The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Draymond Green Show - Dray's Injury, Ja's MVP Case + a Tracy McGrady Interview

Episode Date: January 20, 2022

On episode nine of 'The Draymond Green Show' Dray gets into his injury that has been keeping him out (1:00), the big games from week one of the NFL playoffs (10:00), and Ja Morant's MVP case (15:00), before being joined by Tracy McGrady to discuss his career spanning from his high school recruiting days, to starting his career in Toronto, finding himself on the Orlando Magic, and why the conversation about winning rings is a broken one (18:30). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. The Draymond Green Show presented by Fanduil Sportsbook. No better place to bet the action than on Fandul Sportsbook during the football season. There's a lot of reasons. It's America's number one sports book. Incredibly easy to use. Super safe, totally secure. Super fast payouts in as quick as two hours.

You're not going to get that anywhere. Also, same game parlay bets, live betting. It's the best. There really is no competition. Hey, if you're new, just download the Facebook. Fandul Sportsbook app. I did it in 15 seconds. Get started now.

Sign up. Please use the promo code Colin so they know we sent you. Please use the promo code Colin, C-O-L-I-N. Fandul-Sportsbook app, sign up. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey, and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel

and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a hear, unpack what went down, and

try to make sense of how we survived it. friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encourage.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Using your Aspiration Zero credit card helps fight climate change. It's true. See, Aspiration Zero plants a tree each time you make a purchase, and tree planting is one of the most effective ways to combat global warming. Track your progress in the app and earn 1% cash back each month you reach carbon zero. Aspiration Zero, one card, zero carbon footprint. Learn more at aspiration.com. The Aspiration Zero MasterC is issued by Beneficial State Bank pursuant to licensed by MasterC International Incorporated.

Beneficial State Bank, member FDIC, 2021. Did you know Fit is the root cause of the top complaints about content? In addition to fit, condoms size and shape matter too, but 70% of men don't even know condom shapes exist. Well, Trojan has you covered. Trojan has over 30 different varieties of condoms to choose from. Trojan condoms also help protect against both unintended pregnancy and STDs. Trojan has the reliability of a brand that has done this for over 100 years. It's all about what feels right for you.

So head over to trojanbrands.com to find the right one for you. Feel your best. Get yours on. With Windows 11 and Intel, you get the power to work with more speed, and you can arrange all your Windows, programs, and apps the way you want to see them with Snap Assist. Windows 11 and the Intel Evo platform make working from wherever better. Learn more at Windows.com slash brings you closer. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show.

As you know, we were off last week. things definitely got a little hectic with the injury and schedule. And so I was just trying to figure all of that stuff out. Here I am. We're back. I am excited after a week off. I feel rejuvenated. No, I'm just playing.

This is actually always fun. You know, one thing about this podcast space that I've enjoyed is in my interviews, sometimes I can get a bit long-winded. And like on the podcast, you actually have time to tell your story and listen to other. people's story and I actually love that as I can get long winning sometimes as y'all may know but I am extremely excited about today because we like I said we missed last week but we're coming back with a big ninth episode and we got a great guest one of the greatest scores to ever live um Kevin Durant before Kevin Durant uh Hall of Famer uh none other than than the great

Tracy McGrady and myself personally, growing up being a fan of the NBA and watching T-MAC get drafted to the Raptors and then go on to the Magic and Houston and so on and so forth, I am excited and I hope everyone else is excited. I got some drag them down, knock-it-out questions for T-Mack, you know, no.

But, no, extremely excited just to have those conversations. is I have just as much fun having these conversations as I hope you do listening. And so, yeah, that's going to be this week. But as you know, we like to go around the association a little bit before we get going with the interview with the great team at. And of course, I can't come on this week after missing last week and not talk about the injury. I went out last Saturday I played in practice after her. having missed the New Orleans game, came back to practice, and I was humming.

Woo, I was humming. And Coach Kerr, we had two four-minute scrimmages just to get up and down. I needed to get a little run. Steph needed to get a little run as he had missed the New Orleans game as well. And obviously we know Clay Thompson was coming back. And so we practiced that Saturday, everybody, and I'm flying around. And everybody's flying around. We're excited.

I got, I had the opportunity because as you, you may have heard, all the guys got to have the opportunity to scrimmage with Clay in Denver for the Nuggets game. I was down with COVID when that happened. So I didn't get that opportunity. So that was my first chance to scrimmage with Clay. And just like old times, hit Clay with a couple passes. He knocked him down. Clay coming flying off a step corner screen and hit Clay,

knock it down, and we got it rolling. And everybody on that white team, I hope they hear this. We cracked them, boys. And so after the first four-minute scrimmage, Coach Kirk came to me, he said, how you feel? I said, I feel incredible. He said, you look incredible. Are you going to go again? I was like, yeah, I'm cool.

He's like, well, let's get J.K. in to get J.K. a little run. I was like, no problem. I feel great. I'm cool. That evening, my calf tightened up. I then went back to the facility that evening, sat in the sauna, and, like, rolled out my calf with a lacrosse ball and with a foam roller,

just to get the muscle to loosen up, and it loosened up a little bit. So I'm like, all right, cool. I'll come in tomorrow for the game. I'll, you know, get some treatment on it. They'll get it loose and ready to go. I'll be ready to go. We got Clay coming back, excited as hell.

And I went to get, you know, the calf worked on, and it wasn't really letting go like I thought it would let go. So I'm like, this is weird. But I went and did my whole routine, getting my glutes activated, everything activated before I got on the court. And when I went out on the court, I went to shoot some jump shots, and I'm like, yep, this definitely doesn't feel right. And shot a couple shots, and then I left the court.

And right there, they took. told me you're definitely not playing today. There's no chance you're going to play. And it brought me to tears. And the reason it brought me to tears is because after two and a half years of not playing, having an opportunity to play with Steph and Clay and Andre, guys who, you know, who we really, especially Clay and Steph, those two guys were here when I got drafted and they had just won 23 games a year before.

So built this thing up from the ground. Then Andre came in year two. And so, you know, we built this thing up from the ground. And in doing that, you share a love and a compassion for one another and appreciation. And so just as I can't say that I was excited for Clay Thompson return as Clay Thompson was because he went through the treatment. He went through the rehab. He went through the mental struggles.

He went through all of those struggles. I didn't go through those struggles. So I can't say I was more excited than Clay. But I'm sure I was just about as excited or more excited than anyone else in this world about Clay's return. And so once I was given news that I couldn't play, it brought me to tears because I wanted to share that moment with him. And I wanted to be out there and, you know, like old times, right? Like, you know, teams doing great right back at it. And to have that opportunity snatched away,

not that Rick or anyone from our staff stashed away, they protected me, which I am very appreciative of, because I would have limped out there and played and shouldn't have been out there and worse things can happen. You overcompensate and all of those things. And so it brought me to tears, and I asked them like, well, can I at least just start the game?

Like, just to be out there with them. And then I said, I said, no, I don't want to start the game. game because then if I start the game and I file that takes away from Clay moment like and I don't want to take away from Clay's moment and Rick said no I actually think it adds to his moment and that's all I needed to hear was it asked to his moment and and so you know we were able to get it done to where I could start and then come out of the game and the calf felt weird so Like, it just didn't feel like something that, oh, I'll be back next game. So, no big deal.

I'll play with him next game. And I also didn't want the whole thing hanging over of, well, when would Draymond get an opportunity to play a game with him or start? And, like, yes, I still haven't gotten an opportunity to play with him. But our names were on the start line up together and I played seven seconds. and it scratched the itch enough to where I can focus on getting healthy. But like I said, it just didn't feel like I would be back next game. And it just didn't feel normal. So I wanted to be out there for that.

So to the people out there that were blowing my page up about me messing their fan dual points up or their draft king points up or this bed and website, or that bed and webs, whatever. I apologize. That wasn't my intention. And to be quite honest, that never even crossed my mind. The only thing crossed my mind

was I have an opportunity to share this moment with my brother, be on the court with him as he's coming back. Although I can't play, I have the opportunity to fill that energy with him and Steph to start that game. game. And then I subbed out to those that won on the under, you got a little lucky. So, you know, everybody sent me their numbers and I saw the under numbers or whatever.

You got a little lucky and you're not welcome because I wasn't doing it on purpose. So I can't say you're welcome because I had, like, again, my thought was never who's going to win their bet or lose their bet. my only concern and thoughts were to play or start the game and fill the energy with my brother after two and a half years. So that was kind of that. So yeah, congrats if you want because I'm a nice person, but definitely wasn't my intention to hurt or help anyone. I just really wanted to be out there with my brother. But moving on to the NFL, round one of the playoffs, man.

I love the NFL playoffs. And, I mean, we got Saturday, Sunday, we have Monday night. It was incredible. And I can't do much right now due to the injury. So sitting around watching football is a perfect day for me. And, boy, was it a good day? The Niners got to win, which, you know, I'm not a San Francisco 49. I am a Pittsburgh Stiller fan.

My Stiller fan. My Stiller's dropped the game. But congrats to Big Ben on an incredible, incredible career. I won two Super Bowls, which there are some organizations that don't have two Super Bowls. So, you know, there was always a lot of talk of like, oh, it's time for Ben to retire. When is Pittsburgh going to force him out? And I must say, I have a ton of respect for Pittsburgh's ownership group. their front office group, Coach Mike Tomlin,

for allowing to Ben to go out on his terms. You know, you have the argument, people making the argument, oh, he should have been retired three, four years ago. Maybe he should have, maybe he shouldn't have. Who knows, who cares? The thing I have the utmost respect for is, again, he won two Super Bowls for the organization.

There are organizations that don't have two Super Bowls, like Dallas Mavericks did, with Dirk and the whiskey. You allow that guy that, unlike the New York Giants did with Eli Manning, you allow that guy to go out on their own terms. And so I have a ton of respect. Yeah, maybe it cost you a year or two. But what was really the likelihood that you were going to win a championship in that year or two?

Probably slim to none. So have a ton of respect for the Pittsburgh Brass. I think what they did and allow him Ben to leave on his terms was great. And I'm sure if he wanted to come back. next year. They have him back next year, and they should because bring your two Super Bowls to a franchise. It's rare. You allow that guy to leave on his own turn. So, kudos to Ben. As a Stiller fan, thank you for all that you've done. It's incredible. It's been a great ride. And now, you know, if this is official, we look forward to the next chapter.

Other games, let's talk about that Raider game. You know, I've been in a lot of, you know, I've been in the Bay Area for 10 years now. And Raider fans, Brownie Blins, who's brother of mine, big time Raider fan. Raider fans are

unlike any other fans. I mean, I'm sure no one listening to this podcast, unless you're a Raider fan, know anything about the tuck rule. I've been out here for 10 years. I've heard about the tuck rule a million times. I still can't explain to you what the tuck rule is.

But if you listen to a Raider fan and let them tell it, they will tell you that the tuck rule is the reason Tom Brady won six championships or whatever it is, whatever it was with the Patriots, that they started the Patriots dynasty because of the tuck rule and the Patriots dynasty never would have happened had it not been for the tuck rule. Well, we had a similar instance, not quite, but the other day, Joe Borough's close to stepping out of bounds. and he drops a dime to the back of the end zone.

Now, if you're watching the game, you definitely heard the whistle because I 100% heard the whistle, but when they slowed it down, the whistle seemed like it happened when the ball was almost crossing the end zone, the goal line. And then the guy catches it and he's wide open. Did the whistle affect the catch at all?

Absolutely not. I don't think if the whistle didn't blow, he was still catching that ball. So I saw one tweet from Brownie that said, y'all think this is going to start the franchise for the Cincinnati Bengals now and they're going to go on to win Super Bowls. I couldn't believe it, but I guess that's what's going to be the same.

Now, in saying that, I thought the NFL was dead wrong and those officials were dead wrong for not replaying the down. Did it affect the catch? No, the ball still would have been caught. But the rule is, in the verdant whistle, you have to replay the down. And I thought that was filed that they didn't replay the down. I also thought what was a little more fishy was we can't talk about that to after the game. So like, what do you do?

Do you put a call in and say, hey, don't discuss that until after the game until we can figure out what we're going to say or what our statement is going to be? I thought that was pathetic. I thought it was fishy. I didn't like it. I didn't appreciate it. And I know a lot of Raider fans didn't appreciate it. So that was a little fishy.

And then, although we stepped outside of the association with the NFL, and coming back to what's going on in the association, let's talk about John Morant. What he's doing, carrying an organization, he's carrying a team, obviously, but carrying an organization, the ball that he's playing, I was talking to someone yesterday that said,

do you think Jai going to get most improved? I said, hell no, Jai not getting most improved. Miles Bridges should get most improved. And the reason I don't think Jaya should get most improved is because Jod this year didn't just become Jai. Like, we knew last year Jaya was, serious. We knew he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. Now, has he improved? Absolutely. Like, can tell he lives in the gym and works on this game. He's 100% improved. And what I love most

is those guys on that team follow him. They follow his demeanor. You know, he leads, he leads that team in that organization. And that's what I appreciate most about Job Morant. But when I said hell know about the MIP conversation. In my opinion, Jive was already past that. Let's talk about the MVP conversation. That's the category that I personally feel like Jive Morant needs to be mentioned more.

He is playing at an MVP level, All-Star Star Starter, all of those things. He is at that level. I saw him say I'm him after one of his and one. I think it was against us. I'm him. I would have something a little bit to say about that if I was in that game.

But nonetheless, I do think he's him. He is an incredible, incredible athlete. But even more so than being an incredible athlete, he's an incredible basketball player and he's an extremely smart basketball player. You know, I like to think that I am one of the smartest guys in the NBA. That's what I like to think. And I feel like when I'm playing against John Morant,

a lot like LeBron James, a lot like Chris Paul, when you're playing against those guys, like every possession is like a chess mat. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast.

Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And like, you're making eye contact with that guy because he's trying to see where you are on the floor. He's trying to see what it is that you're doing, what you're getting your defense into,

your offense into. And so when you're playing against guys like that, it's like a chess match. No, I'm not saying John Morant is at the level mentally of LeBron James yet or at the level of Chris Paul yet as not only two of the greatest basketball minds in our game today, but two of the greatest basketball minds in our game in the history. I don't think he's at that level yet because, you know, that comes with time and mistakes and experiences, playoff series and, you know, That just comes with time. But he definitely has the potential to be at that level. And he's definitely a very, very, very smart point guard,

which I think is the driving force in who he's becoming. And so, John Morant, definitely an MVP candidate. He keep playing at this level. Who knows what happens towards the end of the season. But he's playing really well. he's gaining respect. I mean, there was just someone, one of their fans, if I'm not mistaken, told him a month ago

he'd need to go sit down somewhere. So it's beautiful to see how he responded to adversity and playing the best basketball in his career. You love to see that. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this Valentine's with 1-800flowers.com.

From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem Enchanted Rose Medley for $3999 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more.

Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. Man, obviously we all grow up hoping to reach the holy grail of sports, of whatever that particular sport is that you're playing for me is basketball, For others, it may be baseball, it may be hockey, football, whatever it is. But in all of those sports, one thing that they all for sure have in common is they have

a Hall of Fame. And I am honored today to welcome you, the great Tracy McGrady, a guy who I grew up as a young kid watching come into the league, destroy the league, razzle, the dunks, the jump shots. we all know the 13 points in 33 seconds. And the list goes on and on. But none of that stuff matters when it comes to the ultimate title, which is Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, T-Mack, man. Thank you for coming on the show.

I am honored to have you, my brother. It's a pleasure, bro. When I got the notification that you wanted me on, it was no hesitation, man. I'm a fan. I appreciate, you know, what you brought to the game, your passion, your love for. And, you know, I'm excited to be here. Thank you.

A fan of me? Oh, yeah. Every team needs to Draymond, bro. Every team needs that. I appreciate that. I mean, you're the heartbeat, you're the leader, you know, the voice of that team. And as you see, you're missed right now. You're so good.

I appreciate it, man. Get back out there because I got you I wanted to chip this year. Hey, that's the plan. We're definitely working on it. I appreciate it. You know, like I said, as a young kid growing up

and watching you play the game, you know, for me growing up, I caught, you know, I caught some of Michael Jordan. You know, I was six,

seven, and eight when he won his last three championships. So I remember that. But growing up, like, and I always wonder why have to be this way. And so I'm asking you this question as well. But growing up, it's like T-MAC and Kobe. You know, like your T-MAC, it's Kobe, and that's what you got, you know, the great

shooting guards in our league. And you kind of had to pick a side, which I don't really like, but I'm asking you, why do you feel like it's that way, not only in our sports, but in sports in general as like, oh, man, I'm a Kobe fan, or I'm a T-Mack fan as if you can't love both. because they're both great players. Yeah, that's why, you know, I think the older I get, I don't get caught up in the goat conversation anymore because I think, you know, the guys that are in that conversation are goats of their errors.

Absolutely. And it's not just one guy. You know what I'm saying? If you want to crown a guy, that's fine. But I don't like to put guys up against each other because there's their greatness in their own, you know, lane of how they became great. You know what I'm saying?

I don't know. We just love competition. We love to put, you know, whether it's two figures, two teams or individuals up against each other. That's what we do in our nation or in this world. No, absolutely. And I definitely understand that. But, you know, taking this back to the beginning,

we got, we have a young kid growing up in Arbondale, Florida. and not many people know yet who this young kid is. But, you know, I've read the story and watched all the interviews throughout the way. And you said at one point you went from ranked 175 to number one in the country. Can you tell me about that journey and how that happened for you? Yeah, so grew up in Central Florida. I mean, we just go through it. So I grew up in Central Florida.

And, you know, with my mom, my grandmother, and then I had an older cousin that really that got me involved in sports. So I don't know if you notice. Baseball is my first love, Drey-Mond. Like, basketball is actually my third sport. Really? Yeah, it was baseball. I started baseball at the age of five. And then I started football at the age of eight years old.

I didn't play basketball. And so I was like nine, ten years old. Wow. Yeah. So that was my sport every year. It was baseball, football, and then, you know, I go out to the park and play with my cousins because I have a big family. We'll play basketball, but that wasn't my thing. So I was just naturally gifted, bro, in all sports.

You know, I think God just dropped me off. I'm like, bro, I'm giving you all the talent. Whichever one you want to play, it's your choice to pay. Just make sure you exhaust, you know, the greatness out of that. So in high school and Florida, I average, what, 25? five and 12 in my area. A lot of people knew who I was, but outside of that, no recognition at all.

Even across the state of Florida, a lot of people didn't know who I was. This guy that had some ties with Adidas came down. I was playing spring football at the time, my junior year. And he came and got me out of the football field. It was like, yo, I want you to be part of the family, you know,

I'm with Adidas. But he's like, you got to stop playing football. We can, you know, hook you up with his gear. I want you to go to the Adidas camp. And I'm like, what? You don't know what I'm saying? I'm excited. I'm getting free here.

What? Man, I stopped playing football. So get ready to go to this camp and I'm hearing about Lamar Odom. Who the hell is this kid? Lamar Odom. He's saying 16, he's a point guard. That just blew me away that, you know, there's a kid here that's 16 and a half point guard skills. I'm like, damn,

I want to see him. I've never seen anything like this. This is the first that I'll be able to witness, you know, this type of talent. So he was the first guy that I faced. Wow. And for me to even get in that camp, though, was like pulling streams. Sonny Piccaro got me in this camp and they gave me the jersey number 175. I was the last one to enter this camp.

And it took a lot for me to get in there because nobody knew who I was. But yeah, man, I went through that camp, you know, It's just opportunity, but it's like what you're going to do with it. And I ran with it and didn't stop. That's incredible. I think the kids are today, they don't know about ABCD camp, man. No, no. It's crazy because I always wanted to get invited to ABCD camp,

and I never received the invite, so I'm still waiting to be 175. Actually, I think they're bringing it back, too. Really? Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's great. That's great. And so you then, you go on from there and you consider going to Kentucky? Bro, listen.

So I went and took a couple of visits, right? And I think Kentucky was my last one that I took. And Derek Anderson was my host that played in the league. I went up to Kentucky, man, and saw how them kids, them dudes was living. I was like, oh, my God, the players lounge. They drive fully loaded Eddie Bowers. You know, and Kentucky is already, you know, it's already basketball heaven in Kentucky.

So I'm like, man. But, yeah, I was initially going to Kentucky until Adidas came to the table with that big deal. That's incredible. You know what's funny about that is my junior year of high school, my high school coach played for Tubby Smith when Tubby was coaching at Tulsa back in the day. Yeah.

So my junior high school, Tubby, was still at Kentucky. We drove down for an unofficial visit, and we went to the game. They were actually, ironically, they were playing Florida. And this is Jo Kim, Noah, Tori and Green, Corey Brewer, like, this Florida, Florida. When I, we walked into the arena, and college game day was there. We walked into the arena and we're standing next to each other. And in order to hear each other talk, this is just walking into the arena. The game's not, it's an hour before the game.

It's so loud, we're yelling in each other ear. Like, yelling to the top of our lungs in each other ear. I couldn't believe it. We watched the game, stayed overnight, got a chance to see the Wildcat Lounge and all that stuff. I committed the next day. My mom had no idea I committed. No, I knew.

Oh, they got you too. Absolutely. I knew I was doing something wrong because when I got home, you know, I just committed to Kentucky. Like, that was a big deal. When I got home, I never said a word to my mom. Like, my, I committed to Kentucky. I didn't say a word.

My mom is like, before Instagram and all this stuff, my mom is the person like on them blogs that's just like subject after subject going crazy. And my mom saw on a blog that I had committed to Kentucky. My mom didn't talk to me for a week and a half. Then finally, after that week and a half, she went down to Kentucky herself. and she went to visit, and she came back. She hadn't spoke to me, hadn't said a word to me. I mean, we're passing each other like the ships in the night in the house.

And she came back and she said, don't ever do anything else like that again. I understand why you committed there. I understand. Listen, man, it was very impressive, you know, being on that campus and witnessing that. as a 17-year-old kid, I was blown away. I was like, I can't see anything greater than this. You know what I'm saying? And I was like, this is where I'm going.

This is where I'm going. And so Adidas came to the table, like, that's where I was going. But that's my adopted school. You know, I still stuck it these days, watching. But, yeah, man, I missed out on that. Do you have any regrets? of not going to school as opposed to going straight to the lead? You know, I used to get that question a lot when I was playing,

you know, because all my teammates would be, especially during March Madness, they represent their alma maters. And I think that's really the only time that I felt it. You know what I'm saying? Because I felt left out like, damn, I don't really have no dog in this fight, you know, and I just see all the love and the trash talking

that's going back and forth, especially when you got two guys from the same Armada and they're playing in the tournament. It's a wild shit talk, you know what I'm saying? I miss out on that because I love that. But that's really the only time that I felt that other than that, nah. I mean, I wasn't a school type dude anyway, sitting in fucking classrooms and writing papers. Man, fuck that, man. Are you got $12 million?

Are you going to sit here in these classrooms waking up early in the morning and attending class? Nah. Let me go get these $12 million and compete again. against the greatest in the world. I respect that. I always talk shit to Jermaine O'Neill. That's my brother.

Absolutely, who one of my vets, I played with J.O. my second year in the league, took me under his wing, a lot like Jared Jack, my first year, took me under his wing, showed me the way we're still tight like this to this day. But I used to always talk junk to J.O. Around that time, like, yeah,

J.O. those Spartan dogs coming. And he, like, this, J.O. Oh, fuck that. I went to, I went to university cash. I can't even got this money. I went to university cash. I'm like, Jay-O, guess what?

We're all getting money now, and I got a chance to experience college. But speaking to, being to J-O, before we move into your career, y'all have started an agency. Tell us more about that, because I think it's an incredible thing. And two, obviously, goats

that's done their thing in this league and now leading away for these younger talent. Yeah, man. I think, you know, when you beat, what, 20, 24, 25 years in this game, you learn a lot, you see a lot, and you hear a lot of what's going on.

Both of us have, you know, A youth programs. So it's a lot of information that comes out of that. And during the pandemic, really just gave us an opportunity to do something together that's very impactful for the culture.

You know, I was doing ESPN, so I was back and forth traveling from Houston to L.A. to do the jump with Rachel. And then when the pandemic hit, it just gave me an opportunity to just, you know, sit down and kind of recalibrate my thinking on trying to venture off and do

something else. And I was still in contact with J.O. And it's like, man, we need to, you know, put together an agency and really save a lot of these guys out here of, you know, the misinformation that they're getting. And that's what we're doing, man. We started it. We're doing well. We got some kids on NIL deals that are in college. We're talking to some really, really elite players. And it's about just really being, you know, we got the mentorship between, you know, So, J.O. and I, who we played the game at a high level, understanding the business.

And then we got some guys on our team from your errors in Silicon Valley that are part of the ownership that, you know, is advising us and the kids and the opportunities that can bring. So just collaborate together with those guys and what we're doing, man. It would be very impactful for these kids coming out of college and getting their journey started in the NBA. That's beautiful. So, yeah, I mean, going from high school, college and 90-year NBA career, ninth pit in the 1997 draft. And I know for me, I got drafted to, obviously, go to state. And I had never left the state of Michigan.

I spent the first 22 years, I mean, obviously, you know, AAU and all that stuff. But I spent the first 22 years of my life in the state of Michigan. And when I came out here to California, I was homesick as hell. I felt like you could have dropped me in Europe for all I knew. Like I had no idea what was going on out here. I was homesick. Everybody I knew was still in Michigan. So they three hours ahead.

By 8 p.m., everybody's sleep. I got nobody to talk to. So then I'm going to sleep at 9 p.m. my rookie year. And you got drafted to the Toronto Raptors, which is a totally different country. And basketball then wasn't what it is today in Toronto. Tell me about that journey and how was that getting drafted to Toronto as an 18-year-old.

You're now going to a totally different country to play basketball. Now, first of all, you left the cold weather to go to some nice weather, Michigan, San Francisco. I left Florida to go to Toronto. You can imagine. I wasn't used to that word.

Driving in the snow. sliding on like the slur, the slushy streets. Like, bro, I was out of territory. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, the legal age was 19 years old. I still wasn't legal. It was a, it was a culture shop. You know what I'm saying?

From all angles. Like, there's a hockey town. Didn't really, you know, get a lot of love from basketball fans. You could do something spectacular. We played in the sky dome, which was a baseball stadium where the Astros play. So you got, you know, 40-some thousand, you know, seats in there. And it's only probably 7,000 people in there. So you can only imagine, you know, you do something spectacular.

And it's like crickets. They're like, what the hell did we just see? We don't know what that is. We never see that. But, you know, it was tough, man. And I had an old school type mind coach in Darrell Walker who was very challenging and we really didn't, really didn't click. You know what I'm saying? And he made it tough for me.

I mean, to be 18 years old and get criticized from your head coach that you'll be out of the league in three years. You can only imagine, you know, how damaging that could be for a kid entering this league. And, you know, back then it was some grown men still in this league. right? You know? Absolutely. But, you know, I had some great veteran players that, you know, really kept me level-headed and really helped me through that process.

First year, like I said, it was challenging. And I think Isaiah Thomas, you know, who was the president at that time, really saw how, you know, damage, I think I was, the first half of the season, and he had to make a change. So we got rid of that coach and our assistant coach, Butch Carter took over.

who gave me structure, right? There was some structure now, a kid, you got to do this, you got to do that if you want to get, you know, playing time. And I understood that, and that's what I worked towards before. I didn't have any structure. It was like, okay, what, what am I supposed to do? I don't know what to do.

You know what I'm saying? It was left for me to figure out. But when I got structured and knew what my assignment was, then that's when, you know, the turn happened. My second year, we drafted Vince Carter, which is my cousin, and that helped with the transition, you know,

him coming in right away had a phenomenal rookie year. So I was in that shadow, like, thank God, take a little bit of this pressure off me, you know what I'm saying? Absolutely.

Coming out of high school, take some of this pressure off me. So he had a phenomenal rookie season was the rookie of the year. I'm talking about the shit that he was doing was just incredible. So it was,

it was bitter sweet. I mean, I was taking a back seat to my cousin, but also I was learning along that process to somebody that was, you know, really going into startup. You know what I'm saying? And in its first few years of the game. So when my opportunity came to be in that role, I knew how to handle it.

But yeah, it's just, it's good. It's always good to have real OGs around you. Dale Curry, you know. Absolutely. Antonio Davis, Kevin Willis, Charles Oakley, D. Brown, Mugsy Boggs. Like, we had some vets that kept our ass in mind and showed us the weight.

You know what I mean? And that was so impactful for my career moving forward. And I can't leave this out. My boy Doug Christie, man. I used to play Doug Christie, bro, every day one-on-one. Really? Every single day after practice, bro, let's get it, one-on-one. One-on-one.

That's interesting. Yeah, yeah. And that's how, you know, I really gained confidence and really perfected my one-on-one game and my skill set. That's interesting, because for a lot of these kids around, they don't know Doug Christie was a hell of a defender. Hell of defender. Absolutely.

Yes. Yes. Doug. So y'all brought Vincent. By the way, I know those after practices you were in Vince. Who was more athletic, man? You were Vincent at that time. I'm not fucking with him.

Not at all. He did. Go ahead. He was incredible. You know, before we realized we were cousins, I played on a junior team Florida, and he was on the big boys team Florida. So I used to play before him.

And I used to the shit that I used to see him doing high school, like damn, they're touching the top of the backboard, looking down and dropping the ball in the basket. Like, it was incredible, incredible. A lot of people were like, Vince in high school, bro, I think he broke his right. his wrist in the state finals. He broke his wrist and dropped

35 with the left hand. What? Yeah, man. Vince is basketball pro. He's one of the most talented dudes ever. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that. I've always told people, like, and from just from what I

can see from afar, like, yo, Vince Carter has to be one of the most talented players that ever stepped foot in a day. Ever. Ever. Yeah. It's incredible. But, so now you look at today's NBA, right? You're coming out, 6-8. Do you think today's NBA, you would have thrived even more than you did when you play?

Because I think so. I think so. Because you just look at the game, right? Like, the way you play all the hand-checking, y'all have to do. See, a lot of guys get mad when the guys from before us say, oh, man, the least soft a day, or they could, the reality is, the league is soft today. It is, it is. I mean, it's called a spade of spade.

It is. The rules are a lot different, you know what I'm saying? And come on, man, guys shooting three-pointers or shooting shots now and you land on somebody's a flagrant file. Like, how you can test shots without, you know what I'm saying? Like that, the rules make the game soft. Not the players, it's the rules. That's what we're talking.

I think people misinformed that, you know, we're talking. When we say the league is soft, we're talking about the players. It's the rule changes that we're talking about. So, yes, will that thrive? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you got to think, and I era, bro, some of the scores are 75 to fucking 76. Yeah.

Finals or in the 60s, right? And I have 30 points. I have 35 points of that. So, hey, man, I mean, there's no question, bro. You can't impede my progress. It's not like I was just a guy that, you know, scored with the ball of my hands. No, I was catching, shoot, as well. I did everything.

You know what I mean? So, yes, I will definitely thrive in today's game at a high level. I agree. One, is there a player in today's game that you see that remind yourself of you? I mean, you got PG, KD. Those two I could think of that really remind yourself. reminds me of myself. Katie is just a different breed, though.

The way he's shooting the freaking ball, man, he's just, he's just unbelievable talent. But PG as well, you know, those guys being able to score at multiple levels. Yeah. No, I like PG game a lot. Now, I like that comparison. Just the way y'all both handled the ball, shoot the ball, get to the cup, athletic, or put you in the rim,

however you want it, you're getting that. Yeah. I definitely respect that. But just going back some in your playing career. So you had those years with the Raptors, and then you move on to Orlando. And I love to hear your perspective, but from my perspective as a young kid watching,

I felt like, like you said, you went to the Raptors, and then Vince came, and you were in the shadow. And all of a sudden, to me, like, it really took me to, like, really brush up on my history and, like, go back in action. to realize that, hey, T-MAC is actually older, well, not older,

but you were older than Vince as far as years in the league. But when Vince came in, it was like you was in the background and playing the Shadow in Toronto because for me, watching all of those years, I felt like your career really took off when you went to Orlando. Like that's when Tracy McGrady became T-Matt when you went to Orlando. Can you walk me through that? Yeah.

Yeah, so it, you know, it had nothing to really do with Vince, you know, me being in Vincent's shadow. My third year in Toronto is really when I turned the corner and really showed that, you know, all right, this kid is really, really talented. Because I averaged like 15 points for that season. I was like the third or fourth option for that team. And then in my first playoff game against the Knicks, I had like 26 points. Like I bawled out. had a really good series against a tough New York Knicks team. But it was so much internal, you know,

problems that was going on that people didn't know about. And then also, I mean, Toronto was competing against Orlando, which, you know, I'm from that area. You know what I mean? So it had nothing to do with Bench. This is just, like, I want to go back home because I remember when I was a kid, I used to drive by the arena. And I used to tell my mom, I'm going to be playing there one day.

Right? So this opportunity had presented itself. And G. Hill was there in Orlando. I thought we was going to get Tim Duncan. But even just myself and G. Hill, you know, it's like, damn, we're going to be all right. I got this. This is the perfect move. And then we know what happened with G. Hill. You know, he had the ankle problems the year before he joined, you know, Orlando in Detroit. He broke his ankle. So it was like, here the keys, young fella. Let's see what you got. We don't know where we going. But you got the keys and you bought the drivers. Let's see what you got. You know, and I put a lot of work in that first year. I was with Orlando offseason, like to really push myself to exhaustion to, you know,

improve on every aspect of my game. And I surprised myself, Dre. I'm not even going to lie. I think I averaged probably 26 that year. It was the biggest point differential from, you know, one year to the next. And it was just incredible what I was able to do. And that was just a manifestation of the work that I put in that offseason. And then, you know, the maturity and the confidence grew to another level

to where I just felt, you know, extra comfortable out on the basketball court. Yeah. And you won most improved that year, right? on most improved that year, yeah. All NBA secretary. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was a lot of stuff throwing at me that year. And I was, and that's when, you know, it's,

I don't know if there was a game or what it was that really had me like, okay, I belong. I belong here and this is what it's going to be. But, you know, I think competing against Kobe, you know, around that time and holding my own because Kobe is, you know, in his, if it was my fourth year,

he's in his fifth year, and he's, he's that dude. You know what I'm saying? That's the number eight with the fro. He was that dude. He was that dude. So I'm like,

damn, if I can, he's the bar. So if I'm competing against him every night, oh, I belong here. This is what it is. Right? So it's just staying focused, sacrificing and really

understanding you know, that these folks are really counting on me. And to back up, I think I'm the first guy to be a non-starter to sign a max deal. Like, I didn't even start.

Yeah, I didn't even start when I was in Toronto. And then I went to Orlando and signed a max contract. Which is insane. Insane. Who was the GM that gave you that deal? For Orlando.

Yeah. That was, uh, that was a gosh, who was it? Was that gay? Yeah. Oh, man.

I don't mean to take you back like that, but he deserve a lot of credit. A lot like, I think, if I'm not mistaken, it was Darrell Mori that brought James Hardin into Houston. Well, yeah, Darrell, no, no. Darry didn't bring me to Houston. No, no, no, brought James Hardin into Houston.

Remember James was coming off, like, for, I'm just, just comparing those two signs where you got two guys that are like those dudes in the league coming off the bench on their team before and you get those guys the deal that you got

and then fast forward to James getting that deal. Yeah. Like you got to get those GMs a lot of credit to see that because it's not like, oh, we gave this guy this deal and like it was pretty good.

Like, nah, you gave this guy a deal and they are franchise players. Well, the difference is And with James, you saw it with James. Yeah, that's true. You saw it on display with James for years. That's true. And so he got his deal with me.

You only saw it one year. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm saying? It was like really only one year. Because my first few years, I really wasn't playing that much. Yeah. But that third year, that's when I started, you know, playing a little bit more, but I still was coming off the bench.

So you saw the potential with James. You absolutely knew that he had game. Yeah. You knew for sure. Yeah. Definitely. So then you go on to Houston. You get traded to Houston and you team up with Yao.

And now at that point, it's like a lot of people don't realize back then you had to have a good guard, a great guard, and a big man. And that was, that's where you started building your championship team was with a guard and a big man. And you team up and you go team up with yow, young y'all. How was that experiencing and you going in with y'all and going to Houston? So the first season was pretty challenging, right? Because you got to think

I'm coming off two scoring championships, right? No big man at all. Well, at least we didn't play through a big man. So I get to Houston and the first thing Jeff Van Gundy tells me like, you know, you're not going to lead the league and scoring. Like, thanks for damage that shit for you. damn, bro.

You're like, you know, we got to get the big fellow involved. So I'm cool with that. But it was, it was an adjustment because the tempo was a little bit slower. You know what I'm saying? We got a 7-5 guy that we got to play through, get him involved. And it was just a different style of offense now that the paint is really, you know, clogged up. So I got to find, you know, new ways of really getting my game off. and those opportunities.

So it was the foundation was built, but we didn't have the pieces around us. So we got off to a slow start, bro. We wasn't good at all. I'm talking about it. We was a below 500 team. Then we started adding bits and pieces, you know, some shooting

John Barry and the David Wesley's guys that can, you know, take the pressure off to myself and yeah, kind of open it up a little bit. And then we started to get on on a role and look like a real team. But it was, and Jeff Van Gundy had to really open up his, his offense and expand his mind a little bit too on the offense man. Like he's a defensive-minded guy. Like when you're talking about preparation, like, it's nobody better.

Like he is phenomenal in that era. Having you prepared for games, playoff games, like for season, he's phenomenal in that. Very, very precise in practice. He's one of those guys that you'll come in one day and don't touch a ball, line your ass up on the wall, and he'll go from 1 to 15 to tell you what your role is on the team. Like, he was that type of dude. You can't get on the court unless you, you know,

have the right amount of body fat. Like, that's what, oh, yeah. Yeah, that's what he was on. Wow. Yeah, yeah, your body fat had to be at a certain level for you to even get on the court. Well, I think there's one team like that now, maybe Miami. Miami, Miami. But that's all the pedigree, though.

Pat Rowley and Jeff Fagher, you know what I'm saying? That's all the pedigree. But that's what he was on, man. So it was, I think once we put it together, it was fun playing with y'all. Just to see a guy at that size, so skilled, Draymond, left hand, right hand, jump hook, shoot left, right shoulder, shooting 85 from the free-d-line can hit his 16-17-footer,

can pass. I was like, shit. But what really hurt us, though, is when that transition started happening with small ball. Yes. Phoenix and, you know, stat, you know,

Steve, NAS, Sean, Marion Quinn Richardson, them guys. And then Dallas started doing it. And Utah started doing it. It was tough. It was tough. The league started getting, especially West. It was really challenging.

We went on 22-game win-street, bro. Wow. We went on a 22-game win-street. I think y'all got hurt in, like, game number 12. And we ran off, you know, 22 straight. But that put us maybe one or two games in first place. That's how challenging the Western Conference was. Wow.

Did you hear what I said, bro? we won 22 straight and it only put us up one or two games in first place. You're going to lose at some point. I guess it was crazy, man. It was crazy. West was so deep, bro. And Chris Paul was in New Orleans. He had them boys running, you know, crazy him and Tyson Chandler.

Put on your track shoes. That's insane, man. think that that's where the lead. That's kind of where that change started to happen. Tell me this. Tell me this. Do you, your business, as you have the hat on, and it looks like an Adidas. Yeah. Yeah. Your business, do you think there was a huge benefit for your business, your Tracy McGready apparel business, and just your brand as a whole, and playing with Yao and the influence that the Chinese have on the sneaker business, the NBA business, but just your brand as a whole,

did that grow a lot from playing with Yao and his influence in China? Yeah, it enhanced it, I will say. Back when I was in Orlando, I had the number one selling jersey in China. Wow. Yeah, this is when I was in Orlando. Before I even teed up with y'all, I had the number one selling jersey in China. because I used to go over there every year since I think my first trip to China was like 1999

and from that point I just kept going every year so I saw the transformation even in China how they related to basketball fans right I just I saw that whole transformation um so but when I got to yeah of course you know being his teammate being a part of the first china games in 2004 for us to go over there with yow saw how he was a sagat yeah it fit the x my brain for sure that's that's insane it's interesting because you know a lot of people didn't understand the impact that china has on the NBA whether it's a personal guy's brand or whether it's an NBA at whole and obviously we saw the effect of that with the darrell moore tweet i think what was it two years ago now if i'm not mistaken. And that was kind of the first that people out, first time that the people outside of the

NBA realized how important China is to our game. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, they're, they're really important. I mean, you're talking about the TV, TV money that they give to the NBA, you know, for streaming. And just that relationship has, has roamed so much, man, over the years. And, you know, they're well aware of, you know, what's happening here in the States. And you just got to be cognizance of some of the comments that you made because it can be damaging to our brand, everybody brand, really. You know, I mean, some of those comments that we make towards, you know, the Chinese people.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And ultimately, you don't want to disrespect anyone. And as someone who is very outspoken, like I'll speak on, anything that means something to me and that I have an understanding of. When you start dealing with world politics and world issues, you really have to understand

everything that's going on and the backstory, you know, the history, because if you don't, you could just be speaking on one instant, you know, one thing that's going on, and you don't quite know the whole story and then it gets all screwed up. And it makes you look foolish.

You know what I'm saying? Absolutely. You got to do your research and get, you know, everything from both sides to really be able to speak on it and articulate yourselves in those matters. And that's why I just leave it alone because it, I don't want to, I don't want to say something that's going to be damaging to my brand

if I don't have, you know, the full story, full backstory to it. Absolutely. No, I definitely understand. understand that. A couple weeks ago, a few weeks ago, I spoke about Chris Paul. And I said something about Chris Paul because you always hear people say, man, that guy didn't win a championship as if that as if that unvalidates greatness. I love, I'm glad we're about to have this conversation. And I said something about Chris Paul a few weeks ago, which was Chris Paul is a winner. I don't

care how you slice it. I don't care what you say. And the first thing that people will say is Chris Paul isn't a winner. He hasn't won a championship. As someone who has, I understand number one, all of the things that has to go right in order to win a championship.

There's a lot of moving parts. Like, you talk of health. You're talking everybody clicking on, like, and it's not just like players clicking. It's the front office with the coaching staff, everybody, right? And I was saying like, Chris

Paul is a winner and people try to take that away because he having won a championship. A lot like yourself. And I was watching a podcast yesterday. Kerry Champion. Jalen Rose went on Carrie Champions Show podcast Naked. And she asked him a question along the lines of winning the championship and do he wish he had of or would that have validated him or something? And he had a great answer.

But I want to hear your take on it because you won your whole career. You won down to everywhere you played, but you didn't win a championship and people tried to lessen who you were as a basketball player. And I wanted to hear it from you. Draymond, I could go to any country in the world, bro, and I'm recognized. Absolutely.

Anywhere. I'm well respected out in the streets, in the corporate America. I'm well respected, bro. But here's what I say about that. Like we was talking about, there's a lot of moving parts that has to come into play to win in championships.

Absolutely. With my game and how I play, you don't think if I had the right pieces around me, I couldn't win a championship. You know, I'm saying like, I wasn't sorry. I was one, bro, I was one of the top players in the lead. I just didn't have the pieces around me.

If you, and it's crazy because people really forget you know in certain areas and certain guys' careers if you look at how great KG was the first you know 12 seasons of his career right

what he had to do he went and joined Paul Bears and Ray Allen to that championship but before that he was phenomenal right phenomenal but you know he didn't win no chip until he teamed up with those guys what happened when when Shaq left and Kobe

was there for two years Coles struggled. Coles struggled a lot. They didn't make the playoffs of them, not mistaken. Right. So people forget about that, bro. You need the pieces around you to win changes. Take it from me.

I understand it all too well. Right, right, right. So, but you're a key part to that. But here's what I say to those people. I was all NBA. I led the league in scoring, you know, at that time. I was considered one of the best players in the league, right? Absolutely.

I was Adidas top selling guy. I was one of the number one selling guys in China, right? I had multiple endorsement deals. If I had won a championship in my prime dream on, the impact that would have had on me, my life wouldn't change, bro. My life went to change. You know what I'm saying?

Absolutely. I had everything but that. But you look back when I got drafted, the impact that that had on me, retiring my mom at 35, 36 years old, retire my grandmother from being a custodian for 30-something years, retire my dad, you know what I'm saying?

Like changing the complexion of my family, that type of impact, that impacted me. Absolutely. I know it's, it's a difference, but I'm just saying that I had won a championship.

My life really wouldn't have changed. It wouldn't have changed. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, maybe I would have made the top 75 of all that shit, man. I'm a Hall of Fameer, bro. I'm a Hall of Famer.

So, like, let's, let's have a real conversation, people. You know what I'm saying? Y'all looking at championships. There's a lot of great people ain't win no fucking championship. You don't think Charles Barkley or Patrick you ain't even have the talent

won the championship? But Carl Lone ain't win the championship. What are y'all talking about, man? Y'all so caught up and fucking, I tried to win one. I worked my ass off to try to win a championship. It didn't happen for me. You know what I'm saying?

But let's talk about impact. Impact. That personally wouldn't have, it wouldn't have impact me that much as me getting drafted and what that impact was. for my career, if that makes sense. And to your point,

there's a lot of great players that have one, and there's a lot of bombs that has ended up on a championship team. So it's not, it's not apples to apples. It's definitely not apples to apples. Like, come on. That's for certain. Yeah, man.

Like, listen, bro, it's hard as hell to win the championship, man. Absolutely. It's hard as fuck to win one. You know? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Do I wish I want to want? Absolutely. But it's, you know, I don't lose no sleep over that and feel like that's my validation. When I have the great late, the late, great Kobe Bryant saying, you know, what he says about me. And when I have the impact that I have on some of these guys that are in the league, the younger generation, and I listen to these guys and they say who their favorite player was, though I impact that Jalen Browns, you know, the Seth Curry's, when they say that, I'm their favorite play. Like, that's the shit that matters to me.

The impact on the next generation. That's most impactful to me. You know what I mean? For sure. I always tell people along those same lines. And for you, it's the next generation. But it's like, for me personally, nothing gets me going more than the acceptance

and approval of your peers. Because ultimately, like, yeah, we all got tough skin. And, you know, we all can have the fuck it mentality, right? Like, oh, well, now. But when you have the approval and acceptance of your peers, that goes way further than anything else. Far beyond of what, you know, somebody outside of our game

has, you know, what their opinion means. That doesn't carry any weight. But when you're here, you know, validate you. It's all you need. Absolutely. He was that dude, man. He was tough as shit. He was the toughest guy.

Like, come on, man. that's not playing with this. I know I was nice, bro. I know I was fucking nice. Like, you ain't about the shit here and tell me because I ain't win no championship that I ain't validated. Nah, fuck out of here, bro.

I don't hear that shit. Absolutely. And the reality is this. There's only a select few of the guy, right? Like, you're the guy. Like, I've won the championships. I've won three championships. I'm not the guy.

Like, Steph Curry. the guy, Clay Thompson's the guy, Kevin Durrance the guy, I do my part, I am very important to what we do. But those guys are the guy, they have to carry the scoring load, they have to do a, like, and the reality is if you look at

the NBA and you really understand the NBA, every decade, there's really one, two, maybe three guys that actually win championships. Teams.

2000s is the Spurs and the Lakers, 2010s is us and LeBron, and then you're like, you know, Dirk got a championship, Kauai got a championship, but most part is, every decade, the 90s is,

you got Hakim, them got a couple, but the Bulls dominate. Like, every decade, there's two, maybe three of the guy that actually wins championships. Yeah,

and there's, and there's, 30 teams. Let's be, that's be, let's be real. There's 30 teams. All 30 teams

ain't trying to win a championship. No. They're not trying to win the championship. As long as their, their bottom line is good, they don't get shit by no championship. Absolutely. And that, you know,

is some of the star guys is the brunt of that. You know, that plays for those type of franchises. They just don't care. Let's keep it above. Absolutely. No, 100%.

You know Joe Dumars, who's like a father figure to me, I always tell people, man, if I didn't meet Joe D through Jordan when I was in high school, I'm not sure I'd be where I am today because they showed me that it was a life outside of Saginaw, Michigan, that was actually attainable, and that actually existed, that I had no idea was attainable, and that I could be that.

And still having a close relationship with Joe D. he's told me along the way. He said, Dremont, always remember this. Every year in the NBA, there's three, maybe four teams,

if you're lucky, that's truly trying to win a championship. That's real. Three to four teams per year that are actually trying to win a championship. And,

spot on. Yeah. That's real. That's real talk. You got game. early. I didn't catch it towards the end. Absolutely. He's stressing yourself out like, man. Meanwhile, everybody upstairs, they're not having that same

stress you having. They want to have a good team and keep going. And then you're looking across at some of your boys. Like, damn, man, they're rolling over there, bro. They got a well-oiled machine over that motherfucker, man. They're winning. They're going deep in the playoffs. damn they're a contender hey i'm struggling trying to get in the damn player i definitely understand man i definitely understand with team i appreciate you coming on having this conversation with me obviously for coming on to the show is great but just for me

as a fan of yours as someone who's come into this league behind everything that you did to carry this league to where it is and the impact. You know, I don't take for granted everything that you got yourself and guys who came before me did for this lead because I know like, yeah, I've done my part in like my career, but I know the money wouldn't be where it is today. The eyeballs wouldn't be there where they are today. My family doesn't live the life they live if it's not for guys like yourself who really push this lead forward.

So one thing I want to put in the air before. before we get out of here is, you know, I know you end up living a dream of yours when you play with Sugarland, Skeeters, if I'm not mistaken. Sugar Land Skeeters. Yes. So one thing I'm putting out in the world, we got D-Way and basketball ownership and now soccer, I think, as well, D-Way is doing a great job. I'm looking forward to seeing you owning that baseball team, my man.

I know we've been talking about everybody. owning basketball teams and hearing that your first love is baseball. You know, and I know you've done well with your money and you continue to maintain the reputation that you had and the brand that you had.

So I'm looking forward to you owning the baseball team, my brother. So I'm working my way up. I own a minor league team, so I'm working to work my way out to Major League. Yes, sir. And I have no doubt that you'll get there. Yeah, man. I appreciate you, bro.

Keep doing your thing. It's a lot of love on this. side come from me, bro, get healthy. I want to see you back on that basketball court, man, and keep impacting and inspiring to you, bro. Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it, T-Matt.

For sure. Love, Doug. Wow, was that an incredible interview? I enjoyed every minute of it, as I said earlier. Not every day do you get the opportunity to talk to Hall of Famers and to hear their stories and hear their take on things and hear T-Mack talk about championship? I mean, that was beautiful.

I felt the passion spewing out of him when I asked a question. And I hope y'all did too. I mean, that was incredible, incredible just to hear that. Because, you know, as you heard in weeks prior, winning a championship is not the only thing that makes you a winner. It's so hard to win a championship. So that's definitely not the only thing that makes you a winner. But, as you know, a lot of people, they tend to say, if you didn't win a championship,

and they correlate that with not being a winner. As someone who's won three championships, I disagree. I know how hard it is to winning championship. It is extremely hard to do. Everything has to be going. I mean, let's just take 2019, for example. You couldn't have told me we weren't going to win a championship. Everything that could have possibly went wrong, went wrong.

And the matter of 48 hours, we lost Kevin Durant to what has been a career-ending injury for people over the years. And then 48 hours later, we lost Clay Thompson to what had been a career-ending injury for people throughout the years. And just like that, it's gone. So it's so hard to win a championship, that's definitely not the only thing that makes you a winner. And that was beautiful. to T-Mack and hearing him say that. But that's a wrap on this week of the Dremont Green Show. I thank y'all for listening to the ninth episode.

We will be back with another great guest next week. I think that it'll be a lot of fun. And it may be something that we haven't done before. So we'll see. But make sure you subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcast. And also go follow the volumes YouTube channel. you get an opportunity to see this beautiful face if you do. Draymond Green Show, ninth episode.

It's been real. Until next week, much love. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the first. best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and

great values. To order today, visit 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, reader Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.