January 3, 2024 • 34 mins
Dancing with the Stars champ, and NBA star Iman Shumpert is here!
Iman opens up to JoJo about his childhood, the surprising way Michael Jordan inspired his career, and his backup plan if basketball didn't work out!
Plus, in a story he’s never told before, Iman has a basketball revelation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Jojassee One now with me Jojo Seua
and iHeartRadio podcast. Welcome back to Jojo Just See One now.
Oh my gosh, let me just say, doing this podcast,
seeing you all listening, watching it, just it makes me
so happy. I'm I'm so grateful. I feel like I've
learned a lot about myself doing this podcast. I've learned
(00:23):
a lot about my friends on this podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Speaking of today, I am going to get to chat
with one of my favorite people in the world. We
originally met on Dancing with the Stars season thirty just now.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Two years ago, which is absolutely wild.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Everybody, please welcome mister Iman Schumpert to jojaswa now the man,
the guy, the only one on Dancing with the Stars
who whooped my ass? Mister aman, how are you? I am?
I'm so good. I'm so happy here. Thank you for
doing my podcast. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
I love you.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Thank you for Can you feel at home? I love
you too?
Speaker 5 (01:01):
And I feel at home because I told you this
is like already looks like my daughter's room, Like how
she does a little Jojo the pink stuff. I mean, now,
it's not it's less, it's less about that she's older
a little bit now, but I've had she's got.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Changes of what's her what's her vibe? Now? What's she until?
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Junie is reading, so the books are sort of taking
her imagination on a little run.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So every day is something new.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
She either wants to go fishing or oh then she
wants to what does she said? She's been on this
Bahamas thing, just I don't know where it is. She
wants to go back to the Bahamas and do a
boat trip.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I don't know what it.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Is about the Bahamas.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Anytime they start reading, they just their their mind sort
of just takes those those nice long rides into the.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Mine.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Has the cutest little girl in the whole world.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I remember getting to meet her on Dancing with the
Stars and just little ball of energy, so cute. Knows
exactly who she I mean at the time. I haven't
seen her really since then, but.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Oh a whole lot more learning is she?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
She just so cool, so spunky.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
All right, I'm on, I we met on Dancing with
the Stars. We did season thirty together. Not salty at
all that you beat me? What did you do with
your newberal trophy? Is it in your house? You did
give it to your mama.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Got it, said, and she got it on the little stand,
she got the little goal thing behind it.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
She had to love that. Does your mom live here? No?
Speaker 4 (02:38):
No, no, in Chicago, still in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Got it?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That makes me happy. That makes me happy that your
mom has it. Anyways, we met on Dancing with the Stars,
which was incredible.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I have so.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Many, so many memories about you that I cannot wait
to go through, so many funny things that I would
overhear in rehearsals. I have this one story of Danny
and you in rehearsals. I can't wait to talk about.
So many memories of just you and your trailer, hearing
you and your trailer that I can't wait to talk about.
But before we get into that, I want to hear
like your your beginning of life, well like your childhood
(03:14):
than how you I mean, you are one of the
biggest NBA stars in the whole fucking world, and so
I kind of want to just like this podcast Joe
just even now is all about you, know, your where
you started and where you are now, and so in
a nutshell give me like the rundown of in mon
as An eight year old, little dude, like, what's your childhood?
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Eight years old?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I was really like out the way, if you didn't
have a rim and a basketball, I ain't really care
to have a conversation, which you would have thought. I
was more quiet, like don't I have fun with my friends?
I was very serious about getting good enough to be
at my name into the NBA.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Like I'm like you always knew that, Like that was
I gotta go there?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
What was your first Like how old were you when
you had your Like I'm gonna I want to be
a basketball player, like this is my drake?
Speaker 4 (04:08):
What was it was like three or four?
Speaker 5 (04:12):
We saw some video of Michael Jordan's pulling up to
the arena and he got out of his corvette and
I just remember seeing in that boxing that boxy suit.
His suit was super boxy and he got out and
I remember thinking, why he's so he's too tall to
be in that little car, like you know what I'm saying,
(04:33):
the car fire like, And my father explained to me, like, nah,
it's got more room than it looked, like you know
what I'm saying, that's.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
The Did you want to play basketbroller? Did you want
the car in the box.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
It was the whole, It was the whole vib It
was the fact that he played basketball so good, like
him him wonting that competition of basketball landed him correct financially,
you know what I'm saying. So like something I want
to do anyway, it is about to make me more
money than anybody that does anything they don't want to
(05:05):
do thinking they're going to make more money. It's people
all the time that don't want to be a lawyer.
They just think that's where the money is. So I'm
going to be a lawyer, like it's the top job,
but you really don't want to do it.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So there's there's, there's that.
Speaker 5 (05:19):
And I saw Jordan happy to play basketball and making
money to where you can help people. And then I
saw the big houses on HGTV and my dad was
like yeah. I was like if Michael Jordan by that
and Dad was like yeah, yeah yeah, but he was
looking at like NBA players, that's that house is nothing,
(05:40):
So I could understand where it was, like where it
was on the statrum, Like I'm like, how much money
do they have?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
And yeah, he like, well that ain't nothing.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Like but that's before we had the internet, super running
like this where you could just look up an NBA
contract like oh yeah, Like I didn't know how to
research it back then, Like I wasn't good with it
like that. But my father explained to me, like when
you get there, if you get good enough, you're able
to get a house or car, whatever you want. And
that comfort is kind of what drove me though.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So your dad was really supportive of you growing up.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Yeah, he put challenges in front of me. Dude, was like, could.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
You have us?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Uh, what's it called? Because in dances called like a
stage mom or a stage dad?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
What's it called?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
The basketball? Like is it like a like.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I mean, we don't really call it anything. It's like
you either have a mentor or like you'll have a vet,
like you have a veteran when you get to the NBA. Ye,
Like Mellow is my veteran, Carl Anthony is my vet,
Like he takes you under the wing. Everybody kind of knows.
You know, we go to dinner on the road and
you're a rookie, like Mellow gonna, he's gonna pay for dinner.
(06:44):
He gonna you know what I'm saying, Like that's what
we have, but we don't we don't have like a
coach besides our coach. You don't really have nobody.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
With a small title.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But okay, wait, so you you realized at three or four, yeah,
that you wanted to be a player, a baller.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
But when so you're you're growing up.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Obviously at four you can only be so good at something,
you know what I mean? At what point for you
were you playing basketball at at the local? I mean,
I don't I should know more about basketball, but you know,
dance world and basketball two very different worlds. But at
what age were you on a team and you were
like a ship.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I'm better than everyone else? When did that happen? When
did you get advanced?
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I think.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
If you are not listening, smile right now.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Like the its like actually deal with me.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
So high school yeah, like five foot eight right, yeah,
and I have a gross spurt. So my second year
in high school, I'm actually like sloppy, Like, yeah, I
wasn't great, like all that dancing with the starship was
out the window. Yeah, but I ain't have control of
(08:16):
my body though. I was growing so fast. And next
thing I know, I look up and I'm six three
and I worked that whole time. I work my ass off.
You know, my body was hurting. I was just like,
I gotta get right, like I gotta be better. I
got to be better. And I'm still working out as
if I'm five seven eight, like, because I'm trying to
do that. I'm a guard. I'm a point guard. And
(08:38):
then I grow and then I finally grew into my body.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
And I've actually never told this part of the story,
so I'm gonna tell it on here. We played every
man for theirself and which is you play the thirty
two by twos. Yeah, there's no free through in between scoring,
and anybody could play. So before we start playing, to
(09:05):
warm up, it might be thirty people under one rim
and whoever has the ball checks up. Thirty people could
guard you at once if they wow, you know what
I'm saying. When you got game point, everybody, Yeah, everybody's
just gonna come. They collect on each other's things. They're like,
we don't want him to win, but if I steal
the ball from him, we all gonna guard you exactly,
(09:26):
you know what I'm saying. So it's like that's the game,
and it's really to warm up because it's it could
get so crazy it's damn near impossible.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, like it's so many people.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
But I remember the game getting a little like a
little more turned like people at first they're just warming up,
but then everybody starts sweating and it's going now.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
And yeah, I got to game point.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
I did a lot of stuff to get the game
point that I was just like, yeah, like I'm definitely
getting better, like it's working. And then we got to
game point and I remember everybody like up to stop me,
and I remember backing up and then attacking everybody and
being like they can't, Like y'all are slow, Yeah, y'all
(10:11):
are you know what I'm saying? Or I'm like you're
why did you go? Like I would do a movie,
like why would you go for that?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
You know?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
You just like kind of realized like.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
Everything click for me, and it was going real slow,
and it was kind of cool because it was every
man for themselves. So I'm like, none of y'all like,
for lack of a better way to say it, none
of y'all could fuck with me.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
None of y'all can.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
No y'all, Yeah, like this is it's tough for y'all now, Like, yeah,
I'm tall, so the time while I'm driving it.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
At the end, I should lay this up, but I
went up and I.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
Dunked it, and I remember looking at people like, instead
of trying to block it, they kind of were looking like, damn,
you could dunk like that.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah, they were kind of looking at me weird.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
When I landed and I realized that, Like in that moment,
I was like, I can't act.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
I can't act regular with y'all no more. I have
to kill you. Yeah, I have to kill you.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Like it's not even like a laughing matter, Like, yeah,
now I'm gonna be pissed off if y'all get close
to even a little bit close to beating me, I'm
gonna get mad at myself.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
And I became more and more and more focused on
just like playing higher competition. So after that, it was
like my father taking me State the States. All right, well,
they the best team over here. You gotta beat them.
They're the best team.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So your dad, your dad had you. Your dad is like,
all right, we'll get you out. Michael Jordan's Carr challenge.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
He just he just always yeah, Like you know, everybody's
got parents that they say stuff to you, and you
think in that moment. They're trying to correct my behavior,
They're trying to control me, They trying to do this,
and it's like nobody ever sits back and just be
like he just challenged me to do something right that simply.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
All he did.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yeah, and then it worked.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Somebody will say that and it'll be like people, I
don't want to do that with my life. It'd be like, bro,
you don't have to do that with your life. Yeah,
what's wrong with being qualified in ten areas? Right? No?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Absolute?
Speaker 4 (12:00):
What's wrong with that?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Like I'm not left handed, but I've worked on so
much stuff so that my left hand works.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
What if I ever break my right hand? Ye? You know,
use it.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
You know. We do these things where you try and
sharp especially with your children. You try and put everything
into them to try and sharpen all these things. And
I feel like that was my biggest advantage was I
clicked for me early watching my older brothers get into
it with my father. I was just like, bro, all
(12:31):
he said was get good grades, and good grades is
like I got straight a's. I'm like, bro, all I
gotta do is it? Like I was damn near doing
my homework in class while the teacher's talking. Yeah, I'm like, bro,
this is the best time to do my homework. Yeah,
because you're given the lesson. Bro, Like, what do you mean,
(12:51):
I'm finna do it right here just in case I
got a question, I can ask it right here, right now,
two minutes before this class in. I got the three
questions right here that I can't get right this my homework.
Now I'm going to be doing it on the bus
on the way home. Get time I walk into the door. Like,
people just think I'm crazy. I'm like, bro, No, I'm
finna get every minute I can on this basketball court.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, that's what I was going to say.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
That's very or smart as you made it so that
way you could go home and then focus on what
you really loved.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
That was my one rule.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
They say, if your homework done, you go outside. Really,
if your homework is done, if your grades is good,
you can go outside.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
And you just got to be back before.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
It's docz theres like back before the street lights are on.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Yeah, I was. I'm the very end of that.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Very end of that generation because it stopped for me
when I was like, God, I I sound psychotic when
I say this, but I got my first phone when
I was like seven or five or seven, and so
like when I was it would have been seven, because
like when I was five and six, that's I've still
lived by, like come home in the street lights are on.
But then once I was seven, eight nine, I had
a phone, and so it was like I'll text you
(13:59):
and to come check.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
The time when it come home. Like it just changed.
That's a weird life.
Speaker 5 (14:03):
It's a different lifestyle type of kid right here. Man,
I'm just letting y'all know. She just said that, like
that was so regular. Nobody else turned seven and eight
and text their mom and dad when they're coming home.
I tell my daughter, still she has a phone, she said,
This lady here is living a different lifestyle.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Was there a moment when you were a kid.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
I have two questions for you, going off of what
we just talked about. Was there a moment for you
when you were like fuck this, I don't want to
do it anymore?
Speaker 5 (14:34):
With basketball? Yeah, yeah, you have the moments you usually
come you win. Yeah, you just you win. There's a
there's very much. There's so many moments I can remember
in my career where I'm like, bro, I'm doing this
and that the individual success that I need isn't happening
(14:59):
for me.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Where else like it's frustrating yea where it'd be like
I gotta wait my turn again, like y'all said, wait,
I did, Nah, I gotta wait again?
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Yeah, did you have a backup? Like what was your like?
Not doing this anymore? Don't want to be a baller anymore?
Not in basketball? I want to Oh.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
No, no, I don't.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I didn't really ever have that where it was like
I'm gonna take a different career path. I never had that,
But I'm very much so I'm very comfortable and knowing
I've sharpened other areas to where if I attack anything,
if I go full throttle at it, Yeah, like you're.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Gonna have to you commit, you met, Yeah, I'm like, if.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
I commit to something and I'm gonna go wholeheartedly into it,
I'm like, it's gonna be successful and I hang my
hat on that. Just like saying if you put the
hours in and the energy in, it's just gonna work.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Like I know how it works.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Like that, guys, but but it just does. I promise
you it does hard work.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Eventually, Eventually, pays off.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Some things take longer than I But straight up, is
there anyone that you grew up playing with, grew up
learning with that made it as big as you did?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Are you the only.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Evan Turner played middle school ball with me? Ten year
career in the league, maybe twelve years?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Damn?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
Yeah, still doing well, does podcasts, now coaching. Yeah, but
we're still still close, still check in with each other.
He's still bothering me about shit that happened on the shot,
Like I.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Was watching the shot, Bro, what are you doing? How
you miss how you miss him?
Speaker 5 (16:38):
It's just all all all of all of the childhood
memories and stuff that we're able to talk about and
then reflect on NBA memories. It's just really cool to
have somebody around that's, you know, been through what you've
been through, seeing what you've seen, and now like me
and him, especially like we feel like, especially when we
go back home, it's like, y'all don't have any ecuse
(17:00):
no more.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
We had an excuse.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
We really didn't see anybody make it out like we
didn't see it. Like nobody from where we was from
was like, yeah, I went to the NBA and this
is what's going on and you could work on this
move and work on that move. We had nobody liked that,
but it's like now your body back in opak is
like y'all really don't have no excuse, Like y'all gotta
(17:23):
rock with you, gotta work hard and get there, and
now we've shown you this is the road. Yeah, you
can get out. You can't hit us with the excuse
like we don't get enough exposure. Bro, we ain't getting
no exposure. We just went over there and beat everybody.
That's what you gotta do. Beat on people.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
The show that I'm on right now is Special Forces.
I heard something.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
We didn't hear it while we were out selection, but
we heard it as it was airing on the show.
They said, winners will always find a way to keep
going and quitters will always find an excuse to stop.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
And like, that's that is. I mean, it's such a
true thing.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Like if you if you really do want something, you're
going to figure it out, you know what I mean.
And I'm sure there was days where you had to
make a makeshift rim somewhere and a makeshift ball somewhere,
and you fucking did.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
That's what That's what's gonna happen. It's like a like
an artist. Artist you see that you throw them in
a room, you give them I don't know anything like you.
It work seriously, like they'll take a cigarette and use
the ashes and draw some and use it for shading.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Your ability to make something work out of nothing is
it's so important to success.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
It's amazing how often people because it's that becomes a
simplified version. If you were if I put you in
a cell and all I gave you was a little ring,
some tape and some paper over there, It's like, yeah,
I'm taking the ring, I'm putting it over there now,
rim and you're.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Gonna make a ball with paper and tape, and you're gonna.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
That's what I'm gonna do for the whole day.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
All I can do is simplifies the man putting yourself
in the idea behind Yo, I'm gonna.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Hone in on this.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
This is gonna be all I'm doing is podcasting, And
for the large majority of the day, I'm gonna listen
to my voice on here so I know where to stay.
Where do I sit? Okay, this is the best sound
for me. What do I do the excited voice? Or
do I want to give the cams.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I like to call mom voice not deep.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
In fluctuating me though, like sometimes I get a little
too excited. But as far as like becoming a professional
in any lane, it just becomes and putting the hours
in and understanding what to do when it goes wrong.
Like it's incredible what you can see out of people
once they just lock in and they say, I don't
care if I fall on my face.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
I'm going full full you know what.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I'm saying, Like, and also you are going to fall
on your face, it's just however you're going to get up.
Speaker 5 (20:05):
There some people that get up and smile and exactly
and then we keep going. Or there's some people that
trip and be like, but they did you see there
was a rock?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
We didn't see. All we saw was you fall.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And I always care about is you get back up?
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Are you okay? Cool?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
But keep pushing.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Telling us it's a rock there? Thanks.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
Yeah, that's what people do that where it's like instead
of naming that problem or naming the thing that's wrong,
it's like we all can see what's wrong. It's the solution.
What do you keep doing? What are you pushing? What
are you what are you trying to accomplish and nobody's
(20:54):
nobody should laugh at that.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
I don't think anybody in the world should sit in
the audience and laugh at somebody trying to accomplish something.
That is literally one of the best things to watch.
That's the entertainment people. People say, what is the entertainment
industry is people watching people go do what they They
still hesitant, not even scared, just like I'm gonna wait
until I get enough money so that I can You
(21:18):
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
It's like, that's like a two three year and then
you just want to.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Talk either positively or negatively on somebody that has done it.
But at least you have a DNA to say these
are pros, these are cons because I have an example now.
So that's what's the entertainment business. And it's why you
gotta chill, like, let you gotta let let comments live.
People are literally just telling you if they like the
content or not. People will be like, man, I don't
(21:46):
like how you saund when you rap. It's like, man,
you may not like it. Now in a year now
that I'm practicing it. Yeah, now I'm practicing and I'm
hanging out a little bit more and I'm around these people,
and these people yeah, like I see a vibe that
everybody likes.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
You have to start somewhere with everything you do. You
have to start at square one. And I always I have.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
This like, well, you started at square one, likes soon
as you popped out Jojo Entertainer.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
As soon as I popped out, family was like, all
right here.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
We dancing color in her face. It's I told you
that my.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
Favorite thing was seeing you on tour and seeing y'all
have fun on the videos because we saw you on tour.
And then my daughter just takes the rabbit hole with
the YouTube.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Yeah, and then.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I'm like, bro, they're playing hide and seek.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Every venue we played Monopoly in every single venue. We
played hide and Seek all the time. On stage, even
during the concert, we used to play tag. And there's
a fun game we play.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Yeah, on stage.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
During the choreo, you would have to tag like and
I would play, the crew would play, the dancers were playing.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Was a massive game.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
We also would play this game on so much fun
we played. This game is even worse. There's two other
games we would play. The one is an animal game
and I my dancers played it all the time. I
couldn't play the animal game because you have to make
verbal noises. So like everybody there's one dragon, all right,
and then everybody else is an animal in pairs, so
(23:22):
like me and you would be pigs, right, she and
her would be wolves.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And then you would have to find your matching You
have to have your your, your, your your.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
You have to find your matching animal before the dragon
rars at you.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
So like, we don't know, so you draw out of
a hat. Someone's the dragon.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
So the dragon goes roaring at people, and then you
have to be like dead if the dragon roars at you.
But you have to go up to people and you
have to make your animal noise to see if they're
an animal.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And so I would go up there.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
And be like now and you'd be like and like
you'd like snore at me. If you were the pig,
then I'd be like, shit, gotta go find the animal.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
That one sucked?
Speaker 4 (24:01):
What anybody playing?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I like that game would be successful in the NBA because.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Y'all way were making this what no giddy?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
The other game y'all could never play in the NBA.
Your hands the.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
Tag during something serious.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I love so oh, this one's worse.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
I would love to play tag game. If I could
remember to play Tag in the ABA, gay, I totally
would have been would.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Yes, I mean pass it on to the next gen.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Yeah, honestly, no, don't. If if that happens in the game,
that is JoJo's, there's gonna be just clean. That is
her fault. That's not my fault. I just said if
I was in the league deal, I would do it.
I'm not advising y'all to do it, though, don't do that.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I would do it, full said. There's another one called pasta.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
We take a small enough object to be able to
hold it in your hand and you just have to
pass it to people throughout like the performance, and whoever
or ends with it loses.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
But if somebody like passes it to you.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Have to take it and you don't know who has it.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
No, you never know who has it, and then you
just keep going.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Y'all keep the fastball the whole time.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, all the time. There's like this
funny picture of me with this. We used to play
with this little tiny baby and I got past it.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I turned by a photographer and I just was holding
up this little tiny baby in my hands.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I would I would have played past the past.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, that was fun. Past the Yeah, and then you
can pass.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I mean some people pass pennies, but like say a song,
like a song, average song two three minutes, it probably
gets passed around ten times per song.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Like you just keep passing it.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
It is so fun. Yeah, we're a master. You gotta
keep it in just and on the way to end
of these games. He's just dying laughing right now. Past
the it's creating.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
All right, all right, we traveled into a little bit
talking about NBA. But what give me your beginning? How
old were you when you got drafted?
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Where were you? What? What was what was your mom
and dad's Reactually I was twenty one, you were twenty one.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
There's a video actually on YouTube of me getting drafted.
I was supposed to go to the draft. I ended
up getting a late invite because originally I was projected
to go like second round, and then I went through
all the draft workouts and they was like, oh, I
think he should be a little higher type of vibe.
And when I knew that I was gonna get taken
(26:38):
either thirteen through seventeen, I guess.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
They was like he should come to be there in
New York, and.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
I turned it down because I was like I felt
like I afterthought, I was like, yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Didn't want to do it no more. And my father
had them.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Shut down this this Mexican restaurant favorite food tacos, and
uh yeah, I was twenty one back in Chicago waiting
waiting for my name to get called.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
He calls my name.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Everybody like all my family, like my friends, everybody was there.
They said my name. The moment he said e mon
like he ain't even finished. He was like I couldn't
hear shit. Wake up in the morning. They was like
damn the Knicks boojo. Everybody in New York was like boom,
(27:31):
like who is that? Like what are they doing? Because
I played in the A SEC they was like focused
on the Big East, but it was it was all
love and shit.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
I wasn't dripping after while.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
I was just it was just crazy to have so
much genuine love around me that I didn't even notice
that y'all boomed me Like I didn't know that nobody
was happy in New.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
York, Like I got people around.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Yeah, I got drafted to the next but I still
felt like Chicago made it.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Like yeah, that's something that's really interesting about I think
all all worlds of the entertainment industry is people could
love you, people could brew you, people can hate you,
but your bubble that is around you personally matters so much.
And like that's a that moment's a true testament of that.
(28:17):
You know, like sure whatever the people, the people were
bringing you, but your people knew that, like this is
your fucking moment and they were there to celebrate you.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Oh yeah, that's that that moment.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
And then like you said, going through the league and
you know, ups downs all that to eventually to eventually
win a championship.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Yeah, that bubble.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
That you say, yep, like that matters.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Man.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
It was the whole time, Like, yeah, bubble, I lived
in that bubble. I keep those people around me, Like
I still I still get my hair braided by Keys
every time I've had hair, because I cut my hair
off all the time. But every time that I have
hair is like Keys, where are you at?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Where you're at?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Real talk?
Speaker 5 (29:02):
Because it's just like having that comfort and having that
just feeling like a foundation is under you, like a
solid foundation and people that will look at you when
you get off track and say, hey, I don't know
this version of you. I don't know this ship. Like
stop you doing. I don't care what you got going.
(29:26):
I don't care how much money you make. Brother, don't
do that no more. I'm not walking with you.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Yeah, like you get off off the bus, like you.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Know what I'm saying. Like my friends from college still
around me.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
They saw them when we was out here doing what
your call but uh Alan and Taco like the.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Man, accountable man.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
They be like, dog, I'm not standing next to you
doing that. Like I'm not doing that with you, bro,
Like we didn't know. I'm not doing that. Like I
don't know what that is. I don't know who you
learned that from. But we're not doing that with you.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
All right, all right, sense or sense we're talking about this.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
You are.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Pick picture peak peak moment in your career, right, you
are on top of your fucking game. You're still on top, right,
but like I'm talking, like the moment where you're where
you're young, you're fresh drafted, you're the new ship, right,
you're on the team. What is one thing that you
look back at a one moment or stilly memory and
I'm gonna do the flip side of this in a
in a second.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
But one thing that.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You did or or that you look back and you're like,
am on, you fucking idiot, Like, what is one thing that,
like young young adult a moan that you're just like, bro,
skip that face.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Skip that, skip that night, skip that party, skip that.
What is one thing there's there's something circling in his
brain right now?
Speaker 5 (30:51):
Yeah, I'll try to think because when I was younger,
especially when I first got in.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
The league, a lot of that was a blur.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
The uh we were playing three games in four days,
sometimes four games five nights. We played I think back
to back to backs. I always love playing in the
United Center. When I hear that, yeah, it make it
(31:19):
give me chills. Like it's like when you play that,
I could cry like it's some it's some ship that's
attached to that sound. That is like it's a whole
different emotion for me is different. It's like when you
play that, it's just like it's complete control of me
at that moment. But yeah, when I got in the lead,
(31:40):
I say, my my biggest, my biggest, Like what the
fuck was doing? Moment.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Okay, I'll give you one. This was uh, this is
one of.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
My favorite parts of the podcast. It's getting me stories.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
There was a.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Time I was basically I basically it was you know
how you have these invincible moments.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
There was this was my emon is invincible, and.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Then you got real hard. I'm guessing.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
I ended up. You know, had a had a night,
had me a night. You know what I'm saying. I
had a night. Should have went home, didn't you know
what I'm saying, got practiced, looked at the clock and
knew I was gonna be late, still tried to make it,
stepped on the gas, did it. I ended up getting
(32:39):
a ticket, but I ended up getting held for longer,
Like it seemed like I was trying to duck and
died them. I'm like, the cop stopped me. But it's like,
you know, it was like it sounded like the dog
h of homework type of you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
It was like, Okay, the cop did stop me.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Yes I was out super late. Yes I should have
gone home.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Yes I fucked up, But I was going in like
trying to prove and I had this moment all at
once when Mellow uh, I think mellow and Amari was like, like, bro,
you a grown man. You was late, that's it. Pay
your fine, come to practice like you sitting here explaining it.
And it's like they was laughing.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
No one cares anymore.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
We don't care, brother, we don't care. You can't pay
for your time you was.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
You was late.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
Every minute after that is pay your fee and get
out here and work off because we need to.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
We got a game tomorrow. Like I just felt like
a little kid.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
That's why I felt dumb, Like you feel like a
little kid explaining yourself.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Mister Ahmon, you know you mean the freaking world to me,
and I'm so grateful that you are here for Joges
who now, But I gotta cut.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Us off, but only for a second. Everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We're gonna do a part two. We're gonna keep asking
him on the burning questions. We're gonna keep talking about stars,
his family, his life, all the things. An you stay
right here with me, Everybody.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Go check out Part two. Thank you so much for listening. Everybody.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok at
Jojesua Now podcast. Be sure to write us a review
and maybe if you're feeling to leave us five stars.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I'll see you next week.
You're listening to Jojassee One now with me Jojo Seua
and iHeartRadio podcast. Welcome back to Jojo Just See One now.
Oh my gosh, let me just say, doing this podcast,
seeing you all listening, watching it, just it makes me
so happy. I'm I'm so grateful. I feel like I've
learned a lot about myself doing this podcast. I've learned
(00:23):
a lot about my friends on this podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Speaking of today, I am going to get to chat
with one of my favorite people in the world. We
originally met on Dancing with the Stars season thirty just now.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Two years ago, which is absolutely wild.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Everybody, please welcome mister Iman Schumpert to jojaswa now the man,
the guy, the only one on Dancing with the Stars
who whooped my ass? Mister aman, how are you? I am?
I'm so good. I'm so happy here. Thank you for
doing my podcast. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
I love you.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Thank you for Can you feel at home? I love
you too?
Speaker 5 (01:01):
And I feel at home because I told you this
is like already looks like my daughter's room, Like how
she does a little Jojo the pink stuff. I mean, now,
it's not it's less, it's less about that she's older
a little bit now, but I've had she's got.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Changes of what's her what's her vibe? Now? What's she until?
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Junie is reading, so the books are sort of taking
her imagination on a little run.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So every day is something new.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
She either wants to go fishing or oh then she
wants to what does she said? She's been on this
Bahamas thing, just I don't know where it is. She
wants to go back to the Bahamas and do a
boat trip.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I don't know what it.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Is about the Bahamas.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Anytime they start reading, they just their their mind sort
of just takes those those nice long rides into the.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Mine.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Has the cutest little girl in the whole world.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I remember getting to meet her on Dancing with the
Stars and just little ball of energy, so cute. Knows
exactly who she I mean at the time. I haven't
seen her really since then, but.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Oh a whole lot more learning is she?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
She just so cool, so spunky.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
All right, I'm on, I we met on Dancing with
the Stars. We did season thirty together. Not salty at
all that you beat me? What did you do with
your newberal trophy? Is it in your house? You did
give it to your mama.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Got it, said, and she got it on the little stand,
she got the little goal thing behind it.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
She had to love that. Does your mom live here? No?
Speaker 4 (02:38):
No, no, in Chicago, still in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Got it?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That makes me happy. That makes me happy that your
mom has it. Anyways, we met on Dancing with the Stars,
which was incredible.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I have so.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Many, so many memories about you that I cannot wait
to go through, so many funny things that I would
overhear in rehearsals. I have this one story of Danny
and you in rehearsals. I can't wait to talk about.
So many memories of just you and your trailer, hearing
you and your trailer that I can't wait to talk about.
But before we get into that, I want to hear
like your your beginning of life, well like your childhood
(03:14):
than how you I mean, you are one of the
biggest NBA stars in the whole fucking world, and so
I kind of want to just like this podcast Joe
just even now is all about you, know, your where
you started and where you are now, and so in
a nutshell give me like the rundown of in mon
as An eight year old, little dude, like, what's your childhood?
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Eight years old?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I was really like out the way, if you didn't
have a rim and a basketball, I ain't really care
to have a conversation, which you would have thought. I
was more quiet, like don't I have fun with my friends?
I was very serious about getting good enough to be
at my name into the NBA.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Like I'm like you always knew that, Like that was
I gotta go there?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
What was your first Like how old were you when
you had your Like I'm gonna I want to be
a basketball player, like this is my drake?
Speaker 4 (04:08):
What was it was like three or four?
Speaker 5 (04:12):
We saw some video of Michael Jordan's pulling up to
the arena and he got out of his corvette and
I just remember seeing in that boxing that boxy suit.
His suit was super boxy and he got out and
I remember thinking, why he's so he's too tall to
be in that little car, like you know what I'm saying,
(04:33):
the car fire like, And my father explained to me, like, nah,
it's got more room than it looked, like you know
what I'm saying, that's.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
The Did you want to play basketbroller? Did you want
the car in the box.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
It was the whole, It was the whole vib It
was the fact that he played basketball so good, like
him him wonting that competition of basketball landed him correct financially,
you know what I'm saying. So like something I want
to do anyway, it is about to make me more
money than anybody that does anything they don't want to
(05:05):
do thinking they're going to make more money. It's people
all the time that don't want to be a lawyer.
They just think that's where the money is. So I'm
going to be a lawyer, like it's the top job,
but you really don't want to do it.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So there's there's, there's that.
Speaker 5 (05:19):
And I saw Jordan happy to play basketball and making
money to where you can help people. And then I
saw the big houses on HGTV and my dad was
like yeah. I was like if Michael Jordan by that
and Dad was like yeah, yeah yeah, but he was
looking at like NBA players, that's that house is nothing,
(05:40):
So I could understand where it was, like where it
was on the statrum, Like I'm like, how much money
do they have?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
And yeah, he like, well that ain't nothing.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Like but that's before we had the internet, super running
like this where you could just look up an NBA
contract like oh yeah, Like I didn't know how to
research it back then, Like I wasn't good with it
like that. But my father explained to me, like when
you get there, if you get good enough, you're able
to get a house or car, whatever you want. And
that comfort is kind of what drove me though.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So your dad was really supportive of you growing up.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Yeah, he put challenges in front of me. Dude, was like, could.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
You have us?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Uh, what's it called? Because in dances called like a
stage mom or a stage dad?
Speaker 4 (06:20):
What's it called?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
The basketball? Like is it like a like.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I mean, we don't really call it anything. It's like
you either have a mentor or like you'll have a vet,
like you have a veteran when you get to the NBA. Ye,
Like Mellow is my veteran, Carl Anthony is my vet,
Like he takes you under the wing. Everybody kind of knows.
You know, we go to dinner on the road and
you're a rookie, like Mellow gonna, he's gonna pay for dinner.
(06:44):
He gonna you know what I'm saying, Like that's what
we have, but we don't we don't have like a
coach besides our coach. You don't really have nobody.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
With a small title.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But okay, wait, so you you realized at three or four, yeah,
that you wanted to be a player, a baller.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
But when so you're you're growing up.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Obviously at four you can only be so good at something,
you know what I mean? At what point for you
were you playing basketball at at the local? I mean,
I don't I should know more about basketball, but you know,
dance world and basketball two very different worlds. But at
what age were you on a team and you were
like a ship.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I'm better than everyone else? When did that happen? When
did you get advanced?
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I think.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
If you are not listening, smile right now.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Like the its like actually deal with me.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
So high school yeah, like five foot eight right, yeah,
and I have a gross spurt. So my second year
in high school, I'm actually like sloppy, Like, yeah, I
wasn't great, like all that dancing with the starship was
out the window. Yeah, but I ain't have control of
(08:16):
my body though. I was growing so fast. And next
thing I know, I look up and I'm six three
and I worked that whole time. I work my ass off.
You know, my body was hurting. I was just like,
I gotta get right, like I gotta be better. I
got to be better. And I'm still working out as
if I'm five seven eight, like, because I'm trying to
do that. I'm a guard. I'm a point guard. And
(08:38):
then I grow and then I finally grew into my body.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
And I've actually never told this part of the story,
so I'm gonna tell it on here. We played every
man for theirself and which is you play the thirty
two by twos. Yeah, there's no free through in between scoring,
and anybody could play. So before we start playing, to
(09:05):
warm up, it might be thirty people under one rim
and whoever has the ball checks up. Thirty people could
guard you at once if they wow, you know what
I'm saying. When you got game point, everybody, Yeah, everybody's
just gonna come. They collect on each other's things. They're like,
we don't want him to win, but if I steal
the ball from him, we all gonna guard you exactly,
(09:26):
you know what I'm saying. So it's like that's the game,
and it's really to warm up because it's it could
get so crazy it's damn near impossible.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, like it's so many people.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
But I remember the game getting a little like a
little more turned like people at first they're just warming up,
but then everybody starts sweating and it's going now.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
And yeah, I got to game point.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
I did a lot of stuff to get the game
point that I was just like, yeah, like I'm definitely
getting better, like it's working. And then we got to
game point and I remember everybody like up to stop me,
and I remember backing up and then attacking everybody and
being like they can't, Like y'all are slow, Yeah, y'all
(10:11):
are you know what I'm saying? Or I'm like you're
why did you go? Like I would do a movie,
like why would you go for that?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
You know?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
You just like kind of realized like.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
Everything click for me, and it was going real slow,
and it was kind of cool because it was every
man for themselves. So I'm like, none of y'all like,
for lack of a better way to say it, none
of y'all could fuck with me.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
None of y'all can.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
No y'all, Yeah, like this is it's tough for y'all now, Like, yeah,
I'm tall, so the time while I'm driving it.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
At the end, I should lay this up, but I
went up and I.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
Dunked it, and I remember looking at people like, instead
of trying to block it, they kind of were looking like, damn,
you could dunk like that.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah, they were kind of looking at me weird.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
When I landed and I realized that, Like in that moment,
I was like, I can't act.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
I can't act regular with y'all no more. I have
to kill you. Yeah, I have to kill you.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Like it's not even like a laughing matter, Like, yeah,
now I'm gonna be pissed off if y'all get close
to even a little bit close to beating me, I'm
gonna get mad at myself.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
And I became more and more and more focused on
just like playing higher competition. So after that, it was
like my father taking me State the States. All right, well,
they the best team over here. You gotta beat them.
They're the best team.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
So your dad, your dad had you. Your dad is like,
all right, we'll get you out. Michael Jordan's Carr challenge.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
He just he just always yeah, Like you know, everybody's
got parents that they say stuff to you, and you
think in that moment. They're trying to correct my behavior,
They're trying to control me, They trying to do this,
and it's like nobody ever sits back and just be
like he just challenged me to do something right that simply.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
All he did.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yeah, and then it worked.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Somebody will say that and it'll be like people, I
don't want to do that with my life. It'd be like, bro,
you don't have to do that with your life. Yeah,
what's wrong with being qualified in ten areas? Right? No?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Absolute?
Speaker 4 (12:00):
What's wrong with that?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Like I'm not left handed, but I've worked on so
much stuff so that my left hand works.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
What if I ever break my right hand? Ye? You know,
use it.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
You know. We do these things where you try and
sharp especially with your children. You try and put everything
into them to try and sharpen all these things. And
I feel like that was my biggest advantage was I
clicked for me early watching my older brothers get into
it with my father. I was just like, bro, all
(12:31):
he said was get good grades, and good grades is
like I got straight a's. I'm like, bro, all I
gotta do is it? Like I was damn near doing
my homework in class while the teacher's talking. Yeah, I'm like, bro,
this is the best time to do my homework. Yeah,
because you're given the lesson. Bro, Like, what do you mean,
(12:51):
I'm finna do it right here just in case I
got a question, I can ask it right here, right now,
two minutes before this class in. I got the three
questions right here that I can't get right this my homework.
Now I'm going to be doing it on the bus
on the way home. Get time I walk into the door. Like,
people just think I'm crazy. I'm like, bro, No, I'm
finna get every minute I can on this basketball court.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, that's what I was going to say.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
That's very or smart as you made it so that
way you could go home and then focus on what
you really loved.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
That was my one rule.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
They say, if your homework done, you go outside. Really,
if your homework is done, if your grades is good,
you can go outside.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
And you just got to be back before.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
It's docz theres like back before the street lights are on.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Yeah, I was. I'm the very end of that.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Very end of that generation because it stopped for me
when I was like, God, I I sound psychotic when
I say this, but I got my first phone when
I was like seven or five or seven, and so
like when I was it would have been seven, because
like when I was five and six, that's I've still
lived by, like come home in the street lights are on.
But then once I was seven, eight nine, I had
a phone, and so it was like I'll text you
(13:59):
and to come check.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
The time when it come home. Like it just changed.
That's a weird life.
Speaker 5 (14:03):
It's a different lifestyle type of kid right here. Man,
I'm just letting y'all know. She just said that, like
that was so regular. Nobody else turned seven and eight
and text their mom and dad when they're coming home.
I tell my daughter, still she has a phone, she said,
This lady here is living a different lifestyle.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Was there a moment when you were a kid.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
I have two questions for you, going off of what
we just talked about. Was there a moment for you
when you were like fuck this, I don't want to
do it anymore?
Speaker 5 (14:34):
With basketball? Yeah, yeah, you have the moments you usually
come you win. Yeah, you just you win. There's a
there's very much. There's so many moments I can remember
in my career where I'm like, bro, I'm doing this
and that the individual success that I need isn't happening
(14:59):
for me.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Where else like it's frustrating yea where it'd be like
I gotta wait my turn again, like y'all said, wait,
I did, Nah, I gotta wait again?
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Yeah, did you have a backup? Like what was your like?
Not doing this anymore? Don't want to be a baller anymore?
Not in basketball? I want to Oh.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
No, no, I don't.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
I didn't really ever have that where it was like
I'm gonna take a different career path. I never had that,
But I'm very much so I'm very comfortable and knowing
I've sharpened other areas to where if I attack anything,
if I go full throttle at it, Yeah, like you're.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Gonna have to you commit, you met, Yeah, I'm like, if.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
I commit to something and I'm gonna go wholeheartedly into it,
I'm like, it's gonna be successful and I hang my
hat on that. Just like saying if you put the
hours in and the energy in, it's just gonna work.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Like I know how it works.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Like that, guys, but but it just does. I promise
you it does hard work.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Eventually, Eventually, pays off.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Some things take longer than I But straight up, is
there anyone that you grew up playing with, grew up
learning with that made it as big as you did?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Are you the only.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Evan Turner played middle school ball with me? Ten year
career in the league, maybe twelve years?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Damn?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
Yeah, still doing well, does podcasts, now coaching. Yeah, but
we're still still close, still check in with each other.
He's still bothering me about shit that happened on the shot,
Like I.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Was watching the shot, Bro, what are you doing? How
you miss how you miss him?
Speaker 5 (16:38):
It's just all all all of all of the childhood
memories and stuff that we're able to talk about and
then reflect on NBA memories. It's just really cool to
have somebody around that's, you know, been through what you've
been through, seeing what you've seen, and now like me
and him, especially like we feel like, especially when we
go back home, it's like, y'all don't have any ecuse
(17:00):
no more.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
We had an excuse.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
We really didn't see anybody make it out like we
didn't see it. Like nobody from where we was from
was like, yeah, I went to the NBA and this
is what's going on and you could work on this
move and work on that move. We had nobody liked that,
but it's like now your body back in opak is
like y'all really don't have no excuse, Like y'all gotta
(17:23):
rock with you, gotta work hard and get there, and
now we've shown you this is the road. Yeah, you
can get out. You can't hit us with the excuse
like we don't get enough exposure. Bro, we ain't getting
no exposure. We just went over there and beat everybody.
That's what you gotta do. Beat on people.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
The show that I'm on right now is Special Forces.
I heard something.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
We didn't hear it while we were out selection, but
we heard it as it was airing on the show.
They said, winners will always find a way to keep
going and quitters will always find an excuse to stop.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
And like, that's that is. I mean, it's such a
true thing.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Like if you if you really do want something, you're
going to figure it out, you know what I mean.
And I'm sure there was days where you had to
make a makeshift rim somewhere and a makeshift ball somewhere,
and you fucking did.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
That's what That's what's gonna happen. It's like a like
an artist. Artist you see that you throw them in
a room, you give them I don't know anything like you.
It work seriously, like they'll take a cigarette and use
the ashes and draw some and use it for shading.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Your ability to make something work out of nothing is
it's so important to success.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
It's amazing how often people because it's that becomes a
simplified version. If you were if I put you in
a cell and all I gave you was a little ring,
some tape and some paper over there, It's like, yeah,
I'm taking the ring, I'm putting it over there now,
rim and you're.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Gonna make a ball with paper and tape, and you're gonna.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
That's what I'm gonna do for the whole day.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
All I can do is simplifies the man putting yourself
in the idea behind Yo, I'm gonna.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Hone in on this.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
This is gonna be all I'm doing is podcasting, And
for the large majority of the day, I'm gonna listen
to my voice on here so I know where to stay.
Where do I sit? Okay, this is the best sound
for me. What do I do the excited voice? Or
do I want to give the cams.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I like to call mom voice not deep.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
In fluctuating me though, like sometimes I get a little
too excited. But as far as like becoming a professional
in any lane, it just becomes and putting the hours
in and understanding what to do when it goes wrong.
Like it's incredible what you can see out of people
once they just lock in and they say, I don't
care if I fall on my face.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
I'm going full full you know what.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I'm saying, Like, and also you are going to fall
on your face, it's just however you're going to get up.
Speaker 5 (20:05):
There some people that get up and smile and exactly
and then we keep going. Or there's some people that
trip and be like, but they did you see there
was a rock?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
We didn't see. All we saw was you fall.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And I always care about is you get back up?
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Are you okay? Cool?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
But keep pushing.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Telling us it's a rock there? Thanks.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
Yeah, that's what people do that where it's like instead
of naming that problem or naming the thing that's wrong,
it's like we all can see what's wrong. It's the solution.
What do you keep doing? What are you pushing? What
are you what are you trying to accomplish and nobody's
(20:54):
nobody should laugh at that.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
I don't think anybody in the world should sit in
the audience and laugh at somebody trying to accomplish something.
That is literally one of the best things to watch.
That's the entertainment people. People say, what is the entertainment
industry is people watching people go do what they They
still hesitant, not even scared, just like I'm gonna wait
until I get enough money so that I can You
(21:18):
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
It's like, that's like a two three year and then
you just want to.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Talk either positively or negatively on somebody that has done it.
But at least you have a DNA to say these
are pros, these are cons because I have an example now.
So that's what's the entertainment business. And it's why you
gotta chill, like, let you gotta let let comments live.
People are literally just telling you if they like the
content or not. People will be like, man, I don't
(21:46):
like how you saund when you rap. It's like, man,
you may not like it. Now in a year now
that I'm practicing it. Yeah, now I'm practicing and I'm
hanging out a little bit more and I'm around these people,
and these people yeah, like I see a vibe that
everybody likes.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
You have to start somewhere with everything you do. You
have to start at square one. And I always I have.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
This like, well, you started at square one, likes soon
as you popped out Jojo Entertainer.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
As soon as I popped out, family was like, all
right here.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
We dancing color in her face. It's I told you
that my.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
Favorite thing was seeing you on tour and seeing y'all
have fun on the videos because we saw you on tour.
And then my daughter just takes the rabbit hole with
the YouTube.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Yeah, and then.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
I'm like, bro, they're playing hide and seek.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Every venue we played Monopoly in every single venue. We
played hide and Seek all the time. On stage, even
during the concert, we used to play tag. And there's
a fun game we play.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Yeah, on stage.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
During the choreo, you would have to tag like and
I would play, the crew would play, the dancers were playing.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Was a massive game.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
We also would play this game on so much fun
we played. This game is even worse. There's two other
games we would play. The one is an animal game
and I my dancers played it all the time. I
couldn't play the animal game because you have to make
verbal noises. So like everybody there's one dragon, all right,
and then everybody else is an animal in pairs, so
(23:22):
like me and you would be pigs, right, she and
her would be wolves.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And then you would have to find your matching You
have to have your your, your, your your.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
You have to find your matching animal before the dragon
rars at you.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
So like, we don't know, so you draw out of
a hat. Someone's the dragon.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
So the dragon goes roaring at people, and then you
have to be like dead if the dragon roars at you.
But you have to go up to people and you
have to make your animal noise to see if they're
an animal.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And so I would go up there.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
And be like now and you'd be like and like
you'd like snore at me. If you were the pig,
then I'd be like, shit, gotta go find the animal.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
That one sucked?
Speaker 4 (24:01):
What anybody playing?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I like that game would be successful in the NBA because.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Y'all way were making this what no giddy?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
The other game y'all could never play in the NBA.
Your hands the.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
Tag during something serious.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I love so oh, this one's worse.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
I would love to play tag game. If I could
remember to play Tag in the ABA, gay, I totally
would have been would.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Yes, I mean pass it on to the next gen.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Yeah, honestly, no, don't. If if that happens in the game,
that is JoJo's, there's gonna be just clean. That is
her fault. That's not my fault. I just said if
I was in the league deal, I would do it.
I'm not advising y'all to do it, though, don't do that.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I would do it, full said. There's another one called pasta.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
We take a small enough object to be able to
hold it in your hand and you just have to
pass it to people throughout like the performance, and whoever
or ends with it loses.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
But if somebody like passes it to you.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Have to take it and you don't know who has it.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
No, you never know who has it, and then you
just keep going.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Y'all keep the fastball the whole time.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, all the time. There's like this
funny picture of me with this. We used to play
with this little tiny baby and I got past it.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I turned by a photographer and I just was holding
up this little tiny baby in my hands.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
I would I would have played past the past.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, that was fun. Past the Yeah, and then you
can pass.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I mean some people pass pennies, but like say a song,
like a song, average song two three minutes, it probably
gets passed around ten times per song.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Like you just keep passing it.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
It is so fun. Yeah, we're a master. You gotta
keep it in just and on the way to end
of these games. He's just dying laughing right now. Past
the it's creating.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
All right, all right, we traveled into a little bit
talking about NBA. But what give me your beginning? How
old were you when you got drafted?
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (26:10):
Where were you? What? What was what was your mom
and dad's Reactually I was twenty one, you were twenty one.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
There's a video actually on YouTube of me getting drafted.
I was supposed to go to the draft. I ended
up getting a late invite because originally I was projected
to go like second round, and then I went through
all the draft workouts and they was like, oh, I
think he should be a little higher type of vibe.
And when I knew that I was gonna get taken
(26:38):
either thirteen through seventeen, I guess.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
They was like he should come to be there in
New York, and.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
I turned it down because I was like I felt
like I afterthought, I was like, yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Didn't want to do it no more. And my father
had them.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Shut down this this Mexican restaurant favorite food tacos, and
uh yeah, I was twenty one back in Chicago waiting
waiting for my name to get called.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
He calls my name.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Everybody like all my family, like my friends, everybody was there.
They said my name. The moment he said e mon
like he ain't even finished. He was like I couldn't
hear shit. Wake up in the morning. They was like
damn the Knicks boojo. Everybody in New York was like boom,
(27:31):
like who is that? Like what are they doing? Because
I played in the A SEC they was like focused
on the Big East, but it was it was all
love and shit.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
I wasn't dripping after while.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
I was just it was just crazy to have so
much genuine love around me that I didn't even notice
that y'all boomed me Like I didn't know that nobody
was happy in New.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
York, Like I got people around.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Yeah, I got drafted to the next but I still
felt like Chicago made it.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Like yeah, that's something that's really interesting about I think
all all worlds of the entertainment industry is people could
love you, people could brew you, people can hate you,
but your bubble that is around you personally matters so much.
And like that's a that moment's a true testament of that.
(28:17):
You know, like sure whatever the people, the people were
bringing you, but your people knew that, like this is
your fucking moment and they were there to celebrate you.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Oh yeah, that's that that moment.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
And then like you said, going through the league and
you know, ups downs all that to eventually to eventually
win a championship.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Yeah, that bubble.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
That you say, yep, like that matters.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
Man.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
It was the whole time, Like, yeah, bubble, I lived
in that bubble. I keep those people around me, Like
I still I still get my hair braided by Keys
every time I've had hair, because I cut my hair
off all the time. But every time that I have
hair is like Keys, where are you at?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Where you're at?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Real talk?
Speaker 5 (29:02):
Because it's just like having that comfort and having that
just feeling like a foundation is under you, like a
solid foundation and people that will look at you when
you get off track and say, hey, I don't know
this version of you. I don't know this ship. Like
stop you doing. I don't care what you got going.
(29:26):
I don't care how much money you make. Brother, don't
do that no more. I'm not walking with you.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Yeah, like you get off off the bus, like you.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Know what I'm saying. Like my friends from college still
around me.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
They saw them when we was out here doing what
your call but uh Alan and Taco like the.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Man, accountable man.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
They be like, dog, I'm not standing next to you
doing that. Like I'm not doing that with you, bro,
Like we didn't know. I'm not doing that. Like I
don't know what that is. I don't know who you
learned that from. But we're not doing that with you.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
All right, all right, sense or sense we're talking about this.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
You are.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Pick picture peak peak moment in your career, right, you
are on top of your fucking game. You're still on top, right,
but like I'm talking, like the moment where you're where
you're young, you're fresh drafted, you're the new ship, right,
you're on the team. What is one thing that you
look back at a one moment or stilly memory and
I'm gonna do the flip side of this in a
in a second.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
But one thing that.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You did or or that you look back and you're like,
am on, you fucking idiot, Like, what is one thing that,
like young young adult a moan that you're just like, bro,
skip that face.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Skip that, skip that night, skip that party, skip that.
What is one thing there's there's something circling in his
brain right now?
Speaker 5 (30:51):
Yeah, I'll try to think because when I was younger,
especially when I first got in.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
The league, a lot of that was a blur.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
The uh we were playing three games in four days,
sometimes four games five nights. We played I think back
to back to backs. I always love playing in the
United Center. When I hear that, yeah, it make it
(31:19):
give me chills. Like it's like when you play that,
I could cry like it's some it's some ship that's
attached to that sound. That is like it's a whole
different emotion for me is different. It's like when you
play that, it's just like it's complete control of me
at that moment. But yeah, when I got in the lead,
(31:40):
I say, my my biggest, my biggest, Like what the
fuck was doing? Moment.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Okay, I'll give you one. This was uh, this is
one of.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
My favorite parts of the podcast. It's getting me stories.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
There was a.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Time I was basically I basically it was you know
how you have these invincible moments.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
There was this was my emon is invincible, and.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Then you got real hard. I'm guessing.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
I ended up. You know, had a had a night,
had me a night. You know what I'm saying. I
had a night. Should have went home, didn't you know
what I'm saying, got practiced, looked at the clock and
knew I was gonna be late, still tried to make it,
stepped on the gas, did it. I ended up getting
(32:39):
a ticket, but I ended up getting held for longer,
Like it seemed like I was trying to duck and
died them. I'm like, the cop stopped me. But it's like,
you know, it was like it sounded like the dog
h of homework type of you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
It was like, Okay, the cop did stop me.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Yes I was out super late. Yes I should have
gone home.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Yes I fucked up, But I was going in like
trying to prove and I had this moment all at
once when Mellow uh, I think mellow and Amari was like, like, bro,
you a grown man. You was late, that's it. Pay
your fine, come to practice like you sitting here explaining it.
And it's like they was laughing.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
No one cares anymore.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
We don't care, brother, we don't care. You can't pay
for your time you was.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
You was late.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
Every minute after that is pay your fee and get
out here and work off because we need to.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
We got a game tomorrow. Like I just felt like
a little kid.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
That's why I felt dumb, Like you feel like a
little kid explaining yourself.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Mister Ahmon, you know you mean the freaking world to me,
and I'm so grateful that you are here for Joges
who now, But I gotta cut.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Us off, but only for a second. Everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We're gonna do a part two. We're gonna keep asking
him on the burning questions. We're gonna keep talking about stars,
his family, his life, all the things. An you stay
right here with me, Everybody.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Go check out Part two. Thank you so much for listening. Everybody.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok at
Jojesua Now podcast. Be sure to write us a review
and maybe if you're feeling to leave us five stars.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I'll see you next week.
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