The Ringer NBA Show - Ep. 39: 'Sources Say' With Michael D. Ratner

Episode Date: November 2, 2016

Juliet Litman welcomes Michael D. Ratner to the show to discuss his new mockumentary series 'The 5th Quarter’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ch7TuWRbo). Then they speak with a few stars from the show — the Lakers’ Metta World Peace (5:54), Courtney Lee of the Knicks (22:46), and the Grizzlies’ Chandler Parsons (32:28) — to talk about their experiences in front of the camera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA show, I'm Juliet Litman, and today is a special crossover for me personally. My main areas of interest are celebrities and basketball. And today we're talking about both. I'm here with Michael Ratner, the director of this new mockumentary series called the Fifth Quarter. Hi, Michael. Hello, hello. It's on Verizon's Go-90 Network. You got it all.

And it's about basketball. Sorry, it's about athletes doing basically fake 30-for-30s. It's, yeah, it's like think 30-for-30 meets drunk history. That's a great description. I can tell you pitched this before. You know, I've talked about it a couple times. A few times here and there. Let's just be honest. We're pretty good friends. I love you dearly.

I've known you for a while. I remember when you were working on this project? Yes. Didn't have time to respond to any text messages or come to dinner. That's true. It's okay. But then we've been back at it. Yeah, but we've been back at it, you know, Passover breakfast, all that. Yes, that was lovely.

Yeah, it was really lovely. And so, yeah, this is really cool. There's billboards in New York and L.A. Where else are their billboards for this? They're billboards in its Columbus Circle in New York. Oh, shit. Yeah. That's the gateway to the Upper West Side, my hometown.

Damn right. Prime time. Some prime real estate there. It's in 26 and 6, I think. Shit. Cool. There's one in the Roosevelt Hotel in L.A. Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff.

I got to say Go 90 and Verizon, they've been, I'm not just saying this either. They've been unbelievable partners. They really push this thing. They believe in it. That's really cool. And we're super excited, yeah. So we're finally here. How many episodes did you do?

12 episodes. I directed 8 minutes. I directed 8 or 15 minutes. Who directed the other four? People at OBB. Other guys at my company. That's your production company. Yeah, that's my product.

OBB pictures. That's cool. Eric D. Cohen did one. Elias Tanner, Sean Spencer. Will Smith, William Stefan Smith. Not the I am legend. That's really tough. That's like Michael B. Jordan, but like Will S. Smith doesn't even sound as good as

Michael B. Jordan. That's tough. Sorry. to him. Yeah, we did 12, and we block shopped the whole thing. It was a crate, as you know, as you just put me on blast. I was very busy for that shoot, but it came out amazing. We're really excited, and I think that it's really unique.

It's the first of its kind that's doing sports, comedy, high-end, well-written, well-directed, and we're really eager to get it out there. Big names in this thing. Okay, so, well, first of all, drop a few names. Just go for it. Just start name dropping us in a night. You can say seven names. Be careful, be judicious, and go.

I'll say once. It won't crown against you. It's a combination of real athletes to make this thing feel authentic and sort of lead to, you know, if you were to tune in for like a random minute, you might actually think you're watching a real documentary, but it's totally scripted. It's got the comedians and actors. Sure. So it's got comedians, actors, and then real broadcasters who like never do, you know, comedy stuff.

Like Ahmad Rashad's in it. Kenny Mayne is in it. Then on the comedy side, you got J.B. Smooth, Adam Pally, Jerry O'Connell, George Lopez. And then we have Mark Cuban is in multiple episodes. and then current players, Blake Griffin, Chandler Parsons, Courtney Lee. You're way over your seven limit. But I'm glad you said all of them. It got me excited.

I was like. Courtney Chandler and MetaWorld Peace will all be calling in, which is like pretty awesome. I'm pretty excited about it. So why did you even think that you should do comedy based around athletes who have no acting experience? Like what made you comfortable to pitch that, knowing, like being certain it would work out? I really wanted to, well, I directed a 30 for 30. the 30-for-30 short Gonzo at the Derby, which was on Hunter S. Thompson and his trip to the Kentucky Derby.

And we had Sean Penn in it, and I flew to London, and we got Ralph Stebman and all his different guys. And while I was shooting it, I was like, you know, this... We're taking it so seriously, because that's a really serious heavy story, led to Gonzo journalism. And I'm like, what if we flip this on its head and we just tweaked a few things

in so many of these different 30-for-30s you see that aren't really about sports, they're about characters and the drama. I was like, there's something innately funny here. So why don't we go just left of center and have some fun with it, but put in the real guys. We had done a bunch of sports content, so had good connections to different athletes and whatnot, wrote out the premise and ultimately pitched it to go 90, and they loved it. But yeah, you're right.

I mean, it was a bit of a risk because athletes are not actors. Sure. So we had to be careful to make them look good and put them in storylines that were funny and, you know, like self-reflective and, you know, we wanted to make sure we're making sure we're making. a show, though, that was also for sports fans and non-sports fans. Right. And I think we effectively did that. Do you ever think about, like, working directly with a team?

Like, would you ever be interested in, like, working with, like, the Lakers' Sportsnet channel or whatever to, like, do, like, to make content for them? Because it's so interesting. Like, there's that Lakers cheerleader tryout show. Yeah. And, like, there's just so much, there's just a burgeoning space with all these new ways to get video for, like, more sports-related content. Yeah.

I think, you know, are, we're very careful in what we do in the sports content space. Yeah. We've obviously got a bunch of different things going, but when we make something in the sports content world, we want it to be as national as possible. A lot of those are regional sports networks. So it's very niche in their ability to sort of transcend the state. There's only a few places. The major markets, you want to do that.

So for us, we try to think, all right, well, is this a good enough idea that it will have interest throughout the entire country? And then on a larger scale, the world, right? So frequently the answer is no when you're going to just one particular. market. But there's certain cases where you can make it work. Like, for example, the Lakers who currently have Meta World Peace on their roster, and we're going to talk to you in a second. Meta, my guy. Yeah, so Meta world. I'm not sure, we might be calling Ron today. Well, let's just call them and we'll find out. Yeah. Meta. Yes, I was up? What's going on, brother? It's Michael Ratner.

Hey, and this is Juliet. I'm from The Ringer. So Michael and I are here talking about the fifth quarter, which you appear in, a whole episode. Your epic performance. That's, uh, thanks. I appreciate it. Uh, was that your first acting experience? Yeah, but I did like 10, I did like 10 things already. That's probably like my turn thing.

I did. Oh, okay. So you've been in a bunch of, a bunch of, uh, other shows. How did this compare to your previous experiences? Um, I mean, they're all fun. How's, you know, um, I think this one was a little, different, you know, I had a, I mean, it was, um, it was, we're not being acting with the, with the talent, you know, I did it with the, I know, I was acting with the kid and he was, uh,

and he wasn't around. Right. So, that, that was different, you know, I had to act as if he was there, but, uh, you know, other than that, oh, it was, it was good. And actually, I'll say, you know, we dealt with so many different athletes and actors and Meta actually ended up co-writing his episode. Really? Yeah, which was really cool. So he ended up co-writing the whole thing and making a bit more of his own, which was awesome and super funny.

He added a ton to it. That's really cool. That's why I really enjoyed it because, you know, I really enjoyed doing the comedy. I enjoyed doing the, I enjoy being, you know, I enjoy being out there. So when they gave me the opportunity to really be myself, it was the first time I had an opportunity to kind of, you know, to really just open up on the, you know, for the screen. It was great.

Yeah, and what he was referring to earlier, we had, it's a talking head interview where he's giving sort of his opinion on the whole storyline. And in this one, it's about his unknown relationship with this kid who he did a favor for when he was young and struggling, like sort of like, you know, like a different make-a-wish. Sure. when they get paired up with a different athlete.

And then this kid's a devil child that keeps asking Meda to do crazy shit throughout his career. So we went and we pinpointed a few things that actually happened in Meta's career and acted like it was because of this relationship with this kid. But the two of them were never on set together. So Meta had to sort of envision how some of the stuff went, which did take some real acting. Yeah, that's awesome. Do you watch a lot of sports documentaries and sports movies? Not really. I'm more into action movies, boxing, like.

Oh, cool. What's your favorite movie? My favorite movie? I like half-fake. I thought that was really funny. That was a good one. Yeah, I really like half-pick. Half-Fake was great. When you're playing overseas, yeah. When you're playing overseas, did you watch a lot of American TV and movies to keep you entertained, like on your computer or whatnot? Overseas.

I still wasn't to the boxing, so I always watch a lot of reruns of Floyd Mayweather boxes matches, so I can pretty much tell you everything that happened in some of his matches every punch I was doing. But then I watch, I'm really into, I like the gossip websites. I think that's funny. I like to listen to those every day. Really? Yeah, yeah, I don't know.

I'm just like a big-to-old gossip question. Do you read like media takeout and TMZ? Yeah, I read media takeout every day. Really? I read media takeout every day too. First thing he does when he wakes up. Yeah, I don't know why. It's not to like to judge anybody.

You know, it's not to like, I don't want to judge people, but I just think it's all right. It's kind of entertaining. It is entertaining. But it's kind of messed up, but it is. Yeah. I was on media. I took out a couple times myself. You were?

I didn't want to be on there, but I was on there a little bit. That's kind of, I know it's, like, not great to be on meeting. I think, I think, like, this, you know, the fifth quarter is great. Because it gave me, I'm working on my own move right now. It's called Most High, and I'm like, I'm like, one of the main actors in it, and, like, you know, it gives me a really good opportunity to be seen and the life. Because most of the other acting opportunities I had, you know, everybody was scared to take risk, you know.

And one thing I liked about Red, about Red, was he wasn't afraid to, you know, to take risk, you know, and just be out there, you know. And that's how I want to be seen on the screen. I don't want to be like a conservative actor, you know. I want to be a risk taker. You know, it's funny, the behind-the-scenes story of how I convinced them to do this was, you know, a lot of these players I'll call,

I'll give him general premise, and they'll be like, yep, I'm in, let's do it. But META really understands this world and is interested in taking it seriously. He had me meet him after his workout at Equinox in Brentwood, and I went and I pitched him the idea. Well, everybody's coming by. Can I get your picture, this, that? And he's talking to me about character development. That's awesome. Like, what's the vision for my character?

What is it? Can we do this sort of vibe? Can we change this line? I mean, really went and made me do my work as a director, where some of the other guys were like, yeah, this sounds fun. I'm going to show up and we're going to do it. That's cool. where Meadow was really hands-on, got involved with the writing, and was, what's my inspiration for this? I mean, understood it all, which was really cool and obviously quite a sight as we're brokering the deal in the Equinox while he's drinking a protein shake.

That sounds great. What's this project you're talking about that you're working on right now? Well, it's a basketball version. It's called Most High. Uh-huh. And it's about this basketball for it who smokes a lot of weed. But, yeah, so I'm working on the now,

and I actually kind of get, trying to get Michael involved. But yeah, I talk later on that. But it's doing well, you know, a couple people that's involved. But we're trying to shoot July 1st. Oh, okay. Yeah, after the season.

Can we talk about you in the Lakers for a minute? I'm so happy you're back. Yeah, yeah. You know, I think it just speaks to where you're at now. You're acting, but you're also back, you know, you're back on the Lakers, which is really cool for, you know, fans of basketball. And, you know, the first, it's really, it's interesting to have you back the first season about Kobe Bryant. That must be such a big difference since you played with him previously. Yeah, it's great.

You know, I think, um, I think like, you know, just, being back as good because my 18th season in playing basketball and then you know it's like I'm starting all over again because I had to actually

try out and earn it and you know it's not it's like when I first started to play basketball you know I wanted to try to make it

and then I had the end of my career because like I'm still trying to so it's kind of cool it's like it's continuing to build I'm building way more character you know I didn't really know

I was capable I'm doing things that I didn't know I was capable as far as mentally Yeah, that's awesome Do you think Hey Mehta Do you think that being in L.A.

And obviously you're friends with tons of these people and whatnot that that gave you the acting itch playing in front of all these actors and living in this town for that long? Well, when I got here, I always thought I was the biggest personality in the town. Obviously, you guys, yeah, a lot of great guys

like, you know, Kevin Hart, the rock. I like to rock a lot. I think he's somebody I look up to being an athlete and I've been trained actor and I think him like I always like Jonas Rodman because he

Jonas Rodman is one of my favorite personality um the rock is definitely probably like he's probably my favorite you know he's pretty amazing the highest grossing actor

in Hollywood yeah it's crazy and he was a wrestler for that he's a football player yeah it's incredible it's like an amazing story and I think I think you can take like in those sports you can take more risk.

And you're pretty much like on your own schedule and most of all year in the season. So it's a little harder for, you know, for like athletes to really take, like basketball players or even like football to get into that light, you know. But, you know, I'm doing it slowly. I'm taking it. I'm being very patient. And now I just got to stake in sister.

But, you know, other than that, you know, when I came here before I got, you know, to the lake it, always thought I was like one of the biggest personalities in the NBA at least, you know, and then I just figured if I can continue to be a personality, you know, and just be responsible. So I don't want to be reckless where I'm not like aspiring or, you know, you know, giving the kids a long message. So that's very important to me, you know, not just being an actor, but am I, you know, am I also giving our good messages? So that's like first, foremost, most important to me.

And then I thought I was able to accomplish that, like, when I came to. LA won their championship. I raffle off my ring, you know, raised $700,000 from the shelf away, just doing things like that. But, you know, but I still pursue, you know, this kind of other side, you know,

that people are yet to see. The only way I could do it is on a big screen. I can't do it like, you know, playing basketball. Yeah, but everything he's saying also from like just the logistics standpoint of working and making sports content and getting the tech people like meta, involved, you got to shoot over the summer when they're not playing, because these guys lock in during season, you know.

Totally. But I think that Met is one of these, you know, there's a short list of guys that really do have a real chance at going and making some great stuff after their playing days and, you know, everything from his ability to write and act on screen and willing to take risks and talk about the character. You know, we talked about the character for this. He said he wanted, what was it? You wanted to, it was a mix between Snoop Dog and, fuck, I can't remember what the other was.

Oh yeah, I forget. But that's what, you know, we were just Vibe and talking about the different and how we could make it a little different and then we gave him the red wine to drink in between like he's the later point in his career and in life and he's reflecting on this whole situation. But it just added to the whole thing.

It really did. That's awesome. All right. Yeah, it was great. I'm going to hit you with one more question about the Lakers. How is it having Luke Walton as your coach? Is that weird? I know it was at first, but not.

Well, when I play with him, he was, like, he would play, and he'd get into the game. And, you know, we had Kobe Powell and who, by and myself. But he had a lot of scores on the team, but he would get into the game and be affected. He would have, like, five assists, you know, change the game. A lot of the times, with just his passing. So, you know, he was a smart player, you know? And then when he wasn't playing, he was always, like, just giving me tips, which is, like, big, for me.

because it was times where there were certain things I didn't really know. And then, you know, a lot of the times it was Luke that would help me coming on the bench. And then I started to look at him with Derek Fisher. So those are the two guys that I talked to the most. And it's funny because they both became coaches. Right. So it wasn't really that surprised. He became a coach.

Yeah, yeah. And it's great. I love it. What does he call you? When he says your name, what does he call you? He told him that a, I don't know. I don't know. What is he called? He calls him META.

That's very respectful. I like that. Oh, yeah. All right. Well, thanks for calling. We're going to look forward to your project next summer. Hope you get it going by July 1st. Hell yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Call me later about that show. I talked about it. Sounds good. Mehta. I appreciate you calling in and talking us about the fifth corner.

Always networking. I love it. All right. Thanks, meta. Bye. Bye. Listen, you're in L.A. that long. You got a-you-got-network.

You got a network and you got to act. I love it. That's so funny. He takes it really serious. I wonder what Luke Walton thinks about that, if he's surprised. It must be crazy if you're Luke Walton to be like, I played at this dude, we went on a championship together.

It was probably the best years of, it was the best years of runner-tests career. And now he's back as like your bench veteran dude. Giving advice to people. Yeah, it just must be so wild. Guiding everybody for a clean career. Yeah, no. But you could tell me, I mean, he's been through a lot.

Yeah, what was he like on set? Like, what was his, like, just casual vibe like? Awesome. Like, like, a kid in a candy store. Like, just happy to be there? Yeah, taking Instagrams of, like, him on set. He brought his buddy with him. And they were just running around.

Hey, make sure, like, get this behind the scene, shout to me. Like, loving it. I mean, he loves it. And everyone who interacts with Ron Ortest, who's a meta world piece, just, like, says really nice things about him. Pardon me. If Luke Walton can call him meta, I can too. Well, on set, you know, I'm deciding like, hey, Matt, Ron, can you do that line again? What did his buddy call him, who came with him to set?

I think he called him meta. Interesting. So everyone's just taken to meta. That's hard to achieve a mid-career name change that people just accept. Yeah, he just, but he runs with it. And one of the storylines in the piece was that the kid asked him to change his name to Meadow World Peace, and he had no idea what it meant. So the kid explained that it had backgrounds in Buddhism and this and that. And then we cut to the kid who says, I made it the fuck up. Did he have any hesitation about making fun of his name? No, he was awesome about it. That's surprising to me.

You know, I've got this script, and I'm like, I want to go present it to this guy, and I'm basically saying your name's crazy. Yeah. And, you know, but he's really self-reflective. Yeah. And I think that that ability to have some fun and not take everything so seriously goes such a long way in building your personality character and interacting with your fans. And he totally got that.

And again, help three write parts, added stuff. He said that, you know, he added some improv lines. Yeah, the kid wanted me to change my name to Kobe Bryant, thought it would be funny. And there's like some random stuff that he went with, but totally bought in. He seemed like a good teammate, which sort of doesn't surprise me that he'd be a good collaborator.

Like for everything you hear about him and like all of the crazy stories from when he was younger, he kind of seems gentle now in like a weird way. A hundred percent. And that ability, I think it takes a certain maturity to be self-deprecating at times. You know? Yeah. So he went and he went, he dove in 110%, but he was, he wanted to make sure it was done the right way. He wasn't just like signed me up.

It's amazing. It's his 19th year in the league. It's crazy. It's so crazy. It's crazy. I mean, he's had a really long, good career and a lot of it in L.A. Yeah, totally. Yeah, he was, I mean, like, I think if like when people remember Ron Art Task, Metalworld Peace, they'll think of his Lakers years.

Yeah. I mean, yeah. And maybe a few moments from his time in Indiana. But let's move on from that. But again, as you'll see in the episode, it was just metal. loves the kids. Meadow was doing it for the kids. Any incident where he went astray was for the kids. Let's transition to a different episode, Trailblazing Trailblazer, which featured both Courtney Lee and Chandler Parsons. Courtney Lee,

Chandler Parsons, Blake Griffin. Oh yeah. So we're going to talk to Chandler and Courtney. But like, how is Blake as on set? Because, you know, he's very openly is like pursuing a comedy career or likes being in L.A. because he wants to be an entertainment. Did he come in more polished than the other guys? he's really naturally funny I mean he's got comedy chops so yeah I mean a bit and he had a bigger role so he's one of the talking heads in Trailblazing Trailblazer

but he's the star of our premiere our first episode but I'm just a little boy and that episode's based on the Danny Almonte story right Daniel Monti coming over as a 14 year old playing with 12 year olds in the Little League World Series dominating here our extension of that was Blake Griffin comes from a land unknown because nobody's really sure exactly what nationality he is. And his uncle, Brian Adeli, who's played by Donnell Rawlings from Chappelle Show,

says, go play and don't say anything when you get to America. So it's the story of him as this 30-year-old man playing in the under-13 league, or under-7 league in AAU. So let's talk about Courtney Lee, who you also had in this show. Well, let's call him. We'll talk about him after. Hello? Courtney?

Yeah. What up? Right, Pat. What up, baby? What's going on? Hey, Courtney. This is Juliet from the ringer. How you doing, Juliet?

I'm good. We've actually spoken before, like two years ago. You probably don't remember, and that's totally fine. On, uh, what's that? At Grantland. At Grantland. Yeah, with Grantley, yeah, I talked to you right when I was about to go into Tony T.A.'s He just stunted on you.

Wow. That's awesome. Wow. Tony Allen's barbecue. What does he serve at his barbecue? I had a little bit of everything, a little bit of anything. Wow, that's awesome. That's really cool. So that was when you were in Memphis. Yeah, that's what I was in Memphis. And now you're in New York. How's that going for you so far? It's going good. I mean, we lost our opening night game, but everything else is going good. The city is nice. Got a great team, great staff, and looking to make a big run.

What's been the hardest part adjusting to the Knicks media climate? Because obviously coming from, Memphis and Charlotte, those are smaller markets. And the Knicks is just like a glaring spotlight on you, particularly with you and Derek Rose and Joe Kim Noah coming in. So what has that been like for you the last couple of weeks? It's definitely been different. Like you said, it's not the same as it is in Memphis and in Charlotte. But I had a little bit of it in Boston.

But more people, a lot more questions, and a lot more headlines. That's for sure. Yeah, seriously. be careful what you say. Otherwise, it could be in the cover of the New York Post. 100%. Okay, so let's talk about the fifth quarter, which you worked on with our pal Michael here. Before you did the show, well, first of all, how did he convince you to do it? Oh, as I've seen the first couple clips from I wanted to be a part of it, it was hilarious.

He showed me in his office. Had to be down with it. Yeah, he was actually, he came on board towards the end, so we had stuff edited. And we were meeting on a few other things and talking about them. different opportunities and when he was there I just pulled up I think what did I show you we pulled up a little boy we showed we showed him some of the stuff with Blake Griffin the first episode and he saw it and then he came back like a couple weeks later we incorporated him into the first ugly player and a couple of the other episodes and he was just awesome now that he's a New York guy he's got to go and

start getting under the lights yeah it's like your first star turn it was a good precursor to ending up in New York I guess yeah it was I did I actually didn't think acting and doing gifts like that would be that much fun. So it is definitely something I'm trying to continue to do and continue to work with the OBB crew and continue to pursue acting.

Even past my plan base. Really? So there's more acting for you in your future? He was damn good. Yeah, the more I'm comfortable with it and the more ratty shows me the ropes. I think we can make that possible. If you could be in one sports movie,

what would it be? You could make it up, or could be one that already happened that you'd like to remake? One sports movie. I think I'm going to try to hollet it, Spike Leeman, see if he can... I can see that. He got game two.

Okay. I had me as far as baby shuttles were or something like that. No offense to you, but you might need to be like the Ray Allen character's father or something. Ray Allen was really young when he was in that movie. Yeah, it was. What do you ever do?

I was there. That movie is 17 years old. That's insane. Yeah. See, I got a baby face. So if I just... I'll look a little bit younger. So when you have timeouts with the Knicks,

you'll just go over to Spike and his front row seat and just pitch him some ideas of what your collaboration could be. Yeah, see, the thing is to try to hit the ball for the defender close to him where I've got to take the ball out right there and now hold the time I'm talking to him. Okay.

Just making plans. We should do the sports mock behind the scenes of you trying to convince Spike to do this movie. That could be a movie in his own. One last question for you. How much do you notice the celebrities in the crowd when you're playing?

Other than Spike Lee, of course, who you've got your focus on. I mean, you definitely see them. You might miss them walking in or whatnot during the game, but then the Jumbo Trine does a good job and point them all out.

And then you just look across from your bench and you see them all sitting there. They want your attention. Yeah, it's definitely cool to see some of the people that you watch show. Like, why we had a preseason game, the TV show,

power, the whole castle was there, so got a chance to meet all of them. So it's definitely dope. Yeah, well, I mean, it's interesting too, though, because when you're in one of those non-major markets, when you get to like New York or L.A., you obviously, there's a special, but now every single night you're playing in front of those people and under those lights, it's an adjustment for sure. It's a great way to start your acting career, if you ask me. You're getting ready for all of the scrutiny. Courtney, thanks for calling in. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Thanks for calling in. No problem. Thanks for having me.

More importantly, thanks for remembering me. Really made my day. Hey, listen, listen, how could I forget? How could I forget? All right. We'll talk to you soon. Good luck tomorrow night. All right, ready, bye.

Bye. Bye. That was really cool. I can't believe he remembered me. He remembered everything about you and where you were. What he was eating at the time. That's the best thing's ever happened to me. It's all I want is recognition from NBA players.

He's a really, really good special guy. I really mean that. And I think that he was one of the more unknown guys for how talented he is because of all the markets he was playing in. Sure. And now with him in New York, I mean, I think it's going to be a breakout year for him. When you were casting him, had he already signed with the Knicks? We cast him after he signed with the Knicks, yeah.

So, like, you know, I know him and like him, but does that factor into who you want to have on the show? Like, he's in New York now. Yeah. He's a bigger name. 100%. When we were casting the show, if you have somebody in New York, I mean, think about the people we have.

Blake Griffin and Meta World Peace and Courtney and, you know, Chandler at the time was in Dallas. So, like, you go and you try to identify markets where they're, you know, I got more well known and stuff like that. Just a bigger audience. But all that said, though, it's very key to go and get people who are just funny and charismatic and good. You know, so it's finding that balance between it all. Interesting. Yeah, he seems like a good dude. And also, like, if you're him and you're now starting on the New York Knicks, like, what

like an incredible life adjustment, especially after, like, he had, you know, he had a great run in Boston and then he's kind of been bouncing ground contenders. And now he's on, like, he has ended up with, like, I think some great teammates. I'm a huge fan of Noah and Mello now. People forget, I mean, he's been a starter, basically his whole career, right, bounced around a lot. But also his first season, as a rookie, he was, I believe he was starting, but he was on the Orlando team that went to the finals. Right. You know, so he made it to the finals his first year.

He was those ones who was wearing the face mask. Oh, right. I totally forgot about that. He's played with a bunch of really good players. That was like Dwight Howard. That was Dwight's best season, obviously. And I think that he's pumped to be right back in the thick of it. He's just, he's not like one of these loud guys always making headlines and saying crazy things.

So he flies under the radar a little bit. Sure. He also doesn't shoot the ball as much as other shooting guards do. Right. So, you know, I mean, he's really strong. I think it'll be a huge difference. I'm happy. I can tell you a lot of affection for him.

I love him. And I mean, he's now a movie star, obviously. Obviously. No, he's really good in the show. He really is. And the key to the whole show is these guys being totally deadpan and delivering it like they mean it. And like it's not some parody or super comedy.

Sure. You know, and he was totally deadpan for all of his deliveries and everything. He was really natural. That's awesome. Well, I'm happy for him. I mean, anyone who remembers me, I'm now really in on. So we're good to go. Courtney, you did a good thing.

Well, while we're talking about people, Like, let's talk about Chandler Parsons for a second. You like him? I don't know if you've heard this about me, but I'm kind of a fan. I've been tracking his career since Houston. Huh. Yeah, I know, huh. Never knew that about you.

I actually like to think that I might be barring his relatives, his number one fan. Do you think that's true? I think that you, a lot of people like him a lot. Yeah, you're up there. I think most public? Yeah. There's a couple people gunning from my corner. Like who?

Kristen Ledlow of NBA TV. I just feel like she wants to be friends with your. Chandler too. But you're you you are actually friends with him. I know it took a lot of work to get here. Thanks for acknowledging it. And I don't know, I just feel like he's so nice and like friendly that everyone thinks they can just be as pal. Yeah, he's definitely an approachable guy. But like what we're just talking about before, he's a perfect candidate for somebody to be in something like this. Right. You know, I mean, he's charismatic, he's well-spoken. He's super funny. How much direction did you give everyone? A lot. Yeah, you got to set these guys up for success. When making something that's so

athlete heavy in the content space, the number one thing to identify is they're not actors. They don't do this full time. So you need to set them up in a position that's going to make them comfortable and funny. You don't want them acting too much. Sure. You know, so they all sort of played extensions of themselves in some capacity, sort of like. And I think that that worked, and that's why everybody comes off really, really strong in it. But, you know, like all things, you know, you've got to edit them the right way and whatnot.

but they need to be directed. Cool. All right. Let's get Chandler on the phone, asked him about his experience. Hello. Hello. CPCP.

Hi. What's up, brother? Just got to a hotel. It's freezing in New York. Isn't that crazy? Chandler, when will I be seeing you playing basketball soon, I hope? Oh, God. Are you telling you, I cannot wait.

You know, I've been going through a couple of practices here and there, and obviously coming back from surgery, you start having aches and pains when you get some swelling or sore and kind of pull you back. It's just kind of been an off and odd battle here for a couple months now and hope so is going to answer.

I hope so too. I really do. As you know, you're my favorite. Okay, let's talk about the fifth quarter for a minute. Your big acting debut. How did it compare to modeling for you? Would you like better? Well, I had clothes on in this one. First thing, that was my little bit.

Was that a plus or a minus? Honestly, it was a minus for me. I knew it. Yeah, we thought about putting them in a new... No, but it was fun. Just to be able to work with Michael, one of my best friends in OBB, and it's hilarious.

I know if you guys have got a chance to see any of it, but just the guys that we got in it are awesome. That's awesome. So if you had to choose tomorrow between acting and modeling, which would you choose? Oh, God. Do you ever see his Buffalo jeans billboard? Of course I've seen his Buffalo jeans billboard. If I'm with the rat, I got to go.

My guy. We're getting ready for post career. Wow. And his face everywhere. Okay. That's funny. Trying to plant the seeds now. That's right.

Very loyal. You'd have to, I think, move to Los Angeles for that career to happen. I think he's willing to do that. But I heard that you like in here anyway, as far as I'm. know. Speaking of cities, how are you adjusting to Memphis versus Dallas and Houston? It's different. You know, I actually, I really, really like it.

You know, it's all about the Memphis because it's a huge basketball town. There's a lot of culture in the city. And the organization has been first class. The new coaching staff, the upper management, you know, the team. Those are all the reasons that, you know, I chose to go to Memphis. So to be able to be there now and work out with the guys and start doing all those things, it's been awesome. Have you gotten any time with Justin Timberlake? I have not, but I think he's actually in New York right now.

Oh, great. He's a minority owner, isn't he? Yeah. Yeah, he is. He comes to about five games a year, so it's kind of, that was pretty cool to have to watch tonight. That's awesome. It's a pretty cool owner. Justin Timberlilis?

Yeah, not bad. Yeah, he's all. He's also starring in the new movie trolls. He's starring in the new movie trolls, and, like, future Chandler will be a crossover from singing to acting or from basketball to acting, you know? That's right. Someone to model yourself after. If you could be in one sports movie, one that's either like a remake or one that you just

create on your own with Michael Ratner, what would it be? They did used to call me Sunshine from a room of the space, so I could really plug into that role and then the second one. Yeah. That's a great, great movie. Maybe we'll make that happen. Every time it's on television, I watch it. I love it.

Raddy, I have your people who talk to my people. Yeah, I'll make that happen, you know? I think we can make that happen. Don't be reaching out. All right, a couple more questions, then I'll let you go. Number one, has Mike Connolly, Jr. offered to buy you dinner yet because he's really highly paid. He is super paid.

You know what he has? He has because he set up multiple, like, team events where we'll go out to dinner or we'll go to, you know, we'll go bowling and these escape rooms, I guess, like, the new things are doing. I'm, I'm too scared to do one. I love it. I'm too scared. I feel like I might get trapped in there forever, but he's definitely to get the check on all of them.

Yeah, you definitely need that too because you're, you know, you're struggling, right? Exactly. So many max players on one team. Yeah, so many max players. People speak really highly of course. Coach Fisdale, how's your experience been with him so far? He's been awesome.

You know, if you be able to have a coach that, you know, you respect and you trust and you listen to you on the court, the way he makes you feel like you guys all have personal relationships, and he's got this cool, calm, like, temperament where he gets his message across. And, you know, he obviously has a lot of great vets that he's coach right now. And he got a chance to win right away. So, you know, I think for the team, it's great that we have this new, young, fresh, exciting coach. And for him, it's great that, you know, he doesn't have to coach every single play. He's got players that are experienced in the league for a long time and, you know, kind of coach ourselves.

That's awesome. Okay. One last question. What's your favorite sports movie or TV show other than Remember the Titans? The fifth quarter, starting November 2nd. The fifth quarter would be my favorite sports TV show. You know, the basketball ones are classics. You got Coach Carter.

You got Bluetooth. Coach Carter, not disgust enough. Great one. That is great. Courtney Lee just pitched a remake of He Got Game, starring him as Jesus Shuttlesworth. With him with the baby face, yeah. I told him he was too old for it, though. Why does that not surprise me at all?

I think he's too old for it, though. He said he's pitching Spike on the court on an inbound pass. Yeah, I like that. Okay. Thanks so much, Chandler. It's always great to talk to you. All right. Thank you so much.

Thank you, C.P. Love you, bro. Bye. Chandler Parsons. Damn. He's the best. There was some chemistry there, I got to say. With me and Chan? Yeah.

I was just like watching it. I like to think so. Yeah. You know? I don't know. Sparks were sort of flying. Thank you. You know, just mention that to him too and see what happens. I'm going to shoot him in text.

I'm going to be like, damn. Okay. Well, you do that. Yeah. Everyone listening, watch the fifth quarter on Go 90. Please check it out. Give it a chance. And Michael, thanks for coming by.

And thanks so much to Meta, to Courtney. for Chandler for calling in. This has been a blast. This was a lot of fun. Let's just do it again without the microphones when we get dinner like next week. Okay, perfect. All right.

Thanks for listening, everyone. Thank you for having me.