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LeBron James on Michael Jordan: Our games would have complemented each other well
LeBron James: When you talk about inspiration, there was nobody more inspiring to me than Michael Jordan. For me, I think our games would have complemented each other well. MJ was a flat-out scorer. He had a scorers mentality if I had to pick him. But I know I can't pick him because I know how social media works. You're gonna be like, "Oh, you want to play with Michael Jordan, too? You get to play with everybody else. God damn it." I didn't ask the question. I'm only answering it, guys. I didn't ask the question. But MJ was inspiration. Penny Hardaway was inspiration to me. Grant Hill was inspiration to me growing up. Like that point forward Scottie Pippen, that point forward. Guys like Penny, like Grant Hill, like Scottie, those guys kind of inspired me because I kind of wanted to be that point forward. I can see the headline already. LeBron wants to play with Michael Jordan. Like, I see it already. That's weird. Don't be weird. Don't be weird. Don't be weird. I was going to say Kobe Bryant, but I actually played with Kobe in the Olympics, so rest his soul. Great Kobe. Great Kobe.
The current version of the Magic are one of the top up-and-coming teams, led by All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, who recently signed a five-year contract extension worth $239 million. Orlando has been to the playoffs the past two seasons, but have failed to advance past the first round. This upcoming season could be a different story with the Eastern Conference wide open. "They've been in this sort of situation they're in for the last few years, a playoff team first round," Grant Hill told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview. "But I think bringing in (Desmond) Bane, what they've done this offseason. They were decimated by injuries throughout the season last year, but you got an incredible young player in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as well."
"I think so," says Hill when asked if the Magic can compete with the likes of the Cavaliers and Knicks. "They have some pieces. You have to wait and see how it all comes together, but they got a guy who could go get a bucket in the playoffs, you need a guy who has that ability and Banchero's that. You have better shooting now, better spacing. I think with the shooting, if you can knock down the three, I think Banchero can show his passing and facilitating too, but also it makes it harder to guard him if you can't leave guys." It's worth noting that the Magic led the NBA in defense this past season. When combined with the improved three-point shooting, that should be a recipe for success, according to Hill. "I also think you don't sacrifice your defense with the changes they made," says Hill.
Grant Hill feels the Pistons can take it even a step further entering next season now that the young core has some playoff experience. “J.B. Bickerstaff, the job that he did, Trajan Langdon the general manager, some of the free agents they brought in last summer and then the young players, Cade Cunningham establishing himself as an All Star," says Hill. "It's just a remarkable season. They took a big step last year. I think they have a chance to take another step."
"T-Mac, I'm telling you dog, listen — T-Mac was another level," Pierce said on Paul George's podcast. As terrific as McGrady was, he couldn't do it alone. In Orlando, the best players he played with were an oft-injured Grant Hill and a young Mike Miller. In Houston, he had the pleasure of playing with Chinese phenom Yao Ming. However, the 7'6" behemoth also dealt with a litany of injuries and was already out of the NBA after just eight seasons. "He needed that one other superstar. If you had to put T-Mac with KG, if you had to put T-Mac with Shaq, you know, yeah," Paul stressed. "People be like, 'Oh he played with Yao.' Yao was kind of hurt. He was in and out. And like, you put T-Mac with LeBron, man come on."
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Grant Hill joining NBC Sports’ NBA coverage
TNT Sports analyst and former NBA player Grant Hill will join NBC Sports’ NBA coverage as a game analyst for the 2025-26 season. “I’m incredibly excited to join NBC Sports as part of their NBA coverage. The NBA has been such a meaningful part of my life, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue sharing the game I love with fans across the country,” Hill said in a release. “To be part of NBC’s return to the NBA — a network with such a rich basketball legacy — and its debut on Peacock is truly an honor. I can’t wait to get started this fall.”
Dime: Charles Barkley: "What is the deal with Siakam? Why he go from passive to aggressive from game to game?" Tyrese Haliburton: "I don't think that's a fair assessment..." Grant Hill: "And Chuck, that's a polite way of saying he doesn't agree with you."
NBA TV will offer nightly studio coverage of the NBA Finals. GameTime Live at the Finals will feature analysts such as Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith of TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA, as well as Grant Hill, Isiah Thomas, Candace Parker, Steve Smith, Brendan Haywood, and Channing Frye.
While the NBA is leaving TNT Sports after this season, Grant Hill is staying behind to remain on the company’s college basketball coverage. Hill has struck a “long-term” contract extension with TNT Sports to remain as the company’s lead college basketball analyst, it was announced Thursday. He will continue to serve on the lead broadcast team for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament — which TNT shares with CBS — and add new roles on TNT’s upcoming BIG EAST and Big 12 basketball games.
Grant Hill, the managing director of the USA men's national team, doesn't mind hearing his name attached to a rising star such as Cunningham, who he sees as a strong candidate for the FIBA World Cup and Olympics during the next cycle. "I think there's some similarities in terms of trying to just control the game and trying to have an impact on the game in a number of different ways," Hill told ESPN. "He thinks the game at a very high level, and he's got just this incredible feel and incredible basketball instincts, and I do feel like those were some of the similarities that we brought to the game."
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One of Detroit's biggest sports fans is interested in joining the city's bid to land a WNBA franchise. Eminem, the 15-time Grammy-winning rapper, has had discussions about joining the high-profile investor group that already includes Pistons owner Tom Gores, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Fab Five legend Chris Webber, former Piston Grant Hill and Denise Ilitch, among others.
James Dolan says Knicks were going to trade for Vince Carter but medical team said he had a 90% severed Achilles tendon
"Was there ever a trade or signing that didn’t happen, but you really wish it did?" James Dolan: "Yeah, a long time ago. I’ve got to even remember… he ended up playing for the Nets. Oh, shoot. Great scorer. It wasn’t Grant Hill. It was a guy out of Toronto—Vince Carter. Vince Carter is a great example. We were going to do the trade. But the medical team came back and told us he had a 90% severed Achilles tendon. They said it would never hold up."*
When asked if LeBron James belongs in the category of all-around players like Grant Hill, Scottie Pippen, and Penny Hardaway, Harper offered a different perspective. “Well, I don’t know if LeBron is a better athlete than what Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway was and what Tracy McGrady was,” Harper said. “If I’m going to group LeBron, I’m going to group LeBron with Oscar Robertson and Magic because he’s a great passer. Now if you’re talking about guys who can score the basketball? Grant Hill can score the basketball, he wasn’t a great passer. He could score the basketball. Tracy McGrady was a great passer and he could score. So, you can group those guys in whatever opinion that you have, none of them are going to be right and none of them are going to be wrong, they are all great players.”
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