Marc Stein has covered Dirk Nowitzki for a quarter-century ... dating all the way back to Nowitzki's very first dribbles as a Dallas Maverick. As he prepares for his Hall of Fame induction next Saturday, Dirk joins Marc for a candid conversation.

The show shifts to focus on more current events, with in-depth coverage of Luka Dončić and his return to the Slovenian national team team amid the numerous challenges that the team already faces. Kyrie Irving has been in the news all week as well, so we discuss some of Kyrie's most recent comments and how they might impact the Mavericks.

Host Marc Stein sets the table for a more promising August than usual for NBA fans, interviews USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill about the FIBA World Cup, Jalen Brunson's rise and the USAB's ongoing pursuit of Joel Embiid for the 2024 Olympics AND answers a slew of audience questions about the Mavericks' offseason ... with an extended Luka Dončić update included.

Marc Stein explains the show's new name, introduces the first contest giveaway in show history and shares all the reasons why August is going to more exciting for NBA fans than usual.

This week's special interview guest is Hall of Famer Grant Hill, who discusses assembling USA Basketball's roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup, why USAB wanted Jalen Brunson on the team so badly and its chances of convincing Joel Embiid to represent the United States rather than France at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

A little bit of soccer talk with Real Madrid and Barcelona bringing El Clasico to Dallas and lots of Mavericks talk with texter questions taken from the audience. Also discussed: The latest on Luka Dončić as he prepares for his first game action in nearly four months.

On top of the usual NBA talk, featuring a Damian Lillard trade update and a review of some Mavericks news items, we also spend considerable time this week discussing Lionel Messi's MLS debut with Inter Miami and previewing Cowboys training camp with special guests Tim Reynolds (The Associated Press) and Calvin Watkins (The Dallas Morning News).

The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds joins us to provide a first-person account from Lionel Messi's debut in MLS with Inter Miami and an update on the Damian Lillard trade saga.

Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News gets us ready for Cowboys training camp and explains the differences between covering the NFL and the NBA.

As epic as Messi's Inter Miami debut was, let's make sure no one forgets Pelé's first game on US soil with the New York Cosmos in 1975 when we're talking about historic soccer debuts in this country. We also cover some recent Mavericks news items by answering questions from the text line.