New Basketball Culture Podcast Debuts “Point Game with John Wall and C.J. Toledano”

Sports podcasts often have a built-in audience. The fans of that sport or specific team. That said, sports podcasts multiply like rabbits in the audioverse so standing out among the "haystack" of sports podcasts can be a challenge. 

According to a recent piece in Podnews, “There is today no sports show among the global top 25 podcasts, despite 20% of podcast listening being in the sports category,” says Simon Strand, the founder of Immaterial, which has announced the launch of a show about the world’s biggest sport and the most interesting characters in it.

Therefore, sports podcasting as a category dominates a quarter of podcast listening, yet that dominance is spread over thousands of sports podcasts. 

 It helps, of course, when you have a large podcast studio behind like iHeart Media.

So, iHeartMedia has teamed up with DraftKings and KLUTCH Sports Group to debut a new basketball podcast “Point Game with John Wall and C.J. Toledano.” The weekly podcast will give an insider’s look at the league and the culture surrounding it. The series will launch on February 21, 2024, and run for 16 weeks, spanning the remainder of the current 2023/2024 basketball season.

Every week, John Wall, five-time NBA All-Star and No. 1 pick in the 2010 Draft, will give his unique perspective on the hottest topics in the league and share stories from his own experiences as a player. The show is co-hosted by writer, director, comedian, basketball Twitter personality and founder of Follow Through Studio, C.J. Toledano, who will bring his own takes while discussing the news all basketball fans – and insiders – are talking about. Each episode will also feature current and former basketball legends, as well as A-list comedians who will bring their own views and takes to the mix.

“There are a lot of things that I’ve been through in my life that people don’t know - the stories both on and off the court and the connections I’ve made with people along the way,” said Wall. “I just love the game of basketball, and it's given me so much, so I am going to give you the real. I’m excited and grateful for this platform to share more of my journey and my story.”

John Wall is a former NBA point guard. Wall was chosen with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, and was named 1st team All-Rookie. Wall was a five-time NBA All-Star, from 2014 to 2018, and was named to the All-NBA 3rd team in 2017. He last played in the NBA in 2023 for the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2016, Wall received the Stewart B. McKinney Award for his work to end homelessness after he donated $400,000 to Bright Beginnings.

“There’s not much in life that I love more than hanging out and talking basketball, so the fact that I get to do that with one of the game’s most legendary point guards is incredible,” said Toledano. “Also as a fan, I’m sort of tired of the usual talking heads, so it’s going to be awesome chopping it up with a superstar who’s actually been in the league very recently. I just hope he doesn’t get annoyed by me asking what the Lakers should do every week.”

C.J. Toledano is a writer, director, comedian, NBA Twitter personality and the founder of Follow Through Studio. Formerly, he was the Creative Director and host for House of Highlights and Bleacher Report. He was also a staff writer for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, ran creative for the Detroit Pistons with Funny or Die and most recently wrote and directed several Nike/Jordan series starring the likes of Giannis Antetonkoumpo, Sabrina Ionescu, Zion Williamson, and Jayson Tatum and the opening night spots for NBA on TNT starring Druski.

In episode one, "John and C.J. talk about John's wild 18-hour ride from Raleigh to Chicago that put him on the national basketball map, and ultimately led him to the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Plus, John shares his ideas about how to fix the Dunk Contest and All-Star game, who he thinks would win an NBA King of the Court contest, weighs in on the Doc Rivers controversy, where he thinks he could still fit in the NBA, and more."

Listen to the first episode now, HERE.  The Video podcast will also be available weekly on DraftKings YouTube Channel.

Let's see if Point Game can join the exclusive club of the best sports podcasts, such as, ESPN Daily, Hang Up And Listen, and The Right Time With Bomani Jones.