Green Light with Chris Long - Chris Webber! NBA Career, NBA Select Team for 1992 Olympics & Jerry West's Impact on Basketball!

Episode Date: June 12, 2024

Chris talks with Chris Webber about his NBA career, being on the receiving end of some Larry Bird trash talk in a limo, playing '07 LeBron, Chris' upbringing, Lions fandom and his new memoir that is linked below. We recorded this interview shortly after Jerry West's passing was announced and Chris Webber spends a few minutes reflecting on the impact Jerry had on Chris' life and the impact Jerry had on the game of basketball. Enjoy! (00:00) - Intro (3:10) - Chris Remembers Jerry West (9:19) - Chris Webber's Upbringing (21:30) - Playing Larry Bird and Michael Jordan during Dream Team Olympic Training Camp (28:23) - Prime Michael Jordan (33:10) - Playoffs with Sacramento & Detroit (39:55) - Future of the NBA (50:15) - Chris Webber's Barn, Madden & Fantasy Football Find Chris Webber's book "By God's Grace" on his website here: https://www.chriswebber.com/home/ Want your Green Light Merch so you can look exactly like Chris and the fellas? Hit the website below and get kitted! https://stores.kotisdesign.com/yotehouse/products Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxWFAA-wuB7osdiAJyLOcw Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I just remember my first day being in the car and, or getting off the plane, and I see a sign. And it's, uh, it says, Mr. Bird and Mr. Weber. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, no way. And so I get in the car and it's Larry fucking Bird. And I shake his hand. I'm quiet, you know, trying to feel that balance in the car and everything. And it's the old school limo sitting in the back.

And when we get out, he doesn't say much. But when we get out, he goes, um, hope you get your sleep tonight because I'm going to bust your ass tomorrow. Yes. And I didn't know what to say, but I knew this is a moment you have to say something. Like you can't. And I was like, you know, Larry, your back is already hurting, man. Take it easy.

And then I run to the room and I called my father. I'm like, hey, Larry Perry was just talking shit to me. Welcome to the Greenlight podcast. Thanks for jumping on for this very special. special episode. Chris interviews Chris Weber. He's going to talk about his book. It's out right now. You can find it on Chris Weber.com. Great conversation about C-Web's NBA career. The great stories, some iconic battles he had in the early 2000s Western Conference, going against LeBron and his lone season in Detroit. Some awesome stories of C-Web meeting Larry Bird during the

dream team's training camp before the Olympics. C-Web also weighs in on the current state of basketball and what might happen in the future. We recorded this shortly after we heard of Jerry West's untimely passing and informed Chris Weber. And Chris went on for a few minutes on Jerry's amazing impact on not just Chris Weber, but the game of basketball and his influence that will last forever. Enjoy this conversation. Make sure to come back Friday for a little more basketball and plenty more Chris in Macon. Enjoy yourselves.

All right. Special, special treat today. We got Hall of Famer Chris Weber joining us. I've seen him play. I've seen him call games. And now we've got him on the Greenlight Pod. He's got a book coming out. by God's grace, October 15th, Amazon.

Chris, how you doing, man? Hey, I'm doing good, Chris. You know, I wanted to make a little clear. I'm doing the book independently. And so Amazon has put that on there, but if people go to chrisweber.com right now, they're able to get a version of the book. It's a limited edition.

There are two books. One has a cover, and I'll sign it if you get it at chrisweber.com. But it definitely is available right now at chrisweber. And I heard the website's really nice, so I got to check that out, man. I want to talk to you about the book, but first, we had news dropped today that Jerry West passed away. And obviously an iconic figure. Yeah, he passed away this morning, just a little bit ago.

And I guess maybe Chris hadn't heard that yet. But I wonder when you hear Jerry West, what do you think as a guy who played a long time and played the teams that he put together and he's on the logo? What do you think? What comes to your mind when you hear Jerry West? Wow, that's crazy, Bruce. Whoa. Yeah.

I think of Jerry West. I think of the logo. I think of an ultimate competitor in every sport. You're after, you know, how competitive we are and everything. Watching his golf game showed how much of a competitor he was. I think of someone that, wow, this is crazy. Well, you know, the thing I love about him. He would tell basketball players this.

He would talk about losing nine championships in a row. And he said that when he played the media dogged him, they put his family business in the paper. He was telling me he's one of the first that when he got divorced, they put that in the paper and that his nickname was the opposite of Mr. Clutch. And I just couldn't believe that. I thought he was just embellishing, you know, trying to make me feel better for some things way back.

And when I looked at him, when I had relationship with him, it was all about when I met him, he was Mr. Perseverance. He was Mr. I'm going to get back up. He's Mr. Hey, you ain't going to let that keep you down. And so, man, sorry for rambling. But when I think of him, I think of so many things. And mental toughness is probably one of the first things I think of when it comes to Jerry West, besides him being a clutch shooter, defender and everything else that goes along with the game. he's one of those guys that to me

hearing about him the way you hear about Jordan the way you hear about bird like they were just motherfuckers dude and the way Jerry was one of the original motherfuckers original he didn't like losing anything no

and he was a great teammate you know I remember when people were dog and Will Chamberlain and other things like that he would laugh and just you know Will Chamber only has one ring or everything to me he always he always took all the noise out

and brought the conversation to where it should be. And I think it's because of his competitive spirit. I think it's because of I mean, I can't, wow, dude, I can't believe Jerry West Pass. Man, that's like... 86. 86. And somebody told me just this morning, somebody texts me and said, I was just with him a couple months ago. He looked great.

And I mean, I didn't even know he was 86 the way he was. I didn't either. I mean, He was in such great shape. I mean, we laughed about the terrible Showtime show. I kind of nudged him about it. He laughed about it. But I just hope that kids that talk about Curry, kids that talk about Jordan,

talk about two guards that played this game, he's one of the originals. He is one of the originals. One of the hardest things to do in basketball, and he and I talked about this, and Kobe was able to do it. Jordan was able to do it. A lot of players were.

Today, Durant easily does it. But that's two dribble pull-up. Most people cannot do two-dribble pull-up because when you're attacking the basket, in between that first and second dribble, your defender is at your mercy. He doesn't know if to take a step back because you're going to continue to go

or if you're going to pull up and get in that space. And if you look at his two-dribble pull-up, it is one of the most beautiful things we've seen in basketball. And some of the grace have definitely borrowed that move. Is it, is it frustrating watching the game today at all because the mid-range? I mean, we just had Carlisle on and Rick was talking about, hey, the most valuable shot is first a free throw, second, a layup, third, a catch-and-shoe three. And, you know, he alluded to the fact that it's still in crunch time, you got to have guys that can make the mid-range jump shot when you can create your own shot. Is it, I think, I think the game was beautiful in the 90s in the early two.

I love the threes, but I miss that shot. Hey, it's just like football. I'm the biggest football fan in the world. And, you know, it's easier to come across the middle today than it was, you know, a while ago. And I like that toughness. I like the fact you got to watch out for these linebackers right here in the middle when you're coming across. And I know what the leagues have done to make the game better and ease the scoring pace.

But for me, you know the reason why we love the New York Knicks so much was because that guard was killing people. I mean, Brunson was killing people in the post and he's not even six feet. You know, it's all about space. It's all about leverage. It's all about that move that will get you just that little bit of space. And so to me, the mid-range game has been lost. But if you look at players like Luca and Kyrie and all the wonderful players, Brown and Tate, You know, they have a mid-range game, but if you look at the game as a whole, most people have become specialists.

They can't make an open layup or they'll go up for a layup and pass it out. And I still think the best player in the game is one that can score at all three levels in the paint, mid-range, and three-pointer. And I think you're going to see more of a separation in this game because you're going to have just specialists, DH hitters, or you're going to have guys that can go get you a bucket anywhere like Brunson. And to me, that's the most beautiful point. of the game, the part that the logo kept alive, Mr. West, and the part that Brunson and others are trying to take to another level. Well, rest in peace, Jerry West. And obviously, hearing you talk about it, it's clear the impact that he had on, not just you, but so many dudes.

So I hate to break that news to you, but talking about your book. I think you're really interesting to me, man, because you're a success, like at every level, you succeeded. And so many people would love to be Chris Weber. But I also know looking at what's in the book, I'm going to be honest. I think you've had a lot of bad luck in your life. And in watching you call games, in watching you conduct yourself, you've never let that seep into who you are. And I wonder if it's hard being Chris Weber, harder than people know. I'm sure.

It's hard. I'm sure it's hard to be you and other people looking at their life. However, if I had to sign up for this again, I'd do it 20 times because it's been a blessing, man. You really have to just remember the truth. You know, did I want a championship in the pros? Of course I did. Do I think we got cheated one game? Of course I did. We still should have won the series. We should have still should. So when I signed up for sports, sport. And I say this all the time. The reason why I love sports is fair to everyone because it's unfair to all of us. Everyone has been on the wrong side of a bounce. Everybody's been on but that's not going to stop me from who I am because I'm still a killer. I'm still an athlete. I'm still one of the best. So I also came from an era where I could have, and Mr. West talk about this, I could have tried to chase championships and jump on different teams. What I wanted at the end of my career, I wanted to either lose the Tim Duncan, lose to, or KG went to the Celtic, so that doesn't count,

but lose the KG in Minnesota, lose to Carl Malone in Utah, because at that time, it was as Isaiah Thomas calls it, the bus driver against the bus driver. So being the best player, if I lost to those guys, that was fine, because my mentality was, if you go join them, you're the weakest cat of them all, and getting the championship joining them only pacifies the fans. I still would live with something in my heart because my, at that time,

it was me against them, our team against them, the leader against them. So from the time of playing in high school and the championships to Michigan, playing with a great team there, to call the time out in the game, to be in the first pick, I mean, it's been definitely interesting. I've definitely had to have to have perseverance. and faith. But I think that's what we all have to do. And so I'm very happy of my career, very proud of my career,

wish the ball would have bounced the other way a couple of times. But I think I was able to experience something a lot of athletes maybe don't, and that's singular accolades and being able to have a Hall of Fame career. But at the same time, playing with some really great players and really great team. on my way. And I always had the attitude that I wanted to play with guys that if we lost, we could look each other in the face and have a beer and say, we did our best. And I think at the end of my career, my teammates, the teams I played with, I can definitely do that and look back and say, hey, I enjoyed the journey, even though I didn't get the ultimate thing I wanted, which was the

ring. Let's talk about where you started. Detroit. Are you a Lions fan first off? Man, come on, man. Go Lions, baby. Restore to Roar. We're back. You don't even want to get... Dude, all the way back. All the way back, man. We're all the way back. I'm so much of a Lions fan. This is crazy. I never really bet on football. I bet friends and stuff. But the day that we traded our quarterback, I'm such a

lion's fan. I bet that day that the Rams would win the Super Bowl. That's how I was like, Someone has to get some good luck. But yeah, man, I go back. Oh, you don't even, I mean, yeah, I go back to, I remember us drafting Heisman winners from Rodney Pete and then the running gun. I remember when we went into the running shoot with Barry at the helm, with the coach that came from San Diego. Yeah, anyway, I'm a big lion.

Herman Moore, Virginia guy. Herman Moore, Virginia guy was a beast out there. Yeah, so. Come on, man. Yeah, I followed him. I followed him to, I was watching all the Thanksgiving games. I was a huge Barry Sanders fan. My dad got me a jersey.

I still got that thing. So I know, I know longstanding Lions fans are pretty happy right now. But like coming up in Detroit was, was it a tough environment? You know, what was the area you grew up in like? And how important was it to have some of the figures in your life,

like your parents? And like some of the other people. people in your community that bring you along because I always I always wonder this and it feels like this when I talked to basketball players they say hey I was from a really tough place you know I had people in my corner and a lot of times these tough environments will identify that there's a kid that can get out and and a lot of times people will protect that kid was that the way it was in Detroit yeah so I grew up on the northwest side six mile of built more between southfield freeway the lodge It was definitely a tough area.

So tough that before my 13, before my first AAU game, a friend was killed, murdered at 12. So that's why, too, when we look at the total spectrum of a career, you have to put everything in context, you know. And so when I see the, I had friends that died in my neighborhood before they were able to reach puberty, you know, it makes me feel blessed that I have kids and that I've lived this long and had a career. So, yeah, I grew up in a tough neighborhood, but we had great people, you know, great parents,

my parents, my mom was a schoolteacher, one of the toughest schools in Detroit, Mumford at the time. My father worked a gym for over 40, over 30 years. And so we had a really great village, a village that understood that if kids had interest, whether it was school, basketball, sports, you kept pushing those kids to that because the idol, title hands and a bunch of time on your hands really is not a successful recipe for where I grew up. And so, yeah, I grew up in a tough neighborhood, but I also had great examples of people who made it from the neighborhood, came back and helped others. And so, but playing football on the street, I wanted to be a football player. I wanted to play football.

But at that time, you know, I played tight-in in high school. But at that time, it wasn't the correlation between basketball, football, football, and basketball. And so, you know, just growing up, watching my heroes and seeing, you know, what they said about stay focused, have friends that are aligned with you, those type of things. It's easy to find that in the toughest of neighborhoods just as it's easy to find riffraff in the toughest of neighborhoods. And so having parents who were disciplinarians, they really help focus me towards success as opposed to, you know, wanting to be like everybody else that maybe wasn't that admirable. Yeah, talking about being raised with two disciplinarians and, you know, probably gotten your ass shoeed before. You already know.

I know what you mean. But, you know, like you get up to the pros. The pros were different back then. It wasn't a players league as much. And, yeah, I do want to talk about Michigan. But do you think it helped coming from that background having your parents be so hard on you because before you know it, you're going to be button heads with. 50-year-old men that are running their teams, unlike now where, you know, you've got your Tom

Tibadoes and you've got your Rick Carlis, but you've also got your player coaches and teams that are run by players. Do you think it was harder to be a young player in the NBA back in the day? I do. For my experience, I was the youngest playing the NBA two years in a row. So I came in at 20, and for the next two years, I was the youngest player. So I got my ass beat by, I'm talking about players who, you know, were so much older than me and maybe at the end of their career, but they could still elbow you in the chest like a Moses Malone or Robert Parrish, let alone I'm coming in and my first game is against Akeem and those things. But, you know, I was really with Father's Day coming up,

I've been talking to a lot of my friends and speaking of fathers and just telling them the best thing that my father did for me was to be my dad. Like, he was going to be my friend later, but I needed a dad. I needed someone to show me that a man doesn't act on his emotions every time. Like any man that acts on his emotions, like once I learned that, I could talk, John, to the leading score of the other team and be like, oh, I bet you they go shoot that and no, okay, he's going for 40 tonight. His team is going to lose. Or go to the other teammates.

Hey, this guy is shooting. He doesn't pass. And I've seen fights from the court from that. I've seen, you know, relationship because of the shit talking. And so to me, my father just, making me stick to my word, not letting me quit, telling me it's going to be okay, telling me, hey, we could cry, but after we cry,

you know, we gotta get up, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can be emotions. Emotions are okay, but it's what you do with them. That's right, yeah, and it can't lead you to be a sucker. You know what I mean? Like, if I'm mad, I just can't go be mad at the whole room and take the energy out.

You know what I mean? He really taught me that, and my mother really reinforced that. And so it was his discipline of going to work every day, it was his discipline. the way that he was on me. I couldn't hang out with everyone. I couldn't do this.

And he never was apologetic. It was you have something to do. And at times, you need that to be your confidence because someone is believing in you. That's why they're putting you in these positions. And so, yeah, man, for me, I saw a lot of guys struggle when they got to the league over maybe emotions they could have maybe put to the side for 10 minutes, not even thought about this coach that's going to get fired next week and continue with them being a good player. And a lot of times that distraction, I just thank God that I had a lot of times that distraction could have come in and kind of ruined the goal.

And because of the way that I was raised, I was focused to keep blinders on. Remember what people are saying. Get back at that later. But if I want to get down that road, then I can't stop and address every little thing now. I got to finish the task. And so that's really what my pops taught me. It's a great thing for people to hear with Father's Day coming up. Dad's listening to hear you got to be somebody, you got to be your kid's dad.

You got to shoot them straight. You know, you got to have the hard conversations. Come on, because how, you know, when they get older, you know, they're going to look to you and say, Dad, why didn't you do that? Or, you know, and the world's hard, Dad. What the fuck? Come on, man. You didn't tell me that.

Yeah, yeah, dad, you didn't tell me that I was supposed to do this. And this is why, you know what I mean? So I just, my father's old school country guy. It was, it was no, it was no bullshit with him. And, you know, I laughed because of, I thought that I was in, like, like a prison at times because it never was not fun. It was just, I just didn't get to do what I wanted to do. So it never was a bad environment, but I learned, hey, it's okay to not get what you want right now

and to wait for it, to work for, to earn it. You know, my father making me cut, you know, the elderly ladies' grasses on our block or shoveling the snow. I used to hate it. I didn't get paid for that and he didn't care. But he always told me to work, but he wants me to do this for free. And then it becomes part of who you are. And it gives you pride and you see that you.

you've helped her when she's walking out of her house. You know, just little things that just make you feel better about yourself, that you've got to go through a little bit of toughness. And that's what my father did for me. And I'm glad because it is shaped the way I look at things. And really with that lens, I'm really just grateful for everything that's happening now. Going back to college, the fat vibe, super interested in me, I know you've talked about a lot in the cultural implications of that

and the ripples that we still feel today. I think it's such an important team. But one thing that's so interesting to me is the fact that you got to play in this select team. And you get to scrimmage against the dream team. Yeah. And that's one of these deals. You know, like when the last dance came out and there was some scrimmage footage, like, I wish I had some footage of that skirmish because you all had some ballplayers on your team,

college kids, who are big names now. But you're playing the dream team. And I'm kind of wondering when you walk in that gym what it was like. Like, were you guys getting mean mugged? Were dudes saying, what's up? I'm, you know, I'm Larry Bird or were they like, hey, fuck you, kid. Like, what was it like?

It was one of the best times of my life. Yeah. Because you know how it is. You're on the precipice of maybe reaching your dream, but at that time it was no Instagram where you could see what magic's eating at night or what Jordan's doing it. It was none of this song.

It was like stardom. And I remember, First of all, going there with Bobby and Earl, Grant Hill, I mean, all of us, Penny Hardaway, all of us who were there, and I kept calling us the crash test numbers. Because I'm like, guys, listen, we're supposed to be in the Olympics this year. They stopped that. Basketball is about to reach a new era.

This is the greatest team ever. And they want us to come sit in the car and run up against the wall and see how hard it hurts to play against these guys. Did you get a waiver? Exactly. No waiver or nothing like that. We were just excited. We all would have paid.

to play against them. And so I just remember my first day being in the car and, or getting off the plane, and I see a sign. And it says, Mr. Bird and Mr. Weber. And I'm like, no way.

And so I get in the car and it's Larry fucking Bird. And I shake his hand. I'm quiet, you know, trying to feel that balance in the car and everything. And it's the old school limo sitting in the back. And when we get out,

he doesn't say much. But when we get out, he goes, I hope you get your sleep tonight, because I'm going to bust your ass tomorrow. Yes. And I didn't know what to say, but I knew this is a moment. You have to say something.

Like you can't. And I was like, you know, Larry, your back is already hurting, man. Take it easy. And then I run to the room and I called my father. I'm like, yeah, Larry Bird was just talking shit to me. He was happy. He was happy.

You're doing something, right? It was a great movie. It was like, he knows me, and he's talking and shit, and tomorrow because we're looking up to these guys, like Barkley was my hero. All these guys are my hero. So at this time, I'm taking their commercials or whatever they're saying and applying it to my life.

Like, you can't give up, you got to work hard, who cares, you know, all of this stuff. So I need someone that's way better to prove it to. And I just remember being with Rodney Rogers and Grant, Bobby Hurley and looking over that we were like, it was a gym where you could, look over at the players playing and we got off the bus and we knew it was time to practice and we're looking over and I just remember like just just just just fear like this is the moment

it was great it was the mix of emotions fear being happy your dream is coming true you're about to get annihilated what's going on and so I remember being in the huddle with damn near tears in my eyes man like this is our moment because you have to remember barclay is my favorite player Ewing, Carl Malone, the big guys. Grant Hill was, you know, touted as the next Jordan. He couldn't wait to play Jordan. Bobby Hurley wanted to see how quick he was playing against magic. I mean, it really was Bobby getting in the lane,

Bobby hitting us with, I mean, it was, I don't know if there was ever a more pure or better basketball day. For myself or for any of those guys, because we were in a dream playing against our heroes. And we did beat them that first practice. And you beat them. And I just want to ask, Coach Kay said, you probably heard this in the documentary, he said Chuck Daly threw the game so that the Dream team knew what it was like to lose. What do you say? Chris, how, how do you throw a big up game?

I love Coach K. But how dumb does that sound? Because really what it says is they took the best player in the world out the game. So you mean to tell me, we were better than the dream team without your team. Jordan. Okay. That's an admission. Thank you. That's all I'm saying. And I'm going to tell you about the next day to let you know how great this team was. But this one day that we have, we beat them. We just imagine playing against a football player that's been waiting this whole life for this one moment. Not the whole prank, but this one moment. I've never boxed out that

hard. I never dunk that hard because I've been dreaming about playing against them for so long. So even if Jordan didn't play that day, let's say, We didn't play. We weren't supposed to beat the dream team. If I'm Scotty, if I'm stocked, then I'm going to be mad at those comments to say, wait, we were the dream team. These little punks weren't even 20 years old. I was 19 years old. They didn't beat us. You know what I'm saying? Dude, when I read that quote, I was like, well, hold on how. That's, come on. That's BS. They had Chris Mullin, a better shooter than anyone that we have. We really beat them that day. But the next day, it's been the only time in my life.

I've been in a scrimmage and my team did not score in the whole quarter. Oh, yeah, they were. So why would they come out that piss the next day? Yeah, exactly, unless they really lost, bro. They would talk, they were smacking the floor, talking shit to us like, like it was a championship game. Who was the scariest motherfucker in that, in that gym that the young guys were like? Jordan. Jordan. Jordan.

He, you know, like, the drills that, that. that you do every day just to become a better player and you do them hard. Like he was playing that way in the game. He was denying seeing the man in the ball, turning, talking on defense, elbowing guys as they came through the paint. Like we saw his greatness and he shut anyone

that he was checking down. It was not a game. The same with Pippin, same with Ewing. Those guys came out and played. We caught them slipping. That's all I can honestly say. We beat them, we caught them slipping, but they ain't slipped no more

because they beat our ass every day for the rest of that practice. But we felt like, hey, we earned it. But they were cool, man. Took us to dinner. I mean, would let us hang out in their room. It was the best basketball time of my life to be able to try to prove yourself against your heroes.

And you got to play Jordan in the playoffs. Was it your last Bullets game was against Jordan? Yeah. What was playoff MJ like? Like if I was a young guy and I was a rookie and I had to guard Jordan, you know the way we talk about when we're getting ready to play my homes for the first time. And I got to tell a guy like, listen, it's going to be like this. Yes. What would you tell me about playing Jordan in the playoffs?

I would say stay focused. Do not fall for the gimmicks. Do not talk to him. Don't talk. Don't give him any incentive. Just playing your heart as quietly is the best thing you could do with Ms. If you play your hardest and he misses a shot and you go, hmm, it's over. Like anything you do is poking the bear.

And Pippin's presence with Jordan, it was incredible. I mean, this is the team that won 73 games. This is Rob and this is that whole team. You're looking at the side of Phil Jackson. You could go on a 10-0 run and he won't call the timeout. And he's looking at you as like, I'm part of the team too. We don't acquiesce to you punk scoring a couple points. We're going to be okay.

So their aura was as big as they played, but they played so hard, man. Yeah. They played so hard. It was so smart, having shooters like Curry. I mean, they were just so smart. So, yeah, I would just say we have to be on our best behavior. And I think that we lost three games to them by seven points. Yeah.

And I remember just feeling what an accomplishment that was because they swept. I think they lost maybe one game in the playoffs that year. But Jordan made the comment that we were one of the toughest teams. and I thought we were on the rise. But the geniuses there in Washington decided to trade us. Yeah. Because they thought a championship was possible in the next five years. They're still figuring it out there.

Hey, man. I took my son to see Steph Curry, the Wizards, hooked this up. So I appreciate the Wizards. Yeah. But they're definitely, they're still figuring it out in Washington. They are. They have a great organization. The people in the organization are wonderful.

The community is crazy. They're one of the best fans. But I hope for them it starts to, to turn around because you saw with the trades that they made this last year that somebody wasn't connected in the league because those weren't winning trades. And so, yeah, I hope the people in Washington get that because it's a great place to be. That organization is dope. But playing against Jordan, man, that was some fun and scary times.

Like, I'm sure it is chasing my holes and him faking and jumping up. You know what I mean? Yeah, for me it was Brady. You know, it's like when you get ready to play. Brady, it's like you got to sit down and talk to your guys. Like there's got to be a conversation akin to the one that you had with me hypothetically. If I was Gordon Jordan. And, you know, there's just doos and don'ts, you know, and some guys are different. You played the Bulls team, you know, in 97, I think it was. And then maybe he was 98. I can't remember. But the Lakers

series of a couple series with those guys. They, it was. They had to be unbelievable to see in person and to compete against those guys. And I just wonder, was it the same kind of thing playing that team as it was playing those Bulls teams? It was, and again, it wasn't. And the fact that if you're going up against Shaq and Kobe, you better be ready. And I feel you better, you better be ready. But I probably, I would ask you this, when you talk about playing against Tom Brady,

did everyone else play better? that game because Tom was kind of the headstone. So guys that don't rock well on tape. Yeah, guys that don't run hard. They play harder when they play with him. That's the thing I learned about the Bulls and the Lakers. If you really look at the Lakers, Shaq and Kobe are unstoppable.

But it was the Derek Fischer's hitting last second shots and he played defense so great. It was Robert Rory doing all the crazy stuff that he does. It was Mark Mattson coming in for a couple plays. And so in those conversations, it was, hey, we're going to try to take Shaq out the game. We're going to try to take Kobe. But this team is so disciplined. Do not sleep on anyone else because you're giving the attention to Shaq and Kobe.

Just like I was saying, Dallas, don't sleep on Brown just because Tatum is supposedly the man. You know, watch out for those other players. Pritchard hitting a half course. Guys play better. And so that's the thing that I learned about the goats like Tom Brady, Mahomes, Kobe, and Jordan, that they up the level and the expectation of guys who you wouldn't think could do that consistently, but somehow they find that will

when they're playing with that great player. Would you say that the Kings, you know, it's an unbelievable team. When you got there as an influx of talent, you guys make deep runs. You know, I think the way I think about some of these quarterbacks in the AFC, you know, like the legacy is quote unquote different

because Jordan was alive. Yeah. Because the Lakers, or you were in the West. man and the west was crazy. You know, Mahomes has got these guys in the same bind. And you know, looking like a Josh Allen. I'm like, that guy's fucking amazing. He's all a gamer.

Yeah. But he just had to, how good were the Kings? Could you say that they were, you could make a case that one of those teams might be the best team not to win a championship? Yeah, I talked to Sean Merriman on our show, linebacker from the Chargers. And he was talking about those Chargers teams about the same time. And, you know, he said that we were as good as any team that didn't

win a championship, would you put the Kings in that category? Yeah. And in Washington Chargers, you know, when I think of them, I think of two or three plays a game. You're like, if they do that, they could win the whole thing. Yeah. Yeah. And that was with us. And I think that's what makes things so great with legacies in this.

I don't want to lose in any way. However, if you're going up against Kobe and Shaq or, you know, I never played with the top 50 player and they have a coach that's a top 50 coach. So, yeah, it, it, players. Playing against those teams, you really had to be focused and us losing. So when we were playing against the Lakers, when Robert Ory hit the shot, the play before that, we're at the free throw line. And he says to me, hey, when you guys get to the championship, you got to win it for the West.

And I was like, don't try that. Don't try that shit with me now. I ain't nobody thinking about you because we were really winning and thought we were going to win. And I thought it was sincere from him. But at the same time, you're not going to get me caught up with the game's not over yet. And by the way, he hit the game when it's shot in that. But we felt that whoever won that series was going to sweep the New Jersey Mets. When I tell you, we had destroyed the Nets.

East Coast basketball was slow at that time. They hadn't caught up to our style of play. We were leading the league in three-point attempts. We were leading in a league in pace, rebounds, defense. We knew whoever came from the West was going to win. That seven-point series, that seven-game series, I believe, was separated by one or three points. I have it in the book, and I don't want to... Incredible series.

Yeah, so, yeah, we could have won. I mean, I think I'm Kobe and Shaq away from a championship. Kobe and I would talk about that, well, he would try to talk about that a lot. You know, when we, you know, when we would talk about, you know, our careers together, and it doesn't make me feel better like, oh, we lost, but in talking to an athlete like yourself or somebody understands the game that gets it, like, okay, we lost, but who did you lose, too? That, yeah, we're one of the best teams to never. And the great thing about it is our offense still is in effect today.

When Golden State won their first championship, that's our offense that they use. It's corner action where you have a big guy that can shoot and pass on the corner. You have two great shooters like Thompson and the Curry or a Paysia and Mike Bibby or Bobby Jackson. You have that split action. You have guys that can pass that keeps everybody involved that doesn't just fall in love with threes or fall in love with this or that. one reason why I love Curry. Everyone talks about Curry's three-point shooting. He's one of the best finishers in the game. So if you think he's going to run out to the three-point line and back

cuts to make him, so, you know, Coach Carrillo from Princeton, our coach invented that offense. And so, yeah, Chris, we're one of the best teams never to win it. I don't necessarily like that title. But at the end of the day, it's true. And when you look at that team we lost to with those monsters on it, if you did your best, you can go home and be okay. The West was. crazy and I just I look at like the Celtics road to the finals this year and I'm thinking like yeah basketball might be just as good but you know all championship runs if they pull this thing out or not equal in my opinion I mean the gauntlet that dudes had to go through in the west crazy but late in your career you go back to Detroit yeah and you know I had to be cool you know like in a lot

of ways being an older player and embracing a role that's different but also like getting celebrated for you know where you came from the lebron game take me inside y'all's huddle because i can i cannot imagine that had to be the the biggest team full of fucking alphas i love the pistons and what they were about but to this young motherfucker scoring 25 straight points our dudes just looking at each other, speechless. Like, do you know what's happening when it's happening? It, it,

that was the best locker room I've ever been in. Because it was most veterans. And dudes, dudes have won a championship there. They've been the five Eastern Conference Finals. And they, I just love that locker room. Dave Collins,

it's just grown man in there. And what I remember that game is Rashid, while is wanting to switch up the defense assignments before the game. First of all, LeBron could do that if you had 10 people on the court. But I remember this team being so into it that she just kept saying, don't switch. We either double or didn't switch. Like we were trying to change the matchups during the game. Our coach necessarily wasn't with it.

And we tried to go rogue a couple times. But LeBron is a grown man, man. The way he was attacking the paint was forced in and the fact he hit those crazy shots that was something that I hadn't seen up until that time. However, Boobie Gibson and other guys played out of their minds. There's no way Boobie should have 30 or something like that. Same thing you were just talking about.

Yeah, yeah. And LeBron is one of the best, to me, he's the best team player in sports because he gets everyone involved, even though he can be the outfit. at any time. He sticks to the rules and keeps guys. He plays the right way. Yeah. Him playing the right way and getting 25 in a row and getting other guys involved. That just, that doesn't do anything but just frustrate you and piss you off because you realize just it's just his time.

It's just his night. And right there, we were one game away from going to the championship as well. So it's been twice for me, one time in the West, one time in the East that all we needed was one game. And we had got to the promised land. But he's Dale Coveys and LeBron's, man. Come on, man, right? Generational talent. No question. I wanted to ask before we got out of here about the state of the game today, man.

Like, I think there's a lot of interesting stuff going on. You've called these games. You know, you watched the game probably nonstop. And I just, as a casual, like myself, a Knicks fan who was forced into being a casual over the last two decades. But now we're back, baby. You're back.

I just wonder where the game's going. You know, like with the influx of European play, players. And I think also one thing that's striking me right now is the parody. You know, you've got six years in a row now that a champion is going to win an individual title. You know, you got six different teams. And that's the first time this happened since the 70s. And I think about, you know, when I had Rick on, Carlisle, I was like, y'all were fun because y'all were the heel. You know, there was a championship team for everybody to root for or against. And it was the same thing with the Lakers and the Bulls.

And y'all were that heel. Y'all were very close to being the Mavericks. And with the Warriors, like LeBron got to be that heel with the warriors. Now it's like there's no hero, there's no heel. And I don't know if that's a product of what's going on with the second apron or some of the restrictive rules that make it harder to build a team and keep it together. or if it's the players moving around. Like, what do you think?

Do you think dynasties are dead in the NBA? And do you like it better when there are dynastic teams? I like it better when there are guys that don't cry or give a fuck about being a bad guy. You didn't hurt one if you don't go to jail. If you're not doing anything, embrace being the bad guy. And that's why I love Clay Thompson. I'm going to go off on a tangent. Clay Thompson is going to have a great season next year.

I don't know what he's going to do after that, whatever, but he's embraced. Okay, I went over 10, my last, like, I love, because what else are you going to do, run from it, and then people keep bringing it up later. And so I think that the fact that a guy can have more fans than their team plays apart with it, because your fans can turn on that team or kind of have your back during those other times. I think the fat guys are chasing championships. and everybody's a friend. I don't know if championships mean that,

championships mean a lot, but I don't know how much they mean if it's easier accessible because you can go play for a team, you know. You're not the bus driver. There's not enough bus drivers. Yeah, you know, I can go. The guys that want to drive the bus.

No, they don't want to. And it even looks worse with a team like Phoenix having that talent with bus drivers and not doing anything. You know, and so to me, the underdog is going to be rooted for a lot more because if you're Indiana and you're playing Phoenix and you don't have as many guys, but Halliburton is passing the ball and getting it around, and I want them to win. Yeah. So, you know, I think the dynamics are changing. I tell you this, dudes in America that are just dunking, they better get some game because all that fake game is guys overseas that's really that really can shoot, dream. dribbling pass.

So we're about to see this whole game change. If you look at flopping, right? Vlad and his European counterparts brought that in because of soccer. Just think about it. They were influenced by soccer coming in, right? So they bring the flopping in. We don't like it.

I don't like it to the day, but however it's a part of it. You're influenced by football back in the 90s. Yeah, that's seriously. And it used to work. And so I think it is being influenced in other ways now. And I just hope for players, here, they see that Yokage is real. That's nothing to joke about. Y'all, y'all can't check Yokch. And he can control the whole game, being slow, fast, quick, strong, weak, whatever you want to

call him, he gets it done. And so for us, I see the game coming into more skill since they've taken away the physicality. So players better hit free throws, mid-ranges, layups, and things like that, and become a complete player. So I think the game, I think guys are more talented than ever. I think guys more athletic than ever, but guys don't play pickup. Remember back in the day you used to have to go to a park, play with the four guys you did not know, but you wanted to win and stay on. So even if you're a shooter,

even if you're a guy, you might have to grab a couple of rebounds this game just to stay on. I don't think guys know how to play with people. They can dribble with cones and do all these drills from a guy that's never played before. It's like I'm sure if I was an offensive lineman, I could do drills with you to show me how to block swim through and all that. But until we get into the real stuff, it doesn't matter, right?

You got to play outside, man. Come on. It's a generation of playing inside and not playing with other people. You got to learn how to play. It made you a better teammate, a better person, how to lose better, how to win better. And so hopefully those things are brought back in because the skill and the athleticism is there. But I see so many players that have great skill, but don't know how to play. They don't know how to space the floor or get out the way or fake shot this one and get it to your boy in the corner so that this shot is open for you the next play.

Like it's just, so hopefully the IQ of playing comes back and not just I want you to do this drill and shoot at the end because I think that's where we are a lot right now. So in 10 years, the five best players in the world, how many are American born? Hopefully too. Hopefully too, I know. Think about the last, the MVP is. Luca, Yokage, after the Coupa, yeah, I mean. Janus.

Where's the, where's the, you know what I mean? I mean, and if we would have looked at, if Sabonis would have come in the league younger. We were just talking about that. Suburna, Rick, was just talking about that. I saw a tape of Sabonis dunking it backwards with this over the rim. You know, if you can go on Google right now

and watch him break a backboard so easy. But by the way, he could shoot threes. It was just. The game didn't allow for Biggs to shoot threes. You didn't have that leverage or you didn't have, you know, you just didn't have that same way. We talked about that with Dirk. Like, Dirk knew how to shoot, but he said it took like a coach being like, hey, you can do that here too.

And then we talked about Petrovic. I mean, there's like a ton of great European players and never got to fully realize it in that generation. They are now. That's why I was pool playing with Paysia, man, because Paysia's workout and his son's going to be a killer too. But with Pasia, if we didn't have the coaches and the team, and that's kind of what the book is about Chris. Like, I just thank God like how you had your parents around you and they got you. I just thank God for my parents or guys like Coach Carrillo from Princeton

that made different offenses and changed the game that I was around so that I could come in and play with him because where a Rudy Marchelonist couldn't do it, Paysia was able to do it. And so it's really about time and really about the people that have balls around you saying, hey, I believe in it, you can do this or you can do that, that hold you to that expectation. And in basketball, if you don't have an organization like that, then players slip through the cracks. You lose camaraderie. They don't connect to the community.

And so for me, I was in some really special places that embraced basketball, but embraced our personality. So we could be our individual selves and a crazy team together. Yeah. And I think that's why a guy would be so lucky to get drafted by, like, Miami now or New York or like L.A. They were flirting with going with Hurley and developing talent and, you know, like having a program, you know? And I always say this. In the NFL now, they've gotten old guys out of the league because we're too expensive. I can remember at the end of my career being really productive and it felt like they're just one of the younger guys in there.

I don't know how it is in the NBA, but having good vets, you know, having big brothers. You know, like I had a great dad. I got a couple teammates. One of them, James Hall, who went to Michigan, Michigan a couple years, is like a second dad to me. You know, I had guys like him and Leroy Glover. Guys in this era don't have that. I was, so I consult this NBA, I talked to this NBA team. I wish you were at the meeting with me because I remember we had a lockout,

99 or something in the league. And I remember going to a meeting and they wanted to, at the time they wanted a veteran, the last two guys on the team, a veteran to have a minimum salary of a million dollars. And I remember telling the story. And I was saying to the organizations then, that's cheap. Do you know how many bar fights he's going to keep the younger guys? Like his stories are working with him. You know what I mean?

Him saying what you have to do. And that's the problem with the NBA now. You don't play the last three guys anyway. Those should be veterans almost because, as you know, I would listen to those last three veterans than the last three assistant coaches. Hell yeah, dude. Because you're just coming in here as an assistant. Okay, you kiss and as you're.

The last three guys are leaving. They're telling me to get prepared. They might be getting a divorce telling me to take care of my wife. They might be going through something with their kids. And I might not have financial problems. Come on, man. And it's a safe space to tell their end. Truthfully, they can go to the coach and say, hey, coach,

the locker room's kind of getting tired. They may want to do this or that. You know, they're trusted. And I think that when we lost that barrier between the trusted vet and the player now, I mean, who else can keep the legacy going? Who's the conduit between the old and the new? Who keeps the legacy going? It's those players.

So I think that that has been the number one failed job of those have been in control of teams to keep a veteran presence because a veteran presence can even tell your young superstar how to act better. And you don't have to just do it for Derek Rose going to Memphis to watch a point guard. You could have had him there earlier. So there's a true relationship. So I, you know, but that's the suits. Yeah, no question.

Fuck, if I'm a young guy with a bunch of money, in Miami. It's nice to have a UD. Already. So, anyways, I could go all day about this, man, but I want to keep you, man. You're an author now. You got, you know, so by the way, for people that can't see this, you need to hop over to YouTube to see what I would dub this, the greatest background that we've had on Greenlight yet. I need a barn just like Chris Weber has. He's got the hoops. He's got the jersey.

Hey, dude, I appreciate the time. Everybody check out by God. God's Grace, October 15th. You can get it, Chrisweber.com, or you can get it wherever, wherever you shop for books. I mean, he's got a fake security guard. I think this guy's fake. I'm not sure. This is my guy right here. This is a fake security guard. Show me, show me a jersey or two. I'll show you the wall, man. There's Jerry West. Wow, look at that. How about that? Goodness, gracious, man. That's crazy. And the picture is old, but that's a picture of him right next to it. That's crazy. I didn't even want to...

That's incredible, man. I mean, that's awesome. I'm glad that you shared that with me today because damn, we lost... Better than reading it online, man. Yeah, man. We got to talk about it. We lost it. But one question for you. Yeah. Football. Football, man. Because I'm a big football fan. I just saw a gambling question. You want a

better future this year? No, no. I don't know. I don't know a better future, but I'm the man and mad. I don't think I've ever lost it. Oh, we got to play, bro. Oh, we got to play. Oh, we, just let me go win, man. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get Matt to text you my info and my Madden tag

because I play like two, three games a night when the kids go down. Hey, man, not only. So that and I want to be in a serious fantasy football league this year because I think I'm the man in football. I've just letting you know, like I've got one where I saw the other day a guy had to go to dinner with two blow-up dolls at an expensive restaurant. And people thought he was crazy. he was like, no, it's from losing the bet.

Hey, we had, okay, our league now, I don't know if we'd punish you like everybody else, but we had a guy lost and we put him on one of these ambulance chaser type billboards on the side of the highway. And it said, for fantasy football advice, do not call Mike Lewis, 1,800 lose, lose. That's what I'm here on, baby.

You know what I mean? So, yeah, this year I think the losers got to get on a greyhound and ride it from New York to Miami. me, so. Ooh. Oh, yeah. So we'll talk more about this, but we got to run a game of Madden, bro.

Yeah, man. Yeah. Dude, appreciate you, Chris. This has been awesome, dude. Hey, man, and I want to stay in touch, man. Peace. Yeah, no question. No question.

Yeah, come back again, dude. No doubt.