Maurice Taylor on Guarding Michael Jordan, Shaq and Kobe

Ryan talks with Maurice "Mo" Taylor about his classic "Detroit" Draft Day suit, trying to guard Michal Jordan during his rookie season, giving up 61-points to Shaq, and the best thing he learned from Kobe through the years. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
How's everybody doing. I want to welcome you guys into
a very very special episode of NBA Rookie Life with
Ryan Hollins. Today we have the fourteenth pick in the
nineteen ninety seven draft. He was All Rookie Second Team,
a flat out baller man ten years in the association. Man,
none other than my guy, Maurice Taylor. MO, what's going
on with you?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Man?

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Man?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thanks for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Man absolutely so mold selfishly. I get to live out
a lot of my childhood fantasies. You were one of
my favorite players growing up. I grew up in Pasaden.
I'm a West Coast guy, so when you were on
the Clippers, I would sneak down. We didn't have cable.
My grandmother had cable, so I go over to my
grandmother spot during the school week, during the week after
practice or whatever, and I would go down. You guys
were on cable, so I couldn't watch it on I

(00:48):
think it was kay Cal the Lakers will come on
ca Cal. You guys would come on Fox. I sneak
down to watch, so I would rock with y'all the
whole year. Man definitely grew up a big fan. As
a player, you were a big guy who can move
your feet left the right, crossover shifting big guys. You
weren't really a conventional big so you know, for a
young guy, man, I definitely was rocking with your bro
for a while.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Man, I appreciate that. I always say that if you know,
if I play nowadays, you know my game would be
a little more receptive to the league. You know, back
when I was playing, you know, as a young boy,
you know, we had the stereo typical power forwards. You know,
we had Karl Malone, Derrick Coleman, Charles Barkley, you know,

(01:29):
the guys that were pitting me a power forwards, and
I was a little different, you know, coming up back then.
I think when Ce Webb came in in the game,
you started seeing the change in power forwards. You know,
kg's and dirks and the guys that were playing away
from the basket. And you know, I like to think
I was one of the forefathers of those guys. You know,

(01:50):
back then they were telling me I shot too many
jumpers and dribbled too much. But right now that's what
they're almost for me to do. So it was a
little different. I look at the players now, it was
a little.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Different, man, absolutely, but I think from my generation that's
why we rock with you. We rocked with KG. You know,
Rashi was more turning face up, turn pivot, but you
had you had to work off the block, like you
had some of the prettiest pinch post game shoot man, Like,
where did that come from?

Speaker 4 (02:15):
You know?

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Because like I said, like for a guy sixt's nine
six ten two sixty, you moved like a guard. You
literally in certain spots were running the wing, playing the three,
and like, absolutely, bro, it's funny you said it. Before
I could say your game fits with today's game even more,
you'd have been shooting threes darg.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, I mean it was different back then. I think
when when I was at University of Michigan, j Smith
was one of our head assistants and he worked with
all of the big dudes. So he worked with Jalyn Howard,
who worked with Chris Webber. By the time I got
the Michigan was myself, Maceio, Bastian, Robert Traylor, and they
always taught us not to be one dimensional. You know,
when we were in college, we were playing pinch posts.

(02:52):
You know, we were catching it on the wing. I
mean by my junior year, I was starting at the
three with Maco and Robert Traylor, you know, so we
had a huge it was front line. So I mean
back then, they were kind of really instilling in us
just to be basketball players and not be robots or
anything like that. So by the time I got to
LA And the crazy part about it is my junior year,

(03:14):
I averaged twelve and I think twelve and eight my
junior year at Michigan. I mean I topped those numbers
as a rookie because the game was so wide open
and it was kind of more tailored to what I
wanted to do. So when I got to the league
my rookie year, I was able to put the ball
on the floor some and it was really easier to

(03:35):
score in the NBA than it was in Big ten
basketball when I was coming out.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Oh yeah, man, a Big ten you played in. Man,
it was some grown man with kids and real wife and.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Kids and grown in And.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Who were some of the guys in the Big Ten
at that time?

Speaker 5 (03:52):
Man?

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, it was grown in in the Big Ten. I mean,
guys weren't leaving early. I mean, if you look that
Michigan team, Michael Finley, Calvert Cheney, Orlando Woolwich who actually
won the MVP of the Big Ten, Sean Rastford, Eric Snoa.
All these guys were junior and seniors. They weren't, you know,

(04:13):
freshmen dominating the conference. I mean, we really had some
guys there that had been there three and four years
that have won a lot of ball games for their programs.
So it was tough. It wasn't a cakewalk, you know
back then, when you know, when we were playing against
Lawrence Thunderberg over at the NDAA, you know, we had

(04:35):
some legit big dudes over there.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Absolutely, man. And you know what, when I think back,
that's why when you got to the league you talked
about being ready. Obviously playing in space was more helpful,
but you were ready for the league. It wasn't like
most of two year two three year project. The Clippers
could look and say, oh, this guy can start right now.
He can come in and play minutes for us, he
can rebound, he's got the size of physicality. Not adding on.

(04:57):
So Mo, what was it like coming into the draft
who was a young Mo Taylor at the time. What
was your composition, your mindset, you know, talked me through
who you were. Was it like a stretch for you
going to the league, or you're like, man, I'm going
or your coaches shoving you out the door.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Talk me through that. When I got to Michigan my
freshman year, I won Big Ten Freshman of the Year
and I was the first team All I was second
team All Big Ten that year. Already people telling me right, right,
So I started having people telling me that I could
have left after my freshman year, but I didn't see it.
You know, it wasn't really in my mindset. I don't

(05:32):
think I was mature enough to really comprehend it, like
I said, And the only people that I have seen
go early at that time was you know, Jalen, you know,
Jomann Web the guys before me. But as a freshman,
I didn't really think I was ready. I had a
pretty good sophomore campaign. It was the same thing. It was,
you know, I actually should have left my sophomore year.
I would have been higher my sophomore year than I

(05:54):
was when I came out my junior year. But by
the time my junior year came Coach Fisher, I'll never forget.
We went to Burger King for lunch and he just
told me. I was like, yes, it's probably time now,
you know, and he kind of you know, we laid
it out there, and you know, it was an informed decision.
But by that time, I thought I was ready. I
thought I'd had you know, you don't want that door

(06:16):
to close. So I had a couple opportunities after my
freshman and sophomore year, but I thought after my junior year,
I thought that was the best I was as far
as a player. At that time. I thought I had
matured as a player. I think my game was kind
of turning the corner. My body had matured. I mean
when I came out, I was six nine, two fifty. So,

(06:37):
like I said, I wasn't a project. I didn't have
the ad strength or anything like that. You know. You know,
I came in pretty much ready to play. So I
thought it was a good time for me and you know,
and taking you know, Coach Fisher's advice. That was the
one person who I kind of listened to during that time.
And once he said it was time for me to go,

(06:57):
that's when I started actually believing it.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
So crazy now because these kids now they hear from
their parents, their handlers, the guy who's the guy who's
the guy in the shoe company, and you know you
had a relationship with shoutout coach. Coach Fisher actually recruited me.
He hollered at me when he went over the San
Diego State Man, so cool to city is doing there
and Coach Dutcher's over there, you know, doing this thing for.

(07:21):
Coach Fisher taught me through draft day. Taught me through
draft day though, man, And obviously he shouted you out,
you you well on them, and that was a recruiting pitch.
It was like, you want to, you know, do what
those guys. I was like, oh, would not too comfortable.
I don't know if I could, you know, pass on
U C l A. But walk me through draft day? Man,
What was that like? What were the nerves like? And man,

(07:44):
you were going into an NBA with the best era
we've ever seen a power forward Barkley Malone. Like nowadays
the point guard position is stack. You don't get a
night off with the point guard positions now, but you
didn't get a night off the power for it was
the most dominant we've ever seen in history. Through your
draft day feelings, emotions, what the agent was saying, were

(08:04):
you let down? Were you fired up? You know where
was your draft? Taught me through that day, Mad, Yeah,
we were.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
In Charlotte, North Carolina. That's where the draft was was based.
Norm Nixon was my agent at the time.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Norm Nixon was an agent.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, he was actually Jay Rose's agent, and you know,
obviously my relationship with Jay Rose, it kind of tied
me into Norm. So Norm was my agent when I
first came out for sure. You know, it was kind
of surreal. You know, your family's there, You're doing all
the things that lead up to the draft, you know,
the little pickup games that were having, you know, with
all the guys that were there, all of the media requests,

(08:41):
but at the same time, you know the ultimate reason
that you're there. So it's really the nerves, the you know,
you have your family there and when I get into
green room. The thing about me is that I worked
out for Phillya two. I think it was Dallas. This
said six the Clippers I didn't even work out for.

(09:04):
They called me in for a workout. I had a
conversation with I had a conversation with him. Norm told him,
He's like, it's no way he's there. At fourteen, so
we're not going to work out today. So I never
even worked out for the Clippers. But as the draft
started to unfold, and obviously Tim Duncan w with number one,
that draft Keith van Horn with number two. As it

(09:24):
started to unfold, I just remember thinking, man, the Clippers
are going to draft me. If I'm here at fourteen.
We knew they were going to draft me regardless of
me not working out me and we knew that if
I was around at fourteen, they were going to pick me.
So you know, the way it played out, I was
around at fourteen. As soon as the thirteenth pick was taken.

(09:46):
You know, they called Orange phone, was like, hey, we're
taking them. We don't need to be on the clock,
We're taking them.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
With the fourteenth pick of the nineteen ninety seven NBA Draft,
the Los Angeles Clippers select Maurice Taylor from the universe.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Then you have Michigan. You know, when you get drafted,
this is a surreal moment. You know, you because I'm
pretty sure you did the same thing as basketball players.
You watch the draft, you watch all of the lead
up to the draft. You watched you know, the combine

(10:20):
and just to be there at that moment. It was
a little surreal and my suit also told the story
of me being from Detroit, so so, I mean it
was a good experience. It was a good experience. I
really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Hold on, mo, you got to give me this story, man,
because for those who maybe can't see this for the
audio version, you know you got your bright till would
till be the proper color? Is an aqua? What you're wearing?

Speaker 2 (10:44):
Man?

Speaker 1 (10:45):
How did you go through the suit? And it was
when you kill him at the time.

Speaker 2 (10:50):
It was a mix between till and aqua. I really
can't tell you what the formal name of the suit was,
but you know, went into a spot and you know,
they gave I like to say they gave me the
Detroit Special because I did have on some blue gators
as well, so.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
I know you had the gators.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
That's my next question. It was definitely a Detroit moment. Yeah, man.
Shout out to D.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
Man, shout out to D. Okay, Now, did you think
you were killing them or was it just like I'm
rolling with it, you know, with the compliments right running around.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
No, I actually thought I did, and I think you know,
it was a running joke because between me and Jalen
at the time, we were trying to see who won
uped each other. You remember he had on the red
with white pinch striped suits. So yes, I think we
kept the conversation going with the loud suits from Detroit.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yes, sir, man, shout out the D, man, shout out
the D.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
All Right, moll, it was exactly.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
I'm loving it, man, I'm loving it. And you know what,
that's part of the culture. Man, you got a wren
for the culture. Talk me through. Man, you're drafted, you're excited,
you go up there Stern's doing that, You're big deal.
Once you get to the Clippers, man, talk me about
some of the OG's on the team. Did you come
in where you feeling like, oh, I'm ready to step in?
Were you nervous? Did some of the guys put you
on your but the first day of practice? Walk me

(12:11):
through that that you know for a ball player, that
first day of school. That's kind of our first day
at school all over again. When you get to that
VET camp, not the summer League, the VET camp.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Right, I think surprisingly when I went to LA if
you remember, that was the year they made the playoffs
and lost to Utah. They made the playoffs the year
before they drafted me, and before then, you know, that
had been you know, a bad team for years, so
I think the vibe was a little different because they
had made the playoffs. We definitely had some you know,

(12:42):
some bad seasons after that. But getting there, it was
a mix between Vets and young dudes that had just drafted.
Lorenzo Wright, Keith Closs came in with me. John Collins
was another guy to Florida State that came in with me.
So we had about five young guys that came in

(13:02):
that year. The ultimate Vets that we had there. You know,
we had Lloyd Vault and we had Rodney Rogers. Both
of them were you know, amazing Vets. You know, Rodney
was a good friend. He was a guy that kind
of taught me the ropes of, you know, how to
be a professional, you know, how to kind of take

(13:24):
care of your body. Early I never forget. We were
in training camp and we were doing three man weave
and I was running up and down the court doing
three sixties and windmills and all of that, and it
was the first drill of practice and he put me
to the side. He was like, young fellow. I love enthusiasm,
but he was like, you I have to pay yourself.
You're not gonna be able to do that every day.
And then as practice two a day started catching on,

(13:45):
you know, I'll started dunking less and less because the
grind on your body, you know. And he was a
he was a real He was a guy that you know,
left a lot of ways before and after the game,
and he kind of got me into that routine. So
I think he was real instrumental and he turned me
into a player as well as Loy Vault. He was
a Michigan guy. He was a guy that I knew

(14:06):
of before I got there, so we were I was
lucky to have two forwards you know, that played my
position that I respected, that helped me along the way.
It made it a lot easier for me. You know,
Rodney from day one, he wanted the USA today and
he wanted a dozen donuts outside of his door every
morning of training camp. I was made sure that he

(14:29):
had his USA today and his donuts outside. He's like,
don't knock on my door, don't let me know it's there.
I know what time I'm gonna come out. It just
better be there when I do, so I had you know,
I have some good vets. I have some good vets.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
Now, did you miss a day? Dropping off the newspaper?
For those young people we used the newspaper is in
a certain of papers in which we would read to
find out the news that you get on Twitter today.
A lot of it's crazy. A lot of young people
like newspapers.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
It was our Twitter back, Yeah it was, But I
did I did you miss a day? Because the nervousness
of it and knowing who Rodney Rogers was, Like I
watched Rodney Rogers at wake Forest. He was a monster.
You know, I've watched guys like that perform when I
got to the league. You know, he was you know
that guy was you know, he's a six eight power
forward that's pushing you know, two hundred and sixty five pounds.

(15:19):
You know, Rodney was exploded, explosive athlete and just like
a huge guy playing forward. So I had a lot
of respect for him when I came into the league
because I knew who he was from college and all
of that. So it made it easier, especially when you
get a guy that had accomplished all he had, you know,
taken interest in you as a player and take you
under his wings. You know that was cool. You know

(15:42):
when you see when you start seeing guys around the
league and you start playing with guys that you watched
coming up and they start complimenting your game or trying
to help you out with your game or help you
to become a player that you can be. That's the
cool part of the league when you're running the guys
like that.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
Absolutely. Now for those who don't know, sometimes when the
veterans have you put in work for him, that's just
form of respect handing it down. But you know, you
get taken care of sometimes. I remember, you know, Mecca
Oka for Sean made. They took me shopping one time
and we get on the plane, shout out Mack by
the way man, he slided me to per Diem. I
remember we went on the l a trip about two
weeks now. He was like a young fella, I'm gonna

(16:20):
hold on it this this per Diem. But I was thankful. Nonetheless,
what are some of the things that the veterans did
to kind of take care of you? Or you know,
blessed along the way for dropping off that USA today
every morning?

Speaker 2 (16:31):
You know, see that's the thing with Rod, I never
paid for anything when I was with him. You know,
he was always saying, no, keep your money in your pocket,
whether it's we go to lunch, if we go to dinner,
if we gonna hang out. You know, he was a
real he was. He was one of those guys that
took care of everybody when we got to the plane,
regardless of what the team did, he had some food
catered or he did. You know, he was one of

(16:52):
those guys that kind of did what he wanted. You know,
he played in the league a long time. He had
a good name in the league, and he was one
of those veterans that you know when he spoke in
the organization.

Speaker 1 (17:04):
Listen, Okay, guys, you gotta hang around because the first
time that Moe Taylor played against Michael Jordan's he messed
around and saw what Michael Jordan looks like. Okay, you
gotta stay tuned to find out what happens Crazy Jordan's
story coming up next on NBA Rookie Life.

Speaker 3 (17:28):
Re minutes ago in the second overtime, Jordan Donton Taylor.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
And I'm a Mike Don Jordan's show.

Speaker 4 (17:39):
He's just your grub job we's just your job.

Speaker 5 (17:44):
The doorman things a gentleman on heartbreaking.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
Laws, but don't bet your laws. Angel a simper club.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
Despite our standing performance, Sister Lamon Murray, Maurice Taylor, Brett
Burry er rensent.

Speaker 5 (17:54):
Right, it was not to be.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
All right more. How about this man, Did you have
a welcome to the league moment or someone that busted
you up that you kind of didn't see coming, or
one of the OG's like I got him and just
let let you have it, or you know the one
of the name names that gave you that work, Like, look, man,
it's a whole different deal right here.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
I think it would probably be Jordans. I mean my
rookie year, we played the Bulls at the Sports Arena.
That was the you know the seventy you know that,
Mic and I think that was the second three peat,
the last championship of the second three peat, that team.

(18:37):
So we were playing them at the Sports Arena and
I remember us blowing them out, like at halftime, we
were up about like twenty, absolutely killing. I remember this,
and Lemne and myself we were taking turns. Guarden, Mike,
we were the forwards, so we were taking turns and
you know, first of all, I'm wearing a pair of Jordan's.

(18:57):
You know, at the time, I have a pair of
Jordan's one and by that time, later on in the season,
I had changed agents from Norm Nixon to David Falk,
So you know, I knew Mike. We had the same agents,
so we knew of each other. But it's Mike. Everybody
knows him. He just knew that I was a client

(19:18):
of David. Yeah, yea, yeah, yeah. So you know, we're
playing the game. I'm having a great game. I think
I had like twenty twenty five and ten in that game.
He comes back at the halftime. We held him to
four points at halftime, like Michael Jordan has four points.
So we're in and I'm geeked as a rookie, like, okay,
we're about to beat the bull. Yeah yeah, everybody else

(19:38):
on the team like it's just a regular season game.
May have been game thirty, a very unimportant game, but
I'm you know, I'm hype, like we're beating Michael Jordan
in the game. So we come back in the second
half and it just starts to get ugly. It like
it literally they they're giving this man the ball every
single time, and we cannot stop him. I mean, it's

(20:01):
just like you're watching the movie to turn around, jump shots,
the up and under end ones, you know, all of that.
So we end up going in overtime with him, and
to make a long story short, we're up three and
he's at the line shooting two and it's maybe six

(20:21):
seconds left. So he makes the first one, and you know,
he goes, you know, you make a free throw and
he goes and DAPs up all this guys. And then
as he's walking back, you know, he kind of tapped
me on the leg. He's like, watch this young fella.
So he goes back to the line and misses the throw.
And when I say the ball, it looked like it
had a magnet on it. It went right back to him.

(20:42):
And when then we're right back to him, he caught it,
took one bounce, jumps and does the whole bump me
in the air and smack his hand and throw it up,
throws it up over his head, ball goes in and one.
He goes back to the line and I'm just sitting
there standing looking like I don't know what happened.

Speaker 3 (21:03):
He follows him, but sixteen seconds to go, bros.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Jordan, I didn't think.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Against its hold on.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
That's for that purpose.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
Bro wasn't say it's no good.

Speaker 3 (21:18):
He got maybe you get maybe he's smarter than all
of us. Thirteen seconds ago, Jordan to a Hall.

Speaker 5 (21:27):
Tie gay nine second to.

Speaker 2 (21:29):
Go and he ended up with like forty something after
having like four or five at halftime. I mean, it
was unreal. He was just I mean watching a guy
just take over a game like that, Nah, it was unreal.
So that was probably my welcome to the League moment
was probably that moment seeing Michael Jordan be Michael Jordan.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
Now, was there some trash talk? You know defensively? You know,
what were you trying against Mike? You know, were you
trying to keep a baseline, trying to get physical with him,
you know, trying not the foulum? What were you guys
saying or what were you doing? You know when you
when you guarded him and did anybody did anybody have
the nerve the trash talking? And was like, no, nah
is Mike now?

Speaker 6 (22:10):
No?

Speaker 2 (22:11):
I noticed that like Brent Barry, like the mom Murray,
the mom was more of a gamer. He had a
little more swag than Brent Barry. But he wasn't saying yeah, yeah.
And Brent Barry was scared to death. He wasn't saying
a word like he was. Brent Barry was scared to death,
like literally scared to death. And Rodney. Him and Rodney

(22:34):
had a running dialogue because they both from North Carolinia. Yeah. Yeah,
so they had some running like dialogue as vets that
I really didn't get in the middle of because it
wasn't my place. But as far as me saying anything
to him, you know, I wasn't saying a word. You know.
I was just out there playing, you know, playing as
hard as I could, trying to get a win. But

(22:54):
at that time, my rookie year, playing against Jordans. We
won the MVP that year. This is the third of
a three P championship. Nah, I just kept my mouth shut.
It wasn't nothing for me to say that.

Speaker 1 (23:06):
What were you guys saying in the locker room after
he kind of you know, like you said, he dapped
you up? Hey, rook watch this Was it disbelief or
was it like was it anybody's fault or was it
like that's Mike.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
For me, it was unbelievable. I was in the locker
room in between. Okay, we lost the game, but I
was greening the whole time, Like did y'all see this?
Like did y'all literally? Like it was like watching him
come fly with me and watching all the videos when
you coming up, but being in it, like going in
the double overtime with him, and like being in the game.

(23:37):
And then the craziest part after the game. You know
how strict they are with smoking and buildings in LA Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Like they don't lie you smoking any type of building. Sure,
we come out of locker room, he has every camera
around him and it's just hundreds of people. And then
you just see him in the middle of the circle
walking down the tark, you know, walking from the locker

(24:00):
rooms going to where the bus work, and he's smoking
this huge cigar indoors. So I'm sitting up like nobody's
gonna tell him to stop. But it's Mike, Like he's
smoking this huge cigar. He was smoking it in the
locker room because when he opened the locker room door,
smoke was coming out of the Bulls locker room. And
it's Michael Jordan. He just let him walk through the

(24:22):
sports arena smoking a huge cigar security around him, and
I just thought, like, man, they may they let this
man do whatever. So it was it was kind of surreal.
Look at all of that.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
Man shout out to Mike. Man, shoot, I got drafted
to Charlotte. I got drafted to Charlotte, And I say,
you know, it's funny. I didn't think I was crazy.
I knew I saw what I saw. Mike didn't come
around that much. But the first time Mike came around
to Charlotte, he was glowing. I swear to god, he
was glowing. And I watched him walk around, you know,
we practicing, and then he walks into you know, like

(24:55):
later in the right and I see Mike glowing. And
I told people, my Jordan has it like a halo,
like a glow around and when he walks. And I've
heard multiple people say that, like you.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Like, dude, his uniform fits different or something like it's
it's it's a difference in how the guy move. Like
you gotta think I'm playing against I'm wearing number twenty
three because I'm a George fan. I came up and
the pistons and the back, so my rookie year, I'm
paying against. I'm wearing Jordans and wearing number twenty three.

(25:26):
So I was one of the kids. I was one
of the Michael Jordan products. I grew up in that era.
From the time that he stepped on the court to
the time I got to the league. I was a
Michael Jordan fan. So it was it's complete all. You know,
when we first, when I first was able to play
against all.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
Right, that's good stuff, mo. All right, Now we tore
you down, we got to pull you back up. We
saw you getting busted up, man, but you had some
game bo. So let's let's hold on.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
Let's pull up.

Speaker 1 (25:53):
Let's pull up. You had a Dunk of the Year candidate,
a dunk of the Year.

Speaker 5 (25:57):
Move man.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
You gotta walk me through this officially. We'll get into
the NBA Rookie Life Film rooms. In the film room
with me, coach Mo Taylor, break down the film, let
me know the play. Let's have some hoop talk, get
me some vet talk. Right now, we was to set
that was run who ran it? And you had dunky
Duncle of Year Canada. Walk me through it, man, all right?

Speaker 3 (26:14):
Turning out for the top ten function over here in
our courtside, coming in at number eight. Here's Maurice Taylor
of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
Yeah, this against Jersey and I'll never get Steph face.
If you look at Steph's face after the dunk, it
was crazy. Well, we running pick and roll and obviously
they were down in it, you know, they was icing
it to the baseline, so they were kind of allowing
me to shoot or they was going to have a stunner.

(26:53):
So the first two times before this they had someone stunny,
so I was like, okay, I'm gonna let them. But
when he stunt, the big wasn't getting back quick enough.
I'm like, man, I may get a step you know,
and get your rep. So if you see the guy
stunt and leave, that's when I'm kind of like, Okay,
soon as he leaves, you know, I go downhill. And

(27:14):
at that time, like when I'm with the Clippers my
first you know, year two, three years, and it was
nobody in the league that was jumping with me. So
it was just a matter of just getting to the
paint and kind of getting you know, getting my feet together.
I'm willing to, you know, trust myself jumping anybody at
that time. Yeah, man, that's David Vaughan that was under there.

(27:37):
He was the guy that was under there.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
Hey hey, b real quick. I don't know if I
have film for artists, man, but just talk to me
about matching up with all the power forwards in the league.
You know, what was it like, like you I seen
you giving Barkley that work. I saw a couple of
film you giving Barkley that work. You had to see
like real big call Malone, like these are these are

(28:01):
real lumberjacks down there?

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Dog?

Speaker 1 (28:03):
What was that? Like Tim Duncan and you had to
go there and was like, all right, more you got them.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
I think it was I think it was a little
intimidating that first as a fan, not as a player.
You know, as a fan you watch Karl Malone and
you watch Barkley, so you're a fan first. As a player,
I wasn't intimidated, but as a fan of those guys
and coming up, I'm like, man, these are guys that
I had posters of, you know, guys that I really like.

(28:30):
Carl Malone. I kind of patterned my game after him,
you know, as far as being a forward that's able
to shoot, that's able to play pick and roll. But
it wasn't an intimidation factor, Like I didn't want to
play against him. I was more eager. I thought I
was different from them. I think early on they kind
of knew that too, because I was. I had started
my second third year really having some pretty good games

(28:50):
against the older cats. But then it was a new
wave that was coming in with me. I played against
you know, Antonio mcdyce, you know, against Dirk Novisky, Karl Malone,
Charles Barkley and the whole Portland team, Brian Grant, Rashid,
Jelaine O'Neill. They had a whole rocket full of power

(29:11):
forwards that every other year you go over there. That
left Shrimp, They had him, then Van Baker when he
was in Seattle and in his prime. I played against him.
Who else Dirk was just coming in the league, Tim Duncan, obviously,
we came in together. We had some battles, and that's all.
In West. Chris Webber like these, he noticed most of them.

(29:33):
Most of those names ain't clown walker, you know. So
if you look Julyan exactly, PJ. Brown over in Miami.

Speaker 1 (29:42):
He was putting up numbers.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
But I think the power forward spot from ninety seven
through probably up until two thousand and teen just exploded.
And it exploded with talent and guys that were just
coming in one after the other that were six ' nine,

(30:06):
that were high jumpers. They started to become shooters. Guys
started putting it on the floor. If you look at
Jamal Mashburn, he played four Atland, yess not hard to guard.
He was like Derrick Coleman, you know, in those prime
years in Charlotte. I mean it was it was a
ton of big guys then and my man, oh, you

(30:27):
don't even to talk about him. He was scary. He
was the guy that a lot of guys were afraid of.
Larry Johnson like he was now. He was the guy
that really between the vets and the young guys, that
was that missing link, that gap, because he you saw
him so much coming up, You saw his college career,
He's done so much, and then the marketing, you know,

(30:50):
the Grandmama and all this stuff, like Larry Johnson was
his and like and plus he at Charlotte, it wasn't
really nobody messing with him. You know, he averaged nineteen
to twelve. That's a rookie. But I think that position
it was like no night saw. I just remember every day,
like every game especially. I think it was around two

(31:11):
thousand when I got with the Rockets. That's when it
really exploded on the West as far as those guys
having the top power forwards. So it was difficult, but
at the same time, as a player, you wouldn't want
it any other way because I felt like I was
one of those dudes too, you know. I felt like, yeah,
somebody gonna get it tonight, you know, somebody talking about, Okay,

(31:31):
we got to play more tonight. So I felt the
same way. But it was a good era of big guys,
and I think the league if you look at it
now and we're starting to go back to that a
little bit. You know, teams are looking for guys centers.
You know, we're starting to go back to that a
little bit, which you know, it helps the game, you know.

(31:53):
I like to see real productive, big guys, you know,
guys that are kind of evolving and things like that.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
And you can see that NB Yoki johannish Man that
that position you know is coming back. Is a bit
of a hybrid. They played it your way, but I
think it's coming back.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Yep. All right, guys.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
Apparently the Clippers did something that made the big fella
the prime prime big fella. Yeah, front of the show
should kill O'Neill upset, and you gonna find out what
he ended up doing to more Taylor's Clippers. Stay tuned,
coming up next on NBA Rookie Life. All right, mo,

(32:31):
we still got to give you some more love. Man,
you drop twenty five against Shaq and Kobe.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Man, if this is the shag birthday game, it's a
lot of stories within this game.

Speaker 7 (32:41):
Shack got it by ay, that's six nine, shack back said,
turned ships eight. But Jeffer and his birthday is good.
That's his first birthday basket fifteen to nine, and it won't.

Speaker 2 (32:52):
Be his last. The Lakers are shagging up with our
passing the life pass.

Speaker 5 (32:55):
In the shack.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
He's under the bass, he's put with our finger rolls
it in. You know I'm seeing rolled.

Speaker 5 (33:00):
Very often, rising load of shack backing in.

Speaker 7 (33:03):
He got one shot at and then his pass under
the Harper and Harper scores down the scene. Lakers trailing
by seven, batting the shot out of trail by five.

Speaker 2 (33:11):
A little hook shot, batting the shot that's the only
player down there, and lays it up and lays it
in Fisher in a shock.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
I'll lay it up and blow it. Let it back
to save it. Oh big Sello, don't do him like that.
Can't go to the driver with pivots.

Speaker 5 (33:28):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
He puts it up.

Speaker 7 (33:29):
I'm blocking, shouting in the who and it went back
from a event's block right into the hands of Shack,
who slammed it.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
Shack now has forty six points.

Speaker 5 (33:38):
Rory bounces under the Shack.

Speaker 1 (33:39):
He's there, he's got it. He needs six points.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
Well, boy, you could tell all of the Laker players
to try that s one that.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
With a heck of a pass by Robert or Torodo
with nine to fifty.

Speaker 5 (33:50):
One to play for a long leader.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Shack, he's done, he's setting up.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
Put it in.

Speaker 5 (33:54):
Shack.

Speaker 3 (33:57):
He's got fifty two his career highes fifty three.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
Boxes, got the ball.

Speaker 5 (34:04):
The pack.

Speaker 8 (34:04):
Tim Dunk standing ovation part of a playing slam dunk
fifty four points career high for the MVP of the
year his birthday.

Speaker 1 (34:17):
On top of the both shot sat I the means
Sam dunk.

Speaker 5 (34:24):
That's fifty nine.

Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yeah, they're gonna leave him in verse sixteeks. Yeah, they'll
get a chance to get him back to.

Speaker 8 (34:29):
Shot Club the underneath, give us the shot shot slam dunk, oh.

Speaker 1 (34:37):
Man sixty one point.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
Look at that bench.

Speaker 1 (34:42):
They loving and well they shouldn't.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
And the crowd is championship, MVP is ship for one
is SHOT's birthday. So he contacts the Clippers and but
it was a home game for us. Obviously we share
the Staples Center, so he will in our landish amount
of tickets, and you know, the Clippers ticket people said no, like, no,

(35:08):
we don't have that much. So he has an attitude
the whole game supposedly, you know, this was the reason
that he went up. Now the funniest part, like, yeah,
I'm having a good game. You know, I'm killing Robert Horry. Yeah,
but this guy over here almost has seventy. So it's
a little different. So we we get to the huddle.

(35:28):
I think this is the beginning of the fourth quarter.
By this time, I mean he got fifty something, you know,
by this time. So you know how when you get
to the bench, the guys that are in the game
sitting down and the guys that are not in the
game and standing up. That year we had three seven footers.
We had Ola Candy, Keith Closs and Anthony Avent Those

(35:52):
are the three centers we had. So I get to
the bench and sit down and I look up. I
see all the seven footers standing up.

Speaker 1 (36:00):
So I'm looking at the guys in the game.

Speaker 2 (36:03):
Whoah oh. I was like wait a minute, like who
like like like who playing the five? Like what's being
a coach gonna turn me?

Speaker 6 (36:10):
No?

Speaker 2 (36:10):
Mo, It's only for a couple of minutes. Like I'm like, no, no,
Like the dude has fifty Like what what do you
want him to do? Like, so he's like, no, just
do it for a couple of minutes. And I never forget.
I went out there to guard him. And Shaq's mom
knew my mom from the mothers of the like NBA
type thing something used to have back in the day.

(36:31):
So Shack was always kind of cordial with me. So
I go out there. He's like, oh, so you're playing
center now, and I just shook my head. He's like,
don't worry, I'm not gonna dunk on you. But he
just laid the ball up on me like eight straight times,
just like layups because we weren't doubling, because they were like, oh,
we don't want to double. How do you not want
to double when the guy got fifty. But I never

(36:53):
forget just playing that game and having we playing well,
but didn't have a guy just shadow your game by
just having a dominant game like that was the year
two thousand and that's when he That's the year he
won the MVP and they went to the finals. I
thought he was the most dominant single player in the
world at that time. And it was crazy because I

(37:16):
had a good game, and I never forget my girlfriend
my wife now and her friend was in town, and
my brother. We went to hard Rock Cafe after the game,
and you know, it was kind of it was you
didn't know how to respond because it was like, hey,
a good game, ote, but you know, Shack had sixty
three and twenty, so it was like, yeah, I had

(37:37):
a good game, but it wasn't that game. But I
always remember that game for them making him mad. They
should have just gave him the tickets and it probably
would have been cool, but nah, that that was a
funny game. And lo I never forget l was on
the team and when they put me in at the five,
lo O gonna come up to me, and you know,
he kind of pat me on, pat me on, the leg.

(37:57):
He was like, don't worry, I'm gonna help you and
hit you. Boy. Nothing you can do with this guy
down here. So I just thought that was hilarious. And
then it was just a running joke for the rest
of the season because every player would come in we
would just be chatting about something. They were like, yeah,
but you looked at brave when they put you at

(38:18):
the five other night. So it was it was a
big running joke. But it was hilarious, man, I mean
he was he was dominant that game.

Speaker 1 (38:26):
I mean, you can argue Shaq and Kobe, Mike and
Pep Stockton and Malone, you know, Magic and Kareem, like
these are the greatest duos we have ever seen play
the game. What do you remember about sharing the city
with those guys at the time or seeing them in
mo Let's make no mistake, you gave them boys that
worked from the high post. Shaq did not want to
chase you around. You was killing them, So I remember,

(38:49):
I remember those days. Don't get me wrong, We're not
gonna We're not gonna act like you didn't put your
work in, But what do you remember about sharing the
city with those guys?

Speaker 3 (38:56):
Man?

Speaker 2 (38:56):
The one thing I do remember is that it was
no sharing the city. I mean, the city of Los
Angeles is a Lakers town regardless of who comes in.
And we had a little buzz about us my third
year because of Derek Anderson, myself and l playing together.
You know, it was the same I'd saying, can they
keep that talent together? Can the Clippers keep them? And

(39:20):
that was the saying, like, you know, they hadn't really
done that until they signed Elton Brand. But nah, it
was no sharing that city. I mean, Shaq got me
into the comedy to the comedy store the first time
I went there because I was only twenty years old
as a rookie and he had it was something that
he was doing at the comedy store and I got
carded and it was you know, dude at the door

(39:42):
was like, man, come on, everybody know how old you are, Like,
it's not. And then Shaq ended up getting me in.
So to that aspect, there was no sharing that city.
The Clippers didn't share that city with the Lakers, when
during that time with Kobe and Shaq, they were obviously
the big dogs in the city as well as the league.

(40:06):
Because when by the time two thousand came my second
year in the league. Kobe and I both was coming
off were I was starting, he was coming off the
bench that year, and we were kind of the young boys,
you know, the up and comers you know during that time.
But the thing about it, and I like Kobe and

(40:27):
I think, you know, obviously Kobe's Kobe, but crime Shack
was just different. Like if you look at everywhere he
went from Orlando to la like, crime Shack just brought
so much with him to the city, to the organization.
Like I tell people to this day, like I don't
care what the Clippers do or what they have done.

(40:49):
There's no sharing that city. You know, that city just
happens to have a couple of basketball teams, but it's
a Lakers. It's a Lakers town.

Speaker 1 (40:57):
Real quick to Kobe Ban, did you know obviously we
knew how dominant Shack was he was. Did you kind
of have a feeling like, man, this young boy kind
of crazy, like Kobe was gonna end up being the mama.
Did you see little things about him that you picked
up on.

Speaker 2 (41:12):
I mean, yeah, it was when we used to have
shoot arounds at the Staple Center, Like my third year
the Staple Center opened, and he used to get there early.
We always had the first shoot around because they used
to want to sleep in, so we didn't have our
preference a shoot around. It probably was like that when
you got there the Lake Clippers had early, when the
Lakers had the second one is their billy. When we

(41:35):
would get there, Kobe was Kobe will already be there,
like getting up shots. Me and e lo O was
usually the first ones from the Clippers that get there
because lo I kind of had got him into the
mod We lift before shoot around for sure, you know,
do our ice hot aft and we get out there,
get up some shots before the rest of the team
get there, and Kobe was there, and it was just

(41:59):
a particular time. He just went up to him, say
what's always like? Between myself, Elong and Kobe, it was
always cool because we were the youngest dudes there like
in La at the time, on the two teams, so
we was always corgials saying what's up to each other.
But when we got out there, you know, he would shoot,
you know, and his whole thing, you know, what up?

Speaker 6 (42:18):
Mo?

Speaker 2 (42:18):
It's like, what's up? He's like, yeah, I gotta go
on the damn well, tell y'all to tonight. You know,
he'll say something slick like that, and we'll get to
talking and then we'd sit up there and then we'll
make a joke. Because during his second year and third year,
that's when everybody's talking about all Phil is holding them
back with shocks holding him back. He'll be saying, I
don't care what none of them say or do, y'all

(42:38):
getting it to night watch, ain't nobody stop this, Nobody
on my team, nobody on y'all team.

Speaker 6 (42:43):
Like he would get in a cop but they would
be like, like, you know, like we talking like the
boys talking. But he's quietly serious the crazy Probably he
meant that. That's the thing about Kobe. It's like Kobe
would come up here and say something and you would
dap them up, be like, man, that's cold, like that's real.
But then you would stop as you walk away.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
You've been like Key means exactly what he says that
it's nobody that can stop him on his team more
rs so, I think what Kobe did and what I
always encourage young players to do, see yourself for who
you're gonna be, not just where you're at right now.
And that's where he didn't see himself as a second

(43:21):
third year guy coming off the bench. Now he saw
himself as Kobe, Bean, Brian and you guys, whoever got
a problem it no matter who it is. And I
was able to be my rookie year. I was in
the rookie All Star Game and that was the one
supposed to be Mike's farewell, and you know, Kobe got
out there, was trying to go at Mike. You know,

(43:42):
that was the one with Rian Carey came out there
so and form, so it was Mike's farewell, but Kobe didn't.
He felt that it was my introduction, not Mike's farewell.
And that was Kobe's All Star game. So it's like
he's different that way to where he saw himself and
who he was going to be, not where he was
right now.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
Dang, that's good stuff, man. And also, man, you played
with one of our greats in my mind, but with
the rival on the other side. T mac Man, you
gotta walk me through this, mo, because you were there,
we all saw.

Speaker 2 (44:14):
We love it.

Speaker 1 (44:15):
I think it's a great moment literally in NBA history.
T Max was it thirteen points and thirty three second stove.

Speaker 2 (44:22):
Here's McGrady for three.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
Five second trick.

Speaker 3 (44:26):
Oh, I look to foul.

Speaker 5 (44:31):
Saw McGrady to the line where he.

Speaker 7 (44:33):
Has hit on three of three looking for point number
twenty seven.

Speaker 5 (44:39):
Man, looking at your complete a four point twice.

Speaker 1 (44:44):
Houston asked to deny Devon Brown the ball he's been.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
Born a Ron Grady overboard four brow Yes, yes, cut.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
To two point, gave have time out? Check a bot
By shot.

Speaker 4 (45:00):
A conyo and that was close to another potential.

Speaker 5 (45:04):
Four point play. Bowen was all over McGrady. Tie about
sant Antonio.

Speaker 2 (45:10):
I hit this Bowen not wanting to think up the foul.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
Grady amazingly somehow gets it to go. It's a two
point game.

Speaker 5 (45:18):
Had a good job by Andrey Barrett. They had no
timeouts left. I'm making it difficult, but Brent Barry gets
it in. Vin Brown lost it. There comes McGrady. Don't turnout.
Traumatic for Grady for the wine.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
Point seven to go sant Antonio, But don't turn up.

Speaker 5 (45:38):
Here's Parker at the.

Speaker 1 (45:39):
Rock steal of games for the Snars.

Speaker 5 (45:44):
Three sheemer Grady with an incredible.

Speaker 8 (45:47):
Performerstown of set, including a four point play.

Speaker 3 (45:52):
Trey Shee McGrady what thirty three points it's.

Speaker 2 (45:56):
Episode out continue. I see. The thing about team is
there has never been another player like him in the NBA. Team.
Mac was a six eight dude that had everything Kobe had,
stuff that Mike had because he was six eight and
he was long, and he was lanky, and he was explosive.

(46:19):
So in this particular game, the crazy part about it
it was between in that conference that's when they had
the Southwest, when the Spurs and the Rock and when
we were in the same division, and at that time,
we were the two best teams in the division, and
we were the two best defensive teams in the division
and the two best defensive teams in the league at
that point. Obviously kudos to Jeff Van Gundy, but I

(46:42):
remember Jeff going to the bench because I had twisted
my knee two games before, and I remember Jeff saying,
you know, chill on this one. Let's get some ice,
you know, like you said, like it's over man, Mac.
Once Mac hit the first three, that's when you kind
of it was a rap because then he starts searching
for him and there's nobody on the Spurs team that

(47:04):
can guard them. He loved playing against San Antonio because
if you look at san Antonio doing those years. They
have small guards. Yes to Noble Parker, those are the
guys that they were running at them and they just
weren't big enough. And he'd loved playing against small guards
because if you look at all of these shots, none
of them are open. He's just shooting over people. He's

(47:25):
just literally like, y'all too little, you can't contest my shot.
I'm just gonna go up and shoot and I'm gonna
shoot a three. And you see a lot of guys
playing like Tatum plays like that at six eight, like
I can pull this without nobody being able to contest it.
Mag was doing that back then. And those little scoring barrages,

(47:45):
I mean that was just one that happened to be
on TNT, you know, that made it famous as a
national TV game. But those are the type of things
that he could do at the dropover din His talent
to me, other than playing agains Michael Jordan, I have
never seen talent. I'm not talking about player or how
they put it together or who won championships. I had

(48:08):
never seen talent like that in one person like he had.
It was just almost like basketball was so easy to
him because he could do everything like he's always one
of my favorite players and always one of my favorite teammates.
Was because I had just never seen that level of
just size and speed and talent and shooting the ball,

(48:30):
the ability to shoot, and the crazy part about it
when he got to us with the Rockets, I did
not know he was that good of a playmaker. He's
a great pick and roll player, but just the talent
he had him and y'all meaning, are the two single
most talented dudes that I've ran into, Because y'all mean,
if he don't get hurt that year he wins the MVP.
He was averaging twenty six and twelve and he got hurt.

(48:53):
But those two guys just pound for pound, just players
with Mack.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
Was it more of a film? Was he in a
film when he have his own little scouting reports? You know,
you start talking basketball with guys and they got their
own little scouting reporter. Or was it just he just
had a field. I remember playing against Team Mac, he
spent off baseline and like I've seen him go off
on those barages, you know myself early when I got
in the league. But what was it about him? Was
it an intellectual game? Would he be kind of calling

(49:19):
the sets when he said, hey, most set of screen
right here for me, I'm gonna do X, Y and Z.
You know, what was it like talking basketball with T
Mac when you saw him in this heyday?

Speaker 2 (49:27):
I mean, it was so easy for me because I
played with y'all mean a teammack, So it's like set
a screen, get teammate going downhill. Somebody got a help
on me or y'all, you know. So I'm just sitting
out there just taking pot shots and just being for sure,
you know, paying poke, picking roll him, just being open,
you know. But the best thing I think happened to

(49:50):
Team AC with jeffvan Gunny. I think Jef van Gundy
ignited a competitiveness in him to where I don't think
he's had a coach up until he got to the
Rockets and the team where he felt like he could
compete with a Kobe Bryant. You know. I think when
he got to the Rockets, he saw Jeff as a mastermind.

(50:10):
If Shaq is won, y'all was one a as far
as big men in the league at that point in time,
and we had all the necessary pieces to create a
winning team. So I think Mac at that time, he
had a swag about him that he like, Okay, yeah,
we played the Lakers every Christmas on Christmas Day because

(50:30):
of y'all was shaggy. But he felt like he can
compete in those games. Yeah, yeah, So I think that
helped him a lot. And that's why those years he
had with the Rockets, he kind of picked it up
because he was on the set. He was on the
even playing field with some of those other guys.

Speaker 1 (50:45):
All right, well you talked earlier about a young Kobe.
You also got to see a young young Lebron square
off with t Mac. Did you know Lebron was different?
Was there something that stood out or like, you know,
like Lebron had to make me a believer because a
lot of people gave him the hype and he this,
he's that, and a lot of those dudes didn't pan out.
Were you able to see it? You know, how was
it seeing a young Lebron? Were you like, this dude

(51:07):
is my size playing point guard?

Speaker 2 (51:09):
You know?

Speaker 1 (51:09):
What did you see from him? Your first impressions?

Speaker 2 (51:13):
What I liked about Lebron early on was how much
respect he showed for like Kobe and Mad and those
guys before him, game wise, It was incredible. He was
literally a power forward that was running a four to
two forty, you know, at two hundred and fifty pounds,

(51:34):
hitting a wing and really just exploding in the air
and down the court. It was it was a difference
looking at him. Is that you started to see the
evolution of the NBA athlete. If you look at Mac,
you look at Kobe, they were graceful, they were long,
they were lanky. It wasn't a power aspect to their game.

(51:57):
You got a guy that comes in and shoot turnarounds
just like them, can handle the ball. But now he
has a power aspect to his game that no, none
of these other guys. Jordan didn't even have that. You know,
he has a just a mass probably it's just a
mass problem. When you plays Lebron, there's just so much
mass that's moving that fast if you're playing on the wing.

(52:19):
The only other player that you can think of, you
think of people like Shag Karl Malone that has that
much mass and they can really run. But a guy
playing plaint guard, you had never seen that before. So
he was different in that aspect. Just the sheer athleticism
and just how much he knew about the game that early.
I mean, it was like watching a vet. You know,

(52:42):
when you talk about the intricacies of basketball. People don't
understand what defensive three seconds is. They don't understand you
got to get in, you got to get out. They
don't understand the exchanges on the back side of the defense.
They don't understand the nuances of different pick and roll coverages.
Lebron knew that already. Lebron knew all of that already,
So that was the difference that he was probably probably

(53:04):
the most cerebral player that I've ever seen as a rookie.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
How was he matching up with Mac? Do you know?
Did they kind of guard each other? You know, obviously
from a coaching perspective, you want your two best players
not to kind of guard each other. How did they
pair up pound for pound? Obviously you talked about the
power with lebron but how did those guys go at
it to kind of you know, just kind of watching
them like, oh, hey, man, I'm watching the show right now.

Speaker 2 (53:28):
It was definitely impressive. I think Mac at the time
obviously was the easier as far as scoring wise. It
just came so easy to Mac. As far as controlling
the team, space pace. I think Lebron his IQ was
on another level. He just played the game the way

(53:50):
it was supposed to be played, whereas he saw the difference. Okay,
I'm matching up with MATC. This guy can score, so
he saw what a Mac is what we were Matt
can score anywhere you drop him at, He's going to
be a scorer. The YMCA, the Drew League, Rutger Park,
where you drop him on Earth and he lands, He's

(54:12):
going to be a scorer. And I think that was
the difference, is that by this time playing with us,
playing with Jeff, it was so easy for Mac to score.
You know, he knew where to get his spots, whereas
Lebron you could tell he was trying to figure that out,
you know. So that's kind of what I saw. You
saw that. I saw Lebron being tracy early on in Orlando,

(54:35):
where he's trying as hard as to will his team,
but it's only one guy. Whereas the Matt that Lebron
was seeing and been in the league, you know a
nine years had won multiple scoring championships and now he's
with a team and a coach that's about winning. So
I think that was the difference. You kind of saw

(54:55):
where Lebron started. But Tracy had gotten there, you know,
he had gotten away from bad basketball and now it's
just he's a bet and it's looking real easy. So
I think that's what a little bit of the difference was.

Speaker 1 (55:09):
Man, that's good stuff there.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Mode.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
Now I don't know how verse you are into the draft,
but there's this kid, Amen Thompson coming out. There's Thompson twins.
But Amen actually has drawn some t Mac comparison. What
you think about his game. He's got the tall, slender
you know, look, he's a guard, he got the bounce.
So let me know what you see. There's anything from
a young t Mac that you could kind of, you know,
glean from. Let me know what you think about him.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
I actually watched him a lot, you know, because men
with the Houston hoops, you know, euybl that's you know,
the last since I've been with them last four years,
I'm real in depth to all of the high school players,
overtime players. My thing with them is I love their size,
I love their ability. The only downside I have with

(55:53):
those guys is the fact that they were playing against
high school guys and they were a lot older, like
out of the overtime. You know they playing against some
seventeen eighteen year olds, but you have those guys who
you know they're like twenty years old. You know they're
not young young, but game. See the thing about tam
Mac is Tam Mac was the same type of athlete.

(56:17):
He was that from day one in Toronto, Like day one,
he was a guy that you if you put that
put out on the floor, it's going to be a problem.
I think I'm in kind of handles it a little
better than t Mac did coming out. I think his
ball handled ability is much better. I think you saw
t Mac evolve into that off the dribber guy in Orlando.
I like his size, I like his defensibility. I just

(56:38):
want to see what happens when he plays against top
level competition because I don't think he's had the ability
to do that yet.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
There's good stuff there, man. I think it's excited going
into the draft because we don't know, you know, where
these kids could could end up. But you know, he's
got the ball in his hands. He gets a chance
to develop, and I think these young kids that get
more opportunities than we had, we were like our games
are so limited go to the post or you know,
catch and shoot, do this, and these guys get a

(57:04):
chance to kind of fulfill their potential. Like if you're
a big guy who can dribble, you're gonna be playing
point guard on the team. You know, you're gonna be,
you know, making these moves. So I think I'm excited
to see what they can be moving forward. But obviously
the questions that are there. But like you said, they
do have the size, you know, and if it does translate,
you know, you see a lot of the explosiveness, you know,
like the gifts are at least.

Speaker 2 (57:25):
There right right right now. And now I think the
stuff that they have you can't teach, and the stuff
that they lack, it's teachable. So I think they'll do well.
I'm ready to see them get summerly, get to that
next level competition and see how it translates.

Speaker 1 (57:42):
Yeah, all right, listen, man, I'll be in trouble if
you got out of here and they talked about my
Houston Rockets. And now listen, man, you got to cheer
with the goat. Man, you played with the goat Hakeen.
We're gonna throw some Hakeen clips out here. Man, let
me know what was it like playing with dream I
know it was later in his career. You know, a
lot of us modeled looked up to him growing up,
and you got a chance to rock with him early

(58:04):
on in your career. Talk to me about dream Man.
What was he like behind the scenes, What was he
like in those practices and in the huddles, you know,
and were you able to pick up some things from
him going into your career.

Speaker 4 (58:15):
Here's Bubbly Bubbly on the drive in the lane out
to Elijahan. He's got a little lake corner. Joe Jordie,
Tom Janovich damage back, gets the ball, takes it in
the corner out front of comes to Eliza Jawant. Elijah
wants jump her from fifteen to push it up from there,
won't get it rebound. Francis Franchis puts it on the floor, gets.

Speaker 5 (58:32):
It out to Elijah Wan. Elijahuana able to bum robertson
out and out.

Speaker 4 (58:36):
Dishes off to La La down Lord of Rogers Rogers turns.

Speaker 5 (58:39):
With a left tanner.

Speaker 4 (58:41):
What the way if I allow Jawan for Houston. Francis
gets you out from go to Elijah one in the
lane and he's come back after the time out, kid
out in front, Elijah Wan opsh it away.

Speaker 1 (58:52):
Dream is having one of these flashback games. Well, he's
doing all the things that made in one of the
best sinners in the history of the league.

Speaker 4 (58:59):
Blunt gets the ball to Sean Marion. Marion can't shoot it.
It's knocked the way and it's stolen by Eliza One.

Speaker 5 (59:06):
It's rolling out the President. I think too many people
didn't handle it. Marion had it. Elijah Wan was there.

Speaker 4 (59:11):
The double team they were able to knocked them all
the way Elijah one and then threw it out for Francis.

Speaker 5 (59:15):
He came up with a flying slam dunk in the
crowd hearing.

Speaker 2 (59:19):
You for one. Dream is the greatest player I've ever
played with, you know, by far as far as resume
history in the league, who he was, where he came from.
He's the greatest player that I've ever played with. When
I got there, we really, you know, we kind of
hit it off the first day of training camp. He's

(59:40):
come on mo. We played one on one every day
from that point off. We played one on one, and
he led us to play one on one, so we
would play one on one every day before practice. We
get there early. We started one on one, but during
that he's kind of showing me how to get to
my progressions on my moves. A is the jump hook,

(01:00:02):
you know. B is the turnaround jumper, which the counter
from the jump hook.

Speaker 4 (01:00:06):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:00:06):
C is if you face up, you give a double jab,
you know, sweep through middle, quick spin right. Then D
is sweep through middle, quick spin right, show the ball,
and then come back left. So he taught the game.
And by that time, you know, this is my fourth
year in the league, I'm like a vet, but he's

(01:00:27):
still teaching me the game. And he helped me because
he said, he's like, you're not a back to the
basket guy. He's like, they should stop trying to make
you that. He was like, get to the elbow. You
can do everything. I just showed you from the block
on the elbow. And that from two thousand when two
thousand and two thousand and one season until I ended

(01:00:47):
most that's where most of my stuff came from, was
those little teaching from Dream on how to use those moves,
but using from the elbow. And if you look at
a lot of stuff I did, there's a lot of
stuff that Dream did on the block. I just did
it further away from the basket. But he was a
great teammate, cool dude, extremely cheap.

Speaker 7 (01:01:05):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
He was at practice. Yeah, and the guy used to
come to practice and wash our cars, and you know,
you just show up. I think one time he showed up.
I didn't have any cash. I'm like, Dream, you know,
throw me thirty bucks so I can get a guy
for the car. And he looked at me and laugh.
He's like he was just laught.

Speaker 4 (01:01:25):
Ha ha.

Speaker 2 (01:01:26):
Oh no, man, can't do it like Dream.

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
You know you may.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
You can't give me thirty dollars to get a guy
to get He's like, oh man, that's funny. I can't
do it. I never gave it to me, the funny
part about it. But you know he's a good guy.
But but no, Dream, Dream was a character. He's a character.
And by the time I got there, we will play
one on one. We'll do the first part of practice.

(01:01:54):
Next thing, you know, Dream would be waving at you. Okay, guy,
I'll see you tomorrow. He'll leave in the middle of
the practice, Go get dress. I got some stuff to
do today. I got some hearings to run. But that's Dream.
I mean, he said his eighteenth year, what can you do?
And Rudy was just like, Okay, dream, hope to see
you tomorrow. But that's how you was.

Speaker 1 (01:02:14):
Oh my gosh, man had to give my rockets love here.
Man had to give my rockets love here. We'll shoot mo.
I appreciate you coming through, brother, It's been a blessing.

Speaker 5 (01:02:23):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
Like I said, I've always been a big fan. You know,
you were one of those first forwards that could face
up kind of do everything. You know, off the blocks.
You definitely expired me or grew up watching you, man.
But one thing that I'm big on here at NBA
Rookie Life is how can we support you man? How
you you blessed us on the show. How can we
get behind any projects that you have going, anything that
you have popping out, whether it's just following you on

(01:02:45):
the social media or you know a cause or a
charity or something that you're behind.

Speaker 2 (01:02:49):
First and foremost. I'm the seventeen you coach for Houston Hoops,
eybl We're all about giving elite players the platform they
need to be seen by the top colleges in the country.
You know, I do a lot of work with Nike
with them Other than that man, you know, just trying
to get back to the kids, give them a little
piece of knowledge from my playing days and help them

(01:03:09):
achieve their goals.

Speaker 1 (01:03:11):
Well, shoot, bo, I appreciate you, brother. We'll tap in
soon man, and hopefully running to you on a circuit
or in one of these games. Man, no DoD, I
appreciate it. Fun stuff there from Mo Taylor. Man, amazing
work and I think he was having flashback to Shaq.
Only scored sixty one. I'm saying only sixty one, not
sixty three, but nonetheless, Man, fun stuff there for more Taylor,

(01:03:33):
And again, guys, we're so thankful, not just the moment,
for you for listening. Man, we can't do this without you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:39):
We love you.

Speaker 1 (01:03:40):
Appreciate you, guys, but make sure you subscribe you don't
feel like subscribing. Shoot me alike a follow, shoot some
love over. Let us know what you like, let us
know what we can do better. Hey, man, what guests
can we have on that you'd like to see on
NBA Rookie Life with Brian Hollins. Appreciate you guys for listening,
and guess what I see you next week.