Nightcap - Nightcap NBA Playoff Recap - Part 2: Coach Pop steps down as Spurs coach + Knick Advance

Episode Date: May 6, 2025

Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson recap the NBA Playoffs, including Gregg Popovich stepping down as San Antonio Spurs head coach, Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks eliminating the Detroit Pistons, and much more!01:41 - Dame was being shopped around before the injury04:50 - Knicks win the series18:00 - Pop steps out of coaching(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)#Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. The Made for This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners to rise above their inner struggles and face the mountain in front of them. So during Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being, and then climb that mountain. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify, the thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company.

The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do. To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Volume. Dame was apparently being shopped around before the injury. According to Sam Amick, the relationship between Giannis and Dame is strong, as is the respect level, but the imperfection of their on-court pairing remained in their second season together, and with the group collectively limitations growing more evident by the month, a conversation was looming about whether Lillard and the Bucks might be better off parting ways. They ain't part ways, not because ain't nobody training for a guy

that's not going to be able to play until 26, 27. So you stuck with him and he's not going to be able to help you. So now what do you do, Q? That's interesting. Just to have, have like that's a little interesting tidbit to come out right now like the timing of it is just funny

to me but I mean I don't know maybe they trying to move Dame still this summer like you strange things to happen Dame I don't know. Man I ain't trade but how you gonna give me a call how you gonna try to sell me a car with no mold in it? Because you seen the first one they tried to come out and already say,

like it was, it wasn't like a crazy tear or whatever. It was like, you know, the, the, the, I guess the minimum amount of amount of damage it could be or whatever.

So I don't know, man, I don't know. It's not, it's going to be interesting. That meal was like, like I say, unless,

unless Yannis come in and say something, man. I don't know. It's going to be interesting. Like I say, unless Giannis come in and say something, it's going to be real interesting to see what goes on over there because I know the last thing they're going to do, they're not coming and offering no trade for Giannis. No, no, no. See, that was the most shocking thing

about the Luka trade. Luka didn't request to be traded. If we go back and study history, guys that have been moved, they wanted to be moved.uka didn't request to be traded. If we go back and study history, guys that have been moved, they wanted to be moved. Kareem wanted to be moved. Shaq wanted his money. Jared Buss didn't want to give him his money.

He was starting to age. And he said, no, I'm going to move you. So when you look at it, Luka is 25. He had just turned, he's about to turn 26. He was in the league eight years. He was a five-time first-team All-NBA selection, and he got moved. So normally, guys don't move guys like

that. You're not moving Giannis unless he says, come move me. You don't move KD unless KD says, move me. You don't move a LeBron. LeBron has never asked to be traded. LeBron has always played his contract out, and then he's left. But when you get guys like that, Celtics aren't trading Jason Tatum unless Jason Tatum says, I want to be traded. You see Donovan Mitchell? Utah moved him. Why? Because he said he wanted to go.

Yeah. It's really that simple. Nightcap family, let's give it up for Q. Thank you for joining us. Go follow him at Q Rich and his podcast at Knucklehead Podcast. Q, man, thank you for your time. Thanks for joining us to break down these games and talk all things basketball. Congratulations on the podcast.

Keep growing. Keep doing your thing. Thank you, bro. All right. Back with us. I appreciate you. I'm going to get out of here. I've got Keep doing your thing. Thank you, bro. All right. Back with us. I appreciate y'all sparking out of here. I just got to say one thing to you all. Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the GOAT.

I'm not going to debate it. I'm not going to argue it. Okay. It's what it is. Jalen Brunson, game went over the Pistons. What a shot. What a moment. The Knicks win the series.

Rob, you're one of the great clutch shot shooters. Let me ask you this. I think for our audience audience they want to know. In that moment, are you thinking like, man, if I make this shot, I'm a hero if I miss it, or are you just going through the, it's the same, whether the moment is there or not. It's just

like if it was the first quarter, the second quarter, third quarter, what goes through your head when you're taking a shot that could potentially win you the game or lose you the game? You't think about anything man because it's just like when you're in a gym you're taking all these shots to prepare for this moment you you put the reps in and that's what you got to do that's why you see guys you know you take kobe fences with he's been a gym 24 7 so everything came easy and if you put in the time and the work and the sacrifice, these moments like this,

you don't even think about it. You think about Jalen Brunson. Most guys, they like going to the offhand to pull up for their jump shot because you can square up a little bit better. He got you going left

like you thought, oh, he's a strong left guy. He was setting them up. He set Thompson up. I'm coming right back over here to where I want to knock down this three. So it's just a process that you go through each and every day. And you watch him.

He is so good at manipulating the defense. He can get you on your hip, and then he can cause the contact, or he can gauge your speed. If you're going too fast, he stops on a dime and pulls up. And I think for him, and any guy who's playing this game long enough, you don't think about it. You just do it. It's just a second nature

thing to you, man. You just enjoy the moment. And you just hope that you make that mud so you can talk a lot of shit. He does a great job, Rob, as you mentioned. But he gets his body in such a position to shoot that shot. Because like you said, he's a left-handed player, and most left-handed players are left-hand dominant.

They're trying to get to that left side. They want to go left. He did that. And then if you notice, he stepped back and squared himself and let it go. He hit Schroeder. He got an and one on Schroeder. And he got a tough step back. I mean, the way he can, like, get his body in position

to take and make tough shots for a guy his size. He's not a big guy. I mean, his body, I mean, you know what I'm saying? He's, you know, he got a little girth to him. You know, he got some, but he's, I mean, what you think, six foot? I think he's about six, six one. He hit that, hit that. But his ability, and he's stronger than you think for a guy his size

because the way he can, like, put that shoulder in your chest and get that shot off and square himself and to knock these shots down, he was sensational. They couldn't buy a basket for the first nine, ten minutes of the ball game, and then all of a sudden he said, man, just give me the ball. What y'all doing? And every shot that needed to be taken and made, now they got a huge tip in by Bridges.

Somebody missed a shot, and they didn't block out. Bridges got the tip. They tied it up. But, you know, once they missed that shot, I said, oh, boy, y'all better get this ball. Because Thompson had just made a great defensive play of like two possessions earlier.

He got a shot clock violation on his copy. He went to go up and he stripped him of the ball. He's like, yeah, Brunson,

I got something for you. I got something for you. Just hold that. But hold on, I got a question for you for Rob, man, for you and Unc,

right? As great as Jalen Brunson was in this series, as great as he's been, obviously being a very, very clutch player, hell, he's just won NBA Clutch Player of thek, right? As great as Jalen Brunson was in this series, as great as he's been, obviously being a very, very clutch player. Hell, he's just won NBA Clutch Player of the Year, right?

All right, obviously showing his offensive prowess tonight with 40. Is there any chance y'all giving the Knicks and winning this series against the Celtics? Any chance?

No. No. No. No. And the reason I say no is because when you look at the celtics they got six guys that can score and i every time i look at the nick they remind me of ai you know they got this one guy that does all the scoring everybody else does two or three things really really good

to make that pie hole and i do take out bridges who's one of my favorite players when they use him and he's able to score they're a totally different team but I just think the Celtics has too much firepower and one of the things they don't talk about with the Celtics is

you look at them they got four good defensive players out there on that court you know and that's and we don't talk about that because we so caught up in all the threes they do

but you think about you know White, Holiday even Brown, these guys are fucking good defenders. And so they got bodies to throw at Brunson a little short. And so that's going to be

hard. And, you know, going back to Brunson, the one thing that makes him really good is, this is going to sound really crazy, is left-handed players are always have that ability to get to the line and do things

because you're not used to that. You hardly ever run across a left-handed player. You think about Manu Ginobili that I play with. He was so good because you think he's about to do something

on his right hand. Oh shit, he's left-handed. By the time you think about it, it's fucking late. He done jaded you up. And because it's just not what you're used to. It's uncommon.

But I just think I think the Knicks might win one game because they play hard. That's it. Overall, I just think the Celtics. Yeah, it's going to be a gentleman's sweep, man. I just think the Celtics stay healthy. They've been getting a little banged up in there, but I just think the Celtics are too good.

Yeah, because when you look at it, think about where they go. They got Derek White that can defend. They got Holiday that can defend. They got JB that can defend. They got Derek White that can defend. They got Holiday that can defend. They got JB that can defend. They got Horford that can defend. Porzingis can protect the paint. And then they bring Pritchard off the bench that can score.

Hauser that can score. Cornette that can give you a little rebounding. They're loaded. We know JT can defend if he have to, but he can score. JB can score. Derek White can score. They got scorers and they got defenders. So they're always going to have

at bare minimum two quality defenders on the court at all times. And so when you have that, when you got two guys that can defend, but look what they start with. So if they start Holiday,

you got Holiday, Derek White, JP, Al Horford. Honestly, I'm going to tell you this. I like that Nixon winning at least three games. Not even winning. Yeah, Al Horford. Honestly, I'm going to tell you this. I like the Knicks winning at least three games. Not even winning three games. I got to win three games. I mean, hey, Raw,

you want to bet some on it? You want to throw waves on it? What do you want to bet? Make a lie to yourself. Bet $5,200. That's very specific. That's very specific why you said i'm just trying to i'm sure i owe i owe on 5200 so i'm just trying to i'm trying to make it up some other kind of way and try to break you up rob let me ask you this of all the game winners that you hit what's your favorite one uh lakers against uh kings When the ball came out,

that was game seven. That was game four. You know, we lose that game, we go down 3-1. And the reason is my favorite because if you look at most of my game winners, they were all done on the road. And so this one was done at home.

You got a chance to rejoice in it with the crowd. Yeah, I grew up a huge Lakers fan, man. I grew up a big Magic Johnson fan. You know, being a Laker, you're used to them chanting Kobe, Kobe, or Shaq. You know, when you get a chance to knock down a big three and you get them to chant your name like that, man, it's the best feeling ever. I think, for me, it's probably outside of Kobe's last game

is the greatest moment in Staples slash crypto. And if you every time I see the shot from above and when I make it in the crowd just jumps up and cheers, I get goosebumps every time I see it. You know, even though I love what I did in 2005 against the Pistons in Game 5 when I lit there. Yeah, that's what I was. That's what I was thinking. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, it's you know, we are as an athlete. We all got that's what I was thinking. Yeah. Yeah, but you know, as an athlete, we all got that ego. We all got that pride. You want to hear them fans

chant your name, but I tell you what, I only have like one picture up. I don't even have that shot up in my house, but I do have the picture of me making that shot against the Pistons because I just like looking

at the faces of the people in the crowd. You got some people like, no, no. And you got one guy in the crowd like this, like, yeah, because he knew it was going in. People, I don't know if people realize this, Rob, but before those black injuries, you were a hot flower. You were, I mean, you were punching on folks. I mean, you were up on the top.

People look at you and they're like, man, all he did was shoot threes. No, no, no, no, no. When you came in, I mean, I don't know what it is about them Alabama guys. You and McNice, all them guys had up, up, up, and away ups. And I don't know if people realize that, but you were a hot flower, a 6'10 guy that finished above the rim. And then you turned yourself. I think it was a back injury that you turned yourself in more of a shooter.

You still could punch on folks, but not like you could when you first got into Houston. No, no. It's so weird when you come in and leave. Funny story is like my, my middle son, he came to me one time like,

daddy, you don't ever dunk anymore. You can't even dunk. And it was that one dunk in a playoff against the Detroit Pistons that I dunked on Rip Hamilton while I took out outside the paint. And I was like, see your dad can still dunk. I just don't even dunk. And it was that one dunk in the playoff against the Detroit Pistons that I dunked on Rip Hamilton when I took out outside the paint. And I was like, see, your dad can still dunk. I just don't have to. But, you know, the weird part about it is when I got to the Lakers,

they were like, oh, we don't want you to, you know, they said we need you to just spot up. And the worst thing as an athlete, any athletes listening, is don't let coaches limit you, limit you in what you can do. And I think, you know, this day and age is a little bit different.

Back then it was a little bit more, I need you to do this, this and this. And so in my mind became, okay, this is what they want me to do. Spot up and shoot threes and all this kind of stuff. But I,

I, I showed my, my, my, my youngest son, Christian, who's at UCLA. I said,

let me show you something, man, come sit down. And I'll show them my highlights of me and Rockets when I used to dunk. He looked at me like, damn, you had hops. I was like, yeah, I just stopped doing it. Yeah. Because they didn't want, I didn't have room to do it because Shaq was in the damn...

That's dope. That's live. Hey, Rob, with some of those clutch shots you hit, were you able, did you ever keep any of the balls? Especially, I mean, you got some really, really, really good moments. And for me, I personally would want to keep those balls. You know, you don't have any.

You know, I have one. Go ahead. I have one from, it's actually the game seven ball against the Knicks. I have that. And the only reason I have that is because I told the guy, I said, because the first two points of game seven was me dunking on Patrick Ewing. And I was like, I want that ball. I want that ball.

So I have that ball. And I wish I had the one I made against the Kings because, shit, if I lost it, if I betted you and lost, I'd just sell that and get me a lot of money to cover that. I know you Laker fans would love that ball. Speaking of, you talk about balls and being able to sell a ball and get you a lot of money. Listen, I got a prized possession.

That's what I'm going to say. I'm supposed to have it enclosed in a case, right? But I got the game ball when LeBron hit his 50th point. 50,000. Yeah, like, listen, 50,000 points, and that's something that you would think

he would keep. Show him, show him, show him the secret. Yeah, so it's a 50,000 point ball right there. You see 50,000 points? And LeBron's side of the court. Yeah.

Yeah, so if I ever fall on hard times, man, this shit going to come in handy. If you fall on hard times and try to sell that ball, you going to stay on hard times. Exactly. I'm about to end up on real hard times. Made for This Mountain is a podcast that exists to empower listeners to rise above their struggles, break free from the chains of trauma, and silence the negative voices that have kept them small. Through raw conversations, real stories, and actionable guidance,

you can learn to face the mountain that is in front of you. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify. The thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain, this is the struggle, this is the thing that's in front of me. You can't make that mountain move without actually diving into that.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to conquer the things that once felt impossible and step boldly into the best version of yourself to awaken the unstoppable strength that's inside of us all. So tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being, and climb your personal mountain.

Because it's impossible for you to be the most authentic you. It's impossible for you to love you fully if all you're doing is living to please people. Your mountain is that. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull

will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen.

What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide, and hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency.

Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir? No. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. And I'm not taking any more questions in just a second. I'm going to ask... I'm Leon Nafok, co-creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Fiasco, Iran-Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal

that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do. To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Greg Popovich stepped out as the coach of the San Antonio Spurs today, ending a nearly three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five championships. He's the all-time winningest coach in NBA history, and he's a three-time coach of the year, and he's a Hall of Fame, won a gold medal, and he's inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Rob, you played for Pop. What was it about Pop that made him special? What was going to be your lasting memory of playing for pop i think for me is just his how genuine he was and you know he he was one of those coaches where he's one of those coaches where he'll yell at you and then take you to have some nokia and some wine those two favorite things and for me i think i tell this story all the time. The one thing that really made me fall in love with the guy was my daughter, who passed away, was really sick my last year with the Spurs. And she went into the hospital, like, at the beginning of the season.

And he was like, don't come back until she's out of the hospital. And I sat in the hospital with her for, like, three weeks. And then she finally got out of the hospital. And I came back, like, a day after. He says, is she out of the hospital? Like, yeah, she got home, like, two days ago. He says, she ain't out of the hospital. And I came back like a day after. He says, is she out of the hospital? Like, yeah, she got home like two days ago. He says, she ain't out of the woods yet. Go back home.

You know, we don't really need you right now. And I looked at him like, are you trying to get rid of me off on the spot? He said, no, man, family first. You know, family first. And that's what, that's how Pop always was, man. You know, I just heard the day about the story of DeMar DeRozan and his pops past. And now he, it's like, and that goes to show you, to show you there's some things bigger than a freaking game, right? And Pop realized that.

He was always about spending time with your family, doing what's important. And I remember even my last year, I went to him and I was like, I want to ask a favor. He's like, what? I said, it's my last year. I said, my son's on spring break. We're going on a road trip. Can I bring my son with me? He's like, yeah,, I want to ask a favor. He's like, what? I said, it's my last year. I said, can I, my son's on spring break. We're going on a road trip. Can I bring my son with me? He's like, yeah, don't even ask me a question like that.

He said, it's, you know, it's about the family. It's about doing things. And a lot of teams wouldn't let you do that. You know, because I remember the Lakers back in the day, you said, hey, can you get the flight back? No, it was a liability, you know, insurance thing. I'm like, what? Is this a flight back? No, liability, you know, insurance thing. I'm like, what? Is this a flight home? But Pop was, he was really, really good about, man,

if it came down to your family, you do whatever's necessary for your family. Everybody talks about the relationship that he had with Duncan because I think Duncan was the main man because if you could coach Tim Duncan hard, you can coach everybody else hard. And Timmy was receptive.

And that's what you have to, Timmy was one of these superstars that if you didn't watch the game, you would never know he was a superstar. He didn't dress like a superstar. Hell, I remember he showed up to pick up an MVP trophy with flip-flops and short soles. David Stern thought

he wanted to swing on Timmy. He had on shorts. You remember that, Bob? Yeah, he had on jeans and shorts. He had shorts and flip- remember that, Bob? Yeah, he had on jeans shorts. He had shorts and quill plops. And he was turning like, hey, but that was Timmy. What was it about Coach Bob and Tim's relationship that made it so unique and special? I think we're going to back this up a little bit because you really have to credit David Robinson.

Because you think about he had David Robinson when Tim came and and david was like yo this is what we do here and tim just follows suit you know tim is just that type of guy he doesn't say much you can tell if you talk about cars he'll talk to you talk about video games he'll talk to you talk about poker those three things and he'll talk about that he ain't gonna really talk to you but for us you know who we it took me a year just to get him to say a couple words to me and but he is just a he he is a type of guy who's really focused we don't you know we always talk about coley's work ethic we talk about it but this dude was always in the gym shooting jump shots you know uh i'm always trying to get to perfect that bank

shot if you know he's famous for shooting a lot of free throws because you know that was one of his downfalls when he came in yeah and he just he worked hard but he was just if you talk about guys who I had to get on to him one time like dude can you fucking yell at somebody man

you sitting there like with your mouth closed you know you yell at someone you gonna be like yeah fucking everybody going to perk up and listen. So he was very mild-mannered. Well, he's mild-mannered. He didn't want to say much. But the guy was, he competed, and when he let you into his world, one of the nicest guys you'll meet.

You mentioned the Twin Towers because David Robinson was there. But when David was there but when david was there i mean they won them championship with david but david was on the tail end of his career that was a that was i mean basically tim duncan team from the time he walked in the door oh yeah he was just that good and he was one of the last guys that was a true senior that was the number one overall kenyan martin was the last one i think in 2000 but timmy was what 90 98 i think the 98 draft was timmy's uh first year but he was the last one, I think, in 2000. But Timmy was, what, 98? I think the 98 draft was Timmy's first year. But he was the last of those guys that went four years of college

and came out. So he was more than ready, more than prepared for the grind because basically he was a grown man. He wasn't 18. He wasn't 17. Tim Duncan was a 22-year-old grown man when he got to the NBA. So you're telling me something I did not know. I thought he came out early.

You just saw everybody coming out early. You know, think about it. And that's the one thing I hate about the NBA. I know these dudes are freaking 21 when they get to college now. But I just wish that, I'm about to say David Stern, that Adam Silver would put like two years onto it because these guys, you can tell by the way these guys play now, that's why so many threes are being shot because they don't know how to play.

They doing what's easy. It's taking the threes and not learning the game. You know, you got some guys that are going to come in the league that know how to play the game because of the upbringing and how they were taught. But it's just, it's just, it's just a lot of bad basketball being played because

guys don't know how to play. You know, you think about tonight, watching the game, like, dude, the first thing you learn in high school and college is how to beat a damn zone. The zone is the easiest freaking thing to beat, and you can't beat a zone. It's like, go to the open spots, go to the dunker spot, go back door. And it just shows you

right there that the guys aren't learning anything because they all just trying to, you know, get to the next level to the league without learning something rob you played with some of the greats i mean you was on a team with tim duncan you was on a team with shaq and colby you was on a team with a lot dream and drexler and i know people ask you what the difference between dream and duncan the difference between duncan and and shaq the difference between uh uh clyde and Kobe, what are some of the differences? Look, because all of those guys that I just mentioned are 75 greatest players in NBA history, MVPs, finals MVPs, defensive players of the year.

When you got to the Rockets, what was it about the Dream that you know, okay, this guy's special? What set him apart? Oh, shit. I knew dream was special when I watched him in high school. I mean, college. Because when I was coming out, I said, I want to play alongside this guy. You know, I was praying that I went

to the Rockets and God willing, I did because you could just see his work ethic. You know, you watch him. You know, guys always talk about going into the lab. Dream would be in the lab and we didn't even know it. He would be working on stuff and then he'll just all of a sudden get in the game. You know, you think about in 95 how he annihilated David Rock. Yeah, because he said they took his MVP from him.

Yeah. All that stuff we had never seen before. You should have seen us on the court. We're going like, oh, kill Dream. We became fans on the court, right? And you watch him, man. He just played hard, man. You think about back in the day

when he... You forget, he used to knock some people out, too. He had that toughness. You elbow him, because it was only a $50 fine, and punch someone in the face. And so he had that toughness, and he just had that. The one thing about Dream, though, is

we talk about how hard guys play. How hard Giannis plays. How hard Bronson plays. How hard these guys dream play hard each and every night. And people would talk about who's the greatest center, who's this, who's that. Dream, to me, is always going to be top three

centers. Wow. Because if he needed to shoot threes, he could have shot threes. He didn't because he had us out there. And you couldn't stop him in the paint any damn way, so he just going to keep it that way. So he was just a hard worker and, but more importantly, great guy because he taught me about the business of basketball. He was like, yeah, I remember one time at a Christmas party, he took me outside and said, listen, you're going to be on this team now. Let's talk about, you know, things outside of basketball, what you're doing with your money,

you know, how's the family, you know, are you invested? Do you have the right people? He was just a good guy. You know, a lot of guys now, you know, they won't, they won't come to you and be like, yo man, you need to check your finance. You need to do this. They can be like, fuck it. I learned it on my own. You on your own. And so that's one of the things I love about James. He taught me about the business of basketball.

So you leave Houston and you go to the—well, you know, you have—you didn't go right to the— You ain't got to go there, huh? No, you haven't. You ain't got to talk about the funds, man. You have a little bit of stuff to say. And, Peter, you have a cup of coffee at the airport. He got right back on the plane and went to L.A. So you get to L.A., Shaq and Kobe.

You're like, hang on, got Shaq, got Kobe. What y'all need me to do? You know, it's weird. When I got there, man, I was looking at the team. We had Nick Van Exel at the point. We had Eddie Jones at the two. I there, man, I was looking at the team. We had Nick Van Exel at the point. We had Eddie Jones at the two. I said, okay, I can play the three.

Back then, I was a three-man. And I said, we got a young guy. Everybody was like, oh, you got to see this rookie, Kobe Bryant. I'm like, who? And then you get to the practice, you see how good this dude is. Okay, he's learning. And then you got Shaq. You say, okay, Shaq just got beat in 9-5 in the finals, and you got all this talent. I said,

oh man, we got to do some work. I said, we're going to do some work for some years because everybody's young. Everybody's under 30. But sometimes it goes to show you too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to basketball ain't good. You got to have some guys that are glue guys, some screw guys, you know, some votes and

do the things to keep the team together. And you think about, we have had four All-Stars. Yeah. And then we got swept by a damn team that had been together for 30 years. Oh, you thought that was Kobe's rookie year, wasn't it? That was Kobe's rookie year, yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yep, and then in the 99, we got beat by the Spurs, lost the last game in the form to the Spurs. And then that was when we got new coaches and we said, we got rid of Nick, we got rid of Eddie, and we brought in defensive-minded people. You know, we brought in Ron Harper, we brought in B. Shaw, we brought in Rick Fox,

we did all these things, we brought in A.C. Green. And it was that glue. Was Ho Grant there then, or Ho Grant only came for the last one? No, Ho Grant was on the second championship in 2000, 2001. And it was just 2000, 2001. Yeah, so, and it was just weird, man.

He just, and it goes to show you when you got too much talent, It's hard to blend it. it can get in the way. But when you got, when you got enough talent and you got guys

who are mature and you can, you can tell Kobe and Shaq to shut up and sit your ass down and do what you're supposed to do and they're going, they're going,

you think about it. We used to tell Kobe, no, dude, you ain't doing that tonight. Shaq, you ain't doing do. And they're going, you think about it. We used to tell Kobe, no, dude, you ain't doing that tonight. Shaq, you ain't doing that. And they would listen to us because we are veteran guys. You know, now

you got this going on, guys, you know, respect us. And we had a lot of respect for one another. And it was no animosity. And people always ask me about the Kobe Shaq thing. I was like, man,

I must have been fucking blinded because they never had beef in front of us. It was all in the papers, man. And that was the weirdest thing when people would talk about it. I'm like, they in the locker room laughing and joking. They the first people to hug after a championship. I know, you know, you kept me up.

You won a championship. Who was the first person you hugged after you won a championship? Probably your favorite player on the team. Absolutely. And so that's why I was like, men's providers, they would say, oh, they're beast. And I'm like, man, where?

So it was just weird to me. How good was Shaq? You look at Shaq, and I tell people, I don't think people realize how athletic Shaq was. When Shaq got to the league, like Shaq first five or six years, when Shaq was like 7'1", 325, and could move like a deer,

we're never going to see that again. You're never going to see a guy his size with that kind of agility. You're just not. Now, you might have like a Yogi got the footwork and Joel and me got footwork, but I'm talking about just raw athleticism and power. You're never going to see a Will O'Neal again. Never. Never.

You know, you think about if you always talk, if you start a team, if I could take the 2000, the 1999-2000 Shaq, the MVP Shaq, and have him, that Shaq, and put him on, that's my first person. Not Jordan, not Dream, not Green. That's the first person I'm picking to start my life. I can get that Shaq because he was just so dominant. He was just so strong, so athletic. You think about this. This guy can bring the ball down, cross your spin, take off from

outside the paint, then monkey dunk on your ass, and then you can do. You know, and you go back and look at a lot of tape, and I've heard this out of ref's mouth, so I'm sitting there. You can hear all you hear on him, and he's not getting the call. They're like, oh, he's too big. He

should be able to handle it. I'm like, dude, it's a freaking foul. He's slapping his shell. Y'all say, all right. Y'all going to piss him off and then I'm going to get out of the way because he's going to start elbowing people. And you can tell when he got frustrated because he'll do that spin and put that elbow. He'll come like this. He'll do that.

He don't care who he hit. I'm like, so, yeah. He was, like I said, if you got one player, one moment, I'm like, so, yeah. He was, like I said, if you got one player, one moment, I'm taking 1999, 2000 Shaq, and I'm starting a team with that guy if I can get that guy each and every night. Okay, Kobe. Kobe is 17. He gets there at 17.

Now by the time they start to win championships, he's the Kobe. He's become what he became. And you get to see it on full display. He can still elevate over the top. He got the middie. He can bop, bop, bop. Oh, he had the package. And if you need him to sit in the chair for 40 minutes and take the opposing team,

point, two, three. I got it. Yeah. And he wanted that challenge and you know you you know i know you think lebron is the greatest of all time and you people talk about uh mj being the greatest of all time i want you to think you when you watch kobe bryant he did every freaking thing like mj And he probably took it to another level because Kobe, you know, when Kobe first came in the league, we used to laugh and joke. We're like, you can't shoot threes.

He just shoot threes like MJ. But we would like joke with him. So that dude would be in the gym every morning at five o'clock shooting number threes. And now he can shoot threes. And it's things like that that why he was great you could tell him he was not good at something he will prove you wrong by going in and working on it and adding to his game this dude you know god rest his soul was the hardest working dude i've ever seen in my life and you think about where he went from his rookie year where he just

played wow you know he didn't have no structure to his game to understanding that oh i got to tone this down you know i don't know if it's because he talked to mj and talked to phil and whatnot but when he got phil it made him more structured than i've ever seen before so he the dude was just phenomenal man so i hate when we talk about the GOAT and we never bring him up. Because it's like, to me, the GOATs are MJ, Kobe, LeBron, and Kareem. Those are the GOATs. And why do we have to put one, one, two, one, three, and four? Those four guys right there, Wagway, Kansas, four GOATs. That's the Mount Rushmore right there.

Why didn't, playing on that team alongside Shaq and Kobe, why didn't they win more individual MVPs? Kobe didn't win one until later, late like 2001, I think 2009 or 2010 he won the MVP.

Why didn't they win, why didn't Shaq win more MVPs? Why didn't Kobe win MVPs? Did they cancel each other out? I don't think they canceled each other out. I just think, you know, if you look at the league back then,

it was hard to win back-to-backs unless you was a white guy, meaning Steve Nash. That's true. You know, you think about that second Steve Nash. Nash should have won that in Miami for real, though.

Yeah. So, there's so many things you can look at. It's just weird. You know, you think about MJ when he was in the league. He didn't win it every year. You know, there's so many things you can look at. It's just weird. You know, you think about MJ when he was in the league. He didn't win it every year. You know, there's always someone different.

And, like, you think about this year. Even though Jokic is having the best freaking career, best year of his career, he ain't going to win it. He ain't probably give it to Shelly. You know, and it's just how they do it. And I don't know why, but I think Kobe should have probably won at least three. Shaq should have won at least least three. Shaq should have won at least,

I think Shaq should have won at least two. You know, I think his, I say the year he won he should have won it and then the following year he should have won it.

You know, other than that, I think, you know, because you think about his third, my third championship, he wasn't as dominant

as he was. He was still effective. He just didn't bring that, you think about it, he wasn't the Shaq before that. And that's what they base it off. They always say, okay, we're going to take your last year. What did you do better than that year?

And I think it was just consistent. He never, like, went up a little bit to another level. Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan had one of the great games. He had a damn near quadruple double. He was two blocks away from a quadruple double in an NBA Finals game when he played the Nets. That year, I think he had 21 points, 20 rebounds,

10 assists, and eight blocks. Yeah, that was a Nets, man, a Nets. That was a nest, man. A nest. That was a nest. We had just swept the nest the year before that or whatever it was. A nest was like, you know,

poor Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, that crew. You know, you were the beast in the East, but when it came to playing teams in the West, you were just like,

you were like the Leggings and the Clippers. You're just a little brother. So they made it a good challenge. But you go back and look at the East back then. East was terrible, man. They were god-awful. But Tim Duncan, though, that goes to show you when he wants to take over,

he can take over, man. And one thing I like about Tim, when it comes to blocking shots, he didn't care if you dunked on him. He's like, shit, I don't care. I don't have social media. I don't care what you say. You know, people in San Antonio are going to steal your bow down to me. And, you know, most guys will shy away from trying to, you know,

go up against a Venice car thinking you might get dunked on. They're like, nah, I ain't challenging that. Tim didn't give a shit. He would try to challenge you any way to block it because he knew nine times out of ten he was going to block it and it was going to start a fast break. All right. You're Mount Rushmore teammates. You get four teammates on Mount Rushmore.

Who you going with? Dream, Shaq, Kobe, Clyde. Damn, you took Clyde over Timmy? You know what? This is one of the things. You know, I love Timmy, but I'm going with Clyde what? This is one thing, you know, I love Timmy, but I'm going with Clyde.

Clyde's my boy, man. You know, sometimes personal feelings get in the way sometimes. Hey, I'm doing the Steve Kerr right now. I'm putting, you know, hey, but you know,

people don't, I think people forget how good Clyde was, man. The point, he took kind of a backseat role when he got to Houston, but, but, but, Horton and Clyde, Horton and Clyde was, man. He took kind of a backseat role when he got to Houston, but Hortley Clyde, Hortley Clyde. I remember when he was dunking on everybody at Five Slamma Jamma

at the University of Houston. Yeah. But he used to, Clyde used to elevate. Yeah. You know, and the other reason I put Tim in there is because I remember, you know, I'm watching the Hall of Fame ceremony and I watched Rudy T get inducted. And then when Rudy T gave me a shout out for the Hall of Fame and they panned through the crowd and Tim didn't clap. So that's why he ain't on my list.

Hey, because I thought it comes to motherfucker. I saved your ass in 2005 excuse my life you better get your ass up and clap missing that damn leg and I had to take over Spurn got some cap space they got a night they got Stephon Castle who's rookie of the year

Wimby who's a previous rookie of the year and they got would you make the move Do they, would you make the move for Giannis? Would you try to package some pieces for Giannis? That's the thing. You got to know, you forgot about Dan Fox. I think

that's hard to say. I would because you can't pass him. I think that's going to be the hottest commodity this summer. Everybody's going to want the Greek freak because he's that type of player. I mentioned earlier how hard he played. So this is going to be really interesting to see where he goes if Milwaukee want to give him up. But if I'm the Spurs, we got the cap space.

Why not? Go after him because he'll love it there. One thing about the Spurs franchise is it's a good franchise. They're a very humble franchise, and you don't have to worry about a lot of the outside noise. You think about L.A. and Chicago, New York, there's a lot of outside noise. So you being in Milwaukee are used to the outside noise being at a minimum.

So if you go to the Spurs, you're in the same thing. So I don't know if he wants that. I don't know if he wants to be more, you know, I can't get no more notable than he already is, Greek freak, but does he want a bigger market? The volume. The Made for This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners

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