New Rory & MAL - Rory & Mal Don't Know Ball | Dwight Howard

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

On this episode of Rory & Mal Don't Know Ball, the guys are joined by future NBA Hall of Famer and all time great, Dwight Howard! Rory and Mal revisit the 2009 NBA Finals, ask Dwight about his altercation with Lance Stephenson last weekend during their BIG 3 matchup, and get a real time reaction to the Buss family selling the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion #volumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Vice Sports captures the raw energy, drama, and passion that makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive sports programs only on Vice TV. Go to vice TV.com to find your cable channel. The volume. All right, Roy, we are back for another episode of Don't Know Ball. Yes. You know, show that we have now to talk to some people that know a lot about ball.

And today it's a special day. because this is our first, first, this is our first number one overall selection in his draft. That is true. So with the first pick in the 2004 NBA draft, Rory, Orlando Magic selected somebody out of high school who had a lot of promise, a lot of upside. I think ended his career being probably one of the most underrated big men that I've ever seen play the game. definitely revolutionized the position. One of the most athletic. One of the most athletic big men we've ever seen in the NBA.

And I probably have more respect for him today now. I got a chance to stand next to him. He's not as tall as I thought he was. So now I got even more respect for him because it's niggas on the perimeter that's taller than him. And they couldn't do what he did. So we are joined today by Dwight Howard. Dwight, how you're feeling, brother? That's good.

You're right. Listen, man. So when he won't, when he got. off the elevator, you was like, nah, he's kind of small. You know what it is when you, no, no, definitely not saying that. But you know what it is, Dwight,

when I stand next to, you know, hanging out with KD and I stand next to KD, it's like, damn, I would think that Dwight is much taller in a Kevin Durant. Yeah. KD is seven feet. Yeah, but this is what I'm saying.

A lot of people don't know that. Yeah. Right? But on the court, because of, aesthetically, you just look like, I looked like I was upset. But it's crazy when I played for the Lakers and Antoine Jameson was one of my teammates. And I was standing next to Powell Gasol.

He was like, bro, you really ain't seven feet. Yeah. You're like six, eight for real. That's what I'm saying? I said, what you mean? He said because pal seven won and he killing you right now. He's way tall. I was like, bro, it's just when I get on the court.

I look tall because I'm always jumping. Yeah. Touching the top of the background. But it's crazy. Like, yeah, I was one of the shortest centers to play. Yeah, I mean, one of the shortest. Me saying that is crazy, but the way you played the position, though, Dwight, now we, you know, me particularly speaking, saw you in high school, obviously knew the talent was there.

Everybody knew you would be the number one overall pick. But that position, and I think that time, the center position was kind of in a different kind of space. Yeah. We didn't have the, you know, the big dominant shift. Shacks was on the way out. You know what I'm saying? That was kind of the latter part of the career. So the big, bulky, you came in and the way you were running, a lot of people don't

notice. But Shaq kind of played that way in his rookie years and his early years in Orlando. He could run the floor a lot better than people thought. But what you did at the position was like, no, he's like freakishly athletic at the center position. It's crazy because when I got to the team, I wanted to get out on the perimeter. So I would always be trying to bring the ball up to court in practice. And the coach would stop me from dribbling the ball.

He would tell Steve Francis of one of the guards, no, we don't want you dribbling the basketball. And I'm like, well, what you want me to do? They just said, Dwight, we want you to bring down the house. So I'm like, what does that mean? Dunk, everything. And so I was playing the four man when I got on the magic. And back then it wasn't no stretch fours or five. So it was always interchangeable.

They saw how fast I could get up and they. down the floor and how high I could jump. So they say, you know what, let's put you at the center position. Let's get four shooters. And then let's keep you in the picking roll because you're going to be faster than all the centers. It might be taller than you, but you can make up for that with your arms and jumping and stuff like that. So now we want you to put pressure on the rim. So every time run as hard as you can seal to the basket.

If you don't have it, come set a pick a roll, we're going to get you on the lob, get you on the deep post up. So it was like easy money for me. No, but you came in and it almost seemed like right away you adjusted to the NBA game. Was that due to you think you always just being a fan of the game, watching the game closely, or did you come in knowing that I'm going to have to make some adjustments to my game? And how fast did you pick up that adjustment? Because looking back, I don't think you really came out the gates like slow. You had like an adjusted period.

Yeah, I did. But you had success early as well. I think it was how I prepared to come into the NBA. So I woke up every morning at 4 o'clock, and I went to the track, train every day. This is in high school. Every day I was doing this, waking up at 4 o'clock, going to the track. Then I would go to the court and lift or try to lift as much waist as I could, and then go to the court obviously and work out.

I did this religiously. That became my routine. So I wanted to prepare myself for the traveling, for the getting up early, having to get on the plane ride and wake up and having to lift and do all that stuff. And I also to maintain my body. You know, I had to train for that. Because I knew once I got to the NBA,

it's going to be tons of things that could distract me. So I said, I need to work on being disciplined. So my first year, and it was going to be adjustment period. Kevin Willis was the one who woke me up. I tried to box him out one day. What happened? Chicken Wayne. Yeah.

He pulled my arm. down and it was stuck and I couldn't move. And I was like, yo, let go my arm. And Kevin Willis was an older guy. He was a super vet by the time. Super duper vet. Two in the year in the league. Chicken weighing my arm and he held it down.

And I said after that, I will not let nobody ever push it around in this league. I went that summer and eight weights. My first year was an adjustment period because now I'm playing against stronger, older and wiser men. AAU was a different type of game that we could. came from high school was different but now we're playing against all these savvy vets who was more vets in the league back then so you know with me coming in number one pick you know everybody got all these high expectations every big man is trying me so now it's like i got to come back with a

plan the plan was to get bigger stronger and faster and it worked out what was the media side like that because i mean even you know high school when did they cut that off right right before the league yeah the next year yes i thought so it was a controversial time and outside of being the number one pick, being a high school player as well, how'd you deal with the media shit outside of dealing with grown-ass men in the paint? Man, I don't know what I was dealing with. I didn't know what was going on because it's like all I knew was basketball and God. You know, I went to a church school. So every day I'm waking up, do what I'm doing with basketball. Now we're mixing it with school and church. This is everything

that I knew. Now I go from the small school to the big world. Now I'm in the face of a franchise. Now they're asking me to make sure to, you know, understand money and things. I didn't know none about this. So it was a big adjustment period for me. And I was very thankful that now I had to go through so many trials because it really made me better off the court, made me better on the court. And the media, man, we didn't know how to deal with it coming in. I didn't have to deal with any negativity like that until that moment.

coming into the NBA. So it was like, how do I deal with, you know, everybody always in my business? You want to know everything about my life. The negative side that come with being famous and all these different things is now it's coming into play. And it's not as easy to deal with if you don't have a strong faith or a strong foundation. Who pissed you off the most in the media at that time? I mean, it wasn't like the first take era where it's like every show is opinionated,

pundant shit. But people still, you know, there's still opinions going on in sports media. Back then it was probably like to skip Baylaces. Like I would say, if I'm in the room with Skip, I'm going to slap him. That's how I was thinking back then. He always got something to say. Because people like that, I believe back in the day, it started what we call it everybody having an opinion.

Based off, somebody who's never did this before. Like, I can understand. Do you respect it more coming from God? Because I like what the NBA is doing now, and you've done a great job with it as well. I think I caught one of the Magic Games, and you was court side talking. And I was like, well, Dwight, you've always been well-spoken.

But it just seems more natural to have guys that played the game. Talk about the game. Because y'all always see it from an angle. We obviously will never see it from and understand it differently. But is that something that you had to learn later on? Like, okay, these guys, they're just speaking about it. So I can't get so emotionally upset and, you know, and take it too seriously because they're just doing their job.

It's hard not to because. People on the outside teams are also hearing this stuff too. So now it could put them in a position like, is this true? Is it not true? Is this person or player really like this? Yeah, that's how we're taking it because it's like, yo, I'm really out here grinding every single day. And now you're telling people, I'm a cancel in the locker room. I'm lazy.

I don't work hard. Like, you can't do that. That's not fair. Yeah. Because my resume is showing otherwise. But now you're trying to tarnish that by. saying this so it's really not cool. So it's great for everyone to have opinions.

I think we need to hear both sides of it from a player that has played and somebody who's just observing the game because maybe they could see something a little bit different. Yeah. So I can understand that. But to have the actual players who played in that era, I think they should be the ones that are talking. So like now the guys who played with me are against me and stuff like that, I feel like like they would be great commentators for games.

The older guys, they haven't been out there. They haven't been a part of this new generation's games. So I feel like maybe their opinions could be biased based off when they played and how they played. So now you have the career that you have, obviously eight-time, what, All-Star, NBA champion, all of these things. The one thing that I had an issue with was you being left off the top 75. And you've always had this personality where you're smiling, you know, things never seem to really upset you. I don't think I've ever seen you do any or say anything too crazy. But personally, how did you take that?

Like when you got the news that you didn't make the top seven? Like we're not talking about cameras and media. I'm talking about Dwight Howard at home. I was pissed off. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, man, there's no way I put in this much work. personally and for the league

to be left off and I know it's not 75 guys that's better than me okay that's the issue I have with it I'm like some of these guys I get it you he was good but I remember what this kid was doing in Orlando

and it's totally different so I was very pissed off and I was like man this is not right because it got to be a bigger play it got to be something else because I know for a fact some of these guys don't have my resume. Yeah.

And they're on it. That's a fact. But as it got closer to when they, I think ESPN was doing a little coverage at a time when they were saying it's like 10 players left. Yeah. When it got down to 10, I said, you know what, they ain't going to put me on it. Why do you thought? I could already sense it. But why?

Because if I wasn't already on it by the time it got the 10 players left, come on. Oh, okay. I can't say it's 65 players better to me. that doesn't play. Yeah, it would be hard for me to name 65. So for that to happen, our 60, 60 players, 65 players left, whatever. For that to happen, I'm like, yo, I'm not going to make it.

I'm watching on TV like, damn. You would obviously know about NBA politics better than most for the length of a career you had. Do you think there's a reason why you were left off? Was it politics as usual? Is there a specific person or entity that? Man, that's a tough one, man. I don't want to put nobody out there like that.

I don't know. It got to be, it got to be like, it's just that the numbers don't add up. And it doesn't matter. Like, it's the thing that people all say, well, he did this off the court. It has nothing to do with what happened when I stepped between them lines. You can't take that away from nothing by rumors, stories, whatever people are saying. It has nothing.

Talk about the real story. Let's put in the film and my stats and accolades to show if I was really taking the game serious or not. You can't go by Skip if people said, oh, he was just playing the game. He wasn't playing for real. Like what? The numbers and stuff don't show that.

Yeah. So then I'll ask for this list thing because this just happens with podcasting. We go through every fucking complex music list, every rapper list. And we just had the, what was it, L.A. rappers that complex just put out. And we were debating like, all right, yeah, There's legends on this list, but they're from an era that, like, you're only on there because you were in the beginning. Yeah, yeah, you start.

You're not better than this other rapper. You just have a legend status because you were there in the beginning. Do you think that also lends itself to basketball? Why some people on there? Yeah, like, in my era, you would have got cooked. Like, you shouldn't even be on this top 75. Like, it was somebody on there. What was his name?

Sure, he's white, and his name was Bob Coosie. That's his name. I play with him on 2K on live when I was in high school and I was better than him. Ain't no way, Dolph Saves. His name Dolph, I'm sorry, and I love young Dolph.

Rest in peace, I'm not talking about. But his name, Dawes Saze, bro. It's no way he's top 80. Get out of here. No, listen, it's more names than that on that top 75 where I was just like, yeah, I just don't, I don't see it.

Like not, because, again, Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard, like I went to games. I went to games with the guard. I went to games and Nets games. Like,

when those teams came into the city, there was like a, oh, like, how do we stop him? It was Jemir, you know, it was other guys,

but it was like, what are going to do about him in the paint, though? So when you have that feeling in the arena for a part of your career, there's no way you can say,

there's 75 players that had that same feeling. I know it's not. I just know it because I, man, and it pissed me off. I remember seeing Sam Mitchell in the airport in Atlanta. And he was like, man, I just want to tell you, man, that top 75 shit still got me man. He said that I was like, man. Yeah, Van Gunner, your coach, he had some things to say about. Like a few people kind of spoke.

I was like, nah, they got that one wrong. Like, not. But who is they? Who are these people that actually vote? voted and how did they get the right to vote for these? You've never had that conversation with anybody. I'm saying we have talked. They showed the list, but it's like, how are these people the ones who have the criteria

to vote for these 75 people? What makes it? I think one of the people was a player. You might not mistake. He's playing now. How could he have the right to vote for who should be top 75 now and he's still playing? Yeah. It should be players that I would say maybe wasn't superstars or all-stars in the league,

but played in all the – who played in certain errors that can say, okay, now this guy, I played against him. Yeah. He was cold. Now, you know, like the ninth, eighth man on the bench, who was – all these guys that them played are witnessed the game. No disrespect to nobody. But, like, they're the ones that should be saying, man, that was a cold dude that played. He top. You know what I'm saying?

They knew how tough it was to go against that person. Yeah. And it's funny, Pige and Mall were having a conversation off mic before you came here that I thought was very interesting. Of we're getting to the era of young kids that did not see Jordan whatsoever. So now it's going to be the way I view Will Chamberlain. Like I've heard about it, but I don't fucking know. You don't exist. Yeah.

And that's my favorite player. So, Dan. Yeah. Okay. But we're just getting that part. But I've never seen him playing right now. How could they vote on the top 75 players ever? And say Will.

They didn't actually watch them. They didn't play against them. How do you even vote for that? Because the name, it's like for this. A lot of kids never seen Shaq play. But they're going to say he's the most dominant center. Which is true, but also that goes with branding and Shaq continuing to be in the space as well. Like his name is going to continue on.

But hey and y'all got YouTube, though. YouTube Shaq. And then you tell me if I'm lying about what I'm saying about having a whole. Oh, I agree with you on one Shaq on that side. but I'm saying it's different to, like, I was young. I caught the very tail end of Jordan. It doesn't resonate the same way as Kobe with me. I watched Kobe, rest and peace.

I just hated him because I watched him kill every team I loved. Like, I know about it. Jordan, yeah, I could watch the highlights and be like, oh, my God, that guy's insane. Oh, but he never watched the season. There's not a feeling of watching Kobe crush, like crush us. I sat down in front of the TV, plenty of Sundays and watched Mike. Yeah, but we have a 10-year difference. So like nothing, nothing like it.

These are the greatest ever. Dwight don't even look at him like. Who your number one all time? Michael Jordan. I think, don't say nothing. The goat got to be Corrine. Okay, but you, and I know why you're saying that. You're talking about just as far as basketball, career, high school, college, NBA.

He got to be the goat. And I'm not mad at that. Just strictly basketball. I'm not mad at that. I'm not mad at that. But Michael. Jordan, what he did, what he came in, his 84 season to this day. And now y'all are supposed to be more athletic, y'all are supposed to have more moves, y'all are supposed to, all these opportunities

to score and do all these things, and nobody can still get close. Because it's harder. Then 84? You know what they mean it was. It's harder to score. Now? If guys are more athletic, they're stronger, they jump higher, they're faster on offense. What about the guys on defense? It's the same thing. Yeah, but I don't think that, again, and this is why we had to show, I don't think that NBA players now put as much emphasis on the defensive end as they did when you were playing. That's true because it was. So let alone with-

Like Iverson's one example, do you think Iverson would have an easier time scoring right now or the error he played in? I would say the error he played in. No, right now he would have a way more time, easy-time scoring. That's what I'm saying. Oh, okay. It'd be way easier for Iverson to score right now. But, well, yeah, well, that's Iverson.

I said prime Iverson. This is one example. This is Michael Jordan. That's what we're talking about. If you were to drop Michael Jordan in this. I always say this. Michael Jordan is Michael. No, but listen, this is what I say.

I say that if Steph Curry had the ego of Michael Jordan, just the ego. Steph Curry's game with Michael Jordan's ego, they would drug test Steph Curry every game. But what, which, what kind of? What kind of ego? What do you mean? Because I say that because Steph is such a passive guy. He doesn't care to be, his talent brings that to him. But like he doesn't push that ego on to other players. Like he doesn't get at other players and dominate in the way that Mike did.

Like Mike would create a issue with a player just to be like, yo, I don't like the way he looked at me. That's the error that we played in though. I mean, that's the era that Bob Michael Jordan, like they had to find the issue. Remember, it was no friends back then. People, like, they hated each other. But they used to get mad at us for

hanging out with each other. Like, why you hang with him? That's the enemy. It's like, no, we're just hooping against each other. We're supposed to be cool. Yeah. I think that that was just the error because I was looking at some stats, they said, Michael Jordan. They said he had a 48-inchvert. That's ridiculous.

You don't believe it? That's hard to believe. But why you don't believe that? because that meant he would be touching the top of the whole backboard. Easy. 48. He did the measurements at the dunk contest. We watched.

Who? You. Me? Yeah. No, I'm saying Michael Jordan. I know, but I'm saying you know the exact measurements. I think the top of the bagwood. I think that's, we know it's exaggerated, a 48 inch.

We know it's exaggerated. But if you go back and look at tapes of Michael coming out of North Carolina and just look physically the way he looked against everybody, else. Maybe because everybody else didn't have it, but now everybody else got all those same things. That's why I still don't look like that. Because it don't, because back then it was a whole different game. Like now, I'm trying to learn how to do the moves that the youngest is doing, like the whole Euro steps, all these different moves, like the going side step and coming back, then catching this shooting and then take another side step.

They're learning how to travel. Yeah, travel. Okay, but that's, it's a new age basketball. It's AI. This is AI basketball. That's what I'm saying. I got to get with chat G-T-G-B. I'm watching Halliburton and I'm like, He picked up his dribble in the paint. He's at the three. How did he do that?

And it's no whistle. I'm like, all right, things change. But that's how it is now. Like, everything is, it's an upgraded system. Yeah, I get it. Like, the way the players were back then, if they would have had the same type of train and the same type of facilities,

they would have been able to do all the stuff that's being done now. but they was only going off what they had, which was simpler, which made the game easier. So to us, why Mike looked so cold because he won two dribbles into everything.

That's what we like. We want all, why you got to take all those drills and do all that? Right to it. Yeah, but that's the era that we grew up in, but now we're looking at an era

where they take an angle. Somebody take this angle away because he's strong enough and he can get you to take that angle away. Now you got to find another way to get to another angle. So it's just, it's a different.

different ball game. Where's Mike at on your all-time list? He got to be two or three. Okay. I just have Kareem at one because- I respect that. If you would have had him going five out of him like, Dwight, we can't,

what would he talk about it? You can't name five players better than Michael. No, you can't. But Kareem is just like. I'm not mad at that. I'm never mad at nobody that has Kremead al-Jibar at number one. How many points he got? Total.

39? No points. 38. Sounds. Something crazy. All two. You're saying, you know, hard that is to do.

Annie only had one side. Yeah, I get it. No, he dominated, he dominated every level of basketball without a doubt. I'm never arguing Kareem Abdujibu. And he did it with two names. Yeah. He might be the coldest there. Ain't no player colder to him.

He did it as Lou Al said to Eddie with Bruce Lee, real ass. He got him to go, bro. Come on, what's up. I'll never argue three of him. He was at 38,000 points. Yeah. Is what he was at. That's crazy.

I mean, do you think with how the league is, it's better for the league moving forward? Like, with it less physicality, people being more AAU-style friends and shit, you think it's better? Well, I just think that, see, the game is global, and they want more scoring. They want more entertainment. The world we live in, people get so, like, distracted fast. So they have to do things to keep it entertaining. And so I think it's in a great position. The only thing I see is it's oversaturated with talent

and that it's not enough teams, it's not enough all-star spots, it's not enough money to go around for all these players because they're going to continue to get better. And the only thing for the players I want them to start doing more is probably just playing more, pick up the younger players, to trying to get to the league.

Yeah. Everybody got a training. Everybody one-on-one workouts and all of that. Yeah, one-on-one workouts. The best way to play basketball is to play basketball. Yeah, once it go back to that, then the game itself is going to regain the love and the passion that it used to have. Just think about how back in the day it was just us hooping. Like, it just felt so good to get out there and hoop.

You ain't got no money involved. Now the players, now they got to worry about making sure they hit the part, what they call them, the parlay? Parley. Yeah, the point. Like, people get mad about if somebody don't get enough rebounds or score enough points. Yeah. That could put a lot of pressure on these young guys, you know what I'm saying? So then people wasting their money doing it.

I say people going to bet, do what they do. They're going to always do that. Yeah. How did you feel about the whole NIL? Like, do you feel like that's hurting college basketball? How do you feel about the transfer portal? Like, if Dwight Howard in high school had those options in front of him, How does that look for Dwight's career?

I'm going to the league only because I wasn't going to the league for money. I wanted to go to the league just to, because I wanted to be one of the greatest to ever play. That was my goal. It wasn't, man, I got to get some money so I could live. I always felt like God was going to provide for me if I use my gifts properly. So I think the NIL can be a great thing. And also it could be a bad thing depending on how people use it.

I know a lot of families would want to use it to take, get them, get themselves out of a situation. But also at the same time, what if you don't know what to do with this money and this fame? Yeah. And you giving up your name, image, and likeness. Like, and everybody's doing that now. I don't think that's a, that part is a great thing for these young athletes to give up your name, image, and likeness. That's who you are. And if you're doing it at a young age, you know what I'm saying?

it's like you won't stop. Yeah. You have to keep feeding that beast. Oh man, I got to come back. My name, image, and likeness is on the line. And that's a lot to give up you. You know what I'm saying? So that's the only part I don't.

I mean, but if hypothetically, if like, you know, KG and Kobe didn't prove that you could be successful right at high school because, I mean, Braun hadn't really been proven at that point. Do you still? Brown was what? A year? Yeah, what? He right after me.

right before me. Right before me. We're doing. I'm talking about at that point, KG and Kobe, we knew you'd come out of high school and be a superstar. Brian, rookie the year, great, but that was one year. Do you think you still wouldn't have taken that time to develop in college, say maybe one or two years?

How? Like, okay, this is what I told my mom. I said, people go to college to learn how to make money and whatever it is that they're trying to make money. This is what the NBA is for, me. I'm making money and the thing that I want to do, but I'm not doing it for money. But guess what? If I could play this game every day and get paid for it, why not do that? You know? So she said, you're right, son. This is what you wanted to do. So you go ahead and be the greatest that you could be.

What were some of those conversations like with J.R. Smith, Sebastian's Hellfare, like at the McDonald's. Just like they knew what I was going to do. We know what you. going to do before you're going to the league. You better, you better go to the league. And I'm like, y'all,

right. Like, if I got a chance to go top, if you get a chance to go top three in the NBA draft, you would be a fool to go to college. You knew you was going one, though. Yes, but I'm just saying for anybody in general,

like, if you get a chance to go top three and you know you can go number one, come on now. Yeah. That would be like, knowing that you got a box behind this door that's $100 million. dollars and everybody in the world know it and you say you know what i'm gonna go to college and

go earn it yeah you just earned it yeah that's tough yeah just weighing with stuff i mean even you know i won no beef with uh quamay brown at all i don't want to go back and forth on youtube but you know that always be in the back of my mind too but what did he do that point what you ever see oh one he didn't do anything wrong like see no i agree it was a weird system with the wizards and and not even that like he made it out the rat race yeah you know what i'm saying that's how you're You can't take it like, man, he didn't have an awesome career. He did. Played over 10 years in the NBA.

The average career in the NBA is three to four years, folks. So for somebody to go past that, now maybe he didn't meet everyone outside of himself expectations. Yeah. Because they had expectations for him. Yeah. But he met his. Yeah. He made it to the league.

That's probably what his why was. I got to make it to the league. Everybody had different reasons. Everybody loved ball for different reasons. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, I can't fault him for that. Yeah. And just think about this.

You coming into a league and your favorite player is on your team and it's Michael Jordan. And like he's Michael Jordan and you're 18. Like that's a lot on you and then for this person to be on you so heavy, you're not understanding. That's a lot. I never really like took a second and thought about just that. Like you grew up looking at this figure that is like. It's so idle. This is the one.

And now he's mad at me because I dropped the pass. He just threw to me and it's like... Nigger, I'm watching the greatest player ever. I'm just in a hall. I'm stuck to staring at him. Like, Michael Jordan just passed me to... And that's a lot to say. I was young, but I remember the media like,

this is... Jordan handpicked this draft. Even though he's on the team, Jordan is drafting him. Yeah. They were doing special. I feel like he went to Jordan's like house in North Carolina. Like, they made that...

He probably was so inspired. And then he probably felt sitting on right after that because he was like, damn, man, I fucked up with Michael Jordan. That could probably sting a lot as a young man. Different type of pressure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What is that pressure, though, like knowing that you're the number one pick? Like, what is that?

For me, I, like, it's just a different glow you got in the green room when everybody know you're going number one. I was afraid if I was going to go number one and number two for a second. And then I remember one of the guys said, hey, Ashley wasn't one of the players. I'm sorry, it's my agent. Aaron Goodwin, he said, Dwight, soon as they call your name, your mama, hug in a kiss,

shake your pop's hand, you can get ready to smile. So I said, oh, that mean, I'm going number one. As soon as he said, they're in the green room. And I think they do the green room a little different now. I don't know how it goes, but, man, back then it was a little,

it was treacherous. It was like we're in the garden. You know, the fans is everywhere. I think before they had all of us outside. It was a great experience, man. But being 18, looking back on it, it was a whirlwind. It happened so fast. Like, one day I wake up, I'm in this, you know, 16 student class.

My senior class, school is super small. Next day, I'm getting drafted into the NBA. All my dreams come true. Like, man, this is sick. Yeah. So let's talk about the 2009 season. So the Orlando Magic y'all beat LeBron, the Cavs

to go to the finals. What was that you had the close-out game, you had a crazy game. I think you were at 40. 41 and 19. Just a light double-double. You saw him right through that out there. He said, you know, and he still remember that.

You know, 4119. That was right there at the office. That is crazy. And 19 is stupid. 40 and 19 is absolutely, but against that team, against that player. In that moment to go to the finals, like, in the, what do you, as a player, take us in that moment where you feeling in the zone like, oh, I'm having one of those games.

This is one of those. Like, what is that, how do you control that emotion? You can't. It's just like, one, you feel everything that's going on from the crowd because we're in Orlando. So the crowd is hype because this is the furthest we've been in a long time. And you can feel that. the intensity, everybody's so hype. And it's like the only thing on our minds is they've been talking about this Cleveland Laker matchup.

Yeah, they wanted it bad. They wanted it so bad. We're seeing all this stuff on TV, the commercials. Everybody's just counting us out. Yeah. And that just brought out so much anger that it was like we are fend to destroy Cleveland. Whatever it takes, we're going to send them home mad that they, they, from playing us. and that last game was like a statement like nah

y'all gonna remember the Orlando Magic everybody gonna remember we're the team that stopped LeBron and Kobe from going to the final that series was still that time really was like some of the best basketball that I think that we had the matchups the individual players the teams when did it start to click for y'all though that obviously you know you're

you felt like everybody was counting y'all out and things like that. But when did it really start to click like, oh, shit, we got a legit shot? Well, really that how we started out that whole season, well, not playoffs. We started out against Philly and we were down. I think we had to go to game six. We lost the first game. Fans went crazy on us at home. How y'all make it this far?

Y'all best team and y'all lose the first game. going crazy on us. So I get suspended game six. We're already up. We just needed one more game. And I'm like, man, we can't go to no game seven because anything can happen. Yeah. But I'm suspended.

I'm tripping. So we end up winning a game. I think we play Boston the next round. And then we play Cleveland. Boston's a battle in itself. Yeah. So after beating Philly and Boston, We felt like we had the upper hand on Cleveland all year.

And we knew about why the time the game come. We had a plan for LeBron. We had a plan for, what's the El Galskus, anybody on the court, we had a plan for. And we wanted to dominate them. And I think we did that. Did you have any moments in playing the Cavs where you're looking at LeBron and what they're doing, like, damn, like he's really. on a different level as far as just pure athleticism.

Because I think that series, like, Braun didn't show one of his best playoff series that y'all just beat them, but, like, he played at a high level, almost every game. He had a great game. Like, you never looked across the court and was like, how the fuck is he still,

like, we can't stop and we can't stop. No, we was in a mold. I didn't see him. I just saw the trophy. He was in the way. I was looking at the trophy. Like, man, he is in the way. He is a person.

and this team is in our way. Like, he got to go. He got to go. Yeah. So the next round, y'all get the organization. That's probably the most prestigious organization. And definitely in basketball, maybe in sports. But what is that feeling now?

We got L.A. We got the Lakers. Oh, it's time. I was like, this is it. We're playing against the Lakers in the finals. The magic Orlando was going. We saw Orlando flags all over Orlando. The crowd, the fans is going crazy.

I'm like, this is the time. They put Mickey Mouse at number two. This is it. You know what I'm saying? At first, everybody was talking about this was Mickey Mouse Town. They wasn't calling us Orlando Magic. He was calling us Orlando tragic. So for us to go from that to being in the finals, man, the best feeling in the world to beat the calves and then now playing the Lakers.

The games was crazy. Crazy. And let's not act like Boston was a trash. Boston wasn't a trash team. So we went through hell to get to, by the time we got to the Lakers, we didn't have no more energy. Look at all the teams you had to go through just to get to Kobe. Yeah, just to get to the big boss. You never played like a video game back?

God, God. He got one life left and now you're playing against. He got all the, he got everything. I'm like, bro, this is not fair. He got three, seven footers. Oh, my God. Incredible team. Oh, my God.

Now, when you got to the finals, your running mate, Jamir was hurt. Yes. But Skip. Skip and Anthony Johnson. Yeah. Anthony Johnson off the bench.

No, no, Skip and Anthony started the whole playoffs. And it was hurt up until the finals. Right. I always feel like that was a bad call on Van Gundy. We can't blame Van Gundy. And I, you know, a lot of times we tried to blame Van Gunner because he was the head coach. But we all agreed to let, to have Jamir play too, for Jamir to come back and play. Because he wanted them to play, it's not like we did.

Yeah, but I think it kind of messed up the chemistry between Anthony and Skip. You know, that kind of put them in a place like, man, we got you all here. And obviously we rock with Jamir, but, man, me and Skip did our job. So looking back on it, like, I can understand why coach and all of us wanted Jemir back because we're thinking at the time, like, man, we finally got them back. Now, it's go time. But chemistry and time, man, it's super important. Everything has to be aligned in order to win those championships.

That was our one time. That was our one shot. We got somebody that wanted to call in. and just talk to you. I told me what's coming in today. Oh, so. Oh, my God, Thunder. Oh, my God.

Yo, we was just talking about the 0-9 finals. And Dwight was saying, Dwight was saying, Trev couldn't guard. He was like, he kept calling for a switch. Hey, caught in the switch. One thing I will say about Trev is he is one of the most solid. people in the world. Outside of whatever's going on

with basketball, here's one of the most solid. And on the court, we've been battling in each other since since we were some jits. And it's crazy to see how long your dreads got mine ain't grown since. You know what I'm looking like little Moses,

bro? I saw the guy, a little Jesus. When you started right at the same time? Yeah, we started at the same time. I learned from you. Oh, I'm here. Baby-ass-haired. Yeah, man.

So we were just talking about the 09, the 09 finals, Trev. When did you all feel, when y'all got, because obviously Dwight was saying everybody wanted L.A. Cleveland to see obviously Kobe and Braun. But Dwight and them sent them packing. When Dwight and them sent Bron on the packing, did you feel like, oh, we got this? This is easy. We walking through them. Or did y'all feel like, damn, man, we got to go out there and beat this big shoulder dude? Jimenez Nelson and him.

Man, first off, personally, for me, I wanted to play them so bad. So I knew, like, if they won, like, it would be, like, the energy of, like, just the world and the universe just coming back on their ass if we played them. Yeah. You know, I'm like there.

Like, they traded me. Yeah. Orlando traded me from, well, I got traded from there to L.A. Mm-hmm. You know, so I feel. their whole, everything that they did, I knew what pissed some of the players off. I knew what got under Dwight skin.

I knew how to agitate them. So, like, the things that I would share about what they did, you know, I would tell my team. We used that. Yeah. So, yeah, I felt like we had the advantage in a way. Well, Dwight, he said that he didn't, because I kind of, I blamed, I still, I respect what Dwight said.

All of them agreed to have Jemir come back and play. But I felt like what Skip and Anthony Johnson was doing, I think that that kind of messed up the chemistry. Did y'all game plan for Skip and AJ? And once Jemir came back, like, what was the switch that y'all made in the locker room? It's crazy because I think Mir was an all-star that year, too, right? Yeah, he was.

He was. Dwight? Yeah, he was. Amir was an all-star that year that he fucked his shoulder up. Mm-hmm. So when Skip got put in the whole lineup, they caught a rhythm. Like a really, really good rhythm. But Jamires, the all-star starter who, year after year, like, his play has, you know,

gotten them to where they was at. But making that switch at that time, while you rolling or why their team was, like, moving, the way it was moving, it was a tough decision to make for a coach. and a team to try to adjust to without having like practice and shit like that. So that was another advantage that I think that I was able to have.

Now, I do, I think I do remember one time I think Trev, you got a poster on Dwight. No, you tried. Dwight is a fucking hack, man. The picture has Dwight literally slap it, hold him out on. I do hack.

This top, I'm probably 207 pounds. The white, all the 260. Yeah. I have my little ass on. You have to hack Trevor. I'm going to tell you why. Every time Trevor wants to dunk on you, he does a karate kick to kick you. Yeah.

Kick out. Before he does. So I had to make sure he wasn't going to kick me and then dunk on me. Fuck out of here. You are a hack, bro. Treve, I appreciate you calling in, bro. You say to him a heck. My brother Trevor Reza.

I don't know who's going to get him free or not. Yeah. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement. to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess also is the co-host of the away end, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist. And John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86.

I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's hard.

heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know, there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial. issues. I like the boozy style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting.

On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, When people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So, Dwight, take us to the last game. You lose the finals in 2009 to Trev and Kobe and the Lakers.

What is that emotion in the locker room? Man, before we got in the locker room, I sat on the court with Jamir and watched them celebrate. I was just like, mirror, man. I just got to sit here, man. This shit really, it really hurt, man. We put in so much time to get here. And we don't know if we can get back again because it's hard. Yeah.

But let's remember this feeling. So when we get back in the gym, this is what we're fighting for. And so that's what we did. So when I got back home, man, I was so hurt. I sat outside of my house about five, five, six hours. I listened to lose yourself in the moment I was like, man,

I just lost to fight a baby, Kobe and the Lakers, man. It was my one shot, man. That's my one shot. What if I never get bad to this? Come, and he rings Kobe as. He didn't need that one. I'm telling you, I was so sick, man.

I just sat outside, like that was my one shot, man. Like, this is him. This is Kobe, the Lakers. Like, I'm like, man, that the magic would have won. the championship like that would have been everything that we wanted in Orlando and uh damn talk to me about the because you were on the bubble ring right the bubble that's where you got to why everybody keep calling the bubble ring because it is what you mean but okay let's have that

let's have that conversation you don't feel like we should call it the bubble ring why well because everything around it the season will stop y'all were on vacation for maybe three months So that should make it harder. Well, this is why I want to have this conversation. I'm on the side of I don't see how it's harder from the standpoint of we know exactly how much traveling and having our fans screaming down on top of the other team affect the game. It don't. Dwight, don't say that. What is it affect?

Fans in the arena don't affect the game. Okay, so then why didn't it affect either way? when we didn't have fans. No, no, I'm not saying that I'm not saying that it didn't affect either way. I'm just saying I think that that's a bigger element that is now missing is the fact that we don't have to go into L.A. and beat the Lakers. Or we don't have to go into Orlando and beat the Magic. Or we don't have to go into San Antonio and beat the Spurs.

But if we're the Lakers, everywhere we go, we're going to be the home team. It doesn't matter where we play at. Name one place we're going to go play at. If we're the Lakers on that championship run, Boston. So you felt like You could have never went into Boston

and won. Who? As the Lakers, that team? We did it already. The Lakers didn't even go to the finals. No, no, I'm saying, we had the best

record. As opposed to having fans and not having, it's tougher to go into Boston and win in that building with those fans. When you were in Orlando, did you feel like the Lakers

were at home when you guys played in Orlando? Yes. Oh, shit, okay. Just like when we played Detroit back in the day. I could see Orlando being that way. the lake i'm talking about where it's rivalry shit like you're not going to one team that's only

boston everywhere else but i'm just saying if you're the spurs it's it's hard to win in san antonio spurs we had more laker fans there you're talking about for the playoffs you're talking about for the finals if we're playing the finals team that mean it's an eastern conference team they were more lakers fans at spurs games than spurs fans in playoffs do we didn't play them in a i'm just saying like when the lakers played the spurs like when colby i did play them the spurs is not but back then it was a lot of Laker fans at them game. I'm sure it is because the Lakers, the brand is just... So that's what I'm saying.

We got home court advantage everywhere. We're not getting affected by that. But how does it... All right, so you got the bubble. You said that we was out for how long? Three months. Almost three months, maybe, right? So three months of no basketball, no training, none of that.

But the oldest team come back and beat everybody. Fair and square? How many times... What was it? Four... Did we sweep everybody? I don't know if it was close. It was pretty dominant.

Oh, it was 4-1 everybody. Yeah. Yeah, I was a quick time. So what does that mean? But everybody had the opportunity. Well, let me ask you, is there a difference in the energy of when you went to the finals with the magic playing the Lakers than when you were in the bubble in the finals? You can't say there's no. I'm saying there was no different worlds.

There was no difference in the energy of walking onto the court. That's what I'm asking. But what is the happen? All right. We're asking. We don't know. obviously if it's no fans there it's going to feel different for when it's a whole bunch of fans there but we was the best team going into the pandemic anyway no i get that part of it but i'm just saying

when you have the stoppage and then you obviously have guys being outspoken about not wanting to go to the bubble you have guys that's in the bubble that's not comfortable they're like yo bro i'm ready to get out of it so i'm just thinking like guys don't really care this is it it kind of came across like we got the best players in the world we put them inside the bubble and they're basically like a you shit they know what time their games are their teams are showing up to the gym but to me it's not the same as when i'm watching Orlando and the lakers in 2009 but then like it just so what about the lockout year well the lockout year was we don't say lockout championship they missed have put the action on it because it didn't but it wasn't it wasn't as long as the

cold the bubble it wasn't that much time more it should have been the hardest time for us that's a harder time we're in a bubble we can't know nowhere I'm asking you if you feel like it's tougher then I'm taking it because you actually played in 2009 and you played in the bubble championship so what I'm saying is tough is the circumstances that we're all up under I would love to travel during the finals and be with my family and go to L.A. and chill that's that's probably harder to play now. Because now I got to worry about everybody coming to the games. I got to worry about making sure the tickets is right. The flights is right. So I'm saying it's harder. It's tougher.

But it has nothing to do with basketball. This is pure basketball. You get out there and what y'all playing y'all playing. But then are elements. In the bubble, it's pure basketball. So it should make it harder to play against another team because there's no other circumstance besides basketball. So now everybody's playing they best. Jamal Murray, he's getting 50 pieces in the bubble. He had nothing to worry about. He had no other outside stress when it comes to game day. Now, the stress that we had is dealing with the whole world being that stopped.

We getting COVID tests three times a day when we can't even catch a cold in there. Why are we getting COVID tests so much? It's no reason for that. There's nobody there but us. Imagine waking up every day getting a real COVID test three times a day, just to play a game. So, yeah, it's, people could put an ashtra, but they wasn't there. So, of course, they're going to say, well, that was easy.

It's LeBron. That was his team. Yeah. But come on, man. At the next little one, y'all, I bet you wouldn't say it was an asher. I would. That would be a nasty championship. I would say it was the greatest championship of all time.

Because y'all got a championship. But I would say that's nasty. I don't even say bubble a lot. It would be nasty because there's no parade and no other stuff. that's the nasty part. Like, I want a parade. I want at least, we ain't get a chance to do nothing, man. Only parade I got was on my 2K, man, when I won.

All right, so see, this is damn. So you didn't win an 09, but you won in 2020, right? Tough question, because I think I know your answer. Would you rather had won in 09 than 2020? Yeah. Wanted Orlando? Why? It's Orlando.

Okay. First championship. Yeah. It's a staple. Like that changes everything. That's like the first one. That changes everything. So, of course, in Orlando.

And then the crowd is there just before the new arena's finished. Yeah. Oh my God. Going into the new arena with a ring? Yeah. All right. And the parade at Disney World would have been for a race. And to end up at Disney World, oh my God.

Yeah. That's nasty. You could literally say at the end, like, you just won the NBA championship. What you're going to do? Like, clearly. I'm going to cross the street. I'm going to cross the street. Big game.

I'm going back to my road. Double parked in front of shit. I got some song for you, Nicky. I'm going to my room. All right. Prime Shack or Prime Dwight? I got to go with myself, but Prime Shack is a big old beast,

but I'm not backing down. No, I know you ain't back in down, but 32 in Orlando. 7-2, 7-2-3-20. And I'm pushing 6-11 with shoes on 265. It's cool. I'm going to battle my ass off.

I'm strong as shit. So, hey, I'm going to prime Dwight. Okay. I'm not mad at that. I'm not mad at that. I'm fired a shit out of two times. But you know, in our career, if you ever seen it, we both have, I think we average like 5,000 every game against us.

Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Absolutely. It's a lot of that going on. Hell yeah. A lot of filing. What does the NBA need to do with All-Star weekend in general? Not just the All-Star game, but three-point contest. Dwight got to come back in the dunk contest.

I mean, what you want people to do? I'm telling y'all it's over saturated. Like, think about it. We don't see all the ducks in the world. What else can somebody do? Do you think they need to add in some of the, I mean, they try to do it, but some of the YouTube dunkers

and bringing people up from G-League just for that weekend? You can do that stuff too, but again, now everybody wants to be compensated for what they're doing their NILs. I mean, they make enough money doing it. I'm real. They make enough money for NBA.

No, no, nothing. I understand that, but the YouTuber is saying, hey, if you want my name, image, and likeness, and you want me to get out there and dunk, I want to get paid. I want to collab posts. I want to do all this stuff. So now I think they're looking at all that, you know, the biggest thing is to attract this new market. So if I was them, they got all them chap GTP servers, just ask all the AIs, and the AI's going to tell them how to make All-Star better.

They're trying something where it's the world versus the NBA, right? They already do that though. But that's with the younger guys. But where they're going to play the world versus U.S. in the States?

Yeah, like for All-Star Weekend. But is that, that's cool to add on to the All-Star weekend. No good you're wrong. I'm going to watch it, but that's not going to be a game changer. It's cool. It's going to be normal.

You know who's going to be on one team, you know who's going to be the only other team. It's not going to ever be a game. the same. We don't seen so much good talent. We don't seen the best of the best of the best of the world. So now we're expecting the All-Star game to be something crazy when it just ain't. The times we lived there, we probably got to let that go because it's nostalgic for us to be like, damn, I remember when it was in the All-Star game. Everybody had their home jersey on all that stuff. Yeah, it's cool. But now the time is said for something different. You know what I mean? I, I,

I like the idea of having the world versus USA in the All-Star weekend, only because I don't know if the USA wins. Oh, right now? Right now? That's what the young guys were. But who's going to play? The last three MVP is not even playing. But how are people going to really play? What's the incentive?

I think if it's that structure, that format. But what's the incentive behind it? And who do you pick? How do you vote now? I think if they did it with. the actual All-Stars, it would give more incentive because I think America would have something to prove because I think it would get a little embarrassing.

That goes back to the Olympics then. So why do you got to do it? No, the Olympics difference because it's every single, if it's the world, everyone that's just not a United States citizen. Each team in the world versus the U.S. The best players. Yeah, there's something to prove there.

That could be tough. Like, because now you got Luca on the same team. You ain't got enough time for you need more to the All-Star game. Yeah. One game ain't going to be a little bit, too. You see what I'm saying in time? Because you're like, man, hold on who we going to get?

We got to make sure we pick the right guys. And then it take away from it going back to the all-star voting. Remember, these guys is also trying to make sure for longevity, they get on the all-star team so they can get another year and they contract all these different things. So now that the money is so much stuff involved, it just make it difficult. The one thing I would like to see is not with the All-Star game,

but Olympics. Instead of having the Olympics in another city or another country every year, I think that they should go back to Greece, where it started at, fix it up to where it looked like the old school kind of style but make it new school. But just keep it there every year so we can bring the value back into it. Because when you have it in every place around the world, they putting all their money up for one year or for a couple years just to build this place up. And then now when the Olympics is over with,

you got all these nice venues, but nothing to do with it. I do you want better. They'll build all that shit just to bid. They might not even get the Olympics. Yeah, just to bid for it. So just like they're happening in it. Are they still happening in California?

It's in L.A., yeah. The next one's in L.A. So they happen in L.A. They had to bid for it for a couple of years. That's why you get Sophie Stadium because of the Olympics bid. What about all the people that live there, they have to travel and work, who are not going to go to the Olympics.

You have to just live. I didn't want to do all the Olympics. that stuff. So now let's put it back to where it started. Let's bring the value back into it. Let's kind of get the real gold medals, the real silver medals. Make it mean something again. Like every country when they go playing in Olympics, it really means, it's, it don't seem like it's like for us in America. So I think that would get back to everything else. Like, hold up now. If we want to be the most dominant, let's do it in Olympics. Let's be the most dominant in NBA, baseball, whatever it may be.

Now, this news just broke. The bus family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of Diversified holding company, TWG Global. This just happened? News just broke. The bus family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership. How much money did they just get? Is there a number? They must have broke the bank.

Jesus Christ, you're talking about billions. We talk about easy. Because I know the one who had transitioned a couple years ago, he don't walk about that great. Y'all did what? 10 billion. 10 billion? Alleged 10 billion.

Alleged 10 billion? Is that enough? That is enough. That's enough. Yeah, that'd get it done. 10 billion, that'd get it done. Genie. Jeannie.

You never going to see her again. It's funny because the same shit Dwight doing. That's what Phil Jackson is doing right now. Gene! Come back! I'll do the triangle again. I'm tired. Scott!

Scott! Scott! 10 billion. 10 billion is crazy for a majority ownership. Majority on. Jeannie, man, just give me a... Well, since we didn't have our parade. We can do the five-year anniversary.

Thank you. Come on, man. Give me some. Yeah, that's a crazy, you know, hearing numbers like that is like, you know, you never think that you would, I don't think we've ever seen anything like that. No, I've never seen it. But what does that mean for the Lakers, though? Like, what do you think that means for, you know, the Los Angeles Lakers? Because now they still, they sold majority ownership.

That's not like a sports organization. It's like, it's so far beyond that. All right, it's our whole lives we've known the Lakers to be from where? Los Angeles. No, no, no, no. From who? The bus family. There you go, the bus family.

We know bus, bust, bust. They own it. And then it ain't the buses no more. It's just like the world is changing, bro. Yeah, that's exactly with that. That's like Steinbrenner not having, or the Steinbrenner not having anything to do with the Yankees. But that's the only family I could compare that to. Yeah.

With those type of organizations, 10 billion dollars, this changes, you know, they're not in sports orders. They're laughing at Walmart. This shifts a lot of. This shifts a lot of. 10 billion dollars. What are they about to do to the Lakers? I want it.

Listen, I will be whatever y'all need me to be on the team. Hey. And now I totally understand why it's not the Staples Center anymore because who shopped at Staples. They can't afford this. No. See, and then they're smart cryptocurrency. Now it's blowing up. Who can we Google? Who bought it? A multinational conglomerate holding company found about Mark Walter with interest in financial services, insurance, AI technology, sports media entertainment and energy. So it's one of those companies where you know absolutely nothing of what they do. It's just a bunch of words and they're billionaires. Okay. One of them.

You do everything. Oh my God. Anytime you see private investment services with an enterprise value exceeding $40 billion. And they just got, but they gave the Lakers $10 billion just a thing piece. Don't worry about it. Hey, here's $10 billion. We're going to take this company

that you had for 30. How long the Lakers were done? Probably 50 years. Oh, yeah. What can they do with the Lakers now? Do you think that was a great move? Well, money talks. That to get it done. Like you said, Tim.

$10 billion. We always bring up AI. Who knows where AI and sports are going? I know where AI sports is going. Now you own everything that has to do with the Lakers. Where's it going? It ain't going to be no more players. It's going to be all AI.

So, do I'm not doing this. No, no, that's really what I was getting that. Eventually, now they own the Lakers for AI and all the likeness of every player that was ever on the Lakers.

It's over with. Who knows what they just bought for $10 million? It's always, man. He was following in that deal. Ain't none of what's going to be playing. Everybody's going to be at home. Look at the R sets of fake LeBron. Now, I do believe the way we'll view basketball games is going to change.

Yeah. I can see them doing something where each player has a point of view camera on them and you can kind of walk and figure out who you want to follow the whole game. That's too damn much. See, they're taking away from the integrity of the sport. But at the same time, it's AI and this is what people want. They're always trying to stay a step ahead of the game. So this is a major move.

When you see numbers like that, though, Dwight has a play. a young Dwight Howard let's say he's drafted by the Lakers amazing first three years it's time for you to get your extension your negotiation now

you negotiate with the Lakers this deal happens for $10 billion what does Dwight and his agent sit down and talk about I'm gonna say agent I love you and refer to him as agent you know his phone name but agent I love you

Yeah, agent, I love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But this next deal, I think I'm going to do it on my own. You're not taking 10% of this. If you get 10% of this, 10 billion, it's up. No. But, I mean, does that change any of the market value for Lakers players, just because that deal happened?

There's a salary. Yeah, I mean, the cap's going to be the cap. The cap's going to, yeah. Well, the cap is always a cap in this league. that everything is capped. Everything is. I don't know. I mean that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yo, the big three. We can't let you go without talking about this. Now, Big three. They hit the chat the other night. They said we had Dwight coming in on Wednesday. I'm like, yo, yeah, Dwight, man.

I hung up with Dwight and Trev a couple nights when they was here in New York. I said, Dwight, cool, man. Then they send because we were supposed to have Lance here earlier today. Yeah. But he missed his flight. So they was like, yo, any overlap? I said, what happened? So he's seen the clip, I'm like, that's just basketball, man.

Yeah, we are over there. Yeah, like, it ain't. See, I think before that, they had allowed so much stuff to happen before the game. And I think it had, I was just out of my element. Okay. And I was pissed off more so at myself after that for allowing, you know, allowing that whole game to even get to that point. Okay.

You feel like you played a part in it, getting to that point? Yeah. Okay. Because, I mean, one, I didn't know how the game goes in the big three. Okay. So, you know, before the game, everybody's like, yeah, this is a trash talking league. We want you guys to talk trash and all the time. I'm like, okay, then, I can talk trash.

What else? Yeah. Yeah, I want y'all to get, get, it gets way physical. I'm like, okay, all right. So when we're playing, like certain things was happening. It was a play where Lance had kind of, he got scored on, and then he shoved the ball in Jordan Crawford's chest. Yeah.

And so that kind of got Jordan heated. Yeah. To the next play, you see Jordan taking his finger and going all up at his nose. Yeah. He's searching for boogers and shit. So that happened. Then more in the game, they yelling in our faces. Before the game, they're doing the same thing.

So I'm like, man, it's a little bit too much, man. And so it was the play where me and Lance kind of get into a scuffle and kind of like pick up his fist out like he's going to throw a punch so I like put my hand up like hold up what the fuck going on oh did he did it again so I'm like yo

and then at that point I'm like I kind of blacked that for a second then when I grabbed him and started to pick him up I'm like oh shit I'm fucking tripping I'm fucking tripping I'm fucking tripping but that's how I thought I thought

But in the moment, I'm in the moment. So I'm like, oh, shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm also thinking, too, like, by the time they see us really starting to go, I'm thinking everybody, because I'm like, oh, shit, this is too much. Yeah, they're going to bring it up, yeah. Yeah, then it just, I start tripping over shit in the, the floor, the people on the, uh, by the, uh, the basket.

Yeah. And then I'm looking at babies and shit. I'm like, man. Yeah. Imagine, you're too big. You too big. I'm like, man. Damn.

This is a lot. So I'm like, man, damn. But I mean, it's not, but that's just basketball. I think, I think, you know, but I think that's in the chat, I say, man, that's just bad. They didn't throw no punch. Yeah, I'm like, man, first of all, throwing a punch with, that's so disrespectful.

Yeah. And basketball, all these kids and families that's there. Like, that's when it becomes a brawl when you have some kind of situation like that happened. And so I'm glad it didn't escalate. that, but I'm glad it did happen too. You kind of got all that extra energy out of the way down now for the rest of the season.

Everybody can just hoop. Now, we saw Michael Beasley and Lance just played one-on-one last week. How good is Michael Beasley? To me personally, I feel like he probably has the same skill set as a Carmelo-Anthony. I don't think he had, obviously, the professionalism and maybe some other things,

kind of, you know, hinted his potential in the NBA and what he could have accomplished. But just from a skill set, to me, Michael Beasley is one of the most gifted basketball players I've ever seen. I think he is too. I think, man, it's just timing. He was in a team and a situation at a time where it wasn't accepting, I guess, how they felt his behavior was. Miami, whatever. And, you know, once you get kind of a bad rep in the league,

and it was really hard to come back from it. And I think he's awesome. I remember meeting, you know, Mike in high school, him and KD at Top 100 camp. And they had asked me to talk to both of them. And I saw both of them. I'm like, man, both of these guys got a chance to really be special. I told KD then, I said, man, you can be one of the best scores in the NBA ever. He is.

Absolutely. Yeah, B's is just one of the coldest basketball players. It's just all about time and an opportunity. I think Miami, he was on a team where it was, who was on that team, man? Was it Dway? Dway, yep. If you don't have a team when you come into the league, like Mike deserve to have his own team.

So his talent is that big. That's how good, that's how talented he is. I just feel like maybe he didn't have, I don't know, I don't know why they did him like that, man. Yeah, he, I don't know why. I think that it can make you depressed. Oh, yeah. I've had those days and those moments and those times. Of depression?

Why does team do that? And it's like, you can't expect me not to make a mistake or fail in certain situations like, you know, one, I'm human. I'm young as hell. You give me all this at 23, 24. What do you expect? Right. You know what I'm saying? Like, we didn't grow up.

I may have, you know, both my parents, but my parents didn't know about millions of dollars. They understand the lifestyle that come with this. And I'm the one that living it. Mike's the one that's living. And all these other players, we're living this lifestyle. So it's like, if you're not in,

it, if you haven't been a part of it's like, how can you understand it? And, you know, for Mike, man, and a lot of guys who be depressed and stuff like that, it can be difficult. How do you deal with those moments of having the success that you have and, you know, achieving things that not many people will ever achieve and reaching these heights? But then also feeling those moments of not being fulfilled, not being motivated. How does Dwight Howard, how How did you navigate those moments in your career? Oh, man. Sometimes I just have to travel.

Get away from the States. Okay. Get away from, you know, my normal routine and just, you know, see the world different. You know, sometimes traveling, you see how people live and, you know, other places. And it's like, man, you know, everybody's out here. And there's one mission for everybody in the whole world. We're just trying to survive until the next day. Right.

Everybody, no matter where you are at in the world, everybody's just trying to survive. Mm-hmm. And you see that. And I'm like, man, I didn't did so much of my younger days that, you know, I can rest easy knowing that the hard work is a lot of my hard work behind me. I don't work so hard to build up this life that I have now. I should just be thankful. Mm-hmm. You know, so when I had those moments, I'm like, man, God, I'm just so thankful for you.

I could have been dead. I could have been out in there. streets. I could have been doing anything else, but you allowed me to play this one sport for all these years. And it's because of my dedication, my discipline to the sport, to you, and to my faith that I have these things. So, man, thank you. Going overseas is probably one. They're really just getting alone, man. Was that one of the things that played a fact that your decision to go to Taiwan? Was it just wanting to get out of your norm and kind of like find motivation again?

Yeah, man. Taiwan was amazing. I remember. getting ready to go to Taiwan, people's like, why would you go over there? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Taiwan's a third world country. I'm like, how would you know what Taiwan is and you ain't never been in? Right, right. Like, you don't know what I'm going from going out over there.

But if God is telling me to go to Taiwan and he's opening doors, I'm going to go. Right. I go to Taiwan, stay there for eight months, end up getting my own basketball league, getting a gold card, which means I can do business all over Taiwan and my whole family. So it's like I don't set myself up for the first. future by listening to God and taking a step, a leap of faith. You know what I'm saying? So Taiwan really gave me wings, you know, going overseas, you know, playing basketball again. Just, obviously, NBA and the Taiwanese league is different. Yeah, you know.

So little bit. I would say, like, the fans really inspired me while I was there, motivated me to just remember why I played you know what drove me back in the day and I'm like man this is awesome seeing 90 year olds

come to the games yeah uh huh da yeah huada I'm like yo this is awesome man

just to just a witness this man there's people coming from different parts of the world and they know who I am like I'm from college part Georgia

yeah there's somebody all the way in whatever part of Taiwan this is don't got no TV screen and they know my name my family name they're gonna give me

anything they can to show me they love me that's an awesome feeling I was happy I was happy to see you you know just being yourself

and having fun but I'm gonna be honest when I saw them stats I said Dwight got to cut this shit out man he over there I said why Dwight that's a premeditated murder

I'm like what is Dwight it was for funzies yeah right went over and Like 60 and 30. I was like, oh, come on, man. Get your ass back over here, man.

What's the wrong with playing over there like that? No, there's nothing wrong with it. You can't. You was over there putting it up. It's just like, yo, come on, man. Stop playing with those people, man. Lead them people alone. I had so much fun.

No, I bet you did. I like dunking on my knees too. No, the people are taller to me. Man, listen, they can be taller to you, but they ain't never seen nothing like Dwight out in Taiwan. You're right. Exactly. That's not so upset.

But I had so much fun just being able to be outside of, like, it was like, I know you probably heard people say it before, like, they have a person, then they have another personality. Yeah. So, D.H.12, that's the basketball player. Yeah. Now I got a chance to be Dwight Howard over there. Yeah. Get out, just walk. Okay.

You know what I'm saying? and just go to the park and just sit. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, little stuff like that. The greatest, though, these are experiences like in America sometimes it's be hard because it's an expectation. I go out, hey, come here.

Let me take a picture. Yeah, you will talk to my cousin, yeah. You know, when I'm over there, they just, who I do? I love you. Yeah. And did they just let me, you know, go about my day? Now, obviously, they want pictures and stuff, but sometimes they see me like, oh, he just.

that go Dwight and that felt really good Yeah That's dope I mean I think you need those moments Even Steph talked about His experience in China That was similar

Yeah So yeah I think that's great That's where Steph was Right China Yeah Stepping all over Yeah

But No we really appreciate you man This was great Thank you for coming through Yeah Dwight It was a it was I mean we Again

You know I've had I was around you And Trev some nights When y'all was here We hit the club a little bit But I was telling the guys I'll give one thing about Dwight, which you see on TV when he's speaking, he's the same person

like on and off the floor, like he just has this energy and spirit about him. That's just very welcoming, very, you know, no ego. And you have all right to have ego. You larger than life figure, done some great things in the NBA. But always, always, even from when you came in, had the same spirit in and you're very humble the way you carry yourself very professional. I think And that played a lot in the success that you had in the NBA as well. So thank you for coming through. Dwight, we appreciate you. Thanks for having.

And, um, yeah, man, call Jeannie, man. Get some of that 10 bill, man. I don't know. Geney, man. Come on. We didn't get no. Listen. We didn't get no parade.

You know, parade. They're calling it a bubble ring. A couple hundred thousand, a couple hundred million to let everybody know that the bubbles is real. What's up, Jenny? That's the way out of Los Angeles in that shit. Come on, Jenny. Stop playing.

That's hilarious. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

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