Mad Dog Russo says LeBron made a MISTAKE leaving the Cavs for the Lakers 😳🍿 | First Take 

Bro he even makes the same face as Skip. Stephen A. found his guy.

Mad Dog has been the best co-host for this show since Skip. Steven A has immediate chemistry with him. Two legends!

This is hilarious. This dude is legit skip 2.0 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Standing ovation for Mad Dog! Bravo 👏🏽

No mistake at all! The problem is they dismantled a championship team, and the replacement players have been inferior. Additionally James and Davis have had injuries, coupled with the fact Westbrook doesn’t have the skillset to be compatible with this roster.

Does Russo realize none of the Cavs core like Garland, Mobley, & Allen would be there if LeBron stayed there? Lol

Give us Stephen A. and Mad Dog every weekday as long as they both are able to speak.

Mad Dog and Stephen A. Just works. This is Duo the show needs.

Even Kobe Bryant said it before, the greatest Laker really is JERRY WEST. Look it up. None of this happens without THE ARCHITECT. The greatest GM in team sports history.

6:07 - "He was in the FINALS EVERY YEAR JERRY WEST..." That ending with Mad Dog took me to out 😂😂😂 It's like seeing SAS vs Skip Bayless all over again. Can we make a petition to par these two up full time?!

I think we found the new Co-Host of First Take. This guy is good !!!

I like Mad Dog he's not compromised I see no lying in him.

Mad Dog told the truth. LeBron can run from team to team for the easy road to rings but he'll never be embraced like a Kobe or those other players Mad Dog mentioned.

"He was in the finals EVERY YEAR!!!" even Stephen was about to crack up 🤣🤣🤣

I agree with Russo on the fact that if he wanted to build a legacy of being the best player in a franchise's history, he needed to stay in Cleveland. However, winning the Ring with the Lakers in 2020 does mean that the move to LA was worth it, because he won a title during his 2nd year with the team

The Cavs team was made up of Larry nance, Clarkson, Rodney hood, George hill, Kyle Korver, and jr smith and had one first rounder for the foreseeable future. It definitely wasn’t a mistake for him leaving them

Mad dog has got some incredible memory and knowledge

I couldn´t agree more with Mad Dog Russo. LeBron James will never be on par with Kobe, Magic or Kareem as a Laker and he's leaving the Lakers soon. Please keep Mad Dog on the show permanently.

Keep this man around he’s quality

LeBron’s narrative: when my team wins it’s because of me and when it loses it’s because of my teammates and coach.

Give mad dog a full time spot. He's veryyyy entertaining him and Stephen a fit perfectly together their personalities are similar

So happy to see one of my child hood sports personalities back on the national seen!Mike and the Mad dog was a staple in my early teen hood since the early 90’s!Great to hear Cris Russo go up against SAS!Chris won’t be compromised!😉

Steven A and any other delusional “sports analyst” need to stop the “He’s playing like an MVP” BS!🤣😂 Lebron playing NO defense and walking around the court blaming his own teammates every time he gets burned or looses his own man🤣😂

Mad Dog should be on 1st Take regularly! 💥👏🏾

Stephen A. found this guys resume on the back of a cereal box. Skip Bayless is that you?! 👀

I mean he won a championship, he’d probably still only have 3 if he stayed. No way Cleveland would have gotten the talent they have now through the draft.

They need to keep this guy. Great analysis.

Great chemistry love to here the knowledge of them both.I like the way he makes Stephen have to think and he can’t over talk him also. I would be good to see them often…

“When he won in the bubble they was coming off a 5 month layover” lmao I guess the lakers was the only team to come off a 5 month layover

The fact that so many ppl think Russo is Skip 2.0 scares me 😱 wake up Mad Dog was famous b4 anybody knew who Skip was ... If anything Skip copied him 💯

Their season ain’t over it’s terrible times as a laker fan but it isn’t over till it’s over

6:07 Mad Dog Russo !!!! Love it.

Literally the worst take I’ve ever seen 😭

Totally disagree with Mad Dog and agree with Stephen A. LeBron brought a championship to LA, tying the Boston Celtics for most won championships, making LA the most successful team in NBA history by also having more playoff wins than any other team.

Stephen A makes a good point when you consider Mad Dog's reasoning about what "team" these legends will be remembered as and the fact that Wayne Gretzky has a statue outside Crypto and of course will be forever known as an Oiler first and foremost. From Mad Dog's reasoning, it makes sense that LeBron would end up with a statue, actually.

Stephan A is wrong. Bron only deserve statue and Jersey retirement in Cleveland

There was a period from 2004-2008 that I thought Kobe would never win another ring. I was rooting for it but Kobe being Kobe proved us haters wrong. Difference was he was still in his prime (30-31). LeBron is out of his (37).

I love me some mad dog, he needs to be on here permanently

Keep Mad Dog as the permanent co-host with Stephen A. He has chemistry and knowledge and experience. He is also very entertaining. Mad Dog forever!

Russo looks like a younger Skip

Skip "Mad Dog Bayless" Russo 😂😂😂

This guy said what everyone else is afraid of saying...yes he won a chip after 5 months off and no crowd pressure and after that it has been what it would've been if the bubble didnt happen. No bubble no chip.

I think alot of people don't know the mad dog used to be on one of the top radio show on wfan with his co host Mike . I am not surprised that he was good here with Steven A he should come back on regularly

I just hope first take hires this guy because this is what we all as kids watched for, just two old geezers arguing about sports. That literally is what First Take is, and I understand them trying to bring russo in because hes perfect. I hope they can make a deal but who knows guys whove aged past the industry usually dont even care anymore but man this reminds me of when I was 12 watching skip and SAS argue about floyd...Russo is literally the perfect solution to fixing this show to what it used to be IMO but I feel like once youve set up your standards as an adult in terms of a work schedule when you get old you dont want to change it lmao, regardless of the money

This new guy had some good points... but I couldn't stop laughing 😂 his yankee accent and mannerisms are so funny by nature.

Mad Dog is really growing on me because he reminds me so much of Skip Bayless. Say what you want, but Skip and Stephen A were a power duo

"From the standpoint of legacy....who's his team?" I could listen to Christopher Mad Dog Russo all day. Great decision to bring him in to debate issues with Stephen A. Remember kiddies....there is no sports talk radio without Mike and Chris. It was the success of WFAN sports talk radio that led to the careers of all these guys you're watching and listening to now on ESPN, FS1 and your local affiliates. Like them or not...Mike and Chris were the pioneers. Shout out to the late Art Rust Jr. who had a sports talk show on WABC in the early 80's as well.

Mad Dog is great on this show. SAS definitely recommending to management a new guest host is needed ASAP.

This is BS, you can argue LeBron should have not went to LA but he made the right decision to leave Cleveland. I honestly believe he should have forced his way to Houston in 2018. Bron with Harden/CP3 & Capela would have won 2019,2020 & 2021 finals healthy

Facts 👌🏽 I’m happy he left cause we got Mobley & DG but he should just come home and build on his legacy with The Cavs 💯

Except he won his fourth ring for his third different franchise, a storied franchise used to winning. That right there should end this nonsensical debate. And being in LA compared to Cleveland given LeBron's production company and Hollywood plans? C'mon.

This great value skip needs to go , straight up clown. ESPN is honestly a clown network at this point

It’s great when you get 1 outta 1,276 days when SAS actually speak nothing but fact on facts on facts . He almost did it the other day when defending Kyrie , but he mentioned his family again 🤦🏾‍♂️💯 Great points today ! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Stephan A. Does too much 99% of the time but this take he’s completely right, there’s only a handful of laker legends that won multiple rings to say lebron made a mistake leaving the cavs just completely disrespects the 2020 Championship they won yeah I know now they’re struggling but the end goal is to win the ring and lebron already added another ring to a legendary franchise and the door isn’t closed.

SAS has one wheelhouse, and one wheelhouse only: the NBA. MD is knowledgeable across a wide spectrum of sports, and he took SAS to school at the close of this segment! Christopher is the first amongst equals on First Take.

Why did y'all put skip Bayless little brother on first take? This guy said Jerry west was a better player than Bron😮😯🤯.

Say it with me. 1...2...3...Cancuuun 😂😂😂

LeBron being LeBron paid off in Cleveland until it didn't. Then it paid off in Miami until it didn't. It just didn't last that long in LA and now it's done. And going to the Lakers is a commitment to excellence and one championship in a bubble isn't excellence. It's nice but not enough.

Make Mad Dog the permanent cohost. He's great.

When I see a mad dog comment I liked give this man a permanent spot on the show

From 2014-2019, Lakers had an identical record to the Knicks! Then we mocked LeBron last year for leaving the game before time ran out. Then we are mocking him again this year. That's 8 laughing years for Laker haters and 1 ✳️ year for Laker fans.

Stephen a killed this one 😂

FIRST TAKE IS BACK!!! KEEP THIS MAN ON ESPN!

THANK YOU Mad Dog!!!! I'v BEEN saying that!!!

Lebron won a title with the lakers. Why would you regret that? He has plenty of money and being in Cali while rich is better than Ohio.

He delivered a bubble championship to a franchise that had already won 17....the Lakers made the mistake acquiring him (and his crew) for some short-terms relevance and at the expense of soiling their iconic brand...what a disgrace to the legacy of Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Worthy, Cooper, West, Baylor, etc...Lebron is no more than a mercenary who has to everything stacked in his favor..who wilts at the first sign of adversity and bails on his team and his teammates...the Lakers and the NBA will be better off as soon as he retires and lets the new stars represent the league...Lebron is pathetic with his self-proclamations that he is somehow the GOAT and with his blatant disrespect of the game itself with the way he actually plays...the horrible body language, the 'too-cool' approach with the way he flips the ball around, carries the ball, and his utter lack of any leadership ability....it must be miserable to be a young player on any team that he is on...

Not a mistake. The mistakes were made after that Championship.

This is a GREAT Pair.... More of Mad Dog!!!!!!!!!! Lol

Is this even a question? He won a championship! LeBron's legacy is cemented no matter how you look at it. And people don't understand that saying someone is the goat is literally a personal opinion. You know why? Because there will never be a greatest of all time of anything as long as the human race doesn't go extinct. As it stands now LeBron James is one of the greatest people of all time who played and plays basketball. He is not the greatest of all time no one is lol. Back to the Lakers and Cavs thing. Want a championship!

Man this is the guy bring him back on!

How was it a mistake? He won a ring. The problem is that after winning they dismantled the team

2 takes with the new guy and I already like him. Keep him on the show!!

The best organization he left was Miami....and it didn’t take us half a decade to get back relevant after he left 😭

Mad Dog is making a the wrong argument . Lebron didnt make the mistake it was the Lakers that made the mistake.

I’m loving these hot takes

Lmaooo mad dogg favorite words gotta be, “that’s not fair” 🤣🤣

The golden state warriors may get the LeBron James

He won a championship in LA. Did people forget.

The segments are never about the games it always some conjured up narrative

Love this Mad Dog guy! He is making too much sense for this show!

Since 2014, Lakers are 284-412 (.408). Since LeBron came to LA in 2018, they're 158-128 (.552). LeBron has played in 286 as a Laker and has missed 85 of them. That's actually more than AD although he's been with the Lakers longer.

Giving the Cavs all this credit.... stop it. They will be home after a round in the playoffs and back mediocrity next season. They went from irrelevant to Title contenders in the eyes of ESPN. The worst sports network in the world

I loooooove this guy. He says as it is. So refreshing.

Don’t he look a lot like Skip 😂😂

As much as I want to feel bad for the lakers I cant because they did this to themselves they shouldn't have traded all them players to begin with Bron could have built with those players and once AD became a free agent then they would have been in a better situation they in now, watch people say they won a ring but thats a bubble ring and now look at them as a long time Lakers supporter I don t feel sorry for them.

Mad dog with the realist take I’ve heard in a while

Lmaooo. Lebron statue in Miami will never happen

Good points, Mad Dog!

I love how Mad Dog slowly turns into Seinfeld's dad in every debate with SAS

He made a mistake in getting management to change the roster. They would have been fine if they built on what they had the previous season instead of bringing in a bunch of older, injury-prone, broken down guys who don't play defense.

Nice seeing Skip back on ESPN

Lebron does not deserve to get his jersey hung up for the lakers

Gonna have to make mad dog a regular lol first time i could listen to Stephen A in a long tome

It's hard to call it a mistake when he won a chip. Besides all the other reasons (business, family, etc.) for being in LA.

Mad Dogggg!!! I loved him on mike and Mad dog years ago when he used to troll us Mets fans daily

Funny that folks should recognize Mad Dog started sports radio with 'Mike and the Mad Dog'. He's not "skip prt 2" lol.

Ayoooo Mad Dog legit! Love his energy!!

All I know is this: it's so much more meaningful for your jersey to be associated and retired with one franchise (in Bryant's case, TWO jerseys) than be some mercenary-like prima donna who had the influence to stack your team in three arenas and still lose more Finals than won. Plain and simple, no way around it.

wow the ending on this clip lol

The bubble "championship" should definitely have a few ***********. Most of the key players on each team were sitting out due to "Covid Clearance Protocols." 🤔