Podcast thumbnail for Le Batard & Friends Presents: The Step Back

Le Batard & Friends Presents: The Step Back

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by Dan Le Batard

6 episodes
Updated Daily
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Podcast Overview

Hosted by Dan Le Batard, Amin Elhassan, and Israel Gutierrez, this limited series is part nostalgia machine, part media autopsy—pulling apart the biggest athletes of our time through the moments that made them unavoidable. Season one belongs to LeBron James. From the Sports Illustrated cover that anointed him before he could legally celebrate, to The Decision that broke the internet before we even used that term, to “Shut Up & Dribble,” a phrase that accidentally defined an era—this is the story of how one athlete bent the relationship between sports, media, and power into something new. Each episode revisits a single flashpoint – alongside a rotating cast of guests who were there, covered it, or lived it- the show asks the uncomfortable questions, finds the human ones, and occasionally gets distracted in ways that feel… familiar. The Step Back is a time capsule with better context, worse timing, and just enough perspective to realize we might have missed the point the first time.

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Publishing Since

5/12/2026

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Recent Episodes

Episode thumbnail for There's Always This Year (feat. Hanif Abdurraqib)

July 21, 2026

There's Always This Year (feat. Hanif Abdurraqib)

Host Dan Le Batard and guests Amin Elhassan and Izzy Gutierrez interview author Hanif Abdurraqib about LeBron James's legacy and future aspirations.

Episode thumbnail for Shut Up & Dribble (feat. Jemele Hill & Cari Champion)

July 1, 2026

Shut Up & Dribble (feat. Jemele Hill & Cari Champion)

LeBron James didn't just become the most famous athlete on Earth — he became one of its most careful, and occasionally most explosive, political voices. In the most contentious episode of our LeBron series, Dan, Amin and Izzy trace the moments that turned a basketball player into a lightning rod: The Trayvon Martin hoodie photo — and Dan's own take on it at the time, warts and all. The killing of Tamir Rice, and the "I Can't Breathe" shirt that, in the moment, didn't include his name. The ESPYs speech. The White House years, plural. The Bubble. And the legacy that's still being argued over, for better or worse. With firsthand memories from Jemele Hill and Cari Champion, plus a LeBron teammate history conveniently forgot. Homework for this episode: • "Reaction to tragic killing shows growth of LeBron" (The Miami Herald, 2012) • "Kevin Durant x LeBron James x Cari Champion" (Uninterrupted, 2018) • "Trump Attacked Black Athletes — and Paid for It in the End" (The Atlantic, 2020) • "LeBron James Doesn’t Talk About Politics Anymore" (New York, 2022) Encouraged homework for next week's season finale: • "There's Always This Year" by Hanif Abdurraqib (2025) More from "The Step Back": • Episode 1: The Chosen One (feat. Sonny Vaccaro) • Episode 2: The Decision (feat. Jim Gray) • Episode 3: I'm Coming Home (feat. Iman Shumpert) • Episode 4: LeBron Inc. (feat. Pablo Torre) • Don't miss an episode — subscribe here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode thumbnail for Lebron Inc. (feat. Pablo Torre)

June 16, 2026

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

6 total episodes available with 1 transcripts

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Hanif Abdurraqib

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Frequently asked questions

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What is Le Batard & Friends Presents: The Step Back?

Hosted by Dan Le Batard, Amin Elhassan, and Israel Gutierrez, this limited series is part nostalgia machine, part media autopsy—pulling apart the biggest athletes of our time through the moments that made them unavoidable.

Season one belongs to LeBron James.

From the Sports Illustrated cover that anointed him before he could legally celebrate, to The Decision that broke the internet before we even used that term, to “Shut Up & Dribble,” a phrase that accidentally defined an era—this is the story of how one athlete bent the relationship between sports, media, and power into something new.

Each episode revisits a single flashpoint – alongside a rotating cast of guests who were there, covered it, or lived it- the show asks the uncomfortable questions, finds the human ones, and occasionally gets distracted in ways that feel… familiar.

The Step Back is a time capsule with better context, worse timing, and just enough perspective to realize we might have missed the point the first time.

How often does this podcast release new episodes?

This podcast updates daily.

Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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