May 28, 2026 • 24 mins
Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady is considered one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game of basketball. His post-playing career is one of a multifaceted businessperson. T-Mac is one of the lead studio analysts on NBC’s nostalgic return to NBA coverage. And in December 2024, Tracy and his cousin Vince Carter were among 10 limited partners who joined the Buffalo Bills ownership group. Oh, and he started his own league, Ones Basketball.
In this episode of The Deal, Alex and Jason sit down with Tracy to walk through his journey from the court to the boardroom. He shares how the Bills deal fulfilled one of his longtime goals and Alex and Tracy compare notes on lessons they’ve learned in the transition from athlete to owner. Tracy also explains how the 90s revolutionized the business of basketball, the joy of doing business alongside his cousin Vince and why he is going all-in on one-on-one.
You can also watch this interview on YouTube.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Eighteen years old, I'm a millionaire. I've never learned anything
about finances, didn't know anything about being a professional basketball player.
Everything that I've been learning at eighteen years old to
where i am to now is just me being of
who I am, where I come from, and wanting to
learn more about me.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome back to the Deal.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Alex Rodriguez and coming up.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
On today's show, Tracy McGrady, this is a legendary Hall
of Fame basketball player, but a guy who has a
lot in common with you.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
First of all, he's one of my favorite players of
all time in the NBA. Just an incredible talent. As
far as what we have in similarities, we're both in Florida,
we both come from humble beginnings, and we're one of
the few that went straight from high school into the pros.
And now we're both part of team ownership.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That's right owners in your case obviously in the NBA.
In his case the NFL, he came in as a
minority investor in the Buffalo Bills, so we're seeing a
lot of him in owner suites, but also seeing a
lot of him on TV. We're going to get into
that a lot more with Tim mac here on the deal. Tracy,
(01:22):
what a treat to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
In New York.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
We're gonna get into everything you've done throughout your career.
But I want to defer to my partner here for
the first question, because you guys have a.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Lot in coming.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, Tim mac great to have you here. Yes, sir, Now,
who would have thought that two kids from Florida, right
humble beginnings, straight out of high school to the pros
and just a few months ago we were just kicking
it in Dobbles. Yes, first of all, what'd you think
of it? Would you learn? And would you go back? So,
first off, it's a pleasure to be with you guys.
I'm a baseball head. Baseball is my first love. In
(01:54):
this guy right here is one of my favors. So
this is annor for me, Dabbles. I didn't know anything
about it. I've never heard about it, and when it
was brought to my attention, it's like, Yo, you got
invited to go to Davos, Like, what the hell is Apple?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
What is that? But I looked it up and I
was like, oh, this is big time, Like this is
where I need to be and I'm driving in. Man,
I've never been to Switzerland. I'm driving in and I'm
just amazed of the scenic route, amazing, sceningy driving in
traffic is a little you know, backed up a little
bit and I looked to my left.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
It's like, yo, that's a er.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
On the street right there. So he's the first person.
So the reason why I was there I spoke on
this sports panel and of course, you know, I have
a lot of international relationships. I do a lot of
traveling to China, a lot of business that I do
over there. But just having conversation with a lot of
powers that be is how do we, you know, bridge
(02:57):
that gap between you know, US and Asian market is
what I was talking about. But it was an eye opener.
I'm in the stage of like really learning business, right,
he said, we come from humble beginnings, and that is
very true for me. Everything that I've been learning at
eighteen years old to where I am to now is
just me being aware of who I am, where I
(03:19):
come from, and wanting to learn more about me, you know,
every single day.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So it's interesting. One of your I think signature deals
of late is going in is minority under the Buffalo Bills.
We talked about the NFL a lot on this show.
Give us the origin story, How does that happen? And
what are you thinking as you get into that.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
So I wanted to always, whether it's baseball, basketball, football,
I wanted to be an owner of some sort that
opportunity to present itself because I wanted to have some
ownership in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because it's hometown team.
Right there, got to the table, got a call about
Atlanta Falcons. They were too far along. I think that
(03:59):
was like Dominique Dolls and Will Packer I think was
in that deal. So they was too far along the line.
And then Buffalo Bills came up. And you probably asked
why Buffalo. Well, I played three years in Toronto, right
the Toronto Boughts right there. And when I was playing
in ninety seven to two thousand, you know, Bruce Smith,
(04:20):
Thurman Thomas, all those boys used to show up to
our games in Toronto. So going back over the years,
I've always invested in other people's ideas and ideologies and
things that they wanted to do. This is a time
where I was like, let me call my cousin and
say if he has any interest in, you know, going
(04:40):
in this deal with me. So I called Vince and like, Yo,
this is this is Vince Carter. So I called him.
I was like, Yo, you have any interest in you know,
being an NFL owner? What?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Like?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
What? Yeah? So right away he was like, I'm in.
You know what we got to do. So we made
some calls, we into a game, and after the game,
we sat with Terry, right, Terry Pegoula, and this is like,
I'm thinking, we are auditioning, and I gotta be on
my best behavior and really sell this guy that I
(05:16):
really want to be a part of this, this ownership group.
But we just casually had a conversation man after the game,
sitting in his office and just chopping it up for
about an hour. And from that conversation, he was like,
you want to be a part of this what? Of course? Absolutely,
that's why you're here, right And it happened just like that,
(05:37):
So let's take it right from there.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So I love the story. I love how you were
proactive and called your cousin, Vince. I loved how you
went to a Bill's game. That's really how deals are done.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
My question is once you finish that conversation and you
get home in reality hits and you know you got
to write a big, big check because the first time
team that I wrote a big check, I couldn't sleep
for a week, right when I used to writing those
type of checks. Walk a little bit through that conversation,
and how nervous were you when you had to write
that check and actually release your bank accounts?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So I would say this, I wasn't nervous about it
because I had put in the work, right. I think
my excitement was just overshadow of what the check was
that I was writing. I'm part owner of this franchise,
and my mind went to, it's not just you know,
(06:25):
I write this check and then I sit back and
the bills do their thing, and the value of it,
this this franchise goes up. No, there are people that
involved in this that I actually can have some conversations
with and actually prolonged or further and improve my portfolio
because of what these guys have. The check it was big,
(06:45):
but I wasn't like I was too excited, he ro,
I really was. I was like, man, I cannot believe
this is happening because there's not a lot of guys
look like me that it's part of those groups.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And So to that point, do you think people look
at you differently because you're an owner?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I don't give a damn. I mean, I don't know.
I don't care. Yeah, whether they do or they don't.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I guess maybe asking a different way. Has that come
to fruition that you feel like you are able to
go into different rooms because you're an owner?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Sure, yeah, for sure, for sure, because everyone knows how
difficult that is, right, and just anybody, I don't care
how great you were on the basketball corps or how
great you are on the field, like, just anybody can't
get that opportunity, right, So, yeah, I'm looked at differently,
(07:37):
can walk in different doors, and those doors are steady
opening it up.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I mean you've seen that.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, there's no question.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I mean everything that T says, I've said it in
some interview or like, I feel the same gratitude and
the doors open up like wildfire.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
My follow up question on that is you talked about
some of the benefits from being an owner and from
being an LP to the Buffalo Bills. What are some
of the lessons you've learned from being in that room.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
That's a good question. I guess certain individuals that's involved
in this, certain people are difficult to deal with. But
then you run into those people like I ran into
one of our owners all Star weekend. She was actually
one of the owners that went in with the group
that we went in with, and I was having some
conversations with her, and I could not believe how generous
(08:27):
this lady was in terms of wanting to help me
in my business endeavors in any capacity of which I
needed her. Like she was like, here, whatever you need
from me, and that was just so refreshing and I
just felt the genuineness of that. But then you run
(08:47):
into some people like why are you like that? And
I'll tell you another thing too. I won't say any name,
but I was at the game. Well there was another
group that he brought, several groups that were trying to
come in and be the minority partner. So We're in
the suite and I'm quiet as a mouse watching the game,
(09:09):
but there's another partner in there, just loud and up,
notxious and just going crazy and I'm sitting back. I
was like, ya, I know, damn Well, they're not going
to allow this guy. No way, no way, because yeah,
no way, because of what he was portraying in that moment,
(09:31):
right there wasn't a person of being humble and just
really understanding the situation. So he ended up not getting
in being part of that group. And I saw that
and I was like, damn, it don't matter how much
money you have, like you got to be solid, a
solid dude, a solid person to be a part of
(09:51):
this group. Jason.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I find that to be really interesting what Teamak just
said because one of the lessons that I've learned sometimes
from being in those rooms, in those boardrooms and you
just like look around, You're like, what am I doing here?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I cannot be. But sometimes more than learning what to
do is sometimes you learn what not to do.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
That's it, and.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Those lessons like stay with us, that's it forever, that's it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And that was that lesson for me because that was
that night where I don't even know if I'm going
to be a part of this group, but I know
I can't be acting like that. And when we got
the call that we got in and that person, then
I was like, Okay, that was the lesson for me.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
So tell us about Vince. What a relationship you guys
have had playing together now business partners. What's the dynamic there?
Help us understand that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, so we discovered his cousin when I got drafted
in high school. Two years we played together in Toronto,
formed a great bond and then it just over the years,
is having those conversations just really picking up. We both
have families, talk about everything. When he calls me, I
have to carve out two hours or I have to
let him know because only got fifteen minutes get it in.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And how often does it call you?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
We would talk probably about twice a week like that seriously,
And that's why we started a podcast because I'm like, bro,
we're doing all this talking.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Half that is it is how that's happened.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So, like I said me, I'm always business drip. What's
the next challenge. I'm always looking for the next challenge.
Never thought I would be doing TV NBC. Opportunity comes up, right,
So we're both on NBC and I'm like, Cuz, this
is for us to capitalize off of this energy and
(11:51):
everything that's happening for us. So it's like buffalo bills.
I call him. I told you I invested in a
lot of people others ideas, but it's now I was like,
I'm taking my own chances and doing this with my family.
So it's been man, that one of the greatest things
decisions that I made to actually just you know, be
involved with my cousin and take this ride with him.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah, you're lucky because you found a cousin like Vince.
I'm Dominican. I find cousin all the time that I
never want to write to tell you about.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Once found a million.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
I saw you guys this past Sunday, and I'm such
a big fan of that show. You guys are killing
it for sure. You guys look good, you sound good.
Carmelo's great, Marie is a star.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
This is the NBA NBC pre and posting right, and
I love how you guys go on location, which is
kind of cool. First of all, you enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I never thought I would do TV and with the NBC,
it was like, man, this is like the Golden era.
This is what I grew up on right in the nineties,
right when I fell in love with basketball. This like
watching NBC back in the day what made me want
to be a basket payer and I played on NBC,
(13:03):
So that nostyalgic Phieling just coming back and now I
get to talk about the game that actually raised me. Oh,
it was just it was awesome. It was a no
brainer for me to be on that show.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I'm the oldest here, but we all loved basketball in
that era. What did that era do for the business
of basketball in your estimation, Well, I.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Would say when you look at Michael Jordan, what he
was able to do for the sport for US players
in terms of what he did off the court. Right
with Jordan brand selling sneakers, I became an Adidas athlete.
I was able to sell meetings and sneakers. The global
imprint that he has selling sneakers over in China like
(13:47):
Magic Bird and Mike like opened up this whole global
portal for us to be able to walk through and
capitalize off of that. I'm gonna tell you what it
did for it because I was going to China back
in like my first trip to China was probably in
nineteen ninety eight, nineteen ninety nine. WHOA, Yeah, I started
early and there wasn't a lot of basketball being played
(14:11):
in China at that time. You know, I just seen
the trajectory of that sport just trending up. And now
you're talking about over three hundred and fifty four hundred
million people are playing basketball in China, right, So that's
the evolution of basketball. And I was part of the team,
a group that played with the Houston Rockets and the
Sacramento Kings opened up the China Game. So it was
(14:32):
part of the first Global China Games in two thousand
and four.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Because you were teammates with Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean,
so that must have been incredibly eye opening from an
economic opportunity perspective.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I'm still capitalizing off of it, really, so absolutely, man,
Yeah I was, you know, I mean when you talk
about having a whole freaking continent on your back and
carrying that. Yeah. See.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I want to go back to you mentioned Michael Jordan,
Kobe Bryant. Did you ever have conversations with Michael or
Kobe that helped you out? And if so, what did
they tell you?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
So I had conversations with col Cobe is like my
brother because he came out a year early before me,
out of high school like us, and I was struggling
my rookie year. Cob struggled his rookie year because Dale
Harris for some reason, they wanted to make it hard
on the high school kid, right, So he went through it.
Then I go through it, and it was a time
(15:25):
where I was like, man, I go, I have to
talk to someone that actually has been through this. Let
me call my brother, Cole. So we had extensive conversations,
you know, just staying you know, trust the work, Matt,
trust the work. It's going to pay off. You know
who you are, And just having those conversations got me
through a really challenging rookie year. I can remember, Man,
(15:46):
I get to Orlando, Cob is winning championships at this time.
I'm coming up now in the league. So they're talking,
you know, trying to compare it to who's the best wing,
and my name is coming in that. You know, if
you know anything about Cob, Cob doesn't want anybody, no, no, no,
compared to him at this time. So that right there,
(16:09):
I know him. I get it. But that's where I
come in, is like I'm built that way too, just
a different way. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Jason, I give you my Cobe story. There's a time
I was struggling and I remember driving to the Bronx
from my West Side apartment and phone rangs his Cob,
and COB's like, hey, man, don't be depressed. Don't let
them get to you. Stay with your game. Same kind
of advice, and then he ends a conversation by saying like,
I see you're one for fifteen. I've been studying your film.
I'm like, okay, where your front foot? You know you're
(16:43):
you're baiting a little bit, and you're back, I said, Cob,
I gotta go.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
All right, let's talk about the Ones, the OBL Ones
Basketball League.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
It's back.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
My understanding is you sort of convened a group at
your house and we're like, over dinner, it's not dead.
We're doing it. Give us the state of play for
OBL and then we're gonna do a little pitch session.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Here, go ahead. So Obiel came from. It was all
a dream. Son of Vacaro started ABCD camp in TEENick,
New Jersey. Yeah, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tim Thomas, Trace McGrady,
Lebron James, like all the greats. And I was an
unknown basketball player, like my junior year, only known within
(17:39):
my region in Florida. Outside of that, no one knew
who I was. After my junior year, I get invited
to this camp. I'm the last guy invited. I keep
hearing about lamar Odom. So I go to this camp
and he's the first player I play, and I held
my own So throughout this camp, I'm holding my own
right unknown basketball player. Who's this kid from Florida. Well
(18:01):
I leave that camp and a month later, I'm the
number one player in the country. So I went from
unknown to the number one player in the country. Now
it talks about damn, this kid is actually good. Kobe
Bryant just came out the year before him. Kevin Garnett
came out the year before him. So now that talk
about being a draftee in the nineteen ninety seven draft
straight out of high school. That platform did it for me.
(18:25):
I'm creating this OBL platform for those guys that still
have a deep love and passion for the game of basketball.
And my proof of concept trial was I went to
six cities. I'll invite thirty two players and I'll take
eight players, the best players to Sunday for the championship
and have them play one on one, winner takes all.
(18:47):
So now after that season, I'm going on the Capitol
run trying to raise money for my league because I'm
getting good feedback and I think I've created some magical
Well I struck out. I struck out, and I'm glad
that it went that way because I've learned a lot
on that journey. Right, everybody's not going to believe in
your vision. Right, everybody is not going to be able
(19:09):
to see your vision and what you're trying to create.
I get that, so I believe in me. Let me
do it something different, like yo, I have a gym
at my house. I'm bring everybody in. Let's capture this content,
let's keep obl fresh. And from that point, man, I
think that was probably the best decision because I had
(19:29):
Next Gen Sports. It's an investment group. They saw what
I was doing. They came in and love the vision.
They started AVP, which is a volleyball league, right, and
they know how to run a league alternative league. And
also they're part of the Big Three team three H
five that won the championship, so they know how to
(19:51):
manage a team. So for me, it was just like
the perfect partner that came in and when he came in,
we talk, or when they came in, talked about doing
something different than what I did at my house versus
what I did back in twenty two. Let me start cities.
Let me start Battle of the Cities. Let me create
(20:11):
teams so where I could build some value up and
create opportunities for some of my friends or influencers in
these respectful cities and give them ownership of these teams.
So I have Jadakis, right, we all know who Jadakis is.
He's from Yonkers, so I gave him the New York team.
He has fifteen percent in his New York team. Lorenz
(20:34):
Tate was my good buddy who's in big time actors
from Chicago. He has the Chicago team. John Wallas from Raleigh,
North Carolina. I gave him the Raleigh team. Tim Hardaway
Senior has the Miami team. So I have I started
starting out with eight teams and giving these respectful gm
slash owners, you know, fifteen percent and ownership and also
(20:55):
allowed them to manage their teams. And you know, we
having trials like this is a I'm building. We're building
a real league, Like this is not a gimmick, This
is a real thing. So I'm pretty you know, excited
about the opportunity and where this is going. And I'm
already getting calls from my partners in China. They want
me to bring it over there. Australia is calling. So
global is where we want to take it because there's
(21:17):
a lot of talent. When you look around now, I
mean you have you know, all of these your kids
around the world are trying to mimic us. You look
on social media now you'll see a Chattes kid looking
like you know, Sga out there playing basketball. So I
just think globally is where we want.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
To go with And it sounds like content was the
real unlocked Yes sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah. Interesting.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
All right, So we're going to wrap this up with
our rapid fire. This's gonna be a good one. Let's
do it in really good questions, all right. So just
you know, first thing that comes to your mind, if
you had to pick one to play for the rest
of your life, one on one or five on five.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
For the rest of my life, Yeah, one on one,
build your dream OBL roster with NBA players from any era.
Who would you pick? Oh, that's easy, myself Kobe and
kd Oh.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Wow, I would not want to play against. All right,
which current NBA player would win a league wide one
on one tournament.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
KD KD KD best one in one Basketball City, New York.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Who's your dream OBL investment partner?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I have n't next Gen Sports?
Speaker 1 (22:22):
All right, a Rod, what team do you want to
see win a championship more than anything?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
It's supposed to be rapid fire. But he stuck me
on that one. It should be easy for you. No,
not really, because I played for three franchises. I I
that I did to my heart. But I'll say Orlando Magic,
any sport, oh, any sports? Yeah, I sport?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Listen, Buffalo Bells. This is probably a better bet than
the Orlando Magic.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Unfortunately he wasn't.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I didn't hear any sport. Yeah, there you go. Any sport. Well, team.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
This has been amazing as we got into this even
more the parallels between you guys are really incredible, especially
the move from you know, Florida, going pro ownership, all
of those things.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
And see, let me tell you, like I followed your
career from day one, just like Kevin Garnett, right, because
it was very rare for guys to basically go from
high school to the pros right, And we were part
of a small fraternity to Kobe being another one. But
you mentioned comport yourself in a classic way. That's what
I've admired the most. Obviously, your world is Hall of
Fame and one of the elites of all time. But
the way you comport yourself with your wife, your four kids,
(23:34):
the way you own your business, You're killing at NBC.
So just keep killing a gummyn.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I appreciate that means a lot, man. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
The Deal's production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The
Deals hosted by Aus Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly, shows
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Speaker 3 (24:26):
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Speaker 2 (24:28):
Thanks so much for listening,
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Eighteen years old, I'm a millionaire. I've never learned anything
about finances, didn't know anything about being a professional basketball player.
Everything that I've been learning at eighteen years old to
where i am to now is just me being of
who I am, where I come from, and wanting to
learn more about me.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome back to the Deal.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Alex Rodriguez and coming up.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
On today's show, Tracy McGrady, this is a legendary Hall
of Fame basketball player, but a guy who has a
lot in common with you.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
First of all, he's one of my favorite players of
all time in the NBA. Just an incredible talent. As
far as what we have in similarities, we're both in Florida,
we both come from humble beginnings, and we're one of
the few that went straight from high school into the pros.
And now we're both part of team ownership.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That's right owners in your case obviously in the NBA.
In his case the NFL, he came in as a
minority investor in the Buffalo Bills, so we're seeing a
lot of him in owner suites, but also seeing a
lot of him on TV. We're going to get into
that a lot more with Tim mac here on the deal. Tracy,
(01:22):
what a treat to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
In New York.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
We're gonna get into everything you've done throughout your career.
But I want to defer to my partner here for
the first question, because you guys have a.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Lot in coming.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, Tim mac great to have you here. Yes, sir, Now,
who would have thought that two kids from Florida, right
humble beginnings, straight out of high school to the pros
and just a few months ago we were just kicking
it in Dobbles. Yes, first of all, what'd you think
of it? Would you learn? And would you go back? So,
first off, it's a pleasure to be with you guys.
I'm a baseball head. Baseball is my first love. In
(01:54):
this guy right here is one of my favors. So
this is annor for me, Dabbles. I didn't know anything
about it. I've never heard about it, and when it
was brought to my attention, it's like, Yo, you got
invited to go to Davos, Like, what the hell is Apple?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
What is that? But I looked it up and I
was like, oh, this is big time, Like this is
where I need to be and I'm driving in. Man,
I've never been to Switzerland. I'm driving in and I'm
just amazed of the scenic route, amazing, sceningy driving in
traffic is a little you know, backed up a little
bit and I looked to my left.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
It's like, yo, that's a er.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
On the street right there. So he's the first person.
So the reason why I was there I spoke on
this sports panel and of course, you know, I have
a lot of international relationships. I do a lot of
traveling to China, a lot of business that I do
over there. But just having conversation with a lot of
powers that be is how do we, you know, bridge
(02:57):
that gap between you know, US and Asian market is
what I was talking about. But it was an eye opener.
I'm in the stage of like really learning business, right,
he said, we come from humble beginnings, and that is
very true for me. Everything that I've been learning at
eighteen years old to where I am to now is
just me being aware of who I am, where I
(03:19):
come from, and wanting to learn more about me, you know,
every single day.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So it's interesting. One of your I think signature deals
of late is going in is minority under the Buffalo Bills.
We talked about the NFL a lot on this show.
Give us the origin story, How does that happen? And
what are you thinking as you get into that.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
So I wanted to always, whether it's baseball, basketball, football,
I wanted to be an owner of some sort that
opportunity to present itself because I wanted to have some
ownership in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because it's hometown team.
Right there, got to the table, got a call about
Atlanta Falcons. They were too far along. I think that
(03:59):
was like Dominique Dolls and Will Packer I think was
in that deal. So they was too far along the line.
And then Buffalo Bills came up. And you probably asked
why Buffalo. Well, I played three years in Toronto, right
the Toronto Boughts right there. And when I was playing
in ninety seven to two thousand, you know, Bruce Smith,
(04:20):
Thurman Thomas, all those boys used to show up to
our games in Toronto. So going back over the years,
I've always invested in other people's ideas and ideologies and
things that they wanted to do. This is a time
where I was like, let me call my cousin and
say if he has any interest in, you know, going
(04:40):
in this deal with me. So I called Vince and like, Yo,
this is this is Vince Carter. So I called him.
I was like, Yo, you have any interest in you know,
being an NFL owner? What?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Like?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
What? Yeah? So right away he was like, I'm in.
You know what we got to do. So we made
some calls, we into a game, and after the game,
we sat with Terry, right, Terry Pegoula, and this is like,
I'm thinking, we are auditioning, and I gotta be on
my best behavior and really sell this guy that I
(05:16):
really want to be a part of this, this ownership group.
But we just casually had a conversation man after the game,
sitting in his office and just chopping it up for
about an hour. And from that conversation, he was like,
you want to be a part of this what? Of course? Absolutely,
that's why you're here, right And it happened just like that,
(05:37):
So let's take it right from there.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So I love the story. I love how you were
proactive and called your cousin, Vince. I loved how you
went to a Bill's game. That's really how deals are done.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
My question is once you finish that conversation and you
get home in reality hits and you know you got
to write a big, big check because the first time
team that I wrote a big check, I couldn't sleep
for a week, right when I used to writing those
type of checks. Walk a little bit through that conversation,
and how nervous were you when you had to write
that check and actually release your bank accounts?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So I would say this, I wasn't nervous about it
because I had put in the work, right. I think
my excitement was just overshadow of what the check was
that I was writing. I'm part owner of this franchise,
and my mind went to, it's not just you know,
(06:25):
I write this check and then I sit back and
the bills do their thing, and the value of it,
this this franchise goes up. No, there are people that
involved in this that I actually can have some conversations
with and actually prolonged or further and improve my portfolio
because of what these guys have. The check it was big,
(06:45):
but I wasn't like I was too excited, he ro,
I really was. I was like, man, I cannot believe
this is happening because there's not a lot of guys
look like me that it's part of those groups.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And So to that point, do you think people look
at you differently because you're an owner?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I don't give a damn. I mean, I don't know.
I don't care. Yeah, whether they do or they don't.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I guess maybe asking a different way. Has that come
to fruition that you feel like you are able to
go into different rooms because you're an owner?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Sure, yeah, for sure, for sure, because everyone knows how
difficult that is, right, and just anybody, I don't care
how great you were on the basketball corps or how
great you are on the field, like, just anybody can't
get that opportunity, right, So, yeah, I'm looked at differently,
(07:37):
can walk in different doors, and those doors are steady
opening it up.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I mean you've seen that.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, there's no question.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I mean everything that T says, I've said it in
some interview or like, I feel the same gratitude and
the doors open up like wildfire.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
My follow up question on that is you talked about
some of the benefits from being an owner and from
being an LP to the Buffalo Bills. What are some
of the lessons you've learned from being in that room.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
That's a good question. I guess certain individuals that's involved
in this, certain people are difficult to deal with. But
then you run into those people like I ran into
one of our owners all Star weekend. She was actually
one of the owners that went in with the group
that we went in with, and I was having some
conversations with her, and I could not believe how generous
(08:27):
this lady was in terms of wanting to help me
in my business endeavors in any capacity of which I
needed her. Like she was like, here, whatever you need
from me, and that was just so refreshing and I
just felt the genuineness of that. But then you run
(08:47):
into some people like why are you like that? And
I'll tell you another thing too. I won't say any name,
but I was at the game. Well there was another
group that he brought, several groups that were trying to
come in and be the minority partner. So We're in
the suite and I'm quiet as a mouse watching the game,
(09:09):
but there's another partner in there, just loud and up,
notxious and just going crazy and I'm sitting back. I
was like, ya, I know, damn Well, they're not going
to allow this guy. No way, no way, because yeah,
no way, because of what he was portraying in that moment,
(09:31):
right there wasn't a person of being humble and just
really understanding the situation. So he ended up not getting
in being part of that group. And I saw that
and I was like, damn, it don't matter how much
money you have, like you got to be solid, a
solid dude, a solid person to be a part of
(09:51):
this group. Jason.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I find that to be really interesting what Teamak just
said because one of the lessons that I've learned sometimes
from being in those rooms, in those boardrooms and you
just like look around, You're like, what am I doing here?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I cannot be. But sometimes more than learning what to
do is sometimes you learn what not to do.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
That's it, and.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Those lessons like stay with us, that's it forever, that's it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And that was that lesson for me because that was
that night where I don't even know if I'm going
to be a part of this group, but I know
I can't be acting like that. And when we got
the call that we got in and that person, then
I was like, Okay, that was the lesson for me.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
So tell us about Vince. What a relationship you guys
have had playing together now business partners. What's the dynamic there?
Help us understand that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, so we discovered his cousin when I got drafted
in high school. Two years we played together in Toronto,
formed a great bond and then it just over the years,
is having those conversations just really picking up. We both
have families, talk about everything. When he calls me, I
have to carve out two hours or I have to
let him know because only got fifteen minutes get it in.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And how often does it call you?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
We would talk probably about twice a week like that seriously,
And that's why we started a podcast because I'm like, bro,
we're doing all this talking.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Half that is it is how that's happened.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So, like I said me, I'm always business drip. What's
the next challenge. I'm always looking for the next challenge.
Never thought I would be doing TV NBC. Opportunity comes up, right,
So we're both on NBC and I'm like, Cuz, this
is for us to capitalize off of this energy and
(11:51):
everything that's happening for us. So it's like buffalo bills.
I call him. I told you I invested in a
lot of people others ideas, but it's now I was like,
I'm taking my own chances and doing this with my family.
So it's been man, that one of the greatest things
decisions that I made to actually just you know, be
involved with my cousin and take this ride with him.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah, you're lucky because you found a cousin like Vince.
I'm Dominican. I find cousin all the time that I
never want to write to tell you about.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Once found a million.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
I saw you guys this past Sunday, and I'm such
a big fan of that show. You guys are killing
it for sure. You guys look good, you sound good.
Carmelo's great, Marie is a star.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
This is the NBA NBC pre and posting right, and
I love how you guys go on location, which is
kind of cool. First of all, you enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I never thought I would do TV and with the NBC,
it was like, man, this is like the Golden era.
This is what I grew up on right in the nineties,
right when I fell in love with basketball. This like
watching NBC back in the day what made me want
to be a basket payer and I played on NBC,
(13:03):
So that nostyalgic Phieling just coming back and now I
get to talk about the game that actually raised me. Oh,
it was just it was awesome. It was a no
brainer for me to be on that show.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I'm the oldest here, but we all loved basketball in
that era. What did that era do for the business
of basketball in your estimation, Well, I.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Would say when you look at Michael Jordan, what he
was able to do for the sport for US players
in terms of what he did off the court. Right
with Jordan brand selling sneakers, I became an Adidas athlete.
I was able to sell meetings and sneakers. The global
imprint that he has selling sneakers over in China like
(13:47):
Magic Bird and Mike like opened up this whole global
portal for us to be able to walk through and
capitalize off of that. I'm gonna tell you what it
did for it because I was going to China back
in like my first trip to China was probably in
nineteen ninety eight, nineteen ninety nine. WHOA, Yeah, I started
early and there wasn't a lot of basketball being played
(14:11):
in China at that time. You know, I just seen
the trajectory of that sport just trending up. And now
you're talking about over three hundred and fifty four hundred
million people are playing basketball in China, right, So that's
the evolution of basketball. And I was part of the team,
a group that played with the Houston Rockets and the
Sacramento Kings opened up the China Game. So it was
(14:32):
part of the first Global China Games in two thousand
and four.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Because you were teammates with Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean,
so that must have been incredibly eye opening from an
economic opportunity perspective.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I'm still capitalizing off of it, really, so absolutely, man,
Yeah I was, you know, I mean when you talk
about having a whole freaking continent on your back and
carrying that. Yeah. See.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I want to go back to you mentioned Michael Jordan,
Kobe Bryant. Did you ever have conversations with Michael or
Kobe that helped you out? And if so, what did
they tell you?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
So I had conversations with col Cobe is like my
brother because he came out a year early before me,
out of high school like us, and I was struggling
my rookie year. Cob struggled his rookie year because Dale
Harris for some reason, they wanted to make it hard
on the high school kid, right, So he went through it.
Then I go through it, and it was a time
(15:25):
where I was like, man, I go, I have to
talk to someone that actually has been through this. Let
me call my brother, Cole. So we had extensive conversations,
you know, just staying you know, trust the work, Matt,
trust the work. It's going to pay off. You know
who you are, And just having those conversations got me
through a really challenging rookie year. I can remember, Man,
(15:46):
I get to Orlando, Cob is winning championships at this time.
I'm coming up now in the league. So they're talking,
you know, trying to compare it to who's the best wing,
and my name is coming in that. You know, if
you know anything about Cob, Cob doesn't want anybody, no, no, no,
compared to him at this time. So that right there,
(16:09):
I know him. I get it. But that's where I
come in, is like I'm built that way too, just
a different way. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Jason, I give you my Cobe story. There's a time
I was struggling and I remember driving to the Bronx
from my West Side apartment and phone rangs his Cob,
and COB's like, hey, man, don't be depressed. Don't let
them get to you. Stay with your game. Same kind
of advice, and then he ends a conversation by saying like,
I see you're one for fifteen. I've been studying your film.
I'm like, okay, where your front foot? You know you're
(16:43):
you're baiting a little bit, and you're back, I said, Cob,
I gotta go.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
All right, let's talk about the Ones, the OBL Ones
Basketball League.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
It's back.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
My understanding is you sort of convened a group at
your house and we're like, over dinner, it's not dead.
We're doing it. Give us the state of play for
OBL and then we're gonna do a little pitch session.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Here, go ahead. So Obiel came from. It was all
a dream. Son of Vacaro started ABCD camp in TEENick,
New Jersey. Yeah, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tim Thomas, Trace McGrady,
Lebron James, like all the greats. And I was an
unknown basketball player, like my junior year, only known within
(17:39):
my region in Florida. Outside of that, no one knew
who I was. After my junior year, I get invited
to this camp. I'm the last guy invited. I keep
hearing about lamar Odom. So I go to this camp
and he's the first player I play, and I held
my own So throughout this camp, I'm holding my own
right unknown basketball player. Who's this kid from Florida. Well
(18:01):
I leave that camp and a month later, I'm the
number one player in the country. So I went from
unknown to the number one player in the country. Now
it talks about damn, this kid is actually good. Kobe
Bryant just came out the year before him. Kevin Garnett
came out the year before him. So now that talk
about being a draftee in the nineteen ninety seven draft
straight out of high school. That platform did it for me.
(18:25):
I'm creating this OBL platform for those guys that still
have a deep love and passion for the game of basketball.
And my proof of concept trial was I went to
six cities. I'll invite thirty two players and I'll take
eight players, the best players to Sunday for the championship
and have them play one on one, winner takes all.
(18:47):
So now after that season, I'm going on the Capitol
run trying to raise money for my league because I'm
getting good feedback and I think I've created some magical
Well I struck out. I struck out, and I'm glad
that it went that way because I've learned a lot
on that journey. Right, everybody's not going to believe in
your vision. Right, everybody is not going to be able
(19:09):
to see your vision and what you're trying to create.
I get that, so I believe in me. Let me
do it something different, like yo, I have a gym
at my house. I'm bring everybody in. Let's capture this content,
let's keep obl fresh. And from that point, man, I
think that was probably the best decision because I had
(19:29):
Next Gen Sports. It's an investment group. They saw what
I was doing. They came in and love the vision.
They started AVP, which is a volleyball league, right, and
they know how to run a league alternative league. And
also they're part of the Big Three team three H
five that won the championship, so they know how to
(19:51):
manage a team. So for me, it was just like
the perfect partner that came in and when he came in,
we talk, or when they came in, talked about doing
something different than what I did at my house versus
what I did back in twenty two. Let me start cities.
Let me start Battle of the Cities. Let me create
(20:11):
teams so where I could build some value up and
create opportunities for some of my friends or influencers in
these respectful cities and give them ownership of these teams.
So I have Jadakis, right, we all know who Jadakis is.
He's from Yonkers, so I gave him the New York team.
He has fifteen percent in his New York team. Lorenz
(20:34):
Tate was my good buddy who's in big time actors
from Chicago. He has the Chicago team. John Wallas from Raleigh,
North Carolina. I gave him the Raleigh team. Tim Hardaway
Senior has the Miami team. So I have I started
starting out with eight teams and giving these respectful gm
slash owners, you know, fifteen percent and ownership and also
(20:55):
allowed them to manage their teams. And you know, we
having trials like this is a I'm building. We're building
a real league, Like this is not a gimmick, This
is a real thing. So I'm pretty you know, excited
about the opportunity and where this is going. And I'm
already getting calls from my partners in China. They want
me to bring it over there. Australia is calling. So
global is where we want to take it because there's
(21:17):
a lot of talent. When you look around now, I
mean you have you know, all of these your kids
around the world are trying to mimic us. You look
on social media now you'll see a Chattes kid looking
like you know, Sga out there playing basketball. So I
just think globally is where we want.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
To go with And it sounds like content was the
real unlocked Yes sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah. Interesting.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
All right, So we're going to wrap this up with
our rapid fire. This's gonna be a good one. Let's
do it in really good questions, all right. So just
you know, first thing that comes to your mind, if
you had to pick one to play for the rest
of your life, one on one or five on five.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
For the rest of my life, Yeah, one on one,
build your dream OBL roster with NBA players from any era.
Who would you pick? Oh, that's easy, myself Kobe and
kd Oh.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Wow, I would not want to play against. All right,
which current NBA player would win a league wide one
on one tournament.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
KD KD KD best one in one Basketball City, New York.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Who's your dream OBL investment partner?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I have n't next Gen Sports?
Speaker 1 (22:22):
All right, a Rod, what team do you want to
see win a championship more than anything?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
It's supposed to be rapid fire. But he stuck me
on that one. It should be easy for you. No,
not really, because I played for three franchises. I I
that I did to my heart. But I'll say Orlando Magic,
any sport, oh, any sports? Yeah, I sport?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Listen, Buffalo Bells. This is probably a better bet than
the Orlando Magic.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Unfortunately he wasn't.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I didn't hear any sport. Yeah, there you go. Any sport. Well, team.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
This has been amazing as we got into this even
more the parallels between you guys are really incredible, especially
the move from you know, Florida, going pro ownership, all
of those things.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
And see, let me tell you, like I followed your
career from day one, just like Kevin Garnett, right, because
it was very rare for guys to basically go from
high school to the pros right, And we were part
of a small fraternity to Kobe being another one. But
you mentioned comport yourself in a classic way. That's what
I've admired the most. Obviously, your world is Hall of
Fame and one of the elites of all time. But
the way you comport yourself with your wife, your four kids,
(23:34):
the way you own your business, You're killing at NBC.
So just keep killing a gummyn.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I appreciate that means a lot, man. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
The Deal's production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals. The
Deals hosted by Aus Rodriguez and me Jason Kelly, shows
produced by Alexis Hot, Stacy Wong, and Anamasarakas. Original music
and engineering by Blake Maples, booking by Paige Keffer. Our
managing editor is David Ravella. Our executive producers are Jason Kelly, Amy,
(24:09):
Keane Neville, Gillette, Tray Shallowhorn, Regina Daleya, Kelly Leferrier, and
Ashley Zingaro. Special thanks to Rachel Carnivale, Elena Los Angeles
and Nick Silva. You can also watch The Deal on
Bloomberg Originals YouTube and Bloomberg Television, and please subscribe to the.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Deal wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Thanks so much for listening,
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