March 26, 2026 • 41 mins
In honor of March Madness, Seth and Tray switch things up this week and break down the greatest Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players to ever make an impact in the NBA.
The list features all-time legends like Grant Hill, JJ Redick, and Christian Laettner, alongside current stars such as Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero, and Kyrie Irving.
Seth also shares some great behind-the-scenes stories about being recruited by Mike Krzyzewski, why his entire family was excited about the possibility of him playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and how both he and Steph once dreamed of competing in the ACC.
The guys rank their Top 5 Duke players based on NBA careers, and give the program its flowers for a smooth transition from Coach K to Jon Scheyer.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It was our dream growing up to play in the ACC.
We wanted to play at Duke Carolina or Virginia Tech
growing up. So he wasn't able to do it. I
was lucky enough able to go to Duke and have
a great career there. But everybody in my family was
on the ride with me, because that's as a kid
growing up in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
YO.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Welcome back to another episode of Greatest of Their Era?
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Dot? Greatest of the Era? Got up, Trey.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Man, We're back at it. Man. This is a special one.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Man. We talk about the brotherhood man, Duke Man, a
lot of the duchies Man, So I know you got
a lot to elaborate on this, a lot of homies,
a lot of loans that you know, possibly helped you
along the way. And also you know the young talent man.
So this is a good comparison. And the criteria for
(00:55):
this is who has the greatest NBA career collegiate. So
that makes it even more you know, filtered out and
tricky because obviously certain guys were linked upon at the university,
but when they got to their respective teams, they were
used differently on their professional level.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, this is interesting because I was thinking about the list,
and there was so many legendary college players, especially in
the nineties two thousands, where it was like all time
great college players, but they wasn't on that level in
the NBA. So I think there's some more the modern
guys we're gonna talk about today, sprinkling some older guys.
But I mean it's a lot of names and a
(01:35):
lot of people, a big pool to pick from when
you talk about the doochie, So I'm excited about this episode.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
All right, man, greatest NBA careers for former Duke players.
Let's get it, all right, man, jumping into it. Jason Tatum, Man,
it's still hard to believe this guy's only twenty eight
years old.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
One of the successful Duke Blue Devils on the NBA team,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Titling twenty twenty four, six time All Star, five time
All NBA selection, twenty twenty two, Eastern Conference Finals MVP
twenty twenty three, as well two time Olympic gold medalists.
I mean, he's won at every level. At this point,
I know he's going to be at the top of
my list. But tell us about Jason Tatum.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, j T.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I mean just he kind of elevated, got better and
better when he got to the league. I knew he
was a big prospect coming out of high school. He
had a good college college year while he was at Duke.
I mean, and with all due respect, like comparatible to
other like of the main guys coming to the Duke
that were one of done. He probably middle of the pack.
He probably not one of the best. But when he
(02:39):
got to the league, he had hit the ground running,
I mean got to the I mean, they made a
big run in the playoffs his rookie year. And he'd
been on the biggest stage on great teams and leading
the charge his whole career. So just to see his
accolades pile up like they have already, to hear you
read off that list is insane, man.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
So he's he's definitely gonna be on my list too.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, all right, Next up Grand Hill Hall
of Famer, seven time All Star, five time All NBA selection,
technically a two time All Olympic Gold medalist player in
ninety six or second twenty four. He's a what if guy.
But when you put the numbers up, he put up
twenty five, six and five at his peak in ninety
(03:23):
nine two thousands. Where does Grant Hill fare. I mean, obviously,
when I think about Duke, obviously I think Christian Laitner,
but I think Grand Hill, right, poster boy transition to
NBA signature shoe, you know, Detroit.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
He doesn't get hurt. He's rivaling Michael Jordan at this point.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, he was like the Lebron. I mean, just thinking
backup it, people were saying he's the Lebron before Lebron, Like,
so he's a point forward. He could do it all
on the floor, score I mean, just run your offense,
play defense. He was kind of a guy and at Duke,
who was obviously a big time star, one of the
best players in the country in college, but then one
(04:04):
of the guys you felt like was gonna translate right
away and be an elite superstar in the NBA. I
mean he was a superstar in the nineties for the Pistons,
I think it was, and then kind of got hurt,
banged up, but still had a productive long career. He
played well into his late thirties. I mean he might
have been thirty nine to forty on those Clippers teams
on his way out. But I mean he's he's I
(04:28):
think his his NBA career just because it was injured
and he didn't maybe live up to the expectations, his
NBA career might be a little underrated.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
You agree, Yeah, I do think so. I do think so.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I think the expectations, the fact that he dealt with
injuries and was still able to prolong it a little
bit longer and still be effective. I think that is
a testament to him and his resilience of his career
because he was written off a couple of times, you
know what I mean, he had such a serious injury
that you know, people.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Was like, oh, you got to retire, and.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
For him to you know, have you know, later on
play with the Suns and the Clippers and be effective
and you know their success, that's just a testament to
who green Hill is.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, he was like, I mean some of it just
to see. I mean, I was playing golf with him
a few years ago and I saw his ankle, Like
I just looked over, picked over at his ankle, and
it still looks like huge.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It don't look right.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
He was playing on like severe ankle injuries. She probably
should have called it quits. Yeah, I mean for his
long term health. But he thought he grinded it out
and somehow he was able to have a long career.
Like I said, with the injuries.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, absolutely all right.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The next one, Kyrie Irving only played eleven games due
to injuries. But you know, once a blue devil, always
a blue devil, and knows there's no exception to this reality.
It's one of the best guards man like nine time
All Star, twenty twelve, Rookie of the Year, three time
All NBA selection twenty fourteen as the MVP. I mean,
he has a title with you know, twenty sixteen. Calves
(05:58):
just one of the one of my favorite players to watch,
you know what I mean when you think about it,
And if you didn't know, most people be like he
with the Duke, you know what I mean, And and
I don't even I think he kind of broke the.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Whole stereotype of what a duke player was, you know what.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I mean, because I think y'all got so many players
that come from everywhere, and I think originally it starts
with grand Hill and Christian Laler, like, oh, they came
from the suburban background, and you know, k kind of
just started getting them out the mud everywhere, you know
what I mean. So you know, Kyrie's one of those
those guys cut from the cloth man that was able to,
you know, show that Duke also can can can bring
(06:37):
those type of players in, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I kind of had the inside perspective because I
was there the year before him when we wanted to
national the championship with like mainly four year guys, with
Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and all those guys, and then
you could kind of see the shift that Coach k
took where he was like, all right, I gotta go
get someone and done because he got Kentucky out here.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Again.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
We're just bringing them in, rotating in and out, and
that's the only way you were going to compete at
the highest level was having the best talent. So you
got to go get through one of dons and Kyrie
came in. I told the story earlier about how it
was weird having like seeing Coach K let him wear
number one, Like you knew how that's how good he
was gonna be, Like, we had got to get him
in here. It's one of the few guys I'll let
him wear number one. And like that team was stacked.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We knew.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I mean, if Kyrie didn't get hurt, that's like his
ninth game or whatever, we had a good chance to
go on defeated. We were loaded with NBA guys, and
Kyrie led the charge as a freshman. So for him
to play the those eleven games of Duke, he still
reps the brotherhoods like it's like he was a four
year guy. The way he talks about Duke and his
time there. He loved being a part of the program
(07:43):
and and he loves Coach K and Coach K loves him.
And then him going into the league just he lived
up to the building from day one. The number one pick,
Star maybe hit the biggest shot in the NBA history
with that game seven shot against the Warriors. And his accolades,
I mean he racking them up too. So I think
he's he kind of he kind of transit in that
(08:05):
mold like you had you kind of had to do.
Guys kind of had the rep of being corny, you
know what I'm saying, Like like silver spoon type guys
like you said, and he came in and changed the mold.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean it's kind of that parallel with
the Celtics right until they get JT.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
And now you're looking at.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Him like, oh, am I actually rooting for the Celtics, right?
Am I actually rooting for Duke? Because it got to
that point. I mean, I remember, man, I'm like, I'm
still a UCLA guy, but Chris Duhan is a family friend,
and watching you know, Dohn go to Duke.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It introduced me to Jason Williams.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
So it had me rooting for Duke in an odd
way where I'm like, hell, like, am I really rooting
for Duke?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
You know what I'm saying, And vice versa when you
went over there.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
You know, it's just certain guys that I'm just kind
of leaning towards where I'm like, all right, you know, because.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
We changed around time, we kind of changed the culture,
kind of made it cool to go to Duke. We
started playing a little bit different. We're fun to watch.
And then after Kyrie came as a one and done
being that number one pick, then the floodgates open. You
weren't scared, Like Austin came in the next year, one
of the top recruits to the Tatums. I mean, you
(09:20):
name them after that, coach k was rolling in one
and done.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah. It was absolutely that was that was the way
it was.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
All right, We're going to go back to my era.
Lou aut down Man fifteen to six over a fifteen year.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Career, two time All Star Sportsmen of the Year, one
time All Defensive Team, one of my favorite bulls. You know,
couple top ten Defensive Player of the Year finishes, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Like lou really got that game.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
You know, I remember still to this day, everybody talk
about those Flint Jordan's, you know, the Twelves.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
That's lou shoe.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He was cooking in the tournament with them, and I
just like, you know, Kobe Warrem during his free agency
sneaker you know year, but Lou Au dang owned them,
like he made that cool, you know, coming out of
Blair with Charlie V just really hooping though, Like I really.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Loved his run.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Man, he was one and done right mm hm so yeah,
so he Like I'm thinking back if our remember career,
it was kind of like controversial with him being one
on one.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
That's like because it was like you go to Duke,
you gotta stay for at least.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
But it also was to a point of like he
has no reason to stay. Yeah, yeah, he had no
reason to stay.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
He kind of went against the mold. He contact him
heat for leaving. And then like he kind of brought
that duke still. He was a duke guy, dukee mentality
to the league, Like he was the ultimate glue guy,
roll guy that was highly skilled. He could he could,
he could play, but he played the right way, like
he went out there for them. He was trying to
win games. So everybody around the league respected him for that.
And then, like I said, two time All Star, the
(10:58):
heck of a defender and just playing for Thibodeaux, those
those teams. He has some iconic teams up there in Chicago.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, also legendary Laker. The Laker fans still
loves him too. The day, you know, shout outs to
that all right, Boozer. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
It's just a damn near nepotism when you think about
this man. You know the name, his sons currently playing for,
you know, the current squad getting ready for the attorney Man.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Boozer had a career a.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Sixteen and ten, two time All Star, one time All
NBA selection, had some productive years in Cleveland, then went
on to play alongside Darren Williams is a one two punch.
He also wound up being a top ten MVP finished
that season in six oh seven, where you average twenty
one and twelve Man Booze.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Booze is another guy.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
That just kind of like strong finish, you know what
I mean, Like not even big man, but he plays
so big.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
He plays so strong you gotta respect it.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I felt like Duke always had those undersized power forwards
that just made a name for themselves and you just
kind of just knew eventually they were skilled enough to
slide to the three if they got to the league
or if they got to the forty had some type
of success. Like Booze was quick man, like he really
had game, dude, Like I really enjoyed watching him for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
I think he underrated guy too, just his skill wise,
and I think all them years he had in Utah
and Chicago where he was borderline all Star, made a
couple of All Star teams, and just I think he
did it off scal and IQ like he played simple.
He played a simple game like catching in the pocket,
finished mid post jazz shoot if you gave him space.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
He's got a simple game. But he made it work.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
He was efficient, soft change, yeah, good touch with with
physicality like he was, I think an underrated guy in
the grand scheme of NBA history, but in general duke guys,
he's you got to think about him when you're thinking
some of the best dude guys in the league, just
because his longevity in his career and he was consistently
(13:07):
in the playoffs every year, whether you told Chicago, wherever
he went, his team felt like his team had had
a chance to make a run in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Yeah, you talked about this guy on multiple episodes.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Elton Brown.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
You know we've discussed it most underrated players two thousands,
but you know his status man just twenty ten guy,
two time All Star, two thousand, Rookie of the Year,
Sportsman of the Year, O six, top ten MVP, finished
Defensive Player of the Year, finished finalists for the Clippers,
you know, six man.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
So let's talk about you know Elton.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, obviously real bucket from high school to college
to again playing out a position, playing that power for
a position, sliding to the three, doing that as well.
If injuries don't slow him down, he's still was successful.
You know, Like I said, you mentioned he's underrated. I
still kind of push back on that because, you know,
(14:04):
two All Star and Rookie.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Of the Year.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I feel like when you get a Rookie of the Year,
you hear and it's kind of hard.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
To He was like, like we talked about before, he
was in the era of power forwards, like he just
wasn't going to be better than some of those guys.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah he wasn't, but he was just gonna held his own.
And I think that's sometimes when he you know, he
got to the certain squads, they were able to move
him around and play him at the three sometimes. You know,
Chicago he was bumping, man, he was, you know, playing
the four, Dallas playing the four. You know.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
But I think it's far by eb is his at
every level.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
He was a top guy like when like like in
high school, he was that guy in college one of
the best college players to ever do it, and wanted
Duke and then got to the league and he was
he was up resta line in the league too. So
I mean, just consistently a good basketball player, like I said,
at every level. So you got to get respect for that.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
It's interesting, man, It's only it's only a few champions
on this list, man, I'm looking at a lot of guys,
a lot of guys in here.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Though Zion Willimson, you know what I.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Mean, despite you know, some injuries and things of that nature,
He's still a two time All Star when he's got
it going. He had a career high of twenty four,
six and four. But you know, Zion's still figuring it out.
But you know, when he was at Duke one of
the most exciting recruits, had everybody you know thinking the
(15:32):
second come in Lebron. I mean, he's, like I said,
his career is far from over. He has he has
a chance to turn around the right situation. He's still
you know, working on his health to stay you know,
out there on the floor and contributing at the best.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
He's he's good at doing the hard things, you know
what I mean, And in the way he as he
gets older, I hope that he can slow the game
down and make it easier for him. But doing the
hard things, he still manages to average twenty four points
a game on straight to your chest, you know, and
very vertical.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I'm gonna say this, I think out of everybody on
this list, he had the highest ceiling from college coming
into the league, everybody had the highest expectations. And I mean,
obviously he just got to play more games for him
to get close to my top five. He ain't really
the injuries missed games set them back. It's that like,
(16:23):
it's not much to say about his NBA career right now.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
He's the guy that kind of ramped back up tanking,
you know what I mean, Like he ramped it up.
He ramped it up where teams were like, hey, we
got we got to prepare for this guy.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
We gotta get it.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
You're talking about before he came in the league, before.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
He came in the league.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, like teams actually like restructuring their roster for a guy.
So I definitely am piggybacking off your you know, your.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Comment on that and say he also revamped tanking while
he was in the league because he missed so many
games his team was out of the picture. So early, yeah,
we're gonna tank. We got a pairent with somebody, got a.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Pair him to somebody.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah, and now they got like you know, they're all
they they got all positions. Feel but it's still an
interesting roster when you really think about it.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
This next guy, ultimate winner, ultimate team guy, captain leader,
Shane Badding. You know what I mean, defender can what
don't you love? Like love about him? Like having him
on your team?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Man.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Two time champs, two time All Defense, four time ten
UH Top ten Defensive Player of the Year finalists, Just Battier,
dog like he was used on the offensive end, and dude,
he can hit the three in Memphis.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
He can do his.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Little thing, but his defense, his assignments, his strategy, his approach,
how he goes in his impact.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I don't even want to talk about offense.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
But I just think that when you think of a
guy that you're saying, Hey, you want to be a
best defender, you want to win championships.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
You watch Shane Battier. Yeah, it's plain and simple.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Like if you looked up duke player in dictionary or whatever,
and the stereotypical duke player would be Shane Batty. That's
what people would think about across the country. Just solid, smart,
smart players, solid at every level. Just what your coach's
favorite player. He gonna do with what's asked of them,
Gonna knock down open shots, Gonna guard the best player
(18:25):
on every team, Gonna be versatile, can play different positions.
Just the ultimate winner. I mean his impact. You can
look at the box score and say his numbers weren't
crazy in the league, but his impact was outrageous. Like
he was matching up with Kobe Braun every night and
the team always had a chance to win. And he
had to be on the floor every team he was
(18:46):
on in big situation. So just the vittle three and
D guy before. I mean, most teams were looking for
three and D guys just went toe to toe with
a lot of teams during the Big Three era, Like
he was just he had to he had to be
kind of like that third guy to match up with,
Like I said, the Bronze and D ways, even before
he teamed up with him, Kobe's whoever else?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
T Max?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I mean, he's he's a he played a big part
in the NBA history.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
He's one of those guys you had to go get
You can't beat them to join them, you know what
I mean. Like if you want to you want to
really win, win a championship, go get back.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And he patent you know, you know the defensive movie
Patton the hand in the face. I didn't know, Oh wow,
like that he was the first one to do that
with guarding Kobe, putting his hand in between his arms
when Kobe going up for the shot like that was
and then I don't know the Kobe was worked on
that in the summer, Like had the guy's guard and
putting a hand in his face.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Work.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's hard man, as a perimeter defender to get you know,
the pattent, you know, a defensive technique, that's killer. All right, man,
this guy, I think he kind of messed it up
for all y'all, you know what I mean, Like this
is why y'all get hated on. But he was so
damn good Christian lat Like I never had a problem
(20:09):
with him.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
I always respected them.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
People didn't want him on the Dream Team, you know,
hate They just didn't feel like certain things transition.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
But you know, he played with the Wolves.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
And the Atlanta Hawks and later on the Pistons and
the Wizards, and you know, obviously it didn't really translate
as you knows, as he wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
But he's the one who kicked it all off for y'all.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Like honestly, like I honestly feel like Layner couldn't go wrong.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Golden boy for real, and that hate is still driven,
like you're born into Duke hate because of Christian Layner,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
What I mean?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Like he was a god in college just to get
like a god and obviously didn't translate to the league
being a one time All Star. But when you look
at it, like it makes sense why his game didn't
necessarily translate to the league. He won't one on one
isold guy, not super skilled. Give me, had like a simple,
a basic game.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
He played through his team and strengths, like you know,
and I think that was I think, you know, a
testament to Kate and him and his hard work.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
But like having grand Hill helps, having Bobby Hurley kind
of helps, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Like it'd be different if they landed on an expansion
team and they say, all right, we're gonna keep these
young guys together, and you know that corny stuff where it.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Says, oh, they played college together. You know, football does
it a lot.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
They put the wide receiver with the quarterback. If he
has Bobby Hurley, how does he fair in a Minnesota?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
How does he fair?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
And you know, uh in Atlanta?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
You know, and you're gonna need more than Bobby Haurley.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
And he's definitely gonna need more than Bobby Hurley, but
Grant Hill probably would yeah, you know, green Hill probably
would have been a better comp The next player.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Another hated one man.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
My guy bub Man JJ Reddit Ready Ready. He really
lets it fly. Fifteen year career, solid, no All Star games,
but just can you know, just just a competitor, dude.
He had a crazy playoff street man going. I think
it was fifteen years straight that he didn't miss the playoffs.
(22:16):
Got a chance to get to know him when he
was in Milwaukee for a blink, and then just watched him,
you know, become a player in you know, Clippers history
and just kind of just go around and do his thing. Man.
But he really shot the ball extremely well. Just an
offensive threat and can get it going from anywhere.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
JJ was my guy from day one, growing up watching
him hoop and camera. Hemon trading Langdon with my two guys.
I kind of modeled my game after in high school
and college. I think I remember on my visit to
Duke coach k throwing a JJ Reddick highlight tape up
on the screen while I'm.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
There and let me watch.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
He was like, this is what I see you doing
out there on the floor. It was the dopest thing
ever to me. And then him translating to the league,
he kind of had to transformer his game a little bit. Man,
it was it was kind of I was nervous for him.
Might think he would last. He wasn't getting no tick.
He was struggling his first couple of years, and he,
like I say, he transformed his game. His body's work
ethic was insane. Obviously at a just a solid career.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I mean, yes, I think if he went somewhere else
he would have played early.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
I think.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I don't know if it benefited him or not as
far as him being the Lakers head coaching and watching
the process of how Stam Van Gundy you know, used
him and try to have teachable moments. But he definitely
should have played a lot his rookie year, you know
what I mean. And stan Van Gundy was kind of
known for that. You know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I don't know, man, I might disagree.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
It's because it's tough because he came from Duke where
he had the ball always like the system was for him.
He like everybody was looking for He was kind of
like the stuff, like everybody was looking for him.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
I was gonna say. The game also wasn't three point
four yet either.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
He was.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, he you know, the cheek m hm.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Yeah, So you know, being able to shoot it a
little bit more and get more attempts up, it still
was given. He had to create different opportunities, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
And he was a movement shooter. Like he was a
movement shooter from day one. And when you're not getting
plays called for you in the league where you got
to stand still and kind of wait to get the balls,
kill your home off a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
All right, you're very familiar with this next person because
it's you twelve year career, you know what I mean.
I got some great some great seasons in twenty sixteen,
twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Last year, you led the league in three point percentage.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
This year you're playing, you know, balance some injuries and
things of that nature, but you're still active.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Coming out of the Duke, you know, how do you.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Feel representing this university and being mentioned with the greats.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Shit, I didn't even know he was gonna talk I
ain't even know I was on the list to talk
about today with you know, I mean, representing Duke coming
out out of there, it's a real brotherhood. I remember
coming into the league and it was crazy to me
because every night somebody on the other team was from Duke,
whether it was a coach a player. It was kind
of dope. You could, i mean say it was up
(25:10):
to him chop it up with the master the game
before the game, and for me it was I mean,
it's it was Also it was a little bit of
pressure because back then it was we had that tag
of oh NBA Duke guys can't they don't they don't
pan out in the NBA, they don't have great NBA careers.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
It was more like back.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Then it was Carolina, Oh Carolina got better NBA players,
Kentucky got better NBA players, and we were we were
putting guys in the league, but we didn't have the Tatums,
the Kyrieve, we didn't have the guys who elevated their
games were kind of better NBA players than college players.
So we kind of had that kind of had that
burden to carry that we had to put kind of
(25:47):
Duke on our back in the league and try to
level up.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
So it's been dope.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So you know, your brother went to Davison, you went
to Liberty early on and then you go to Duke.
Do you ever have any conversations of like, you know,
your experience of being part of that, you know what
I mean, because like obviously he's blazed his on trail
at Davison, but like just thinking about, like, hey, man,
like yo, if I ever played that Duke or like
(26:13):
this experience, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Because like is.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
If you had You're saying no, no, no, I'm just
talking about Steph just asking about you know, like you know,
playing there.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Everybody's a fan growing up in North Carolina, Tobacco Road,
everybody like a Duke. Carolina acc basketball is what it is.
So even Staff, I remember, like he he was hyped
for me to just he was in the league. He
was at Davidson killing and I was going to Duke.
He's about to go into the league, be a lottery pick.
But he was still excited for me and asking questions,
(26:45):
what's you know, what's what's k Like what's what's what's
playing in Cameron every day? Like what's how do y'all
do things over there at Duke? And it's I mean
I was explaining to him and he was kind of
on the journey with me because like it was our
dream growing up to play in the ACCAH. We wanted
to play at Duke Carolina or Virginia Tech growing up,
so he wasn't able to do it. I was lucky
enough able to go to Duke and and have.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
A great career there.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
But like I said, everybody in my family was on
the ride with me because that's as a kid growing
up in North Carolina, that's what you want.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that's super cool man. Just like
really thinking about you know, obviously he's getting ready to
face a new challenge unfamiliar territory in the NBA. You're
actually about to face a new challenge because you're playing
in a major, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
You're leaving a smaller.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Market to go to a major, and you've watched it
your whole life, but now you're about to face it
on your own, and you're just like dude, Like so.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Far as that was an example that like I remember
steph Is sophomore year whatever, you played at Duke and
it was like the biggest game of his career on ESPN.
It was hyped up crazy. He was taught me about
his nerves and how dope it was to play in
camera and then I get a couple of years later,
I get to do that every night.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah Soria.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Uh speaking of just getting ready, what is game like?
The pre game and the games?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Just like the lead up to the game is like
you know, on on a campus for people that have
never been to the you know, a.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Do game, it's a buzz man.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That's all people care around on campus are and during
basketball season is the lead up to the games. I
mean obviously hear about Kate Crchesiville where people camp out
just to get tickets in to come to the game,
and just it's just a buzz like walking around campus
where the where the.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Stars, where the NBA guys of of that area. So
just I.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Mean a lot of people come to Duke so they
can be a part of the basketball experience, so they
can come to the games and just hopefully winning championship
while they're there.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
So I got endless memories.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
I think that's so crazy.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I worked with a young guy he went to school there,
you know what I mean, Like, you got a chance
to meet QC.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
And he's like, yo, man, I.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Used to sleep out Like I'm like, what, like, you know,
I haven't I haven't been a fan of something that.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
You know, obviously we're Yankee fan. We love the Yankees,
but like not to the.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Extremity of like, yo, I'm trying to get access first
come perserve, you know, and he's we thought it was crazy,
such a deal about Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
We thought it was to me. Once you get like
you going there and you walked through and you talk
to some of the students at the time, like it's
worth it for them because they get to be a
part of it, Like they get to come in to
the Carolina game, be a part of it, that have
those memories for the rest of that life of us
being Carolina in camera while they camped out for a game.
It's like, that's the story you and you go to Duke.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man, and he's he's always slone, he's
always locked in man, every tournament he's.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
And the dupe part about this list we're going over
these NBA guys is tons of people across the country
that went to Duke have stories about, Oh, seeing Elton
brand on campus, Carlos Boozer, Jason tatums On, whoever it is, myself,
whoever it is camping out for that game, seeing all
the memories of playing in camera. They were a part
of it because they they sacrificed, they slept in those
(30:16):
tents and waiting the line to get tickets, and from
anybody anywhere from fifty sixty year olds now to people
younger than me have those memories of Duke basketballs.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
It's nothing like it.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Yeah, I can only imagine. All right, we got two
more guys on this list. Shot Stap Rookie of the Year,
All Star selection.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
He just made some comments the other day saying, you know,
you had to take a look in the mirror and
say he needs to play better. I respect awareness and accountability.
It's a lot of pressure, you know in this league
and surrounding. You know, guys are getting better every day.
Tell me about you know, Polo.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
He's still building his resume. I mean, he one of
the best starts as a guy coming out of Duke.
Rookie of the Year, just putting up the numbers he
putting up from day one in the league. And I
mean he got the great of a good as a
ramp as anybody to start his career that's come out
of Duke in the last fifteen twenty years. So he
(31:17):
just got to keep building his resume, like you said,
getting better and better, and he'll be up there. If
we did his top five ten years later, I bet
he'd be in there or towing the line. So he
got a great, great future ahead of him, just like
I said, rolling out these one and dones in and out,
and he's on the.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
List for sure. Can't forget about Powo.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
We had absolutely pollow real game Cholta Seattle, lastly brandon
ing Sleepy Assassin, two time All Star Leagues molt improved
player in twenty twenty, already seven seasons in of twenty
points per game. You know, I don't I don't think he,
you know, appears to be slowing down anytime soon. He's
in Toronto now, and every franchise he's been at he's
(32:00):
been successful. So he's another guy that is going to
You're gonna continue to hear his name, man, and I hope,
I hope that I hope to see him playing more
playoff games and you know, but that he's gonna be
one of those twenty thousand point guys, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
He's on pace.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Just he's gonna be in that that the Marta Rose
in round where you look up.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Oh, he a top ten scorer in the league.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
But like you look at the numbers DeMar gonna have
when he's done, it's gonna be crazy, just because he's
consistently a productive player for us who he ain't played
a long time. And I think Brandon Eaglan gonna be
in that same realm like an underrated guy.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Definitely see him playing seventy years.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Yeah, he's the underrated get he will walk in twenty
twenty point score from really from day one kind of
and then just give me just he's gonna play a
long time and then he got like you said, he
got playing some bigger games, some be on some better teams,
but just a consistently good player. And when you think
about dude, guys, he's one of the most talented Like
(33:00):
this listen, I don't see too many more talented than him,
just from a skill standpoint size at that size, Like
you know, I don't I hate you don't want to
throw that KD comparisonly now to him, but Verson thought
of him. Yeah, when you see a long range you
guy like him who could score, shoot, play a lot
of different positions. That's that's kind of who you see
(33:23):
in his game.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Yeah, absolutely, all.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Right, man, we're gonna take a quick break, but when
we come back, we're gonna come back with our top
five greatest players to come out of all right, we're back, man.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
You know this is this is your territory. I'm gonna
let you leave the way. Man.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
I'm interested to see who your five is because I
got mine, and my mind might might be a little
bit controversial because you know, I'm not too close to
the to the brotherhood, but I'm interested to hear how
you know, how you feel.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
All Right, It's a lot of names we could have
talked about, but I'm gonna keep my top five and
then and the guys we listed, so I'm going number five.
I'm going Shane Battier, Like I said, just consistent Hooper
for a long time on a lot of different teams.
We played with a lot of superstars. And that's that's
my number five. Number four I got Grant Hill, number four,
(34:29):
number four, grand Hill, number three got Elton Brand two Kyrie,
and number one I got Jason Tatum and Jayson Tatum
got one. The accolades have piled up, and he's gonna
add a lot more. So I'm kind of building in
for the future because he's gonna be He's on good
team this year. He got a chance to win this
(34:50):
year coming back from the injury. He I think he's gonna.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Be just fine.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
So that that that number one spot j T is
he got a hold of.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
It, Okay, yeah, not too far off. Then at five,
I got brandon Ingram go b I twenty points a game,
you know, uh, just on the on the on the
on the pace of you know, uh, twenty thousand points.
We just talked about two time All Star respectfully. At four,
(35:21):
I'm gonna go with uh Grant Hill. No, I'm gonna
go with she Ain't Radier mm hmm. And then three,
I'm gonna go with Grant Hill. Two, I'm gonna go
with Kyrie Irvan And number.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
One go Jason Tatum.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
Jason Tatum is just he's on pace to be one
of the greatest, you know, even if he don't win
another one. I just think that the individual accolades is
just going to continue to stack.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
He's just that good. And again he's only twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Man, he's so decorated like this dude, this dude is
associated with winning so much, like it's unfortunate. He gets
the slack from you know, fans, and and and and
random people about his career. Man, but he's I tie
him to success. You know what I mean to anything
that he does. Man, he is He's just a straight
(36:10):
out hooper. He has game and he's a joy to watch.
To me, all right, we're gonna take another quick break,
and when we come back, we're gonna do Born in
the Wrong Era. This should be interesting because there's some
guys that probably didn't have success that probably would have success.
So I'm interested to see who Dot picks. All right, man,
(36:43):
I'm gonna start this off.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Man. I like your list.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I love the alumni.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
I love I think this was super cool to do
and focus on. H I'm just gonna jump right into it,
man and say, jj Reddick. I think JJ Reddick would
be a killer, a killer or an absolute killer in
this era, getting all attempts, getting some plays ran for
him for him. I think that he would be maybe
(37:10):
a one or two time All Star. I think he's
just capable of just scoring. Got a high clip and
you can hide him on defense.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Man.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
I just think that, you know, in this era, he
would be overly successful.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Me, I'm going my name we didn't even talk about,
but I'm gonna go to julil okaform. I like if
he one of the toughest big man I've seen at
Duke and come out of Duke, but he was just
in the wrong era of basketball for him. Like he
came into the league where it was all spread out.
It wasn't You couldn't really dump it into the post
(37:46):
anymore in the league. If you were a five, you
had to be kind of a stretch, or you had
to be a rent protector, like a versatile, but you
can't be like a score first ice so big, and
that's what he was, and just one of the best
scores stopped going the block. And if you would have
played in the nineties to early two thousands where you
were and that Al Jefferson in realm of just throw
(38:08):
it down, He's gonna get you twenty twenty five a night,
just unstoppable on the block and had a great college
career Duke and then obviously didn't translate. But I think
he just misses Mark.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Yeah, man, well, dude, this has been a fun one.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Hopefully you know we have a guest that can rep
their university since we're you know, alongside March and tied
to the NBA, but man DoD like brotherhood is deep.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
I don't know how you'll com We got more coming
this year, got top slamp picks this year. Shout out
the guys coming. We got to redo this in a
few years and it might switch up.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
Yeah, absolutely, I think in another year or two, this
this list is gonna switch up them even more, you
know what I mean, got Con and a few other
guys that you know that can you know Cooper Flag,
we ain't even got.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
We ain't scratch the surface.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
So I'm really really excited to see where you know
this alone.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
You know what I ain't talk about.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
You know what I ain't talking about, and that's underrated
the transition from k to john Shire, Like they ain't
even John ain't even missed a beat when it comes
to like talent coming in.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
I remember people were up in arms about that hire too,
you know what I mean, because I mean obviously some
big shoes to feel and you know, he got like
an interesting start, but like he.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
He ain't missed like as far as recruiting and talent,
because we're talking about NBA guys like yeah, he's it's
like Kate still there, just rolling him in and out
and then he doing it his way like you've seen
other programs when Lettings leave, you got Dean Smith out.
It took a while for you ain't high Look Kentucky
(39:49):
the same way, and those big names started going elsewhere.
K came and came, Kay left, John came in and
were talking about some of John's guys now in the league.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
So yeah, to give me that's crazy to be like,
you know, coach Shire, you know what I mean, Wow,
that's Wold.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
You know you really think about that.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
And he had a game in himself, but his era,
you know, that's he's creating his own legacy. Man, I
gotta respect that. So yeah, I can't wait to talk
about his guys in the near future. All right, Doc,
where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (40:21):
That's Doc Curry everywhere? Shoot me a message on X
on threads, Holler at me.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
That's Doc Curry.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
At Trey on threads, at trevonn on X. Man.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Can't wait to hear you know, I've seen a lot
of people give me some flack about you know, the finals,
I mean the Power Forwards episode saying you know we
left off Sean Kemp in my top five.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
I like that feedback.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
I like it.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
I like it, you know what I mean. And I'm
pretty sure we're gonna hear what about Jay Williams and
what about this player? You know, like, Hey, that's what
it's for.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Man. Sometimes we leave people off man for conversation purposes.
So show us, you know how pass as that you
are about this episode.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
And let us hear it, you know what I mean.
Also follow that at the goat pod social media account.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
All right, we all go go. This has been a
Unanimous Media original. Goat was produced by iHeart.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Podcasts and Unanimous Media. It was hosted by me Trevon
Edwards and step Kirk. Executive produced by Stephen Curry and
Eric Katon. Co executive producer Klenna Maria Cuttey. The executive
producers at iHeart Podcasts are Sean Titon and Jason English.
This series was produced by Derek Jennings and Peter Kutcher.
(41:39):
Co producer Kurt Redney. Original music by Jesse Woodard. Special
thanks to Stephen Curry and Will Pearson. Goat is a
production of Unanimous Media and iHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio, app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
It was our dream growing up to play in the ACC.
We wanted to play at Duke Carolina or Virginia Tech
growing up. So he wasn't able to do it. I
was lucky enough able to go to Duke and have
a great career there. But everybody in my family was
on the ride with me, because that's as a kid
growing up in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
YO.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Welcome back to another episode of Greatest of Their Era?
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Dot? Greatest of the Era? Got up, Trey.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Man, We're back at it. Man. This is a special one.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Man. We talk about the brotherhood man, Duke Man, a
lot of the duchies Man, So I know you got
a lot to elaborate on this, a lot of homies,
a lot of loans that you know, possibly helped you
along the way. And also you know the young talent man.
So this is a good comparison. And the criteria for
(00:55):
this is who has the greatest NBA career collegiate. So
that makes it even more you know, filtered out and
tricky because obviously certain guys were linked upon at the university,
but when they got to their respective teams, they were
used differently on their professional level.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, this is interesting because I was thinking about the list,
and there was so many legendary college players, especially in
the nineties two thousands, where it was like all time
great college players, but they wasn't on that level in
the NBA. So I think there's some more the modern
guys we're gonna talk about today, sprinkling some older guys.
But I mean it's a lot of names and a
(01:35):
lot of people, a big pool to pick from when
you talk about the doochie, So I'm excited about this episode.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
All right, man, greatest NBA careers for former Duke players.
Let's get it, all right, man, jumping into it. Jason Tatum, Man,
it's still hard to believe this guy's only twenty eight
years old.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
One of the successful Duke Blue Devils on the NBA team,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Titling twenty twenty four, six time All Star, five time
All NBA selection, twenty twenty two, Eastern Conference Finals MVP
twenty twenty three, as well two time Olympic gold medalists.
I mean, he's won at every level. At this point,
I know he's going to be at the top of
my list. But tell us about Jason Tatum.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, j T.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I mean just he kind of elevated, got better and
better when he got to the league. I knew he
was a big prospect coming out of high school. He
had a good college college year while he was at Duke.
I mean, and with all due respect, like comparatible to
other like of the main guys coming to the Duke
that were one of done. He probably middle of the pack.
He probably not one of the best. But when he
(02:39):
got to the league, he had hit the ground running,
I mean got to the I mean, they made a
big run in the playoffs his rookie year. And he'd
been on the biggest stage on great teams and leading
the charge his whole career. So just to see his
accolades pile up like they have already, to hear you
read off that list is insane, man.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
So he's he's definitely gonna be on my list too.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, all right, Next up Grand Hill Hall
of Famer, seven time All Star, five time All NBA selection,
technically a two time All Olympic Gold medalist player in
ninety six or second twenty four. He's a what if guy.
But when you put the numbers up, he put up
twenty five, six and five at his peak in ninety
(03:23):
nine two thousands. Where does Grant Hill fare. I mean, obviously,
when I think about Duke, obviously I think Christian Laitner,
but I think Grand Hill, right, poster boy transition to
NBA signature shoe, you know, Detroit.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
He doesn't get hurt. He's rivaling Michael Jordan at this point.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, he was like the Lebron. I mean, just thinking
backup it, people were saying he's the Lebron before Lebron, Like,
so he's a point forward. He could do it all
on the floor, score I mean, just run your offense,
play defense. He was kind of a guy and at Duke,
who was obviously a big time star, one of the
best players in the country in college, but then one
(04:04):
of the guys you felt like was gonna translate right
away and be an elite superstar in the NBA. I
mean he was a superstar in the nineties for the Pistons,
I think it was, and then kind of got hurt,
banged up, but still had a productive long career. He
played well into his late thirties. I mean he might
have been thirty nine to forty on those Clippers teams
on his way out. But I mean he's he's I
(04:28):
think his his NBA career just because it was injured
and he didn't maybe live up to the expectations, his
NBA career might be a little underrated.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
You agree, Yeah, I do think so. I do think so.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I think the expectations, the fact that he dealt with
injuries and was still able to prolong it a little
bit longer and still be effective. I think that is
a testament to him and his resilience of his career
because he was written off a couple of times, you
know what I mean, he had such a serious injury
that you know, people.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Was like, oh, you got to retire, and.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
For him to you know, have you know, later on
play with the Suns and the Clippers and be effective
and you know their success, that's just a testament to
who green Hill is.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, he was like, I mean some of it just
to see. I mean, I was playing golf with him
a few years ago and I saw his ankle, Like
I just looked over, picked over at his ankle, and
it still looks like huge.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It don't look right.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
He was playing on like severe ankle injuries. She probably
should have called it quits. Yeah, I mean for his
long term health. But he thought he grinded it out
and somehow he was able to have a long career.
Like I said, with the injuries.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Yeah, absolutely all right.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The next one, Kyrie Irving only played eleven games due
to injuries. But you know, once a blue devil, always
a blue devil, and knows there's no exception to this reality.
It's one of the best guards man like nine time
All Star, twenty twelve, Rookie of the Year, three time
All NBA selection twenty fourteen as the MVP. I mean,
he has a title with you know, twenty sixteen. Calves
(05:58):
just one of the one of my favorite players to watch,
you know what I mean when you think about it,
And if you didn't know, most people be like he
with the Duke, you know what I mean, And and
I don't even I think he kind of broke the.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Whole stereotype of what a duke player was, you know what.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I mean, because I think y'all got so many players
that come from everywhere, and I think originally it starts
with grand Hill and Christian Laler, like, oh, they came
from the suburban background, and you know, k kind of
just started getting them out the mud everywhere, you know
what I mean. So you know, Kyrie's one of those
those guys cut from the cloth man that was able to,
you know, show that Duke also can can can bring
(06:37):
those type of players in, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I kind of had the inside perspective because I
was there the year before him when we wanted to
national the championship with like mainly four year guys, with
Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and all those guys, and then
you could kind of see the shift that Coach k
took where he was like, all right, I gotta go
get someone and done because he got Kentucky out here.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Again.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
We're just bringing them in, rotating in and out, and
that's the only way you were going to compete at
the highest level was having the best talent. So you
got to go get through one of dons and Kyrie
came in. I told the story earlier about how it
was weird having like seeing Coach K let him wear
number one, Like you knew how that's how good he
was gonna be, Like, we had got to get him
in here. It's one of the few guys I'll let
him wear number one. And like that team was stacked.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We knew.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I mean, if Kyrie didn't get hurt, that's like his
ninth game or whatever, we had a good chance to
go on defeated. We were loaded with NBA guys, and
Kyrie led the charge as a freshman. So for him
to play the those eleven games of Duke, he still
reps the brotherhoods like it's like he was a four
year guy. The way he talks about Duke and his
time there. He loved being a part of the program
(07:43):
and and he loves Coach K and Coach K loves him.
And then him going into the league just he lived
up to the building from day one. The number one pick,
Star maybe hit the biggest shot in the NBA history
with that game seven shot against the Warriors. And his accolades,
I mean he racking them up too. So I think
he's he kind of he kind of transit in that
(08:05):
mold like you had you kind of had to do.
Guys kind of had the rep of being corny, you
know what I'm saying, Like like silver spoon type guys
like you said, and he came in and changed the mold.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean it's kind of that parallel with
the Celtics right until they get JT.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
And now you're looking at.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Him like, oh, am I actually rooting for the Celtics, right?
Am I actually rooting for Duke? Because it got to
that point. I mean, I remember, man, I'm like, I'm
still a UCLA guy, but Chris Duhan is a family friend,
and watching you know, Dohn go to Duke.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It introduced me to Jason Williams.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
So it had me rooting for Duke in an odd
way where I'm like, hell, like, am I really rooting
for Duke?
Speaker 4 (08:50):
You know what I'm saying, And vice versa when you
went over there.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
You know, it's just certain guys that I'm just kind
of leaning towards where I'm like, all right, you know, because.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
We changed around time, we kind of changed the culture,
kind of made it cool to go to Duke. We
started playing a little bit different. We're fun to watch.
And then after Kyrie came as a one and done
being that number one pick, then the floodgates open. You
weren't scared, Like Austin came in the next year, one
of the top recruits to the Tatums. I mean, you
(09:20):
name them after that, coach k was rolling in one
and done.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah. It was absolutely that was that was the way
it was.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
All right, We're going to go back to my era.
Lou aut down Man fifteen to six over a fifteen year.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Career, two time All Star Sportsmen of the Year, one
time All Defensive Team, one of my favorite bulls. You know,
couple top ten Defensive Player of the Year finishes, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Like lou really got that game.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
You know, I remember still to this day, everybody talk
about those Flint Jordan's, you know, the Twelves.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
That's lou shoe.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He was cooking in the tournament with them, and I
just like, you know, Kobe Warrem during his free agency
sneaker you know year, but Lou Au dang owned them,
like he made that cool, you know, coming out of
Blair with Charlie V just really hooping though, Like I really.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Loved his run.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Man, he was one and done right mm hm so yeah,
so he Like I'm thinking back if our remember career,
it was kind of like controversial with him being one
on one.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
That's like because it was like you go to Duke,
you gotta stay for at least.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
But it also was to a point of like he
has no reason to stay. Yeah, yeah, he had no
reason to stay.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
He kind of went against the mold. He contact him
heat for leaving. And then like he kind of brought
that duke still. He was a duke guy, dukee mentality
to the league, Like he was the ultimate glue guy,
roll guy that was highly skilled. He could he could,
he could play, but he played the right way, like
he went out there for them. He was trying to
win games. So everybody around the league respected him for that.
And then, like I said, two time All Star, the
(10:58):
heck of a defender and just playing for Thibodeaux, those
those teams. He has some iconic teams up there in Chicago.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, also legendary Laker. The Laker fans still
loves him too. The day, you know, shout outs to
that all right, Boozer. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
It's just a damn near nepotism when you think about
this man. You know the name, his sons currently playing for,
you know, the current squad getting ready for the attorney Man.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Boozer had a career a.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Sixteen and ten, two time All Star, one time All
NBA selection, had some productive years in Cleveland, then went
on to play alongside Darren Williams is a one two punch.
He also wound up being a top ten MVP finished
that season in six oh seven, where you average twenty
one and twelve Man Booze.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Booze is another guy.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
That just kind of like strong finish, you know what
I mean, Like not even big man, but he plays
so big.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
He plays so strong you gotta respect it.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I felt like Duke always had those undersized power forwards
that just made a name for themselves and you just
kind of just knew eventually they were skilled enough to
slide to the three if they got to the league
or if they got to the forty had some type
of success. Like Booze was quick man, like he really
had game, dude, Like I really enjoyed watching him for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
I think he underrated guy too, just his skill wise,
and I think all them years he had in Utah
and Chicago where he was borderline all Star, made a
couple of All Star teams, and just I think he
did it off scal and IQ like he played simple.
He played a simple game like catching in the pocket,
finished mid post jazz shoot if you gave him space.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
He's got a simple game. But he made it work.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
He was efficient, soft change, yeah, good touch with with
physicality like he was, I think an underrated guy in
the grand scheme of NBA history, but in general duke guys,
he's you got to think about him when you're thinking
some of the best dude guys in the league, just
because his longevity in his career and he was consistently
(13:07):
in the playoffs every year, whether you told Chicago, wherever
he went, his team felt like his team had had
a chance to make a run in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Yeah, you talked about this guy on multiple episodes.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Elton Brown.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
You know we've discussed it most underrated players two thousands,
but you know his status man just twenty ten guy,
two time All Star, two thousand, Rookie of the Year,
Sportsman of the Year, O six, top ten MVP, finished
Defensive Player of the Year, finished finalists for the Clippers,
you know, six man.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
So let's talk about you know Elton.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, obviously real bucket from high school to college
to again playing out a position, playing that power for
a position, sliding to the three, doing that as well.
If injuries don't slow him down, he's still was successful.
You know, Like I said, you mentioned he's underrated. I
still kind of push back on that because, you know,
(14:04):
two All Star and Rookie.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Of the Year.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I feel like when you get a Rookie of the Year,
you hear and it's kind of hard.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
To He was like, like we talked about before, he
was in the era of power forwards, like he just
wasn't going to be better than some of those guys.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah he wasn't, but he was just gonna held his own.
And I think that's sometimes when he you know, he
got to the certain squads, they were able to move
him around and play him at the three sometimes. You know,
Chicago he was bumping, man, he was, you know, playing
the four, Dallas playing the four. You know.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
But I think it's far by eb is his at
every level.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
He was a top guy like when like like in
high school, he was that guy in college one of
the best college players to ever do it, and wanted
Duke and then got to the league and he was
he was up resta line in the league too. So
I mean, just consistently a good basketball player, like I said,
at every level. So you got to get respect for that.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
It's interesting, man, It's only it's only a few champions
on this list, man, I'm looking at a lot of guys,
a lot of guys in here.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Though Zion Willimson, you know what I.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Mean, despite you know, some injuries and things of that nature,
He's still a two time All Star when he's got
it going. He had a career high of twenty four,
six and four. But you know, Zion's still figuring it out.
But you know, when he was at Duke one of
the most exciting recruits, had everybody you know thinking the
(15:32):
second come in Lebron. I mean, he's, like I said,
his career is far from over. He has he has
a chance to turn around the right situation. He's still
you know, working on his health to stay you know,
out there on the floor and contributing at the best.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
He's he's good at doing the hard things, you know
what I mean, And in the way he as he
gets older, I hope that he can slow the game
down and make it easier for him. But doing the
hard things, he still manages to average twenty four points
a game on straight to your chest, you know, and
very vertical.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I'm gonna say this, I think out of everybody on
this list, he had the highest ceiling from college coming
into the league, everybody had the highest expectations. And I mean,
obviously he just got to play more games for him
to get close to my top five. He ain't really
the injuries missed games set them back. It's that like,
(16:23):
it's not much to say about his NBA career right now.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
He's the guy that kind of ramped back up tanking,
you know what I mean, Like he ramped it up.
He ramped it up where teams were like, hey, we
got we got to prepare for this guy.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
We gotta get it.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
You're talking about before he came in the league, before.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
He came in the league.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, like teams actually like restructuring their roster for a guy.
So I definitely am piggybacking off your you know, your.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Comment on that and say he also revamped tanking while
he was in the league because he missed so many
games his team was out of the picture. So early, yeah,
we're gonna tank. We got a pairent with somebody, got a.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Pair him to somebody.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah, and now they got like you know, they're all
they they got all positions. Feel but it's still an
interesting roster when you really think about it.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
This next guy, ultimate winner, ultimate team guy, captain leader,
Shane Badding. You know what I mean, defender can what
don't you love? Like love about him? Like having him
on your team?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Man.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Two time champs, two time All Defense, four time ten
UH Top ten Defensive Player of the Year finalists, Just Battier,
dog like he was used on the offensive end, and dude,
he can hit the three in Memphis.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
He can do his.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Little thing, but his defense, his assignments, his strategy, his approach,
how he goes in his impact.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I don't even want to talk about offense.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
But I just think that when you think of a
guy that you're saying, Hey, you want to be a
best defender, you want to win championships.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
You watch Shane Battier. Yeah, it's plain and simple.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Like if you looked up duke player in dictionary or whatever,
and the stereotypical duke player would be Shane Batty. That's
what people would think about across the country. Just solid, smart,
smart players, solid at every level. Just what your coach's
favorite player. He gonna do with what's asked of them,
Gonna knock down open shots, Gonna guard the best player
(18:25):
on every team, Gonna be versatile, can play different positions.
Just the ultimate winner. I mean his impact. You can
look at the box score and say his numbers weren't
crazy in the league, but his impact was outrageous. Like
he was matching up with Kobe Braun every night and
the team always had a chance to win. And he
had to be on the floor every team he was
(18:46):
on in big situation. So just the vittle three and
D guy before. I mean, most teams were looking for
three and D guys just went toe to toe with
a lot of teams during the Big Three era, Like
he was just he had to he had to be
kind of like that third guy to match up with,
Like I said, the Bronze and D ways, even before
he teamed up with him, Kobe's whoever else?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
T Max?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I mean, he's he's a he played a big part
in the NBA history.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
He's one of those guys you had to go get
You can't beat them to join them, you know what
I mean. Like if you want to you want to
really win, win a championship, go get back.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And he patent you know, you know the defensive movie
Patton the hand in the face. I didn't know, Oh wow,
like that he was the first one to do that
with guarding Kobe, putting his hand in between his arms
when Kobe going up for the shot like that was
and then I don't know the Kobe was worked on
that in the summer, Like had the guy's guard and
putting a hand in his face.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Work.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's hard man, as a perimeter defender to get you know,
the pattent, you know, a defensive technique, that's killer. All right, man,
this guy, I think he kind of messed it up
for all y'all, you know what I mean, Like this
is why y'all get hated on. But he was so
damn good Christian lat Like I never had a problem
(20:09):
with him.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
I always respected them.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
People didn't want him on the Dream Team, you know,
hate They just didn't feel like certain things transition.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
But you know, he played with the Wolves.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
And the Atlanta Hawks and later on the Pistons and
the Wizards, and you know, obviously it didn't really translate
as you knows, as he wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
But he's the one who kicked it all off for y'all.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Like honestly, like I honestly feel like Layner couldn't go wrong.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
Golden boy for real, and that hate is still driven,
like you're born into Duke hate because of Christian Layner,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
What I mean?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Like he was a god in college just to get
like a god and obviously didn't translate to the league
being a one time All Star. But when you look
at it, like it makes sense why his game didn't
necessarily translate to the league. He won't one on one
isold guy, not super skilled. Give me, had like a simple,
a basic game.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
He played through his team and strengths, like you know,
and I think that was I think, you know, a
testament to Kate and him and his hard work.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
But like having grand Hill helps, having Bobby Hurley kind
of helps, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Like it'd be different if they landed on an expansion
team and they say, all right, we're gonna keep these
young guys together, and you know that corny stuff where it.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Says, oh, they played college together. You know, football does
it a lot.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
They put the wide receiver with the quarterback. If he
has Bobby Hurley, how does he fair in a Minnesota?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
How does he fair?
Speaker 4 (21:39):
And you know, uh in Atlanta?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
You know, and you're gonna need more than Bobby Haurley.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
And he's definitely gonna need more than Bobby Hurley, but
Grant Hill probably would yeah, you know, green Hill probably
would have been a better comp The next player.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Another hated one man.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
My guy bub Man JJ Reddit Ready Ready. He really
lets it fly. Fifteen year career, solid, no All Star games,
but just can you know, just just a competitor, dude.
He had a crazy playoff street man going. I think
it was fifteen years straight that he didn't miss the playoffs.
(22:16):
Got a chance to get to know him when he
was in Milwaukee for a blink, and then just watched him,
you know, become a player in you know, Clippers history
and just kind of just go around and do his thing. Man.
But he really shot the ball extremely well. Just an
offensive threat and can get it going from anywhere.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
JJ was my guy from day one, growing up watching
him hoop and camera. Hemon trading Langdon with my two guys.
I kind of modeled my game after in high school
and college. I think I remember on my visit to
Duke coach k throwing a JJ Reddick highlight tape up
on the screen while I'm.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
There and let me watch.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
He was like, this is what I see you doing
out there on the floor. It was the dopest thing
ever to me. And then him translating to the league,
he kind of had to transformer his game a little bit. Man,
it was it was kind of I was nervous for him.
Might think he would last. He wasn't getting no tick.
He was struggling his first couple of years, and he,
like I say, he transformed his game. His body's work
ethic was insane. Obviously at a just a solid career.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I mean, yes, I think if he went somewhere else
he would have played early.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
I think.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I don't know if it benefited him or not as
far as him being the Lakers head coaching and watching
the process of how Stam Van Gundy you know, used
him and try to have teachable moments. But he definitely
should have played a lot his rookie year, you know
what I mean. And stan Van Gundy was kind of
known for that. You know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I don't know, man, I might disagree.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
It's because it's tough because he came from Duke where
he had the ball always like the system was for him.
He like everybody was looking for He was kind of
like the stuff, like everybody was looking for him.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
I was gonna say. The game also wasn't three point
four yet either.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
He was.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, he you know, the cheek m hm.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Yeah, So you know, being able to shoot it a
little bit more and get more attempts up, it still
was given. He had to create different opportunities, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
And he was a movement shooter. Like he was a
movement shooter from day one. And when you're not getting
plays called for you in the league where you got
to stand still and kind of wait to get the balls,
kill your home off a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
All right, you're very familiar with this next person because
it's you twelve year career, you know what I mean.
I got some great some great seasons in twenty sixteen,
twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Last year, you led the league in three point percentage.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
This year you're playing, you know, balance some injuries and
things of that nature, but you're still active.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Coming out of the Duke, you know, how do you.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Feel representing this university and being mentioned with the greats.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Shit, I didn't even know he was gonna talk I
ain't even know I was on the list to talk
about today with you know, I mean, representing Duke coming
out out of there, it's a real brotherhood. I remember
coming into the league and it was crazy to me
because every night somebody on the other team was from Duke,
whether it was a coach a player. It was kind
of dope. You could, i mean say it was up
(25:10):
to him chop it up with the master the game
before the game, and for me it was I mean,
it's it was Also it was a little bit of
pressure because back then it was we had that tag
of oh NBA Duke guys can't they don't they don't
pan out in the NBA, they don't have great NBA careers.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
It was more like back.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Then it was Carolina, Oh Carolina got better NBA players,
Kentucky got better NBA players, and we were we were
putting guys in the league, but we didn't have the Tatums,
the Kyrieve, we didn't have the guys who elevated their
games were kind of better NBA players than college players.
So we kind of had that kind of had that
burden to carry that we had to put kind of
(25:47):
Duke on our back in the league and try to
level up.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
So it's been dope.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
So you know, your brother went to Davison, you went
to Liberty early on and then you go to Duke.
Do you ever have any conversations of like, you know,
your experience of being part of that, you know what
I mean, because like obviously he's blazed his on trail
at Davison, but like just thinking about, like, hey, man,
like yo, if I ever played that Duke or like
(26:13):
this experience, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Because like is.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
If you had You're saying no, no, no, I'm just
talking about Steph just asking about you know, like you know,
playing there.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Everybody's a fan growing up in North Carolina, Tobacco Road,
everybody like a Duke. Carolina acc basketball is what it is.
So even Staff, I remember, like he he was hyped
for me to just he was in the league. He
was at Davidson killing and I was going to Duke.
He's about to go into the league, be a lottery pick.
But he was still excited for me and asking questions,
(26:45):
what's you know, what's what's k Like what's what's what's
playing in Cameron every day? Like what's how do y'all
do things over there at Duke? And it's I mean
I was explaining to him and he was kind of
on the journey with me because like it was our
dream growing up to play in the ACCAH. We wanted
to play at Duke Carolina or Virginia Tech growing up,
so he wasn't able to do it. I was lucky
enough able to go to Duke and and have.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
A great career there.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
But like I said, everybody in my family was on
the ride with me because that's as a kid growing
up in North Carolina, that's what you want.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that's super cool man. Just like
really thinking about you know, obviously he's getting ready to
face a new challenge unfamiliar territory in the NBA. You're
actually about to face a new challenge because you're playing
in a major, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
You're leaving a smaller.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Market to go to a major, and you've watched it
your whole life, but now you're about to face it
on your own, and you're just like dude, Like so.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Far as that was an example that like I remember
steph Is sophomore year whatever, you played at Duke and
it was like the biggest game of his career on ESPN.
It was hyped up crazy. He was taught me about
his nerves and how dope it was to play in
camera and then I get a couple of years later,
I get to do that every night.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah Soria.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Uh speaking of just getting ready, what is game like?
The pre game and the games?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Just like the lead up to the game is like
you know, on on a campus for people that have
never been to the you know, a.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Do game, it's a buzz man.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
That's all people care around on campus are and during
basketball season is the lead up to the games. I
mean obviously hear about Kate Crchesiville where people camp out
just to get tickets in to come to the game,
and just it's just a buzz like walking around campus
where the where the.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Stars, where the NBA guys of of that area. So
just I.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Mean a lot of people come to Duke so they
can be a part of the basketball experience, so they
can come to the games and just hopefully winning championship
while they're there.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
So I got endless memories.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
I think that's so crazy.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I worked with a young guy he went to school there,
you know what I mean, Like, you got a chance
to meet QC.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
And he's like, yo, man, I.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Used to sleep out Like I'm like, what, like, you know,
I haven't I haven't been a fan of something that.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
You know, obviously we're Yankee fan. We love the Yankees,
but like not to the.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Extremity of like, yo, I'm trying to get access first
come perserve, you know, and he's we thought it was crazy,
such a deal about Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
We thought it was to me. Once you get like
you going there and you walked through and you talk
to some of the students at the time, like it's
worth it for them because they get to be a
part of it, Like they get to come in to
the Carolina game, be a part of it, that have
those memories for the rest of that life of us
being Carolina in camera while they camped out for a game.
It's like, that's the story you and you go to Duke.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man, and he's he's always slone, he's
always locked in man, every tournament he's.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
And the dupe part about this list we're going over
these NBA guys is tons of people across the country
that went to Duke have stories about, Oh, seeing Elton
brand on campus, Carlos Boozer, Jason tatums On, whoever it is, myself,
whoever it is camping out for that game, seeing all
the memories of playing in camera. They were a part
of it because they they sacrificed, they slept in those
(30:16):
tents and waiting the line to get tickets, and from
anybody anywhere from fifty sixty year olds now to people
younger than me have those memories of Duke basketballs.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
It's nothing like it.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Yeah, I can only imagine. All right, we got two
more guys on this list. Shot Stap Rookie of the Year,
All Star selection.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
He just made some comments the other day saying, you know,
you had to take a look in the mirror and
say he needs to play better. I respect awareness and accountability.
It's a lot of pressure, you know in this league
and surrounding. You know, guys are getting better every day.
Tell me about you know, Polo.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
He's still building his resume. I mean, he one of
the best starts as a guy coming out of Duke.
Rookie of the Year, just putting up the numbers he
putting up from day one in the league. And I
mean he got the great of a good as a
ramp as anybody to start his career that's come out
of Duke in the last fifteen twenty years. So he
(31:17):
just got to keep building his resume, like you said,
getting better and better, and he'll be up there. If
we did his top five ten years later, I bet
he'd be in there or towing the line. So he
got a great, great future ahead of him, just like
I said, rolling out these one and dones in and out,
and he's on the.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
List for sure. Can't forget about Powo.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
We had absolutely pollow real game Cholta Seattle, lastly brandon
ing Sleepy Assassin, two time All Star Leagues molt improved
player in twenty twenty, already seven seasons in of twenty
points per game. You know, I don't I don't think he,
you know, appears to be slowing down anytime soon. He's
in Toronto now, and every franchise he's been at he's
(32:00):
been successful. So he's another guy that is going to
You're gonna continue to hear his name, man, and I hope,
I hope that I hope to see him playing more
playoff games and you know, but that he's gonna be
one of those twenty thousand point guys, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
He's on pace.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Just he's gonna be in that that the Marta Rose
in round where you look up.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Oh, he a top ten scorer in the league.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
But like you look at the numbers DeMar gonna have
when he's done, it's gonna be crazy, just because he's
consistently a productive player for us who he ain't played
a long time. And I think Brandon Eaglan gonna be
in that same realm like an underrated guy.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Definitely see him playing seventy years.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Yeah, he's the underrated get he will walk in twenty
twenty point score from really from day one kind of
and then just give me just he's gonna play a
long time and then he got like you said, he
got playing some bigger games, some be on some better teams,
but just a consistently good player. And when you think
about dude, guys, he's one of the most talented Like
(33:00):
this listen, I don't see too many more talented than him,
just from a skill standpoint size at that size, Like
you know, I don't I hate you don't want to
throw that KD comparisonly now to him, but Verson thought
of him. Yeah, when you see a long range you
guy like him who could score, shoot, play a lot
of different positions. That's that's kind of who you see
(33:23):
in his game.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Yeah, absolutely, all.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Right, man, we're gonna take a quick break, but when
we come back, we're gonna come back with our top
five greatest players to come out of all right, we're back, man.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
You know this is this is your territory. I'm gonna
let you leave the way. Man.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
I'm interested to see who your five is because I
got mine, and my mind might might be a little
bit controversial because you know, I'm not too close to
the to the brotherhood, but I'm interested to hear how
you know, how you feel.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
All Right, It's a lot of names we could have
talked about, but I'm gonna keep my top five and
then and the guys we listed, so I'm going number five.
I'm going Shane Battier, Like I said, just consistent Hooper
for a long time on a lot of different teams.
We played with a lot of superstars. And that's that's
my number five. Number four I got Grant Hill, number four,
(34:29):
number four, grand Hill, number three got Elton Brand two Kyrie,
and number one I got Jason Tatum and Jayson Tatum
got one. The accolades have piled up, and he's gonna
add a lot more. So I'm kind of building in
for the future because he's gonna be He's on good
team this year. He got a chance to win this
(34:50):
year coming back from the injury. He I think he's gonna.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Be just fine.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
So that that that number one spot j T is
he got a hold of.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
It, Okay, yeah, not too far off. Then at five,
I got brandon Ingram go b I twenty points a game,
you know, uh, just on the on the on the
on the pace of you know, uh, twenty thousand points.
We just talked about two time All Star respectfully. At four,
(35:21):
I'm gonna go with uh Grant Hill. No, I'm gonna
go with she Ain't Radier mm hmm. And then three,
I'm gonna go with Grant Hill. Two, I'm gonna go
with Kyrie Irvan And number.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
One go Jason Tatum.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
Jason Tatum is just he's on pace to be one
of the greatest, you know, even if he don't win
another one. I just think that the individual accolades is
just going to continue to stack.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
He's just that good. And again he's only twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Man, he's so decorated like this dude, this dude is
associated with winning so much, like it's unfortunate. He gets
the slack from you know, fans, and and and and
random people about his career. Man, but he's I tie
him to success. You know what I mean to anything
that he does. Man, he is He's just a straight
(36:10):
out hooper. He has game and he's a joy to watch.
To me, all right, we're gonna take another quick break,
and when we come back, we're gonna do Born in
the Wrong Era. This should be interesting because there's some
guys that probably didn't have success that probably would have success.
So I'm interested to see who Dot picks. All right, man,
(36:43):
I'm gonna start this off.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Man. I like your list.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I love the alumni.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
I love I think this was super cool to do
and focus on. H I'm just gonna jump right into it,
man and say, jj Reddick. I think JJ Reddick would
be a killer, a killer or an absolute killer in
this era, getting all attempts, getting some plays ran for
him for him. I think that he would be maybe
(37:10):
a one or two time All Star. I think he's
just capable of just scoring. Got a high clip and
you can hide him on defense.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Man.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
I just think that, you know, in this era, he
would be overly successful.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Me, I'm going my name we didn't even talk about,
but I'm gonna go to julil okaform. I like if
he one of the toughest big man I've seen at
Duke and come out of Duke, but he was just
in the wrong era of basketball for him. Like he
came into the league where it was all spread out.
It wasn't You couldn't really dump it into the post
(37:46):
anymore in the league. If you were a five, you
had to be kind of a stretch, or you had
to be a rent protector, like a versatile, but you
can't be like a score first ice so big, and
that's what he was, and just one of the best
scores stopped going the block. And if you would have
played in the nineties to early two thousands where you
were and that Al Jefferson in realm of just throw
(38:08):
it down, He's gonna get you twenty twenty five a night,
just unstoppable on the block and had a great college
career Duke and then obviously didn't translate. But I think
he just misses Mark.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Yeah, man, well, dude, this has been a fun one.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Hopefully you know we have a guest that can rep
their university since we're you know, alongside March and tied
to the NBA, but man DoD like brotherhood is deep.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
I don't know how you'll com We got more coming
this year, got top slamp picks this year. Shout out
the guys coming. We got to redo this in a
few years and it might switch up.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
Yeah, absolutely, I think in another year or two, this
this list is gonna switch up them even more, you
know what I mean, got Con and a few other
guys that you know that can you know Cooper Flag,
we ain't even got.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
We ain't scratch the surface.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
So I'm really really excited to see where you know
this alone.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
You know what I ain't talk about.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
You know what I ain't talking about, and that's underrated
the transition from k to john Shire, Like they ain't
even John ain't even missed a beat when it comes
to like talent coming in.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
I remember people were up in arms about that hire too,
you know what I mean, because I mean obviously some
big shoes to feel and you know, he got like
an interesting start, but like he.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
He ain't missed like as far as recruiting and talent,
because we're talking about NBA guys like yeah, he's it's
like Kate still there, just rolling him in and out
and then he doing it his way like you've seen
other programs when Lettings leave, you got Dean Smith out.
It took a while for you ain't high Look Kentucky
(39:49):
the same way, and those big names started going elsewhere.
K came and came, Kay left, John came in and
were talking about some of John's guys now in the league.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
So yeah, to give me that's crazy to be like,
you know, coach Shire, you know what I mean, Wow,
that's Wold.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
You know you really think about that.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
And he had a game in himself, but his era,
you know, that's he's creating his own legacy. Man, I
gotta respect that. So yeah, I can't wait to talk
about his guys in the near future. All right, Doc,
where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (40:21):
That's Doc Curry everywhere? Shoot me a message on X
on threads, Holler at me.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
That's Doc Curry.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
At Trey on threads, at trevonn on X. Man.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Can't wait to hear you know, I've seen a lot
of people give me some flack about you know, the finals,
I mean the Power Forwards episode saying you know we
left off Sean Kemp in my top five.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
I like that feedback.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
I like it.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
I like it, you know what I mean. And I'm
pretty sure we're gonna hear what about Jay Williams and
what about this player? You know, like, Hey, that's what
it's for.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Man. Sometimes we leave people off man for conversation purposes.
So show us, you know how pass as that you
are about this episode.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
And let us hear it, you know what I mean.
Also follow that at the goat pod social media account.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
All right, we all go go. This has been a
Unanimous Media original. Goat was produced by iHeart.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Podcasts and Unanimous Media. It was hosted by me Trevon
Edwards and step Kirk. Executive produced by Stephen Curry and
Eric Katon. Co executive producer Klenna Maria Cuttey. The executive
producers at iHeart Podcasts are Sean Titon and Jason English.
This series was produced by Derek Jennings and Peter Kutcher.
(41:39):
Co producer Kurt Redney. Original music by Jesse Woodard. Special
thanks to Stephen Curry and Will Pearson. Goat is a
production of Unanimous Media and iHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio, app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
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