Club 520 Podcast - Club 520 - Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver & Paul Millsap on 60-win Atlanta Hawks, NBA playoffs vs. LeBron James

Episode Date: March 8, 2025

Jeff Teague and the Club 520 guys are back with a bonus episode LIVE from Atlanta where Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap join to talk about the historic 60-win Atlanta Hawks season from 2015. The guys talk about sending four players to the All-Star Game, when they realized that they were one of the best teams in the NBA, and reflect on getting swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. The Volume. All right, ATL brought out the night shares for us. Shout out to the Hawks, man. Let's make some noise for the Hawks one time. The show two times for y'all. We appreciate y'all pulling up one time for the one time. It's Club 520 Live in the ATL, man.

Young Nacho back home, man. Yeah. I'm glad I don't see no double zero jerseys. I appreciate that. It's a rough time in my life. The PTSD jersey. For sure, man. But listen, this is Club 520.

I'm the host. My name is DJ Wells. We got some special, special guests with us, man. Honoring the legendary team in the NBA, especially for the Hawks history, man. To my immediate left, we're going to introduce my man's last. To my far left, my dog, Bishop B. Hand out the pearlies. How you doing, Nasty? What's happening, man? ATL, thank you.

He don't even sound the same as ATL. You know what's up? Shout out to my A. Got the zero jersey. Turn me up. Yeah, I like that one. Yeah, there we go. That ain't no zero, right? No, no. All right, cool. Here we go. For sure, for sure. To my right, y'all know what it is, man.

ATL's finest young Nacho, young T. How it feel to be back in the A, man? It feel great, man. It's always home. My favorite place to ever play. So I'm glad I can have my guys show up with us today. I'm actually really, really happy about this. We've been trying to get Paul on the show.

I wanted to get Kyle. Kyle's my guy. So to be able to do this live with y'all, this is great. For sure, man. Shout out to the Hawks one more time for making this wonderful situation happen, man.

Most definitely. Shout out to y'all as well for pulling up. But last, but most certainly not least, man, to my left, man, we got two Hawks legends in the building, man.

Both on their own right had amazing NBA careers, man. With no further ado, man, we got Kyle Corbin, Paul Mills up in the building. Appreciate y'all sliding on us, man. For sure. For sure.

For sure. For sure. For sure. Like we said, we're going to highlight that wonderful year, man. Obviously, y'all had many good years here, but that was a really, really, really special one. But before we get into that year, we got to talk about how y'all all came together, because obviously, Nacho, you was already a Hulk. Paul, Kyle, y'all came from different situations.

Let's talk about how y'all got to being an Atlanta Hulk. Well, I guess I'll start. Yeah, I was in Utah. You know, I spent seven years in Utah. Had some great years in Utah. And then, you know, it was time to go. And, you know, I was looking for a place to be closer to home in Louisiana. I mean, my wife actually was looking at homes, you know, in Atlanta,

Houston, Dallas area. So we wanted to move back somewhere. And the Hawks offered me a two-year deal. And the rest was history. Most definitely. Kyle, man, how'd you become a Hawks fan?

Yeah, I played with Paul in Utah for a couple years and then was in Chicago. And then was with Derrick Rose when he was MVP. Chill, chill, chill. But then, you know, things happened. Had to get traded. I knew that I was going to be on the move. It's funny. We actually

I was driving with my wife. We drove from New Jersey. I don't know why we did this. We drove all the way to Santa Barbara and on the way we knew we were going to get traded somewhere and we were like looking around what teams it was going to be and we got all the way to Santa Barbara. And I got a call from Danny Ferry saying I had to fly way back. We like drove across the country, got there, went to the airport and flew all the way back to Atlanta. And it was funny thinking back about it now.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton downtown and Danny Ferry came down that morning and asked me to come to the table and talk to him. And I thought it was going to be like a welcome to the Hawks moment. And he was sitting there debating with the doctor if he was going to accept my physical or not. Like right in front of me. He's like, I don't know, this guy's been, I had a foot injury the year before. And he's like debating if he was going to accept this thing. And I'm like, man, should I be sitting here? Should I like walk away? And he just decided the last second. He's like, all right, we're going to do it. Welcome to the Hawks. And I was like,

OK, so how did I get to the Hawks? That's how I got to the Hawks. The physicals are on anybody real tricky right now, for sure. Now for you, he was already here with a different regime obviously new culture new situation how was that welcoming them to the team um i probably wasn't the best at welcoming people to the team uh i didn't talk much so when i met paul he just came in what's up you know he don't talk a lot either so he's like what's up bro it's gonna be a great podcast yeah what's up bro that's all he gave was a head nod what's up bro bro? It's going to be a great podcast. Yeah. What's up, bro? That's all he gave you was a head nod. What's up, bro?

And Kyle, he was, y'all see Kyle, he lights up a room, he comes in. What's up, brother? I thought he was like a surfer kind of guy. So I'm like, what's up, cool dude? But he was super cool, super chill, and it was easy. It was easy to work with. That's crazy. I mean, before we get past this point, we got to talk about Kyle, man. you got one of the legendary picks in the nba man you were the jordan zone has that

ever like came across your timeline recently let's say it again you got the rookie pick you got the jay zone and everybody's like dang we thought he was a surfer but you had the heat on your feet please revisit that picture that's like it's like there's a date on the calendar where that picture has to come back on the internet every single year it It's like two pictures. That's one of them. But yeah, man, you know, that was All-Star Weekend. You got to come

with something, right? For sure. A little bit different All-Star Weekend now, for sure. That's the truth. My fault. I'm petty, y'all.

But listen, man, legendary season to start off, man. First of all, who was coaching that team at the time? Mike Budenhoser. Coach Bud.

Coach Bud. The man. Yeah, that was my guy. Oh, yeah, you can clap it up for Bud Mike Budenhoser. Coach Bud. Coach Bud. The man. Yeah, that was my guy. Oh, yeah, you can clap it up for Bud now. You can clap it up for Bud. Shout out to Coach Bud. That's the homie for sure. Yeah.

Coach Bud was cool. When he first got here, I didn't like him. Not to say it like that, but we ended up becoming really good friends. For real. We played an ISO style, you know, before they got here. We had Joe. Everybody played one-on-one basketball. I don't know if it was the best brand of basketball, but it was fun.

Yeah. And he came in and changed all that. And for me, it was my time to shine. I thought I just had got the team. Like, it was my first year really about to start. And he was like, nah, we don't play that way no more. I was like, he hating. So after that, we didn't start off on the best foot right yeah no i mean bud you know we kicked it off pretty pretty good you know our first time uh meeting each other um for me i was just

evolving into you know a uh a more high volume player and um bud kind of brought that out of me. You know, I actually reached out. He actually reached out to me a couple of weeks ago, you know, when I officially decided to retire. And he said, congratulations. And I was like, you know, I appreciate everything that you've done because he helped bring that, you know, whatever it was that I had, you know, out of me.

And, you know, definitely appreciative for that. Most definitely, man. Congratulations as well, man. A retirement you know, definitely appreciative for that. Most definitely, man. Congratulations as well, man, on retirement for sure, man. There we go. Show some love. Congratulations, man. Now, before we get into the season, me and B.H. got to talk because, you know, this our man.

This our man from the day one. So, naturally, we got to hate. And y'all was our favorite team to hate on, man. Yeah, y'all was, man. I ain't fool with y'all like that. team to hate on, man. Yeah, y'all was, man. I ain't fooling with y'all like that. I'm going to keep it real. I was supporting my guy, but I was like, how do they keep winning, man? Who did you root for at that time?

I was really just a player. Like, Carmelo Anthony was my favorite player. But me and him, it was deeper than y'all. Like, he made me not like him. Like, he used to come back to the crib, Cal Corbin, Shoe Baron, everybody in the league, Cal Corbin, Shoe Baron, Ray Allen. Like, man, I can't say it on here, but y'all know what, Corbin. But, no, I just used to be like, dang, bro, really leading the Hawks.

And I honestly thought that y'all could have made a for real run, but I had to hate because that was just our beef for real. But I didn't see y'all winning all them games. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was always real beef, though. They call us the little giants. Y'all ever seen that movie? That's what they call me every day.

Y'all was the little giants, man. Y'all had y'all one shot. Then y'all went on that crazy run, but, you know, shout out to y'all. Y'all did y'all thing, for sure. For sure, man. We ain't going to get too far ahead of ourselves, but starting that season off, y'all started off 505-5. Initial thoughts on that?

Like, are y'all trying to figure it out or just get used to new players, new toolers with Bud, everyday new systems? Or did y'all know we had something special, we just got to get there? I don't know that we, like, knew that we were going to end up with the season that we had. I think that our group was really had been in the works for a couple of years. And that's really how these really good teams happen.

It never just like all comes together. There's very few instances in the NBA where like a bunch of moves are made. Now we have a super team and they're going to take off like that's happened, but it's not very often. And I think what we had all been doing, it was, it was just really trusting a process and, you know, um, you know, Paul been there for a couple of years now. I've been there a a couple years now i've been there a couple years jeff you've been there but like we didn't really add anything new that was gonna like put us over the top um and so as it really is we started off you know like you said we started off 500 but like

our style of play our chemistry kept on building and then we end up in you know later on the spring going a whole month without losing and we're like wow like i think we're good i thought i was gonna get traded when we started off like yeah they got probably have to move me i'm not mixing in pretty well but now we just got in a groove and like when we got in that groove it was over with our defense was connected our offense was connected and it was times out there during that year we didn't even get to play the fourth quarter. It messed up my stats.

Still made an all-star team. Barely. Who was the vocal leader on that team, though? Who had the biggest... It wasn't me. Clearly, all three of y'all was quiet so I mean that's funny because you know

Bud always tried to get somebody to be super vocal one of those guys right yeah and neither one of us you know really had it in us

so each one of us would say something every now and then and we'll put our input in but uh Bud was the vocal leader okay you know at that time

alright I didn't say a word Kyle Kyle talked he talked a lot you and Al you and Al yeah was the vocal leader. Okay. You know, at that time. All right. I didn't say a word. Kyle, Kyle talked, he talked a lot. You know, Al,

you know, Al. So y'all used to just kill people and not say nothing to nobody. Nobody talked crazy to the opponent or nothing.

Not even nobody on the bench used to talk crazy. Dennis. Dennis, yeah. Most definitely. Dennis talked crazy to Al.

You get about those Uno games, yeah. Oh, no. Most definitely. Dennis talk crazy to us. You get about those Uno games, yeah. Oh, no. I took that, oh, this is just a sidebar, I took that Uno game and we

have them at our house all the time. They come from you? Ultimate Uno? Us. Oh, okay. I didn't know where you got that

from. It was more intense in the Uno games than on the court. That's how it is now. I was going to say, y'all are responsible for a lot of random

disagreements, maybe baby fist fights outside the club 520 due to Ultimate UNO. So thank y'all for that. We appreciate that footage for sure. That's crazy.

The fact that y'all were really that like kind of monotone with just killing, but you talked about the makeup of that team and stuff, but also shout out to Al.

Al's still hooping. Ain't that crazy? Super crazy. Still hooping. Still to Al. Al's still hooping. Ain't that crazy? Super crazy. Still hooping. Still winning championships. He's super good still. So is Al and Dennis from that team still playing?

Yeah. Man. Damn. Dang, we filled it out pretty fast. Y'all be real quiet. I know it's bad when the crowd got like a deathly quiet.

Like R.I.P. That's crazy. For sure, man. Listen, y'all caught y'all stride. January, historic month. Like basically y'all entire team was player of the month. How was that feeling? Y'all all killing, y'all all getting a recognition from that.

I know that has to feel good in the locker room for sure. I don't think any one of us cared. You know, at that time, I don't think we cared that much, right? We were so in the zone in the process of winning that none of the stats and accolades actually mattered. You know, it's after the fact, you know, when the career is over with, I look back and say, this probably will never be done again. You know, it's an amazing accomplishment, especially when you got four. You got four teammates. You know, it's probably will never be done again. It's an amazing accomplishment, especially when you got four, you got four teammates, you know, it's all-stars,

probably will never be done again. Yeah, let's talk about that all-star bit, man. Listen, four teammates into the all-star situation. How do y'all find out about that? Because I know some made a little bit earlier than those. Like, what's that like when y'all find out that all y'all going to be representing the squad? I didn't know that all of'all going to be representing the squad? I didn't know

that all of us was going to make it. I was just worried about me. That's real. That's real. That's real. I knew Paul would make it. He was having a great year. Most definitely. I knew Al was going to

make it. He had already been making them. I knew them two were going to make it. So I didn't know if I would make it, and I didn't know if Kyle was going to make it, but I was excited for us. Kyle, what's that feeling like when you find out you're going to be representing the squad? That was pretty wild for me.

I never saw myself as an all-star player. I always wanted to be the piece that made a team go and someone that you really wanted to be, you could count on, depend on. I wanted to be that perfect teammate. So I never really looked at myself as being like that. So I think with the beauty of that team, man, is we all made each other better.

For sure. And that's really the hallmark of the good teams to me is when everyone we all made each other better. For sure. Like, and that's really the hallmark of like the good teams to me is like when everyone is looking at each other and it's not about me, it's how can I make the guy next to me better? And the beauty of that squad was like, we didn't need, we were talking about words like we didn't, like we talked on the court, we talked in like nods and winks and looks. And like, that's what made us special. It's like, we didn't have to like communicate,

like yelling at each other. Like we was like, I looked at you and looked it out and I knew we were going to run wide. You know, like it was just, we, we, we had this kind of sixth sense to us.

And that's really what made that team special. And what's what made it so fun to play on. Definitely. That's the problem now would be coaching basketball. I think I got Kyle. I think they can do that. They look at me like, you all right? You about to pass out, coach.

Yeah, Kyle Corbett's not walking through that door. Shout out to Pike for sure. No, not at all. Yeah, I mean, for me, I was, you know, I was happy. You know, I had teammates going to the All-Star game. You know, I was, I don't mess with the other guys. I didn't care about all that, you know. But to have my teammates with me, you know, going to the All-Star games,

it definitely meant something. And on top of that, I was angry because Damari didn't make it. Yeah. You know, and Damari was my guy. You know, Damari, everybody knows, was like the engine guy. You know, he was the glue guy. You know, he did a lot to help us win. And it just sucks, you know, to see that he didn't be a part of that moment.

You know what I mean? So, you know, for me, it was a bittersweet moment, but definitely was glad I had my other guys with me. I was going to ask that question on a sensitive topic. If everybody on the starting five make that all-star team, but you don't. He got paid, though, that next summer. That's what I'm saying. See, that's, that next summer. I think I have my spot. Be a legend at the bank.

Nah, that's what it's about. Did y'all used to ever run a special play that y'all knew couldn't nobody stop? The entire system? I know we had some go-to plays. I don't know. I would just ask,

because Jeff be trying to get his players to run. Most of them was Cal. When Cal Corbett came off a screen, he had the whole building looking at him. Yeah. And when he made that, either he had an open shot or he made the pass down. I mean, we got that every single time.

Every single time. Yeah. That was easy. I remember it's a video going around where I think you scored what, 11 points in like a minute or something like that.

Yeah. Like, it's crazy. He checked. And I just remember, like, we used to just throw you the ball anywhere. Like, you'd be running around. Like, he gonna shoot it.

It's good. Yeah, yeah. Every time, I never really thought you were ever gonna miss. Like, when you missed, I was more, like, surprised. Like, you missed? Yeah.

But I think, you know, and we're sharing the love here, which I think is great. Yeah. But, you know, like, I was a product of how we played. Yeah. Right? Like, I remember you and Kenny Atkinson watching so many clips of that. Like why? Like when exactly does Kyle want to have the ball and where does he want to have it? You remember that? Yeah. That back little gym over there.

Like, you know, you would watch it and then we come talk about it and we watch it. We come talk about it and like the screens and all the movement. Like it was just perfectly set up for me. So it was wonderful. I love coming off all those screens. It was fun. What's the most threes you hit in the game that season? You remember? Eight.

It's a whole new world out there now, man. Yeah. He's not that many. You would have had to shoot 15. You think you would have been able to rock out in this league today? For sure. Yeah, okay. I was just about to ask you that.

I had to heat check you. I had to heat check you. Go talk, Kyle. Before we go further in the season, for y'all being his teammates, how is it like to see him now? Because obviously he didn't really talk too much. To see him on this platform, is that like a big surprise to you? The man that doesn't talk has a podcast now, is that what you're saying?

The last time I saw Jeff, he was a scout for us, and then the next day he had a podcast, and it was nationally ranked. I'm like, okay, Jeff, tell them stories. I don't know, man. I don't know. I'm definitely not surprised. I mean, Jeff talked in the right situations, you know, with the right topics. You know, he'll spill whatever. So, you know, I'm not surprised.

But definitely, you know, congratulations to all of y'all, man. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Love. Love. For sure. Like you said, y'all go into the all-star break, you know what I'm saying? Now it's time to be, all right, real.

Can I say something about that all-star game, though? Y'all remember how cold it was in New York? It was so cold. I was talking to my wife about that this morning. It was awful. It was like negative 30 degrees. It was so bad. It was cold.

I just remember my room service. I told this story about my nephew. I had this room service bill that was like eight grand. Right? Yeah, I was like, I was saying the same thing. And he was, I guess he thought he was on Home Alone. So he was just ordering everything. And I remember going to the office, about to check out, and I seen Bud.

And we remember we was running kind of late. And Bud was like, I got it all. I got everything. And I looked at him, I said, whoo. Good luck. I walked to that bus So fast Funny thing about that His nephew is now

Working off his debt At 520 So he's still Covering that bill For sure Shout out to Malcolm But like you said man Have a crazy

All-star breaking down It's back to the season At this point Y'all locked in Y'all feel like It's time to contend What's that process like? All right, we got a chance

to really make some noise now. Say it again. I couldn't hear it. Oh, my fault. I said, okay, so now after All-Star break, everything's copacetic, y'all playing good.

It's not a surprise anymore. It's like, all right, do y'all have championship aspirations? Like, what's that lock in like? Or like, all right, we here, we can do it now. Yeah, absolutely.

That was the goal. You know, I think we had a moment. I think, I think again like all right we're here we can do it now yeah absolutely that was the goal you know i think we had a moment i think i think i remember looking at the standings a couple weeks after all-star break and we were like 13 games ahead of whoever was in second place we were so far ahead and um i think there was this whole mindset of like okay how do we prepare ourselves to really get into a playoff run? And a lot was based on like, let's be fresh and let's be healthy and let's have our minds right. And so that's kind of where we were going. Right. Like trying to prepare ourselves to like to be fresh. I thought that in that stretch, I thought, you know, a lot of how it made us great was just like our edge and how connected we were. And I thought a little bit of like in that next month and a half or so, we lost a little bit of that, if I'm being honest.

We're just like we were so far ahead of everybody. And, you know, we lost a little bit of that. Whatever was making us really, really tick going into the playoffs. Yeah, we started like subbing five in and five out. It was kind of weird. I remember Paul got mad one day. He was like, man, we can't play like this. I can't catch a rhythm.

I just remember that because Bud was subbing five in, five out, and that's when my stats started hurting. No, but I was just, like you said, we took our foot off the gas a little bit. But I just remember LeBron at the All-Star game saying to me, No, but I was just, like you said, we took our foot off the gas a little bit. But I just remember LeBron at the All-Star game saying to me, like, I'm going to figure y'all out. And I was like, we don't even know what we're doing.

We're just playing. And he was like, no, y'all got something going. I'm going to figure it out. When I figure it out, I'm going to get you. And I was like, we don't know, bro. I was like, we just be playing. And he was like, nah, he sure figured it out. I'm going to get you. And I was like, we don't know, bro. I was like, we just be playing. And he was like, nah, he sure figured it out. He did do that.

Yeah, I think that whole stretch, you know, I think, you know, I don't want to speak for Bud, but was for us to try to, we knew who we were going to face at some point, right? We knew exactly who we were going to play and, you play and what was going to be our best lineups, what was going to be our best plays, our best strategy going up into that moment. So that whole time was pretty much like a figuring out process. And like Jeff said, it didn't work.

I think that we had moments, I don't want to get too far ahead. No, no, do your thing. But, you know, even during the course of the season where we knew that whether it was one play or two plays that we took our foot off the gas that, you know, could have elevated us to the next level, right? And sometimes it be like that, you know, especially in this league is, you know, one or two plays can kind of throw your rhythm off within a game within a

season uh within a playoff series and you know we had a couple of those we were able to shake back a few times but you know somehow we had we just had too many going into the dead back season it's interesting you say that because i'll take it so a february game i had against gold state and i remember you know that kind of a little bit of foreshadowing but the way i played against them was just like oh they can do this against anybody. Yeah. And like that adaptive style, not saying it's direct correlation, but how y'all played the free moving basketball, like kind of similar. It was like, oh, they can do this against anybody. Now it's up. So to hear you say that then what transpires after that is very interesting for sure.

Yeah, I mean, you know, we looked at Golden State and how they how they played. And, you know, we wanted to be the Eastern Conference type of, you know, Golden State Warriors team at that time. We had Kyle Corbin, who we considered the best shooter in the league. And we ran a lot of stuff, you know, through Kyle. Kyle was a big part of our offense because, you know, he's dangerous behind the three-point line. You know, and that opened up a lot of windows for myself, Jeff and everybody else. And but, you know, when I shut down, you know, what were our next options? And I think those are kind of the things we struggled with at that time.

You know, what else are we going to do? You know, do we have a counter for the counter for the counter? And, you know, LeBron figured it out and shut it down. And those type of things took us out of our rhythm. For sure, man. But I want to talk about, you know what I'm saying, before we get to that part where y'all was still killing. The city was really behind y'all. Obviously, you know what I'm saying,

Litt has a great fan base. You know, the Hawks had some up and down years. Y'all had some good years before with Joe, Josh, obviously. But the city was really behind y'all. Like, the way you even see, like, you just go to the Hawks game. The opposing team might have had more in the crowd. That time period, nah, it was up in the city. What's that like feeling that love, you know what I'm saying, on and off the court, y'all. Like, the way you even see, like, you just go to Hawks game. The opposing team might have had more in the crowd. That time period,

nah, it was up in the city. What's that like feeling that love, you know what I'm saying, on and off the court? Y'all in the city, y'all still killing on the court too. Yeah, I was in the city,

so I used to, you know, they didn't go out. That boy was outside. I was outside. So, I got a chance to see the, you know, the people talk to you. Like, man, we love

what you guys are doing. They was excited about our team. And then the fans, like, the arena used to be lit like every time Kyle hit a three you hear three and all that stuff it was lit uh even Dennis when they used to say got him and all that stuff it was just the time was just amazing that year was unbelievable and I have been here already for I think six or five or six years by then. The crowd, I was like, man,

it's just, I haven't played in front of the crowd like this shit. And it was literally a game. He represented well for y'all outside, gal. Oh, man. Oh, man, oh, man. No, I think, you know,

I think when I first got here, there was some criticism of like, you know, what's the atmosphere like at the games? And in the middle of that season when everything turned like like what they said this place it was a it was so fun to be in these games man and everything that you guys have built now it's just added on to that as far as the experience but like

there was a real appreciation i think what i felt for like how we played the game and like the intention of like you know the players trying to make each other better playing a certain style, even overachieving to a certain, like we all knew like, you know, this, this is a group that needs each other. And there was like, the purists in Atlanta, like came out and everybody loved it and enjoyed it. And it's just, it's just, it's a, it was a team that I love to play on. It was a team that was fun to play on it was a team that was fun to root for just because of the posture everyone had towards the actual style of play that was

happening out there most definitely so obviously keep killing you get to the playoffs you talk about that environment what's that first home playoff game like a A breeze. We knew we was going to win the first round. Like, that was easy. I don't remember who we played. It was game two. It wasn't Washington. No, it was Brooklyn, was it? I don't know who we played.

Who did we play? We played Brooklyn. It was Brooklyn? Okay, sure. It was one of those games. Yeah, but I knew like, we knew we had, we knew we were going to win.

I wasn't worried about them at all. The team I was worried about was like Washington, I think. That's who we played next, right? I was like, yeah, this might get a little tricky. My defense was never the best.

And I was like, that's prime John Wall, right? Yeah, I was like, DeMar, you might have to switch. Washington was good that year. Yeah, they were really good. They were really good that year, yeah. I think we were good against teams that didn't execute

well. You know, we were good against teams who didn't communicate on defense. And we just knew teams that we were

going to beat because we were going to execute, right? And that first round was definitely one of those. For sure, y'all

had a business, for sure. Like you said, y'all had to get into Washington, you know what I'm saying? Different series, but y'all still prevail. you said, y'all get into Washington, you know what I'm saying? Different series, but y'all still prevail. And let's talk about that final matchup, you know what I'm saying? All chips on the table. What's that environment

like preparing to go into that? Because you're playing against LeBron. I was excited. I was like, yeah, I think we can beat him. Because in the regular season, we did. We beat him pretty good every time. And I was like, yeah. And I seen the first play.

He ran a pick and roll with me. I was like, oh, that's what we're going to do the whole game? You're going to bring me in the pick and roll? I was like, it's over. So you knew then he figured it out. Yeah. I was like, why you keep calling me up in the pick and roll? I was trying to get that switch.

It was over. I was like, I can't guard LeBron. I couldn't guard Dele. What you think went wrong, Kyle? Nah, it wasn't that. It was not that. It was not that. It was not that. Just funny.

I was thinking Kyle was going to be like, well, yeah. Nah, I ain't throwing my guy to folks like that. It would not have. You know what? I mean, we got some injuries too, right? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I feel like I didn't get to compete in that whole series, right? I got the second game.

But, I mean, the playoff is you play, and you play in the regular season, and you play in the first couple rounds, and you play in the last couple rounds. They're all different, right? There's levels. And I think that was a group for them that they had, like the Brown had been through more of those third and fourth rounds. Like third and fourth rounds are different.

And that was our first time as a group going through that. And there's not, I don't know of any groups that go through it together the first time and get it right. Right? So I think there's a whole lot of grace in my mind for that group. Like I thought that we showed, like, who we are. And I thought that we showed, throughout the regular season especially, like Paul said, we actually beat them, I think, three of the four times.

Right. But those late rounds are different. And it's something you have to just keep on experiencing and building on and adding to. And this is this is sport. It's what it is. For the fans in here, obviously, we don't have that feeling. Obviously, playing at home, different environment. What's it like playing on a road in a high-intensity situation? It's the best. It's the best?

It's the best. There's nothing in sport like silencing a home crowd. There's nothing like it. It is the best. And, you know, it's a bunch of teams in this league that have great home crowds. But when you can silence a team in the playoffs, like it is the best. It is. I thought we were going to win game three.

I remember that plays in my head a lot. I thought we won game three and LeBron was LeBron. He's good. Yeah. He's pretty good. He's good. I was up. What happened?

We went overtime that game. He hit a three in the corner. Oh, okay. And tied it up. I thought he caught a cramp. Magically, he came back. I'm like, caught a cramp. He done.

No, he's back. We lost in overtime. I think Sheldon might have got a shot to win the game or to tie the game or something. And granted, I mean, we felt like we played okay, I think Sheldon might have got a shot to win the game or to tie the game or something. Respect. Yeah. And granted, I mean, we felt like we played okay, but they played exceptionally well. They shot the ball. Historically.

Historically. You know, first, I remember the first quarter, I don't think they went on the run where they didn't miss a shot. Like, they went on like. Our defense was kind of, well, who we said was going to let shoot? I mean, J.R. Smith was knocking down shots. I mean, it was tough. They got in a rhythm that, you know, in basketball, you get in a rhythm like that, you know, you have to stop it.

You have to stop the rhythm. Yeah. And, you know, we just dug ourselves too big of a hole by not getting them out of that rhythm in the first or second quarter. And, you know, when you're on the road and you're up against a good team, you're up against LeBron James, it's tough to come back from that. But I felt like we definitely fought

and we had opportunities to change the rhythm and change the dynamic of the series. We just didn't capitalize on it. You know what's funny about that? You remember when JR started hitting those threes? I came to the bench and was like, I got him. And I got him and he hit the next one. I was like, I got him. And I got him and he hit the next one. Kyle was like, I got him.

I'm chasing him. I got him. Kyle was like, okay. He came off a screen, hit another one. I was like, he go back over there. I don't know who I thought that was. I'm 5'10". It's funny that you mention that.

You talk about the LeBron pick and roll. There's a clip going around where LeBron demands that pick and roll from you like four or five times in a row. And then you're just like, all right, bro. Yeah, he kept doing it. I knew.

I was like, they figured it out trying to get the switch. Then we had the double. They was going to kick it out and get a three. I was like, there's nothing we can do. Most definitely. Obviously, you know,

season came up a little bit short of our expectations, but you guys had a hell of a season. Obviously, playing in different situations past that. How does it make like the memory of this team feel when you go back and play? All right. I play different places after this, but the camaraderie we had is magical season still lives on. I mean, for me, I went to Denver after that. A lot of young guys, you know, but a lot of young

hungry guys. They were hungry. You know, all they needed was a little bit of mentorship to get them over their heads. But as far as locker room presence, I mean, I don't think there'll ever be another situation like we had in Atlanta or anywhere else. Everywhere else, you know, guys are we had in Atlanta and everywhere else, you know, guys are cool and whatever, but the bond just goes from there. You know, for us, you know, we, we knew each other's families. We went out to dinner, you know, on the road, we had team bonding, you know,

we went to the, to the, to the what is it? The Braves, you know, stadium and played baseball, man, you know, as a team, you know, we did things like that, that, you know, stay down and play baseball, man. You know, as a team, you know, we did things like that, that, you know, when it gets on the court, it makes it a lot easier to gel with a team. So, you know, there's not a lot of teams out there doing that. Yeah, man. That team lives on in me. I'll just say that.

Like, for me, it's almost like when there's someone that you admire in life and they pass away or something happens, and it's like you take what was great in that and you want that inside of you. Like that's what that group is for me. Like it was so pure. Like I always tell, like I'm telling whenever I talk to kids about basketball, it's just always the younger, it's like enjoy this because the higher you go, it may be more rewarding, but it loses its purity yeah and and it's not often that you get to

be around and be in a group in the nba where like we were all about the right stuff and like a lot of like we're for me now is we're working on building out the hawks like that it's it's not necessarily the blueprint but it is a North Star all the way. And you want to try to continue to add more talent and and all those things. But like how that worked, like going back, just thinking back about how this team came together. It wasn't necessarily about adding a bunch of superstars and figuring out like you got really good humans who love to work, who love their craft. You got really, really good coaches like the coaching staff that we had that year. It was Coach Bud.

But then think about all the coaches we had. Quinn Snyder was there the first year. Then he left. We had Kenny Atkinson. You had Nevin, who's been a coach in Europe forever. You had Charles Lee. You had Taylor Jenkins. Those are just head coaches who have been on the league.

You got assistant coaches. Ben Sullivan's been a top assistant. You got Pat St. Andrews. You got Jordan Ott, who was in the video room. These guys are all front-of-the-band coaches. That's who was teaching us every day what it meant to play Hawks basketball. Right.

So it's like, this is, this is the formula for me. Like I'm pulling from that here. Right. Like that to me is like, again, yes,

you add more talent. You try to find, hopefully you get a number one pick and he becomes an amazing player. But like, like this is the formula to me. And like, it lives deep in me like I have a like I have a real love of the game of basketball like it's what drives me it's why I want to keep

on working in this business and that again is like a north star like it is it was a wonderful wonderful experience like the bonds and the friendships that we have with these guys is real when we see each other like it is love but when you go through heartaches and playoff series and you bond and you work like there's things that happen in those moments that you can't get in any other way and um yeah it's just it's a group and a team that like i said i will pull from the rest of my life yeah for me as far as basketball on the court i never went to a team that had that same synergy and energy together you know i mean so i went to go play for the pacers

two years later and like you said i'm winking at guys and they like nah bro what you got going on i'm like cut back door you know so i'm like it just wasn't the same like i went there and i thought like everybody else were dumb basketball players after playing on that team. You know what I mean? Like, we just read each other well. We knew everybody's movements. We knew where everybody was going to be on the court. And then going to these different teams, it wasn't the same.

So I'm used to somebody setting a back screen so you can get a wide open jump shot. And they like, nah, beat him. Beat your man. And I'm like, y'all don't like play together at all like i gotta run to the corner every time like nah so it just was a beautiful way to play basketball i enjoyed that so much that i even try to like i'm a coach now i try to bring that same philosophy when we play move the ball everybody get a chance to score no no go-to guy but everybody can be the guy and that was just a beautiful way to play just to piggyback off that i mean i don't know if everybody know that

you know when an nba team you spend more time with your teammates than you do your family so we see each other every single day right and you don't get that feeling you know once you get up to the door and say damn damn, I go to work again. I got to go in here again. Right. You had people who you wanted to play with, people who understood you. And that's what made it so special. Definitely. Kyle, we talked about the soft camera. Did you know that she was going to be the team's dietitian? Because, you know, some of your teammates, you know, they live a different life in that kitchen. Hey, I mean, guys guys you say didn't drink water

on the scene? Oh my gosh, man. We had guys that didn't drink water on our team. One of those two of us on stage. I'm like, you are an NBA basketball player. Your job is to run on the court. How do you not drink water? When did you start paying

attention to how he did though? I don't like how it tastes. It tastes I don't like how it tastes it tastes like water listen Gatorade you guys one of them may or may not be on the stage wouldn't drink water

they're getting like IVs before the game they're in the training room with like hooked up to an IV so they can play I'm like man just drink this cup of water yeah

that's crazy. I couldn't believe you was living like that, Paul. Oh, man. Listen, man. Legendary team, man. The city remembers you. The city embraces you.

Shout out to everybody here. All here because of this very reason, man. You might want to answer that. Text Tom. Tap in. Are we opening up to the crowd by chance? Okay.

We'll open up to the crowd if we have a couple questions. A couple light questions before we get out of here. Anybody braving up my mans? No, you. Yeah, you got your hands up. Yeah, go ahead. Okay. Oh, wow. it's on the way it's on the way man we're gonna play we're gonna we're gonna get that game we're gonna get that game yeah we started over under right now please fight your best and drag gentlemen in the hat yes sir i could start it um if you go look at our numbers, how many minutes we played,

we didn't play high numbers of minutes. I think we played like 26 a game. I did, around that time. So Dennis Schroeder. Points per minute was great then, huh? Yeah, I was killing. Dennis Schroeder was great. Even Shelvin Mack.

Ken Bazemore came off that bench. It was a bunch of guys. Mike Scott, my guy. They had amazing seasons. Like, that whole year, everybody played well. And we all just wanted everybody to win. It was crazy. Like, he said, we'd be on a plane playing Uno and all that stuff.

And those were my guys. I mean, me and Dennis, we used to go at it a little bit. But other than that, I love those guys. Dennis was like, because we were all, we were a pretty steady group, right? Yeah. Like, Dennis was like the little brother. That you needed. That get under your skin, agitate you.

Yeah. Get you going. And he was a super important part of it. We needed it, right? You needed guys like that. We needed guys like Elton Brand and Per antich and michael scala and um i mean there's so many guys who start in their role for our for that group and we're about the team um it's a long list that was a it was a it was a great group definitely gentlemen in the back yes sir i've seen Bud at a concert yeah he used to take his kids to all the

concerts here and I seen him and they were having a good time he didn't know any of the songs but he was vibing out I'm scared to ask which artist it is but I know this is a brand same kind we was messing up some commas that night oh Bud went to go see Future

shout out to Bud why I got why I got Oh, Bud wants to go see Future? Yeah. Shout out to Bud. Sure did. Why God? Sure did. Why God? Sure did. Oh, man, in the front. Yes, sir.

Would have loved to have known. 100%. 100%. Injuries are part of this whole equation. It is every year for every team. There's a lot of things that have to go right to still be playing

at the very, very end. And, you know, wish we could have had a full squad. For sure. And last one. Right here,

my man in front. Yeah. I like that. That's hard. Yeah, yeah. I like that. Perfect. Oh, you grew up in Brooklyn. Luis, pull it up. I appreciate that. For sure.. Yeah, I like that. That's hard. Oh, you grew up in Brooklyn.

Luis, pull it up. I appreciate that. For sure. Unfortunately, we are out of time. We want to say thank you all for pulling up. We appreciate y'all. Make some noise for y'all. Thank you.

For sure. Two times for our wonderful guests up here. We appreciate Paul and Kyle pulling up. The Hawks appreciate the hospitality as well. We'll see y'all another time. Cleared 520.