The Oklahoma City Thunder prevailed in this year’s NBA Finals in spite of an effort by hometown ESPN star Pat McAfee to rally the Indiana Pacers to victory in their home contests.
So it was easy for Thunder sixth man Alex Caruso to take a victory lap on Wednesday when he joined The Pat McAfee Show, teasing McAfee for cutting a WWE-style promo at Gainbridge Fieldhouse multiple times throughout the playoffs while acknowledging it was indeed somewhat distracting during the Finals.
After trash-talking the Pacers’ “good” run and reminding McAfee’s crew that “there can only be one winner,” Caruso chuckled that it was “really hard” to stay focused after McAfee roared to life.
“Also, me trying to ignore you giving rally speeches into the third, beginning of the fourth every game in Indiana was really hard, not gonna lie,” the NBA champion said.
Particularly when McAfee called out actors Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet during the Eastern Conference Finals and when he called out Stephen A. Smith during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, McAfee received significant blowback. Not only were the speeches abrupt and overwhelming within the flow of the game, they drew the attention toward him and the other celebrities at the game rather than the Pacers.
Talking with Caruso on Wednesday, McAfee admitted he was caught off guard by the team’s request for him to speak.
“They peer pressure you,” Caruso agreed. “I respect the [situation].”
McAfee was a fantastic supporter of the Pacers over the past two seasons and will always support Indiana teams. But maybe the next time the Pacers make a deep run, they will think better of giving him the microphone for a takeover.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.