Club Shay Shay - Zion Williamson

Episode Date: April 20, 2021

On episode 28, Shannon welcomes in the 2019 #1 overall pick in the NBA draft, recent All-Star, & power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson. Zion stops by to announce his brand new signature shoe: the Jordan Zion 1. He talks through all of the sneaker’s features and gifts Shannon a pair. Plus, he tells the story of what it was like to meet Michael Jordan for the first time. Zion also touches on growing up an athlete in the social media era, his time at Duke University, landing with the Pelicans in New Orleans, his Mount Rushmore of dunkers, and much more. #DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 and the best analysis delivered by the time 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 Wolf. 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. 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. Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Che Che. I am your host, also the proprietor of Club Che

Che, the guy that's coming by for a drinking conversation today. He's just barely old enough to have a drink, but because he's in season, he's only having water today. The 2019 number one overall pick in the NBA draft. He was just selected to the All-Star Game. He's the fourth youngest ever selected to an All-Star Game behind Kobe, LeBron, and Magic Johnson. And he's a member of the All-Rookie Team, Zion Williams. He's the fourth youngest ever selected to an all-star game behind Kobe, LeBron, and Magic Johnson. And he's a member of the all-rookie team. Zion Williams. All my life, been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle paid the price Want a slice, got the rolling dice That's why all my life, I've been grinding all my life

Zion, how you doing? I'm well, how about yourself? I'm good, I'm good, bro. Thanks for coming on, giving me a couple of minutes today to stop by Club Shea Shea and talk to me. Thanks for having me, man. All right, you know why you're here talk to us about your signature shoe when you're growing up in South Carolina as a kid I know you purchased

probably the Jordans or maybe the Colbys maybe even the LeBrons did you ever think a small kid from Spartanburg South Carolina would have his own shoe and people would be wearing the Zion Williamson? Nah, I never thought I would have it. Growing up in a small town called Florence, South Carolina. Oh, you from Florence? Yes, sir. Okay. So you grew up in Florence, you moved to Spartanburg? Yes, sir. Okay. Okay. You know, growing up there, you know, it's one thing as a kid, you know, I said it just to say, one day I'm going to have my own sneaker. Right. But as you get older, you see that it's tough to get your own sneaker. Right.

You have to fall right. You have to be in the right situation. And, you know, a brand has to be willing to say, we're going to give you a shoe. Right. So when Jordan Brand, that day they came to me and said, we want to give you a signature, it was – you can't make stuff up like that. It's just, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.

A little bit about the shoe. You're a big superhero fan. The tongue is kind of like, I guess it's maybe like a cape. You have your, the ZW, you have your initials on the shoe. They can't see this, but explain, you have like your mom, your stepdad, your brothers, you have a lot of things going on on the bottom of the shoe. Tell the people at home a little bit about the shoe. Well, like you said, the superhero theme tongue.

I don't know if I'm really allowed to say the superhero's name, but, you know, the tongue is like – when I was young, I remember when I used to tie my shoes, for some reason, my favorite part was always kind of like pulling the tongue. Okay. So, you know, I kind of made it an emphasis on, you know, I want my tongue to be something, like, different. So it looks like it has armor on it.

Right. And, you know, on the side, you know, I told Jordan Brand that when somebody walks in the store, I want them to be like, yeah, that's Z's shoe. Right. That's what the Z right here represents. And then on the bottom of the shoe, you know, I have my family's names.

Sharonda, Coach, Noah, Tyreek. But then also I have Spartanburg, Flotown, and Durham. Okay. That's Florence, that's Spartanburg, that's Durham where you played college ball. Yes, sir. Okay.

You also have something on the side, one of these sides here. I think you got Shock the World, right? Yes, sir. Shock the World and Let's Dance. Okay. So when they said, okay, Zion, we want to give you a signature shoe now obviously you got to make it zion proof you there's gonna be no blowouts right so when you make a sudden move you elevate you straight no blowouts no blowouts so when you're sitting down with the design team

to design your shoe did you know exactly what you wanted or did they kind of guide you says okay Zion what do you think about this and you say yeah I kind of like that but I kind of want to go more in this direction so how did how did you you know design this shoe because it's for for someone your size this shoe is really light uh all right I guess I'll take it back to when it started okay uh rookie year um was in new york and when i was unveiling the jordan 34 and i was in this hotel so we would me my family and uh a bunch of jordan brand people in okay you know they put this recorder i said all right z we're about to start recording so you'll be prepared okay they might have asked a hundred plus questions some of them about basketball some of them not about basketball right what's going on in the

world some about superheroes right and i was after i left i was like what why did they ask all that? Right. Somehow they took everything I said and they put it into, like, three different, like, types of shoes and... Mock-ups. Mock-ups, yeah. And I remember when I saw the one that had the Z on the side, like, there really wasn't no hesitation. I said, let's go with that one.

Let's start with that one. Okay, we start with that. Okay, now we got a mold. And then, you know, like you said uh no blowouts and you said it was very light but i feel like i i generate a lot of force you do generate a lot of force but uh i also make i also like to make a lot of cuts and slashes. So what they did was the engineering team, they made the back lock down like support. Right, okay. While the front has a lot of lightweight materials

that allows me to still make my cuts and all those quick twitch movements. Right. I'm looking at this. This feels like mesh. It's not a leather. It's not like we would normally see in the typical shoe. Was that by design? Did you want something like it seems durable, but it's very light is lighter than leather. I kind of let the engineering team like do that part, like the small details in the material. But, uh, you know, we came together and we were like, uh,

did we think this one would look the best? So here we are with it. So, you know, when I was growing up, everybody wanted to be like Mike and says, okay, if I get the Jordan, if I get these Jordans, I'm going to be able to elevate. So with kids get these Z's, they're going to be able to elevate like Zion. If they eat good, they might. Okay. Let's go back. And I tell people this story. The very first time I met Mike, I was in, at the Superbowl in Atlanta.

I got on the elevator and I'm looking at him and he's looking at me and he's probably like, this dude weird, but he didn't seem real. He seemed like a god. He seemed like he was levitating. And that's what I tell people. I say, you don't get it. I say, I've never met a man. I say, I've met a lot of people, a lot of famous

people, actors and entertainers and from Jays and all them. I say something about Mike. Mike doesn't seem real. And I hate being blasphemous, Zion. He might be the closest thing to God that we'll ever meet. So when you met him for the very

first time, what were you thinking? What went through your mind? When I met him for the very first time,-huh i was at uh all-star weekend my rookie year and it was at his jordan brand party yeah and it's like you said like you can't you can't describe that you can't describe that feeling you get. It's one of those, that's him. Yes.

And he don't even play no more. You're like, that's him. Yes. That's the guy. Yes. So, I mean, it's like you said. It was like meeting black Jesus or something. That's him right there.

It's like he was probably sitting down, probably had a cigar, but it was almost like he was levitating. Like I know he's sitting on the couch, but I don't really see the couch. How are you just sitting there hovering in the air? When you grew up, you started off in Florence, you was born in Florence, your family moved to Spartanburg. You're playing, I assume you played football too, right? Yeah, I played football up until seventh grade. Up until seventh grade.

So you decided to just focus on basketball. Once you hit the seventh grade, you decided to focus on basketball only. Yeah, I played football and soccer uh because it was fun and my friend played it but basketball i played that year round i just had a love for it so when i got seventh grade all my attention is going to basketball basketball basketball you go to high school you go to you go to spartanburg country day country day correct Spartanburg day school Spartanburg day school your basketball and then here's the thing Zion you're very unique because you're growing up in a social media age and at the time a lot of people didn't know about you until they

started somebody started at your games had a camera phone and started posting those dunks and they're like hold on wait a minute ain't no way that kid in high school did you see how high he was over the rim there's no way so you had more followers at probably at the high school than some of these other star basketball players have that were currently in the nba what was going through your mind you're like man i got a thousand followers i got 500 000 followers i got a million followers. I got 500,000 followers. I got a million followers. And I'm in high school. Man, when it was happening, I think the people around me, like my classmates and my teachers, I think they made it more of a big deal than I did myself. Because I remember I would come out of a class and kids would say,

hey, man, you just went up like 50,000 followers in this class. After a while, I was like, okay, I got it. But, you know, I was 16 when all that started happening. I guess being 16 and that stuff's happening, it's just one of those, hey, they really care about me. Like, that's love. That's all I could think. I mean, that was just love.

Go back to the shoot. You decide to put your mom, your family. Why was it so important? Because you talk, every time I hear you talk, you always mention your mom. Not only I understand that she gave you life, but she was your coach. She was your critic from the beginning. She still, you talk to her and she gave you life, but she was your coach. She was your critic from the beginning.

She still, you talk to her and she criticized you again. Like, hey, bro, I need more than that from you. Talk to us about your mom. My mom is, she's everything. She was, she's just always been there. When it was just me, her, and my brother, you know, in a situation where it was, what's next? Like, you know, just, uh, she worked above and beyond just so as kids,

we didn't even have to ask her those questions. So, uh, when I got to seventh grade and she started coaching me, uh, when I got to seventh grade and she started coaching me. What was that like to have your mom as your coach? I mean, you're at home with her, you're in the car ride with her. And then you're at the game with her. Right. And, uh, man, she was, she was tough. And you know, I'm like in seventh grade. You're like, Mom, I dropped 30 the last game.

What you want? You want 40? You want 50? And she's probably like, yeah, that's what I want. I mean, it was just always something. And, you know, at the time, I'm a kid, so I don't know what she's preparing me for. I had to look at my stepfather who trained me I had to go coach am I playing that bad like you you train me am I playing that bad

you had to go you'll understand later on the road right and you know so as I got older you know uh it did prepare me like that you know basketball is a game of run so if a team's going on the run just to remain calm right in the fourth quarter just play your game don't try to force things because you're getting complacent uh it was her doing all that just made me a better player 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 Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook,

Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. 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. You have shocked the world also on your sneakers um and a lot of people say you're the most touted high school guy since lebron because although you were not allowed i don't know if you would have even attempted to come out if you could have come out as a high school senior uh after your senior year do you do you feel the pressure do you know what's expected of Zion at such a young age

um nah I get asked that a lot and you know it's uh I guess it would be like if I asked you do you feel pressure to go up there every day on tv and just be to be yourself right no like I'm going to work and I get to do what I love, and I get to be who I am. So, like, no, you don't really feel no pressure. What was – you decide to go to Duke, and you know, hey, I'm going to Duke. But guess what? They got four other five-star guys that's going to Duke.

What made you decide to go to Duke, and it was reported that you wanted to come back for another year. And coach KC Zion, I would love to have you back, but son, you got to get up out of here. Yeah. Like you said, there were three other five stars in my class. And Trey, but you know, I always wanted to go to Duke. I just never said it. And, you know, I want to have an opportunity to play for coach K, but also.

When you go to the NBA draft, you don't know which team you're going to go to. They may already. You didn't have to worry about that. You're like, there's going to be a short, there's going to be a short wait in the green room for your ball uh but you know in high school you don't know which team you're gonna go to and it's like you could go to a team where they have their one one and two guy or their top three guys so right my thing was all right i'm gonna go in here and i'm gonna play with other great players but i'm also learning how to play off them, play around them, and, you know, just play

different aspects of the game. And I feel like Coach K was the perfect coach with his USA basketball experience to show me how to do that. Right. You go to New Orleans and you know what's expected of you. You follow AD. AD was the number one overall pick. He didn't, he got him to the playoffs a couple times,

but he didn't bring them a championship. When you come in as the number one overall pick, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, who is now a champion, that's expected of Zion. Are you comfortable carrying that burden? I mean, if they want to put it on me, that's fine with me because that's why we play the game. We play the game to win, to leave our mark on it, and to chase championships.

So if they want to put that burden on me, hey, it's fine. I'll take it. But I get to do what I love, and I'm a competitor. I do want to win. So that's why we play the game. Zion, you did the dunk contest, if I'm not mistaken, at the McDonald's All-American game. You won. Are you tempted to do the dunk contest at the NBA All-Star game?

Yeah, I'm very tempted. You know, watching it this year, I was of like man maybe i should have you could have got you you might have got a mission uh but yeah uh it may be in my future i was very tempted now you gotta tell me y'all gotta put 10 million you want to take off. Put 10 million up and your boy in it. Give me your Mount Rushmore dunkers. The greatest dunkers past, current, however you want to list it. Give me your top four dunkers. I had to go top four dunkers.

All right. Man, I'm going to go with mixing it between, like, dunk contest and in-game. Okay. So a combination of both. Mike. Got to have Mike up there. Yep.

I'll put Dominique up there as well. Okay. Yep. Me. Got to put Braun up there. Just respect. Yep. Got a lot of in-game posters. Crazy athletic.

And my fourth one, Vince. You went fairly modern. You didn't really go old school. You didn't really go Dr. J or none of those guys. But what makes a great dunker? Do you have to posterize someone? Is it the flash? Is it the pizzazz?

Because Mike, not only could Mike soar through the air, Mike caught bodies. Braun is really not the creative dunker, but he got a lot of bodies on his resume. I think what makes a great dunker i think being able to be able to do it when nobody's there versus you're playing five on five in an nba game and you're able to go and dunk people say oh it looks easy but it's actually not it's just not easy doing that so uh you know i think for those players to be able to do it in game and when they're just by themselves, I think that adds a lot to how I judge it.

If you could dunk on anybody past or present, who would you like to dunk on? Man. Tell them you're going to catch your balls. You want to catch your balls. You've got to catch your balls. Man, I would say if I had to pick pick because i get axed out on every people if i had to pick i would say uh wilt chamberlain if i had that one on my resume that's a that's a big one let's just say for the sake of argument zion you have stuck with football

and not done the basketball thing do you believe you could have made it to the NFL as an NFL player? Yeah. I believe I could. I believe I could. I'm just a competitor. Yeah. So, hold on. So what are you going to play?

You're going to be a wide receiver. You're going to be a tight end. You're going to be a defensive lineman. You're going to be an offensive lineman. Oh, man. I don't even know. I mean, with your personality, I would think you're going to want the ball. Offensive linemen don't really get the ball, so you might have to be a tight end or something.

Maybe a defensive lineman. I can see you on the defensive line. I think I would need to do tight end and receiver. One of those two. One of those two. Zion, a lot has been talked about. They're like, look, there's no question about the guy's ability.

He's going to be great. I think the concern that a lot of people have is your weight. They've never seen a guy your size be able to move like you move. You're as explosive as anybody, regardless of size. But when you compound that with your size

and how explosive you are, what changes have you made? Because you look, I mean, they had training wheels on you last year. They took those off and say, Zion, you're going to play. You play and they put the ball in your hands now. What modifications to your training, to your diet and your nutrition have you made this year

to make sure you're able to sustain that over the next 10-15 years um I would just say the main thing is just practicing landing practicing game-like movements and trying to find the most efficient safest way when I'm making certain movements uh strengthening it. You know, I don't know how they come up with some of this stuff, but they'll put me in these, like, strange positions. Like, this is how you are in the game, so we need to strengthen your strength right here from this position. And, you know, they do all that.

And, I mean, I can feel the difference. When I'm out there, I do feel the difference. I mean, what, you're 21 now? I'm 20. You're 20? Okay, the difference i mean you're what you're 21 now 20 you're 20 okay 20 i mean hey you're 20 year old i mean you like you know burgers you like you know chicken you like pizza but you know as a top level elite athlete you you really can't partake in that like a normal 20 year old and still be as effective as you would want to be and you're in new orleans which doesn't help uh that's just real that's what you said is real uh and you know my my mom

and stuff i did a great job of explaining that to me uh when i was younger saying you know there are going to be some things you can do and some things you won't be able to do because of the profession you want to have. So all that was explained to me. Zion, thank you for coming on, man. Congratulations on the shoe. This is Zion Williamson's first shoe, the Z-Dub. Go out and get it, people.

Appreciate it. Good luck the rest of the year, bro. Thank you. Thanks for having me, man. Thanks for coming on. All my my life been grinding all my life sacrifice hustle paid the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why all my life i've been grinding all my life all my life been grinding all my life sacrifice hustle paid the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.

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 and the best analysis delivered by the time 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 Wolf. 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.