The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #119: A Conversation with Hall of Famer Vince Carter

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

The guys were absolutely honored to be joined by 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame member Vince Carter on the latest episode! The trio discussed a wide variety of topics including: The Olympics Dunk, The Dunk Contest, players he’s impressed by in today’s game, the greatest dunkers of all time and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark vs. Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Diet Coke. Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Well, well, well, Mad Boosties listeners. My goodness, we have such a treat for y'all.

I can't even believe I'm about to say what I'm about to say. I have goosebumps running up my arms because of what I'm about to say what I'm about to say. I have goosebumps running up my arms because of what I'm about to say. Every now and then on Miles and Jack, I'm at Boosties. We have esteemed guests. Today is a very special moment. I can personally say one of my favorite basketball players of all time is joining us on the pod. Jack, I know, I think we were both fighting over who loved our guest more.

And I think we netted out to well i guess we called it a draw that way we didn't yeah that's fair we can maintain the friendship of our co-hosting uh we are honored to welcome to mozzie jack i'm mad boosties 2024 hall of fame class member eight-time all-star the 98 99 rookie of the year two-time nba all nba gold medal winner one of my favorite basketball players, Vince Carter. Welcome to the podcast. Vince Carter! Thank you, thank you, guys.

Thank you for having me. A.K.A. Air Canada, A.K.A. Vince Canada, A.K.A. Half Man, Half Amazing. Nas already told you about it, but here we are. Vince, I mean, let's just start off really quick. You've played over the course of the 90s, the 2000s, the 2010s, right up to 2020. We got to ask you, man. Was there ever a time you felt that the shorts were too baggy? No.

No, because I remember a time that we would say they weren't baggy enough. Yeah. And then there was maybe some would say an overcorrection but no i mean literally like you would say that where it was i mean to the point to where you would have to wear shorts underneath yes to wear the shorts that are too baggy if you would right uh i used to go to when particularly when i played ball in jersey uh with tim thomas i used to go to this spot i mean i would get my basketball shorts from a spot called Olaf's. And they had the best

colorways, long, baggy shorts. That's just what it was. I mean, it's funny. As soon as you said that, that's the first place I thought about. Was there ever, like, when you got your uniforms and stuff, were the players ever talking like, man, these could be a lot baggier. Like, this uniform could be baggier. Like, did you be like, would you lie to, like,

the equipment manager and be like, you know, I actually need like a four X, you know, they understood it at the time. And it's funny. If I, if I were to go back and some of my old stuff,

let's say particularly Toronto. So let's just say 98 to my first, let's say my first 11 years. If you look at my, either my Jersey or my shorts, they're massive. Yeah. They're massive. They were like 52s or something like in size where i had no business you know in in something like that that that size but it was just kind of the way i mean the way it worked and you know you made sure

you had a good drawstring though right yeah you're playing tied all the way up yeah that's just what it was and uh and you just kind of transition with the time to where i mean i'm i just missed the error of not short enough i i right i just i could never really adapt to that that's something i probably couldn't do first of all i mean i look normal to people but I still have skinny legs and that wouldn't look good. I wouldn't like to see me with shorts. Oh, okay. Showing off the thigh meat. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, that's what they're looking for. I just, that just wasn't my thing. Yeah. It wouldn't look good. I mean, I'd have to play great basketball to kind of deter you from paying attention to that. Right, right, right. Amazing. So another question about the shorts. uh now we'll move on from the shorts uh who are some of the players today that excite you like you do you have a must-see like league

pass team player anyone you wish you could have competed against well let me say this before i did think about this i thought about something about shorts. Oh, yeah. We can go. Yeah. It's a funny parallel because we think back to John Stockton used to take shots from everyone because of his shorts being right. Entirely too short. Right. Look at where we are now. Yeah. Yeah. He's right in pocket right now. I know. Yeah. Right. I wanted to say that because it's like, I remember we were like, man,

don't give me the Stockton. Right. Well, I remember it was, it was, if it was above the knee, you didn't want them. Right,

right, right. Yeah. If they're two inches close to the knee, they don't want them because they're too long. So anyway, but your question. No,

I, I will say that I think the, the problem or the, the way that the whole baggy shorts got started, like when I started playing basketball in the early 90s, like in elementary school, the uniform that they gave us, like you could see briefs underneath those. Like they were so short. It was like a wrestling onesie. Like what is happening?

So then I would like sag them down and like you, just to get the length you're looking for. Yeah. Just look like a penguin out there. Like it was, it was really bad. So like, I do blame whatever they were doing in the,

probably those uniforms were bought in like the sixties and seventies. Like right after it was like right after the belt era. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So there, that it was like right after the belt ride and drive yeah yeah exactly yeah so there that it was an over correction maybe but i was i was always jealous of how how big the shorts were at the at the college and professional level five five i mean i mean i know absolutely they considered mj believe it or not with the baggy had the baggy shorts

right in his time yeah and like you know you go back and look at it like wait what this is halfway down to his knee yeah correct there and then you i mean i hit to his yeah i mean it's like right about you're right it became the fab five which i think that was that took it to another another level but you were never going like tj ford with it did you ever remember those pictures where they were like, they're like, are those pants? Yeah. It was a time where you were doing stuff like that. Like they,

man, I, I wish if I knew we were going to talk about this, I could probably pull out some old shorts. You like that could fit probably two people, you know, like they were like a weight watchers before or something. Yeah. Short,

just regular shorts or some best, or just the just the you know we used to wear basketball shorts for just everyday life they were like that like that tj4 picture for sure right this guy's legs must have been enormous you look at the shorts archaeologists are like he was a giant like there was no other explanation for sure but yeah the question sorry back to the question the non-short related question yeah who are you excited about right now anyone who reminds me of you anyone you feel like is unprecedented i mean i i get the opportunity to call games and talk about basketball and watch so i'm there's a lot of guys that i'm a fan thank you i appreciate i've been working at it there's a lot of guys that I'm fans of. I mean, the new generation is next up and very capable. I mean, once that LeBron, once the LeBron area,

let's just say LeBron steps away from the game, we're going to be looking for the next. And I think there's some, you know, Anthony Edwards, for instance. Yeah. I mean, there's a Luka. I mean, you still have a Kyrie for a while. John Morant. for instance yeah uh i mean there's a luca i mean you still have a kairi for a while uh john moran uh i think jalen brunson uh gives you a a i think he'll be loved like alan iverson because of his stature because he's he's a shorter guy and you can relate to a guy who's that height like ryan

iverson more so than a guy who's 6'8". Because that's not what you see every day. That's not the average height player. But when you look at Jalen Brunson, to do what he's done and to be able to control a game. We heard the narrative, we hear the narrative all the time about little guys can't get it done. Little guys can't take their team. I mean, he put everybody on his back and said, let's go.

Let's go. And it'll be interesting to see where the Knicks would be if he did not get hurt. And I mean, amongst everyone else as well, but he held his own. And there's just plenty more. I mean, I think I'm interested to see how this Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum thing works out. If they win it, obviously they'll probably stay together. If they don't, do they stick together? But I think those are two talented guys who, if they separate, obviously that's another guy who, Jalen Brown for sure, getting the chance to be number one all the time.

Yeah. He'll make some one all the time. Yeah. You know, he'll, he'll make some noise in the league. So there's so many, so many guys out there still. So, I mean,

I mean, I'm just, that's just naming the few. So there's a lot of guys that I'm fans of. There's not really one, but I mean, I see some guys that I'm, I'm fans of,

and even guys that aren't considered the top tier guys. I, I, I enjoy good basketball and guys who played their role to the highest level and that's who sticks around who has you know long prosperous careers yeah and just real quick you know i think a lot of people are just interested in like hearing people who played in the league talk about wimbing yama can you look at a frenchman like that and not want to jump over him just fully yeah that would be an interesting uh challenge uh we're talking about seven yeah seven four seven six with with athletic ability uh he's

not your traditional i mean he's not your traditional center where i say he's gonna jump he's athletic he's i mean he's gonna challenge you he's not gonna just stand there right yeah you know so but you're not afraid right i mean i would definitely i mean yeah you're going my mentality i would definitely try him i mean he's gonna block my shot more times than not probably yeah yeah it's just like it was just like the yaoming the matumbos, the Sean Bradleys, the taller they are, the more you want to try it. Just to see what happens.

That's kind of what it was. I remember playing, Tracy and I, when we knew we were playing Yao, or I didn't get a chance. I didn't really duck on Yao. The single tear just dropped down. Yeah. He was the one. the one that got away,

but, uh, never had, never had the pleasure, but like Sean Bradley, um, I remember in Dallas, couldn't cross the middle,

middle to the left and dunk. I remember like it was yesterday, like Patrick Ewing, like some of the greats, like that's kind of what it was. I mean, dunking times i remember like it was yesterday like patrick ewing like some of the greats like that's kind of what it was i mean i had the utmost respect for the elite shot blockers of uh of the games of our time or in history forget of our time in history and uh there's uh there's only one other guy that makes me laugh shack would be the other guy that i had a run-in let's just say

and it didn't work out of my favor and i left that quest alone yeah it's like trying to dunk on the building yes yeah man and if you don't catch it right yeah it's the the end the end result is more painful than the quest of or is less worth trying to actually accomplish. Like, nah, he hurt me. Yeah,

but I'm gonna try it again. Nah, that way. It only took one time. It's like, okay, Shaq, we're just gonna leave him alone.

Yeah, that makes sense. I'm gonna pull up. Oh, I'm gonna jump out of the way. Or I'll shoot a floater. It's just those options. Like,

you better go through them. You better go around. You were doing it for him. You were doing it for him, actually. Yeah, you were just going easy on him. He laid me out one time in the

Staples Center early and all he was doing was just standing there, literally put his arm up flat, hit the ground and I was like, man. Immovable object. Yeah, you're not going to win that battle. We should take a quick break. We're going to come back. We're going to talk more dunking. We'll be right back.

I'm Carrie Champion and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball

just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them. Why is that? I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch.

She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. In a galaxy far, far away. No, babe, that's taken. We're in our own world, remember? Right. In our own world, we're two space cadets. And totally normal humans. Tur, totally normal humans.

Embark on a journey across the stars, discovering the wonders of the universe one episode at a time. Sure, totally normal humans. We'll talk about life, love, laughter, and why you should never argue with your co-pilot. Especially when she's always right. Right, and if we hit turbulence, just blame it on Mercury retrograde. Or Emily's questionable space piloting skills. Hey, join us on In Our Own World for cosmic conversations, stellar laughs, and super corny dad jokes.

Listen to In Our Own World as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't worry, we promise to avoid any black holes. Most of the time. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy sex talk. We promise to avoid any black holes. Most of the time. from Gen X to Gen Z. We're covering everything from body image to representation in film and television. We even interview iconic Latinas like Puerto Rican actress Ana Ortiz.

I felt in control of my own physical body and my own self. I was on birth control. I had sort of had my first sexual experience. If you're in your señora era or know someone who is, then this is the show for you. We're your hosts, Diosa and Mala, and you might recognize us from our flagship podcast, Locatora Radio.

We're so excited for you to hear our brand new podcast, Señora Sex Ed. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast and we're back we're back i do just have to say and i'm sure you hear this all the time you are responsible for one of my if not my favorite basketball memory uh which is the dunk contest oh yeah and i was a college freshman and i've never had an experience like being so we were all in our dorms and after every dunk everybody poured out of their room into the hallway and they weren't saying anything they just had their hands over their heads and they were just screaming at the top of their lungs um it was yeah i remember absolutely

magical this was my freshman year high school and i was about to go to my first dance it was a valentine's day dance uh because it was that weekend that's when all-star weekend was like valentine's day my high school me and my homie we stood up our dates to watch the dunk contest and missed our first didn't go at all we didn't go because it was the dunk contest was right then and we're like we have to see this that's prime time i guess and we i'm not joking man we lost our minds to the point where i remember like we were getting calls like where are you you're supposed to be the thing we're like we just couldn't pick up phones nothing like that and it was such a formative memory again like jack said that was like one of those times it's not often where you see somebody

do something on the basketball court and it just immediately expands your imagination for what is even possible and that first dunk you came out with just the most the cleanest windmill too like that arm was straighter than tiger woods backswing here is the man that this crowd wants to see vince connor who had told kenny smith that he has four dunks that no one has ever seen all right here is vince connor with his first shot let's go home let's go home ladies and gentlemen let's go home. Let's go home, ladies and gentlemen. Let's go home. Let's go home.

Let's go home. Hey, that is a reverse 360 going against the grain. That is unbelievable. this building just exploded and perfect on the scoreboard that was that's the goal that was the goal like i uh you know and i tried not to get too technical when i'm talking about it that's why i don't judge the dunk contest uh because like i that was a thing for me as far as the straighter the better because that's why i don't judge the dunk contest uh because like i that was a thing for me as far as the straighter the better because that's like right that's the toughest i mean you can do the is that is it really a windmill because if you go look at a windmill they're all straight yeah they're not like this i tried to take it i took that literally as far as like what a windmill

windmill and when you use that okay cool paper mills you can you know you know what you could do with paper you take a piece of paper you can bend it that's where you get a paper mill right you can take it as disrespect but i was like that was my thing so i i wanted to i mean obviously show the world how i think, how I view dunking, my athleticism, my love for the art of dunking. It is a dream come true to be a part of All-Star Weekend. I used to tape the All-Star Weekend

and that's all I studied and paid attention to. Not all, but mostly what I studied and paid attention to. It's like All-Star Weekend is like, you mean All-Star Saturday. All-Star Weekend meant Saturday. Yeah, those are the iconic moments.

As a kid growing up, that's what it is. I mean, the games are cool. There's moments, but like a lasting moment more than likely came from Saturday. Yeah, 100%. What All-Star Weekend did for me overnight was truly unbelievable. I went from, yeah, we know him. it's in toronto we're you know we're out there we weren't getting much air time we didn't have any national

tv games at the at the time right leading up into it to you know tracy t-mac hates hates when i say when i talk about this because he did not want to do it, as we know, the story goes. But what him going out there, putting on the show, me putting on the show, winning it, what it did for the sport, the art of dunking, our popularity, our opportunity in Toronto was amazing. And I just, I went in to airport. I can move around a little bit. It was easy to fly up there. Right. But leaving, it wasn't the same Sunday morning was a totally different experience I felt different uh because I accomplished the goal and I think for me I accomplished the goal of wanting to win but

wanting to put on the show I mean I just wanted to put on the show in general people to really feel good like you said running out of your dorm and that of your dorm. I'm thinking through things like this while doing the dunk contest, particularly the arm and the rim. I wanted to wow people and give you a different experience than you got from the first two. Oh my goodness, wow, did you see that?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. To the arm and the rim to where you couldn't say anything. Yeah, yeah. Wait, what? Everyone's looking at each other saying what yeah like is he okay yeah he's hanging out celebration it like the it's over celebration like i don't know was that just in the moment that was in the moment that was never a planned thing i i it's funny i i know it was just a plan thing like the whole point i it just it happened i did that same point in the dunk contest in the mcdonald's all uh all american dunk contest i actually did a version of that you know kind of like that and point uh it's just in the moment but it's not something

like oh what i do i'm gonna hit him with point to the dunk guys i could just right right out of out of body experience and i i could well i could tell the story of time it's like that whole dunk routine that i did i made that up on the spot that wasn't my original routine so i think it was more thank goodness i'm i'm i'm trying these things or i'm coming up with these things i'm doing these things on the fly and it's working out and it's like like i was pointing to the gods like yeah thank you yeah the arm in the rim was like that huge science project that you added a little something, a twist to it, but you don't really know if this result is going to work out in your favor. Because we could have easily been asking me about why did I try that or never talking to me again. Yeah.

So it worked out. Thank you for putting it in for the listeners who uh don't know i'm wearing glasses so thank you for putting it in terms i can understand what the science project i did i tried i tried to do the it's over like celebration like i tried to cram that into my life like i like i would leave a test it's over guys they're like yeah man it's yeah the test is over yeah yeah uh yeah you got your grade back you failed yeah oh over baby yeah let me ask you this let me ask you this about the dunk contest you know i feel like it was a cool feeling and this is obviously 24 years later but

did you feel like after you watched that contest you could do that make make any of those dunks yes yes you know what we did i'm not joking we lowered the rim to eight feet in my friend's driveway and we all tried to just windmill first just to see if we could do that we're like bro i don't have a vertical to fully i mean like on an eight foot rim it was real quick but that elbow was bent yeah and that's kind of what i want i wanted out yeah i can say like you when we see things on TV, we immediately try that stuff at home. And absolutely. I wanted to make it look as easy and effortless as possible where people felt like, oh, man, I could do that until you do it or try it. Yeah. I mean, even like in that one Nike commercial you had, I even got on the ladder once, like the little boy in that Nike commercial and just tried to jump off of there and almost broke my neck. It all worked out.

And again, we talked about that. We like, we, they, they, they said we were expecting people trying to sue them from trying that off the ladder like that. And you're like,

that was in the commercial. Yeah. That's what, that's what they were talking about. It was, it was cool, but that's like the reality. And that's kind of,

you know, we were kind of reliving what I was trying to accomplish that night out in a commercial it's funny like i've no nobody really has ever really mentioned or talked about that but that's really true that's why that was created like that for for that reason people like okay i can't do it but let me get up here and try it yeah i can't i can't i'm sorry to all those who've actually sprained their ankle, broke their leg or arms for trying that. I was worried about doing that myself. I was like, please don't fall off or break your darn arm. Yeah.

That was the thing that used to happen with kids when Superman first came on. They would jump off their house and break their legs. But I'm wearing a bed sheet as a cake. That's not what it was. Are you from Krypton? No. Well, that's your what it was right flying like are you from krypton no well that's your first problem yeah that's your first problem start there um i think one thing also like

we're talking about obviously with the olympics coming up and we were just mentioning poor frederick vice uh you know that is another moment like i remember i i printed out on a color printer that still frame of you just completely flying over Frederick in that dunk. And I remember just, again, that's another one of those things where it's one of those things you witness and you scream to. Like, I think at the end you're like, what? Like, you're screaming that out. I'm curious. Did you accidentally hit Kevin Garnett when you swung your arm? Because every time I watch, I'm like, I think he may have graced Kevin Garnett.

Here's the part where he punches Kevin Garnett. Subconsciously, I knew he was there. So if you notice that it was outward instead of across the body, because that was all the way out. Okay. So I'm going to take you back to that moment. So that celebration, we were celebrating different things. I didn't realize I jumped over frederick vice at the moment so that i wasn't celebrating jumping over him like kg right because obviously he had the best view in the house right i was celebrating because i thought

i jumped too far and obviously the sprite commercial getting hung yeah so that was kind of that was kind of my celebration because i'm in i mean it's crazy how i'm able to have all of this thought from a jump like when you're playing the all-star game or with great players like that when you get an opportunity in transition you take advantage of it so i get the steal and that's what it was one two dribble i was just trying to get up and go for it vin baker claims he was wide open i didn't know that but if you go back and watch it vin bake going like this throw the lob throw the lob i was like really so for years i i had no clue you know who pays attention to that did you guys know that did you ever ever know? But I did notice Vin Baker's face. Exactly. After he's like, oh, well, like Vin Baker looks kind of shook after he's like, I just

remember the initial contact from the forearm, I guess, hitting his left shoulder. And now I'm up there thinking, oh, I'm too far. The rim is way down there. And I'm reach. So if you go back and watch, if you notice,'t dunk it like up i'm actually reaching for the rim and i dunk it with my you know arm in with the wrist more so wrist contact on the rim because i thought i wasn't going to make it in my mind i thought i was going to be a fingertip but i ended up you know jumping and actually making it with plenty of room so that is what i was celebrating.

Wow. I didn't know that I jumped over him. I mean, if I sat there and thought about it, I thought maybe he moved out of the way, tried to take a charge and fell down. I don't know. I wouldn't say if you gave me A, B, C, and that jumping over him was D, I would probably not pick that.

I know I wouldn't pick that. Because I wouldn't say, oh, I'm going to go jump over a 7'2 guy tonight. Who says that? You know i wouldn't pick that because i wouldn't say oh i'm gonna go jump over seven foot two guy tonight right who says that you know i'm saying so um and it's crazy and i'm always asked and i'll you know and maybe you don't ask but i was always asked so how did i not know from that moment on to the rest of the game and i said i don't know because i remember it being a timeout and i remember sitting on the bench and you know i'm listening to coach talk or whatever and i remember

steve smith and some of those guys looking at me just like didn't say anything in all these years so let's say 22 years let's just say yeah i never thought to ask any of my teammates, how come you guys never said anything? And I finally got to ask Steve Smith, he said, because you just jumped over a dude, and we were trying to see if you're human and if you're real. Something like that.

And after the game is when I actually found out that that's what happened. I saw it on a little camcorder. Yeah, you were like, wow. It was just like an out-of-body experience. Right. I watched it seven times.

I was like, wait, wait, wait. Wait, let me see this again. Wait a minute. I jumped up because I'm trying to remember the moment, and I don't remember any of that because that wasn't my focus. My focus was rim and rim only. Yeah. And not throwing a lob for Vin Baker.

Right. I had no clue he was even open. Yeah, because I feel like that sequence for us as fans is like, off the back of that dunk contest, I was like, oh, he meant to do that. Vince Carter's just showing you what time it is. It didn't matter. I saw what he did a few months ago.

It was more so the mentality that we talked about earlier. Naming bigs and attacking a big. It didn't matter who... He's 7'2". I'm attacking the big. If you're going to try to block this, alright, let's see what happens. That was more

so the mentality. It was just a natural... I wake up in the morning, I see a big, I'm going. I didn't have to think about that. You look like a big ham bone. You got food. It's time to eat.

That's kind of what it was. But I just never thought in my mind like, yeah, I'm going to jump over a 7'2 guy if he gets to my way. He was a lottery pick that year, right? That's one thing that guy if he gets to my way. He was a lottery pick that year, right? That's one thing that I think a lot of people forget. He was a lottery pick. He was pick 15 the year before.

I'm going to say two things to that. We played them in the gold medal game and a similar situation happened. Same side of the floor. He's there. Now I'm like, I'm going to try this again right and he he takes me out he literally hard files me takes me out knocks me to the ground like onto the cameras

on the floor and i you know it was one of those things like i get it right yeah that must have been pretty embarrassing for you you're gonna try to do this again yeah it was just like let's see what happens because if he blocked me this time i was like oh okay but or if i to do this again yeah it was just like let's see what happens because if he blocked me this time it's like oh okay but or if i could do it again wow so it's kind of that the second time is when i actually said i understand right i mean yeah that time to jump over a guy who was six eight six nine and i couldn't do it i almost heard both of us so it was just meant to be. Yeah, I figured with Vice at that second attempt,

he's like, bro, I literally have nothing to lose right now. He's like, you already took everything from me with that first one. Right. Amazing. Should we take one more break? Yeah. Come back with the rapid fire round of questioning? We will.

All right. We'll be right back. round of questioning? We will. All right. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on.

From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture.

Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. In a galaxy far, far away. No, babe, that's taken. We're in our own world, remember? Right. In our own world, we're two space

cadets and totally normal humans. Sure, totally normal humans. Embark on a journey across the stars, discovering the wonders of the universe one episode at a time. We'll talk about life, love, laughter, and why you should never argue with your co-pilot. Especially when she's always right. Right, and if we hit turbulence, just blame it on Mercury retrograde. Or Emily's questionable space piloting skills.

Hey, join us on In Our Own World for cosmic conversations, stellar laughs, and super corny dad jokes. Listen to In Our Own World as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't worry, we promise

to avoid any black holes. Most of the time. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport

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Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we're back. Yes. I guess before we get to the rapid fire, we do just need to get a little bit of a check here from Vince about who he thinks the best dunkers are in the game.

In-game dunkers. In-game dunkers. So, Vince, what we're going to do is I'm going to give you an either-or. You pick one, and I'll keep adding another option for you until we get to the end. Sound good? Alright, so if you're naming somebody I'm saying yes or no? Yeah, you pick between

the two. You'll constantly pick between the two. Oh, the better of the two. Yeah, the better of the two. This is not right. Here we go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to some of you players, man. We know you're the GOAT anyway, jeez, this is not right. Here we go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to some of you players, man. Jeez. Yeah, well, we know you're the GOAT anyway, so look, sorry to everybody. But here we go. To start off, Sean Kemp or Dominique Wilkins?

Oh, you're not supposed to. No, that's not right. We've got to start off with a name. Oh, my goodness. Oh, jeez, jeez, jeez. Give me a second. Mm-hmm. Oh, and i know how sean kemp is i'm saying nominee okay okay oh my gosh man yeah sorry we had you guys i hate me man oh yeah you know these people that's right you're not just uh

absolutely talking on a podcast okay yeah i run up to him like, hey, bro, you think... Yeah. Sorry. Nah, man, look, it's a podcast. And Dominique is a big fan of this show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keeping that in mind, Dominique or Ja Morant? What are we doing here?

Just asking. Just asking questions of somebody who... I thought it was going to be a warm-up, like you get some of those guys, and then you're just going... We're efficient, man. We're efficient. I'm going to give it to John Morant for the simple fact of height.

Okay. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to take it back. John Morant or Anthony Edwards? I'm going to say John Morant for the simple fact of he does it more often. Okay. John Morant or Vince Carter?

Yeah, I think that's the right answer. Yeah, that's the right answer. he does it more often. John Morant or Vince Carter? Nah, me. Yeah, I think that's the right answer. Yeah, that's the right answer. Vince Carter or LeBron James? Okay. Vince Carter or Michael Jordan? Mike, gotta bring it. So I just recently said this, so I'm going to continue

to roll with it. I know what Mike was doing, but I like me man i'm yeah i'm saying it's the right answer i just didn't know if you would give it no i didn't know if you give it it is the correct answer i show my respects to all these guys because i i mean i know today's world you say something like this is an opinion i mean i just like me in these situations because i just know my mentality i I know some of these guys' mentality, too. But, hey, man, Mike the GOAT is the GOAT and everything else.

Yeah. Let me have something. But not the in-game dunks. No, not the in-game dunks. That goes to Vince Carter. Goes to this Tar Heel. All right. This is the rapid-fire round of questioning where we're going to give you a question.

You just fire the answer back. Do you have a favorite in-game dunk? Of yours. Of yours. Of yours. No, but I'll say the most talked about is the Alonzo Mourning dunk. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which becomes the most controversial because of the back and forth of who,

if he didn't talk to me or not, so that's why I'm going to pick that one. Yeah, that's a good one. Vince, in your opinion, who is the most underappreciated of the truly all-time greats like who's a guy that deserves to be mentioned more but is usually like left out of the common discourse uh i think isaiah thomas is one of them um we talk about him but we don't what he's accomplished at we talked about little guys accomplishing you know the feat of championship i think he's he's one of them that comes comes to mind so i'll go with isaiah all right you are famously talented at many other things you were uh you know a musician is there another nba player

in all of history whose skill set off the court you would steal like is there a skill that you saw another nba player had that you would steal? Like, is there a skill that you saw another NBA player had that you would steal from them if you had the opportunity to take a skill? I'm a golfer and I love golf. So I'm going to say someone either like a Steph or a Ray Allen. Steph's swing is too pretty. Yeah.

And so is Ray Allen. So those two guys, as far as I would try to steal their game, I'm getting there. I'm a single digit, but like but I'm not where they are yet. Wow, you're single digit. You might have a future in the sports thing. I'm trying. I mean, I work at it, so I'm getting there.

What skill would you gift to me if you could give me any of your powers, Vince? If you could bestow one on to me after i would love to give you the dunking power oh thank you man what leads me to our next question who was the first person you dunked over ever can you remember wow you're the way your face like i've dunked over a lot of people no chance i have how old were you follow up how old were you the first time you dunked i was in sixth grade the first time i dunked i was in seventh grade the first time i dunked in a game wow and i and that was like once to twice in that game i want to say ninth grade is when i think i i feel like it's either ninth

grade i want to say ninth or tenth grade but i want to say ninth grade is when i dunked on somebody i was a freshman and i was a point guard at the time so i was running the point wow but i i've i let a lot of guys have it in high school seventh grade that's why yeah seventh grade was my first in-game dunk were you did you hit a late growth which was still junior high did you hit a late growth spurt or were you just like handling the ball because you were better than everybody? I was, I was, I was, I mean, I was, I came in 5'11", 6 feet. And by basketball season, I was 6'3", 6'4". Wow.

But I was the freshman and I had a pretty good handle because I was a little fella. Right. And it kind of just carried over. I had a pretty good handle because I was a little fella. Right. And it kind of just carried over. And as I grew to 6'6 or so, you know,

I had a little handle. Now I'm playing. I'm one of the taller guys. I was a taller guy, but I was still playing shooting cards more forward. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

And that's how a legend's made. Mm-hmm. All right. And finally, we are planning a 90s throwback series this summer where we highlight players or teams from that era. Do you mind giving us a few recommendations on 90s guys we should highlight? So far, our list includes Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, a guy named Vince Carter, Sean Kemp, Young Kobe, Iverson, Petrovich from the Nets, and Reggie Lewis.

You got anyone else you want to add to the uh, Petrovich from the nets and Reggie Lewis. You got any, anyone else you want to add to the list? Petrovich. Ooh. Um, nineties. I mean, I can give you a few,

I think AI should definitely be in there. Yeah. Um, Milwaukee, uh, Ray Allen. Yeah. And, and also big dog glenn robinson okay yeah yes with his ability to score in mid-range which is obviously a lost art but he was one of the toughest to guard in the

mid-range yeah point blank period so um i mean i like that group 90s. That's a good group. And finally, was it disorienting for you to travel back in time to 1975 at Rucker Park? Back then you were known as Dr. Funk. Was that scary for you? I actually walked into that court.

It was scary because I felt like I was actually there. All the extras were that court uh it was scary because i felt like i was actually there right because every yeah all the extras were dressed up like it was the seven no lies when i walked in it was insane and it i mean everybody kind of wants every you know high high hiding once everybody got into character right 100 felt like i was in 70 yeah that's crazy that the way behind the back insane shout out to chris uh chris is a friend of mine who the dribble dribble behind the back pass yeah the first attempt was on the money i miss handled the ball the first time with the windmill yeah his first attempt we've never worked together

wow on the money chris was amazing to work with and and it so like two or three times uh i think my hesitation like yo you're not gonna get the first one i jumped i mean he put on the money i didn't jump high enough just just trying to get a feel and like oh man this we're talking about a professional here and that was amazing uh to to go through and i mean it was a barn that commercial it was insane insane well vince carter every answer you gave us was the correct one that was correct that uh thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much. This was a blast. I mean, all your contributions to the game,

the culture, everything to our memories. We're forever grateful. So I appreciate you taking the time to chat with us. And yeah, we hope to see you very soon. I'm always around somewhere. Yeah.

Keep up the great work on the podcast and commentating thank you man i appreciate it man that's been on the golf course that's been uh that my chance to kind of just talk the game i mean i'd say i know i've i've been an analyst but like i get to kind of talk like we're talking and that barbershop talk on the couch with your buddies talk that's kind of how i want to approach the game and explain the game from how i see it uh it's been fun so yeah the bc show check it out man it's been it's been it's been fun yeah yeah well uh honored to be label mates with you on the network so uh you know it's always a pleasure guys that was it's fun yeah you didn't really think that like i wouldn't expect it to happen oh hey man like i said that's good like i said we've i've

had these questions ready for like 25 years so i'm glad i was able to fire them off man so you fulfilled a dream of mine i really appreciate it all right thank you so much man and thanks to the listeners we'll see you soon till the next one later bye-bye I'm Carrie Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black

Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.