Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick are launching a podcast show titled “Mind the Game” to discuss basketball, according to James’ business partner, Maverick Carter.
The first episode will debut Tuesday and is scheduled to air weekly, running 45 minutes to an hour per episode. It will be available on YouTube and all podcast platforms. There will be other guests on the show, Redick said.
“It’s meant to be a very free-flowing conversation about the sport and about the game,” Redick said in a phone interview with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. “If you look at it in a very simplistic way, it’s just about basketball.”
.@kingjames and @jj_redick are obsessed with basketball.
Consider their podcast, Mind the Game, a celebration of the sport as they discuss the state of the game, dissect X’s and O’s (like they do here), and wax poetic about the game they love. pic.twitter.com/lDf8ToVlHE
— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) March 18, 2024
“Mind the Game” will begin without a corporate partner. James, the NBA’s all-time scorer, and Redick, a perimeter-threat-turned ABC/ESPN NBA Finals analyst, want the show to flow as natural as possible.
James plans to also continue running his “The Shop: Uninterrupted” show. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done to innovate in sports media,” James said in a statement to The Athletic.
“When I do a project, the only thing I think about is whether me and my friends would watch it. That is definitely the case with ‘Mind the Game.’ Everything doesn’t need to be designed for internet culture and clicks.”
LeBron James, JJ Redick’s “Mind the Game” basketball podcast set to launch Tuesday, March 19
In 2020, Redick left The Ringer to start his own YouTube channel titled “JJ Redick.” He also co-founded the ThreeFourTwo Productions media company. Redick is the host of “The Old Man and the Three” podcast with Tommy Alter.
Both Redick and James have a strong social media presence. Redick has 1.05 million subscribers on YouTube, whereas James has a whopping 159 million followers on Instagram.
Carter, the co-founder and CEO of Uninterrupted, has his sights set on distancing “Mind the Game” from other sports shows, including FS1’s “Undisputed and ESPN’s “First Take,” where Redick is a contributor.
LeBron James and JJ Redick are teaming up on a podcast planned to be a pure conversation about basketball, business partner Maverick Carter told @AndrewMarchand.
The show, “Mind the Game,” will debut Tuesday and is expected to be weekly.
More ⤵️https://t.co/1uuR9hIj0t pic.twitter.com/Ymw1eLju8s
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 18, 2024
Those debate shows focus on panel members discussing their subjective opinions about sports and miscellaneous topics. However, LeBron James and JJ Redick plan to delve deeper into the game of basketball.
“This is like two wine masters, sommeliers, talking about wine, not necessarily you or me arguing if I like Burgundy or Bordeaux better,” said Carter.
In a preview clip of the podcast, hosts James and Redick are featured drinking red wine and revealing the best method on how to guard a pick play.
“I love talking basketball, by the way,” James said at the end of the clip.
