July 19, 2023 • 56 mins
Ryan talks with 11-year NBA vet Nick "Swaggy P" Young about the origins behind his confused meme face and how it's grown, and his memories from winning the 2018 NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
How's everybody doing. I want to welcome you guys into
a very very special episode of NBA Rookie Liked with
Ryan Hollins. Man and this is this is one of
my dogs.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Okay, this is one of my favorite people in the
entire planet.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
He scored over eight thousand points in the NBA. He's
a NBA champion in twenty eighteen on one of the
most athletic and exciting players that I have ever played
with seen on the court. Man a bona fide bucket.
He not a corner player. Okay, you're not a corner player. Nick,
I'm gonna leave you at that. Well, edited like that.
(00:37):
You're not a corner player. Man, my dog none other
than the sixteenth pith in two in the two thousand
and seven draft, Nick Young, excuse me, Swaggy Pete Man, Swaggy.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You know call you to call me swag You know
everybody called me slag Man.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I can't call you spaggy. Pe you like my little
brother dog like I don't. I don't know if I
feel right there.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
For years it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, yeah, So I'll say this for those who don't know. Man,
me and Nick go way back. I remember I was
watching Nick and Au first time I saw him. He's
playing with Jordan far Mar Lorenzo Obata, and I kind
of went to watch Farmer farmers as all American, as
big deal, and Jordan threw a live from half court.
We're in a little smaller and he threw a lot
from half court and this dude comes out of nowhere,
(01:21):
catches the lib and doesn't just dunk it, reverse flushes
at him. I said, who is that? We came here
for far Mar, but who is that?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Man?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And we've been in the gyms, man. I think a
lot of people don't know like you are a hoophead
dog like you love him. We've been in the gyms
for a while, and I think working out and like
you know, for those who don't know, when it comes
to NBA players, you know this and that you got
your guys, your Monday, Tuesday guys, and then they soar
by Wednesday. You got your Thursday, Friday, Saturday all day.
You know, You've always been hooper Man, So I know
(01:54):
I know you love the game.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Dog man man. Every day and a week can go
far some type of run. I remember going to North Ranch,
we had our Wednesday runs at North Ranch. There some
battles even though y'all like the cheap to y'all was older.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
But it was cool. It's cool, it's cool.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
You know you didn't play no defense?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Man, I do that now. I don't play. I still
don't play on defense.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
But keep more now, Hey, I got to put you
on the spot too, though. You know I'm always messing
with you. Man, what's the P and swaggy?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Pe? Me?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Man?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Oh man, I'm gonna write a book.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
It's a mystery. I can't tell you that. You know,
I should give you the exclusives. But when the book
come out, I'll let you know.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Can I get the exclusive?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Though?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
When you decided to say, what the P and swack?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Have?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
You been asked us a lot or the people just on.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Swaggy because you have it's a mystery, you know, because.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You're Nick Young, not Nick. What's your middle name?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Aaron started? That's belitiful, you know, prophet prophet, So there's.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
No there's no recollection of pe in the name. I listen,
I know what I say. It stands for. It's not appropriate.
I can't say it here, but this fidy p. Listen
and you know what Nick I gotta give you credit
for something else too, Bro, because I got it in.
I used to think you was crazy. You are the
godfather of swag. You are the godfather of this whole generation.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I kid you not nick him for it too, though, Bro,
y'all have to kill me for that. Nick.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
You already know so our generation. Then you were the
first cat. I remember I was at a truck we
had a track meet, and you came out of the
track meat. You had on skinny jeans like a rip
tea or something like a rock star.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
We in college and you started growing your hair. You
started like just kind of like fading the sides and
just letting your hair grow wild. And everybody was like, dog,
what is wrong with nick?
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Baha?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Bro, you were the first.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Even my coach, well my coach made me cut it during.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
The year, hold on, hold on in college.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yes, Tim Floyd, You're like, man, it's getting too much attention.
Won't you think about cutting it? He didn't made me
say what you think about cutting it look more professional? Yeah?
I say, I was heart Do you felt about it, like,
you know, maybe I'll do what it looks more professional?
So I cut it before the tournament.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you went off to Now, let
me ask this before I get to the tournament. I
do want to talk about that. Do you feel like
you get credit for being the godfather of swag? Do
you feel like you get the respect that's due here
and there?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I feel like I do, but I don't. I feel
like it needs to be a little bit more appreciated.
I need to be a little more appreciated, you know,
because people can to forget, but.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I do get mentioned.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
As long as I get mentioned when they talk about
like the and all that, I'm cool. But I think
I need to be uplifted a little bit more. I'm
more like, like, yeah, like the m jail is a
tunnel walk, you know, like like Michael Jordan of this.
I feel like I need to be presented like Michael
Jordan of this.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And I see, Okay, since we're on it, man, we'll
have a little fun. Give me some give me some rankings. Man,
I'm gonna throw some names. I'm gonna throw some names.
Maybe you have something I'm not thinking of will come
to mind.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Kuzma Westbrook, the cooler gave me my recognition hardened here
and there, here and there.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I don't know if you saw if you saw Turners, Myles,
Turner had to fit on in some league. I'm trying
to think, man, where where do you? Where were you
would you rank those three? If you're gonna rank those three,
let's let's go Westbrook, Kouzma and hard Man. That the
fashion kings right now in the league.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I will have to go, uh Westbrook first, last. I
have to go Turner last for.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That summer the summer and they mentioned ye, I don't know, men,
we have to go James and Turner. And I'm not
being biased because you know they both from LA but Turner,
I don't know what that was, uh in Vegas?
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, okay, Okay, So you're gonna you're going
Westbrook and.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Then who Westbrook and then James and then Turner.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
No, no, no, Kuzma, dog Kuzma.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Oh who's there?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Oh I'm gonna go Westbrook, Cools, then James and.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Then Cools over Harten. Yeah, okay, okay, okay, girls, we
can stay on that all day. Okay, we can we
can stay we can stay on that on Okay, before
we move, is there a reason Cool's over hearted?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
James been in this game for a while dog.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yes, but I feel like he wearing whatever like they
tell him to wear, you know, like whatever its stylings were.
That's what I feel like.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Yeah, okay, yeah, be a little more natural. Okay, let's
get back to the hoop. Tim Floyd, I see to
cut your hair. You mess around and it works out.
You go off of the tournament, you squared off against Kdah.
I knew you was cold, Nick, But did that influenced
(07:17):
your decision to end up coming out and going to
the league going off against KD? What was that mindset?
I remember watching that the tournament game was crazy, went on,
that's that's a legendary game. Though, what how did that
influence you going to the league and talk me through
that and like who? Like what was KD? Like the
hype going into that game.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I think he was everything he thought he was gonna be,
you know, especially of going into the game, it was
a little bit more. I feel like we hit our
he was hitting our thrive at the point, and I
feel like it was like the underdogs. Everybody thought it
was gonna lose, of course, you know, because they don't
really respect the West Coast like that. But U C
L A. I think like y'all the only team that
(07:58):
really get more respected. But this is like usc first
time in the tournament playing against a feena and and
expecting to go that way.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I feel like they didn't watch us that much this year.
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Obviously I was prepared. We got we had t Gibson,
we got we had players that end up. Yes, why
he was ready.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
He was ready and we knew it was gonna throw
at least three people at KD.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So facts and you do do you feel like you
were going to the league no matter what happened? You
felt like after that game just solidifying, like I'm out?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I feel like after we won that game, Uh, you know,
I ain't gonna lie. I looked at the mock drafts
after all that, like my name got highed, I got
ranked higher. So I did all that, you know, I
was I was excited, you know. I felt like all
(08:58):
the hard work was finally here. You know. But he's
still nervous because you don't know what to expect. But
at the same time, you're happy to see like your
name mentioned on stuff. So and the only person that
was in front of me was at the guard position,
was ranked was Corey Brewer because they was you know, Florida.
They was real skin. Yeah, they was. They won the
national championship. That was going on a second.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So all right, well we'll talk me through draft day?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Man?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Did you end up being a green room guy? How
was that? Who was your competition? Were you nervous going
into that deal?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
You know?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
How were you? How are you eyeing things?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Were you?
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I was upset at the draft.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Dog.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I went fifty so I have forty nine names.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I love you.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I had forty nine names that I had a bone
to pick with. You know what I'm saying I had
was better than you know. I came out of real salty.
I don't know how you felt. Was a happy experience
for you?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Because I was.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I was a little upset, man.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I I was so. I was so but I was
happy because you know, I got the call to come
to the green room and I was like, damn, okay, yeah,
I'm thinking about to be one of them guys.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You know when you got the call.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
I think I was might even have been shot, might
have been on mirror shopping, you know, I might have
been shot, been wiped out.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah right, I might have been. But at that time
I had my agent. Then you know, I had an agent.
You know, this is in May.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
This is in May.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
This is in May. So this is you know they
do the the lottery picking May, right. Yeah, yeah, So
I got the call. First thing I did was call
my mom, call my brother, cause this is what you know,
you dream of shaking David Stern hand, you know, and
all that. So that happened.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I come to New York. I got my family and
friends out there.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I've been told I'm going lottery, so I'm thinking of
going anywhere from nine to the Clippers. I thought the
Clippers gonna pick me. At at twelve, they said I
couldn't go past the clippers. The Clippers gonna pick me.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Did you work with the Clippers or no? Or they
just gave you kind of a promise.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Yeah, this gave me kind of like a promise, like, oh,
but it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I think they end up taking out Sam Young. Nobody
thought Philly was gonna take So Philly was gona take
out Thornton. The Clippers gonna take me, they told me inside.
When I was there at the green room, they told them, Wow,
Billy ended up taking Sam Young instead of out Thornton.
(11:31):
So so I didn't know where I was gonna go
after that. I was kind of nervous after that like that.
So thirteen club they already my agent told me they
already had that lot. Who's your agent at the time,
it was Mark Barberstein.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yes, sir all, y'all was oh yeah, And then I think.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Fourteen was Detroit and then you know, after sixteen it
was the Lakers supposed to pick at seventeen or eighteen.
So I thought I probably couldn't have a chance to
stay home. Still, I was a homebody. I was like, man,
maybe I get a chance to stay home. I was
scared to like leave. But sixteen coming around, my agent
(12:15):
was like, they called him and said they gonna pick me.
I was like, DC, I ain't never been in c DC.
Who's in DC? I'm kind of never I said, give
her the reasons, okay. He I didn't know him like that,
but I know him. I knew hbody knowing who he
was gonna be, you know, I didn't know he was
(12:36):
that wild. So I'm thinking, Jill, I see Gills for
sixty old the Lakers, So I'm like, man, it's gonna
be fun.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So the sixteenth thing come around. They called my name.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I just remember hugging my mom and hugging my dad,
my brother, going making sure I didn't fall walking up
the stairs.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Mary's like, let's don't fall. Shook his head, start headed.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
After that, you know, talk to everybody.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It was fun. It was a blur. After that.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I was just and you know, I have to drink
the champagne and just enjoy the.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Night after that.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
That's what that's what's up man?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, they gave it's a private jet DC. They send
you the private jet after next day to do the
press conference and where you're getting drafted a So that
was my first time on a private jet. Like life
is like, this is what the NBA is like.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So that that was my first experience.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Fun times.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
I want to ask you something about gil, but I
don't know if anything is gonna come off as appropriate.
Dog shout out Gilbert Man, shout.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Shout up, shout out. He was the first one to
call me. But I got drafted.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Wow, what do you say during that conversation? What he
said to you when you got on the phone with him,
Because Gill is a valley guy too. For those who
don't know Nick is a valley guy. We all hooped
l A Hoopers, so it was all in the family.
He's older than us, but he was Arizona product. We
all know new guilt because he would come back and
hoop with us.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yep. So he called me like, man, I've been watching
your game for a while. You from from the same
NAK the WS. I'm happy to have you on our team.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
We wanted.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I wanted to to pick you and all that, you know.
So I thought that was dope. Like this is Gil
telling me he wanted me. Get ready, I'm getting in
gym with him. So I'm like, man, this is dope.
This is give what arenas give? Arena's lover.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
With Nick always like it. Once you get to the NBA,
it's almost like the first day of school because you
don't know, you know, we come in for summer league
and stuff like that, and it's kind of rookies the
training camp guys. But by the time you get to
the real dance, you got all the ogs, you got
the veterans. That's showing up man, right on right in October.
What was it like that first day of school? You
(14:48):
kind of seeing the vets there and kind of like
how things change. You know, how did that go for you?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Oh? Man, that's like his eye open it because like
you really started over like like I can't I'm there.
I don't hear my name getting called as much by
the coaches. You know, you in the second unit majority
of the time if you ain't number one or you know,
I was in the second unit. Uh.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
As a rookie, we have to be there first before everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You had to do going to extra maund you there
at least an hour or two before you got to
get a practice in before the practice. Really yeah, but
when Gil Gil come in and Krah, you know, this
is their teams. You know you come from college, Well
this is your team. You come from high school, that's
your team. College, that's your team. And now you know
(15:39):
in a prose where you got to prove yourself again.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So I think that was probably the toughest. But at
the same time, I felt like I could get a
bucket at the end of the day. I know, I know,
I know. So like the preseason games, they let me
rock a little bit, they let me rock a little bit.
(16:03):
They let me because you know, I ain't gonna lie summerly.
My first game wasn't as good, you know, I was
a little more like still. I was a little nervous
my first game in Summer League. But after that the
Jenner's road ward off. Once I've seen the ball go
through the whole, it became easy for me. But when
I got to the preseason, when I'm playing, I'm on
(16:26):
the court, sharing the ball with Gill and Karan, I
was more worried about that. I gotta make a shot,
don't miss them, don't go out here. I gotta do
the right thing. I got to be in the right place.
I got to know the plays when they call. So
I'm thinking about doing too much of the right thing
instead of just playing.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Who'd you have rookie? Ye? Was it was it Flip?
Or who was the coach?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
George?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Eddie George think you was there before?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah it was Eddie George, George George.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That's really George. So just learning the plays, you gotta
know it whole little playbook. And that's when you got vets.
Oh man. They talk everything your fault really, everything in facts,
everything your fun.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I remember the first.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Game they was we didn't play. I wasn't playing that.
I got it. They was down at least eighteen. Guild,
it was down eighteen. I come in the team going
like a little two like they score like they go
like a six more point run. Instead it from eighteen
it went to twenty, like twenty two to twenty four.
(17:33):
They called time out, Guild, I'm gonna, says the mother.
If they not ready, don't put them in the game.
I said, come on, I was already losing. That was
already down by it. We didn't play for at least
three more games after that, so I'm like, yeah, we
played for like three more games and too, like I
(17:54):
guess I have to retrust you again or something like that. Yeah.
So yeah, my rookie year, it was in the beginning.
It was a little shake. It was up and there
was a.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Lot of these young boys. It's funny you say that, Nick,
they don't understand what the NBA we came up in.
You wouldn't promise no minutes your first half, pick you
coming off the bench. You ain't just getting thrown out
there like you had to earn your minutes or like
the old jus is really putting you in spotsible like
they don't play him, don't whatever, like you go out
and earn, earn what you had.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For sure. So like now I like the way the
NBA is going down because people get a chance to rock.
I wish we had more opportunity.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
To when I think of it, honestly being candied, from
my own personal opinion, I feel like a little bit
in between would be good because I felt like Bro,
I was just on the bench front, you not getting
no better in practice. But I feel like when you
just take your minutes for granted, you're not going.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
To get any better.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You just going through the emotional just somewhere in between them, like, look,
you're gonna play five minutes. If you play well, you
might earn some more. But right now you got at
least five you know that you're going to get Did
you have a welcome to the NBA moment?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Dog? Did you?
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Did you have someone who just tore you off for
a moment? He was like what the heck? Like I
did not see this coming, man.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I think it was like the uh when we played
teammate and he was in Houston here, Yeah he did,
Like I didn't think he was gonna be in a dunkey.
He did like a spin move and it was at
least a foot or two from the freak the line.
I thought he was gonna lay it up on because
he's spinning them. I jumped, thinking, Okay, I'm just gonna
(19:29):
try to show play a good deep but he got
me with he turned that thing over, buming it over me.
Get up your feeling, Get up your feelings. I had
to take the ball out. You know, you're trying to
take the ball out fast, trying to take the ball
(19:49):
out fast, but they don't recognize it. But at the
same time, like t mag is one of my favorite players,
so I thought that was pretty dupe, and he went through.
He went for like ten straight points at that I
must say, give you Welcome to the league, though you know,
I end up they end up talking to me. I said,
(20:09):
this told you the lead difference lead different scores first boar,
but I end up doing that for some people too.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
So yeah, oh yeah, people people know the scoring, but
people sleep on the bounced dog. You want to bounce
cast I've ever seen off the backboard through the legs
like on GP, like you really just re reserve your
bounce like me, I was trying to do everything, like oh,
they just took off like you. You definitely always reserved
your bounce.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Man. People just talking about your bounce in college, Like,
you see what I did jump for the free throw?
Throw it off the backboard. I'm like, man, it was crazy,
the bounces, Like they don't understand. I don't think they've
seen that. That was crazy. You should have been in
a dut contest.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Man, I tried. I tried. The league would let me.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I tried.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I didn't have a big enough name. You know, they
don't want the no name guy, the fifty pick. Can't
win it dunk contest. He ain't getting no minutes. Guys,
hang around. This is exclusive, I'm telling you right now,
we're gonna find out where the nick Young meme, the
confused face came from. This is universal, this is global,
This is iconic as bigger than basketball. Stay tuned. Coming
up next, Let's get to my favorite part of the show.
(21:29):
We talked about it earlier, the NB Rookie Life Film room,
where we just gonna talk some hoop and I need
I need, I need a mix from you. I need
coach Swaggy p but I need Swaggy Pea. Also we're
gonna talk some hoops. Okay, let's go to this first clip. Man,
I put you down, Nick, I'm gonna bring you back up. Man.
You put my man in the rim. Mister mehevi Man,
talk me through this clip right here? Do you remember it?
(21:50):
What was special about this play? And what was this
car right here? Fill it?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
The game?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
What was going on?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Nick Young yos up over top of NHMI.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
I'm just oh man, I was reing it right there.
You know I had scored, like I think I had
about sixteen right there. I scored two in a row.
So when I get when like that a little hot,
they know to feed me. So they they drew up
a play with I just go take I go to
(22:20):
the post in my hand. I'm like, what should I do?
Don't you know? When I get in the post, I
start thinking, like I do it fade away and you know,
I'm trying to take a strong.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Sign up Simian Baseline.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Seeing him, I was like, man, shot, he about to
block me, but you know me, I was go up
a little higher for my horm in his chest and
you know.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Ain't hold on.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
They going back down to the court. What you say
on that foot? You said something?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
What are you saying on the way back on defense.
I just beat that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I think, you know, I can't say what I said
because I think it was like some cuss words I
was at. I was a little too geek. God, that's
I think. That's like my first time duckle on the
seventh foot like that.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
And mahemi's a shot blocker. Mahimi was solid, bro, Yeah,
but not that day.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
You know that that day?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
All right, Nick, let's let's keep it rolling. Let's keep
it rolling. You had a career high. You dropped forty
three points January eleventh, two thousand and eleven. Forty three points. Dog,
walk me through this game. You have your weedies that morning?
Was it was you feeling it? Man? Taught me through
this game. The coach start calling your number. I think
the one thing about you that people don't know is
you are like a certified buck, Like you just get
(23:36):
the ball. And I think the biggest thing when I
when I look back and watch you, you're able to
get your shot off. So all the crossovers, all that stuff,
you could shoot over anybody. You got bounce in a
high release. So walk me through this game. Man, did
you know this is gonna be a career high? Was
it just I'm rolling. You know, somebody talked about your
mama for the game, man, what was it that had
you going on?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Mann?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think I was due for that game. Games before
I I didn't have a good shoe night, the game
before that, and the game before that. So I went
in the gym a little extra harder that week, and
I was just more determined. I was like, you know,
if I see the ball go through the hole and
they tay gonna be a good day, I can't. I
can't have three bad nights. You know, at that point,
(24:17):
they might start taking my minutes away, you know, take
my minutes away. I ain't want that. So I think
I was gonna be more out. Was like, I gotta
be more aggressive, and I started off with a with
an easy shot. I think my first shot was a
layup spind post move.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
For young drive spaceline on shot off the glass.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And once I seen that go to the hole, I
was like, okay, he started off good. We got two.
Then I made my next shot like okay, it was
a three. I was like, okay, we got five, and
I made I had straight straight eighteen. You know, it
was a straight eighteen. And then I finally missed, so
I knew that night was gonna be a good night.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Now, young Dollar shot.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So good. I certain a good sign. So I had
like twenty something going into the half. Some nights that
I have twenty going in and a half and I
don't score no more like that, so fus. But I
had twenty something and I just felt like it just Carona,
(25:23):
like the third quarter they enjoy Alabamas played for me.
I came off of a screen and went in the ball.
I think Andre Blast missed the rebound. The ball flew
right in my hands while I was at the open
three right here up, I think the ball. Look, they
were just leaving me open. So I felt like that
(25:44):
was the basketball guy's rewarded me man, you.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Know, as again on a floating shot.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
That's for all the nice guild and passed me the
ball and Koran they didn't want to give me the ball.
So this is my team right here. You know for
the jumper, that's a three.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's a three at a dude career high. Let me
ask you this, Nick, when you had the ball on offense,
are you are you thinking about, hey, I'm going to
get to this spot and just rise up or are
you thinking like, Hey, you know I'm going to cross over.
I'm gonna get a feeling as soon as you lean
on pulling up. What is your mindset when you have
the ball on offense in those moments.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It depends, Like for the majority of my first bucket,
I gotta get to my spots. I gotta get to
I got to see the ball going the whole, you know,
I got to get a feel for the game, you know,
So I try to get to my spots early. Well,
I know I'm comfortable at well, I know I just
shot to shot one hundred times a thousand times. What's
that happen? Once I get get it going, get the
(26:48):
ball roller, It's it's swagey Pi ta man.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I just.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Whatever happened, whatever I'm thinking about, I try to do
for that at that moment.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Really, you know, it's funny when I think about you.
I played with Jamal Crawford, obviously Gil some of the
great scores like y'all just love to play pick up,
bro Like y'all love to play pickup like you. Literally,
people don't know, Nick, You're gonna hoop at North Fridge.
You're gonna hoop and the Drew You're gonna be a
same mind, like you have hooped every single open run,
and then that same game comes to the NBA, Like
(27:21):
this is the same nick in summertime. How does that work?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Just like I love basketball, just hoop dog like and
it just becomes instincts. But you, Jamal Gill, all those
great scores, I do recognize that about from seeing you
guys in the league versus in the summertime.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
For sure, I think that's for me. I just watched them, guys.
I watched Jamal Corfin is one of my favorite players.
Once I got to lead, you know, you get put
in that category. I got put in that sixth man role.
So I try to you know, I started watching film
with Jamal, studying how he get his shots off of
what he do and how he took over that sixth
(27:57):
man role, you know, And I try to just do
my best at it. But in the summertime, it's just
I grew up when you grew up playing in the parks,
we had a knew it. Each day. It was going Monday,
you play here, Tuesday gonna play here. And I just
stayed with me until I grew up. Really it's fun, man,
I wish I could still do the moves. You can't.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
They just work a little slower. They know, you know, Nick,
for real, guarding you, you were one of the guys
always feared not to guard you. But it's like, dang,
he could shoot the three, and if you want to,
he could bang on me like he could go like
so I can't just be like late or I like,
(28:39):
like I think people guarding you was always a little.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Nervous, like he could go buy me.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You know what I'm saying. He danced, He danced, but
if I get up too close, he can always go
punch one.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
You know, for sure, for sure the herky jerky.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
So I used to just try to do whatever, like
I studied Jamar, I study team Matt, study uh, I
studied Lotu. Will sometimes like I just like to see basketball.
And once you once you get put in that role,
I feel like you got to try to master as
much as you can.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Really, all right, Nick, I got I gotta ask you
about this one. We know you a bone a fire bucket,
but we got to ask about this.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
When I was on a fast break and the ball
flew in a real or when I missed the three,
it's either or it's the three.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Let's pull it up. Explain to me what's going on.
I know you a bucket dog, so we got to
ask you a bucket There's no question talk to me
about it, because like, did you think, like I don't
think Twitter and all that was as big as it
is now? Did you think like this would just go
as viral as it? Like? This has been an iconic
You have iconic moments, I mean basketball history, bro.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I thought it was going I do for shows shacking
the food, but I thought that as far as it
was gonna go ain goe like, so that was a
year's shackle, just trying to kill me and Jamil. So
I knew that was gonna make shacking the food. But
at the moment, I just hit one though, I just
hit one and it was up by like.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Up, So I'm like, that's another one. I'm feeling good.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
What did the crowd say when you did it?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Was it? Oh? Like what? Oh?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Laugh?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
It was all because I was trying to do that,
and I was gonna show at the Gil like, yeah,
you know I did it? Better hold on, hold on.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
So you were doing this so you could show it
to Gil and talk crazy to Gil because Gil did
that on the game winner.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
He did, he did, he did, But you know this
is like a game winner to me. I don't care,
but you.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Was going to show it to gil Gil. I did
it better pretty much, Okay, we blaming Gilbert.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I ended up doing it better.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Tell you.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Mi's a little more iconic.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
You know, that's true.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
That's true. Today we still see this and we don't
see Gil's game winner. It's utah, we did this one,
all right, Nick, next, next one not It's embarrassing, but
it's definitely a viral moment. You got to do some explaining.
I think we talked about it. Your memorable face, man the.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Did you know?
Speaker 1 (31:12):
And shout out Cassie because Cassie got the shot of you.
Did you know that this was gonna turn into what
it turned into? Did you even know that you were
meaning for it? Did you even know that it was
like being circulated?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Oh? For her? I wish, I wish I could have
made somebody off that. Oh I wish. Oh man, that
thing is everywhere Chinas, everywhere, And I didn't know that.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Big ain't gonna lie.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Give me the explanation what happened here? Because folks who
may not know folks probably know this and they don't
even know you Nick. That's how wild this is.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Man, All people like that mean guy.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
NBA. Sometimes, ain't you that mean?
Speaker 3 (31:51):
You are that mean guy?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But it was just, you know, Cassie hit me up
and said, can she like follow us do a day
in life, Nika, so see what we're doing today. I'm
like cool, So she ended up following us. I took
me to the gym. After the gym, uh, he went
to my parents' house and I let her, you know,
interview my mom and stuff. So she asked my mama
(32:16):
questions about use about basketball. She was like at the
park they would they wouldn't let me play at the
time at the time because I was a clown or
something like that. And I looked at him, like, you
really said that on TV, Like you really said that
about your son, because they wouldn't let because my brother,
(32:36):
they won't let me play because I used to joke
too much at a certain age. I take it serious.
So he's like, they wouldn't let play because he was
a clown then, and I looked like wow. And then
next thing you know, I see the means go crazy.
About a month later, everywhere.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Where is the most une back the place you saw
this mean pop up dog most others.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I was saying that like took on the life of
his own in China, like it's crazy they got it
like a sayer for what or something like that. But
the fact that me and Jordan's battling for number one,
the number one spot.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
The Jordan crying face started a Nick confused face.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I feel like, you know, I accomplished a lot in
my life. You know, I got a famous means facts.
I wish I could listen.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I'd rather be I rather be that than the crying face.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
So hey, you chicks. You know chicks, you by means, dude.
You know you know famous people use by means. You
know when they somebody says something crazy, you takes my
face sometimes.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Facts no lie, no lie, no lie.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
But I just trying to have fun with it. I
didn't take it too serious.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I was like, you know, it is what it is.
Just enjoy.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Man, stay tuned, You're gonna find exclusive info. Nick Young's
gonna tell us what really was going on behind the
scenes with the Kobe and Lebron rivalry. Stay tuned on
NBA rookie life. All right, Nick, give me this one.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Too.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Man, we got to talk about this Kobe practice. I
know you talked about a thousand times man, but shout
out to the late great Mam. But man, so my
understand you guys are in practice. There's some trash tall
going and let me give this context before it comes out.
If you asked about any NBA player that has a
comparable skill set to Kobe Bryant, you are one of
(34:41):
the names that come up. Big long. Shout out to
Scott there, big long shooting guard, get a shot off,
all three level score, super bounce. You have a skill
set comparable to Kobe. So when you went to the Lakers,
it was like, Hey, I'm not gonna say you were
going to be the successor to Kobe, but it was
a similar kind of I was your mentor. So talk
me through this practice. What was going on and what
(35:03):
was the relationship like with Bean and Nick. I know
you are uber confident. You feel like you can get
your shot off over anybody that you can't be guarded.
So what was going on?
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Though, Oh, Covid is cold, you know, I had a
great relationship with him. One of the first people that
you know, called me when I got there, told me
to come to the Orange County and work out with him.
At five in the morning, I'm coming from the valley
to go to Orange County. He's showing up with shades
on earlier in the morning. It's super cool walking in,
(35:35):
Like he's floating like this, Kobe is this called me
floating through the gym man Shad's all at six am.
But that particular day he had lost, I think lost two,
like two three games in a row. So Cold came
in on this. I felt like it was like, let
me change the mood in the gym. Let me let
(35:56):
me light some fire out of him. So he came
in talking trash just from the start.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
What was he saying?
Speaker 3 (36:03):
He's like, this is how I'm supposed to get better,
but this, but these be I'm gonna get better, but this,
I said. I said, what you mean you can't guard me?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Guard me? Wait? From there, you start calling Sherman soft
like shervy y'all, saw y'all, saw y'all, shermy, I'm gonna
get better playing with Sherman, all right, and it don't help.
You know, you know they was.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Winning at the time you start talking.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
You know they they up. You're playing the scrimmage and
they up at the time, so I'm like, start over
and talk trash nah' starting over, keep playing to keep winning.
Just what am I? I ain't getting better doing that.
And then I was like, I said, guard me. Nobody
in the world can guard me. Nobody in the world
(36:52):
can guard me one on one.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
You ton'd be nobody can guard me. You come guard me.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Yeah, I said, nobody in the world can guard me
one on one. You guard me.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Don't talk trying to jerman land on you go. Then
he said, I'm not from this world, not from this world.
I kept saying that. I know.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
I said, nobody in the world, Garden, I'm not from
this world.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
So that's mean. But they ended up winning. He won
a scrimmage that made him talk more. He didn't want
to shake our hands. I think he just walked out
and said, holbout get better with this and walked out
Holm get better with this and walked out. But then
the next game he end no winning, ended up winning,
So I think we went like too straight after that.
(37:38):
But I think he ended up getting hurt during that season.
But that was like the the first time I seen
like a Kobe had my like Kobe moment. I felt
like I felt good to have that moment. You know,
that's something like I grew up watching Kobe. I grew
up having an afro like, you know, wanting to have
an afro like Kobe. So when the oman came, I
(37:58):
for sure it wasn't going back.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Now, when you look back at this moment, what do
you see in Kobe? Like, like you kind of mentioned
a little bit, he was trying to spark things up
we had lost, Like, what do you see from him?
Because this was a lake This wasn't a championship Lakers team,
We'll be honest, this was a developing Leakers. So what
did you see from Kobe? And all y'all ended up
being dogs in the league? Everybody we shot out, Carson said,
(38:21):
everybody who was on the team there, What did you
end up seeing from from Kobe there? When you look back,
what did you see that he was doing? And like
kind of what to do for your career?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
For me, I feel like he's just being a great leader.
You know you'll want to after losing, you don't come
into practice doing the same things. I feel like I
see why he's Kobe Bryant t Like even when he
was hurt. He was studying, like I comeing to gym here,
like he's only go left or something while you go
(38:52):
left all the time. I was like, how you see
that from the training room, Like he was always studying
and doing the games here. I remember this one time
he was playing in Chicago and it was like I
came on a line like five seconds left and he
ended up telling me what what played a run and
(39:13):
what to do and it ended up working and we won.
I hit the shot and we would and I was like, damn,
that's that's Kobe bean Ruyn. So he been in this
situation for over a thousand games. It was overtime, it
was down. It was to go in the overtime. I
think again Chicago Bulls was down to He told me
(39:35):
to come off the right elbow, do a two dribble,
pull up the baseline, and shoot the shot. I ended
up doing it. That's crazy.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
That that's crazy. He didn't draw the play. He told
you to move the dude once you got the ball.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah, centered after elbogo, two dribbles, baseline, shoot the shot.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Dan, That's that's amazing, man.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
That nuts.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
I've never seen a teammate. I've never heard of a
teammate doing this, and you know, Nick, you don't know this, man,
but I got to thank you for something, Bro. You
did that you didn't even know. The last game I
ever watched with my father, I watched you guys play
san Antonio and san Antonio was pretty good. I don't
know if you remember this. You guys beat san Antonio
and san Antonio. And the last game I ever watched
(40:21):
with my pops was that game. And y'all won. And
sometimes you plan and you don't know what it means,
but it was the last memory with my dad enjoying it,
and I was on the kings. I was celebrating for y'all,
celebrating for him. Y'all y'all really weren't supposed to win
the game, but all you gave my dad his last
his last memory of the Lakers, and I'm thankful for it, Bro,
(40:45):
for real, like forever, I'll never forget that game. I
don't even know if you know, like somebody watching or
what it means to somebody.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
All right, that's crazy, and I appreciate that, like you
never know. That's crazy. That was a game.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Was that when we hit the game, it ended up
being a crazy game Bro and San Antonio was still
good at the time. This one just like it was
in San Antonio.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
I think that's the game after the Kobe practice. That's
the game after the Kobe practice.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Well, thank god for that practice.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
You know, yeah that one. Yep, yep, that's the game
after that practice.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I remember this game. Yeah, you guys weren't supposed to
win this game. And maybe Kobe knew. Me and my
father watched this game, our last game together. So dang,
I love you, dog, I love you for that.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Man.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Mab my post was going wild when you did this.
I wouldn't know. I definitely want no Laker fan, but
I don't think you know what this what this meant?
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Man?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
My old man passed away probably the next day or the.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Day after so that.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
But no, that's dope, man. I appreciate that. That's a lot.
That's what no.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
We was going crazy now.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Young with too what's it gone?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
It's gone young for thre man.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
The Lakers laying with seven point four woman young sex triple.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
Of the night, and they really got away with it
because Jeremy Lynn on the pass out of the double
team had Western Johnson White open, turned it down to
drive it, Night gave it to Nick Young for a
bailout shot, and Nick Young.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Delivered God Lee, hold on, Nick, what are you thinking
at that time?
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
As a matter of fact, I remember you just hoist
that thing and it went in. Are you throwing up
a prayer? You're like, Man, oh, this is good.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
I was happy I got the ball, really because I
knew I could shoot that one, because it was like,
it wasn't supposed I wasn't supposed to get it because
they messed the playoffs. So if I missed, it's not
reading my phone, Jeremy shoot fact, and the clock is
running out. So I got the ball at the perfect time.
So I felt good. I felt good.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
You watch her, the pass goes, You don't see there's
Wes Johnson White open in the corner.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Wow, that's good defense. Better, how about knitting Young? So
I'm aa call him Swaggy.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I'm a call him Swagy. That's getting dunk late in
the shot park. Oh man, Okay, let's let's let's move forward, man.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Kobe, Kobe's it was supposed to be like that, Kobe
the Jordan' Steve curR moment. So Kobe drove and passing
to Jermy Lynn, but Jermy Lynn was covered, so he
passing to me. I couldn't give it to nobody else.
It's like two seconds, three seconds, le So it was
a perfect shot. I felt good though I wanted that.
I felt good and now that I know, you know,
(43:37):
I gotta sto it's a good story behind it.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
Yeah, man, it was more. It was more to that
shot than you know. Man, Me and my pops, we
was going crazy. His last bits of energy was cheering
for you hitting that shot. You know what I'm saying.
You know you my dog.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Man.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
So let me ask this too, man. You you're talking
about the competitive nature of Kobe. Obviously he was later
in his years. But the big rivalry even we had,
right we had Jeezy put the song out four Kobe
and Lebron? Man, what about this rivalry with Lebron? And
how did Kobe view Lebron in these matchups? What was
it like would he be turned up a couple of
(44:12):
days before, would he be kind of giving y'all the business?
How personal?
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Like?
Speaker 1 (44:17):
How personal did it get between Lebron and Kobe? Because
obviously Lebron was younger, he had the better team with
all due respect, but Kobe ain't had no back down
there would he be making sure y'all was ready to
play in these games? What did you what did you
get to see between this because this was a real beef,
like Cats was getting the fist fights over Kobe. Lebron
(44:37):
dog for sure.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
And you felt it going into the game because he
he was like, oh, this is one of those games.
You got to really be on point for him. Like
his energy is different. You know, he talking talking to
us like pick up, play defense, do this, do this.
So it's like he really like like when he talking
talking like more like trying to tell us what to
(45:01):
do and like hyping us up to get going. You know,
it's one of those games. And I feel like.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
He looked forward to that. He looked forward to that moment.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
I think he won't like Lebron to go back at
him more too, though. I felt like he wanted Lebron
to play defense, hold them hard, like push him to
so I felt like at towards the end of his career,
I think Lebron felt like he took it a little
lighter because Kobe is a little older right there.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
How often will Kobe really go and you're seeing him
taking the challenge of guarding Lebron. Obviously, star players really
don't happen. You want your charge, your start to worry
about offense, not guarding. But this is one of the
last moments where we see these two actually like match up.
Like how like you said, like, like, was did Kobe
know physically I don't have it? Or like was he
mentally like I'm going to find a way to beat
(45:52):
this dude.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
I'm gonna find a way. I wanna find away. That's
exactly how it was. I'm gonna find a way. Because
he knew he wasn't the same cold. Everybody knew that,
but his will like it was crazy, like we all, dude,
he'll be in a gym run and doing seventeen's before
this game. Like in this stand them up, I'm like, man,
(46:14):
you're thirty eight, man, you gotta yo sold man, you
just had injury. You need to just wait for these
games and play on the Here He's like, he gotta
stay conditioned. You gotta stay in shape with you that
when you get up their age. So even in the
All Star Game, you see he picked him up four
(46:35):
quarters with I wish we could have got a championship
Cleveland versus Lakers.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
But dang so Bean hold on man. Bean was running
seventeen's pretty much going into the matchup against Lebron, so
he could be and she was like, I gotta be
in shape for this. I gotta be ready to gotta
be in shape.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
Yeah, you gotta be ready. You gotta be in shape.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
So yeah, he's to look forward to them to playing
against like the people like Lebron, even d Wade at
the time.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
So being as different dog, being as different. All right, Nick,
let's go to some of the funnest moments of your career.
You didn't get to play the way you wanted to,
but I gotta we gotta go over this championship run man,
that was a special year. You know, whether we played,
whether we are part of it. The dream is to
get some some jewelry. Dog, you got some jewelry. I
was definitely happy for you. Talk to me about that
(47:22):
iconic series against Houston. You guys have the Juggernauts, y'all
got the team, and Houston went and got at y'all.
Houston got at y'all. Man, Like, this was one of
the best playoff series in history. This is like this
is almost the championship. Before the championship championship, talk to
me about playing playing Houston, Man, what was going on
(47:43):
behind the scenes, What were guys seeing in the locker room?
What don't we know about this?
Speaker 2 (47:48):
For me, I was like, oh, man, I hope it
ain't my fault. I'll come here. But you know, they
was more relaxed that like we been here before, you know.
But at the same time, it was like it felt
like Houston just had us for a minute.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Walk fin this genus.
Speaker 3 (48:19):
They had us no matter what he was doing. They
was I was nervous.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
I'm like, man, Chris Paul was playing unbelievable, James was
playing unbelievable. It was crazy. It was crazy. But I
think that that game five because they was too They
was too geekd. They was too like they were show
bobbling and all that. They was too confident. They had
us down three two, I think, but they was up
(48:44):
like twenty at our house. Came from up and they
was just talking like like it was over. And I
don't think that's something you should do to Katie and
stuff and Clay, And I think that moment at halftime
that third quarter changed everything. It was over after that
(49:07):
once we see they was too confident talking trash. Game
seven was it was easy? Really was the.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
Gloman State Warriors on the way.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
He shut it up? Final?
Speaker 1 (49:21):
What do you remember about the way that James Harden
was playing in this series? And do you think this
is prime prime James Harden talked to me about Harden.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
Oh, man, there was nothing you can do with him
at the time. He old school where you're found.
Speaker 2 (49:36):
It was prime free throw twenty free throw hardened too,
and it was good for basketball. I felt like Chris
Paul and James they was like the perfect dude. After
the match up with us to go to State because
at the time, Chris Paul was in his prime balling.
He was doing Simi's oh he was doing the shemios.
(50:00):
I'm like, dang, I ain't never seen this somebody this confident.
On Steph Curry he had a shot and didn't shoot
me on them, I'm like, man. And then James going
for thirty and forty in the playoffs and I'm like, man,
this is crazy. Then you got Trevor Reza PJ. Tucker
hit the corner of threes. I feel like there was
(50:21):
like just the perfect team to match up against US,
but Chris Paul ended up getting hurt. Was Chris Paul
went down? I feel like they lost confidence in theyself.
He's a major key for them for Houston.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
What happened in that halftime? Was it just you know
what time it is? Was there a championship look that
you saw in their eyes? Was it steph stepped up
to the plate. Was it KD What was being said
in the locker room?
Speaker 2 (50:43):
Drama? Drama, drama was a great leader. For sure. You
do more than just stats. I feel like in the
locker room it's all drama. You know what, bet around stuff,
you know what to say the stuff. I feel like
he bet around play, you know what the how to
get them going. I feel like he was just saying
(51:04):
the right things. After that, it's like we're being here
before we champs, me the champs, while we're playing like
be not the champs. This is their third championship run.
Might be one two already, Let's get another one, let's
get greedy. I was just happy, man. I'm happy that
we got past that because I was nervous my first
time man in that atmosphere going that far as just
(51:28):
seeing something different, like my NBA career, Like, I'm like, man,
this is what the NBA really is about. If you
don't get a chance to experience that. I feel like
everybody need a chance to experience that championship run because
you go through all kind of emotions, go through times
where you don't think you're gonna win, like when he
(51:49):
was playing Houston, Like I feel like nothing we was
doing was working and then like we hit a switch
and thing just started falling into place for us. You know,
times where you know we just you breathe through things.
Sometimes teammates get hurt, like's gonna be able to play
Eagle Dollar was hurt. He was doing the Houston serious
(52:11):
So I feel like Eagle Dollars is a big part
of things. So they couldn't do the Eagle dollars Draymond
Steph KD. They couldn't do that, So they have to
play I think Javail. So it's tough because Vel wasn't
used to that role, but he did, all right, walk
me through this shot right here, jennethor fall rebound Durant,
incredible old opportunity Durand for three Cat's.
Speaker 1 (52:35):
Got Kevin Durant from towntown The Golden State takes the lead.
This ends up being a dagger. This this sealed up
your first championship. Dog Kadi ends up hitting this. What
happens here? Did you see it coming? Did you know
what was going in? How big was it was? What
was your reaction?
Speaker 2 (52:51):
Thank you, Katie, That's what I'm saying, Thank you man championship.
But I've just seen it like it was we knew this.
Here is KD our stelf. They was going back and
forth for who's gonna win this MVP, MVP Finals MVP.
(53:11):
So I felt like that shot right there was KD
the finals MVP for sure.
Speaker 1 (53:18):
A lot of people were saying that Kevin Durant was
the best player on the in the universe after that shot,
after these series, do you feel like this is the
best KD version of KD we've seen? It was he
at this time, all due respect to King James, the
best player on the planet.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
Oh, I don't know, but this KD was. It was cold,
it was hard to stop, but that Lebron still had
forty on us. It was still going for forty, so
that Lebron and me was probably still the best player
on the planet because his team he had. Yeah, he
took to the finals with Jordan Clarkson and Shumpa Jr.
(53:58):
Had no other an start with him, so I felt
like he was still the best player on the planet,
but we just had too much firepower, too much. Lebron
couldn't he couldn't go. He couldn't go up against Steph
KD and me by itself, it's too much. And that
was prime KD too, that man cauld I told him
(54:19):
when he's practicing, he used to going one on one
like b KD some of the other players to play
one on one.
Speaker 3 (54:26):
I'm like, you don't realize how.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
Unstoppable you are, like you set a feat, could do everything.
You don't understand that, Like it's hard. I don't think
you understand how good you are. I told him that.
I said, I don't think you understand how good you are,
because ain't no way you should let anybody just talk
to say anything about you because you're KD. Like he's
(54:50):
really one of the best players to play this game.
Like it's it's crazy, how talented, how he's a unicorn
too in hself, because we ain't seen that. He ain't
seen that absolutely, man, it's Katie.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
After that, you know, we'll shoot.
Speaker 2 (55:09):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
I appreciate you coming on. You know, we hoopers. Though
we can talk hoop all day, we'll have to do it.
We have to do it again, so man, but I'm
gonna get you out of here on that one. And Nick,
I thank you for coming on here man and blessing
me on this podcast and blessing the NBA Rookie life family.
But where can we support you? Man? You got any foundations,
any causes? I g follow Twitter follow, I know everybody
(55:31):
probably following you already. But what where can we support you? Man?
Speaker 3 (55:34):
You know, just follow me on I G man, swigy
people by uh yeah, Man, just look forward to be
doing big things man, Right, Ryan, you need to give
me a job.
Speaker 1 (55:45):
All right, all right, we'll get swagging job. I think
I think this should be easy to do. This should
be easy to do, Nick. I think we'll be fine.
He's looking for employment, man, and I think this much
should be easy. Thanks for coming over, man, and we'll talk.
Speaker 3 (55:58):
So thanks Man. I appreciate you out for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (56:01):
Man.
Speaker 1 (56:01):
Shout out to my brother Swaggy P. Nick Young. I'm
gonna call him Nick Young. Mama named Nick Young. I'm
gonna call him Nick, but we cannot do this without you, guys.
Thank you so much, love you guys. I'm like follow subscribe,
let me know who you'd like to see on the
pole coming up next, but make sure you show some
love and I appreciate you guys for coming through man.
Thank you again and I see you next week
How's everybody doing. I want to welcome you guys into
a very very special episode of NBA Rookie Liked with
Ryan Hollins. Man and this is this is one of
my dogs.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Okay, this is one of my favorite people in the
entire planet.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
He scored over eight thousand points in the NBA. He's
a NBA champion in twenty eighteen on one of the
most athletic and exciting players that I have ever played
with seen on the court. Man a bona fide bucket.
He not a corner player. Okay, you're not a corner player. Nick,
I'm gonna leave you at that. Well, edited like that.
(00:37):
You're not a corner player. Man, my dog none other
than the sixteenth pith in two in the two thousand
and seven draft, Nick Young, excuse me, Swaggy Pete Man, Swaggy.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
You know call you to call me swag You know
everybody called me slag Man.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I can't call you spaggy. Pe you like my little
brother dog like I don't. I don't know if I
feel right there.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
For years it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, yeah, So I'll say this for those who don't know. Man,
me and Nick go way back. I remember I was
watching Nick and Au first time I saw him. He's
playing with Jordan far Mar Lorenzo Obata, and I kind
of went to watch Farmer farmers as all American, as
big deal, and Jordan threw a live from half court.
We're in a little smaller and he threw a lot
from half court and this dude comes out of nowhere,
(01:21):
catches the lib and doesn't just dunk it, reverse flushes
at him. I said, who is that? We came here
for far Mar, but who is that?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Man?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And we've been in the gyms, man. I think a
lot of people don't know like you are a hoophead
dog like you love him. We've been in the gyms
for a while, and I think working out and like
you know, for those who don't know, when it comes
to NBA players, you know this and that you got
your guys, your Monday, Tuesday guys, and then they soar
by Wednesday. You got your Thursday, Friday, Saturday all day.
You know, You've always been hooper Man, So I know
(01:54):
I know you love the game.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Dog man man. Every day and a week can go
far some type of run. I remember going to North Ranch,
we had our Wednesday runs at North Ranch. There some
battles even though y'all like the cheap to y'all was older.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
But it was cool. It's cool, it's cool.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
You know you didn't play no defense?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Man, I do that now. I don't play. I still
don't play on defense.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
But keep more now, Hey, I got to put you
on the spot too, though. You know I'm always messing
with you. Man, what's the P and swaggy?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Pe? Me?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Man?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Oh man, I'm gonna write a book.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
It's a mystery. I can't tell you that. You know,
I should give you the exclusives. But when the book
come out, I'll let you know.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Can I get the exclusive?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Though?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
When you decided to say, what the P and swack?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Have?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
You been asked us a lot or the people just on.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Swaggy because you have it's a mystery, you know, because.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You're Nick Young, not Nick. What's your middle name?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Aaron started? That's belitiful, you know, prophet prophet, So there's.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
No there's no recollection of pe in the name. I listen,
I know what I say. It stands for. It's not appropriate.
I can't say it here, but this fidy p. Listen
and you know what Nick I gotta give you credit
for something else too, Bro, because I got it in.
I used to think you was crazy. You are the
godfather of swag. You are the godfather of this whole generation.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I kid you not nick him for it too, though, Bro,
y'all have to kill me for that. Nick.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
You already know so our generation. Then you were the
first cat. I remember I was at a truck we
had a track meet, and you came out of the
track meat. You had on skinny jeans like a rip
tea or something like a rock star.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
We in college and you started growing your hair. You
started like just kind of like fading the sides and
just letting your hair grow wild. And everybody was like, dog,
what is wrong with nick?
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Baha?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Bro, you were the first.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Even my coach, well my coach made me cut it during.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
The year, hold on, hold on in college.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yes, Tim Floyd, You're like, man, it's getting too much attention.
Won't you think about cutting it? He didn't made me
say what you think about cutting it look more professional? Yeah?
I say, I was heart Do you felt about it, like,
you know, maybe I'll do what it looks more professional?
So I cut it before the tournament.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you went off to Now, let
me ask this before I get to the tournament. I
do want to talk about that. Do you feel like
you get credit for being the godfather of swag? Do
you feel like you get the respect that's due here
and there?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I feel like I do, but I don't. I feel
like it needs to be a little bit more appreciated.
I need to be a little more appreciated, you know,
because people can to forget, but.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I do get mentioned.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
As long as I get mentioned when they talk about
like the and all that, I'm cool. But I think
I need to be uplifted a little bit more. I'm
more like, like, yeah, like the m jail is a
tunnel walk, you know, like like Michael Jordan of this.
I feel like I need to be presented like Michael
Jordan of this.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And I see, Okay, since we're on it, man, we'll
have a little fun. Give me some give me some rankings. Man,
I'm gonna throw some names. I'm gonna throw some names.
Maybe you have something I'm not thinking of will come
to mind.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Kuzma Westbrook, the cooler gave me my recognition hardened here
and there, here and there.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I don't know if you saw if you saw Turners, Myles,
Turner had to fit on in some league. I'm trying
to think, man, where where do you? Where were you
would you rank those three? If you're gonna rank those three,
let's let's go Westbrook, Kouzma and hard Man. That the
fashion kings right now in the league.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I will have to go, uh Westbrook first, last. I
have to go Turner last for.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That summer the summer and they mentioned ye, I don't know, men,
we have to go James and Turner. And I'm not
being biased because you know they both from LA but Turner,
I don't know what that was, uh in Vegas?
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, okay, Okay, So you're gonna you're going
Westbrook and.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Then who Westbrook and then James and then Turner.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
No, no, no, Kuzma, dog Kuzma.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Oh who's there?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Oh I'm gonna go Westbrook, Cools, then James and.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Then Cools over Harten. Yeah, okay, okay, okay, girls, we
can stay on that all day. Okay, we can we
can stay we can stay on that on Okay, before
we move, is there a reason Cool's over hearted?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
James been in this game for a while dog.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yes, but I feel like he wearing whatever like they
tell him to wear, you know, like whatever its stylings were.
That's what I feel like.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Yeah, okay, yeah, be a little more natural. Okay, let's
get back to the hoop. Tim Floyd, I see to
cut your hair. You mess around and it works out.
You go off of the tournament, you squared off against Kdah.
I knew you was cold, Nick, But did that influenced
(07:17):
your decision to end up coming out and going to
the league going off against KD? What was that mindset?
I remember watching that the tournament game was crazy, went on,
that's that's a legendary game. Though, what how did that
influence you going to the league and talk me through
that and like who? Like what was KD? Like the
hype going into that game.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I think he was everything he thought he was gonna be,
you know, especially of going into the game, it was
a little bit more. I feel like we hit our
he was hitting our thrive at the point, and I
feel like it was like the underdogs. Everybody thought it
was gonna lose, of course, you know, because they don't
really respect the West Coast like that. But U C
L A. I think like y'all the only team that
(07:58):
really get more respected. But this is like usc first
time in the tournament playing against a feena and and
expecting to go that way.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I feel like they didn't watch us that much this year.
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Obviously I was prepared. We got we had t Gibson,
we got we had players that end up. Yes, why
he was ready.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
He was ready and we knew it was gonna throw
at least three people at KD.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So facts and you do do you feel like you
were going to the league no matter what happened? You
felt like after that game just solidifying, like I'm out?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I feel like after we won that game, Uh, you know,
I ain't gonna lie. I looked at the mock drafts
after all that, like my name got highed, I got
ranked higher. So I did all that, you know, I
was I was excited, you know. I felt like all
(08:58):
the hard work was finally here. You know. But he's
still nervous because you don't know what to expect. But
at the same time, you're happy to see like your
name mentioned on stuff. So and the only person that
was in front of me was at the guard position,
was ranked was Corey Brewer because they was you know, Florida.
They was real skin. Yeah, they was. They won the
national championship. That was going on a second.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So all right, well we'll talk me through draft day?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Man?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Did you end up being a green room guy? How
was that? Who was your competition? Were you nervous going
into that deal?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
You know?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
How were you? How are you eyeing things?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Were you?
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I was upset at the draft.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Dog.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I went fifty so I have forty nine names.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I love you.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I had forty nine names that I had a bone
to pick with. You know what I'm saying I had
was better than you know. I came out of real salty.
I don't know how you felt. Was a happy experience
for you?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Because I was.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I was a little upset, man.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I I was so. I was so but I was
happy because you know, I got the call to come
to the green room and I was like, damn, okay, yeah,
I'm thinking about to be one of them guys.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You know when you got the call.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
I think I was might even have been shot, might
have been on mirror shopping, you know, I might have
been shot, been wiped out.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah right, I might have been. But at that time
I had my agent. Then you know, I had an agent.
You know, this is in May.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
This is in May.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
This is in May. So this is you know they
do the the lottery picking May, right. Yeah, yeah, So
I got the call. First thing I did was call
my mom, call my brother, cause this is what you know,
you dream of shaking David Stern hand, you know, and
all that. So that happened.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I come to New York. I got my family and
friends out there.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I've been told I'm going lottery, so I'm thinking of
going anywhere from nine to the Clippers. I thought the
Clippers gonna pick me. At at twelve, they said I
couldn't go past the clippers. The Clippers gonna pick me.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Did you work with the Clippers or no? Or they
just gave you kind of a promise.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Yeah, this gave me kind of like a promise, like, oh,
but it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I think they end up taking out Sam Young. Nobody
thought Philly was gonna take So Philly was gona take
out Thornton. The Clippers gonna take me, they told me inside.
When I was there at the green room, they told them, Wow,
Billy ended up taking Sam Young instead of out Thornton.
(11:31):
So so I didn't know where I was gonna go
after that. I was kind of nervous after that like that.
So thirteen club they already my agent told me they
already had that lot. Who's your agent at the time,
it was Mark Barberstein.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yes, sir all, y'all was oh yeah, And then I think.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Fourteen was Detroit and then you know, after sixteen it
was the Lakers supposed to pick at seventeen or eighteen.
So I thought I probably couldn't have a chance to
stay home. Still, I was a homebody. I was like, man,
maybe I get a chance to stay home. I was
scared to like leave. But sixteen coming around, my agent
(12:15):
was like, they called him and said they gonna pick me.
I was like, DC, I ain't never been in c DC.
Who's in DC? I'm kind of never I said, give
her the reasons, okay. He I didn't know him like that,
but I know him. I knew hbody knowing who he
was gonna be, you know, I didn't know he was
(12:36):
that wild. So I'm thinking, Jill, I see Gills for
sixty old the Lakers, So I'm like, man, it's gonna
be fun.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So the sixteenth thing come around. They called my name.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I just remember hugging my mom and hugging my dad,
my brother, going making sure I didn't fall walking up
the stairs.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Mary's like, let's don't fall. Shook his head, start headed.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
After that, you know, talk to everybody.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It was fun. It was a blur. After that.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I was just and you know, I have to drink
the champagne and just enjoy the.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Night after that.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
That's what that's what's up man?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, they gave it's a private jet DC. They send
you the private jet after next day to do the
press conference and where you're getting drafted a So that
was my first time on a private jet. Like life
is like, this is what the NBA is like.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So that that was my first experience.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Fun times.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
I want to ask you something about gil, but I
don't know if anything is gonna come off as appropriate.
Dog shout out Gilbert Man, shout.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Shout up, shout out. He was the first one to
call me. But I got drafted.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Wow, what do you say during that conversation? What he
said to you when you got on the phone with him,
Because Gill is a valley guy too. For those who
don't know Nick is a valley guy. We all hooped
l A Hoopers, so it was all in the family.
He's older than us, but he was Arizona product. We
all know new guilt because he would come back and
hoop with us.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yep. So he called me like, man, I've been watching
your game for a while. You from from the same
NAK the WS. I'm happy to have you on our team.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
We wanted.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I wanted to to pick you and all that, you know.
So I thought that was dope. Like this is Gil
telling me he wanted me. Get ready, I'm getting in
gym with him. So I'm like, man, this is dope.
This is give what arenas give? Arena's lover.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
With Nick always like it. Once you get to the NBA,
it's almost like the first day of school because you
don't know, you know, we come in for summer league
and stuff like that, and it's kind of rookies the
training camp guys. But by the time you get to
the real dance, you got all the ogs, you got
the veterans. That's showing up man, right on right in October.
What was it like that first day of school? You
(14:48):
kind of seeing the vets there and kind of like
how things change. You know, how did that go for you?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Oh? Man, that's like his eye open it because like
you really started over like like I can't I'm there.
I don't hear my name getting called as much by
the coaches. You know, you in the second unit majority
of the time if you ain't number one or you know,
I was in the second unit. Uh.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
As a rookie, we have to be there first before everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You had to do going to extra maund you there
at least an hour or two before you got to
get a practice in before the practice. Really yeah, but
when Gil Gil come in and Krah, you know, this
is their teams. You know you come from college, Well
this is your team. You come from high school, that's
your team. College, that's your team. And now you know
(15:39):
in a prose where you got to prove yourself again.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So I think that was probably the toughest. But at
the same time, I felt like I could get a
bucket at the end of the day. I know, I know,
I know. So like the preseason games, they let me
rock a little bit, they let me rock a little bit.
(16:03):
They let me because you know, I ain't gonna lie summerly.
My first game wasn't as good, you know, I was
a little more like still. I was a little nervous
my first game in Summer League. But after that the
Jenner's road ward off. Once I've seen the ball go
through the whole, it became easy for me. But when
I got to the preseason, when I'm playing, I'm on
(16:26):
the court, sharing the ball with Gill and Karan, I
was more worried about that. I gotta make a shot,
don't miss them, don't go out here. I gotta do
the right thing. I got to be in the right place.
I got to know the plays when they call. So
I'm thinking about doing too much of the right thing
instead of just playing.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Who'd you have rookie? Ye? Was it was it Flip?
Or who was the coach?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
George?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Eddie George think you was there before?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah it was Eddie George, George George.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
That's really George. So just learning the plays, you gotta
know it whole little playbook. And that's when you got vets.
Oh man. They talk everything your fault really, everything in facts,
everything your fun.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I remember the first.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Game they was we didn't play. I wasn't playing that.
I got it. They was down at least eighteen. Guild,
it was down eighteen. I come in the team going
like a little two like they score like they go
like a six more point run. Instead it from eighteen
it went to twenty, like twenty two to twenty four.
(17:33):
They called time out, Guild, I'm gonna, says the mother.
If they not ready, don't put them in the game.
I said, come on, I was already losing. That was
already down by it. We didn't play for at least
three more games after that, so I'm like, yeah, we
played for like three more games and too, like I
(17:54):
guess I have to retrust you again or something like that. Yeah.
So yeah, my rookie year, it was in the beginning.
It was a little shake. It was up and there
was a.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Lot of these young boys. It's funny you say that, Nick,
they don't understand what the NBA we came up in.
You wouldn't promise no minutes your first half, pick you
coming off the bench. You ain't just getting thrown out
there like you had to earn your minutes or like
the old jus is really putting you in spotsible like
they don't play him, don't whatever, like you go out
and earn, earn what you had.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
For sure. So like now I like the way the
NBA is going down because people get a chance to rock.
I wish we had more opportunity.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
To when I think of it, honestly being candied, from
my own personal opinion, I feel like a little bit
in between would be good because I felt like Bro,
I was just on the bench front, you not getting
no better in practice. But I feel like when you
just take your minutes for granted, you're not going.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
To get any better.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You just going through the emotional just somewhere in between them, like, look,
you're gonna play five minutes. If you play well, you
might earn some more. But right now you got at
least five you know that you're going to get Did
you have a welcome to the NBA moment?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Dog? Did you?
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Did you have someone who just tore you off for
a moment? He was like what the heck? Like I
did not see this coming, man.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I think it was like the uh when we played
teammate and he was in Houston here, Yeah he did,
Like I didn't think he was gonna be in a dunkey.
He did like a spin move and it was at
least a foot or two from the freak the line.
I thought he was gonna lay it up on because
he's spinning them. I jumped, thinking, Okay, I'm just gonna
(19:29):
try to show play a good deep but he got
me with he turned that thing over, buming it over me.
Get up your feeling, Get up your feelings. I had
to take the ball out. You know, you're trying to
take the ball out fast, trying to take the ball
(19:49):
out fast, but they don't recognize it. But at the
same time, like t mag is one of my favorite players,
so I thought that was pretty dupe, and he went through.
He went for like ten straight points at that I
must say, give you Welcome to the league, though you know,
I end up they end up talking to me. I said,
(20:09):
this told you the lead difference lead different scores first boar,
but I end up doing that for some people too.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
So yeah, oh yeah, people people know the scoring, but
people sleep on the bounced dog. You want to bounce
cast I've ever seen off the backboard through the legs
like on GP, like you really just re reserve your
bounce like me, I was trying to do everything, like oh,
they just took off like you. You definitely always reserved
your bounce.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Man. People just talking about your bounce in college, Like,
you see what I did jump for the free throw?
Throw it off the backboard. I'm like, man, it was crazy,
the bounces, Like they don't understand. I don't think they've
seen that. That was crazy. You should have been in
a dut contest.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Man, I tried. I tried. The league would let me.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I tried.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I didn't have a big enough name. You know, they
don't want the no name guy, the fifty pick. Can't
win it dunk contest. He ain't getting no minutes. Guys,
hang around. This is exclusive, I'm telling you right now,
we're gonna find out where the nick Young meme, the
confused face came from. This is universal, this is global,
This is iconic as bigger than basketball. Stay tuned. Coming
up next, Let's get to my favorite part of the show.
(21:29):
We talked about it earlier, the NB Rookie Life Film room,
where we just gonna talk some hoop and I need
I need, I need a mix from you. I need
coach Swaggy p but I need Swaggy Pea. Also we're
gonna talk some hoops. Okay, let's go to this first clip. Man,
I put you down, Nick, I'm gonna bring you back up. Man.
You put my man in the rim. Mister mehevi Man,
talk me through this clip right here? Do you remember it?
(21:50):
What was special about this play? And what was this
car right here? Fill it?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
The game?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
What was going on?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Nick Young yos up over top of NHMI.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
I'm just oh man, I was reing it right there.
You know I had scored, like I think I had
about sixteen right there. I scored two in a row.
So when I get when like that a little hot,
they know to feed me. So they they drew up
a play with I just go take I go to
(22:20):
the post in my hand. I'm like, what should I do?
Don't you know? When I get in the post, I
start thinking, like I do it fade away and you know,
I'm trying to take a strong.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Sign up Simian Baseline.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Seeing him, I was like, man, shot, he about to
block me, but you know me, I was go up
a little higher for my horm in his chest and
you know.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Ain't hold on.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
They going back down to the court. What you say
on that foot? You said something?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
What are you saying on the way back on defense.
I just beat that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I think, you know, I can't say what I said
because I think it was like some cuss words I
was at. I was a little too geek. God, that's
I think. That's like my first time duckle on the
seventh foot like that.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
And mahemi's a shot blocker. Mahimi was solid, bro, Yeah,
but not that day.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
You know that that day?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
All right, Nick, let's let's keep it rolling. Let's keep
it rolling. You had a career high. You dropped forty
three points January eleventh, two thousand and eleven. Forty three points. Dog,
walk me through this game. You have your weedies that morning?
Was it was you feeling it? Man? Taught me through
this game. The coach start calling your number. I think
the one thing about you that people don't know is
you are like a certified buck, Like you just get
(23:36):
the ball. And I think the biggest thing when I
when I look back and watch you, you're able to
get your shot off. So all the crossovers, all that stuff,
you could shoot over anybody. You got bounce in a
high release. So walk me through this game. Man, did
you know this is gonna be a career high? Was
it just I'm rolling. You know, somebody talked about your
mama for the game, man, what was it that had
you going on?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Mann?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think I was due for that game. Games before
I I didn't have a good shoe night, the game
before that, and the game before that. So I went
in the gym a little extra harder that week, and
I was just more determined. I was like, you know,
if I see the ball go through the hole and
they tay gonna be a good day, I can't. I
can't have three bad nights. You know, at that point,
(24:17):
they might start taking my minutes away, you know, take
my minutes away. I ain't want that. So I think
I was gonna be more out. Was like, I gotta
be more aggressive, and I started off with a with
an easy shot. I think my first shot was a
layup spind post move.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
For young drive spaceline on shot off the glass.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
And once I seen that go to the hole, I
was like, okay, he started off good. We got two.
Then I made my next shot like okay, it was
a three. I was like, okay, we got five, and
I made I had straight straight eighteen. You know, it
was a straight eighteen. And then I finally missed, so
I knew that night was gonna be a good night.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Now, young Dollar shot.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So good. I certain a good sign. So I had
like twenty something going into the half. Some nights that
I have twenty going in and a half and I
don't score no more like that, so fus. But I
had twenty something and I just felt like it just Carona,
(25:23):
like the third quarter they enjoy Alabamas played for me.
I came off of a screen and went in the ball.
I think Andre Blast missed the rebound. The ball flew
right in my hands while I was at the open
three right here up, I think the ball. Look, they
were just leaving me open. So I felt like that
(25:44):
was the basketball guy's rewarded me man, you.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Know, as again on a floating shot.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
That's for all the nice guild and passed me the
ball and Koran they didn't want to give me the ball.
So this is my team right here. You know for
the jumper, that's a three.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's a three at a dude career high. Let me
ask you this, Nick, when you had the ball on offense,
are you are you thinking about, hey, I'm going to
get to this spot and just rise up or are
you thinking like, Hey, you know I'm going to cross over.
I'm gonna get a feeling as soon as you lean
on pulling up. What is your mindset when you have
the ball on offense in those moments.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It depends, Like for the majority of my first bucket,
I gotta get to my spots. I gotta get to
I got to see the ball going the whole, you know,
I got to get a feel for the game, you know,
So I try to get to my spots early. Well,
I know I'm comfortable at well, I know I just
shot to shot one hundred times a thousand times. What's
that happen? Once I get get it going, get the
(26:48):
ball roller, It's it's swagey Pi ta man.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I just.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Whatever happened, whatever I'm thinking about, I try to do
for that at that moment.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Really, you know, it's funny when I think about you.
I played with Jamal Crawford, obviously Gil some of the
great scores like y'all just love to play pick up,
bro Like y'all love to play pickup like you. Literally,
people don't know, Nick, You're gonna hoop at North Fridge.
You're gonna hoop and the Drew You're gonna be a
same mind, like you have hooped every single open run,
and then that same game comes to the NBA, Like
(27:21):
this is the same nick in summertime. How does that work?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Just like I love basketball, just hoop dog like and
it just becomes instincts. But you, Jamal Gill, all those
great scores, I do recognize that about from seeing you
guys in the league versus in the summertime.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
For sure, I think that's for me. I just watched them, guys.
I watched Jamal Corfin is one of my favorite players.
Once I got to lead, you know, you get put
in that category. I got put in that sixth man role.
So I try to you know, I started watching film
with Jamal, studying how he get his shots off of
what he do and how he took over that sixth
(27:57):
man role, you know, And I try to just do
my best at it. But in the summertime, it's just
I grew up when you grew up playing in the parks,
we had a knew it. Each day. It was going Monday,
you play here, Tuesday gonna play here. And I just
stayed with me until I grew up. Really it's fun, man,
I wish I could still do the moves. You can't.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
They just work a little slower. They know, you know, Nick,
for real, guarding you, you were one of the guys
always feared not to guard you. But it's like, dang,
he could shoot the three, and if you want to,
he could bang on me like he could go like
so I can't just be like late or I like,
(28:39):
like I think people guarding you was always a little.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Nervous, like he could go buy me.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You know what I'm saying. He danced, He danced, but
if I get up too close, he can always go
punch one.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
You know, for sure, for sure the herky jerky.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
So I used to just try to do whatever, like
I studied Jamar, I study team Matt, study uh, I
studied Lotu. Will sometimes like I just like to see basketball.
And once you once you get put in that role,
I feel like you got to try to master as
much as you can.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Really, all right, Nick, I got I gotta ask you
about this one. We know you a bone a fire bucket,
but we got to ask about this.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
When I was on a fast break and the ball
flew in a real or when I missed the three,
it's either or it's the three.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Let's pull it up. Explain to me what's going on.
I know you a bucket dog, so we got to
ask you a bucket There's no question talk to me
about it, because like, did you think, like I don't
think Twitter and all that was as big as it
is now? Did you think like this would just go
as viral as it? Like? This has been an iconic
You have iconic moments, I mean basketball history, bro.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I thought it was going I do for shows shacking
the food, but I thought that as far as it
was gonna go ain goe like, so that was a
year's shackle, just trying to kill me and Jamil. So
I knew that was gonna make shacking the food. But
at the moment, I just hit one though, I just
hit one and it was up by like.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
Up, So I'm like, that's another one. I'm feeling good.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
What did the crowd say when you did it?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Was it? Oh? Like what? Oh?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Laugh?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
It was all because I was trying to do that,
and I was gonna show at the Gil like, yeah,
you know I did it? Better hold on, hold on.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
So you were doing this so you could show it
to Gil and talk crazy to Gil because Gil did
that on the game winner.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
He did, he did, he did, But you know this
is like a game winner to me. I don't care,
but you.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Was going to show it to gil Gil. I did
it better pretty much, Okay, we blaming Gilbert.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
I ended up doing it better.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Tell you.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Mi's a little more iconic.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
You know, that's true.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
That's true. Today we still see this and we don't
see Gil's game winner. It's utah, we did this one,
all right, Nick, next, next one not It's embarrassing, but
it's definitely a viral moment. You got to do some explaining.
I think we talked about it. Your memorable face, man the.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Did you know?
Speaker 1 (31:12):
And shout out Cassie because Cassie got the shot of you.
Did you know that this was gonna turn into what
it turned into? Did you even know that you were
meaning for it? Did you even know that it was
like being circulated?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Oh? For her? I wish, I wish I could have
made somebody off that. Oh I wish. Oh man, that
thing is everywhere Chinas, everywhere, And I didn't know that.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Big ain't gonna lie.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Give me the explanation what happened here? Because folks who
may not know folks probably know this and they don't
even know you Nick. That's how wild this is.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Man, All people like that mean guy.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
NBA. Sometimes, ain't you that mean?
Speaker 3 (31:51):
You are that mean guy?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But it was just, you know, Cassie hit me up
and said, can she like follow us do a day
in life, Nika, so see what we're doing today. I'm
like cool, So she ended up following us. I took
me to the gym. After the gym, uh, he went
to my parents' house and I let her, you know,
interview my mom and stuff. So she asked my mama
(32:16):
questions about use about basketball. She was like at the
park they would they wouldn't let me play at the
time at the time because I was a clown or
something like that. And I looked at him, like, you
really said that on TV, Like you really said that
about your son, because they wouldn't let because my brother,
(32:36):
they won't let me play because I used to joke
too much at a certain age. I take it serious.
So he's like, they wouldn't let play because he was
a clown then, and I looked like wow. And then
next thing you know, I see the means go crazy.
About a month later, everywhere.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Where is the most une back the place you saw
this mean pop up dog most others.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I was saying that like took on the life of
his own in China, like it's crazy they got it
like a sayer for what or something like that. But
the fact that me and Jordan's battling for number one,
the number one spot.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
The Jordan crying face started a Nick confused face.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I feel like, you know, I accomplished a lot in
my life. You know, I got a famous means facts.
I wish I could listen.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I'd rather be I rather be that than the crying face.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
So hey, you chicks. You know chicks, you by means, dude.
You know you know famous people use by means. You
know when they somebody says something crazy, you takes my
face sometimes.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Facts no lie, no lie, no lie.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
But I just trying to have fun with it. I
didn't take it too serious.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I was like, you know, it is what it is.
Just enjoy.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Man, stay tuned, You're gonna find exclusive info. Nick Young's
gonna tell us what really was going on behind the
scenes with the Kobe and Lebron rivalry. Stay tuned on
NBA rookie life. All right, Nick, give me this one.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Too.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Man, we got to talk about this Kobe practice. I
know you talked about a thousand times man, but shout
out to the late great Mam. But man, so my
understand you guys are in practice. There's some trash tall
going and let me give this context before it comes out.
If you asked about any NBA player that has a
comparable skill set to Kobe Bryant, you are one of
(34:41):
the names that come up. Big long. Shout out to
Scott there, big long shooting guard, get a shot off,
all three level score, super bounce. You have a skill
set comparable to Kobe. So when you went to the Lakers,
it was like, Hey, I'm not gonna say you were
going to be the successor to Kobe, but it was
a similar kind of I was your mentor. So talk
me through this practice. What was going on and what
(35:03):
was the relationship like with Bean and Nick. I know
you are uber confident. You feel like you can get
your shot off over anybody that you can't be guarded.
So what was going on?
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Though, Oh, Covid is cold, you know, I had a
great relationship with him. One of the first people that
you know, called me when I got there, told me
to come to the Orange County and work out with him.
At five in the morning, I'm coming from the valley
to go to Orange County. He's showing up with shades
on earlier in the morning. It's super cool walking in,
(35:35):
Like he's floating like this, Kobe is this called me
floating through the gym man Shad's all at six am.
But that particular day he had lost, I think lost two,
like two three games in a row. So Cold came
in on this. I felt like it was like, let
me change the mood in the gym. Let me let
(35:56):
me light some fire out of him. So he came
in talking trash just from the start.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
What was he saying?
Speaker 3 (36:03):
He's like, this is how I'm supposed to get better,
but this, but these be I'm gonna get better, but this,
I said. I said, what you mean you can't guard me?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Guard me? Wait? From there, you start calling Sherman soft
like shervy y'all, saw y'all, saw y'all, shermy, I'm gonna
get better playing with Sherman, all right, and it don't help.
You know, you know they was.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Winning at the time you start talking.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
You know they they up. You're playing the scrimmage and
they up at the time, so I'm like, start over
and talk trash nah' starting over, keep playing to keep winning.
Just what am I? I ain't getting better doing that.
And then I was like, I said, guard me. Nobody
in the world can guard me. Nobody in the world
(36:52):
can guard me one on one.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
You ton'd be nobody can guard me. You come guard me.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Yeah, I said, nobody in the world can guard me
one on one. You guard me.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Don't talk trying to jerman land on you go. Then
he said, I'm not from this world, not from this world.
I kept saying that. I know.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
I said, nobody in the world, Garden, I'm not from
this world.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
So that's mean. But they ended up winning. He won
a scrimmage that made him talk more. He didn't want
to shake our hands. I think he just walked out
and said, holbout get better with this and walked out
Holm get better with this and walked out. But then
the next game he end no winning, ended up winning,
So I think we went like too straight after that.
(37:38):
But I think he ended up getting hurt during that season.
But that was like the the first time I seen
like a Kobe had my like Kobe moment. I felt
like I felt good to have that moment. You know,
that's something like I grew up watching Kobe. I grew
up having an afro like, you know, wanting to have
an afro like Kobe. So when the oman came, I
(37:58):
for sure it wasn't going back.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Now, when you look back at this moment, what do
you see in Kobe? Like, like you kind of mentioned
a little bit, he was trying to spark things up
we had lost, Like, what do you see from him?
Because this was a lake This wasn't a championship Lakers team,
We'll be honest, this was a developing Leakers. So what
did you see from Kobe? And all y'all ended up
being dogs in the league? Everybody we shot out, Carson said,
(38:21):
everybody who was on the team there, What did you
end up seeing from from Kobe there? When you look back,
what did you see that he was doing? And like
kind of what to do for your career?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
For me, I feel like he's just being a great leader.
You know you'll want to after losing, you don't come
into practice doing the same things. I feel like I
see why he's Kobe Bryant t Like even when he
was hurt. He was studying, like I comeing to gym here,
like he's only go left or something while you go
(38:52):
left all the time. I was like, how you see
that from the training room, Like he was always studying
and doing the games here. I remember this one time
he was playing in Chicago and it was like I
came on a line like five seconds left and he
ended up telling me what what played a run and
(39:13):
what to do and it ended up working and we won.
I hit the shot and we would and I was like, damn,
that's that's Kobe bean Ruyn. So he been in this
situation for over a thousand games. It was overtime, it
was down. It was to go in the overtime. I
think again Chicago Bulls was down to He told me
(39:35):
to come off the right elbow, do a two dribble,
pull up the baseline, and shoot the shot. I ended
up doing it. That's crazy.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
That that's crazy. He didn't draw the play. He told
you to move the dude once you got the ball.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah, centered after elbogo, two dribbles, baseline, shoot the shot.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Dan, That's that's amazing, man.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
That nuts.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
I've never seen a teammate. I've never heard of a
teammate doing this, and you know, Nick, you don't know this, man,
but I got to thank you for something, Bro. You
did that you didn't even know. The last game I
ever watched with my father, I watched you guys play
san Antonio and san Antonio was pretty good. I don't
know if you remember this. You guys beat san Antonio
and san Antonio. And the last game I ever watched
(40:21):
with my pops was that game. And y'all won. And
sometimes you plan and you don't know what it means,
but it was the last memory with my dad enjoying it,
and I was on the kings. I was celebrating for y'all,
celebrating for him. Y'all y'all really weren't supposed to win
the game, but all you gave my dad his last
his last memory of the Lakers, and I'm thankful for it, Bro,
(40:45):
for real, like forever, I'll never forget that game. I
don't even know if you know, like somebody watching or
what it means to somebody.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
All right, that's crazy, and I appreciate that, like you
never know. That's crazy. That was a game.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Was that when we hit the game, it ended up
being a crazy game Bro and San Antonio was still
good at the time. This one just like it was
in San Antonio.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
I think that's the game after the Kobe practice. That's
the game after the Kobe practice.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Well, thank god for that practice.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
You know, yeah that one. Yep, yep, that's the game
after that practice.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I remember this game. Yeah, you guys weren't supposed to
win this game. And maybe Kobe knew. Me and my
father watched this game, our last game together. So dang,
I love you, dog, I love you for that.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Man.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Mab my post was going wild when you did this.
I wouldn't know. I definitely want no Laker fan, but
I don't think you know what this what this meant?
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Man?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
My old man passed away probably the next day or the.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Day after so that.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
But no, that's dope, man. I appreciate that. That's a lot.
That's what no.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
We was going crazy now.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Young with too what's it gone?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
It's gone young for thre man.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
The Lakers laying with seven point four woman young sex triple.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
Of the night, and they really got away with it
because Jeremy Lynn on the pass out of the double
team had Western Johnson White open, turned it down to
drive it, Night gave it to Nick Young for a
bailout shot, and Nick Young.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Delivered God Lee, hold on, Nick, what are you thinking
at that time?
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Dog?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
As a matter of fact, I remember you just hoist
that thing and it went in. Are you throwing up
a prayer? You're like, Man, oh, this is good.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
I was happy I got the ball, really because I
knew I could shoot that one, because it was like,
it wasn't supposed I wasn't supposed to get it because
they messed the playoffs. So if I missed, it's not
reading my phone, Jeremy shoot fact, and the clock is
running out. So I got the ball at the perfect time.
So I felt good. I felt good.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
You watch her, the pass goes, You don't see there's
Wes Johnson White open in the corner.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Wow, that's good defense. Better, how about knitting Young? So
I'm aa call him Swaggy.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I'm a call him Swagy. That's getting dunk late in
the shot park. Oh man, Okay, let's let's let's move forward, man.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Kobe, Kobe's it was supposed to be like that, Kobe
the Jordan' Steve curR moment. So Kobe drove and passing
to Jermy Lynn, but Jermy Lynn was covered, so he
passing to me. I couldn't give it to nobody else.
It's like two seconds, three seconds, le So it was
a perfect shot. I felt good though I wanted that.
I felt good and now that I know, you know,
(43:37):
I gotta sto it's a good story behind it.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
Yeah, man, it was more. It was more to that
shot than you know. Man, Me and my pops, we
was going crazy. His last bits of energy was cheering
for you hitting that shot. You know what I'm saying.
You know you my dog.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Man.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
So let me ask this too, man. You you're talking
about the competitive nature of Kobe. Obviously he was later
in his years. But the big rivalry even we had,
right we had Jeezy put the song out four Kobe
and Lebron? Man, what about this rivalry with Lebron? And
how did Kobe view Lebron in these matchups? What was
it like would he be turned up a couple of
(44:12):
days before, would he be kind of giving y'all the business?
How personal?
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Like?
Speaker 1 (44:17):
How personal did it get between Lebron and Kobe? Because
obviously Lebron was younger, he had the better team with
all due respect, but Kobe ain't had no back down
there would he be making sure y'all was ready to
play in these games? What did you what did you
get to see between this because this was a real beef,
like Cats was getting the fist fights over Kobe. Lebron
(44:37):
dog for sure.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
And you felt it going into the game because he
he was like, oh, this is one of those games.
You got to really be on point for him. Like
his energy is different. You know, he talking talking to
us like pick up, play defense, do this, do this.
So it's like he really like like when he talking
talking like more like trying to tell us what to
(45:01):
do and like hyping us up to get going. You know,
it's one of those games. And I feel like.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
He looked forward to that. He looked forward to that moment.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
I think he won't like Lebron to go back at
him more too, though. I felt like he wanted Lebron
to play defense, hold them hard, like push him to
so I felt like at towards the end of his career,
I think Lebron felt like he took it a little
lighter because Kobe is a little older right there.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
How often will Kobe really go and you're seeing him
taking the challenge of guarding Lebron. Obviously, star players really
don't happen. You want your charge, your start to worry
about offense, not guarding. But this is one of the
last moments where we see these two actually like match up.
Like how like you said, like, like, was did Kobe
know physically I don't have it? Or like was he
mentally like I'm going to find a way to beat
(45:52):
this dude.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
I'm gonna find a way. I wanna find away. That's
exactly how it was. I'm gonna find a way. Because
he knew he wasn't the same cold. Everybody knew that,
but his will like it was crazy, like we all, dude,
he'll be in a gym run and doing seventeen's before
this game. Like in this stand them up, I'm like, man,
(46:14):
you're thirty eight, man, you gotta yo sold man, you
just had injury. You need to just wait for these
games and play on the Here He's like, he gotta
stay conditioned. You gotta stay in shape with you that
when you get up their age. So even in the
All Star Game, you see he picked him up four
(46:35):
quarters with I wish we could have got a championship
Cleveland versus Lakers.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
But dang so Bean hold on man. Bean was running
seventeen's pretty much going into the matchup against Lebron, so
he could be and she was like, I gotta be
in shape for this. I gotta be ready to gotta
be in shape.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
Yeah, you gotta be ready. You gotta be in shape.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
So yeah, he's to look forward to them to playing
against like the people like Lebron, even d Wade at
the time.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
So being as different dog, being as different. All right, Nick,
let's go to some of the funnest moments of your career.
You didn't get to play the way you wanted to,
but I gotta we gotta go over this championship run man,
that was a special year. You know, whether we played,
whether we are part of it. The dream is to
get some some jewelry. Dog, you got some jewelry. I
was definitely happy for you. Talk to me about that
(47:22):
iconic series against Houston. You guys have the Juggernauts, y'all
got the team, and Houston went and got at y'all.
Houston got at y'all. Man, Like, this was one of
the best playoff series in history. This is like this
is almost the championship. Before the championship championship, talk to
me about playing playing Houston, Man, what was going on
(47:43):
behind the scenes, What were guys seeing in the locker room?
What don't we know about this?
Speaker 2 (47:48):
For me, I was like, oh, man, I hope it
ain't my fault. I'll come here. But you know, they
was more relaxed that like we been here before, you know.
But at the same time, it was like it felt
like Houston just had us for a minute.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Walk fin this genus.
Speaker 3 (48:19):
They had us no matter what he was doing. They
was I was nervous.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
I'm like, man, Chris Paul was playing unbelievable, James was
playing unbelievable. It was crazy. It was crazy. But I
think that that game five because they was too They
was too geekd. They was too like they were show
bobbling and all that. They was too confident. They had
us down three two, I think, but they was up
(48:44):
like twenty at our house. Came from up and they
was just talking like like it was over. And I
don't think that's something you should do to Katie and
stuff and Clay, And I think that moment at halftime
that third quarter changed everything. It was over after that
(49:07):
once we see they was too confident talking trash. Game
seven was it was easy? Really was the.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
Gloman State Warriors on the way.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
He shut it up? Final?
Speaker 1 (49:21):
What do you remember about the way that James Harden
was playing in this series? And do you think this
is prime prime James Harden talked to me about Harden.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
Oh, man, there was nothing you can do with him
at the time. He old school where you're found.
Speaker 2 (49:36):
It was prime free throw twenty free throw hardened too,
and it was good for basketball. I felt like Chris
Paul and James they was like the perfect dude. After
the match up with us to go to State because
at the time, Chris Paul was in his prime balling.
He was doing Simi's oh he was doing the shemios.
(50:00):
I'm like, dang, I ain't never seen this somebody this confident.
On Steph Curry he had a shot and didn't shoot
me on them, I'm like, man. And then James going
for thirty and forty in the playoffs and I'm like, man,
this is crazy. Then you got Trevor Reza PJ. Tucker
hit the corner of threes. I feel like there was
(50:21):
like just the perfect team to match up against US,
but Chris Paul ended up getting hurt. Was Chris Paul
went down? I feel like they lost confidence in theyself.
He's a major key for them for Houston.
Speaker 1 (50:32):
What happened in that halftime? Was it just you know
what time it is? Was there a championship look that
you saw in their eyes? Was it steph stepped up
to the plate. Was it KD What was being said
in the locker room?
Speaker 2 (50:43):
Drama? Drama, drama was a great leader. For sure. You
do more than just stats. I feel like in the
locker room it's all drama. You know what, bet around stuff,
you know what to say the stuff. I feel like
he bet around play, you know what the how to
get them going. I feel like he was just saying
(51:04):
the right things. After that, it's like we're being here
before we champs, me the champs, while we're playing like
be not the champs. This is their third championship run.
Might be one two already, Let's get another one, let's
get greedy. I was just happy, man. I'm happy that
we got past that because I was nervous my first
time man in that atmosphere going that far as just
(51:28):
seeing something different, like my NBA career, Like, I'm like, man,
this is what the NBA really is about. If you
don't get a chance to experience that. I feel like
everybody need a chance to experience that championship run because
you go through all kind of emotions, go through times
where you don't think you're gonna win, like when he
(51:49):
was playing Houston, Like I feel like nothing we was
doing was working and then like we hit a switch
and thing just started falling into place for us. You know,
times where you know we just you breathe through things.
Sometimes teammates get hurt, like's gonna be able to play
Eagle Dollar was hurt. He was doing the Houston serious
(52:11):
So I feel like Eagle Dollars is a big part
of things. So they couldn't do the Eagle dollars Draymond
Steph KD. They couldn't do that, So they have to
play I think Javail. So it's tough because Vel wasn't
used to that role, but he did, all right, walk
me through this shot right here, jennethor fall rebound Durant,
incredible old opportunity Durand for three Cat's.
Speaker 1 (52:35):
Got Kevin Durant from towntown The Golden State takes the lead.
This ends up being a dagger. This this sealed up
your first championship. Dog Kadi ends up hitting this. What
happens here? Did you see it coming? Did you know
what was going in? How big was it was? What
was your reaction?
Speaker 2 (52:51):
Thank you, Katie, That's what I'm saying, Thank you man championship.
But I've just seen it like it was we knew this.
Here is KD our stelf. They was going back and
forth for who's gonna win this MVP, MVP Finals MVP.
(53:11):
So I felt like that shot right there was KD
the finals MVP for sure.
Speaker 1 (53:18):
A lot of people were saying that Kevin Durant was
the best player on the in the universe after that shot,
after these series, do you feel like this is the
best KD version of KD we've seen? It was he
at this time, all due respect to King James, the
best player on the planet.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
Oh, I don't know, but this KD was. It was cold,
it was hard to stop, but that Lebron still had
forty on us. It was still going for forty, so
that Lebron and me was probably still the best player
on the planet because his team he had. Yeah, he
took to the finals with Jordan Clarkson and Shumpa Jr.
(53:58):
Had no other an start with him, so I felt
like he was still the best player on the planet,
but we just had too much firepower, too much. Lebron
couldn't he couldn't go. He couldn't go up against Steph
KD and me by itself, it's too much. And that
was prime KD too, that man cauld I told him
(54:19):
when he's practicing, he used to going one on one
like b KD some of the other players to play
one on one.
Speaker 3 (54:26):
I'm like, you don't realize how.
Speaker 2 (54:28):
Unstoppable you are, like you set a feat, could do everything.
You don't understand that, Like it's hard. I don't think
you understand how good you are. I told him that.
I said, I don't think you understand how good you are,
because ain't no way you should let anybody just talk
to say anything about you because you're KD. Like he's
(54:50):
really one of the best players to play this game.
Like it's it's crazy, how talented, how he's a unicorn
too in hself, because we ain't seen that. He ain't
seen that absolutely, man, it's Katie.
Speaker 1 (55:05):
After that, you know, we'll shoot.
Speaker 2 (55:09):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
I appreciate you coming on. You know, we hoopers. Though
we can talk hoop all day, we'll have to do it.
We have to do it again, so man, but I'm
gonna get you out of here on that one. And Nick,
I thank you for coming on here man and blessing
me on this podcast and blessing the NBA Rookie life family.
But where can we support you? Man? You got any foundations,
any causes? I g follow Twitter follow, I know everybody
(55:31):
probably following you already. But what where can we support you? Man?
Speaker 3 (55:34):
You know, just follow me on I G man, swigy
people by uh yeah, Man, just look forward to be
doing big things man, Right, Ryan, you need to give
me a job.
Speaker 1 (55:45):
All right, all right, we'll get swagging job. I think
I think this should be easy to do. This should
be easy to do, Nick. I think we'll be fine.
He's looking for employment, man, and I think this much
should be easy. Thanks for coming over, man, and we'll talk.
Speaker 3 (55:58):
So thanks Man. I appreciate you out for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (56:01):
Man.
Speaker 1 (56:01):
Shout out to my brother Swaggy P. Nick Young. I'm
gonna call him Nick Young. Mama named Nick Young. I'm
gonna call him Nick, but we cannot do this without you, guys.
Thank you so much, love you guys. I'm like follow subscribe,
let me know who you'd like to see on the
pole coming up next, but make sure you show some
love and I appreciate you guys for coming through man.
Thank you again and I see you next week
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