Mahomes or Allen (Again???) and a Clippers-Heavy Mailbag With Nick Wright

Key takeaways

• Wright's central case against the Allen hype: no quarterback in league history has held the consensus best-QB label with a resume this thin—no Super Bowl appearance, no first-team All-Pro, not the reigning MVP, and coming off a four-turnover playoff loss in Denver. He calls the 13-second loss to Kansas City Allen's "signature win" and says the pattern repeats yearly, with an opposing quarterback outplaying him in the playoffs.
• Both agree the "best QB alive" question sits in a void much like the 1999 NBA MVP that went to Karl Malone. By accomplishments it should still be Mahomes, but his final two months of 2024 were the worst stretch of his career (Kansas City was 6-8 when he got hurt), and the ACL makes it feel open. The real question is whether he builds a stronger second act like Brady did.
• Chiefs 2025 hinges on Josh Simmons staying healthy at left tackle, with reporting that he could miss Week 1 against Denver. Kansas City spent three top-40 picks on pass-rush and secondary help, and added Kenneth Walker to punish the light boxes defenses used against them for two years. Simmons and Wright both treat the Chiefs as a bet to avoid despite Vegas favoring them in the division.
• Simmons's Clippers theory: the league and team were close to a lenient settlement, the Clippers leaked the "no smoking gun" story to ESPN to get ahead of it, and an angry Adam Silver responded with the largest penalty in league history. The stripped first-round picks push realistic contention to roughly 2036, which he compares to the SMU death penalty.
• Kawhi Leonard comes out as the winner who escaped clean. He kept this year's contract, got his trade to Toronto, and cost the players association nothing by not fighting the ruling, while Ballmer, Uncle Dennis, and the franchise absorbed the damage. The Kawhi and Paul George acquisition now rates as possibly the worst transaction in NBA history.
• Simmons flags Rams-49ers in Australia as his favorite storyline of the year, noting the 49ers may spend 36 of 60 hours on a plane and that long-haul travel disruption could linger for weeks even in a win.

Notable moments

• Wright: "His signature win is a round two loss five years ago."
• Wright calls Allen "the greatest wildcard round quarterback I've ever seen," pointing to the seventh playoff seed padding his stats.
• The listener email urging Ballmer to "marry the nanny," embrace the scandal, and blow past the second apron on payroll.
• The Kevin Wilds story: he made an Uber pull over so he could throw up after half a cigarette and swears he hasn't smoked since.
• Wright repeatedly pitches his "Dunks Worth 3" rule to reward athleticism over analytics-driven perimeter shooting.
• Simmons reveals he became a 76ers season-ticket holder the day they signed LeBron and has mapped the drive from the FS1 studio.
• The Conspiracy Bill segment on the Tupac verdict, including the abandoned theory that Diddy and Suge Knight arranged it together.
• A mailbag question on whether Ben Simmons lasts to opening day in Sacramento; both expect he finishes the season if he reaches Thanksgiving.
• Debate on banning overplayed anthems like "Don't Stop Believin'," "Sweet Caroline," and "Mr. Brightside" for five years.

Time saved: 1 hour, 25 minutes.