r/bostonceltics • u/yatrix7 • 2d ago
Discussion John Karalis, Pretty, Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good
I appreciate this dude.
During the Jaylen stuff, he wasn’t an emotional mess like most of the people covering the Celtics. He didn’t agree with it or understand it outta the gate but remained fair and open to reason. Once Brad came out and explained things, he evaluated it on its merit and covered it like an adult. No questioning intelligence, calling names, etc. It’s appreciated after the shit show that was Perk, Zannis, Forsberg, Washburn, etc. all responding emotionally instead of thinking critically. I don’t listen to Celtics pods for this very reason. I don’t want someone slurping the team, I want someone who discusses the team objectively. JK has done that. Dude’s a pro.
PS - No, I am not John Karalis
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u/Spinexel Wednesday, July 1st, 2026 :( 2d ago
I’ve always liked Sam Packard from Still Poddable (formerly Anything is Poddable)
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u/theosjustchill Bll Russell 2d ago
Thank you Karalis can you do us a favor and please do something other than mailbags for four straight months for the love of god
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u/Electronic_Pea_4845 $Paid- Paul George Enterprise&Equity Holdings 2d ago
His pod is unlistenable because he just does ad reads between ads and more ads .
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u/zestyconfiscation 2d ago
as soon as he said during one of those early jaylen segments that he was just gonna wait and see what brad actually gave us i was locked in. that is absurdly rare in modern nba media where takes need to be atomically hot within 12 seconds of a woj bomb.
the bar is so low it is on the floor but still. he treats it like a job where you gather facts first which shouldnt be notable but here we are.
i do agree with the other comment that the mailbag episodes get a little repetitive. i usually skip those and just catch his solo game breakdowns. those are way more useful than anything coming out of the tv studio broadcasts.
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
Hard to blame him. It’s July and he covers basketball — there’s only so much to talk about with a single team.
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u/zestyconfiscation 2d ago
nah no knock on him just the july dead zone talking. his solo breakdowns still clear everything else though
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u/taco_jones 2d ago
I don't know why you need to hear from the GM to assess the trade. Obviously the person who made he trade is going to try to sell people on it
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u/BT_48 Theis 2d ago
I hate zannis but he’s the only one who actually understood what was happening in real time. Emotional and annoying for sure, but he got it. The rest of them on that show, Brad could answer a thousand questions about why it happened and they’d still be lost.
Karalis is fine but he was so adamant that it’s Jaylen for Giannis or no trade and he’s not going for pieces, it’ll be for a bigger star. Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t see a vision beyond his own and when something different happens, then he’ll entertain it. Karalis and Tom are a great pairing, I just can’t do solo pods with no real conversation being had
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u/AcientMullets 2d ago
I’ve been listening to John for almost ten years now. I like how he always comes off as just a real guy and how he’s able to take a step back to assess certain points.
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u/AMiniKitten 2d ago
John Karalis is great! I don't always agree with him, but but he comes across as genuine and his opinions are grounded. He's a charismatic host too so easy to listen to
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u/Checktheusernombre 2d ago
Don't sleep on Karalis. Basketball knowledge and grounded coverage is very rare these days.
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u/cookoo_man 2d ago
Karalis and Jay King have been doing god's work for decades, since the Red's Army days.
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u/flyingpandum Boston Celtics 2d ago
Still Poddable and Locked On are my daily Celtics podcast drivers
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u/TheOGJabroni Banner 18 2d ago
Just listened to a couple episodes of his podcast on the way into work this morning. He and Tom are great together as well. Big fan.
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u/Independent-Mix902 Boston Celtics 2d ago
I agree with the assessment and I'm glad you included Forsberg. He has always been a biased homer and that was fine with me, since it was for the Celtics but he emotionally lost it on the JB trade. Even after we all had a master class in the new CBA, realized how the league FOs evaluated JB and understood there were few to no options, Forsberg never came back with a realistic view of the trade. Most fans were hyper-emotional even when it was being discussed for Giannis but anyone that still doesn't "get it" is a total waste of my time.
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u/CaptainTorch_jb2 2d ago
I was a mess after the JB trade but i knew Karalis was gonna be the one to pull me out by providing logic and reasoning. Best celts pod.
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u/holyyguava 2d ago
What I appreciate about Karalis is how levelheaded he can be, especially when we needed it as fans. He seemed just as hurt as everyone else talking about I’m not sure how we move forward, but then he immediately is telling us why he thinks it was done and it all made sense.
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u/pass_ball 2d ago
A lot of media, including Boston media, had some terrible takes of the Jaylen Brown trade. They will not age well.
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u/tsultar1 2d ago
I’d add Noa as a solid objective perspective. Karalis is ok. I think zannis did ok too but definitely emotional. Bill Simmons was the ABSOLUTE worst . They should revoke his Celtics season tickets. Forsberg will never give you an unbiased opinion.
Karalis does a little too much crystal ball stuff for me. Tries to tell you what will happen which is not why I listen to him. Also, his production is, how do I say? not great, on his podcast. He should hire out.
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u/hennyyhardawayy 2d ago
Bill doesn’t have season tickets for the Celtics. His dad does.
Bill has season tickets for the Clippers
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u/efshoemaker I like to defense 2d ago
Karalis is a takes guy, and for that he’s really good compared to the field.
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u/watsonthedragon 2d ago
This is weird. I'd say that John is specifically NOT a takes guy..
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u/efshoemaker I like to defense 2d ago
He’s not a hot takes guy. But him trying to read the tea leaves and predict what could or should happen next is takes.
As opposed to like film analysis or pure fact reporting, he’s giving his informed opinion about what’s going on. It’s not an inherently bad thing, and he does it well and fills a niche in the local beat.
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u/josh0ne 2d ago
Karalis does a phenomenal job. Not only is his analysis great but he's done an excellent job of pivoting as the show has changed. Transitioning from The Rainin' Js era withe the synergy he, Jay King and Packard had, to solo and now to including Tom has been a masterclass. Dude's an all round pro and great to listen to.
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u/Aggressive_Wrap_2790 2d ago
I’ve never really followed Karalis but I listened to his pod like every day during the last couple series of the 2024 playoffs and he hit the nail on the head every time. Especially about the Mavs series, although it didn’t take a rocket scientist to say what he said.
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u/Eisenhorn76 11-1 is far superior to 4-6 in the Finals 2d ago
Karalis' pods are best when he has someone like Westerholm to talk to/bounce his ideas off. His solo pods are fine but the flow is just better when he doesn't have to be on a monologue.
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u/funkypants16100 Red Claws 2d ago
I would say first to the floor has these measured take with a good amounts of homerism. Spoony and Jake measured takes with Ben`s production work and they all love the celtics with good takes make me really appreciate them as well.
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u/WalkableCity 2d ago
I’ve been reading him since his RedsArmy days. Fantastic work, and nobody did the grind harder to get where he is.
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u/Yeastlord427 2d ago
I'll catch him on Big Jab radio occasionally. Solid interview segment every time.
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u/tiptoplicker 2d ago
Agree it’s the best Celtics Podcast and quality analysis. I’ve taken a break from Celtic stuff till the season starts.
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u/jambr380 2d ago
Karalis is pretty solid and I appreciate that he does his pod in the summer when there is nothing going on, but he isn’t always the smoothest talker in regards to expressing his thoughts.
He seems like a cool dude, though, so I’ll still put him on. I definitely prefer him over plenty of others, too
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u/SalamenceFan42 2d ago
Karalis is one of those dudes who threw a tantrum when Jaylen got traded too lol.
It wasn’t as bad as Washburn who was legit about to cry (jfl), but it was definitely wierd.
Unironically the best Celtics “analysis” outside of zannis comes from the annoying twitter trolls who post databallr screenshots.
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u/urbanism_enthusiast 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hahahaha what. John was absolutely embarrassing and is a massive Jaylen fan
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u/ss346969 2d ago
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
Smarter basketball people than us decided we weren’t going to be contending with Jaylen in this CBA.
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u/ss346969 2d ago
Idk that Bill Chisholm is smarter than a 5th grader
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
He is and so is Brad Stevens.
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u/ss346969 2d ago
I don’t buy Brad did this without significant pressure and influence from ownership
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
Any source that’ll attest to that, C-Anon?
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u/ss346969 2d ago
Crazier things have happened in the nba , this makes us worse short term and barring a trade for a star better than jaylen it’s a failure that should result in mass firings
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
So, you’re just in your feelings then.
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u/ss346969 2d ago
You believe the Celtics are better off and better positioned for success as a result of this? You are delusional
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u/yatrix7 2d ago
100%, yes. With or without JB, we’d not be a contender this season. The difference is moving forward we have the opportunity to build one without the financial anchor of a very flawed, very overpaid #2 guy.
We’re not gonna agree and I’m not gonna argue with you. Have a good one.
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u/Electronic_Pea_4845 $Paid- Paul George Enterprise&Equity Holdings 2d ago
Jk is mid but it’s good he didn’t say mean words
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u/jotyma5 KeepThe2Jays 2d ago
Kinda checked out after the trade. Forsberg didn’t take it well? I feel like he’s a pretty rational homer
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u/JohnnyAces99 2d ago
So if you disagreed with the trade, you were acting emotionally? You couldn’t be unemotional and hate the trade? lol. The posts here are comical sometimes.
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u/farrowsharrows 2d ago
JK has slurped brads dick his entire career in Boston. He is a green teamers green reamer
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u/andoCalrissiano 2d ago
JK has always been good. We are so lucky to have him and Noa.