2,010,000. They were 200-1”

    Listen from 36:10 · Sports betting

  • Nick WrightDidn’t happen

    Wright predicts Minnesota will win its second-round series against San Antonio.

    “Because I now think Minnesota is going to win the series”

    Listen from 37:48 · Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons argues the Spurs need rookie Carter Bryant to play real minutes because Minnesota holds a physicality advantage.

    “the Spurs are going to need Carter Bryant to come back and actually play real minutes or they're going to lose the series”

    Listen from 41:52 · San Antonio Spurs

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons believes Minnesota's game plan is to physically wear down Wembanyama.

    “I think their whole game plan is to beat the shit out of him”

    Listen from 44:13 · Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Nick Wright

    Wright argues the best teams take on the personality of their best player, citing Anthony Edwards' fearlessness in Minnesota.

    “The best teams take on the personality of their best player, whether he wants them to or not”

    Listen from 44:49 · Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Bill SimmonsDidn’t happen

    Simmons says that if forced to choose he would pick Minnesota to win the series.

    “I think Minnesota could absolutely win this series. Gun to my head, I think I would pick them”

    Listen from 58:22 · Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Nick Wright

    Wright asks The Ringer to rank LeBron James above older stars like Curry, Durant, Leonard and Harden.

    “Can LeBron please be the highest ranked old guy, please?”

    Listen from 1:01:26 · The Ringer Top 100 NBA players

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons proposes a separate ranking of players assuming full health for one playoff series, on which LeBron would rank much higher.

    “I think we should start a list of best guys if I know I'm getting them 100% healthy for one playoff series”

    Listen from 1:01:56 · The Ringer Top 100 NBA players

  • Nick Wright

    Wright lobbies for more karma for Memphis, saying LeBron's comments hurt a prideful city whose fans supported the Ja Morant-era team.

    “Yes, it is a very tough city, but it is a prideful city. And they did everything they could to really support and love the Ja Grizzlies”

    Listen from 1:14:03 · Memphis Grizzlies

  • Nick Wright

    Wright argues the Bucks deserve as much pressure as Giannis to initiate a breakup, since parting ways is best for both.

    “there should be just as much, if not more pressure on the party that actually has to execute the trade”

    Listen from 1:17:01 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Nick Wright

    Wright argues Indiana had the most acceptable reason to throw away a season after reaching the Finals and losing Haliburton.

    “if there is ever an acceptable reason to throw a season away, it was them”

    Listen from 1:36:55 · Indiana Pacers

  • Bill Simmons

    Simmons suggests Golden State landing a top-four pick would be the 'fishiest' outcome, the one the league would favor.

    “I think it's Golden State getting a top four pick would be the one that would make me go, oh, yeah, if I was running the league, that's what I would have done”

    Listen from 1:40:23 · 2026 NBA draft lottery

People

In the conversation

  • Bill SimmonsSportswriter and founder of The Ringer, host of The Bill Simmons Podcast
  • Nick WrightAmerican sports media personality and co-host of FS1's First Things First

Discussed

Topics

More from The Bill Simmons Podcast

From the publisher

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Nick Wright to check in on the Celtics by reacting to Jaylen Brown’s controversial Twitch stream and discussing a possible Giannis trade (3:02). Then, they preview the rest of the Timberwolves-Spurs matchup and discuss LeBron’s Ringer Top 100 NBA player ranking before ending with their 2026 NBA Lottery Karma Rankings (31:58). Host: Bill Simmons Guest: Nick Wright Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Eduardo Ocampo Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at paypal.com/paymonthly The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Basketball·Sports News