Matt Barnes losing his NBA analyst job with NBC after an altercation with a high school student is just an example of how meticulous networks can be about their policies. And he is someone who has experienced the freedom of being an outgoing NBA star, likely unable to thrive under restrictions. So no wonder he started his own thing in 2019 with All The Smoke podcast.

It turns out one of the major reasons to go ahead with the big step alongside Stephen Jackson was this very sense of freedom. During his recent appearance on CBS Mornings, the 2017 NBA champ was asked about the inception of his show. Being completely honest, he revealed he never thought he’d enter the media landscape.

However, positive feedback for both Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for their stints with ESPN and FOX respectively sparked a new urge in them. “We were at my place at the Bay just talking about you know what could we together, what’s next. And I threw the podcast ideas and although neither of us really knew what it really was. There was a little bit more freedom than other two networks that we mentioned and he (Jack) trusted me with the vision and I went out and made it happen,” Barnes revealed.

When Barnes says freedom, he literally means it. If you’ll hear an extended version of this origin story, you’d realize what it actually means. Every other detail of the story goes quite the same way as Barnes told it in a Forbes article. Just the story ends with Jack asking Barnes what exactly a podcast is. “I told him, ‘I don’t really know. But I think it’s more lax and you might be able to have a drink.’ He kind of started laughing and said, “Hey I’m in,'” Barnes recalled.

That’s freedom in the literal sense, apart from the obvious freedom of speech. And not to forget the flexibility that the format of podcast offers as compared to a media house. Seemingly, it was probably this sense of freedom that let Matt Barnes even risk his ESPN job to support Rachel Nicol when the ESPN fired her. As per the reports and from what Barnes has time and again said, he had a close bond with Nichols.

The reason being that she helped the former NBA star transition into the media landscape. However, in 2020, a lot of followers of ESPN were left surprised when the network released Nichols. “I had a lot of love for Rachel… If Rachel telling her truth on my show was going to cost me my job, I would have taken that,” the ex-NBA star once stated on his podcast.

Fortunately, the worst that the 2017 NBA champ expected didn’t actually happen. But the network later anyway parted ways with the former Lakers star. And Barnes would most likely not complain about it, considering the success he has had with his podcast.

How has Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s podcast grown over the years?

Barnes detailed on one of his podcast episodes that once he made up his mind to start the podcast, he met Showtime Sports digital programming executive Brian Dailey. The meeting was facilitated by Eric Newman—the producer of The Resurgence: DeMarcus Cousins documentary. The pieces quickly fell into place, and before they knew it, All The Smoke was born.

Barnes himself couldn’t believe how fast it all came together. “They took a big chance on us, and we were able to create something special,” he said in one of his episodes. And it was special! Their first season even grabbed them the Sports Podcast of the Year.

The 2017 NBA champ kind of considers his shows among the OGs of podcast game since back then there was no other podcast other than Knuckleheads, as stated by him. At present, All The Smoke has close to 2 million followers combined from YouTube and Instagram. Freedom and success—what better could Matt Barnes have expected from the media landscape?

Stay tuned for more updates. Join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host, BG12, sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.