The Full 48

Filmmaker Dan Klores provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his monumental new docu-series, "Basketball: A Love Story." The 10-hour, 5-part film premieres on ESPN on October 9th, and features short stories spanning the entire basketball universe - from Michael Jordan and the Bulls to Kobe and Shaq to Kyrie and LeBron to Yao Ming and the Beijing Olympics. Dan also reveals the reasons why certain stories didn't make the final cut like The Malice At The Palace, and what his biggest disappointment was when it came to missing interviews.

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Chris Mannix of Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports Boston explains his bold prediction that LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers will not make the playoffs! Chris also discusses the most likely lottery-bound teams, this year's possible surprise teams, why the Boston Celtics will be among this season's most interesting teams to watch, how Kyle Lowry may directly affect the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard's success, likely outcomes for the Jimmy Butler-Minnesota Timberwolves situation, and why he's such a believer in the Denver Nuggets.

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Ben Golliver, Senior NBA Writer for Sports Illustrated, breaks down the just-published SI Top 100 Rankings. He speaks to the two trickiest guys to rank (Kristaps Porzingis and DeMarcus Cousins), the biggest backlash (Devin Booker), the Top 10 (Joel Embiid, Chris Paul, James Harden, and Kevin Durant), and the most controversial (Kawhi Leonard). He also weighs in on his biggest "Camp Curiosities" (Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi, and Boston Celtics), and makes some playoff predictions for the East and West.

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The NBA's sharp-dressed Vice President and Head of Referee Development and Training, Monty McCutchen, discusses the expected rule changes for the coming season including shot clock resets, the clear path rule, and hostile acts. He also speaks to the importance of female officials in the league, enforcing the existing wraps and holds rules, the elimination of flopping, and improving player referee relations. He also shares a couple of truly hilarious heckling stories (7-Up anyone?).

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Three-time NBA Sixth Man Of The Year and current free agent (at least at the time of this recording), Jamal Crawford talks 18 coaches in 18 seasons, best and worst advice he's received over the years, injuries (or lack thereof in Jamal's case), the return of the NBA to Seattle, and Manu Ginobili's retirement. And Jamal shares a great story about sneaking into the Forum as a kid to see the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.

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NBA and Lakers team photographer Andy Bernstein has covered 36 NBA Finals, 36 All-Star games, and took Michael Jordan's iconic "Come Fly With Me" photo (among many others), and now he's being inducted into the Hall Of Fame, along with Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, and Ray Allen (whose careers he also photographed from rookie to retirement). Andy shares stories from on and off the court, talks about taking hits from Shaq and James Harden, explains how he teamed up with Kobe Bryant for the upcoming book, "Mamba Mentality," and reveals why meeting Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest moments of his life.

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Two time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs and current Assistant General Manger of the Detroit Pistons, Malik Rose, offers thoughts on former teammate Manu Ginobili's retirement, and shares stories about this days playing with Manu - from their first meeting to their current friendship. Malik also speaks about Coach Gregg Popovich and the lessons he learned from Pop that he applies to his new Detroit front office job. And Malik gives a short breakdown of what the Pistons' are hoping to get out of Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson this coming season.

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Derek Fisher, Ish Smith, and Ray Allen in the same episode! This is your chance to catch up with the Full 48 and some great moments from the first half of 2018! Derek Fisher talks Kobe Bryant and Shaq, and what it was like being on that championship team in the middle of that tumultuous relationship. Ish Smith has played for 10 NBA teams in the last seven seasons and shares what it's like to be constantly traded, and the great advice he got from former OKC teammate Russell Westbrook that Ish still follows to this day. And soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ray Allen sets the record straight about what really happened when he left the Boston Celtics to sign and signed with the Miami Heat. He also weighs in on the GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

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Creating the NBA regular season schedule is a complex task to say the least, and it falls primarily to two gentlemen to work through the individual arena schedules, TV partners' broadcast schedules, the balance of home games vs away games, back-to-back games, marquee matchups, and featured holiday games while at the same time taking great storylines, travel, and ticket sales into consideration. Sr. Vice President & Head of Basketball Strategy and Analytics of the NBA Evan Wasch, and Sr. Vice President Broadcast Schedule Management for the NBA, Tom Carelli, are the brain trust behind the schedule and speak to the factors that go into crafting it each season.

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Former Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns Exec, David Griffin, returns to dig into the Dog Days of NBA Summer! He offers some insight and analysis on the Lakers & LeBron James, Toronto & Kawhi Leonard, the Utah Jazz as a sleeper play-off contender, and the regression of the Philadelphia 76ers. He's also talking East vs West Conference Finals, and debunking conspiracy theories about the NBA schedule, and what it really means to play on Christmas and MLK Day. And he's explaining the how and why of his officiating duties at Koby Altman's upcoming nuptials.

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