Andre Miller on Death of True Point Guards, Hilarious NBA Stories, Pickup Battles vs. 90's Utah Jazz

Andre Miller is one of the most underrated point guards in NBA history, and he sat down with Matt to share his journey on and off the court. From his unlikely path through Utah to becoming the NBA’s iron man, Miller explains how he managed such incredible longevity without the modern training craze. He dives into stories about Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and what it was like getting traded for Allen Iverson. Miller also reflects on the “death of the point guard,” pickup runs with John Stockton and the Jazz, and the unforgettable moments that defined his 17-year career. This episode is packed with gems from one of the game’s most respected veterans.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to all the smoke. My brother Stack missed
flights this morning, so I'm running this solo today. But nevertheless,
someone I got a chance to play with and played
against for a long time. Some of the to me
never got to just do from the media, but from
a players standpoint, I mean, this is one of the
best point guards of my time. Welcome to the show,

(00:23):
Andre Miller.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
My dog.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Grabbing, drabbing, chasing you for some years to get you
in that seat. Bro.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, yeah, I've been man busy, I've been ducking and dodging,
but I'm busy.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
I'm happy to be here. Yeah, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
No problem. So what's what's going on of late? Last
I heard you were coaching in the G League for
the Denver Nuggets. But as we were chilling before the show,
a lot of shit has gone down since then, so
so so break what happened, what went down, and currently
what you're doing.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
I started going to summer league games after I retired,
and you've been out what nine years now, I've.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Been out nine years.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
I retired in two and sixteen, and then you know,
I just started going to you know, being a fan
of basketball and found my way into, you know, going
to the Las Vegas summer leagues, and I bumped into
Calvin Booth and he asked me, was I interested in coaching?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
And I said sure.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
So, you know, I became the head coach of the
Denver Nuggets G League team, the Grand Rapids Go, which
I thought the team actually played in Denver, No, but
I was in Grand Rapids Michigan, Oh, exactly the last
three winners, which was really cold, but great experience.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Three years in the G League.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Learned if I really wanted to do that, try to
coach and stuff. Now I'm out of the coaching trying
to figure out my next move. But it was a
great experience and I was happy to be a part
of the coaching style.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Take us back to what that grind is like in
the G League. You played seventeen years in the NBA.
It's a lot different. I was telling you off. My
first year was in the G League and we had
eight hour bus rides. Six hour bus rides. We used
to fly in little plays like the Labama plans. Hopefully
y'all had bigger plans.

Speaker 4 (01:59):
Y'all flew.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
But what is that grind like? Because it's not a
lot of money you really gotta love that shit to
go play in the G League.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Oh yeah, you definitely gotta love it, man. I mean
we was on eight nine hour bus rides, blizzards, blizzards,
you know, the Iwood of Indiana, Detroit, Cleveland, and you
really gotta love the game, man. And you know, I
just wanted to be be around the players, pay it forward,
you know, pass on the information. But you know, it
was definitely a grind. You know, I learned a lot

(02:27):
about myself, a lot about you know, the players, you know,
to see these guys and how they approach basketball. I mean,
we was traveling, commercialing on the bus and you got
guys dressing in Gucci, Louis Vatan, all types of something like,
hey man, look this ain't it man, like staying at
the comfort in We ain't staying at Norit, no.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Rits, none of that stuff.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Man.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
It was. It was tough, but it was it was
a great experience.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Do you see yourself continuing in the coaching rinks, whether
that be NBA college, or would you like to transition
into management at some point?

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Whatever's out there, you know, whatever's out there, I think,
you know, I think I have the brain and the
tolerance to you know, coach on any level. And I
think you know, the NBA and college especially need guys,
you know, retired players to come back and actually teach
the game the right way, you know. And all I
did was just stick to my fundamentals of what I
was taught and try to spread that message.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
And I enjoyed it.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
But you know, whether it's management anything, to be around
basketball is cool. But if not, you know, I'm a fan.
I'm gonna still be around the game because it's something
that helped me out throughout my career.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
A true point guard in every sense of the word,
you were someone that made every team you went to better.
Some of the greater players you ever played with spoke
very highly on just what you were about and how
you got everyone involved. Rick Patino recently said the death
of the point guard has arrived. There's not too many
true point guards you have to clip.

Speaker 5 (03:51):
There are no point couds anymore. I mean, if you
find it, you'll probably describe them as a guy who
can't shoot me.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
What's the game uncomfortable?

Speaker 5 (04:00):
He's a combo scoring guard. I don't think he's looking
for the assists. I think he's looking at a squad,
and thank god he is so. And whether it's whether.

Speaker 6 (04:11):
It's the champion, who's the point cut in the tunder
said to the team, who's the pointcut at the Knicks,
just the Lakes, the champ, world champions.

Speaker 5 (04:23):
The pointcutt is is totally done in basketball. The days
of John Stock that are long gone. There are no
more pointcuts. Chris Paul is probably the last one. So
you got to play with everybody handling the basketball five
out and just create good movement.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
The game has obviously changed since you and I played,
and it is to Patino's credit, everybody does a little
bit of everything out there. As someone who was again
the leader of the team on the floor, what do
your thoughts when they say, you know, the point guard
position is slowly dying.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
I agree. I agree.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
And just to be in the G League and even
be around some college players, just the conversation alone with
some of these you know, so called point guards. You
know it's it's unfortunate, but you know, it's a scoring
game and these guys believe that. You know, in order
to make it, you know, you got to put that
ball through the hoop, but you know it goes Rick

(05:16):
Patino He's been around a long time, so he definitely
knows what he's talking about. So for him to say
it and for me to see it and hear how
some of these young guys, these young guards approach the
game like you know what I'm saying, Like, are you unselfish?

Speaker 4 (05:31):
Are you?

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Are you monitoring your teammates' behavior and how they approach
the game, like you know, somebody might have had a
bad day today, Like you know, you know what, man,
I got to get you the ball today. You know,
like you haven't had a good game in a while.
You know what I'm saying, Let me get you going
Like that takes a lot. It's not just going out
there and passing the ball, but you got to be
really unselfish and and really get your teammates in vault

(05:52):
and get to know them as a person. Like I
didn't get to know the Carmelo Anthony's and again congratstulate
him on the Hall of Fame, but you know it
was just a body language.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Feel like I.

Speaker 3 (06:02):
Can read him, Kenyan Martin Jr. I can read their
body language. I didn't communicate with them much, but I
can tell like, you know what, I gotta get it going.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
It's funny you said that because Carmela spoke so highly
of you and how important you were during his time.
Take me in the mindset because again you just named
some some people that could put the ball in the basket.
What is your approach coming into a game as a
point guard when you have all those type of weapons
You got Carmelo, you got a Jr. You got to
Kenyon Martin. You've probably got some guys off the bench
to eat the ball. You got a bird man.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
We had a crazy team, and you know I was good.
I'm a point guard. You know, I gotta set the
tone in practice. I gotta be available every day. And
it's like you know, of course, you know you hear
how they talk about George carl You know what I'm saying,
And so it was like, man like George is like Dre,
we gotta get them to practice there, and what you
want me to say to them?

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Dudes?

Speaker 3 (06:55):
You know, I'm just like practice practice, you know, like
we practice hard, very very competitive. So some days some
guys just didn't have it, Like you what you want
me to say? Like, No, I'm gonna just go out
there and try to lead by example. You know, I
might joke around and do something different in practice, because
we all get tired of the repetition. So let me

(07:15):
make a couple jokes, you know, let me do something
to get the three man we've we're doing three man,
we've for thirty forty five minutes, Like, okay, let's climb
around a little bit.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
But you know, I just tried to read their body
language and I.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Approached it everything in the NBA with a certain level
of respect for my teammates. It all started with respect,
and that's how I earned it through the work ethic
and the respect.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
Tell me what you saw from Carmelo Anthony to me,
one of the toughest guards I ever had to play against,
A three level score, can get a bucket any possession
as soon as he steps over half court. What was
it like working with him?

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Man?

Speaker 3 (07:48):
It was great, man, just to see his work ethic,
all those guys.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
Me, I mean, rookie baby, he should have won Rookie
of the Yeah, Inspector Broun Miller had a hell of
a season. And y'all made the playoffs, right.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, we made the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (08:01):
Me and my buddies were just talking about it on
the way over here, and you know, I was like, man,
look he came over there and we worked, and he led.
He didn't leave with his mouth. He led with his
work ethic. And whether you liked him or not, you know, hey,
he deserved to have that type of ego, in that
attitude because he came to work. And that's what I

(08:21):
enjoyed about that Denver Nuggets team. You know, it was
some strong personalities, but we all worked and that that's
why I respect him a lot.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
And again, congratulations Carmelo going into the Hall of Fame.
Very well. Deserved the best availability. Well, how's that shit go? Durability? Availability?
Best ability is availability, And we live in a day
and the age of load management, and you're talking about
guys taking practice off. Motherfucker's taking games off these days

(08:52):
just to rest a little bit. You were someone who
was an iron man? Is it because I've heard different?
I heard three games, I heard six games that you
But you were there night in, night out. For someone
who played seventeen years, you would think you were on
some kind of high tech regimen and lyft and eat
in them. But you just love the hoop.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Ye, Hey, burgers and frogs a pizza.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
You know what I'm saying popcorn, you know, and I
let my body gain weight in the summer.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
I didn't do nothing special.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
It was just the urge and the hunger to be
available in practice in the games.

Speaker 6 (09:28):
You know.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
The three games that I say I missed, two of
them were to funerals and one of them was to
a hurt ankle, I believe. But I just wanted to
be out there. I just wanted to be out there.
It was no way that I was gonna miss a practice.
There was no way that I was gonna miss a game.
It was just that I wanted to be available for
my teams, like they know, Drake gonna get me the ball,
you know what I'm saying. So that's what I took pride.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
In tell me about, because again, some guys killed themselves
in the summertime and you kind of felt like that
burns your laid, Like what was your mindset in double park?

Speaker 4 (09:59):
Question?

Speaker 1 (10:00):
What was your mindset about summer workouts because you didn't
do a ton of it, And then how long would
it take you to kind of get your touch in
your feel back once you came back.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
Well, I think at the end of the season, like
I never I only made it past Mother's Day maybe
like once or twice.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
That's when you get to like the second third round. Man,
it's over.

Speaker 4 (10:16):
Man.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
So you know, I come right back home to Los
Angeles and you know it's barbecues. You know, I'm eating.
I'm a gain twenty pounds in like.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
Four or five days, you know, so you know, straight.

Speaker 4 (10:31):
Up, man.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
But I take like May June off, and since I'm
not tall, like y'all, man, I can always pull up.
You know, I see some people on the street playing
and just jump in and play some pickup ball. But
you know, it really picked up once kids started to
go back in school in August, and then everybody would
go to UCLA. Let me get up in here and

(10:52):
try to shad some of this weight which I couldn't,
and then you know, play till you know, Labor Day weekend.
And then like that's when I started, like you know,
whether I was in Sacramento or somewhere, I start doing
like crazy workouts. I'll go run the side of a freeway,
you know, after a club or something like that.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
Or yeah, you can't just say like that, Yeah, talk
to about some of your like you look.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
Like you know, we'll go to a club or something
and you know, I wasn't no drinker like that, but
you know, in order to get in shape, because I
wasn't the type of person that to go get with
other guys and work out and just have my own routines,
we go to a.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
Club like let me out, man, let me help me out,
let me out, and then.

Speaker 3 (11:33):
I'll run from you know, downtown Sacramento to you know
and the Tomas, you know somewhere, you know.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
So that's what I did.

Speaker 3 (11:42):
I did that for a while, and then I just
found various routines that fit me. And you know, I
still going to camp like ten pounds over, and I
just looked at it as you know, I didn't want
to over exert myself in the summer because I knew
the NBA was a grind. So the guys that was
working out in the summertime, they breaking down around Christmas
where we knew that ship the season.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
Started like you know, after all Star, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
Hey it's gonna pick up.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
So I was still I was, I was getting into
my groove like around Christmas time, and then you know,
I fade a little bit and you know, pick it
back up when it's time for playoffs.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
You spoke about those U c l A runs. What
do you remember about those?

Speaker 3 (12:23):
Man?

Speaker 2 (12:23):
I just remember it was this little short guy. You know,
you just walk in. He put you on teams.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
I forgot it at him.

Speaker 4 (12:31):
Yeah yeah, yeah, he.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
Just picked teams and stuff, and I just want to play.
So I'm getting there early. You know, it's like fifty
dudes in the gym, and you know, I took a
lot of pride and going over there because I felt like,
you know, this is where I'm gonna get my.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
And this was my game. Don't understand like who was there,
Like everybody was in that.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
I saw KG say something to I think Wimby is
something like, hey, man, go over to u c l
A and get after it.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
Hey. And that's what man.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
I had fun sometimes playing over there more than I
did an NBA games. So I enjoyed to see you
guys come out, and you know I was there right
at three o'clock ready to rock.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
You also got a unique experience because I say I
made the NBA because of those UCLA summer runs. It
was such an elevated level of basketball when I was
in college. But you had something similar out in Utah
when you went to Utah. You got a chance to
play in the summer with John Stockton, Karl Malone and
some of the greatest Utah jazz players ever. Tell me
what that was like and what guys were out there

(13:33):
playing with you.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
Man, let me tell you something, man, Like, I learned
so much in Utah. And the good thing about Utah
for me was that, you know, it was no football
to compete with.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
It was just the jazz and the Utah youth.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Basketball and football and everything that goes around the university.
So you know, once I left Los Angeles in high school,
I only came home one time, one time out of
five years of being in Utah because every summer I
was looking for those guys and they worked out through
the summer and then one September pickup you know, they'll

(14:06):
be at Westminster College. Damn, I get to play against
John Stockton, Howard Eisley, Karl Malone with these big muscles.
They coming in like I want to play pickup ball,
but they pick up ball was running UCLA Cutson.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
I mean, like they doing this for pickup ball. So
I learned a lot from Jeff.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Horniseack, you know, and Brian Russell, all those guys Man,
I was just around them twenty four seven. Whenever I
can find where they was at hooping, I was there
all through Salt Lake.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
What were you able to pick up about from two guys?
Because I think Jeff Horni Seck is very overlooked and
underrated who was a killer, and then Stockton? What did
you learn at a young age from those two guys,
going day and day out in the summertime with them.

Speaker 2 (14:46):
Man, I learned work ethic.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
I mean I already understood the game and how to
read it, but you know, I learned leadership.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
You know.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
I remember one.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
Time Jeff HORNI sack like after like two or three
hours of playing basketball, he rid me in and took
me to the other end of the court because he
knew I wasn't a great shooter. He knew what Man,
he had me at the other end, just giving me
the game. You know what I'm saying, Like, you know, man,
that meant so much to me. Man, Like, you know,
for him to see that I'm a University Utah player,

(15:16):
he took time out of this schedule.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
It's a grown man with family.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
Hey, millerd come over here, get some shots up. Let
me let me show what show you how to shoot
this ball. You know what I'm saying, and stop the man.
Come on, man, I mean, I mean, he a legend
in mind.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
You know what I'm saying. I mean, like, hey, he's
not he's not so nice.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
I'm saying, he's not so nice.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
Like if you come in with a little bit of
flab on your stomach. Hen, let you know, like, man,
get off the court, you're not in shape. Yeah, he
was like that. So you know, I had a lot
of respect. I was coming in there, chubby, you know
what I'm saying, and I.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
Burgers and fries and you in that altitude like you.

Speaker 3 (15:53):
Know, and and me and Karl Malone, man, come on,
man like man, mal Man, I'm like, like, man, he
looked like a wrestler out there, you know. So you know,
I had fun. Man, it was a great experience for me.

Speaker 1 (16:04):
That's dope. You're not a big social media guy, but
every once in a while you'll scroll TikTok and see
these these trainers out here training these kids. What's your
take on that?

Speaker 3 (16:13):
Man, Don't get me started, man, I want to get
you started. Don't get me started on the train. A
lot of respect to the trainers. You know, and we
all students of the game, and we all know the game,
but you know, to me, it just don't translate, you know.
I mean it's great, you know, you see them working
on moves and bumping into bodies, you know. And the

(16:34):
one part that I do like about training is the
players when they get like four or five guys and
to play defense and they making moves and all. I
like that kind of stuff, but just like the individual stuff.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
It's cool.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
But you know, I'm kind of old school, man, like,
go find the five on five man. If you six
four sixty five and under, man, it's somewhere, go twenty
four our fitness to the short gym, you know, and
get up and down and get used to working on
your craft in the five on five settings. So you know,
it's big ups. And I'm not paying for no training.

(17:07):
I'm not paying no guy to train on some moves,
hey bro.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
And they're paying these trainers crazy, you know too. And
I agree. I feel like that's what the game lacks
because our summer times were pick up basketball. Yeah, their
summertimes are head down. How many times can you go
between your legs and make these moves that you're probably
never going to be allowed to even use the game.
And then that's why I feel that the overwater influx
of European players that know how to play in a

(17:30):
five man set, that know how to play without the ball,
are starting to thrive, and the American players are kind
of getting little bit left behind.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Oh definitely. I mean, like even my players in the
G League. I'm like, look here, man, like.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
You just just shoot the corner, three, play some defense,
rebound the ball. Oh man, you hold me back, coach,
you hold me back, like I gotta show what's I'm like, Look,
if you got a bag, man, you don't need.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
To show all that stuff in the bag. You just
need a couple of things.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
Only the star megastar is going to be able to
James harden it and do all that Kyrie stuff.

Speaker 2 (18:04):
Gone and do that stuff and see what happens.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
You'll be here, hey, You'll be right over here. I
got a question too, because I think and I don't
think enough people talk about this. And obviously you played
the game at the highest level, then you coach the
G League understanding the simplicity in which they need to
get looked at, because I think, like you said, they
think they need to go in their bag. But if
you're in the G League and you're gonna get called
up to the NBA, you're gonna be a role player.
You're going to be at the bottom, towards the bottom
of the bench, and you're gonna be a specific energy guy,

(18:29):
rebound guy, knockdown shooter defender. But at the same time,
I think they think, just what you I got to
get my bag, coach. But that's when you're in the
G league. That's not unless you're a draft pick that's
getting his feet wet. If your guy has just been
in the G league, you're gonna come up to be
a role player, and you got to find out what
that role is.

Speaker 3 (18:44):
Oh yeah, I mean I got called from management, like
you know, agents calling management saying like, you know, hey,
you got to put my guy at this position so
he can he can get off more, like, he can
do more, he can dribble more, he could get more shots.

Speaker 2 (18:59):
And I'm like, man, like, dude, that's not what you're
gonna be at the next level.

Speaker 3 (19:04):
You're gonna be a role player. First of all, you're
not gonna even be a role player. You're gonna be
sitting at the bench cheering and if you do get
that opportunity, your greatest gift that helped you get there,
all of y'all is playing hard.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (19:18):
Just going out there and play hard and jump on
a loose ball or something like that.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
And maybe that'll get you, you.

Speaker 3 (19:23):
Know, a ten day contract, or possibly somebody get hurt
and you get a call with these guys like like, man,
I got to shoot the three. Like look here, man,
I had a kid this year, big guy. PJ Hall,
PJ Hall. I'm like, look here, man, look what's going
on with the Nuggets. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
You're a four man.

Speaker 3 (19:43):
First, you rebound, set screens, hustle, play hard, and then
you will find a three ball here and there. But
you just can't drift out there and just shoot three
balls because guess what, you're not gonna get to do
that on the top if you get the opportunity, So
show that you got some toughness first and that you
could with the big boys, and.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
Then the three ball to come.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
And he fought me a little bit, but you know
he did that, and now you know he's on this
two way. I think he just had a two way
contract going into this season. But you know, it's tough
at times to communicate that because the guys believe that
putting the ball through.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
The hoop everything is their way. Is this urban legend? Obviously?
This is before nil summer jobs in college.

Speaker 3 (20:24):
Did you work at a bar in a junk yard, man, Yeah,
I worked at a bar.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
I worked, man.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
Look, Man, I took that sat and Act about fifteen times.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
I'm sure.

Speaker 3 (20:35):
I'm sure Moose Moose was there with me taking these
preparatory classes.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
You know, Man, I couldn't I couldn't pass that stuff.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Man, So I was I was a non qualifier my
first year, and I didn't go to high school graduation.
My mom put me on the plane with a blanket
and a bag, and I went straight out to Utah
this summer before school started and not and I worked
in the junkyard for like two months literally and one
hundred and fifty degrees, separating you know, rocks from cans.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
And yeah, yeah, it was tough. You know.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
I slept in the car, I slept in the closet
in the summer, you know what I'm saying. Like, I
stayed with Keith van Horn and a couple other guys,
Jimmy Carroll, you know, and they had a nice little
crib man and they didn't have no room for me.
So I slept in the closet, you know, get up
in the morning, go work at a junk yard. Then
I go work at a bar cleaning up bathrooms. Yeah yeah, yeah,

(21:31):
I have to do what I gotta do.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
How did your streak end? Brian Shaw had no clue
and didn't Well, that wasn't.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
The first streak, man. The first streak ended when I
was in Portland.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
It was basically like we had a hit out on
Blake Griffin, Like, you know, this dude's flying all around
the rim, ducking and stuff and throwing elbows and he
just got loose for a little bit and I got
a chance to get a hit in and I ended
up getting suspended.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
And you know what year was that. That had to
been like oh nine.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Okay, yeah right here, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, And
and at that point, at that point, I played like
about six years straight without missing the game, and yeah,
I got my.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
Hit in and so he pushed you in the back
right there.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
Well it was it was a.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
Lot of stuff going on, come on, man, like seriously,
but I ended up getting suspended. But that's when everybody
was you know, I didn't get kicked out that game,
but I got suspended.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
But shout out to LaMarcus Audridge.

Speaker 4 (22:30):
Man.

Speaker 3 (22:31):
The next day in practice, he he brought me a
big frame and it and it had how many games I.

Speaker 2 (22:36):
Played in the row really and you know.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
We didn't practice that that That was an appreciation. I
got big, big respect for LaMarcus Audridge and my teammates.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
Jared Dayless.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yeah, I got my linebacker.

Speaker 3 (22:48):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I played yeah my.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
Back. Hey, I wanted to, I want to. I remember that.
That was crazy.

Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I got a lot of respect.
I had fun. That was one of my fun times
playing in theb So they didn't even call a fouler.
They didn't even call that foul.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
But if you watch the next play with Market not
La Marcus, but Marcus can be closed lining damn the
next play, Yeah, he closed lining I think the next
play and he didn't get he got I think he
either got a technical or kicked out.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
But I end up having to talk to Stu Jackson
and you know you can win that.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
Yeah, that's when Blake Griffin, Yeah he was jumping all
over the place.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
But I mean credit to Blake that first kept going.
When I played with him, everybody tried to beat him up. Yeah,
but he was a bull. Oh face mask fifteen.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yards somebody whacked somebody.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
I thought, So that was your first streak. And then
the street with Brian Shaw talked us about that.

Speaker 2 (23:44):
Shout out to Brian Shaw.

Speaker 3 (23:45):
You know, like my ego kicked in really, and you
know how you know when you get older, when you
get older, you know, and for somebody to tell you,
you know what, man, we don't need you to do all.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
That no more.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
And it kind of hit the ego because I was
a veteran trying to speak up for my teammates and
it was just a little bit of a disagreement. And
what's crazy is, you know, me and him talked it out,
you know, I think within the last three or four years.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
You know, his daughter lives in San Diego, and.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
She came over to me. She brought the whole family, Brian,
his wife, the grandma. We even got in the studio,
started rapping, you know, you know, like we had a
good time and we talked it out, man, because like
you know, I never had nobody tell me like, you know,
you know what dre is you on the back end.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
We need to you.

Speaker 3 (24:35):
Know, And I took it personal, and you know, we
talked it out and it's all good. I got a
lot of respect for Brinshaw, you know, and I hate
that it turned out the way it did. But I
was like, shit, man, like the only thing I probably
myself he is playing games.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
And for me not to get.

Speaker 3 (24:51):
A DMP, like I ain't never had no DMP in
fifteen years, So like for y'all to pull my jersey off, like, dude, like,
what's going on?

Speaker 6 (25:00):
Man?

Speaker 3 (25:00):
At least let me like put me in for a minute.
But the whole team had played I hold up, even
the rookies, and I'm sitting over there like, man, am
I gonna get in because I'm in the rotation?

Speaker 1 (25:11):
So how the rest of that go? Because I know
obviously that's gonna turn you sour? How the rest of
that situation go?

Speaker 7 (25:15):
Well?

Speaker 3 (25:16):
What ended up happening with that situation was I ended
up getting suspended and it was like, you know, they
locked me out the arena, you know, like from like
January to February, and the Nuggets was just like you
know what, we just gonna say you away from the
team for personal reasons, but.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
They let you in.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah, so they locked me out the arena.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
I was working out a lifetime fitness for like a
month and a half and shout out to Al Harrington.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
I get a call from Washington.

Speaker 3 (25:46):
Al like, man, come over here, man, now men ours
locker roommates in Denver. Our lockers was next. So he
went on to Washington. Nay, they went to Washington. So
they both called me. Was like, come to Washington. So
I went to Conley. Tim Conley, who's the gym for
the Timberwools. Now, I'm like, man, trade.

Speaker 2 (26:05):
Me to Washington.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
They traded me to Washington, and then I finished out,
you know, going there and then on the Sacramento, Minnesota
and San Antonio. So but you know, it was it
was a good learning experience. The NBA throw so many
curve balls at.

Speaker 1 (26:21):
You and where you don't really learn the business side
of it in the mental side. I'll be telling people like,
once you get there playing as ten percent, the mental ism, yeah,
keep people back.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
And you thinking like it ain't gonna be me. It
ain't gonna be me, and all my trades. Was surprised, like, man,
I hope.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
It wasn't me.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
You know, I hope it wasn't me.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
And hey, you get to shake your hands. Goluck to you, Dre,
Good luck to you, and man.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
Like where I'm gonna go. Man, I got dogs. We're
gonna watch my dogs, man like you know.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
But you know, it's a part of the business. And
I just tried to keep my head down to the
ground and pride myself on being available.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
What you talked about earlier.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
Dre the roller skater, Yeah, talk to me about your
roller skating game. Man.

Speaker 3 (27:02):
I've been roller skating, man since I was about nine,
ten years old, Yeah, to this day.

Speaker 2 (27:07):
So that's my hobby.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
You know, even though my feet hurt, roller skate, Ma,
I ain't putting on no roller blades, man, and catch
me and no roller blades. But but no, man, that's
always been my hobby.

Speaker 4 (27:20):
You know.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
As much as I liked hanging out when I played
ball and we on the road traveling, it was nothing
for me to find that, you know, a city. We
end up in Chicago and I find myself in the
South side of Chicago at.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
A skating ring, a skating ring.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, yeah, I definitely go, you know, by myself. If
I knew somebody in that city. Instead of going to
a club or getting out, I take my skates with
me on the road, you know.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
And yeah, can you imagine just running to this motherfucker
the night before a game.

Speaker 2 (27:47):
Yeah yeah, yeah for real.

Speaker 3 (27:49):
So you know that's that's how I made friends around
different cities through the skating ring and shooting.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
Now I'm state to state skating friends everywhere. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
Watched this clip. We had La on the show a
little while ago. Watched this clip. Tell us you a
Drey Miller story.

Speaker 7 (28:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, So first year with him, and I
had never played with an elite elite because I you know,
I hadn't played with Dame yet and Row was it too.

Speaker 4 (28:16):
That's when I was like starting to kill.

Speaker 7 (28:18):
So team was like doule Timmy, like they were in
front of me, like I couldn't get the ball.

Speaker 4 (28:21):
You know. He talks all how I was cool with him,
but he would always call me Marcus Owers. I'm like, bro,
stop calling me that. So we in the game. He
said my whole long ass name, like bro stop, But
he was like, Marcan's older.

Speaker 7 (28:37):
Just come here, and I'm like bro. First of all,
I stopped calling me that, but you know what, I'm saying.
He was like, hey, what are you on the block.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
Just go to the rim. I'm like, Drake, I can't
see you. Don't worry about just go to the rim. Man.

Speaker 7 (28:49):
He tripping. I can't even see this, nigga. I was like,
I bet we're on the block. I'm getting in front
of it. I spent and go to the rim. That
mother is right there. I was like, oh my god.
I was like, okay, be good now. And that's the
year we let the whole league in lobs. Bro. Like
that was that year was bro? It was crazy, how
easier all that's great love throws.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
Just spent to the rim.

Speaker 7 (29:09):
I was like, all right, bro, I can't see you,
so I can't see the ball. Don't worry about it.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
Bro.

Speaker 7 (29:16):
So we we we in l a Bro. We didn't
live having a good ass time this black I think
we have.

Speaker 4 (29:21):
We had been winning and winning and winning.

Speaker 7 (29:23):
So we got to tell you what, it's the whole crew,
and like we asked him to go out, but only
I don't think he said he wanted to long story shart, Bro,
y'all know this, niggas, y'all gonna get it.

Speaker 4 (29:31):
We in the club were having a good time. We
kicking it.

Speaker 7 (29:33):
We on the Floyd Live. You know, it's the viog
down there. We looked to the left and the corners.
The nigga boy himself just chilling. Was what the you're
doing in this spot?

Speaker 4 (29:42):
By oh, y'all good? Bro, y'all good?

Speaker 7 (29:45):
The spot by himself like right behind us in the corners,
dogs the motherfuckering the corner.

Speaker 4 (29:50):
It's Drake just kicking it by.

Speaker 7 (29:51):
Himself, broad like, what's up are y'all y'all good?

Speaker 4 (29:54):
Bro? Y'all know.

Speaker 7 (29:57):
I'm like, he don't give a fun. Baron Davis have
that same type like that. So we laying in Dallas.

Speaker 4 (30:04):
He right to the.

Speaker 7 (30:07):
Bro like like I grew up. He in the hood
where I grew up niggas. He was like, yo, dre here.

Speaker 1 (30:13):
I'm like, yeah, one of the kind bro.

Speaker 3 (30:23):
Shout out to LaMarcus man. I mean he was probably like,
you know, a combination of all the power forwards that
I played with from college, Keith van Horn, Elton Brand,
you know, Kenyon Martin, you know, all a combination of
all them that can play inside and out for me

(30:43):
to be able to just throw the ball up to him,
and man, it was easy to get assists, you know.
So you know athletes, man, these dudes were special, man.
And you know, any any way I could help that
dude on the court and in my teammates, man, I
was just throwing it up. It was a risk and
it was something that I was doing in college with
Van Horne.

Speaker 4 (31:01):
You know.

Speaker 2 (31:01):
It was like a super athlete in college, Let's throw
it up to the rim.

Speaker 7 (31:04):
Man.

Speaker 2 (31:05):
It's like, you gotta figure it out up in the air.

Speaker 3 (31:07):
You know, because I'm e it's gonna be there, and
you know, and I was nervous at times just about
them getting low bridge and hurt. But you know, the
eager dollars of the world, man, these dudes super athletes. Man,
I'm gonna throw up wherever. You gotta figure out how
to go get it. So, you know, shout out to
la man. And then you know the full name thing,

(31:28):
you know, like I've called all my teammates by their
first and last name, you know, straight respect.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
Carmel, Anthony ay Man, like you know j R. Smith came.
Like That's how I called everybody by their name.

Speaker 3 (31:39):
And I saw that a lot of people tease me
about it, but that's how I coached the game.

Speaker 2 (31:44):
It was.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
It was straight respect. I didn't call no guys by
you know, mellow. You know, I didn't call it like NB,
you know, like I called it by your first and
last name, and it got annoying at times. But you
know that's how much respect I got for you. You
know what I'm saying was Brandon Roy on those Yeah,
Brandon Roy Man, what a special dude with a special dude,

(32:05):
a special talent.

Speaker 4 (32:07):
You know.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
Man, if he was healthy and Greg Oden was healthy,
I mean like man, I mean, Brandon Roy.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
Just couldn't make it through no practices.

Speaker 3 (32:15):
You know, his needs was shot when I got there,
and I felt bad for him because, man, I really
thought I could have flourished with him, Steve Blake, Jared Bayless,
Martell Man. That team was so good and I was
actually on the court when Greg Oldin blew out that knee,
and man, he was like, man, he was special.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
So I took him about him because he was someone
I think they call him a bus but he had
a lot of game and a lot of talent in
his body gave out, but he was very scared.

Speaker 3 (32:42):
Yeah, I mean like him. I mean he was like
another version of like the new coming of Shock another
version like that big, that athletic and play with bon
I mean he was big, and to have him and
Brandon Roy, like, I wish Brandon Roy could stayed, you know, healthy,
because I thought I was slow, you know what I'm saying.
Like people say I was slow, but I just had

(33:04):
good change of pace. But Brandon Roy, like how he
maneuvered and played with that ball man, he was special. Man,
Both of those guys were special, and I wish they
was healthy. I thought we had a good run over
there because I think the one year we lost to
we lost to Dallas. Dallas ended up winning the championship
that year and we lost to them.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
And the.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
Man, that was a good series.

Speaker 3 (33:29):
And you know the next year we lost to Phoenix,
and that's when Phoenix was rolling. That's when they really
started shooting three pointers with Steve Nash and Jason Richardson
and all those guys and Stodamere. So you know, I
wish those guys was healthy. But it was a great
run in Portland for those two years.

Speaker 1 (33:46):
Hundred and ninth Street, Rex Center and watts Man.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
So I heard, you know my big homie Max, Well,
my big buddy Maxwell, you know, with the Jerry Curw
But but yeah, man, you know it was kind of like,
you know, right there where I grew up, and you know,
I made all my friends and.

Speaker 2 (34:05):
It was rough.

Speaker 3 (34:06):
It was just a recreational gym where you go play
basketball and you make friends and you know, and that's
what it was, you know. You know, I could say
I was already tough, but it kind of helped build
some some different type of toughness.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
How did you stay out of I mean, you you
grew up smack dab in the middle of gang culture.
How were you able to navigate? You know, walking walking
through the streets, going to school, walking on the railroad tracks.
A lot of people the burger spot y'all used to,
you know, frequent. What kept you safe?

Speaker 3 (34:35):
I never looked at it as a gang culture, you
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
We was kids, It was life.

Speaker 3 (34:41):
And you know, I was blessed enough that you know
half you know, a mom, you know, my pops wasn't around.
But you know, there was a lot of of men
that were mentors in my life, whether it was in
the streets, my godparents, people at school, my friends. I
was blessed enough to have friends that had a father
and a home and you know, I'll go over their housing,

(35:02):
you know, and if I didn't have to go to
the park or you know, I just figured it out.
So I think it was organic. It just happened. And
you know, everybody was everybody had a talent. Everybody was
special in some type of sport or or gifted academically.
It was just that, you know, you know, our our
route went different. And you know, I give all those

(35:23):
guys credit, you know what I'm saying that that helped
me along the way.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
So I'm a big family man. I'm a big neighborhood man,
and and and and that's what I do.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
That's why I'm away a lot, because I'm I'm where
I supposed to be.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
You know, and giving back.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
Who were some other guys when you were coming up
they ended up making the league that at a younger
age man.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
So you know, since I was on that side of town,
you know, like you had the the Ricky Prices in
Long Beach, you had to crench our guys with Tremaine
Folks and Christian Johnson and then you had guys from
Freemont Bailey's. You know, I'm told being Moose it was
so much Paul was a year younger than me in Inglewood,

(36:06):
but they were such on an elite level in high school,
you know, like I wasn't on that level. I was
just a chubby, fat kid with with a lot of hair.
And I'm like, man, we're going to play those dudes,
like I get a chance to prove myself. And you know,
like I said before we started running the moose, like
they got memories of us going to like Superstar camp and.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
What's funny you see, not to cut you off, I
have a group chat with some UCLA dudes and some
dudes that grew up with you, and I was like,
give me some good dra Miller stories.

Speaker 4 (36:34):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
They started telling me stories about how you went to
an All Star camp and played and sweats the whole
time and when MVP and said Dre was just always
marched to a different beat, but he has so much game.

Speaker 5 (36:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (36:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (36:44):
My godparents introduced me at five six years old to
that YMCA basketball. I found my way to Inglewood YMCA
and Paul was playing in there, Barren was playing. We
didn't know, you know, we was just big time Lakers
fans and I I believe the Lakers used to practice there.
Back in the day, so for me to be able
to play in that type of environment, and I was

(37:06):
always the younger one, you know, everybody else was like
a grade or two older. So you know, my mom
had me everywhere around Los Angeles and on the outskirts
playing basketball.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
Talk to us about your brother and how your mom
started calling you doctor Dre, where that name came from.
Talk us to what that journey with your little brother
and what you went through with him.

Speaker 3 (37:28):
So in a nutshell, I tell people when I do
go talk to some of these youngsters and we talk
about adversities in life. You know, I was the kid
that was at the grocery store when you come out
with all the candy. Hey, Matt, you want to buy
a candy for a dollar? You know what I'm saying.
My brother got sick at five years old and became
the same he was one. We were eleven months apart,

(37:50):
and my brother got sick and he was basically like
a vegetable for like six years. My brother passed away
when he was eleven. I was twelve, and yeah, I
was a kid like my mom would had this van.
My mom had this blue van and she would allow
you know, I hate to say gang members.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
But you know, friends that were older than me.

Speaker 3 (38:10):
They would take my van and they had basketball teams
and we would follow them all around. In my age group,
we would follow around them too. So but yeah, I
was a kid that standing outside the grocery stores sell
all the candy. We sell all the candy, me and
my friends from the neighborhood. And then we would go
to the drive in movies, or we'll go to a
wrestling match, or we'll save our money and go to

(38:32):
a Clippers game, you know what I'm saying. So you know,
we at that time, you couldn't even really get in
Laker games back then, so it's like we just got
to sneak up there and try to get some Maggie
Johnson autographs and stuff like that afterwards. But we was
taking that money and just just going to buy up everything.
We was all through Los Angeles selling candy. So you know,
that kind of kept us. My mom kind of kept

(38:54):
a lot of the kids away from, you know, all
the activities in the streets. But you know, she let
me go a little bit. And then it was of
course like we all be at home before the lights
come on and stuff, and hey, Dre, Dre, you know,
your mom looking for you and I'm running home in
the middle of the night. Knew I was gonna get
a whooping, you know, But yeah, man, So that was

(39:16):
the lifestyle.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
You know.

Speaker 3 (39:18):
It was fun, you know, and you know, it's a
blessing that, you know, I got a lot of a
lot of my friends that I I that went on
this journey with me since I was little, you know,
and some of them that get a chance to come home,
whether they did time or you know, but it's a
blessing to be able to tell this story.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
And you know, we all had these dreams. We all
had these dreams.

Speaker 3 (39:38):
So that's why I was so committed, and that's why
I didn't mess up, because I knew, you know, I
can't let no none of these people down, you know
what I'm saying. So you know, that's why I stepped
to my grind.

Speaker 1 (39:49):
Talk to me real quick about fatherhood, because I mean,
you explained our childhoods obviously I'm Northern California, Southern California.
But we played outside, We made shit happen. We hustled
to get money to eat, eating, to go do shit.
Like our kids never really got that experience like the neighborhood. Yeah,
I feel like this generation of kids misses out, missed
out on so much because we learned, we learned life there. Yeah,

(40:11):
and our kids don't get that.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
It's tough.

Speaker 4 (40:13):
Man.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
I look at my son every day, my last one, thirteen, like, man,
get off the computer. Man, I don't even remember taking
baths when I was little.

Speaker 3 (40:22):
You know what I'm saying out the house, like wait,
we got whoopings for night taking baths, you know, so
because we was gone soon as the sun came up.
It was some eggs and some bacon waiting, and then
we didn't come home till night time, like take a
bath when we fall asleep, right back outside.

Speaker 1 (40:38):
Again city and one day and come back.

Speaker 2 (40:41):
Yeah, definitely. So you know it was fun. But you know,
times changed.

Speaker 3 (40:46):
You know, and I enjoy fatherhood, you know, I enjoyed
the challenge. And you know, even though I'm not coaching,
I still get a chance to be a father and
to my son, you know, to try to least set
some work ethic, you know, values in them.

Speaker 2 (41:01):
So I take pride in that.

Speaker 1 (41:02):
Watts to Utah. What kind of transition was that.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Man, old man, I didn't get recruited number one.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
They didn't get.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Recruited because I couldn't pass those test scores. And I
still remember like I was somewhere playing basketball. I think
I was in the neighborhood playing basketball, and this fat
white guy comes up to me, and I think that
summer I played in some stuff called Rockfish. I played
in Rockfish one summer and I was playing like six

(41:33):
seven games a day. And then I was like, I
felt like somebody was following me. But like he came
in the neighborhood. It was like, you know, hey, man,
like I'm offering you a scholarship, but it's not because
you can play basketball.

Speaker 2 (41:47):
He was like, I see your.

Speaker 3 (41:47):
Mom running up and down the sidelines. You know, my
mom would yell up and down the sidelines while I
was playing. And Rick Majeris offered me a scholarship. It
wasn't because I could play basketball. He was like, I'm
offering you a scholarship because your mom. So You're like,
you know, I don't care if you passed the test
or nothing. We're gonna bring you out here proved that
you can do the academics. And that was the first

(42:08):
scholarship offer that I got. Donnie Daniels, who recruited me
to Utah actually went to Verbon Day. But that was
the only scholarship offer that I had, damn and I
took that thing and you know over there.

Speaker 1 (42:20):
So what was the process? You said you were a
prop kid. You didn't pass the test, So what happened
your first year? Did you stay out there?

Speaker 3 (42:26):
My first year? Like I said, I graduated. I graduated
and then I missed. I missed, yep, I missed a graduation.
I went straight out to Utah started stealing everything. You know.
I didn't have no money, man, like the kids, and
I'm happy they got n Ils. Man, I was stealing
everything in sight.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Man, I went up there.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
I was stealing ribs chicken from me and my teammate Brandon.

Speaker 2 (42:51):
Jesse rest In PC just passed away a couple of
years ago. But man, we didn't have no money, man Like,
we didn't have no cars. Like we go out there
like man.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
Like, like this is tough, so you know, and I
gotta go to school, you know, and it's two three
hundred kids in the classroom.

Speaker 2 (43:09):
Man, I was just all messed up.

Speaker 3 (43:10):
But yeah, man, we was cooking all we was having
all ribbed and chicken barbecues.

Speaker 1 (43:16):
Man, no size, nothing else.

Speaker 4 (43:18):
Man.

Speaker 1 (43:19):
Look, man, we was eating I still bues, just all men,
stuff and stuff.

Speaker 4 (43:27):
Man.

Speaker 2 (43:27):
I didn't even drink beer.

Speaker 3 (43:28):
Man Like we was just stuff and stuff all in
our sweats. And that was my first year. Because I
wasn't on scholarship. I had to prove that I can
do the academics. And you know, I got on like
you know, a couple of probations and then something just
registered like man like, man, I need to get this
in gear, you know. And after that my first year, man,
I never missed the class. I never missed the class,

(43:50):
and I got my degree in what was special. Reason
why I tell that story is because when I graduated,
you know, when you was a non qualifier, you you
lose that year bligibility. So I only had three years
of basketball. So when I graduated, I graduated within four years.
I appealed the year that I lost to the n
C Double A and I got the year back. I

(44:12):
was the first one that did that. So guys like
d Wade, Dwayne Wade, he was a non qualifier, I
mean he was so good, either have to you know, stay.
I ended up staying the extra year because it was
a lockout year.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
Okay, so it was ninety eight, ninety eight, that.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
Was my freshman year.

Speaker 3 (44:29):
Yeah, Rica, Yeah, so it was nineteen ninety eight. That
was the year we went to the National Championship. Like, man,
I could go to the NBA now, But then the
lockout happened.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
So I was like, you know what, I'm gonna just stay.

Speaker 3 (44:41):
I won the appeal and they gave my my year
of eligibility back and then I enrolled in the Master's
program at Utah, So I didn't finish a man, forget that.
I'm just go to school master school, you know, for like,
you know, just till this semester. And then withdrew from
everything and I was cool. So university, you Tall, Chris Hill,

(45:02):
Manny Hendrix, Donny Daniels, Tommy There's a lot of people,
man that helped me along the way, because man, I
didn't know how to talk when I got out there,
and I was shy. Man, I was scared. And you know,
my punishment was public speaking. Really I had to go
talk to a lot of kids and you know, telling
my story and you know it started off with kindergartners

(45:22):
and now I get to go into the jails and
the juvenile facilities and kind of you know, mentor and
help out with people.

Speaker 1 (45:29):
There wasn't that many people that had your skin tone
out there neither.

Speaker 2 (45:31):
Oh.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
Man, Look, man, I mean everybody thought I was white anyway.
Everybody thought I was half white, you know, so they
thought I was Mormon, you know what I'm saying. And
good hair, and it's like, you know, like it was
only like always only two black guys on the team,
so it was like we stuck out like a sore thumb.

Speaker 2 (45:47):
But it was a great experience. Man.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
I just talked to Mike Doliak yesterday. I learned how
to ride a horse. I learned how to surf, I
learned how to wakeboard, I learned how to ski.

Speaker 4 (45:58):
Man.

Speaker 3 (45:58):
I was jumping off cliar and I was doing all
that stuff they do, man, So you know, and to
pay it forward.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
Man, we had a certain level of respect for each other,
you know what I'm saying. They went, I went.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
To where they grew up, and my senior year, I
brought everybody to the neighborhood. In the middle of the night,
we was on a road trip playing long Bee State,
and I woke everybody up.

Speaker 2 (46:19):
We stole the Vans, and I.

Speaker 3 (46:21):
Took them to the neighborhood. I took them to the
neighbor I just took them to the neighborhood in the
middle of the night, like this is where I come from.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
You know.

Speaker 1 (46:29):
It was like talk to I mean, that's that's incredible.

Speaker 3 (46:31):
I never heard many I tell you the story, like
about twelve one in the morning, and I gave them,
you know, the raw and uncut you know what I'm saying,
and like, Hey, I've been to where y'all come from.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Where y'all eating steaks and.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
Big baked potatoes and stuff like over here, let's go
over here. This is where my mom lived at. This
is you right here.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
We didn't go in there because it's night time, but
we went.

Speaker 3 (46:51):
Right through the neighbor Hey, get out, let's go for
a walk.

Speaker 2 (46:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (46:57):
So you know they had one one of my teammates. Yeah,
well Van Horn was gone, Doliac. He was gone also
because he was his rookie year in the NBA, because
Doliac came out to lockout, you you know, and Keith
came out with Tim Duncan ninety seven. So it was fun, man,
it was fun. And you know, one of my teammates
went home told us Mormon family, you know.

Speaker 2 (47:19):
Like we want him to go on the Mormon mission
over there.

Speaker 3 (47:22):
You know, like okay, whatever, But you know, it was
just a respect thing. And I loved my teammates.

Speaker 1 (47:27):
Keith van horn had a lot of games. Van horn Man,
van horn Man.

Speaker 2 (47:31):
He was special.

Speaker 7 (47:32):
Man.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
It was like he was the first excuse I mean,
first white guy that I was like, like, dang, I
thought he was.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
From Utah, but he's from Diamond Bar. He's from Diamond Bar.
So I'm like, man, where did y'all find us do that?
And he was the first guy every recruit at every
player that came in, he challenged them to a one
on one game like I'm gonna let you know this
is my team. He was that good and he was mean,

(48:02):
you know. And one thing another thing I say, he
never played back basketball with the Utah Jazz.

Speaker 2 (48:08):
He always felt he was better. He was already better
than them.

Speaker 3 (48:12):
He was that good and if he did show up,
he'd dominate the whole runs.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
He was that good.

Speaker 3 (48:18):
He was that good, you know, but you know, shout
out to him. You know, he just kind of like
maybe lost his passion for it. You know, he had
a good NBA career, and you know, he had a
lot of stuff like all of us had going on,
and you know he scratched out a great NBA career.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
But yeah, that's my brother.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
One hundred and fourteen and twenty in your college career,
lost to Kentucky three out of four years. That was
the teams with what Ron Mercer and them.

Speaker 2 (48:44):
Look, man, we had a good team. They beat us
by sixty.

Speaker 3 (48:49):
Ron Mercers and Twine Walker, Tony Delk man, Watch McCary.
Look man, I was shaking in my heels on that
court we played in Minnesota. I'm like, hold up, like
and I say like after the first ten minutes, Rick
Majeris was like, we just gonna try to cut this
down five points at a time.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
That game was over.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
We we literally lost that game at least bout forty points,
and we was like a top ten team. They just
ran through the tournament. That was like the best combination
of talent that I played against.

Speaker 2 (49:22):
They was ugly. Yeah, so it was. It was fun.
It was It was definitely fun.

Speaker 1 (49:26):
Man.

Speaker 3 (49:26):
It was you know that team and the North Carolina
team in Antoine Walker and Vince Carter look man like
they come out, Vince Carter, you know, doing all this
stuff in the warm up.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
So I'm like, man, we finished to get blasting. We
about to get blasted.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
And this was when Antoine Jamison couldn't even shoot. He
was just shooting five foot float Like I'm like, hold up, man,
like Vince Carter, like a never seen nobody jump like
that before, like in college, Like.

Speaker 2 (50:04):
Dude, you're not even human.

Speaker 4 (50:05):
Man.

Speaker 3 (50:06):
We luckily enough beat them, you know, the team, Mike Bibby,
Arizona Henderson, Dickerson, Miles Simon. Every time I see them,
I get mad, you know, because they was. I mean, like,
Mike Bibby don't get a lot of credit. Like as
good as Alan Iverson's crossover was, I could never get

(50:27):
Mike Bibby crossover And it was just I couldn't understand it. Yeah,
Allan ivers and Mike Bibby, Derek Rose, I dude, man,
like y'all just got.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
Too many moves. Let me back up, because I definitely
fail a couple of times.

Speaker 1 (50:47):
The art of the post game for a guard. John
Wall gave you a lot of credits that he's You're
the best he's ever seen for a guard on the block,
But it was you know Case Kidd, Peyton Barron. Why
was that important to have in your bag during that
time in the league.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
It was just something that I always watched when I
was little. I used to watch Gary Payton. I used
to watch Magic Johnson. I used to watch all the
big guards when I was little, and how they you know,
finesse they body around the basket. And you know, even
I watched the Kevin McHale's and the James Worthies of
the world. It was so many bigs back then that
had post moves. So it was nothing like to be

(51:22):
in the neighborhood and it wasn't no one on ones
on the outside.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
It was banging on the inside.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
So I developed that that post stuff, and I didn't
do it too much in college, but who gave me
the confidence to start doing it in the NBA was
John Lucas.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
John Lucas, he was yeah, in Cleveland. He was to
coach my third year.

Speaker 3 (51:41):
And you know, he'd be like Richard, you know, man.
He always called me Richard Pryor like go down there
and post up, you know, and and he let me
do my thing, man, And you know, it was all
on what I saw, you know, the Gary Payton. You
know Gary Payton did at the score, Jason Kidd at
the past and I just kind of used it as

(52:02):
a combination, you know, of passing and you know, because
I felt like I can, I had an advantage at
times versus smaller guards.

Speaker 1 (52:10):
So eighth picking the draft, who is in the who's
the nuber one picking your draft?

Speaker 3 (52:13):
Elton b Elton Brown, one of my favorite teammates, Elk Baron,
Steve Francis, Lamar, Corey mcghetty, Sean Marion, that' say Stevie GENOBII.
Did you know gen second Genoble? It was Jonathan Bender.

Speaker 1 (52:33):
So much game.

Speaker 2 (52:34):
Yeah, it was some.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
It was some good hoopers, Richard Hamilton, Ron Our Tests
or whatever you want to call us.

Speaker 2 (52:43):
Run our test.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
So you finished fourth and in in rookie voting that year,
your first year in Cleveland with Sean Kemp, uh Slick, Rick,
Ricky Davis, Lamar Murray, Bob Sarah big Z. What was
it like out there?

Speaker 2 (52:56):
That was fun?

Speaker 3 (52:57):
Man, But you know it was like I'm coming in
as a young guy and you know, going to get donuts.
Sean Kemp always had me running to get a bucket
of chicken before games. Yeah, man, anytime, anytime in the
middle of he got a little bigger. Yeah, that's that's
the year he came over there. Like it wasn't Sean
Sean blimp. They start calling, but like, man, like he

(53:19):
came over there like too eighty two ninety and I
was still throwing them lives. He was still averaging like
twenty and ten and Clarence Wedtherspoon, Breven Knight, Earl Boykins Like,
I'm like, man, these are real NBA guys, you know,
like to sitting in the locker room and you know
the first time I seen an evet curse out of
coach who did like I think it.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
Was Clarence Weatherspoon.

Speaker 3 (53:42):
I'm like, man, that's the NBA coach cussing coaches out,
throwing chairs like man, Like I'm just sitting in the
corner like yeah, like this is how they do now.
But you know a lot of mentors, man, I was
blessed enough to be around some good vets.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
You were selected to the two thousand and two Fever team.
Eb Antonio, Davis, Baron, Davis, Michael Finley, Race of Friend,
Sean Mary and Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neil Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace,
Jay Williams, to name a few. What was that experience?

Speaker 3 (54:11):
Like, well, give y'all a setup of how that team
came about, because I believe George was the coach of
that team. Carl George Carl was the coach of that team.
And I think the year before that was ninety eleven.
So I don't know if y'all remember, like the Megastars
didn't want to play for USA Basketball, the Kobe's, the

(54:32):
Shax and all of them, they didn't want to play.
So they said, like, I guess you would call us
the second Tiers, the up and coming ones, and it
was it was rough. I think we came in like
sixth place. Yeah, we was getting told up. That's when
we first saw Manu Genobli. That's when we first saw
y'all mean, yeah, man, like like these dudes is good,

(54:53):
the Gasols from Spain like Nay Nate Brazil, like they
was some good ball player, man. And we just didn't
jail well man, Like we was arguing, like, man, we
got legends on it them, Reggie Miller and Antonio Davis.
We got good talent, man, and it just didn't It
just didn't come together like it should have. But you know,

(55:13):
it was a good experience. You know, the games were
in Indianapolis. But man, we didn't win nothing. We didn't nothing.
We were getting tore. But it was fun though, Clippers.

Speaker 1 (55:24):
You get a chance to come home and play for
the Clippers back to the city. What was your first thoughts?

Speaker 3 (55:32):
Man, I'll give you all. So I played three years.
I was telling my buddies about this coming over. You know,
the first three years in Cleveland. This was pre Lebron
and John Lucas.

Speaker 2 (55:43):
My third year.

Speaker 3 (55:44):
Of course, y'all know he got fired because he was
working out Lebron and I didn't know who Lebron was
and in high school, you know, he was in high school.
And they was like, you know Cleveland, I think Paxson
was gym. He's like, man, we want you to go
give this this Player of the Year award to this
kid and Akron And I'm like, who a y'all talking
about like I just.

Speaker 2 (56:04):
Led the league and assists.

Speaker 3 (56:05):
I'm feeling myself and like it's this kid. He gonna
be an all time great. His named Lebron. James Like cool,
So I go give him the award and I'm like, man,
this NBA stuff. Man, go go get an education, man, like,
go to college, get an education. And then I come
back and I talked to management at the end of
the season, and John Lucas was already like, man, you
should just ask for a trade because they gonna tank

(56:27):
the season.

Speaker 2 (56:29):
I'm like, tank the season.

Speaker 3 (56:31):
So I'll ask for a trade, and I got traded
to the Clippers. Now I come home and the Clippers.
This was like the year before there was the Knuckleheads,
Darius and Quinton, and then so Darius go to Cleveland.
I come to LA and you know, I wish I
could have I mean, it was the home team. I
wish I would have been on the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (56:52):
Or something, you know.

Speaker 3 (56:53):
But I come to the Clippers and it was a
great team because I link up with Elton, Corey mcghetty.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
Lamar and then I'm back home.

Speaker 7 (57:02):
Man.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
So it was it was tough.

Speaker 3 (57:03):
It was tough to concentrate, you know, but I was able,
you know, for my friends and family to see me
as a hometown kid, to come support me. Man.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
It was you know, I bought a lot of tickets.

Speaker 1 (57:15):
Man, you understand, that's a lot of tickets, man, Like
one hundred tickets, man like for free.

Speaker 3 (57:22):
People don't understand that, you know what I'm saying, Like,
oh man, I need every game, every game, every home game,
you know what I'm saying. And the people that didn't
get the text message, you know, they'll pop up to
the arena Staples Center, Here come the ball with Millie.
You got like ten people out there waiting for tickets.

Speaker 2 (57:40):
You know what I'm saying. But it was it was
a great experience.

Speaker 4 (57:42):
Man.

Speaker 3 (57:42):
I came home, played in front of family and friends
for that one year, and I got I got a
bout of LA do it, and I went straight to
Denver where Carmela was.

Speaker 1 (57:50):
At talk to me about coming to LA and then
your practice facility at Southwest Community College.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
Look man, like, you know it was the NBA at
the time, you know, so for me, it was right
down the street.

Speaker 2 (58:04):
I actually went to the school right next door.

Speaker 3 (58:07):
I went to Kabrini San Francis Cabrini from kindergarten to
fourth grade.

Speaker 2 (58:12):
So I went to that, that Catholic school for four years.

Speaker 3 (58:15):
But as soon as I came home and I'm like,
hold up, we practicing that Southwest College and back then
we was already.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
Scared to go right there because everybody used to say,
that's the earthquake fault.

Speaker 3 (58:26):
Okay, this this shit gonna fall because it's a major
earthquake fault. And then we had to go down to
the little I don't know if you remember it like
a little locker room. It was like it was like
little mice in there, and I'm like, man like, and
then the ball guys would like just throw all our stuff.
We had to find our practice gear, man like. It

(58:47):
wasn't in no net bags or nothing like.

Speaker 2 (58:49):
Just just grab starting all my home was practice, man,
but it was it was what it was.

Speaker 1 (58:58):
Off to Denver six years fifty five million, played with
the Young Mellow. We talked about this team already, but
just change of scenery, different coach, young talented team. Favorite
part about that Denver team.

Speaker 3 (59:13):
The favorite part about the Denver team was gambling, gambling
and hanging out and just I mean like it was
probably the most competitive team that I was on. It
was the most like and I'm talking about practice like.
And we had this trainer, Steve hess We got Steve
hess Man. We would get together in the summertime. He'd

(59:36):
take us running up in the hills and stuff. The
Red Rocks, the Red Rocks man, and we was just
we was young man, you know. We had a good
coach and Jeff Buzzellik, who like some guys didn't really like,
he was actually one of my favorite coaches. And then
of course George was doing ESPN at the time, so
he was like, you know, throwing all of us.

Speaker 2 (59:56):
Under the bus, like this team is immature.

Speaker 3 (59:59):
And then when they fired I think it was Jeff Bozelic.
Then we had Michael Cooper lasted for like two weeks
the coach. Yeah, Coop came in for like two weeks
and then they let Cooper go and then George Carr
got the job. And then that's when we won like
thirty something games and went to the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:00:15):
And then that you know, if you guys could have
kept that court together, how good that team could have been.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
The Cord did stay together.

Speaker 3 (01:00:21):
I was the one that got shipped out, you know,
I got shipped out for Ai.

Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
Yeah what was that?

Speaker 4 (01:00:27):
Like?

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
I was mad.

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
I was mad because you know, George was asking me
to do so much as a point guard, you know,
like because he couldn't he couldn't communicate with them, Like
what you're gonna say to Kenyon if you don't want
to practice to day, like you know Marcus Camby defensive
player of the year, like and you complaining about him
shooting this jump shot. So I ain't practicing the day

(01:00:50):
Like okay, Andre, I want you to go talk to him.
What you want me to say? So I ended up
being the one that was shipped out for AI and yeah,
I had to leave leave it everything behind, and you know,
and we was I mean at that time the first year,
we lost to I think Minnesota, San Antonio and the

(01:01:10):
Clippers in the playoffs, so they felt there was a
time to upgrade.

Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
So I got traded for Alan Iverson.

Speaker 3 (01:01:16):
And Philly was trash, trash over Philly, So I went
over Yeah, mo Chieks was a coach and I get
over there. Man, I was so, I was so hurt.
I like it was the first time I actually talked
in the locker room. I was like, man, I didn't come.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
Over here to lose, man.

Speaker 3 (01:01:33):
And what was crazy was that year if they would
have lost all those games, they probably would have drafted
Kevin Durant. We ended up winning a whole bunch of
games when I got over there. But if they lose
on that pace that they was with with AI. That's
the year Greg Oden came out. That's the year Kevin
Durant came out. Y'all would have had top three, top

(01:01:53):
five pick man. I'm not trying to lose man. And
you know Eagle Dollar, Young, Lewis Williams, Willy Green.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Kyle Korver Man.

Speaker 3 (01:02:03):
I had fun over there there, Dallon, Bear, Reggie Evans.
As soon as I got traded from Denver to Philly,
Reggie was in Denver. I told h who's the GM
billy king. I said, look here, man, go get this
strong dude from Denver. Man like we need some need
somebody to back him. They went and got Reggie Evans.

(01:02:24):
And then the next year Elton Brand came from Clippers.
So it was I had fun and I had That
was one of my fun times to be around Eagle
Dillard and Louis Williams, you know, because I saw, like
Alan Irverson all in him.

Speaker 2 (01:02:37):
Let me give him the ball because he could go bucket,
you know. So I have fun on that team.

Speaker 1 (01:02:41):
Back to Denver eleven and thirteen, Gallinari, Tylaws and Free
Javelle McGee a little different senor, but franchise record fifty
seven wins. You guys run into a young Golden State
Warriors team with Steph Curry. That a picture right there.
What you think?

Speaker 2 (01:02:57):
Back up? Back up, that's when he was a baby.
For his ankles was hurting at the time too. Yeah,
bad ankles.

Speaker 3 (01:03:06):
I was like, look here, man, But what's crazy is
I felt that team that we had in Denver was
probably the best team.

Speaker 1 (01:03:12):
Really.

Speaker 2 (01:03:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:03:13):
But George carl Man, he was practicing us so hard
for like six months man. And and right before the
playoffs started, Gallinori tours acl and Gallinari was our best player.
Gallo was our best player. Gotta be sixty eleven. I'm
seeing him going ahead over Kevin Durant. And right before

(01:03:34):
the playoff start, I told George crad was like, look here, man, like.

Speaker 2 (01:03:37):
These guys' bodies are tired. We gotta get working. We
played the Dallas Mavericks and Denver.

Speaker 3 (01:03:43):
Gallo blow out his knee, and we gotta go play
these dudes because I.

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
Think we was like a two or three seed and
they was like a sixth seed. Man. That's when I
knew him and Clay.

Speaker 3 (01:03:54):
Like that ball was just going through the hoop different,
like like you know, like it wasn't like I know shooter,
we know shooters Ray Allen Stojakovic. But the way they
ball went through the basket was it didn't even hit
the net. And I knew, you know, I was so
upset because I felt we could beat them, and you know,
we had a nice squad. But that kid, that kid
he different, like all I didn't even guard him no more.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
Let me go guard Jared Jack or something.

Speaker 3 (01:04:20):
You know, like you know, all of them was good,
but this guy right here, like I think I might
be like thirty years old right there, so.

Speaker 1 (01:04:30):
Old school. Oh yeah, they a good question.

Speaker 3 (01:04:33):
Well always got joked on because of my shoe contracts.
You know, it was like converts than a Didas. And
you know they always snatched my shoes and throw them
around the locker round.

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
And stuff like that. You know, I just like, you know, because.

Speaker 3 (01:04:46):
My shoes was ugly man like everybody like you know,
so like I had to put my little swag to
my my shoes. I got t because yeah, I tied
my laces behind my back and they're like, dre what
you doing? You know, But it's something that I that
was my superstition. You know, I never wored tape. I
had my ankle brace at the old school ones that
lace up.

Speaker 2 (01:05:07):
I laced them up. Ship out my shoes.

Speaker 1 (01:05:11):
He used to make both sides touch no not.

Speaker 4 (01:05:16):
No, no.

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
What's crazy was my shoes. I kept them loose.

Speaker 3 (01:05:20):
I kept them loose, you know, because I could, you know,
kick them off. But it was like the laser still
tied up.

Speaker 4 (01:05:26):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
That was my superstition though, And I used to get
joked on about that.

Speaker 1 (01:05:30):
But yeah, quick hitters man. First thing, the kind of mind,
let us know one album you could listen to with
no skips.

Speaker 2 (01:05:36):
I don't even be listening to music like that.

Speaker 3 (01:05:40):
I don't like like I'm an old school dude, Like
maybe like Tupac.

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Maybe like one of them. Macavelliy's one of those.

Speaker 1 (01:05:50):
Top five point guards of all time in your opinion.

Speaker 3 (01:05:53):
Magic Isaiah Stockton, J kidd, I didn't see Oscar Robinson play.

Speaker 1 (01:06:01):
What about steph CP and e of them dues from
the modern Area?

Speaker 4 (01:06:04):
You all?

Speaker 2 (01:06:04):
I was a Steve Nash fan.

Speaker 3 (01:06:06):
Okay, I was a Steve Nash fan, because I mean,
who shoots ninety fifty forty?

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (01:06:15):
I was a Steve Nash fan, but I mean you
got Steph. You gotta put Steph in there, you know, Isaiah, Steph, Magic,
Stockton and Kid Dream.

Speaker 1 (01:06:26):
Pick and roll partner from past or present.

Speaker 2 (01:06:29):
Nay Nay, LaMarcus Audrich.

Speaker 3 (01:06:32):
I like Elton Brand too, but as far as like
I know, when they shoot the ball, it's gonna go
in LaMarcus Audrich. And then like Nay Name, y'all played
against Ny Name. It was like, as soon as you
give me the ball, he's like, you know his his
thumbs look like fingers.

Speaker 1 (01:06:46):
Guard your chest.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
Yeaes thumbs look like fingers like for real.

Speaker 1 (01:06:50):
Though, favorite person to throw a live too.

Speaker 3 (01:06:52):
Eagle Dollar, he used to go get him, Ego Dollar,
Van Horn. Those are my favorite guys that throw lives too,
can Bey cause you know, like we used to just run, y'all.
No floppy can be like it was nothing like it
was automatic Cany, Eager Dollar and Van Horns.

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
Man, they I don't know why. Man he was blocking.
Send him back, Send him this way, Scriller, simm this way, Scriller.

Speaker 1 (01:07:17):
Top five La Hoopers of all time. In your opinion,
it's just too many.

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
Give me your era on my era, Like I gotta
give a shout out to Raymond Lewis.

Speaker 4 (01:07:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:07:27):
Absolutely, Dennis Johnson, Yeah, I was a fan of Ricky Price.
Ricky Price man like Ricky Price in high school. Man,
I thought, like we like how you get the duke man,
like kids from LA get scholarships to duke Like Ricky
Price was like that in high school.

Speaker 2 (01:07:45):
I mean, I'm just called count Southern California. I don't
know who else. Paul Man, Paul, you gotta put Paul,
You gotta put Paul.

Speaker 3 (01:07:54):
You got Tayshawn Prince, that other that other guy. He
was like the Lebron.

Speaker 2 (01:07:58):
I didn't really know him. Him and he from He's
from l A.

Speaker 3 (01:08:03):
Shae Cotton, Tayshaun Prince, Bearing Man, so many dudes, Man.

Speaker 2 (01:08:08):
Russell Westbrook, James Harden Man. This goes on and on.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
Guilty pleasure, guilty pleasure that you could that you could
speak on.

Speaker 2 (01:08:19):
I mean like.

Speaker 3 (01:08:19):
Man, chocolate, okay, candy Man, Candy Man. I'm gonna tell
you a story, man. You know, I like, I'm playing
in Portland, man and me and my woman we go
the day before the game. It was a chocolate like
a convention and like the you know, like conventions is huge,

(01:08:40):
so it was just unlimited chocolate, man, and it was heaven.
The day before the game, Man, I'm just in there
eating all kinds of chocolate.

Speaker 2 (01:08:48):
Different stations and stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:08:50):
And I forgot who he was playing the next day,
but I could feel it coming.

Speaker 2 (01:08:54):
I just overdosed on chocolate.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
And the game starts, man, And the first trip up
and down the court, I literally ran off the court
and I had.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
To go to the emergency room.

Speaker 4 (01:09:05):
Really.

Speaker 3 (01:09:06):
Yeah, they put me to sleep, man, the stomach they morphee.
They put me to sleep for like two.

Speaker 1 (01:09:11):
Days because you ate so much chocolate.

Speaker 3 (01:09:13):
I ate so much chocolate, Man, I overdose, man like
like I ate like like literally like I had.

Speaker 2 (01:09:19):
Food poisoning everything.

Speaker 3 (01:09:22):
Like, Man, I literally ran straight to the shower like
they was looking for me.

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
They had to bring like it was the first time
I had been on the stretcher.

Speaker 1 (01:09:29):
Oh wow.

Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:09:30):
They got me up out there, you know, like took
me straight to the emergency room and for too much
they yeah, too much chocolate, man, Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:09:38):
Yeah, Chocky got be careful.

Speaker 1 (01:09:40):
That chocolate if they ever come back with Willy Wonka.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
Yeah, like man, yeah, yeah, yeah, I ate like all
types of chocolate, peanut, chocolate, caramel.

Speaker 2 (01:09:51):
I don't like what's that other where it got mint
chocolate every year, favor, Yeah, yeah, and yeah. I was
right there in the emergency room.

Speaker 1 (01:10:01):
Funnest teammate in your career college or pros.

Speaker 2 (01:10:04):
Eiga Dollar was funny. Reggie Evans was funny.

Speaker 1 (01:10:08):
Lamar Oldham classic Lamar Oldham.

Speaker 4 (01:10:11):
You don't even try to be.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
Somebody with an accent. A country dude with an accent. Man,
them dudes is always funny.

Speaker 1 (01:10:19):
Like he was, like, you know, used to talk so much,
ship bro. He told us that, but he he used
to talk, so.

Speaker 3 (01:10:24):
He might be one of the funniest dudes. I couldn't
even pay attention around him.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
Last question, One person you would like to see on
the show.

Speaker 3 (01:10:31):
I like the humble guys, you know, like you know,
I watch you guys show more than anything and more
than anything, man, I want.

Speaker 2 (01:10:39):
To see Tayshawn Prince trying to get I want to.

Speaker 3 (01:10:43):
Prince because he's one of He's one of the quiet,
like one of the quiet l a guys that you
like people be saying, I'm mysterious, like where you be
at dre like Tayshawan, where you at Come.

Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
Come was our class.

Speaker 3 (01:11:00):
Entertain Man, super super cool dude. Man right, dude, super
cool dude. So I'm a fan of Tayshawn Prince.

Speaker 1 (01:11:07):
That's a good call because I've been I've been on
you too, so big brother.

Speaker 2 (01:11:10):
I don't want to see tail Man. Yeah, I'm a
big fan.

Speaker 1 (01:11:13):
Of he dre Man. I appreciate your time. One of
the best point guards I didn't played against in my time.
And I love the fact that you may not have
got the recognition in the league, but the players always
gave you your respect and spoke so highly of you, and
I know that's important.

Speaker 3 (01:11:31):
That's all that matters. You know, your peers fact you
know because it was hard. So thank you for having me.

Speaker 4 (01:11:36):
That's a wrap.

Speaker 1 (01:11:37):
Andre Miller, all the smoke you can catch us and
all the Smoke productions YouTube and the Draft Kings Network.

Speaker 4 (01:11:42):
See y'all next week.

Speaker 1 (01:11:49):
Mm hmmmm

Speaker 7 (01:12:00):
Fi