Club Shay Shay - Club 520 - Damian Lillard on playing w/ Giannis, Russell Westbrook battles, Steph Curry, NBA Top 75

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

We’re back with Season 2, Episode 93 of Club 520 where the squad interviews Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks. Dame talks about hitting “the shot” against Paul George in the NBA Playoff, playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, going against Russell Westbrook in the postseason, facing Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, and making the NBA Top 75 All-Time list. The guys then get into Dame’s rap career, and discuss getting Lil Wayne to jump in on a song, and much more! #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On the latest season of my podcast, Against the Rules, I'm exploring what it means to be a sports fan in America, and what the rise of sports betting is doing to our teams, our states, and ourselves. Join me and listen to Against the Rules on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Against the Rules. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your coffee. The show hits every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe.

Subscribe today, and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, I am joined by the greatest alpine skier of all time, Michaela Schifrin. Michaela talks about the ski accident

that changed everything for her, performing while going through grief and what it's like to release the pressure of being the GOAT and so much more. Like I have no right to be winning this race. I really probably shouldn't even be doing it, but I'm here, so I will win. Listen to this episode of Dear Chelsea

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can't get enough football? Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast. Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories. Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable?

Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season? Look no further. We've got recaps, retweets, and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field. Make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. What happens when a professional football player's career ends

and the applause fades and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church voila you got straight way he tried to save everybody listen to spiraled on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts the volume all right we back another episode of club 520. We on the road for a special guest. We got to be in a special place, man.

We pulled up to Phoenix one time for the camp. Long away the episode, man. They been asking about it. I'm happy we could deliver, but to my far left, we got my dog, Bishop B. Henn out the Purlies. How you doing, Nasty? Cool, Nasty. Let's get to it, baby.

Damn, I got to tell you, man, he got a uniform, so you to get him out of uniform in your shoes, that's a big deal. Nah, I fuck with the dealers, you know what I mean? Three stripes forever. You got to make sure you're the street, man. Yeah, man, he got a uniform, so you to get him out of uniform in your shoes, that's a big deal. Nah, I fuck with the dealers, you know what I mean? Three stripes forever. You got to make sure he looks straight. Yeah, man. He got the lace. He changed the laces in there.

Oh, yeah, I freaked him out. I made him me, for sure. Get your flavor on it. For sure. To my right, my dog, Young Nacho, Young T. How you doing, man? Chilling, man. I'm hyped.

We got one of the special players in the building, top 75. Person I'm a huge fan of I'm really shitty I ain't get that color wave But I make it work You know what I'm saying? You're a big three player This league

You can shit on here bro Hey I was gonna say Man we talking about it It's good to see you Back in the three stripes man I mean I gotta work Something out with JR I'm about to go on

My little rant like Bassey Shout out to the guy I was gonna say JR needs to go to press Shout out to JR something out with J.R. I'm about to go on my little rant like Bassey. Shout out to the guy. I was going to say, J.R. needs to go to prison. Shout out to J.R. Shout out to J.R. We love you. We love you. We love you, guy.

But to my left, man, we got a special, special guest, man. One of the coaches to touch a basketball, like my bro said, top 75. And he get busy off the court, you know what I'm saying? Music going crazy. And if you do too much, you know what I'm saying, the hands is legit, too. We got one of the coaches to ever do it. Dame Dollar Damien Lillard, appreciate you sliding I'm saying? Music going crazy, and if you do too much, you know what I'm saying? The hands is legit, too. We got one of the coldest to ever do it. Dame, Dollar, Damien, Lily, appreciate you sliding on this big dog. For sure, bro. Appreciate y'all having me. For sure. Long time coming, man. People been asking for this episode, you know what I'm saying? We trying to make it happen all-star, but you know what?

The weather was too fucking crazy. Yeah. But we got straight to it, man. But listen, we got to start with the origins with you, man, because your history, bro, your career is so crazy. Be here. We got to talk about the high school days. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, man. I wanted to tap in with you.

Let's go back all the way to AAU. Was you rocking with the guys or did you just, you know, link up with some guys that was already nice in the city with the Rebels? Nah. Shit, that was like my childhood neighborhood type program. Yeah, okay. Like I started with him in elementary school and them was like my first real friends outside of my cousins and my family so it was once i started getting nice then like the soldiers and all those other you know norcal elite we had a

couple other like uh programs that was sponsored. You know, they was getting all the shoes. Yeah. But then I was like, these my people. Nah, that's hard, bro. I stayed with the team. We was in the lower level tournaments. Then we got older.

We started getting into the other ones because we was, like, way better. Okay. But that was it. I stayed with the local program. Nah, yeah. You and him got a similar similar story he rocked with his guys too that's why i wanted to ask you about that i did that but yeah i switched my senior year i couldn't rock out with the guys like that bro i wouldn't get no offers nah we had the same team we just went to one of those sponsor teams that's how it was

yeah i ain't have. We didn't. I ain't get no offers until the very last summer. That's me. Yeah, that's how it was. Going to see your senior year. That's how it was. Who was your first one? Weber State.

Oh, okay. Yeah, that was my first offer. I remember we had, we played against this dude that was from Texas. I don't even remember his name. But it was a 9 a.m. game. We get there. It was empty. There was literally our team, their team.

There was another game next to us. And there was one coach there. That was a coach from Weber. But he was there to see me and the other dude. Ah, damn. Okay. And after that game, they just offered me right after the game. Killed, buddy.

Yeah. Denver took his spot. That was the story right there. It was over fast, too. I seen one coach. That was the first time a coach ever came to our game, buddy. Yeah. Denver took his spot. That was the story right there. It was over fast, too. I seen one coach. That was the first time a coach ever came to our game, too. So I was like, that's crazy. Damn.

See, I was just playing in front of aunties and uncles. Not even that, for real. If we was in Oakland, everybody came. But on the road, it was just us. Damn, that's tough. Damn, that's crazy. So for you to go to that and also head into your senior year, it should start going crazy for you.

Obviously, you already made that decision. You was rocking with Weber State because they showed interest in you early. How was it going to your, like, getting to college after that crazy high school career? I mean, when I got there, it was cool. Like, everybody was cool. They was just telling me, like, man, you got to earn your spot. And I remember thinking, like, man, like, I'm the best player they done had come here in a minute.

And they like, you know, you missed class. We sending you home. It was just hella. Damn. They just ran a tight ship. You know what I'm saying? It was first day I got there in the summer. It was conditioning.

We running stadiums, all this crazy shit. And I remember thinking to myself, like, shit, I don't think I'm really cut for this. Like, this crazy shit and I remember thinking to myself like shit I don't think I'm really cut for this like this crazy like I remember dying after conditioning and thinking like I really don't know if this shit is gonna work out because this crazy if this would it take so I got through the first day we started playing pickup I couldn't score like everybody was stronger faster I couldn't get nothing done. So that was kind of when the transition for me started where I was like, all right, I got to answer the call. Like, this shit harder than I thought it was going to be.

And then from there, that was it. You know what I'm saying? I came off the bench like the first four or five games. And then I got to the starting lineup. They had me at the two and then the the guy who was starting at the one he actually here at camp he was like five six five seven but he was just a straight score and then they swept they switched this they made me the point guard and him the two because i was more like a playmaker scorer and he was just getting buckets and when they switched

us that's when that's when shit changed that's crazy that's unlike you you're talking about getting recruited you know what i'm saying they tell you hey you the best you can't wait till you get here and you get there like hey you ain't really shit you are your spot not for real yeah not for real me and him got a very similar story because that's how i was at wake forest i didn't start my first five six games we had ish smith so ish was at the point and then i came in playing a two and like you said it kind of switched even though it was i was a more of a score than ish but he broke his foot that's how i got a chance to play point but i was just thinking i'm like shit you

was a pass first shit i know you for buckets because the first time i seen you when you was at weber state it was my guy lou i never forget i think it might have been your junior year because my brother was a senior In high school I think And he was like It's this dude at Weber State That's nasty And I was like

He nasty He was like man He remind me of like Steph and them at Davidson And I'm like Ah this nigga gassing now Like I ain't I ain't going for all that

Then he was like Nah you gotta watch him So he The game came on Y'all came on late as hell We watched it And you was shooting fadeaways I'm like

Buddy got the green He wildin' Like he wildin' But you had bounce I'm like He was like bro He gonna go top five I was like

We per se He like Yeah I was like They ain't playin' nobody He was like T you trippin' bro Watch what he doin' And then the next year

My brother was in the draft And I never forgot I was like Hey you gotta go against This dude named Dame You gotta get a workout with him That nigga looked at me And said

I ain't about to work out Against him I said why He was like Man he called He going top five Work around against him I was like

He going top five He was like Yeah he like that He said He had seen you At Adidas Nations I think Yeah

And he was Bro that's That's the funniest story Cause when I Nobody knew who you at a Adidas Nations I think he was bread that's that's the funniest story cuz when I nobody knew who I was at Adidas Nation he was telling me but I seen air like all of them obviously I knew all them niggas was but when I got there everybody was like just staring at me like who is like cuz they all knew each other I was the only person nobody knew so I remember one day I see them all like on the baseline like in the group and they all talking and they just kind

of like looking at me so I'm just kind of staring back like man this is one of the moments I got to stand my ground like they all friends like I don't know if they think I'm a sucker or something like so they all had a little talk or whatever And then Will Barton walked over there like Hey like You D-Rose cousin? Like they thought I got in camp Because I was D-Rose cousin I'm like nah

I go to Weber They like okay I'm like so the whole time I'm thinking they talking shit or something They thinking I'm in camp Because I'm D-Rose cousin Like that's how they thought I got in camp That's crazy

My brother told me that He was like bro he was so cold And he was like nah he cold And then you cold. He was like, nah, he cold. And then you went, nah, I played you my rookie. I'll never forget. Because now I always have this thing about rookies. I'm like, if I can kill him the first time, it's going to be in his head a little bit when we play him.

And I seen you watch. You sit there. You and DV, y'all sit there before the game and watch people warm up. I'm like, why are you watching me? Like, what are like watch people Warm up I'm like Why you watching me Like what are you on Like I'm like I'm about to get in his head

So I start warming up hard Y'all know I'm gonna warm up hard Start warming up hard Shooting like yeah He wasn't paying me no mind It was like I was like You know what

I'm going at him First place I'm telling people Like hey We gonna see if he can hoop I'm like damn This nigga cold He gave me with that

Kyrie moment You remember when I called you About Kyrie I'm like, damn, this nigga cold. He gave me with that Kyrie moment. You remember when I called you about Kyrie? I called my brother. I said, hey, the dude dang, man. He going to be raw. Book said, duh. What? He about to be the one.

And after that, it was over with. I was like, yeah, it's over with. He the one. Yeah, that's crazy, man. It's crazy for you to say that because I'm thinking the same thing against you. Like, I remember, like, Chichu, Darren Collison. It was people that they never was talking about like that, that I'm like, these the matchups that be the hard matchups.

Like, fast, getting to the rim, you got the ball. So, it's like, it's crazy for me to hear you say that when we come into the game and they like, you know, Jeff Teague, you know, he fast. He can shoot. He going to be coming off in transition. You got to stand. I'm like, damn, like, it's going to be a tough one. Goran Dragic, it was the same thing.

Like, you had them matchups where it was like, them the ones people ain't talking about. They going to tell you about CP and Darren Williams. But it's them nights where you show up and it's like, bro, it's a tough matchup. I got a question, man. Why the hell did you wear a zero? Don't do that.

I'm from Oakland. Respect. My college was in Ogden, Utah, and then I got drafted in Oregon. Oh, okay. I can move on. I was just... Why you thought... I can move on. I don't know.

I was just making sure you didn't have no wicked ass story like him. Yeah, here they go. Nigga wants to be named after... I mean, where his number? Because of Drew. They had a mohawk

and shit together in the league. I was just asking. Your order from zero, bro. Drew Gooden? Nah, it was Gilbert Arians, bro. Gilbert was my favorite player. Cat-faced nigga. Y'all can move on.

But I used to play with Drew Gooden on March Madness. Y'all can move on. I used to play with Drew Gooden on March, man. Hey, man. Y'all can move on, man. Go on, get an interview, man. I just had to ask that. Don't roll with him, man. Don't listen to him, bro.

Drew Gooden, y'all. Lord. That's crazy. They're going to put the side-by-side up for this shit. We know this. Luis, if you do that, bro, I quit. Did you come into the league comfortable, though? Ready to go?

Or it took you a while? No, I came in. I'll say I was comfortable, but I had like – I remember during the summer after I got drafted, I was like – my trainer was training tomorrow. He was at camp today. He was over there. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I saw him. And he started taking me to L.A. with him. So I was playing. I was working out playing ones with Corey Maggette Matt Barnes Debo like okay I was going against big wings and they was all athletic and they was all younger at that time so when I started going to LA playing against them and they was like backing up off me and I'm winning spots in ones because I'm just hitting jumpers they letting me shoot then they see I could shoot they was pressing up into me I was able to get around them yeah

like just those like couple weeks that I was able to go out there and get with them that was when I was like all right like I'm gonna be straight I got the summer league and summer league was kind of easy like it wasn't really a lot of dudes that's actually in the league out there and then my first preseason game was against Kobe, Steve Nash, all of them. So, like, I got broke in quick. Yeah, he was in the fire early then. Okay. That's dope.

And that's crazy. Like you said, even, you know what I'm saying, what you had to go through a week of being in the one option as you later, that kind of prepares you to go in, be ready for the, like, to be a franchise player. A lot of times you go to school, you got to shoot a ball a lot a lot then when you throw in that situation you gotta figure it out so you had already been thrown in the fire yeah and i can imagine playing pickup with uh cory mcgetty and matt barnes you were getting no foul cough no they was it was big and they was physical so it was like they wasn't calling no fouls it really was no fouls so it was and i couldn't come in here calling

fouls they weren't gonna respect it so it respect it. So that shit was definitely good for me. Did Kobe play in that first game? Yeah, he did. How was that? Shit, the first five minutes, I was just staring at him like. Oh, God. Like, that's him for real? That's a real person.

Yeah, like, that's Kobe. But he wasn't paying me no mind. You know what I'm saying? So when I got on the court, I'm thinking, you know, he going to be like, welcome to the league, you know, something like that. He ain't say shit. So that kind of like put me back into being a competitor because it was like you naturally going to take it a little personal.

Even if you feel like that's Kobe or that's Brown or whoever, I was like, damn, he ain't say nothing. So I'm like, shit, it's either me waiting to be a fan or I got to do what I got to do. It flipped back to that after that couple of minutes. Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On every season of my podcast, Against the Rules,

I take a broad look at various characters in American life. The referee, the coach, the expert. My next season is all about fans and what the rise of sports betting is doing to them, to the teams, and even to my family. I'm heading to Las Vegas and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling. and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news previews recaps and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee no dumb hot takes here just smart hot takes we'll

talk every single game every single week but i can't do it alone so i'm bringing in the big guns from nfl media that's patrick claybon steve weish nick shook jordan rodrigue from the athletic and of course colleen wolf this is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.

Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, I am joined by the greatest alpine skier of all time, Michaela Schifrin. Michaela talks about the ski accident that changed everything for her, performing while going through grief and what it's like to release the pressure of being the GOAT and so much more. Like I have no right to be winning this race. I really probably shouldn't even be doing it, but I'm here, so I will win. Listen to this episode of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. episode of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. I got swept up in Kabir's journey, but this was only the beginning. In a story about faith and football,

the search for meaning away from the gridiron and the consequences for everyone involved. You mix homesteading with guns and church and a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked. Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Can't get enough football? Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast. Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories. From game plan analysis and player interviews, we've got you covered for all things football. Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable? Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season?

Look no further. We bring you everything, all the games, all the matchup previews, our impeccable predictions. Get your football fix right here on the GMFB Podcast. We've got recaps, retweets, and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field. We bring it like nobody else, straight from the stores. Whether you're a football fanatic or you just enjoy a good laugh,

make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I think it's dope that you got handed the ball as soon as you got in the league. Like, I wanted to ask you. No, you know how it goes. So, like, if like if you didn't how you think your career would have went like you would have had to sit and think about it like that was the worst part of me i had played we about to interview bivy one of these days but i had to sit behind bivy and i used to just wait

and wait and wait you kind of lose your confidence a little bit because you're like it ain't no way i'm this sad yeah but i'm glad they didn't do that to you i'm glad you got handed the ball because like you say you're a top 75 player one of the greatest to do it like what you did you want that moment like to learn or would you like like being thrown in the fire i mean i think uh see a lot of people career be depending on that like it's a lot of dudes that if they come in and they get the ball right away they could have ain't no telling what they could have did that that changed people careers but when I got there it was like coming from a small school I was always telling myself like shit I might be in the

G League I might be on the bench I ain't ain't no telling but I think once I got there and they was like you know he can shoot he ain't scared with, you know, LaMarcus Aldridge. We was able to play off each other. They was just like, they let me go. And I think just like how I was able to get along with vets so fast. Like I played with Jared Jeffries and Ronnie Price. So once I was able to earn their respect and I was able to be on the court with them, that's when our coach was

just kind of like you know he just let me learn he just let me go and I think that was a big part of it is like you said being at Weber for four years I was an extension of the coach so I knew how to I knew how to like get my my words off through the team you know I'm saying I knew how to lead a team I knew how to do the right thing I knew what it took you know I'm saying I knew how to lead a team I knew how to do the right thing I knew what it took you know I'm saying to like be the guy but also like not make it all about me where everybody feel like they part of it so coming in and playing with Batum and Wes Matthews and LA and Robin Lopez all them dudes it was like I knew how to be there and be the point guard they needed but I knew how to be there and be the point guard they needed, but I knew how to not get in their way too and stop them from being able to L.A. get his 24 attempts.

Batum handling the ball sometimes and Wes getting post-ups. I was aware of that because of my experience and being in school for four years. Ain't no telling how it would have went, bro. I think I would have been straight regardless, but I think them giving me the ball right away to play is what kind of let me just jump out there and get on the track that i that i've been on i was already you already i was in atlanta i turned up i went to the perfect environment too like going to portland that shit was right by oakland family could come like some

of my family moved up there it was like quiet it was a perfect environment did you get a mohawk when you got to the league or did you wait he on that mohawk nah but how was it playing with uh la man we be we high on la one of the more underrated players man la was like that make the shit easier for you on the court made it way easier yeah i mean teams was really paying attention to him. So, like, being in the pick and roll with him, like, he popping, he making every jumper. I'm throwing it to him on the block. They going to get him.

I'm standing there by myself, like, coming off pick and rolls. His man trying to get back to him. So, I'm getting. Like, my rookie year, i started every game with an elbow pull-up jumper off pick and roll like i literally one two three dribbles to the elbow pull-up every time because they trying to get back to him then shit once they saw i could make it i still was getting pull up three off the pick and roll damn near every time so like playing with him i was like one thing i think about in my career is if he would have never went to San Antonio, we would have won at least once already.

I feel that, bro. Because I would have came into my own, but he was that good. Facts. He was that good. It was facts. And Batum. Motherfucker sleep on Batum. Batum was nice, bro.

Bro, we just seen Nick Batum kill in the last postseason, bro. He just killed this last postseason. was he was I hated playing him they used to do this little flare this little wheel you know we do it at Pike I took y'all playing my high school team yeah that's our that's our that's our offense I used to I used to hate guarding so much I was like it's no way you can't use it it's terrible y'all doing all these flares. And when you was guarding him, and especially when CJ started playing, well, it was super effective with Wes and Batum. But when CJ started playing, y'all had the hand doing stuff with it. I'm like, ah, they getting filthy out here now.

Yeah, we was using it to run the pick and roll. We got to run it off that. I was like, they getting filthy now. So that offense was crazy. But playing them, you knew you was about to get – you played in Portland. You was getting beat. We knew from the East Coast team. We was like, yeah, we're going to take a hell in Portland. But playing them, you knew you was about to get, you played in Portland, you was getting beat. We knew from the East Coast team,

we was like, yeah, we're going to take a hell in Portland. It's cool though. It's hard to win there, especially when you travel. That crowd's crazy. Yeah,

that'd be like that. I heard y'all in Sacramento got one of the two of the toughest crowds in the NBA for sure. That didn't used to be like that. That just got like that over the last couple years.

They was like that with Bibby and them way back. And then it died down back And then it died down For a while And then the last I say two three years It got crazy again

Yeah Shit speaking of that I gotta ask What's the most hostile Game you've been at Like as far as Like environment Like location wise

Um Man I'd say uh Cause you done been In some battles I'd say either At Golden State Or at OKC Like when they was nice nice

Like at OKC But Golden State just tough Because like playing them in the playoffs You like We played them I think my fifth year Or maybe it was my fourth year It was my fourth year We played them in the second round

We beat the Clippers We played Golden State And we round. We beat the Clippers. We played Golden State, and we was up double digits every game. And I'm like, man, we lost 4-1, but we could have beat them 4-1. But we would be up nine, and it would be five minutes left in the third quarter. We go into the fourth quarter down eight. And it's like it happened fast, too.

It's like, they hit one three. You hear the crowd. You see everybody stand up. And somebody taking the ball out. You just looking around like, damn, it feel like we down 20. They come back, hit another one. It's like, you could just see the game. That's the only crowd I played against at oracle where like we could be

winning and it felt like the game was like slipping away damn like that's how crazy it was in there like steph hit a three clay hit a three like timeout that that walk back to the bench was like devastating damn like devastating you think that's your toughest matchup though? Golden State? With Steph You and Steph One on one Uh I mean

Steph He just He just constantly moving Yeah You just can't lose track of Steph Like He He definitely

One of the toughest I think just one on one I'd say like Kyrie a tough Matchup For sure Kyrie just a tough, because you can guard him perfect

and he'll still make it. Yeah. Either hand, bumping him like, like he just, and he'll do it when it don't look like it's hard too. Yeah.

When somebody do it and they feel like they just did it smooth and it's all next, you'll be like, damn, like, that can turn into him

making every shot. for sure he spoke on Kyrie early rookie year at one point in my career I guarded Kyrie more than anybody in the NBA y'all played a lot I get killed every time that's a real stat no it was bro that's a good when I was in Milwaukee by last year they was like hey when we was playing Brooklyn they was like you can guard him you guard him the most than anybody in his career I was in Milwaukee By that year They was like When we was playing Brooklyn They was like You can guard him You guard him the most Of anybody in his career I was like Put that battery in his back We got swept every year

They was trying to get you to believe Yeah They was trying to tell me Like nah I was already done I was like I don't believe that shit Drew gonna stay on him

Don't worry about it He got hurt Did he get hurt? Kyrie Yeah He twisted his ankle But I wasn't getting in anyway But I was gonna getting in anyway But

I was gonna say You had battles For sure But my favorite battle Between you and the guards I used to watch all y'all games But you and Westbrook Got together

Yeah I was like Ah yeah This must see TV Yeah Cause y'all Y'all both Tough minded guards

Y'all both gonna talk Y'all both pop y'all shit You don't really talk Like if somebody Say something to you, then you'll go back. But him, he don't give a fuck. He started it. He started it every time. I remember one time he did that to me.

I was like, bro, I don't care. And he was like, that's the problem. That's the problem. That's a good one. All right. That's the problem. Made you think again. I was like, damn, that is a problem.

Mother trippy. No,. That's the problem. Made you think again. I was like, damn, that is a problem. Mother trippy. Nah. Nah, but what's those battles like? I mean, honestly, them was the most fun, like with Russ, because it was like my first five, six years, like he was the bully. Like they was on TV all the time. And Russ, it didn't matter if it was like a big matchup if somebody was hurting he was playing against the backup he didn't care he tried to do

it to everybody and I just remember when uh when I was like rookie second year, it was like he used to try to give me 50 every time. Like it was like he would be shooting on me so much that like KD would be getting mad, like pass the ball. Like he's shooting every time. And once I realized that it was like that, that's when I started taking it personal. I'm like this, like I know he always on go against everybody, but he really trying to like come get me. And that was like when it became personal. So I, I start going back and then I start having a ball more once like,

you know, we did our rebuild. I started having it more. And you know, he, he noticed that I was having it more. So I was being more aggressive back at him. And then that's when it turned into like talking,

you know, I've been busting your ass for years. And I'd be like, yeah, well, like, it's a new time. Like, so when we started having that conversation, it just turned into every game, it was automatic. Like, I came to the arena knowing, like, it's on tonight. Like, something happening. Damn, I thought y'all had real, like beef for real because it just seems so tense to

know it's just coming from him just on BS, just trying to get it off on you. Nah, he just played like that. He just played like that. He a cool dude. Russ is cool. Off the court, we cool. But on the court, it was just like he took that approach and like ain't nobody punking me.

I don't care who you is. Did that help turn you up, though? It did, for sure. Yeah. You ain't see the playoffs? Yeah. I mean, I'm just asking. He got it back in blood, for sure.

For sure. Because Pat Biff said he was the bully of the NBA, so I didn't know. Oh, here you go. Oh, man. He always used to be crazy. It's always him. Stop. My man, continue.

Oh, my God, bro. I'm fucked, gang. I don't want to ruin it. I'm mad. What's up, dude? Oh, shit. I'm weak. You fried, man.

It's all rolling. Man, I got to ask. I've always wanted to ask you this question. What's your favorite game winner between the one in Portland, you know what I'm saying Coming off the curl Knocking it down Or the bad shot Quote unquote

The Bad shot one That's my favorite one For sure I know that was a personal Accomplishment for you Obviously winning the series But do you know what you did

To the internet with that shot bro You fucked everything up With that shot That was probably One of the hardest edits The foulest stretch of my hand To that shot Was one of the hardest

Basketball edits of all time bro Yeah that That was a moment for sure Yeah edits. The foulest stretch of my hand to that shot was one of the hardest basketball edits of all time, bro. Yeah, that was a moment for sure. Yeah, and you definitely... When it happened, I didn't even think about it like that until, you know, after the game, you do media, all the shower, you do all that stuff, and then, like, you finally get to your phone. Like, I look at my phone right after,

but then when you go into that whole post-game process, it's like a little minute in the playoffs before you get to your phone. And I just just remember after that I was in a sprinter I was on my way back home and I was just sitting there on my phone and I was like it was so much shit that happened that I ain't even remember it happening like I looked up into the camera I ain't even remember that moment crazy picture crazy crazy it was just that whole shit was it was a blur until i saw it i was like damn you remember waving though yeah i remember that i remember you wave i don't know it was your brother or something that was my brother he was sitting right there

yeah he came i said oh they turned i said oh but that's how you know when they be personal because you got a brother so you know when like just like i know like what type of when i come into the game i'm playing against russ or whatever like you see russ brother sitting courtside too like everybody who got a brother you know like when you go home or when you step away your brother is the one that's you your head like man that nigga he got you fucked up no ever you know what I'm saying like it's that type

of conversation so it's that type of investment so when it happened like that he was like shit he made the shot that's what it's like

you knew you was going to take that shot though I knew I knew after about like when the clock got like I remember I was about to call

for a switch to get PG off me. I was calling for another defender. But then he was a little bit, like, back a little bit. So I kind of waved him off. And right when I waved him off, I was like, I'm shooting this shit right here. You know how far you was? Bro, that's what I'm saying. Bro, you shot that bitch from yonders, bro.

What's crazy is my trainer, Phil, the one that's running the camp, he came to OKC like after, I think it was like after game three, he came to OKC. We was in the arena shooting. And that whole series, we was shooting that night, and I was just shooting a bunch of deep threes. And he was like, you got to make these. You going to keep making these.

And the whole series, I was just hitting deep three after deep three. So when it got to that end of the game, like, I just remember like, CJ was like to my right and I could just see his arm like, telling me like, go.

Yeah. It's time to go. But I already knew in my head, like, he stay right there. Like, I'm shooting this shit right here. You goaded for that.

Yeah. 100%. And it was a tie game. So I'm like, if I I'm shooting this shit right here. You goaded for that, 100%. And it was a tie game, so I'm like, if I miss, we going to overtime. Yeah, fuck it. Yeah, that's crazy. And that shot got brought up recently again because we was watching Stephanie at Olympics, and that shot that he hit in that gold medal game was just like.

That was crazy. That's just some different shit. Like, y'all just get it like that. And a lot of people talk about, obviously, we know Steph the GOAT. Like you, bro, one of the best shooters of all time that don't get enough credit on that because you really go crazy. Like, we was looking at the highlights. We don't talk about it.

They don't talk about it enough, bro. Nah, he number two. Him and Klay, they battle for number two. Because I feel like you can shoot off the dribble better, though. Yeah. I mean, Klay, I ain't going to lie, because he took 60 on us. I got a different view like Clay got a nigga's PTSD

Yeah I got PTSD from Clay But The way you can shoot off the dribble though I put that in Like you and Steph in a different realm With that shit It's a harder shot They more contested

People guarding you harder You know what I'm saying Like it's It's different bro Hell yeah bro They definitely don't They definitely don't talk about it. They act like I don't be doing what I've been doing. Like this is my 13th season.

You've been going crazy for a long time. A long time. Nah, you been cold. It been a long time, bro. Fuck this shit, man. That's what we want you to hear. Go crazy. Well, I told you to be cool.

It been a long time, bro. For real. Like I'm just saying, it's like my time in the league, when I think about how many people have been very good over that time, and then it's been more people very good, and more people very good for a couple years. It ain't been that many people that have been here the whole time since I've been in the league that just been doing it over and over and over.

But I think people just get bored with consistency. And I ain't loud, but, like, should I have been doing it that long and winning? Like, it ain't like I've been doing it and I'm playing 14 and just never playing the playoffs. Like, the season before last, bro, I averaged almost 33 a game, bro. I know, I know. It's hard to average a dub in the league for a decade, bro. It's crazy. I've been over 25 for damn near eight, nine years.

With another, I'm going to stop cussing, but another person. Everyone corporate. Yeah, you know how I get there. That motherfucker CJ McCollum. He did his shit, too, But I'm saying that goes to you But I always told CJ I could think of games Where CJ come out hot

If he got 18 in the first quarter I ain't trying to get my 22 CJ I remember one game We was playing against Chicago He had 50 in three quarters I think I just didn't shoot I just kept giving it to him. Because I want to see everybody do their thing.

If I'm going to have a lot of moments, I want to make sure that, shit, when it's somebody else's moment, I'm going to let them have their moment. Because I want niggas to be happy for me when I have mine. So I ain't going to try to be hogging the moment all the time.

It seemed like the media tried to break out for a long time bro try to separate y'all saying i was too small like so that goes to show what type of person you are for sure to let him rock out like that and for sure even to see like how you embrace hey simon's like nah bro like i'll show you how to get to it you can see the direct reflection of that like obviously you can tell bro in that locker room your presence is felt bro you show love and that's like even with you like you said when you got no starting position all right i'm straight i'm gonna make sure my backup he gonna get his brain too yeah that was my goal but like what he does is not normal like especially as a franchise

showing people love that essentially is supposed to take your spot yeah and that's not what when i was coming in the league like people weren't really doing that. Like, nobody was doing a camp where they invite guys to come work out with them to show what you do to help them get better because they want your spot. Yeah. I mean, I know, bro, like, to me, I'm looking at the game and how, like, these dudes coming in behaving. And I'm looking at a lot of weird behavior. Like, how they handle success, like, the shit that they doing what they're saying and how they act when they have some success. And I'm just like, that ain't that shit is not going to last. And then when they stop working and it don't work and then they down bad and they broken up about it.

Ain't nobody going to come save you. Ain't nobody going to care. So I'm just trying to I'm trying to touch them and reach out and give them everything that I know because I know it's going to give them a chance to sustain it. So, like, all of them dudes that's behind me, like, I'm going to give them everything because I'm not in competition with them. Like, I know I'm going to win. I've already been winning, and it ain't because I've been hating on somebody or holding out. That's actually why I keep winning because I'm not hating on somebody or holding out. That's actually why I keep winning, because I'm not hating it.

I'm sharing it. And I'm putting the next player, young player, whatever, in position to do what they're going to do. Because what's for me is for me. Like, I'm going to be me all the time. And it ain't going to stop. That's real. Everybody ain't like that, bro.

I remember my guy,'s just always telling me that about you man he used to be like damn the realest bro he wanted everybody to win and that's a fact like just even seeing that with my own eyes today i'm looking at all the young guys you're working with i'm like man if i could have had something like this when i was a rookie because they asked me we were sitting up there watching like did you do this when you was rookie i'm like i'm like no what nobody taking me under their wing that showed me how to get better they thought i was gonna come to take their spot yeah but it's i mean the thing about like the camp bros we got like speakers like

men's like stuff that is gonna help them with stuff that ain't got nothing to do with basketball because they all gonna have have agents, especially now. They got agents. They got managers. They got family members. You got all these people that's pulling them in all these different directions. And then when it don't work out, ain't nobody going to be there. And ain't none of them been in position to really give them no sound advice that's going to actually help.

They just think he about to make some money. They think he better than everybody when they don't really know what's really going on. Like they don't really know who in this league, who their competition is, how the coaches look at them. They just think this is my family member. He the one. So it's like we're trying to share as much as we can with them on the court but off the court too so they don't come in here thinking that something is not.

And they've been, you know, their whole life they've been working to be an NBA player and then they're out the league in one year and don't know what to do. Now they're just somewhere, you know, doing anything. They ain't playing basketball no more. So that's really what our focus is because a lot of these dudes, you know, is two-way players, second-round picks, first-round picks. Some dudes on the, you know, they on the cusp. That third year, you get your option picked up.

You're guaranteed that third year, but after that, you might be overseas. Might get spooky. Yeah, they don't care what pick you was no more. Now they looking at you like he wasn't what we thought he was. There's another 19-year-old that they looking at like they used to look at you, so you can go. Yeah, yeah. So it's like we trying to stop that from happening, but it's a lot that they got to understand on the court,

but also what goes into it off the court too. You know what I'm saying? Them drills we did today, them wasn't Euro steps and a bunch of sidesteps like, bro, these are conceptual drills. You have to be able to do in the NBA. Like, if X is on the court, more reason. Brian going to zip the ball to that X right there. If you're not there, it's going to go out of bounds.

You're coming out. He going to put his hands in the air and look at the coach and you're coming out. For sure. So, it's like, this is the type of stuff they got to know or you can't make it. Especially for some of the positions that they in. Like, y'all not the number one pick of the draft. So no, it's dope.

Yeah. Hey there. It's Michael Lewis, author of going infinite money ball, the blind side and liars poker. On every season of my podcast against the rules. I take a broad look at various characters in American life, the referee,

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Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. With your first year being out of Portland, how was that transition coming into a new team, a new city, and getting adjusted to playing with another great player like Giannis? It was, like, I was excited about it. Like, going into it, just the opportunity to, like, really win. Like, every year I always thought, like, if you're a competitor, you're like,

we can do it this year. You know what I'm saying? Like, you talking to the team, everybody excited it's a new year. But this was the first time where I went into it like we can win for real like and it was kind of it was kind of fucked up because I had a you know a bunch of family stuff going on going into like that summer going through a divorce and uh knowing I'm gonna get traded but not knowing where I'm gonna get traded to so I couldn't get hurt gotta be able to pass a physical so I wasn't able to get up and down at all like I didn't play pick up or nothing

the whole summer damn my first day getting up and down was the first day of training camp that's tough and I did uh I got traded like two three days before camp so I got to Milwaukee I did my physicals moved my stuff into the apartment I was in for a little bit the next day I went to go shoot shit the next day was media day and the next day was practice and I remember like going up and down at practice and um we got to stop Giannis got the rebound and I'm like running up the sideline. And he threw it ahead to me and I jumped up and caught the ball and I landed like, if this the out of bounds line, I was this far out of bounds. Like I caught the ball. I'm way out of bounds. I'm like, oh, I'm off. Like I ain't, I ain't on point. Like I ain't ever did

that shit before. I'm like completely out of bounds. So we keep playing. And just because I'm a scorer like I hit a couple threes like I got to the rim a few times but I could just feel like my body didn't feel good I'm like I'm thinking like I just had to pick my life up in two days and just go and like play you know I'm saying like ain't nothing ain't nothing really settled so like I pretty much spent the whole year trying to like just get my mind to, be there and to lock in and be sharp. Because I knew what type of opportunity I had. You know what I'm saying? But it was a harder transition than I thought, for real.

Like, just, like I said, because of my life. But then also, like, adjusting to playing with another great player and then also playing with Chris. Like, Chris is a great player too. Yeah. But he plays a certain way too. So I'm having to get used to playing with two players. And I don't want to stop them from doing what they do, but I got to find how to be the best version of me within this too.

So it was just a lot of moving parts. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. Well, Dame just a lot of, it was a lot of moving parts. It was, it was more difficult than I thought it would be. Well, Dame, I'm going to need you to get that shit together. Yeah,

no, I trust you. Lay over there at the Pacers. Yeah. He think they got smoke for y'all, bro. We did last year.

We didn't go to some last year. Last year, they, uh, like, full gazey ass shit, bro.

Last year, y'all was hurt, bro. Y'all was hurt. Last year, it just was, you know, they, I think the first time we played them, I don't think I played. I think we played them in Indy. I don't think I played in that game. And I think the next time we played them was in the end season tournament.

And then they beat us in that game. And that was when Halliburton was like, you know, it's my time, whatever. So, like, when I seen that, I respected it. That's why I said that to the guy. No, yeah, you showed love. I respected it. That's like if, you know, like how Russ used to do this, and sometimes people used to do it back.

He had to take it because I done did it to so many people. people used to do it back yeah he had to take it because i didn't did it to so many people so i respected it but like at the same time you like we're gonna address that i respect it but we're gonna we're gonna get back to that at some point yes sir so then like the next time we played them i think uh we beat them in milwaukee and then um i think you know they beat us I think four times we beat them that one time but the time that we beat them was when the situation

with the ball they had like 50 yeah Giannis had 60 yeah 664 or something like that Jesus Christ so like yeah he got that look back

yeah but he was just just done in every play like they he there's nothing they could do that night. So that happened. And then, you know, the season went by. So, like, we lose the last game of the season. And I'm looking at the schedule.

I'm like, we about to play Indiana in the playoffs. And that was when I was looking at it. I was like, I ain't. It been like a little back and forth year. Been a lot. You know, I'm trying to figure this out, figure that out. But I was like, now we about to see in this playoff. So, I mean, it's kind of fucked up.

We was banged up a little bit. That was hard, bro. That was hard. That was hard. No, but I felt like we still was going to win. I respect. I felt like we still was going to win. But, I mean. Chris Millicent believed that Banking 3 was going to overtime and I respect. I felt like we still was going to win. But, I mean.

Chris Millicent believed that Banking 3 was going to overtime and shit. He damn sure believed. Yeah, I mean, I still felt like we was going to win. But, I mean, they, sometimes teams have a run and they had a run. They end up getting to the conference finals. And they beat us in six games.

I mean, I still felt like we had action. I strained my Achilles again in a in game three so yeah yeah I was hurt to be fair as a patient I'm so many how do you get out there you get beat you get beat I'm saying I respect It's energy low. He ain't marking that Pacers shit. Talk your shit, King. We had a great season. I seen y'all. Because I be watching. So I seen the episode. Y'all was like, you know, the Pacers, whatever.

I'm like. Nah, I ain't say that. I remember you was like. I remember you was talking about. That name Wallow over there. Whatever team. I'm on a chicken Milwaukee. Shoot a deer.

You got to see the new bosses here. We got a boss ahead of the set now. I want a chicken Milwaukee. Shoot a deer. He's with everybody. You got to see the new bosses here. We got a boss ahead of the set now. Ah, we got a boss ahead. Shout out to my dogs. That's funny. I hope y'all have a hell of a year this year, though. They are. For sure.

Nah, and Ace is going to be crazy this year. We just got to be healthy. Yeah, for sure. That's what's going to come down. I want to ask you, what's it like playing with Giannis? I had a chance to play with Giannis as a point guard. I ain't going to lie. I'm going to keep it a bean.

It's me. I love Giannis. He's a good dude. Super cool. But as a point guard, nah, hell nah. I'm cool. I'm going to keep it real, bro. I'm cool. He cold. Cold. I'm cool. I'm casual. You like deep fishing?

Get to that corner, my boy. Nah, this is the thing about playing with Giannis is like when you've been great and you've won playing No, this is the, I mean, the thing about playing with Giannis is like, when you've been great and you've won playing a certain way. For sure. Like, you got to respect that.

That's how you play. That's how you know. And then you put me into it. I'm used to having the ball, too. But I came into the situation like, you know, like I got to be a great compliment to Giannis. So I knew it wasn't going to be what it was in Portland but I just think it was a it was just an adjustment for him you know I'm saying like it's different when you got some different type of help you know I'm saying like it don't take as much you don't have to give as much you know

I'm saying like we can do it a little different and i think it the best part about it is like we have a conversation about it yeah that's dope it ain't like he was just like i'm not changing he was just like damn sometimes like you gotta just tell me like pass the fucking ball yeah like you gotta tell me because like all i all i know is go like i'm gonna go like to go. But don't, like, he'll tell you. Like, tell me. And he. That's all I had to say. And he mean it, though.

Like, he, I give him credit because he mean it. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's really how he think. Like, when I got there, I'm watching him work out. He working out against four people. And they all fouling. Like, he like, no he like no like you gotta foul me harder than that you know like yeah so that's how he that's how he that's just how his mind is

the one thing i do love about yannis though he do listen like he'll listen to anything you say like he'll take it in i don't know if he was listening to me but he was he was considering it i'm like i'm like look i'm fast too if you give it to me on a break i can get to the rim he look okay push the euros he took one drill euro all right fuck it i'm gonna get out the way brother yeah he it's just an adjustment bro i think that was the biggest thing and like as the season went on we talked about it more and more the more that we got to know each other it was like i felt more and more comfortable telling him like if you if my man is sitting right there in that gap and you can't get in there, just swing it to me. After I hit a couple, like, he going to get a little closer to me and you going to have more space.

Like, we started to have more and more conversations like that. But I also would tell him, like, it's also going to let me know, like, when the ball is coming. Because he get in the paint so easy, you know, he'll get into the paint. And sometimes he'll just dunk on two people. And then sometimes, you know, a third person will come and, you know, just jump before he jump and then he'll throw it. And I'm thinking he about to shoot. So it was just like, as the season went on, we talked more and more.

And like, we definitely had our stretches where it was like, that was it right there. Like, I remember we went to LA, we played the Lakers and I had like 35 and 11 and he had 35 and 12 and eight. And then we played the Clippers and I had like 34 and 10 and six. And he had 37, 12 and nine. And it was like those back to back games.

I remember like walking through the tunnel and we were just looking at each other like this how we got it this how we got to do it like it ain't gonna always look like this numbers wise but like when we on point on point it could look like this but we got to use each other and then both of those games down the stretch we playing two man games i'm coming off hit him in the pocket. He don't have nothing. He come back to me. I'm shooting threes off the handoff. I come off the handoff, get to the paint.

His man come to me. I'm dumping it off, dunk. It was just like we was just – we was clicking. You know what I'm saying? But I think when you having injuries, you know, I miss a game here. Then he miss a game. And then Chris miss a stretch of games. Like we was never

able to just fully like click all at the same time you know then i think they both missed a stretch of games and we playing the clippers and then bobby have 28 and 15 i have 40 and we beat the clippers with everybody and then we beat phoenix with everybody like it we just it was just a little it was a funky year, bro. I mean, that's why I had y'all winning the chip. We talked about it. But all them things combined, injuries and all that stuff. Yeah, it's hard.

You got to be healthy, bro. I had y'all winning the chip, but I got y'all winning. Hold on, let me check. Uh-oh. Let me be real. Do I got y'all winning the chip? The East is crazy this year, too. The East is top-heavy, 100%.

JT, he mad right now. He ain't getting no tick. It might be. It's going to be an interesting year, bro. It's going to be tough, but I think, I mean, you know, from being in the league a long time, bro, there's a lot of shit that happened over the course of the NBA season. A lot.

There's a lot that happened. I fear the deer, man. I want to chill with the deer. Fear the deer, man. They don't fuck with no board But I still rock with them I was about to say I ain't see you in the building

At all this year man They be inviting people back They with a boobie bro There would be no 520 live show in Milwaukee We got to Damn You don't want President

Back there I'm going to a game this year Who y'all play open tonight I think we at Philly Oh that's tough We probably going like that I ain't going like that I ain't going like that

I ain't going like that I ain't going like that I think we at Philly I Oh, that's tough. We probably didn't make that trip. I didn't even look to that. I think we at Philly. I want to hop into the rap shit, though, bro. When did you pick up the pen? When did you start, like, did you start off freestyling with the guys on the AAU trips? And then they turned in. That's how it started.

For real? Yeah. So, like, my AAU coach, when we was in, like, sixth grade, like, we used to, you know, we would do the local tournaments. We would go to Sacramento. We might go to Vegas. We would go to L.A. But we used to have four people to a room, like, for our tournament. So, it was, like, two beds.

We literally was back-to-back in the bed, back-to-back in this bed, four of us in one room. Damn. we literally was back to back in the bed back to back in this bed four of us in one room damn but at some point he'd have us all in one room and we all just kind of be circled up in there and he had talked to us like hey you know i'm gonna talk to y'all like men like you could tell he was trying to mold us to be like certain he would tell us like you know what i'm saying y'all from oakland yeah like we ain't scared we don't care you know what their name is who they are what type of gear they got. They was trying to mold us like that, you know. And they started doing this thing where, like, he would start rapping.

And then we pretty much had to pass it around to everybody. And everybody had to rap. Okay. Like, we had a couple white dudes on our team. Like, they had to rap. I made them get in the booth. Damn. We sitting in a circle like this. Damn. We just pass it around. our team. Like, they had to rap. Yeah, I made them get in the booth. Damn. We sit in a circle like this.

Damn. We just pass it around. That's hard. And everybody had to rap. And I just remember, like, when I rap sometimes, like, they'd be like, like, that was hard, you know? Like, and I felt like every time I spit, I had to keep coming with something clever. Like, I, and then, like, all my cousins I grew up around coming with something clever like I and then like all my cousins I grew up around was doing music they was all rapping and then um shit by the time we got

to high school you know you come out the warm-ups we was coming out to our own music oh that's hard go record damn that's fire let them play the music we doing layup lines we's playing our own music college we started doing mixtapes, and then shit, that was... Was you a West Coast rapper at first? Was you E-40? Tell me where to go. Jesus had dreads, so shake them. No.

I'm weak. Now, who was your inspiration? Obviously, being from the West west coast I like west coast music but my style of music was always more like east coast gotcha because I like bars I like people that could like rap for real yeah and I was never the style on the west coast like that it was more bounce you know like dance steez yeah um you know it was more like that um but i always prefer my style because i'm i like you know lyricism and writing and bars and double entendres and stuff like that so i wrote like i'd write music like the kind of music that i listen to

and then i try to find like that balance of like what's player and what sound good boring and preachy and that's kind of like the lane that I do my music in when did you know you was nice though like all right I can really do this I can start putting the LP out of album I can start asking Wayne Jada for a feature like I did uh I think it was like probably like 2015. I started putting stuff out on SoundCloud. And no, it was before that. I did, what was that? What was that?

All Star 2015? It was 2015 All Star in New York. Okay. I was at that one. I was at that one. That's where you went. That's the only one I went to. Yeah. He was in that one.

So All Star 2015 in New York, I did Sway in in the morning because sway from oakland so he was like you know you do your media stuff out there he was like come on the show yeah so when i walked in he was like man like i don't want to put you on the spot but i know you'd be rapping like do you want to spit something i was like yeah so like i rapped on sway like like during All Star and like the video, like that's my most viewed rap video on the internet. Okay. So like after that, that's when everybody was like, you got to start putting music out. Like this shit fire, like it went viral.

I remember that shit. And then after that, I started putting shit out on SoundCloud and I was doing a bunch of SoundCloud stuff. And then people was like, you got to drop an album. And I remember my 26th birthday, that was probably the following year. For my birthday, I did my first show. But I performed all SoundCloud songs. Where were you performing at?

In Portland. I sold out a show in Portland on my birthday. Damn, dang. After I did that, and then I started working on an album after that. And then, like, all my partners, Adidas, at JBL

at the time, like, they started wanting to use my music for, like, all my stuff. So that's really how it started. Ah, that's hard, bro. I needed to own my music. I needed to own, like, my publishing and the masters and all that to be able to use it for, like, commercials and all of that stuff so that I could make money from it. And then from there, it just took off.

Yeah, I heard you say you had one of the – somebody working with you, an agent or something? Like, you had him really tap into the music industry? So he actually worked for my agency. He's, like, one of my agents. But, like, they – he always get on me because my very first game of my career, like at a regular season, was against the Lakers too. So we played them on Halloween.

And we actually beat them. And I had 23 and 11. And I remember walking out the locker room the night before, me and my cousins was just upstairs like freestyling, writing bars. And I came out the locker room and they was like man that was a great game like you just played against kobe you just had 23 and 11 only alan iverson so they telling me all these stats and shit like and i remember i was i let him finish and i was like bro i really can rap like yeah i was thinking about what i was

writing in my notes i'm like bro i really can rap and they all look like man not another fucking basketball player thinking like they could rap because they hadn't heard me rap so then he started I started sending him stuff to his phone like after I record I send it so he really was like just you know an agent working for my agency doing basketball stuff and now he basically Is like He know everything about me He ain't my A&R But He do all the

Business side of everything With my music Cause he done learned Like he done learned everything Yeah that's wild bro Yeah I remember The 4 Bar Fridays Going crazy

Yeah I started 4 Bar Friday So What's that energy Like having a sold out crowd Listen to you You know rap Like you get it in the NBA You playing in front of Thousands of people crazy yeah i started four bar friday so what's that energy like having a sold-out crowd listen to you you know rap like you get it in the nba you're playing in front of thousands of people then you go you up on stage it's you no it's different it's definitely different like my first couple times i'm like man i wonder if they even don't like fuck with the music like that

and um like when i got up there and i did the first show for my birthday, I was doing this freestyle. And I think I posted a clip of it at the time on my Instagram. But I was rapping and I was like rap like one of my bars. I was like, last time they count me out. What I do. Game six. I said last time they count me out. What I do. Game six. Talking about when I had three on the Rockets and I said it in at the show. I said last time they count me out, what I do, game six. Talking about when I hit the three on the Rockets. And I said it at the show. I said, last time they count me out, what I do? And the whole crowd said, game six.

And there was a clip of it. And I was like, oh, they fuck with my shit. I'm really nice. After that, yeah. After that, that's when I was like, all right, bro. You about to crash out? I'm crashing out. You put a jump off stage? I'm crashing out crash who be your favorite collab so far it's a two-parter and then like who you look for to work in the future with uh my favorite so far

that wayne and jay you got a way that's crazy i gotta say wayne because like the first time i got with wayne it was actually somebody reached out to me for wayne because they was like you know he want to do something with you yeah because he you know he like how you don't try to rap like a rapper he can tell you just rapping like you so we connected like that and shit me and wayne got so many songs together that ain't ain't ain't even been released like

cause everything I send him he do it and just send it right back like he just he do that shit fast so I it's a bunch of shit that we haven't

that I haven't even put out but I say that one cause I actually been to the studio with him yeah and like being able to see it

I was like damn like you know how crazy that is, bro? He said it so light. I grew up on Lil Wayne, bro. Me too. All that.

Like, Lil Wayne, bro. Nah, it was crazy. Because when I was in L.A., he was like, yeah, pull up. Come to the studio. That's crazy. And I remember I was like, all right. And then I was on my way there, and I was thinking like, damn, I'm finna pull up on Wayne

at the studio I'm thinking he finna have 50 people there it's gonna be a whole situation I got there it was him and the engineer that was it

that's crazy damn and he probably rapped through 35 different beats just like played the beat he's standing up at the mic he'd rap

rap rap then bring it back he'd rap over some more he wasn't up at the mic he'll rap rap rap they'll bring it back he'll rap over some more he wasn't writing it or nothing he just was kind of like rapping over each track just kind of punching in yeah and then he played some shit for me that you know hadn't been released i was like bro this dude really is like how you even think about half of this shit you're saying like it was crazy it was a crazy experience bro he'll be doing that to this day it's still crazy like he coming crazier like right now he's like he keep going yeah he in his bag right now what's that girl

the who for LSU he gave her a real verse fire verse crazy and it like as an athlete to like people get give you a throwaway too. They'll just do something just like here. You know what I mean? Like where they won't do it. So he gave her a real verse and he always give me

a real verse. He never gave me no bullshit. Yeah. Who's somebody you look forward to though or you want to that you ain't collab with you?

Man. You got something with Cole? Man, I've been knowing Cole a long time I've been on his ass I've been on his ass I've been on his ass That's how I want the interview We gotta get Dave

We gotta get Dave That's why I kept hitting you I'm trying to work it out I feel bad, bro. We could have posted this shit months ago. Nah, nah, we appreciate you, bro. But I've been trying to get one with Cole for a minute, but I actually know him. Like, he hit me.

He randomly hit me one time, and I'm thinking, like, okay, I see his name. I'm like, oh, he finally finished. He probably sent something through. I opened the message up, and he hit me about like our roster to see like if we got a roster spot about somebody he know trying to get back in the league he was playing GM on me I'm like oh my god bro I thought the track was coming through like I'll finish sending it right back but uh yeah i say cole that's my that's my boy man um but shit drake it's i mean it's it's a crazy few names to say but i'll say cole drake and kendrick 100 i think them three i got to get at some point man when you just said i forgot that cole really wouldn't hoop to africa

that's why i thought he was about to send me his highlight tape. I thought he was about to send me his highlight tape. Nah, but he really loves Hoop. So, like, what I do send him sometimes is, like, when I see other rappers that's actually nice and Hoop, I always send him a clip of him, like, hey, he might be able to get you. I know he'd be tight. He'd probably be hot. Who do you think better, him or Chris Brown?

Chris Brown. I think Chris Brown,ris brown like he just he athletic like he's acrobatic he just he can hoop for real like when i see his clips he look like a young player you know what i'm saying that's tough y'all damn cole i don't know no i'm taking i. I mean, Chris probably more athletic. He more athletic, but Cole like really love hoop though. So that, that could give him the head. The best rap hooper is Dave East though. Going to Hoop in Africa is crazy.

Dave East hoop for real. Dave East the best. It's a dude named, it's this dude, it's a rapper. He ain't like super big. His name Dax though. He nice in hoop.

We got somebody from Indiana that rap for real. That's nice. Yeah, Dave East Is like that though Like Dax I'm telling you Look him up on Instagram Look really nice

Look up Deebo From Indianapolis Yeah He really D1 Yeah He with IU He really He really like that

That's a Dave East Oh you know Doomsday You know Doomsday Yeah yeah He good That was a crazy sickness Yeah yeah

He gagged over to Crazy sickness He gagged on you Yeah, you know, dude. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He grew up. That was a crazy sickness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He ganged up too. That was crazy. That was crazy. He ganged on me. Yeah, bro. Crazy. There's a rapper that's nice and hooped that I'm going to blank on. A rapper?

Gilly? Gilly the Kid? Gilly can hoop. Nah. Gilly can't hoop. He can't hoop. Nah, Gilly can hoop. I ain't going to lie.

He be hooping in his little. Gilly a big three MVP, bro. He is. NLE Gilly can hoop He be hooping Gilly a big 3 MVP bro He is NLB Chopper can hoop too Yeah you can tell He played AU for sure Yeah he can hoop bro That's a few

That's a few Who I'm It's somebody I can't think of Right now bro They rap Nobody we grew up on He said nah He's not

Simba I see you In the All Star game too bro Nah That ain't your speed You got bars though Who put that shit But you one of my favorite Hey

You got bars bro Y'all tripping Kim Kim Kim Kahoot You know We ain't doing this on the show But R. Kelly Kahoot

Why Why We was talking about musicians That can play basketball You know what I mean We ain't We ain't doing this on the show But R. Kelly We was talking about musicians that can play basketball You know what I mean We ain't got a champion Did you see that team uniform Come on get Dame out of here Bet they got this campus shit to give back

All wrapped this shit up Nah before we get out of here We can't let you go bro You top 75 man You had that moment to be there at that ceremony, man. What's that like, bro? Honestly, it was crazy, bro, because I didn't – when they first announced it, I started seeing lists of like,

this is my top 75, this is my top 75. So I thought it was just like a trend that people were saying who they thought their top 75 players were. And I remember driving to the gym one day and somebody called me like you made it I'm like like what you talking about and they sent me a picture of it you know they had the little thing around your head yeah and it was like you made it I'm like so they actually put like a committee together to like pick 75 players and and once I found out I made it I'm like well shit who didn't make it so I look and see some of the people that out i made it i'm like well shit who didn't make it so i look and see some of the people that didn't make it i'm like damn it's like

it was the first time that i was like they really looked at people's like body of work yeah like the availability them winning like what they've been able to do consistently like this ain't like no all-star voting. It ain't popularity content. It ain't none of that. It's, like, what have you done? So, like, that's why it meant so much for me because it was, like, I could think of bigger names and, you know, people that you, if they had to say 75 players that they might just off the top of their head

put them in front of me. But when you look at the body of work, it's a lot of players in the league that like, it's probably like James, KD, Russ, Steph, Bron, DeMar. But after that, Chris Paul. After that, it ain't nobody that got more career points than me. That's a fact. And like, they all been in the league

for three or more years longer than me and I ain't far behind so it's like like I said earlier that been like with me being in the playoffs on a vet team and on the rebuilding team we didn't we started rebuilding we was right back in there like right back in the playoffs eight straight years so it's like that was the first time I was like like they made the right decision like people ain't gonna see it right now but when they look back at like what actually took place they're gonna be like he should be in there and then you know we got to uh to Cleveland for the like 75th anniversary event and just being in a room and seeing, you know, Kareem and Magic.

That's crazy, bro. Like, seeing all of these dudes, that was the first time I was like, like, should I even be in this motherfucker? Like, this crazy to be in here, and I'm like one of them. And being in the picture and taking a picture with, you know, the other Oakland Point guards. It was, you know, GP, J-Kid. Like, being up there with them, it was like i'm amongst this group

but i'll say that like the craziest part and i told this story i think on uh on q rich and uh and d miles shots knuckleheads on knuckleheads like everybody was there but when when jordan walked up that's when I was like, this man is like not even a real, is he even a real person? Like it was probably 80 cameras surrounding like the other 74 players. When he walked up, it was probably his own set of 60 cameras. And he walked up and it was like, you could see right away. He ain't like, we part of the top 75. Like he's the one one like he a part of

his own group and that like that was when it was the most obvious to me like seeing him walk up even when you was in a building when they called his name out it was like we could all leave now like let him go up there by himself that's how it was. It was like that shit wasn't real. It's crazy, bro. Top 75, bro. That's crazy, bro. That's like, you know, coming from no-name AAU team, Weber State, to get to top 75, bro.

I don't know. I probably, could you dream that? No. I said it yesterday when I was talking to the campers, when I was just telling them, like, I was stressing to them, like, all of the people that's working camp, that's not like a NBA coach. Like even the counselors, the you know, a lot of the staff is like they coach me. I play with them. They played in college. Now they coach in college or they coach in the NBA like they got credentials. coaching the NBA, like they got credentials, but they also witnessed my, my story and everything that I went through. So they, they know that none of the stuff that we doing, it ain't just no,

Oh, I'm a star now. Let's make sure let's, you know, act like he know everything. He ain't have no, you know, he ain't do nothing wrong. This shit was seamless. Like they've been there for the whole thing. So they witnessed it and they can share the same message that I'm sharing and they've experienced it through me but they also know like the formula or formula zero is not me saying this is what you got to do I'm a product of the formula that all of these people make up and I'm sharing that with them and I was like the reason why it's important for y'all to like be invested in this and to embrace everything that's happening here is because I don't need nothing from y'all but because of all of this stuff and like my ability I've been able to accomplish way more than I ever would

have thought like I would have never been, I'm about to be top 75. Like, even when they was talking about top 75, I wasn't thinking, oh, I'm in there for sure. You know what I'm saying? So, like, I never could have dreamed of it going like this. You know what I'm saying? I was just, when I came in the league, I was like, man, I might spend some time in the G League.

Literally, I was literally thinking that. I might spend some time in the G League. Literally, I was literally thinking that. I might spend some time in the G League. Shit, I might go to Miami and be playing with Ron and D-Wade and be just a shooting point guard. Like, shit, I don't know. But I could have never dreamed of everything that's happened happening. And that's why, especially with you being top 35 and deserving of that, for sure. Like you said, you get overlooked a lot. I mean of that For sure Like you said You get overlooked a lot

And then times change Like you said It's always voter fatigue And rooting for people But like You can talk about All the newer guys There's a lot of younger

Point guards in the league But still You still hold your ground You still do your thing You still set the center With that Before we get out of here It ain't gotta be in no order

Just know what I'm saying Who's some of your Top five players They ain't even gotta be The best Or who's some of your Favorite players Right now

Just period I say right now Cause if we say period They ain't even got to be the best. Who are some of your favorite players? Right now? Just period. I'll say right now because if we say period, it's a lot of people I can't leave off the list. All right, you already know. So right now I'm going to go Anthony Edwards. I think everybody super high on him right now, but I like him because of his energy. His swag about him is authentic.

And he got the game to go with it. So I'm going to go Anthony Edwards. I'm going to go Ja Morant. Shout out to Ja. He got in some trouble, so I think people kind of turned off to him a little bit. But, I mean I I know what I'm looking at yeah I mean I'm gonna go Anthony Edwards drama rent Luca Joker mmm and Giannis. That's my five right now. Like, when I'm watching and they like my favorites,

I'm going to go with them. So far, I've seen. That backcourt trenchy. Trench babies. That's how long that's going to be. I was going to say, hell yeah. What you picked was a lot of Oakland. I mean, I'm going with obviously younger players. But I mean, that's the group I go with.

But they all real, though. When you watch them, you can tell. I hang out with him, bro. Yeah, 100%. You know what I mean? Like John Morant, he come on 38 for me. Yeah, for sure. Anthony Edwards is definitely one of nine With me for sure Anthony Edwards

Is definitely one of us For sure 100% It was funny Even seeing Joker He was like When the lip was up He was like

Alright that's cool I'm about to kill All my niggas Drinking beer Watching horses For sure I know Luke Is smoking a square

From where I don't think That's what I'm looking He's smoking a square He's smoking Off the Newport Is that what Michael Philly

Took for me He smoked squares Oh that was a beer Y'all wild Wilder He's smoking on squares. Come on, man. He's smoking off the new porch getting fit. Is that what Michael Philly took for him? He smoked squares. Oh, that was a beer. Y'all wildin'. I'm gonna take a beer, dude. Wildin'. Nah, Dane, we appreciate you,

bro, for pulling up on the show, bro. Thank you. We appreciate you making this happen, man. Y'all know what it is. Club 520. Like, share, subscribe.

Be here. Send the people they can grab some merch at shopclub520.com. For sure. We appreciate y'all. Catch y'all next time. The Volume. For sure. We appreciate y'all. Catch y'all next time. The Volume.

Hey there. It's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On the latest season of my podcast,

Against the Rules, I'm exploring what it means to be a sports fan in America and what the rise of sports betting is doing to our teams, our states, and ourselves.

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, I am joined by the greatest alpine skier of all time, Michaela Schifrin. Michaela talks about the ski accident that changed everything for her, performing while going through grief, and what it's like to release the pressure of being the GOAT, and so much more. Like, I have no right to be winning this race. I really probably shouldn't even be doing it, but I'm here, so I will win. Listen to this episode of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. the Jets season. Look no further. We've got recaps, retweets, and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field. Make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

What happens when a professional football player's career ends and the applause fades and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church. Voila! You got straight away. They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.