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The Bill Simmons Podcast

The Fall of the Chiefs (Maybe), SGA Superstar Tips, the Wildes-Greeny Feud, and Week 15 Picks

125 min episode · 3 min read
·
Nick Wright

Episode

125 min

Read time

3 min

Topics

Relationships, Software Development, History

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • SGA All-Time Ranking Framework: Simmons and Wright construct a working NBA hierarchy placing LeBron, Kareem, and Jordan as the undisputed top three, then Magic, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, and one of Akeem/Shaq/Steph/Jokic at ten. SGA, averaging 30-plus points for roughly five seasons with a potential 70-win team, is positioned to enter the 15-to-25 range — ahead of Stockton, Robinson, and Paul — if OKC wins back-to-back titles.
  • OKC Dynasty Vulnerability Map: The most realistic path to stopping OKC mirrors the 2016 Warriors collapse: a single transcendent player delivering a three-game supernova performance. Wright identifies Jokic as the only current candidate for that role. Structurally, OKC's depth means any injury below Gilgeous-Alexander still produces a team projected as a three-seed-or-better favorite, making conventional upset scenarios nearly impossible to construct.
  • Mahomes GOAT Probability Shift: Through eight seasons, Mahomes statistically leads Brady's pace — five Super Bowl appearances versus Brady's four, two MVPs versus one. However, Wright argues Mahomes' probability of finishing as the consensus GOAT dropped from roughly 76 percent entering Super Bowl LIX to approximately 30 percent today, primarily because Brady played 15 additional seasons after year eight, a volume Mahomes is unlikely to match.
  • Chiefs Playoff Path Mechanics: Kansas City reaches the postseason at 10-7 by winning against the Chargers and Broncos, then sweeping the Titans and Raiders. The Chargers must lose to Denver in Week 18 — a game Denver may need for seeding — and drop one of their remaining games at Dallas or home against Houston. The critical tiebreaker is common opponents, where the Chiefs hold the advantage over Los Angeles in the third tiebreaker slot.
  • Lamar Jackson-Harbaugh Disconnect Signal: A pattern across multiple seasons shows Harbaugh consistently projecting earlier return timelines for Jackson's injuries than Jackson himself honors. Combined with Jackson's reduced rushing speed — next-gen stats reportedly showing a drop from 16 to 12 miles per hour — and Harbaugh offering no cover when Jackson skips practice without listed injury, Wright reads this as a relationship that has effectively broken down, making Harbaugh a high-probability coaching change candidate.

What It Covers

Bill Simmons and Nick Wright spend 125 minutes debating whether Patrick Mahomes' GOAT trajectory is finished after a 6-7 Chiefs season, where SGA ranks among all-time NBA greats if OKC wins 70-plus games, Lamar Jackson's apparent disconnect with John Harbaugh, and a detailed Week 15 NFL picks segment with Joe House targeting Chiefs, Seahawks, and Dolphins.

Key Questions Answered

  • SGA All-Time Ranking Framework: Simmons and Wright construct a working NBA hierarchy placing LeBron, Kareem, and Jordan as the undisputed top three, then Magic, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, and one of Akeem/Shaq/Steph/Jokic at ten. SGA, averaging 30-plus points for roughly five seasons with a potential 70-win team, is positioned to enter the 15-to-25 range — ahead of Stockton, Robinson, and Paul — if OKC wins back-to-back titles.
  • OKC Dynasty Vulnerability Map: The most realistic path to stopping OKC mirrors the 2016 Warriors collapse: a single transcendent player delivering a three-game supernova performance. Wright identifies Jokic as the only current candidate for that role. Structurally, OKC's depth means any injury below Gilgeous-Alexander still produces a team projected as a three-seed-or-better favorite, making conventional upset scenarios nearly impossible to construct.
  • Mahomes GOAT Probability Shift: Through eight seasons, Mahomes statistically leads Brady's pace — five Super Bowl appearances versus Brady's four, two MVPs versus one. However, Wright argues Mahomes' probability of finishing as the consensus GOAT dropped from roughly 76 percent entering Super Bowl LIX to approximately 30 percent today, primarily because Brady played 15 additional seasons after year eight, a volume Mahomes is unlikely to match.
  • Chiefs Playoff Path Mechanics: Kansas City reaches the postseason at 10-7 by winning against the Chargers and Broncos, then sweeping the Titans and Raiders. The Chargers must lose to Denver in Week 18 — a game Denver may need for seeding — and drop one of their remaining games at Dallas or home against Houston. The critical tiebreaker is common opponents, where the Chiefs hold the advantage over Los Angeles in the third tiebreaker slot.
  • Lamar Jackson-Harbaugh Disconnect Signal: A pattern across multiple seasons shows Harbaugh consistently projecting earlier return timelines for Jackson's injuries than Jackson himself honors. Combined with Jackson's reduced rushing speed — next-gen stats reportedly showing a drop from 16 to 12 miles per hour — and Harbaugh offering no cover when Jackson skips practice without listed injury, Wright reads this as a relationship that has effectively broken down, making Harbaugh a high-probability coaching change candidate.
  • Week 15 Picks Rationale — Chiefs and Seahawks: Ringer 107 locks in Chiefs minus-5.5 over the Chargers, citing 17-degree temperatures, a banged-up Herbert throwing with one functional hand, no Jim Harbaugh, and a Chargers offensive line that surrendered a 70-percent pressure rate and seven sacks against Philadelphia. Seattle minus-6.5 paired with the under 48.5 as a parlay targets a Colts offense forced to run Philip Rivers — out of football five years — against Seattle's defense, which has surrendered only four first-half touchdowns since Week 7.
  • Packers-Broncos Schematic Edge: Green Bay exploits Denver's single-high safety and man-coverage tendencies, the exact defensive looks Jordan Love has performed best against all season. Conversely, the Packers' zone-heavy scheme historically neutralizes Bo Nix, who loses his reads against zone coverage. Wright and Simmons treat Denver's best wins — Kansas City at 6-7, Philadelphia mid-collapse, Houston after CJ Stroud's injury — as a schedule that overstates the Broncos' actual weight class heading into this matchup.

Notable Moment

Wright reveals he once built a multi-year Microsoft Excel archive of Simmons' NBA trade value columns, tracking player rankings year-by-year to test whether the framework could be retroactively applied to 1970s players like Kareem. He never sent it because he lacked the nerve to ask their mutual friend to pass it along — a detail Simmons had no knowledge of before the conversation.

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Episode Transcript

This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Those superior moments in the game, like dropping a buzzer beater at the last second are worth it. It feels so good. And have you noticed all the smoothest plays are served ice cold, just like Michelob Ultra. That's why Michelob Ultra, it's one of the reasons it's the official beer partner of the NBA. Or maybe it's because it's a superior light beer with a smooth, refreshing taste and only 95 calories. Or maybe it's because they're giving fans a chance to win amazing prizes, including courtside seat tickets. Michelob Ultra Superior is worth playing for. Enter now at michaelobultra.com/courtside. Michelob Ultra Courtside twenty five twenty six, no purchase necessary, open to US residence 20 '1 plus, begins on 10/01/2025, ends on 06/30/2026. Multiple entry periods. See official rules at michaelobaultra.com/courtside for free entry entry deadlines and prizes and details. The bill Simmons podcast is brought to you by the ringer podcast network. I put up a new rewatchables on Monday. One of the most fun ones we did this year, we did shampoo with Cameron Crowe and Sean Fantasy, and Cameron Crowe just told a bunch of stories about movies I love, like Singles and Jerry Maguire and, of course, Almost Famous Say Anything. But we did it all through the context of the movie. It's a great podcast. Next week's We Ratchables, we recorded yesterday. It was four people. You heard me mention it with Rob Mahoney. We did, High Fidelity. Twenty five years since that movie came out. John Cusack, just a lot going on. Kind of the end of Gen X, we hit a lot of good topics with that one. So that is coming on Monday. We're running out of Mondays for the rewatchables. We're heading into into mid December. We are not running out of music box documentaries. Jeff Buckley was last week. This week, Wizkid, by the time you, you, this pod goes up, it'll probably already have been up on HBO, but it'll be on HBO max. Really, really cool doc. You get to learn about the history of Afrobeats and he's an incredible artist. So, this is a really well done. You will enjoy it and you will learn a lot. So go check that out on HBO coming up on this podcast. Nick Wright. We've been circling each other for a long, long time. And, we're gonna argue now that Patrick Mahomes, his career is over. We're gonna argue about it on this podcast. Plus a lot of other fun sports takes. And then, a bruised batter, Joe House, really fighting for his job here on the BS podcast. We cannot get good gambling picks. He's doing better on the Sunday show than he's doing on this show, and, his job's on the line. I don't I don't know what else to say. If it doesn't work out this week, I'm gonna make other arrangements as we head into the …

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