Le Batard & Friends Presents: The Step Back

Lebron Inc. (feat. Pablo Torre)

The Step Back is back — and this time, it's personal. Or at least, it's financial. After a brief hiatus, Dan, Amin, and Izzy return with Pablo Torre to dig into his landmark 2017 ESPN feature on LeBron James — not the player chasing rings, but the architect quietly building an empire. What Phil Jackson famously dismissed as a "posse" — a word that told you everything about who was really threatened — turns out to have been a boardroom in disguise. Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, Randy Mims: ridiculed first, respected later, inevitable in hindsight. This is the episode where The Step Back steps sideways — from flashpoints to foresight — to ask how a kid from Akron turned loyalty into leverage, and a group of friends into a seat at the table that nobody wanted to give them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

I'm Coming Home (feat. Iman Shumpert)

Dan, Amin and Izzy go behind the scenes of LeBron's loyalty, from Pat Riley's frustration to LeBron's Vegas hotel room and the Cavs' huddle in Game Seven. More from "The Step Back": * Episode 1: The Chosen One [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chosen-one-feat-sonny-vaccaro/id1896560592?i=1000767210390] * Episode 2: The Decision [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-decision-feat-jim-gray/id1896560592?i=1000768615631] * Don't miss an episode — subscribe here [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/le-batard-friends-presents-the-step-back/id1896560592] Homework for this episode: "I'm Coming Home" by LeBron James, as told to Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated, 2014) - https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers [https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers] "Return of the King" by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin (2018) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/return-of-the-king-lebron-james-the-cleveland-cavaliers-and-the-greatest-comeback-in-nba-history-brian-windhorst/9390251 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/return-of-the-king-lebron-james-the-cleveland-cavaliers-and-the-greatest-comeback-in-nba-history-brian-windhorst/9390251] Homework for next week's episode: "LeBron: The Sequel" by Pablo Torre (ESPN The Magazine, 2017) - https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18686205/the-second-chapter-lebron-james-career [https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18686205/the-second-chapter-lebron-james-career] Optional homework for next week's episode: "LeBron, Inc." by Brian Windhorst (2018). - https://bookshop.org/p/books/lebron-inc-the-making-of-a-billion-dollar-athlete-brian-windhorst/7395291 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/lebron-inc-the-making-of-a-billion-dollar-athlete-brian-windhorst/7395291] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Decision (feat. Jim Gray)

As our exclusive new series on LeBron's legacy continues, Dan, Amin and Izzy re-live the awkward silence — and alternate history — of a made-for-TV moment that altered the course of Miami sports and player empowerment forever. More from "The Step Back": * Episode 1: The Chosen One [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chosen-one-feat-sonny-vaccaro/id1896560592?i=1000767210390] * Don't miss an episode — subscribe here [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/le-batard-friends-presents-the-step-back/id1896560592] Homework for this episode: * "The Decision" (ESPN, 2010) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4] Homework for next week's episode: * "I'm Coming Home" by LeBron James, as told to Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated, 2014) - https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers [https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers] Optional homework for next week's episode: * "Return of the King" by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin (2018) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/return-of-the-king-lebron-james-the-cleveland-cavaliers-and-the-greatest-comeback-in-nba-history-brian-windhorst/9390251 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/return-of-the-king-lebron-james-the-cleveland-cavaliers-and-the-greatest-comeback-in-nba-history-brian-windhorst/9390251] Encouraged homework for next month's season finale: * "There's Always This Year" by Hanif Abdurraqib (2025) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/there-s-always-this-year-on-basketball-and-ascension-hanif-abdurraqib/20204172 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/there-s-always-this-year-on-basketball-and-ascension-hanif-abdurraqib/20204172] From our guest: * "Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard" - https://www.talkingtogoats.com/ [https://www.talkingtogoats.com/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Chosen One (feat. Sonny Vaccaro)

In the season premiere, Dan, Amin, and Izzy go back to the Sports Illustrated cover that turned a teenager into an industry, re-reading the prophecy with the very people who helped craft it. Plus: a resplendent Sonny Vaccaro joins us to re-live his failed $100 million offer to bring The Kid from Akron to Adidas. All that AND real talk about LeBron's untold origin story. Homework for this episode: • "Ahead of His Class" by Grant Wahl (Sports Illustrated, 2002) https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/02/18/ahead-of-his-class-ohio-high-school-junior-lebron-james-is-so-good-that-hes-already-being-mentioned-as-the-heir-to-air-jordan [https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/02/18/ahead-of-his-class-ohio-high-school-junior-lebron-james-is-so-good-that-hes-already-being-mentioned-as-the-heir-to-air-jordan] Homework for the next week's episode: • "The Decision" (ESPN, 2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4] From our guest: • "Legends and Soles: The Memoir of an American Original" by Sonny Vaccaro with Armen Keteyian https://www.harpercollins.com/products/legends-and-soles-sonny-vaccaroarmen-keteyian [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/legends-and-soles-sonny-vaccaroarmen-keteyian] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]