Local Hour: The Wemby Stopper

Summary of Local Hour: The Wemby Stopper

by Dan Le Batard, Stugotz

44m•November 18, 2025
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Overview of Local Hour: The Wemby Stopper

This episode of the Dan Le Batard Show (Local Hour) is a freewheeling sports discussion centered on South Florida teams (Miami Heat, Florida Panthers), a breakout young big man (Kel'el Ware), injury/recovery debate around Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, plus the usual tangents, hot takes and sponsor reads. The hosts and regulars mix X’s-and-O’s observations with cultural jokes (Ben Stiller as a Knicks superfan, classic movie jabs), viral-video speculation, and player-comparison debates — culminating in a playful, recurring question: could Kel'el Ware ever be the kind of defender to slow Victor Wembanyama?

Main topics discussed

  • Florida Panthers

    • Panthers offense explosion: an 8-goal game vs Vancouver and what it means for the season.
    • Injuries to key players (Barkov, Kachuk, Kulikov) and how depth/bench play (Brad Marchand contributing) is keeping them afloat.
    • Debate about Aleksander Barkov’s recovery timetable: video of him unbraced doing workouts vs official statements; salary-cap maneuvering as a signal the team still expects a return before playoffs.

  • Miami Heat / Knicks game takeaways

    • Heat’s weird late-game offense (e.g., scoring virtually nothing in final minutes of a close game) and the team’s reliance on depth until All-Stars are back.
    • Mitchell Robinson (Knicks) and offensive-rebounding matchup vs Kel'el Ware; UD (Udonis Haslem) texted Ware to focus on rebounding.
    • Celebrity fan banter: Ben Stiller vs Heat (and Udonis’ social-media clapback).

  • Kel'el Ware: ceiling and comps

    • Ware’s breakout performance (fourth straight double-double, high-impact minutes) sparked a debate about his long-term ceiling.
    • Two central questions: can he be consistently locked-in night after night, and how high is his defensive upside?
    • Comparisons floated: Rudy Gobert (but with better mobility/jump shot), JaVale McGee (athletic but inconsistent/wasted-talent risk), Hassan Whiteside (development/reclamation concerns).
    • Bold claim/joke: Ware has the physical tools to be a “Wemby stopper” (i.e., capable of challenging Victor Wembanyama physically) — followed by caveats about size, instincts, and the historical difficulty of matching Wembanyama’s combination of size and skill.

  • Victor Wembanyama / Draymond clip

    • Hosts replay and react to a clip of Draymond Green getting physically embarrassed by Wembanyama in the post; this is used to illustrate how extreme Wemby’s physical dominance looks even against elite defenders.

  • Heat development culture

    • Discussion of Miami’s track record of “polishing diamonds” — developing under-the-radar or underperforming bigs (examples mentioned: Hassan Whiteside, Ike Austin, others) and the Heat’s relentless accountability approach.

  • Light tangents & recurring bits

    • Greg’s “Three Facts Jack” segment: a factoid about human skin weighing roughly 20 pounds prompted a humorous debate about anatomy.
    • Movie jokes and pop-culture jabs (Ben Stiller scenes, Philip Seymour Hoffman shout-out).
    • Multiple sponsor reads peppered throughout.

Notable quotes & lines

  • “If I could take Draymond’s brain and put it into Kel'el Ware’s body, now we’re talking.” — encapsulates the desire for Ware to pair instincts/defensive IQ with his tools.
  • “There is no such thing as physical tools that can stop Wembanyama.” — used to explain how rare Wembanyama’s physical and skill package is.
  • Greg’s “reckless speculation” bit — recurring show gag used when guests push bold, unsupported takes.
  • “People don’t think of skin as the organ — the biggest organ is the skin.” — from the Three Facts segment (prompted banter).

Analysis & takeaways

  • Kel'el Ware is a high-upside, high-variance young big. The athletic tools are obvious; the main questions are consistency, technical polish (low-post touch, positioning), and whether he can grow his game intellectually (matchups, film study, late-game reliability).
  • Miami’s culture and coaching can accelerate Ware’s development — but history shows the team also enforces accountability and expects repeatable results, not one-off heroics.
  • Barkov’s rehab timeline is unresolved: visible progress (video of weight-bearing workouts) creates optimism, but the conservative team approach and official communications — plus cap-management nuances — mean fans should temper expectations until the club gives firm updates.
  • The Wembanyama comparison is intentionally hyperbolic. Wembanyama’s combination of length, skill and coordination is a different class; conversely, the discussion is useful for measuring how teams think about developing interior defenders against generational talent.

Practical items for listeners

  • Watch the Draymond vs Wembanyama clip referenced in the show to see the physical matchup they discussed.
  • If you follow the Panthers, track Barkov rehab updates (team statements + post-op footage) and cap moves — they’re signaling intent either way.
  • For Heat watchers: keep an eye on Ware’s usage and late-game minutes over the next stretch — consistent production in close-game minutes will be the clearest sign he’s ascending.

Sponsors & ad reads (mentioned)

  • Smirnoff (vodka)
  • Jose Cuervo (tequila)
  • Goldbelly (food delivery)
  • Miller Lite
  • Amazon Prime Video (Thursday Night Football)
  • Zinn (nicotine product)
  • GameTime (ticketing app)
  • Shopify

Final nutshell

This hour is a mix of serious roster/injury conversation (Panthers’ injury crisis and Barkov’s rehab) and excited optimism about a young Miami big, Kel'el Ware, whose athletic flashes have the panel debating legitimately high ceilings — even joking about him as a “Wemby stopper.” The episode balances X’s-and-O’s, long-term development context (Heat’s culture), pop-culture tangents, and playful speculation.