The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: Carlos Boozer

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

Carlos Boozer joins the show to share stories from throughout his NBA career and a whole lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Subscribe today at publicmobile.ca different is calling Carlos Booser with us his new book is every shot counts a memoir of resilience. Always good talking to Carlos. Good to see you again. What would you identify Carlos as landmark resilience when it was required of you? When when I go through all of the resilience that was required to get to, you know, professional basketball, what do you point at and say, this is what tested me the most? Man, great question. Great to be on the show, guys. Thanks for having me, but so much, man.

I mean, from, you know, being a kid and you're, you know, you go to your seven great class and they say, hey, what do you want to do when you get older? What do you want to be when you grow up? And I'm like, I want to be an NBA player. And your teacher's like, ah, you should lower your expectations and maybe go work at Costco or local grocery store. And as a 12 year old, when you hear that from a teacher, it could either derail you or it can motivate you.

And that was like one of the first stops, right? Then along your journey, you have some roadblocks where you want to reach certain goals. You don't get there. But getting knocked down, you get back up and keep fighting. You know, for me, it was like, I remember, like my sophomore year in college, went out for the USA team, got cut from the team that went over to Japan. And I was like, man, this is this is a drag because I'm, you know, obviously I want to be a great player. I came back and just went to work in the lab. We want a championship that year. Obviously, they got on to the NBA.

Another landmark for me was going second round. I thought I had a great three years at Duke. We want a championship. I was named BSP and Big Men of the Year, but still somehow found myself in the second round. And easy, I mean, I could have took that and felt offended or entitled, but instead, I was like, I'm still honored to hear my name get called because there's a lot of guys that put the name in the draft thousands every year and never hear the name

get called. So I looked at that as an opportunity and I went out with a chip on my shoulder and you know, started to kick some blood and make a name for myself. What are the things about growing up in Alaska that were resiliency requiring? Oh, man. So many. I mean, first dealing with the cold, you know, it's a, it's a different kind of cold in Alaska then.

I know you, I know you've been, you spend a lot of years in Miami. I live here now as well. It is not Miami broke, but they're kind of cold in Alaska. It gets to your bones. So that was the first thing. I was, you know, obviously adjusting to the climate coming from Washington, DC, whole different environment, different landscape. I'm fishing and hiking and camping and learning how to ski and snowboard, which I thought was actually pretty awesome because

I opened my mind to a different world. But there's a lot of things about going up in Alaska that you have to change your perspective, you know, and I did that. And I think one of the biggest things for me was just being open-minded. I think I'd have had parents that were that way, so that helped the adjustment a great deal. Can you articulate for us speaking of parents what it feels like to you and where and when you get most moved watching your sons, both of whom are very highly ranked basketball recruits, play basketball. Oh, man, it's just proud, man. I think ultimately, my oldest son also plays baseball. He's being recruited by colleges to play baseball as a pitcher. And then my twins are basketball players.

And once you mentioned, this is proud, man. They took on the challenge and they're going for it. You know, they have a dream of their own, all three of them, and they're going for it. You know, whatever happens, whatever road they take will be their path. But to see them excelling, you know, the thing about me and mom, we put them in every sport.

We put them in baseball, football, hell, Dan, we even put them in hockey and they chose basketball. So it's, and then obviously my oldest son chose baseball. So it's just pretty cool to see them, you know, trying to find their own light, not be overshadowed by dad and going after something that they truly have a passion for. So very, very proud. Always interested in talking to people like yourself about parenting and how sports help them parents. So when you say you put them in everything, why did you do that? What did you think sports would give them? Yeah, I mean, being an athlete, I just felt

like there are so many things about team, about, you know, that I learned in sports that helped me in real life. Like, you know, I'll give you an example. So, you know, that I learned in sports that helped me in real life. Like, you know, I'll give you an example. So, you know, say in a basketball game, you turn the ball over, right? So, you know, you can either dwell on that moment, oh, I made a mistake. I let my team down, so on and so forth, or you can figure out a way to make it up to your team and get the ball back or make a great play. And then life is that way. You know, you may, you know, get divorced or you may have a death that's close to you or you may get fired from a job and you got to figure out how to pick yourself back up and go on to the next play. And I felt like for the kids, you know, I think sports is

one of those things where you rely on your teammates. You get a chance to overcome adversity. You get a chance to grow through, you know, failure to get to success. There's so many different aspects and sports that relate to real life. So when we were raising them, I've just said, let's put them in everything. You know, we put them in art class and piano and obviously sports and they chose whatever they, whatever they had the biggest interest in. And, you know, as an athlete, raising athletes, I just think there's so many lessons to be learned in sports that translate to real life. Were you worried about them being soft

because you could provide so much or did you find all the ways to make discipline and requirement? Yeah, I mean, we had that conversation early like, it was one of those things where you have lessons along the way where maybe the kids aren't happy but what they get at Christmas time because they really wanted something else and then you're like, listen, I'll give all these toys away to kids who really don't get Christmas.

So you can appreciate what you have in front of you kind of thing. And I think that that's the great thing about the kids is that they're so driven on their own, you know, even though they're their privilege and they have, they come from a different environment, you know, they go to private school, they live in the suburbs, they still have that hunger. Like I was a kid, there was seven of them, so they're being in a three bedroom. You can't, you can't recreate that kind of hunger unless you're in it, right?

And so that was a concern early, but not really because my kids are so motivated. And if you ever watch them play, you can see the fire in their eyes when they get out there. Then you got to come to a gang, Dan. They're going to have to go. Well, he needs to borrow tickets. You need to bring them to Miami and I will go there instead of Duke. Feel free to have them play for the University of Miami and I will go to their game. Do you yell at the referees because I'll go if you do. I have.

I try to keep it through, but I'm not going to say I haven't yelled or had a good conversation with a rep from time to time. I don't think that rep would think it's a good conversation. You are a man who's a bit foreboding. Do you think Carlos is pushing his kids to do? He has to be Carlos. You're pushing your kids to do it. No, I'm absolutely not. Like I want them to have their own path. Like that's one of the big things about me is I'm not the one waking up at six o'clock in the morning guys, you guys will. I'm not the one that's going to be up late at night doing a 2 a in paper for class the next day. You guys will be. So you have to pick your own path. For me, 20 years ago, Coach Cain Dupes was the best choice for me. They're going to figure out

the best choice for them as they go through the process, going on their official visits, building relationship with different coaches, and they'll find their own path. So wherever they choose, I'ma be the first guy in the door with that hat on, rocking that alma mater. So whenever happens for them, I'm very excited for it. Wait a minute, you're gonna wear a North Carolina cap,

if they do that? Oh, I absolutely would. If that's the school that they chose, I would have to be the same. Oh, that's the school that they chose. Carlos! No, absolutely. You can't do that. I can't do that. I would have to be in the door with Carlos. No, absolutely. You can't do that. I can't come first. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, basketball coach.

Hey, comes first. Get your priorities straight. No, you didn't win a championship in North Carolina. What are you doing? You tell some, some Kobe stories in the book. Again, the name of the book is every shot counts. And I've heard some legendary ones about how he would test a teammate. It gets filed under winner, but there were some tough, someone say bleephole moments where he is testing and testing and testing a Derek Fisher or a Rick Fox because he wants to see how far he can push them before they stand up for themselves. What kind of story like that do you have? Well, I mean, I remember a good story.

Not directly really at me, but it was more him and Swaggy P. You know, so I was on the Lakers for one year, 2015. It was a short year. You know, Steve Nash are retired before the season started. Julius Randall, our first round pick had broke his leg on the first game against the Houston Rockets, his first rookie year. And, you know, him and Swagger came over. So we're having a practice. You know, we don't have the team that we're going to have with a Hall of Fame Point guard and, you know, our six pick in the NBA draft. So our team is, you know, we're

struggling. And we're going through practice. Be Scott, Byron Scott, how to scope through a couple of scrimmages. And our plan. And so swag is garden code, Cobas garden swag and swag is, you know, thinking he's the best score on the team. And Cobas like really like what? Really? So they start going to add it coach, starts talking trash a little bit, swag starts talking trash a little bit. And then covets the game when it's shot. They had a couple of free throws and when the game, and he's walking out like, this is what you got me playing with this year. This is the guy that's supposed to carry this to the playoffs this year. So I mean, it's one of, that's the real moment that I had in practice that I can speak of. Obviously, I wasn't there for those Derek Fisher and

championship years, but I'll say another story when I got drafted, flew out to LA, worked out with Colg for a week. The very first day, we spent five days training. The first day, all we did was offensive flies for two hours, no basketballs. Second day, we do all fade away jump shots from like eight different spots for two hours. The third day, we do ball hailing for two hours. A fourth day, got finally to get some two on two. He brought a couple other guys in the gym. And in the fifth day, we did some 505. So, I mean, just imagine he's so cute with his workout.

He's like, I'm, I'm going to do defensive slides for two hours. Sounds unpleasant. Sounds that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Deplay, deeply unpleasant. You at the start of the player empowerment era, we've talked to you about, you know, Bosch and you and LeBron and Wade, everybody was really changing the way basketball would be played

the next 12 years. And it seems like, just recently, there's been a shift with Damien Lillard and Portland that is being celebrated by GMs around the league. The ringer has written an article by Howard Beck in which he talks about how happy the league is that an organization exerted itself over a superstar's power and did not let Damien Lillard go wherever he wanted to go. What have you made of that situation in just the last 12 years to see the way that players have gotten power that, you know, it started with you guys in 2010?

Yeah, I mean, there was a huge shift. I think ultimately, you know, the players, you get used to seeing a player on a team, right? Say, you know, Kobe being 20 years in LA or dirt being 20 years in Dallas or Timmy being 20 years in San Antonio, you get used to rooting for a guy. And then at the same time, there's opportunities for teams, for ownership to make a move that can upgrade their roster. Well, in this situation, Dave had been very low at the Portland.

Obviously, he was there, could have left multiple times, decided to stay. And now they're in a rebuild mode, right? And he picked out a place that he wanted to go in the heat. And the assets that they were getting back just didn't work out. So that's stuff that we all know. To be honest with you, I think him going in the Lockhe is the best the airport look that he gave him. Now I know they got a ton of stuff back. They look bright for the future. They got a bunch of young studs to build around with a bunch of draft picks. But if I'm damn and I get to go to play with the Greek Freaking

Milwaukee, I'd be like thank you. I can always go vacation in Miami. I can still be, I can still text my boy, BAM. I can still hit South Beach and go enjoy it. Listen, I'm about, he has an opportunity in Milwaukee to play with maybe the best player or one of the top two players in the world in Yannis, South of the Cucco, and get a chance to really fight for championships,

which is something that he was lacking in Portland. So for me, I'd be very happy about that. Now, as far as the shift, ultimately, the owners always have great control, right? Because they're the ones cutting our checks. We're assets to them. They can move us around like test pieces on a board if they really wanted to.

I think the majority of the players, if you're at the top of the food chain, like the LeBrons and Kevin Durant, and I think the majority of the players, if you're at the top of the food chain, like the LeBrons and Kevin Durant and I think Dave is up there. Greek freak is up there. He jokers up there. Luke is up there. You can kind of dictate a little bit, but ultimately, once you sign that contract, they can move you as they see fit. Tim Duncan underrated as a trash talker would hit you various people with, ooh, so close or almost, you know, when banking off of going, doing things like that, do you have a Tim Duncan story? Absolutely.

Me and Tim, we got pretty cool after the 2004 Olympics, even though, you know, we got the Bronx really when the gold that year, but we put the pretty good bond after that, you know, that summer. And so moving forward, I was starting to come into my star in Utah, and obviously he was the best power for in the league in San Antonio, so we would go against each other quite a bit being in the Western Conference. And I would make a move on him and get a bucket. And I'd be like, I saw you get that last year,

I picked it up from you. And he'd be like, OK, and then he come down and put like five moves on me in one possession. Like, I got you there, but I'm awake. I got you there, oh, but I'm awake. I got you there. Oh, but I'm awake. And then I would do another move. The other thing that's underrated about him, he was he was a terrific defensive player,

right? So I would, I did like a jab move left, went right, tried to do a hook shot and he blocked it and he goes, booze. You got to work on that some more, buddy. He was like a subtle trash talker, not like a, not everybody in there room is gonna know he's talking trash to you, but you don't know. Talker trash.

Wait a minute, are you saying that he did it without a word by showing you in one possession, four moves that he could have beaten you on and just showing it to you and then saying, I don't want that one, I'm gonna go another one. I'm gonna stop and square up again. Oh, I'll tell you, I'd break it down for you. So Tony T.P. had the ball,

twenty-four-hour had the ball, 20 Parker had the ball. Manu cuts back door baseline. So I stepped to like, you know, just showed Manu some attention. Meanwhile, Timmy cuts this way. He got an easy layup. He gets the ball dribbles out. I ain't going to get you right there, booze kicks it back out. Right?

Then comes over. There's a pick a roll. I got to help his T. P. is, you know, this is a blur off the pick a roll. I helped on Tony Parker. Another pocket pass bounce pass to Timmy. He catches it. I got to there with the note, kicks it out to my new. My new. The three misses the three. He gets the rebound. Pump makes. I jump, try to block it. I'm not really a shot, but I tried to block it. Missed it. Then he goes on the other side of the rimmillator.

It was like, it was like four things on one surface. I got what is the most, what is the most exasperated you've been defensively? Just in general, right there. I mean, that one's a pretty good one. I don't know if you can do better than that, but where you just remember like this is not right. What's happening here?

I remember having garn that in Minnesota and I'm in my first year in Utah. I was my third year in the league and he just dominated me. It was like a different level defensively. I would try to shoot a fade away jump shot. He blocked that. I tried to go run the court. He caught up to me. I would try to shoot a jump shot. He would defend that way. I would do a pick the court. He caught up to me. I would try to shoot a jump shot.

He would defend that well. I would do a pick a roll. He could defend the guard and then recover back to me at the rim. Like that was that. I don't remember the date. I just remember it was my first year in Utah. I think Carlos Royale was my point guard. This is before we drafted Darren Williams. And it was the most frustrated I'd ever been in an NBA game. And it was just one guy because the rest of those guys didn't play defense, but KG played defense for everybody. And that was probably the most frustrating game I ever had. That was subtle shade at highly his own Carlos Arroyo there where you really got a lot of love from my boy.

I didn't like it. No, he did. A couple of Carlos is cutting it out. A lot of love, but the Carlos, the Carlos connection did not scare Kevin Garnett. The name of the book again, every shot count, a memoir of resilience. All right, Carlos, we play a game around here, shop for your life. Okay. So you have to choose one of these two guys to take a three pointer. They have to hit it. If they hit it, you stay alive. If they don't, you know what happened. We know we understand the game. All right. Just want to make sure Carlos understands

the game. I got you. So here are your choices. Bird or reddit shop for your life. Well, I'm going with Larry bird. Even though Jay, Jay, I'm going with Larry legend on that one. That's the only reason he asked the question. Everyone takes bird, but reddick by percentage, I think is a better three point shooter for his career. You choose him. I have to see that. But did you see the difficulty of the shots Larry bird was taking them?

Unbelievable. I believe the defense is better today than it was in Larry bird's day. I agree. I agree. You are flirting with your life life. I see you later, Carlos. Thank you for being on with us. We appreciate it, sir.

Ah, thanks for having me.