Overview of Caleb Wilson Fever, 2020 NBA Redraftables, and the ‘Odyssey’ MVP Rankings on The Ringer
Bill Simmons opens with a short status update on the Red Sox’s sudden 15-game winning streak, then dives into three main segments: Summer League reactions and rookie buzz, a full redraft of the weird 2020 NBA Draft, and a spoiler-heavy “MVP ballot” for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey with Jason Concepcion.
Summer League and Rookie Watch
Simmons, Joe House, and J. Kyle Mann spend the early part of the show on Summer League impressions and rookie stock movement.
Biggest Summer League standouts
- Caleb Wilson impressed the most, especially with:
- a suddenly trustworthy-looking jump shot
- elite athletic pop
- the kind of “star” body and movement that drew comparisons to Tracy McGrady and Sean Kemp
- A.J. Dybantsa had flashes, though not a perfect showing.
- Cam Boozer was steady and productive, doing what he always does.
- Darren Peterson showed scoring bursts but was less polished.
- Trey Johnson and Will Riley helped the Wizards look like one of Summer League’s biggest winners.
Rookie of the Year discussion
They discuss the early betting market and how crowded the race feels:
- Cam Boozer is the favorite
- Darren Peterson is second
- Caleb Wilson and A.J. Dybantsa are tied behind them
The main takeaway: there are multiple rookies with legitimate star upside, but Caleb Wilson’s shooting jump may have been the biggest surprise of the week.
2020 NBA Draft Redraft
The bulk of the middle section is a redo of the 2020 NBA Draft, which they call one of the strangest draft classes ever because of COVID:
- no March Madness
- no proper combine
- limited in-person workouts
- teams relying heavily on Zooms, film, and guesses
Their top tier in the redraft
- Anthony Edwards
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Tyrese Maxey
- Deni Avdija
- LaMelo Ball
Other key names in their final redraft
- Jaden McDaniels
- Devin Vassell
- Onyeka Okongwu
- Desmond Bane
- Payton Pritchard
- Isaiah Stewart
- Aaron Nesmith
- Immanuel Quickley
- Obi Toppin
- Saddiq Bey
- Isaiah Joe
- Sam Merrill
Main redraft takeaways
- Anthony Edwards is the clear No. 1 for both ceiling and actual impact.
- Haliburton is the biggest “what if” in the draft because his game is so scalable and efficient.
- Maxey is viewed as still ascending and possibly the best value pick from the class.
- Avdija gets major credit for finally becoming the player many thought he could be.
- Bane and Pritchard are framed as major value wins.
- Wiseman, Patrick Williams, Killian Hayes, and Jalen Smith are highlighted as some of the biggest misses relative to where they were drafted.
The weirdness of the class
They emphasize how much of the draft was driven by incomplete information:
- limited college sample sizes
- weird fit assumptions
- teams betting on tools over production
- a lot of players drafted for “what they could be” instead of what they were
The final consensus: it’s a strong B / B+ draft class because it produced multiple franchise-level players, even if the depth and top-end certainty were both shaky at the time.
Jason Concepcion’s “Odyssey” MVP Rankings
The final segment is a spoiler-filled, highly playful ranking of characters/performances in Nolan’s The Odyssey. They focus on casting, practical effects, and how the movie blends mythology with modern star personas.
Main themes
- Nolan is praised for using practical effects, IMAX, and big-set-piece filmmaking to full effect.
- Concepcion argues Nolan is also playing with the audience’s knowledge of each actor’s prior persona:
- Tom Holland as someone trying to be seen as a man, not a perpetual kid
- Robert Pattinson as a slippery, sniveling villain
- Charlize Theron as a nearly ageless, mythic figure
- The movie’s “big moments” include:
- the Cyclops sequence
- the Trojan horse
- the bow-and-arrow test
- the feasting/pig transformation scenes
Top of the MVP ballot
- Matt Damon / Odysseus
- Christopher Nolan
- IMAX / the theatrical experience
- The Cyclops
- Anne Hathaway
- The edit and score
- Jennifer Lame’s editing
- Ludwig Göransson’s score
Best-reviewed performances / characters
- Matt Damon: praised as the ideal version of his career arc — clever, grizzled, trapped, resourceful.
- Anne Hathaway: considered one of the best cast members and a major emotional center.
- Robert Pattinson: excellent as the slimy antagonist.
- Charlize Theron: possibly the best casting choice in the film.
- John Leguizamo and Jon Bernthal also get major praise.
- Zendaya gets a more mixed review, though they discuss her as a deliberate, enigmatic casting choice.
Big picture on the movie
Their ultimate verdict is that The Odyssey works because it combines:
- mythic scale
- practical spectacle
- strong casting against type
- a highly effective theater/IMAX experience
Other notable side topics
- Simmons jokes about the Red Sox’s wild turnaround and credits Wilson Contreras’s intensity as a possible catalyst.
- There’s a quick round of NBA offseason speculation:
- LeBron’s next team
- possible franchise relocation/conspiracy theories
- the idea that some teams are quietly tanking or reshaping rosters for future flexibility
Bottom line
This episode is basically three podcasts in one:
- a Summer League and rookie-stock check-in
- a detailed and surprisingly thoughtful redraft of the strange 2020 NBA Draft
- a spoiler-heavy, highly specific appreciation of The Odyssey as a theatrical event and casting showcase
If you only care about one thing, the biggest headline is probably Caleb Wilson’s sudden star buzz and the idea that he may have transformed himself from promising prospect into a real Rookie of the Year threat.