Club 520 Podcast - Club 520 - DeMar DeRozan on Kobe Bryant relationship, losing to LeBron, getting traded for Kawhi

Episode Date: August 26, 2024

We’re back with Season 2, Episode 95 of Club 520 where Jeff Teague and the guys are joined by DeMar DeRozan, discussing everything that’s gone on in DeMar’s Hall of Fame career so far. The guys discuss playing at USC, getting drafted by the Toronto Raptors, having Kobe Bryant as his role model, playing LeBron James in the NBA Playoff, getting traded for Kawhi Leonard, being a staple in the Drew League Pro-Am, and much more that you won’t want to miss! #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. The Volume. All right, we back. Another episode of Club 520 Podcast. I'm the host. My name is DJ Wells. Special guest in the building to my left. We're going to introduce my man's last.

But to my far left, we got my dog, Bishop B. Henn out the prayer leaves. How you doing, Nasty? Cool, Nasty. Let's get to it. Another one. I already know it's about to be episode. My boy got the towel on.

Yeah, it's getting a little hot. God damn it. Look at it, motherfucker. That liquor in me. It's a little spicy. Hey, my little, you got the all whites on. I know you watch the show. My man's knowing me.

Keep the all black forces with the white laces. Y'all rock them out in Cali, man. With the white laces? All black with the white laces. That's nasty. I'm going to takei, man. With the white laces? All-black with the white laces. Nasty. I'm going to take care of you, bro. All-black forces with white laces. You just had a good game, too, at the Westland.

I should have sent him in. Yeah, you should have. For the Drew? Yeah, for the Drew. Yo, that's wild. He probably won the check, bro. Yeah, you got on the perfect outfit. That's one of my typical outfits.

They get right there. That is. That's the uniform. That is the uniform. Low key. That is the uniform. I got you. know what the 14 13 13 oh that's easy that's light it's on the way on the way we'll get the addy after this po for sure to my right my dog young nacho young t how you doing man i'm chilling bro i'm so excited we got an old non-draftee in here you know we got drafts At the same time

I don't know how He's still playing I'm hating But don't worry about it I'm so proud of you though man We go way back So I'm geeked To have

Be a part of this episode For sure For sure man Legend in the building One of the coldest To touch a basketball Professional scorer Six time all star

Future hall of famer We got the man DeMar DeRozan in the building Appreciate you sliding On this big dog Man appreciate it. I ain't gonna lie. I've been,

even my partner will tell you, like, all the homies be like, man, you gotta go on, you gotta go on the show. You gotta go on the show. You know,

so I'm, I'm hyped to be on here, man. To me, I call this like the, the hoops drink chance. You know what I mean? For sure.

I like this. I always check it out. We always be laughing, sending, sending everything to the group chat. So, I'm hyped to be on it for sure. Oh man, glad to have you, man.

Crazy order story. And Mike put it in the chat. We got to start there. Be here with the throwback. Man, they're filthy. When Pete Miller found him, when Percy found him in Compton, baby.

Man, where did he find you? I know you were Trish baby but damn he put you right on the TV show right away bro nah how was that though bro how'd that even come about man

bro it was it was the most random moment ever because um at the time I was playing an AAU team. So everybody who was with the P-Miller Ballers, we was on another AAU team before that. Okay. And that was like our last year.

I think we had just won like nationals and was breaking up sponsorship and everything. So we was all just trying to figure out what we was going to do next. And all of a sudden, you know, we got word, like, Master P wanted to have an AU team. You know, he was going to have tryouts at this high school show up. So, in my mind, I'm thinking, like, all right, this is just his team. He's not actually going to be there. You know what I mean? So, we all show up to the high school.

P walk in. Then Romeo walk in with him. Like, all right, we got to practice three-man weave, four-man weave, five-man weave, and we hoop. So we doing that. So we just thinking it's going to be a moment, just that. So he was like, you know, all right, same time next week. So it became a consistent thing.

Like, oh, damn, we about to play for P. Oh, shit, he coaching too? Like, you know, we about to rock out. And all of a sudden, before we started playing, he always too? Like, you know, we about to rock out and all of a sudden before we start playing, he always used to invite us to the house. So we used to go to his house, practice in the backyard, lift and weights at his house in the gym. Just crazy

shit that nobody ever, especially for me at the time, like I'm 14 coming from like Compton. We going to the house. He got a tennis court, pool, weight room, got everything you need. Then at the same time, we watching them record, make albums. At the time, Rome doing the Romeo show.

So it was like, it was a trip at that time knowing like, we about to play for this team and he about to be our coach. Was any other top dogs on your team with you? Yeah, Brandon was on that team. We had a kid named… B. Jennings? Yeah, B. Jennings Was on that team Okay

We had Remember Baby Shaq Back in the day Hell yeah He played on our On our team So we had a lot of talent Okay

We had a lot of guys And you know We just rocked out After that Nah that's hard bro I had to That shit was funny as fuck Like seeing you down

Bro that was Like It was a trip bro Trust me. We had our own bus going to games. Nah, that's hard. That's fine. We was, like, on some, like, A and 1 type shit.

Nah, thanks, bro. We pulling up the whole gym, waiting. Like, it was... You was in the spotlight early, bro. Early, bro. For real. Which was crazy, because I met him at ABCD camp. He probably don't even remember.

I was just a young star budding. Don't even worry about it. I was just trying to make my way. I ain't had no scholarship offer, so I'm trying to do anything I can do to get a scholarship. Me and him on the same team at ABCD camp. I'm gunning. I'm going to be a senior.

I'm trying to get some offers. You're younger. I'm having a moment. I'm playing good. I'm shining. I'm doing my thing. I get a couple offers after the first day like yeah well i got like 40 but this is cool whatever so i'm having a good day the next day p tapped me on the shoulder it's master p i'm thinking he about to be like yeah you nice so you know i'm like he like hey my man that kid right there can play give him

a chance. Play with him. He tell me a play to do. He like drive to the middle, throw it up. He going to go get it. I swear to God, I did that. I threw it up. When we dunked it, I ain't get the ball no more.

Coach wrote every play. I swear, everything I love. Wrote every play for bro. He was killing. I'm like, damn, who is this dude? It ain't like he play He was killing. I'm like, damn, who is this dude? And they're like, he play for Pete Miller. I'm like, damn, I don't know nothing. I'm like, but damn, he cool with Master P.

I'm hating it. I'm singing Ice Cream Man shit. I'm hating it. But that's what I knew. I seen him right there. Then to see him when we get drafted, I'm like, yeah, it's different. Did you play in the Pete Millers? Yeah. I played him. You know what. I'm like, ah, yeah, it's different. Did you play in the Pete Millers? Yeah.

I ain't gonna lie. I played him. You know what's crazy? Foot fucked up now. Listen, it was a time I was playing in him so much, right? And I don't think I ever talked about this. Romeo was trying to go to high school with me at Compton High, right? We was trying to figure out.

I've never told this story, bro. I'm glad it's here. So, Rome was trying to figure out how to've never told this story, bro. I'm glad it's here. So, Roan was trying to figure out how to go to school with me at Compton High. So, we end up saying, like, we're going to get the whole team, P. Millers. We made them all blue. Everybody had blue P. Millers. So, Roan was, like, you know, really trying to figure out how he could go to Compton High. So, we meeting with the school.

They was like, man, he'll just show up at games. He'll get to work once a week, do the work, all that. So we end up having, like, a practice. Like, he came to my high school, had a practice. I'm talking about every gang member outside of the gym, everything. We go hoop. As soon as we come out the gym, the principal was like, yeah, he not going to be able to come here.

It was like he was really trying to able to come here like he was really trying to go to high school with me you know what I mean like we was really like about to sponsor the school to wear P. Miller's and everything

but it ended up not working out and everything but that was a crazy it was a crazy time cause especially at that time like you talking

about Lil Romeo going to Compton High that shit don't even sound right yeah it would have been too much yeah he was probably going to go to the

beach somewhere that's crazy was he really like that though in hooping yeah he could hoop he could hoop Yeah, that would have been too much. He was probably going to go on the beach somewhere. That's crazy. Was he really like that, though, in hooping? Yeah, he could hoop. He could hoop for real. Like, he definitely, you know, could hoop. You know what I mean?

He definitely surprised if it was something he used to stick with. You know, it all come down to size at the end of the day. Nah, that's right. His little brother nice, though. Yeah, he the one. He the one. Yeah, Mercy, he going to be the one. He going to Houston next His little brother nice though Yeah yeah He the one He the one Yeah Mercy Mercy he gonna be the one He going to Houston

Next year but He definitely gonna be the one Yeah yeah he the hoot And what's so crazy Is people forget like P made it to the G League Type shit Yeah

And the crazy But he used to hoot with us Every day Like he would come in Hoot Play for real Damn near about to fight you Everything

Like he playing like Bully ball Shooting threes like he he he used to hook with us all the time oh that's tight bro damn that's fire that's a cold moment that you got to embrace early bro especially like the pic they got yeah yeah well they got do rags and that's a firehouse album cover look like social boy listen but that was that was at a video shoot bro that's even harder you know what I mean we used to

I ain't gonna lie listen no bullshit I used to miss school to go to a video shoot whoever had a video if he had a video I would miss school

oh that's even that's the hardest and be at the video shoot all day cause we heard you this is just a sidebar we heard you rap yeah shout out to Dane

Dane played that shit nah he just told us. He told us some origin. He said, you definitely got bars. That's all he was going to say. So it might have started from there. So it's all you.

Bet, bet. But show, man. But like, crazy basketball origin, man. Going crazy in high school. Was it a no-brainer you was going to USC, man? Yeah, because I didn't want to leave home. It was crazy. I took a visit.

I took a couple visits. I went to North Carolina, Florida State, Cal, and somewhere else. I took, like, unofficials. But when I went to Florida State at this time, that's when all the hurricanes and shit was going on. So I'm out there. I'm like, man, ain't no way in hell I'm leaving home. I can't. You know what I mean?

If this shit happened, I'm terrified. So once I seen that happen, I was like, man, I'm staying home regardless. Then I started looking at it on some real shit. I started looking at it like, man, if I go to the NBA, it's a good chance I'm not going to play home. So let me enjoy playing home one last time. And shit, I do that and get my ass sent to Canada. You know what I mean? I didn't think I'd go that far, but I wanted to stay home for the most part

just for the simple fact that I wanted to be home one last time. For sure. I mean, you went to USC. It was crazy. You almost went to USC. I did. Did you? I never knew that.

The year before, O.J. Mayo went. And when I went on my visit, O.J. happened to And when I went on my visit O.J. happened to be there They forgot I was on the visit So Yeah You know how that goes It was just like Oh yeah T come on

We can get you too My pops was like Yeah that ain't the place for you But nah It was fun I ain't gonna lie Keep it real It was a beautiful scenery

It's a nice The U.S. season It's a nice campus Did they have it set up for you when you went yeah but i i wasn't tripping on nothing because i was home yeah you know i mean like i didn't even trip on whatever it was you could show me because at the end of the day i was home i was in my comfort already so i wasn't even tripping on what you could show me i'm looking at it like let me do this six seven months and i Oh, okay. So you already had a projection in your mind. Yeah, I was out. I was gone before I started.

You still, yeah. That's hard. Yeah. Respectfully, you was like the number three player in the country. Yeah, so I was like. Yeah, you was on that list. Yeah, I was gone. Who was you battling with in high school?

Because I was a year older, so I'm not even sure who was battling. Yeah, so our class was crazy because we had Tyreek. Okay. Tyreek was the man. Brandon was. Okay. Tyreek was the man. Brandon was the man. Drew Holiday was the man. So we had a solid class of, like, from that wing position of dudes that was dogs. You know what I mean?

That's three. That's in Cali right there. Right there. Right there. You know what I mean? So just in our state alone, like, it was a lot going on just from that competitive standpoint. So, I mean, we had plenty of other dudes like Scotty Hobson. Oh, yeah, I know.

Tennessee. Tennessee. Yeah, yeah. We had a lot of dudes, man, that had a chance that, you know, either injuries or whatever it may be. But at the time, high school, it was a dogfight. Yeah, I thought Scotty was going to the league. Yeah, me too. Me too, bro. Hold on, Scotty., it was a dogfight. Yeah, I thought Scottie was going to the league. Yeah, me too. Me too, bro. Hold on, Scottie.

Oh, damn. Shout out to Scottie. And for us, we always big up Indiana, especially Naptown Hoops because we had a lot of kills at the time. But, like, we look at it now, you talk about them areas. Y'all had the real ones. That 06, 07, 08 class, nothing but all pros. Yeah, think about the year before was James Harden.

It was like, Russell, Russ. Like we, we had like some, some, some dogs. We had a couple of years

where it was like, it was, it was, you look at it, it's come on, you can't deny it. Like out of California, even just Southern California

at the time, it was crazy. Did you ever come across them though? Like in high school? Yeah. I played against, I played against Drew.

I've been playing against Drew ever since I was 11, 12 years old. He was he was the first he he was the first person i ever played with i how i learned the word amber dexterous i learned it from drew holiday because somebody was like man he he amber he could use both hands like how he played now is how he played when he was 11 years old damn smart craftyy, defensive. Like, defensively, all over the floor, he was the same exact way. He cold. That's crazy, bro.

He cold. Cold. So it's like all those guys played against him since we was 11, 12 years old for sure. Man, he cold. Clay. Clay. Oh, yeah.

Clay was out there. Clay was my high school class, 08. Oh, yeah, he was. So, you know, we had some dogs. Yeah, facts. For sure. Did your thing one year at USC. How was it playing in college?

I mean, you know what I'm saying? I know it's a little bit of a different pace, especially from high school and AAU. How was that playing in college? And how was it playing at the crib in college? I ain't going to lie. My first two months of college, I struggled because it was like, you know, you go from being a star, being able to being able to do whatever you want however you want whenever you want to where it's like now you gotta you gotta learn this structure of of discipline from another level of you know coach telling you to you know run an offense for 25 seconds before somebody shoot you know I mean

like so it was a struggle my first two months. But after that, once I got it and started clicking for me, it was, it was, it was simple. It was easy. Started killing. It was cool. Just had a family there.

You know, shit, I would, I would play in a game and 20 minutes after a game, I'm right back in Compton. Like, you know what I mean?

Like, it was, it was, it was that every day for me. And you play with my dog, Taj. Taj. Taj.

Taj. Taj, my dog, man. Taj really like. Taj, my dog, man. Taj really, like, he helped me through that whole, even before we played a game, I remember Taj

came to my dorm room and just, you know, embraced me. You know what I mean? That's the OG, man. That's a real one. My dog. He a real one, for sure.

Facts. He told us you was a dog. He was like, man, I had OJ the year before. Then I had DeMar came. He was like, man, I had OJ the year before. Then I had DeMar came. He was like, man, I just played with some dogs, bro. And I'm like, yeah, for sure you did. Ty's my dog, man.

That's a good dude, man, for real. For sure. Man, I got to ask you a question on how true this is. You played a part in USC getting their own P.E. Cobies? Yes. Yes. And it more so came from the relationship i had with cobe i think you know when i was like 15 16 you you remember when they used to have like

steve nash camp yep for sure obi camp paul pierce camp yeah amari i think it was amari amari had a camp yeah so it just started from you know my relationship with cobe i think it's a picture that that started going around i was at cob. Colb was talking to me. I was sitting, like, front row. Clay was in the picture. We was, like, 15, 16 years old. And, you know, ever since then, like, me and Colb had just, like, a bond. One, me being from L.A. and the connection kind of just grew from there. Me wearing the shoes.

And, you know, I think when the Colby Ones came out, he gave me a pair. That's hard to stop. Then I started just rocking them from there, like Kobe tools. Then you can go back to, you know, Google me in high school, my senior year. I was the first ones with the Nike ID Kobe's. Damn. Every colorway. It was to a point, like, all through high school, people would tell you, like,

I had so many Kobe's after every game I would throw them in the crowd uh he clowned you know so it was like it was out of pocket you out of pocket in high school that's fire it's hard as fuck i'm like you know this way so it was like you know it started from there then you know when he got the sc at the time i think the kobe fords was it was the kobe fords was out and You know Just ran Ran away with it From there But you don't tie your shoes though Never have Like how you

That's why I know He a trench baby Listen He hoop Without his shoes tied bro He tie his Fords shoes That's how I play Just like this

That's how I play My shoes Woo What's the thing But the thing But the thing You know why though Why Like I plan a new shoe Every game Okay So you know why though? Why?

Like I plan a new shoot every game. Okay. So you know how like most guys got to break their shoe and everything. So I like the tight fit. So I got to put on a new shoot every game. That's crazy. So I don't need the time. And it all started.

I'll never forget. I got some Jordan 9s when I was like 11 years old. I had some Jordan 9s. I never told this story either. Had some Jordan 9s, and I got them for like Christmas and some shit. So I wanted to wear them in a game. So my mom and dad was like, man, these are your school shoes. This is for school.

I'm like, nah, I want to look clean in a game. So it's like, all right, you mess them up, that's on you. So I never wanted to tie my shoe to put a crease in them. Never. So I was like, man, I'm just playing these motherfuckers

like I'm just walking around. So it started from that moment of me never tying my shoe. I was like 11 years old because I didn't want to fuck up my Jordan 9. Nah, he just hooped with it.

Imagine a motherfucker giving you 35, 40, and he ain't tying his shoe. Bro, with elite footwork. That's the crazy part. You got some of the best feats in basketball history and your shoes ain't tied his shoes Bro with elite footwork That's the crazy part You got some of the best

Feats in basketball history And your shoes ain't tied That's crazy It's so crazy Because it's It's been so many games I'll be in a corner In front of the

Visitor bench You will You will hear niggas say This nigga's shoes ain't tied Like you will hear Like I was niggas I said he disrespectful

As fuck All the time bro I'm about to I'll never forget In San Antonio Yeah You was in San Antonio This is when I first noticed it

Like you probably been Like you said You been doing it forever But I first noticed it Cause I was like I'm gonna ask tomorrow For his jersey I was like super proud

If I might ask Some nigga for their jersey But I was like Man he old now I'm a fan I'm gonna ask for his jersey And I look down I'm gonna ask for some Kobe's too.

I said, this nigga ain't got his shoe tied. I said, oh, man, he not about to play tonight. This nigga proceeds to get like 35. He never laced his shirt. I said, man, I told the people on the bench, I'm like, wig. You know he just gave you 35. He ain't tied his shoes. And he durable, though. He always't tie his shoes And he durable though

Yeah he always play Yeah you always play You tie your shoes Like you do construction And still Angles ain't worth a quarter Oh no what Look at me

I tie my shoes All the way up My shit was tied To the brim Your license was Flopping down on the ground I play Knee surgery right now That's crazy. I was doing this shit all wrong, bro.

Man, that's the trick. Don't lace your shoes. Don't lace your shoes, man. It ain't for everybody. I be seeing some niggas hurt their ankle and they tie their shoe up all tight. Like, I never. Yeah. Them niggas lame, D.R.

Don't worry about it. Can't relate. But that's crazy. Like you said, man, you kill USC, then you get drafted, and then you go to Canada. Like, you didn't want to go to Florida because that was too far. You go to a whole nother country. Yeah. I think I needed it, though, because I was so stuck on being home and scared to leave home that I needed that to kind of give me an element of, you know, a lot of my ways I follow now is from me going to Canada my first year being by myself.

Nobody able to come. None of my cousins. Nobody had a passport. Nobody even knew what a fucking passport was like. I didn't get a passport until two days before I got drafted like so let alone my family got one so i'm up there just by myself and all i could do was just focus on who you know i mean like i didn't have no distractions i didn't have to worry about people in and out so it was it was it was beneficial for me it was and i had great vets too at the time you know i mean like mean? Like, Jared Jack helped me out a lot. Okay, Jack.

That was my road dog. Like, he was the first person to introduce me to a lot of ways on how to dress wintertime with the E, you know what I mean? All that, you know? So it gave me a chance just to lock in. So I was definitely grateful for that because, you know, if I went anywhere else, who knows what would have happened. Facts.

Damn, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, your first winter, boy, it was different. Oh, no, it was different because winter hit. I just remember getting off the plane one time. It's snowing. I got chucks on. Ah, he out of park. You know what I mean?

By the time I get in the car, my whole ankle froze. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, I didn't know what to wear, how to wear, when to wear. You know what i mean like i'm like i didn't know what to wear how to wear when to wear you know what i mean like so um everything was like a new learning experience for me that i needed you know what i mean you got to play one of the gods yeah cal larry yeah that was a couple years later yeah yeah that's cal like i talked to cal every fucking day all day he called me early Cal When Cal came To Toronto It was interesting

Because I didn't I didn't have a relationship With him at all Like We played for a whole year together And I never even Said a word to him Damn

We didn't talk Damn he worse than me and Pete Damn you Jeff T Yeah I remember you It was like Literally No word

I'm talking about coming to practice. It wasn't no like, dap up, wasn't none of that shit. Like, it wasn't, it wasn't nothing.

Like, he was the type that I was still stuck in the mindset of having like, a confident mentality. Like, man,

who is this nigga? Like, what are you, he, you know, he Philly. You know what I mean? He coming in with

his aggressive manner doing whatever it is he doing, getting on. Like, man, he too good for niggas? Like, I ain't talking to him. But one thing, like, I noticed over time was, like, he really put in the work and cared about, you know, the craft. You know what I mean? It was, like, no fun and games with him. It was all strictly business.

And, like, that next year, I respected that more than anything. It made me want to be, like, closer to him. You know what I mean? Because he'll ride and die for you on that court. Yeah, I'm glad. You know, that's how the respect came. And, shit, next thing you know, like, that became my road dog. Like, you know what I mean?

To where, like, we had shit to a T in the game to where, like, he would know, like, I come like i come out beginning game i'm like yo i'm going for a first quarter i'm getting to it he's like i bet i get the second half like we we played off each other so much like that because we was you know from the friendship and understanding like we just wanted to win that bad and what's so crazy is like y'all historically like built a franchise up there like you know you have vincent team make up there but which i did in the raptors jerseys up there, it's starting to test the time.

Yeah, for sure. And that's one thing I definitely, like, you know, hold my hat to because it's like, you know, we, you know, when I first got there, nobody gave a shit about it. About it. You know what I mean? People would come to Toronto knowing they was getting a win. Like, that was automatic.

I'd like to have a time every time. Like, every time. Like, it was a thing. Like time like every time like it was a thing like bro like it was it was it was it was a thing like i remember we used to play either saturday or sundays we used to have early games on the weekend like a 12 o'clock 12 30 game and we were so bad we used to be like man we could get whoever we planned because we know they went out the night before damn you know i mean that's how, that's where we had to start from and fight our way out of that. So, you know,

I definitely pride myself on just, you know, changing and shifting the culture to have like a, you know, winning mentality there for sure. Yeah, y'all start smacking shit, boy. Yeah.

I remember that group. I used to want to be on that, y'all team so bad. It was you, Amir. Y'all had like this cool ass team. Like y'all team so bad it was you amir uh y'all had like this cool ass team like y'all was fresh as fuck y'all was i remember one game y'all had on jordan sixes i'm like shit i won't play on this team they look like they young we smacked y'all we beat the hell out of them but i was like they look cool i'm like they like they having a good time was like, damn, I want to play on this team.

And then to see y'all go from that to all of a sudden, like, oh, shit, we about to go to Toronto. We got to play this nigga. Kyle Lowry about to be taking charges. We got to send a double for Deebo, bro. You know, he get to this mid-range. He's about to get crazy. And so to see y'all take it from there to, like, I'm having fun looking at y'all. Like, y'all had fun.

They real contenders. It's crazy. For sure. What year did the city really get lit, though? So, where, you know, Drake and everybody pulling up to the games. I mean, Drake will always come. But he was, you got to think about early on, that's when he just started to blow up, too. You know what I mean?

So, I think when it really started taking off was that first year we went to the playoffs. We played Brooklyn. I think that was like 2013, 2014. We ended up starting having the Jurassic Park outside. That was hard. All the fans standing outside. We just started like, you know, they started this whole rebranding outside in. And we just took care of everything on the floor um

so i want to say around 13 14 when it really really took off and you could tell like they had that one like the logo on the floor that was like 3d yeah i had the camo jerseys and shit like y'all was getting aggy really they really started to change and rebrand everything you know i mean team wise and brand wise and you know we kind of took off with it. And, you know, obviously, like, when Drake got behind it and, you know, everything kind of just fell in line, honestly, you know, with the winning. You know, winning always saw everything. But, you know, I think we just started to gain everybody's respect because at that time when we played Brooklyn in playoffs,

that's when they had Joe Johnson, Paul, KG, Darren Williams. Like, they had a squad. Wow, sir. We took them to seven games. That was my first playoff series in most of the team. Like, we was young. So, to take them to seven and lose by, shit, one point. Yeah.

You know, that gave us the swagger we needed. For sure. That was some good years, boy. I ain't going to lie. That was tough to play, bro. Y'all was cold. Man, it was so crazy

because that next year, that's when them niggas was nice. I think we was the only ones beating y'all. Yeah, y'all would beat us. I remember getting to the playoffs.

I remember because that next year, I'll never forget. Them niggas was nice and I think we would beat them at least three out of four times. So I remember going to the playoffs.

We played the Wizards. And we was like, we're going to beat the Wizards. We want to play Atlanta because we match up well with them. We beat them, blah, blah, blah. But we ended up getting swept by the Wizards. That's when y'all played them. But yeah, we was like, them niggas was nice, but we knew we could beat them.

Like that was our mindset. Before we played a playoff game, we was like, all right, we got the Wizards first. Let's line up so we can play Atlanta second round. We get into the conference finals. I remember I had made a defense for y'all. I was like, we going to trap him on everything. We going to make, we knew Kyle could shoot.

We knew Kyle could score. But we was like like T-Ross The rest of them They gonna have to Fucking hoop Yeah But we already knew We was gonna beat

Whoever we was playing The first round I don't even know Who we played In fact we played Brooklyn And we swept them Yeah yeah And we like

We gonna play Toronto I didn't think John and them Was gonna beat them I honestly didn't Listen I didn't either We got swept I was crazy They swept y'all bro We got our ass beat them. Listen, I didn't either. We got swept. I was crazy they swept y'all, bro.

We got our ass beat. That is crazy. Yeah, I didn't. We marked Toronto on that game. We was like, we're going to play Toronto. We did the same shit. Yeah, but we had, the thing that was fucked up is that we knew if we played in Toronto, like I knew like, all right, we play in Toronto.

They might get us one of them games because Toronto was tough to play play at that time like and the way i was my life was set up toronto was one of my favorite cities that was number two at the miami so i was like i know i ain't gonna be shit one of them guys but dennis might become dennis might play that game you might come to play but But Then when they got swept DC wasn't my shit I mean DC was cool But it was

I could focus in DC A little bit I couldn't focus in Toronto Yeah Yeah Yeah That was One of my weaker

Weaker cities Yeah for sure And what's so crazy Is both y'all had Popping teams at the time But the problem was There was this person In the east

That was just A hard person to get around at that time. At that time, bro. I mean, I know JT said it plenty of times. I said it plenty of times. But, yeah, that motherfucker was impossible to beat. That's just what it was. You know what I mean? Like, it just, you know, shit.

It was no other way around it. You don't think y'all could have had one more piece and could have got it done no you can do this i'll be honest i'll be honest like no yeah bro bro was just like at that time like i it's unbelievable i always i have arguments with people because it's like they asked me what brown was the best and it's like my that miami brown and that second cleveland brown That second Cleveland Bron. That's my first answer every time. When he first went back to Cleveland, that nigga was different. Bro, it was – he controlled everything from top to bottom.

Come on, man. Like, it was – when you stepped on that floor, it was like – it was tough, bro. Like, you got to – he wanted the greats for a reason. You know what I mean? Listen, man, I've never won a playoff game against him. We know. I've been in four series with this man. I got swept four times.

It's crazy. I got a couple wins. That's it. Listen, one time we was up 30. I swear to God, we was up 30. I was playing for the Pacers. The only way I played for the Pacers. We up 30, game three.

I'm like, I finally beat this dude, bro. He walking in halftime said, we good. We good, y'all. Everybody keep their head up. They were down eight in the third quarter. I looked at them. I said, it's over. They're going to beat us, bro.

I'm doing everything in my power. I love my palm. Shoot the ball, man. Take us home. I just want one win. I knew we wasn't going to beat them, but damn, I just want a one. Just one, yeah. Speaking about LeBron being tough, who was one of your tough matchups one-on-one?

Outside of you, of course. Outside of LeBron, like just one-on-one? Yeah. Whew, he had that two-guard. Whew. Yeah. Killed it. I mean, D-Wade.

But I think somebody that was like really, really tough that I couldn't like, like I had to go head to head with was Joe. Joe Johnson. Woo. Joe Johnson. Like I remember my first playoff series was versus Joe. And I got like every bit of ISO Joe. Especially at the time I'm young and, you know, shit.

Part of the way I play now is because of Joe. Of how slow he play and using his body, getting to a spot, getting to the bucket. You know what I mean? Damn, I can see that now. Yeah, you feel me? A lot of that shit how i play now i get from fucking joe all that methodic driven getting to a spot like body and all i got that shit from joe because i never forget my first playoff game i went home that it

was an early game i went home that that evening and i was i was in pain it felt like i got jumped by 10 niggas. Just like banging with them the whole game. Because that's how physically he was and just getting to a spot. Joe was always tough. Joe definitely was tough for me. Did you always have that

middie in your game? Was that always your go-to, the middie? Because you damn near the best middie to me since Rip Hamilton. You know what's crazy? My rookie year, Alex English was my, one of the assistant coaches.

Legend. For sure. For people who don't know. The coldest jerseys ever, too. Number two. For sure. Nuggets, baby.

For sure. So this a little like, no, Jim. This a little like, you know, fun fact, like many people don't know, I used to always like, you know, fun fact. Like, many people don't know.

I used to always, like, sit and listen to Alex talk. And, you know, you look him up, he was top 50 greatest of all time. And he used to show me how he used to score at the elbow all the time by just one dribble, pull up, shooting over him. One dribble by just one dribble pull up shooting over him one dribble right one dribble left whatever it may be i'm shooting over these like and i was so amazed by how simple he kept the game and was able just to get in buckets and that always stuck with me and he was just always once you master this and get great at these positions on the floor where no matter what shot you shoot knowing that nobody could block it you're gonna become unstoppable and that shit always stuck with me and i always

paid attention to that it's like man whatever i do i gotta make sure i get i gotta get this anything within the three i gotta get that shit together that's how i looked at it and that shit is one that shit is my bucket every time every time you shoot that shit bro i'm like that's good you start faking everything he's still gonna hit that shit is amazing bro because we're so amazing about it so they try to take that shot out the game yeah so i was about to say and like for you to still like master that shot like bro it was a year like it was a year where like they came to me and said you have to shoot more threes like you gotta do this and this and it was like i'm like why like i really but like it was a year when i was a straight dickhead

when it came to that i'm like why like nobody can stop me doing this why you want me to stop doing this you know what i mean like analytics i hate it like when when that analytics shit started coming in the game it used to make me so mad because not just for myself, even early on in my career, I used to look at it like, yo, what you telling people that, what you telling these youngins

that's coming up that need to learn the fundamentals of the game? You know what I mean? It's inside out, not outside in how the game is played. Like, understand.

Yes. You feel me? So it's like, yeah, so it's like, not outside in how the game is played. Like, understand. Yes. You feel me? Coach T. Yeah. So, it's like, that's my, like, philosophy to where it's like, yo, it's bigger than just me, how I view the game to where it's like, I want people to understand, like, this is the art of basketball.

This is the art of what the game was built on. Like, everybody can't be a Steph Curry. And that's fine steph is steph for a reason everybody can't be clay everybody can't but everybody can master spots when it comes to this game and build off that everybody not gonna be shooting 30 35 footers every time down oh sir you do it the best though bro averaging damn near a dub over a dub all middies that's crazy bro yeah you definitely don't have no three bro when i played too bad damn this nigga trashed let me step in Bro, don't shoot threes, though. Don't shoot threes in cold, though. Your shit is unstoppable, bro.

I don't want to talk about shooting threes. I seen him beat the Pacers a couple years ago off of nice-ass threes. Oh, yeah. But I'm saying he got it. But I never wanted to abuse it. I seen Jordan say some shit a long time ago. I never wanted to get comfortable with the three because it'd take my aggress um in the mid-range and get into the basket away you know

what i mean it's easy to fall a victim especially with me like i try to be i try to practice perfection when i go out there and play in a sense of like i'm not gonna shoot bad shots and i'm i'm like i i have a goal in my head to always shoot above 50% no matter what. You know what I mean? Like, I never want to be

a 40% shooter. Like, I really try to master my spot. So, when in game, it becomes natural to me. Nah.

You can tell that you like, love your craft though. Like, I was the one, I ain't gonna lie, I played around with my craft like i had a good time like shit i'm a hoop i just loop naturally that's what we do in indiana it wasn't

like hey go to the gym it's like shit i just naturally can hoop like i could tell like when i watch i even like i watch you on youtube with dribble too much i i watched that i'm like yeah i wish i would have like I ain't train with nobody I train with my niggas I Be here and try to rebound real quick Like you know what I'm saying Hey hold on

Nigga I ain't never been To rebound in the last thing You was the first stretch I told you that's grubbed Nigga I don't care You good or not nigga You was the first stretch for it I was nigga

I get my own rebound Nigga No they used to rebound For George Hill They used to rebound He's to rebound for George Hill. He used to rebound for George Hill. Let's start. We got a couple of them. He used to move with George Hill in high school, man.

George Hill averaged 38. He averaged 5. Don't let the size fool you, nigga. I was built like this, too. This is about DR, man. It's too loud. Man, this dude crazy DR man it's too loud man this dude crazy

man but one of my favorite parts about your game is like obviously you go crazy in the league but to see you go back home and play in the Drew every summer

and like really get to it like y'all really be battling them up also congrats by the way you know what I'm saying man appreciate it congrats for sure

but for hoop fans like us, like, we love basketball. To see you hoop in the summer, like, for y'all to really pull up there and really go crazy, that shit is fire, man. Yeah. You know what's crazy for me, bro? It's like, it's a sentimental thing because, you know, my dad used to take me to a drew league when I was, like, when I was young, even before I started playing, to where I just remember one day he picked me up. I mean, we left the house one day. He was like, man, bring your basketball shit. He took me to Drew League.

I was 14, 15 years old. He said, go out there and play. Grown-ass man. I'm like, what? I guess my dad told everybody, all the grown men, don't take it easy on me. Go out there. Give them the work. And I had to compete, but it gave me a mental edge when I go out there and play with them,

when I go play people my age. It's lights out. Nah, fuck that. These motherfuckers can't fuck with me. I'm playing against grown men that, they kids sitting on the sideline. You know what I mean? Yeah. It was always something that was like, made me feel good because it gave me like internal confidence that I could do this.

Then it's in a hood to like all the hood motherfuckers coming out here, all the old heads and they respecting you and taking you in. So me getting in a position of being somebody that people look up to, like it's like mandatory for me to do it because it's like you never know that one kid that's sitting in here i could be his hope just to want to make it out you know i mean it's motherfuckers in here who probably never even been to the stable center you know i mean been able to see a basketball game like they can come out here for free and watch me play and like it's something i take serious too you know i mean i remember i remember um i brought one of my old teammates. I think it was Jared Jack. I think I brought him playing the Drew League one time with me years ago. In the middle of the game, I think I'm about to get in a fight with somebody

and all this. And Jack leaned over and said, man, why are you taking this shit so serious? And to me, it's like, yo, this shit is serious to me. You know what I mean? It's like my rep on the line for here. Like, I don't play around with this. So, like, that's why when you see me playing, I take that shit serious. Nah, I see you.

You get active. That's why I ain't never play. Yeah, like, I take it. It's heavy, bro. For real. Like, even the other day, like, I'm hooping the other day. It's like, you know, niggas on the other team Like I'm hooping the other day It's like you know Niggas on the other team

Talking shit And it's like You know I don't look at it like Nigga you know who the fuck I am Like yeah talk your shit But I'm I'ma show you why I come here and hoop all the time

You know For sure And man it's crazy Cause like y'all done had Some moments in there But one I don't think It spoke on enough I think it was maybe

Last year before that Bro you and Brian Yeah On the NBA app, bro? Yeah. We all watched the Kobe. We all watched it. But to see that happen and the progression of the drill,

for y'all to have that moment, it inspires people outside. Like, everybody looked at it like, we can't wait to see that. Yeah, and it was crazy. Like, even shout out to Brian doing that. You know, he definitely a real one for that because, you know, he hit me. It was the middle of the night, probably, like, it was like a week before I had played in it and Brian had hit me.

He was like, man, what's up? When you playing in Drew again? I'm like, next week. I'm like, fuck it. Come fuck with me. He said, all right, man, I'm going to come fuck with you. So I'm thinking like, all right, he probably forget it. He got busy.

It was like a night before the following week. It's like, what time the game? Blah, blah, blah. I bet I'm pulling up. And I think I had tweeted like Debo and like The Crown or whatever. Pulled up and just to see how like electrified the city was, bro. Just to see like little, like my thing, I'm big on looking in the crowd and seeing like kids' reactions. You know what I mean?

Seeing those like, like, like like like they just seen a ghost like to me that's the shit that make it feel like yo this shit is always bigger than basketball because these these kids carrying this shit

like forever you know what I mean like they gonna remember this moment and for bro to do that man that shit was like that shit was amazing

you know what I mean especially like you know shit 20 years in years four years how big it is to come out there in the in the hood and hoop and the game was cracking too like it was like they took us down to the wire like they was all talking shit all that so man that shit was a probably you know My second favorite Favorite Moment Outside of

When Kobe played Yeah Kobe Kobe always gonna be My number one Whenever but What When Brian did that shit

Man that shit That was some real shit man Let me ask you this then Cause I remember I said that I said something Out of pocket about Kobe Oh

No not Cause he a Kobe fan I said What'd I say James Harden Oh, shit. No, not because he a Kobe fan. I said, what did I say? James Harden was. You remember? You said James Harden was better. You said.

Oh. I said James Harden scored a little better than Kobe. Was I out of pocket? No, like. James Harden scored that motherfucker though. I've told somebody this multiple times. The run James had. It's crazy. Come on, bro. The run James had. It's crazy.

Come on, bro. The run James had was fucking, like, that ain't even a video game. That shit was crazy, bro. That shit was like some fucking, like, Space Jam shit. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Because, like, if you didn't watch the game, you just knew when you checked the box score, it was going to be something fucking crazy. 38, 40.

40. With 15 assists. 15 assists, 10 rebounds. Like, that run he had, bro, that shit was fucking incredible. He did it. The shit looked like it was with no effort. That's what I was saying. You see what I'm saying? So I got what you was coming from from that standpoint. And I think people react.

People is just so sensitive when it comes to, like, certain shit. You really just sit and think, bro, that run James had, bro, was the most incredible shit, like, I know I ever seen. That shit was crazy, bro. It was crazy. He would just literally come down court. Bop, bop, bop. Three. Sidestep three. Bop, bop, bop. Three. Sidestep three.

Bop, bop, bop. Hezzy. It was, it was, like, come on. Like, it was incredible. And don't forget, nigga, they was winning 50 games a year. In the West. In the West. And it's crazy who he was going against, bro.

He had to go against that prime warrior situation. And he was still going crazy. Still going, bro. That's the only thing i said but i got killed for that but i think kobe is phenomenal like it's nothing like i know to love you and respect you have for kofi but i just at that moment i'm like what i had to play against james bro that but that shit was different yeah bro that's the thing like it just like listen like you said kobe is my goat All that

Everything But it's like What's real is real The shit James was doing I don't think we'll ever see that again Oh you won't Oh We

Nah We won't ever see that And they try to They try to erase it with With Luka And obviously we know Luka Cole He liked that But I'm like nah bro

James had to do that Against teams in the West It was I mean them teams in the Rockets Weren't that great It was a lot of James Harden And everybody else Just kind of standing in the West. I mean, them teams in the Rockets weren't that great. It was a lot of James Harden and everybody else just kind of standing in the corner

shooting these threes. Yeah. That man was on a mission. With him and CeCe. When I see somebody guard him and stand behind him.

Stand behind him. I could match hands behind his back. With his hands behind their back. I said, I don't know what the fuck is going on right now. This is bad basketball,

but he that special where you can't even. Niggas ain't know what to do. Yeah, right now This is bad basketball But He that special Where you can't even Niggas ain't know what to do Yeah like you gotta go I'm gonna try something Totally different I'm gonna just stand behind you And go

That's crazy bro Speaking of Kobe Did you pull some of your Feet work from him Yeah Yeah I definitely got A lot of that came through Through

Conversations With him Just breaking down Like he was a big soccer fan so he used to always you know incorporate how soccer players move how to use their footwork to get leverage quickness um and he always used to tell me to watch you know certain players like you know hakeem obviously the way he moved but also like the the smaller guards, like a, like a fucking, like an Andre Miller, for example, you know what I mean? Legend.

Not the fastest, not, can't jump the highest, but he knew how to maneuver in small places to be able to get a shot off or get to the bucket and everything. So I used, I used to start, I started paying attention to like a lot of, of the random players in a sense that, you know, probably don't have the big notoriety as everybody else. You know what I mean? And took a lot of stuff from them. Another person who helped me with my footwork shit was like Sam Cassell.

You know what I mean? When I was 15, like used to be around Sam and Sam always used to preach to me about certain ways how to how to shoot the turnaround how to get your feet leveraged a certain type of way you know i mean learn from him i learned from fucking catino mogli how to get your shot you know it's certain players that i took so much from and like incorporated but cole was the one that put the like the the the notion in it to you know know, you master this. Like, basically, he always used to tell me, learn how to play in a phone booth. You know what I mean?

If you know how to master how to create shots from a phone booth, you're good. You know what I mean? So he used to talk a lot in fucking codes. He used to take some time to figure out. But when I figured it out and that light bulb went off, I knew I had something. Yeah, they don't get spoke on enough how good your footwork is, bro. So I had to ask. And that's the fire part.

When you hear players like you or your caliber speaking, like you, when you hear people like, yeah, it's cool to know the players' code. But you always speak on the players like, okay, everybody might not speak on his name, but I learned something from this player. That's pivotal to my game. That's like Tony Parker

His footwork was Phenomenal It's crazy It's crazy But it's like My whole On and off the court Nah nah

It's just on the court It's on the court Shout out to TP Yeah I learned from all The motherfuckers man Like I really became Like a student of the game

And just Watch motherfuckers Rather if it was A slow motherfucker A fast motherfucker Quick And just try to take Take shit from from them and try to incorporate it you know into my game you you one of the best scorers like you like when we talk about phone booth scorers like you mellow on those guys kobe yeah like y'all can get y'all shot off at any point like i always always say that like that's why i said when we was gonna play he's gonna send doubles but it was like it don't matter where you at on the floor i know you

can get a shot off right like that's what you know with you it's never a shot clock violation right right like with me i used to get shot clock you i'm like he ain't getting no shot clock violation you know how to get a shot off that's that's like tough to do that's what i think about you james same thing with mellow code katie y'all lead scores like when i hear people talking about one of the lead scores in the league your name should be talked about a lot more yeah i appreciate that because you know it's definitely one thing like you know that you know they get overlooked for whatever reason you know i mean I heard somebody on a podcast say some shit

I wasn't a scorer and all this and it's just like, you know, it's like, come on. How many points you got? It's only probably,

I think, 30 people in the history of basketball who got more points than me. So it's like, come on, man. That's average over a dozen.

You got a first ballot to me. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know, it's one of those things, like, when it comes to it, like, you just check the facts on it It's one of those things Like When it come to it Like you just

Check the facts on it You know what I mean When it come to that That's all facts That's the craziest thing To say about you though Nah yeah yeah I was like

Cause you put that Motherfucker up there Yeah that's what I'm Come on Yeah he's buckets for sure Backstreet's turning around You know what it is Yeah

And that's the craziest shit To say about Bron Like Bron not really a scorer Bro he got the most buckets ever How you gonna say That nigga not a scorer He got the most buckets ever Bro

Even that People who say that Just not a scorer, he got the most buckets ever? Bro. Even that. People who say that just show me how stupid they are. You know what I mean? Like, come on, man. Nah, you get buckets, bro. You got buckets your whole career, though. It ain't like it's just. Yeah, it ain't like it's nothing new.

Yeah, you always got buckets. That's the shit that throws me off. Like, it's something new. Nah, you always got buckets. It's kind of funny When I Cause when I heard Somebody say it on the podcast

I was like Huh? Like come on Like if you were to say Yo he gonna pass Like he gonna get assists Like that I'm like alright

Yeah I'm like alright Yeah he ain't It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle

It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle

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It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle

It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle

It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle

It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle It's Kyle go look at the stats it's like how bro you know how many people play in this league and he topped it's all he topped in the leagues like what are you talking about like i it didn't even want like i couldn't even like comment on it i just thought it was like it was beyond funny to me like it's

just like yeah i guess anybody with a microphone could say whatever whatever they want these days that was crazy he's definitely a bucket i gotta got to ask, how was that transition going from Toronto to San Antonio? Man, it was tough because obviously everybody know I wanted to be there. I wanted to stay there. Everything, you know, shit. That was home. So, you know, getting traded, the way it went down you know that part hurt more than anything then you know when i finally calmed down and realized like shit i'm going to san antonio

damn what they say about city born blah blah it's like yo i'm playing for pop yes sir like fucking coach pop like you know i mean and and what's crazy when i got traded i didn't talk to nobody for like fucking two weeks i wouldn't answer my phone i was mad as shit like i was in my feelings i was like man i was i was man i was hurt i ain't gonna lie but pop had called me out the blue and just was like look we didn't trade you. We traded for you. And when I let that sink in, I'm like, God damn, he got a fucking point. Like, all right. And just to, like, be underneath Pop, to hear, like, the game from him, the way he just took me in and accepted me, more than just a basketball player, like, to help with the transition.

Like, I cherish that shit forever, man, because it was something I needed in my career at the time because I'm looking, you know, I'm looking at the game one way my whole time in, you know, my nine years in Toronto. I'm thinking just, you know, just go out there, shoot the ball 30 times, try to get a win. If I don't, if I don't, i don't if i shoot bad at least i tried with pop it was more so like how can you make everybody else around you better and with that make it easier on myself so pop always used to tell me give me three and a half quarters of playing this way the rest is you and with that it made the game more fun because now i'm getting everybody involved making it easier doing this but when it was time to win it was like go win a game you know what i mean and it gave me a different outlook on just how to incorporate use the game use your teammates

get everybody involved and find the rhythm of the game that way like my first my first shoot around with pop i remember he said, man, tomorrow you the point guard. I ain't never played point guard a day in my career and it's like,

he telling me I'm the point guard but I think that whole week I think I averaged like, like damn near 13, 14 assists. You know what I mean? But he,

he'd do shit like that to challenge you, to show you that you can do it. You know what I mean? And that was, that was something I definitely needed

for sure you hear a lot of good reviews from players about coach pop and then it's so dope to see now like he got wimby yeah it's like we know he's gonna be for sure anyway but he got pop like oh he's the next superstar for sure for sure he definitely gonna learn i mean you see it now even just how he was playing the olympics like the way he played in in the championship game you know what i mean like he's still a kid bro but i guarantee you he was on the phone with pop that night this you know i mean pop giving him some type of you know insight and knowledge on how to carry that now watch how he be this year boy it's about to get spooky and he got cp down there oh my god he's about to be a monster bro yeah they building a monster down there

that shit look like a video game nah bro like I've never like we played them this year I swear I had a drive to the lane he

I'm on one side of the key he on the other side I stopped for the layup and pulled it back out that's crazy he was on the other side of the key

he wasn't even like but I just knew he had the recovery length to be able to fucking block whatever I throw up. That's crazy. I'm talking about you. You just look him in the eye, bro.

You gonna know. Like, he gonna be one of the ones for sure. Oh, yeah. We never seen nothing like him. Nah, hell nah. We ain't. Like, KD. When I seen KD,

I was like, I've never seen nothing like him Seven foot Can do all that stuff He Four or five inches taller than KD Yeah That shit's crazy

With a handle Yeah That shit's crazy Obviously you a student in the game Who are some of the young players In the league That you, you know what I'm saying Take a notice

Or take a liking to That's a hell of a question Because I think You know Like how young You talking like Whatever Whatever's on for you

I mean Like John now Let's do John Okay like Luke now Those guys I think They gonna carry this lead To you know

Where it need to be You know what I mean When you look at the John The Lucas It's all those guys They like Beyond special man Like you know

I'll be glad I'll be glad when You know John get back healthy beyond special, man. Like, you know, I'd be glad when, you know, Ja get back healthy. He get back on the floor because, you know, the game is that much more exciting when those players is healthy. You know what I mean? Like, you know, I hate that he wasn't out there to do, you know, to be a part of, you know, all this. Like, it's amazing to see just being a fan of like all these guys that come in and lead that,

you know, you see them as kids one year and the next year fucking, you know, they hold swag change. You see it, you know what I mean? They, they,

they carrying their, their, their own aura. So, you know, my favorite players is obviously like Ja, Luca, fucking,

you know, I don't know. Is JT, is Jason still a fucking? Ant. That's one of my favorites. Ant. Funny story.

He from Compton. Listen, I fuck with Ant. I don't know him personally like that. But the times I done played, I remember I played against Ant this year. And, like, the dog he got in him. I remember, jump ball, he's still right next to me. He guarded me. I'm like, yo, like, he take in him. I remember jump ball. He's still right next to me. He guarded me. I'm like, yo, like, he take on all these fucking challenges,

and I respect that from a youngin' like this. You know what I mean? Like, you see the dog in him, and obviously you see it with the Olympic team. And what he going to be come next season? Like, that shit. I know what playing in the Olympics do for a player. Like, that shit takes you

To a whole nother level Mentally Physically Emotionally Like you feel like you that Especially being around Those other 11 guys So like

Those like Definitely Ain't One of my favorite So I think those guys Gonna carry the lead To where it needs to be For sure

I mean You know what I'm saying Obviously you know A new situation this summer Congrats on that as well. Appreciate it. You playing with another young dog as well.

I don't know if he's too young, but we still, D-Fox. Yeah. I mean, that was part of the reason, you know, even making that decision.

D-Fox ain't my career, man. He too damn fast. Listen, fast as shit. Fast as shit. Like, he put me on the bench, man. See?

That's the first time I said You know I think I'm gonna Come off the bench man They're gonna come against It's a little We're the wrong model I was like Yeah I think I'm gonna Come off the bench

I remember I was like Yeah Minnesota I think you can probably Start Tyus Jones Nah yeah I think that situation You know I came It came out of nowhere after you know season was over once free ac hit you know i know it was a bunch of other options but you know when i just

sat back and like realized like you know what the team needed what they had what they was fighting for and how bad they want to win you know it just fit the mold that you know i want to be a part of and you know just being able to play with those guys you know i'm looking forward to win you know it just fit the mold that you know i want to be a part of and you know just being able to play with those guys you know i'm looking forward to it you know monk um yes sir murray you know it's a lot it's a lot of those guys that that that's special you know and and i i really want to be a part of that i feel like you know i could i definitely could help when did your game start transitioning because to me Y'all could be wrong But I feel like When you first came to the league

Nigga you was a hot flyer Yeah I was Yeah yeah And then you turned Not saying you dumbed Your game down But you brought it to like Shit I'm gonna just

Shoot these middies And what year Did that like I'm about to stop Dunking on niggas Cause I'm trying I ain't trying to be like Jeff Teague

And my knees be all fucked up What's crazy I wanna keep going Years and years You be all fucked up What's crazy I want to keep going Years and years You know what I mean What's crazy 2013 No shame bro

They fucked up man Cause he tried to dunk On everybody You know what I'm saying Nah Jeff had hops On my life Like a motherfucker

Nah 100% That's what I'm saying But he didn't want to stop He didn't know What the fuck He was a jabber Walking through his whole career You know what I mean saying But he didn't want to stop He didn't know He was a jabber Walking through his whole career You know what I mean

Till it was over with What's crazy That's a great question 2013 I had a tore in my groin I like Off the bone It was like

Six Seven games in a season I just Trying to turn the corner With the ball I slipped Tore my whole groin And Like It was like six, seven games in a season. I just trying to turn the corner with the ball. I slipped, tore my whole groin. And, like, I was so worried because I'm like, man, we finally getting good.

I think the year before I had made all-star. So, I'm like, man, fuck. I'm trying to – I didn't want to be a one-time all-star type of nigga. You know what I'm saying? So, I'm like – Tell your story, K. No shame. No shame. one-time all-star type of nigga. You know what I'm saying? So I'm like, like, you know what I'm saying? Now, tell your story, K.

This is all over. No shade. No shade, dude. You know what I mean? I know niggas go on Shannon's truck and tell that real story I'm playing.

Tell your side of the story. Nah, this is about New York, y'all This is about the art y'all Come on man Tell your story bro My bad JT My bad My bad bro My bad

I ain't even I didn't even think about it bro Listen Listen That was funny as fuck I didn't want to go I didn't want to be Listen, listen. That was funny as hell. That's a good one. I didn't want to be a one-time all-star at the time.

Respect. I was so thirsty. I was so mad at getting hurt to where it was like 6th, 7th game of the season. So when I tore my groin, I'm thinking they talking about surgery and all that shit. So I'm like, man, hell no. I ain't trying to miss the season, all that shit. So I'm doing whatever I possibly can to see how fast I can get back. So I end up doing like the PRP shit, you know, rehab.

I think I missed 22 games. So I kind of rushed myself back thinking like, fuck it. I can still make All-Star. We still was winning. let me get back out here and start killing so when i started back playing i wasn't right for that next probably like two years nobody knew i never said nothing so that made me scared to jump run fast and that's when i started paying attention niggas like fucking jo Johnson. Yeah. Fucking, I remember during that time, I sat there and I watched those two years of Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards. I said.

Oh, shit. That one tapped in. I swear to God. I watched Jordan. Every game Jordan played in a Wizards jersey. I'm like, yo, they said both his knees was fucked up. He couldn't move. Blah, blah, blah.

So, I'm watching him from the standpoint of like, how is he doing what he doing? He's still averaging 20 plus, still getting 40. But he not youth. He not athletic no more. He not the old Jordan. So I watched so much of him. So when I came back and started playing, I tried to play more that way. To where I started to kind of like master playing

that way and by the time I got more healthy my athletic ability and all that was in case of emergency so you listening? you was watching niggas jump off the ropes in WCW he watching the real field

I want to enjoy my life I like wrestling and shit he watching MJ I don't even thought MJ was done he looking at

it a whole different way I'm done with the night I'm looking like Jordan Cook he looking

at the footwork is that a bitch I'm done with the witness jordan cook he's looking at the footwork no but i wanted to talk about because i always want i'm bro i'm a fan bro for real so i watched everybody talk so highly of you like kobe white and those young guys dylan terry talk about how much of a leader you was uh in chicago and it's like damn to hear him speak about you like that like bro took us under his wing he taught us the ropes and then see like kobe white you know had an up and downs first and then you get there and all of a sudden you see him start growing

and becoming, basically to me, he's going to be one of the stars. I see him being an all-star this year. No question. For me, bro,

it got to a point to when I started realizing like, you know, I'm getting older, especially when motherfuckers started calling me old head and OG and shit.

You know what I mean? That's when I started like, I was dodging that shit for a long time. Like, niggas calling me OG, old head. Like, until, like, I just finally, like, accepted it in a sense to where it's like, yo, I really fuck with these young dudes, bro. Because it's like, I really want to see everybody be successful and win. You know what I mean? Like, think about it, bro. Like,

sometimes I have moments where I just sit up here and be like, yo, I'm from Compton. I damn near made $300 million from playing basketball. Damn, bro. Like,

you know what I mean? Like, like, that shit. My fucking knee break back up. Wake this motherfucker up, cuz.

Let me down, bro. 300, god damn. It's like, it's like when when i have those moments and think about it it's like how how much of everything i learned the fails the success and everything that i could give to these young guys that probably don't know it you know what i mean the good the bad on and off the court and i really i really put my all into all my teammates that i play with all these young dudes because you know i remember being so blind when i was young not knowing you know shit i remember i was a motherfucker going to hotel room order fucking chicken tenders and wings and call it a night to where it's like even even now it's like i take all these young dudes

to go eat at these restaurants so they can see and understand something different it ain't just hotel food that you can eat

you know what I mean like I try to like expose them to so much more that the world have to offer don't just be stuck in this one place

and you know once you free up a motherfucking mind to that aspect it helps them with the confidence it helps them with the confidence to help them with the preparation especially with me it's like all these all these young niggas everybody i play with see me after a game if we on the road first thing i do i get on

phone with my kids i'm talking to my kids hearing about my kids they doing this i'm showing them the responsibilities i still take take care of on a daily base and still be the first one on the bus, still be the first one in a meeting, first one in the gym doing all this and it's like any logical person who sees that will understand like damn, that's, think about it

bro, I'm going in year 16. It's crazy. Still doing it to this level like you gotta be consistent so i try to give the game to all these youngins as best as i can bro no you every single day you're doing a hell of a job bro to see i'm just i'm watching them as players grow and it's like and they're giving you that credit it's like damn bro figured it out but then to see your game though yeah i like to see you when we first came in the league To where you are now

You like yeah He put in the work Yeah And that time And like you said 300 million Yeah It pay off bro

That work And to see I know what you gonna do in sack With that same group With them young guys Who They got a great team You gonna do the same thing

Yeah I see them having another great year And making some noise in the west For sure It was crazy More years in the league bro Like for sure you're 16 but we can see you playing another five six years level like that's the dope part about it and everything that we learned i think the best part that we get to meet people and you see the difference of people who pour into their teammates and pours it showing people more this outside of that those are the ones you see to get the

respect they get the the careers and others is kind of more like, all right, that kind of fall by the wayside. So it all makes sense, man. It all makes sense. For me, like, bro,

I always told myself, like, fuck the media, fuck what people opinionated got to say after games and all this. I always took the heart, like,

yo, if my peers respect me, that's all that matters. You feel me? Like, that's the only thing that matters as long as i i could walk in the gym and motherfuckers know like man like i i fuck with drd man he gonna compete or you gotta bring it like that's that's what matters to me the most you got

that for sure yeah off basketball a little bit man i want to ask you about kendrick ron man what you thinking about the he came, he put the city back. I mean. The head, man. I know Drake your guy, but. Yeah, but I think, you know, even that, that my guy, but I think for me being on the inside, it's, it's never like, it's, it's not a surprise for me. Right.

I mean, it's like, it's, it's, it's like, like i see bro or talk to bro like it's it's it's a normal thing you know so it's like when you know a person and it's like he he he probably somewhere sitting in a room with sage lit right now not not knowing what the fuck is going on on the outside world of things you know i mean because he just he in tune or whatever it is he like he living his life you know i mean so like as a fan you know you you hype to see it but from my my standpoint you know like i know bro that's that's that's bro so it's like when you see him it's it's kind of like you know you see jt go who in a big three and it's like you're really not surprised you know he yeah you know 100% like so it's really not a surprise if you go see him fucking going out

there killing motherfuckers in a big three it's like did y'all know he was gonna be a star or had a feeling before because of course y'all heard yeah because he always was like different in a in ahead of his time and and kind of like was a a visionary okay with how he approached and looked looked at things you know i mean and he always had that in and a lot of times i think as as just like a man you see the growth and the failures that he he took and had to accept and grow from not just fucking just being about the rap part of it, you know, personally. You know, I mean, you see the growth in an individual and, you know, like we all know he nice when it comes to, you know, rapping. But, you know, you've seen the growth from it.

And, you know, he put in in his art. You know what I mean? I know a lot of people, you know, want to hear more from him and all that. But to him, it's like, you know, he put in his life. He put his life out there for us to understand. And sometimes niggas got to go through shit to be able to put, you know, our life out there and speak about some shit. So, to me, it's just like, you know, it's cool to see him out there, but it's more so like cool just to see him, you know,

in a healed space mentally. You know what I mean? Is that first album in your top five the first one was one okay a man city the kid man yeah good but that even that it's like that's such a storyline of you know I mean yeah you inside like so you like more than we do but it's like that album like the breakdown of it it's like that album like the breakdown of it it's like like that's just because he walked the same street so it's like i envision this like when i hear it like i know exactly like a certain he even say where it's like i may get it more than everybody else you know

but it's like it's definitely in my definitely in my top five what was that like though at that concert like yeah like you all y'all on stage, y'all vibing the whole Cali together. I mean, it was one of those things. I know people get so caught up in looking at the whole beef part of it and everything. It's bigger than that though. It's so much bigger than that because like it's a lot of those dudes I know had problems with another dude this hood didn't get along with this hood or or it was it was some type of tension or friction or you haven't seen these sets of people around this sets of people in in x amount of time and for it to be a moment to be able to

share be shared in la in the form to bring out all the artists from like you know from home to do that with no problem no issues everybody get in there with no arguments no fights no scuffles leave there everybody get home it was like it was just a different type of fucking like appreciation for one another you know i mean i know it's so easy to get caught up in the whole beef part of it and all that, but for us, it's just like,

it's bigger than that. You know what I mean? Because music, if music could bring us together, it just show you how powerful we are as people. If we just put

all the fucking egos and all that sensitive shit to the side, like, we really could come together and do something special. You know what I mean? That was dope. That was a moment too, man. Like, we really could come together and do something special. You know what I mean? That was dope.

That was a moment too, man. Like, not even in hip hop. We was watching that shit. Like, we was... Yeah. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be hard for Drake to do that, bro.

Ain't too many light-skinned niggas that can go crazy in the city like they're the Toronto, bro. But that ain't nothing for DeMar to speak on. I'm just... Even that. Like, how great...

Like, I know it's so easy when people get caught up in in the size and all that but it's like i don't think drake still the amazing shit that drake done did over what the last 15 years okay be a race no he's under none none could ever take that away you sound like i know like i said it's always easy when it, I look at it from, be honest with you, I look at all this shit, like, I really come from, like, the hood. I come from, like, niggas losing their life over some dumb shit, over dice games. Like, I done had an uncle get killed by, that was a blood that got killed by a crip uh another uncle that was a crip that got killed by blood and and like and it and it fucked up my whole like childhood upbringing to where it's like y'all letting songs divide and create and make people so sensitive to where it's like to me it's like

come on man like we we it's like watching a fucking action-packed movie nobody really dying you know it's true to me i hated-packed movie. Nobody really dying, you know? It's true. To me, I hated how it started because they just two totally different artists to me. I didn't, I get Drake can really rap. I just, Kendrick, like you said, really come from, kind of more respected. Yeah, but it's like, I think you can't just never discredit, like, Drake. Drake is, like, he fucking Drake.

I'm a Drake fan. I'm just saying. You was in the city when Drake really became a star. Yeah, I seen it from the beginning to where is it now? Make a star. You know what I mean? I don't think it will ever be another Drake. That's just what it is

And ain't nobody ever fought against that many people Bro Drake him Kendrick him too At the end of the day it just comes down to Being that like both of them The big dogs at what they do Why can't that be respected

Everybody got Spar one day Listen In my neighborhood the two Toughest niggas have to get down. Yeah. One got to lose. That don't make them less than the other one. You know what I mean? It's just be more respected because ain't nobody else going to get down with one of them niggas.

Not at all. That's true. So that's my view. Everybody who don't come from the streets or understand the street part of it may not look at it like that. It may get in their feelings or be sensitive about certain shit. For me, I look at all this shit like, bro, ain't nobody hurt. This shit is this. This is it was good watching fucking the Matrix.

Yeah. See, I told you about LeBron and Bronny. This is the Matrix. Here we go. Let's get up. That get killed. Nah, that's hard. I think it's dope as shit, right? What you think about, like, seeing Bron? I got the

utmost respect for Bron, but to be able to see his son in the league with him playing on the same team, you know how the league work. Yeah. It's going to be a moment where Bronny and Bron in the game at the same time. He's starting. I ain't say he's starting, but it's going to be a moment. I told everybody

it's going to be a highlight where Lil' Bronny going to throw Bron alive and the shit going to go crazy. That shit going to be everywhere. You know it's going to happen though, right? For sure. That's what I'm saying. I'm hoping I'm watching the game. Me too. I ain't going to lie. I'm going to record this show this You don't want it to be

Against the Kings though No no As long as it ain't against us But it's definitely a moment Like come on bro Like Damn where everybody None of us never seen

No shit like that Iconic bro So for it to be An opportunity For that to happen Shit if I had a son I don't want Like if my son

If my son now If my My son only fucking Two years old Oh you cooked. But if I had, if my son was in that position, I will, I will want the same thing. For sure. Oh, yeah.

Bro, they do nothing wrong. Niggas definitely got to start having kids at 14 now. We ain't pushing that. But if you try to do the bra, you got to start early. That's right. Who but Dave Graves? Pete Miller Elite. What a good

full circle ball we've been. We're about to get the fuck up out of here, man. Big Dog, we appreciate you sliding on us, man. Best of luck this season. We definitely going to be

watching the Kings. Be here and tell the people that can grab some merch at shopclub520.com, baby. We out of here. Peace. You know what it is, Club 520. The Volume.

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