June 12, 2025 • 48 mins
Today on the pod we’re breaking new ground — tapping into the 1980’s!! A physical era that played ball inside out. A time when the NBA went from its Finals being preempted to transitioning into prime time live television - thanks to some of the players we’re discussing today. To delve into this wild era, we relied on an expert to be our guide. A walking library. A small forward with BIG game. Showtime’s own, the Hall of Fame 1982 #1 draft pick out of North Carolina, James Worthy, joins our show today to break down the era and the talent it was littered with. You don’t want to miss this!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
To me before the injuries, he was the baddest dude
in the NBA, the small forward. I don't care about
larrd Bird. I don't care about Allen seeing as Bernard
King would give you numbers. I never played against a
small forward that while he has the ball in his hands,
he beats you up. He beats you up getting to
the cup. And man, he could get the jump off.
(00:22):
You know, they were nice. I went to New York.
I just I didn't do anything, man, I just got weak,
got rest because you didn't want you didn't want Banard,
you dropped sixty on you. Man, you didn't watch out.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome back to another episode of Greatest off their era? Goat,
what's up?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Dot, what's up? We're gonna have a good one today.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Oh man, I'm excited about this one. Man, I've been
waiting for this one. Man, it's been pending, but we definitely,
we definitely excited. You know, you had to go do
your homework because you're kind of young man. I'm glad.
I'm glad we stayed. We stayed in your comfort zone
a little bit. But now we gotta you know, we
gotta show love to the o GS man.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah. Facts Man, we're.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Gonna jump into it. Man, Ladies and gentlemen, it's my
pleasure to introduce a true basketball legend. Three time NBA Champion,
NBA Finals MVP, seven time All Star, James Worthy. James
dazzle fans with this electrifying play as a key member
of the Los Angeles Lakers Showtime era, known for his
clutch performances in smooth style big game. James, welcome him
(01:27):
to go.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Anytime an old school gets to unite with some young bloods,
you know, it's always it's always nice to share those moments. Man.
So I you know, I and Seth his father helped,
you know, early retirement, I had to run his father
(01:52):
off those picks. Man. Dale was a beast trust for me.
So yeah, it runs into family. It's good to see
you guys.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
And we had him on the POT here a while
ago and he was telling some good stories, telling us
about the old days reminiscent. So that's basically what the
POT is all about, trying to show love to the past,
teach about the game, and just do what we do
on a regular basis in the group chatter when we
get together is argue, debate some of the best players,
and hopefully that's what we can do today.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
All right, let's do it, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
This is where we talk about the best small forwards
in the nineteen eighties that were often considered high scoring
wings or versatile playmakers. These players are based on nineteen
eighties performance considering stats, accolades, team success, and positional impact.
So look forward for some healthy debates, but also real
(02:44):
time stories from Big Game James, because he can kind
of tell us from more than what our eyes told
us on the court, you know what I mean. So
I'm going to jump right into it. How was it
defending Dominique Wilkins.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Dominique was very difficult to fan because he had quickness
and he had the leaping ability and uh, he was
extremely hard to box out. You almost had to face
guard Dominique and when he had the jumper going, it
was it was tough. You really had to get some
(03:18):
some some help from the weak side. Uh. He was uh,
he was airborne a lot. So his ability to jump
three or four feet, you know, from the rim and
still get there. Uh, he was difficult. Uh, but you
know you had to you had to serve him up
on the other end too, to you know, take someone
(03:40):
that away. But Dominique and I never played against each
other in high school. Uh he was three A and
I was four A and we never played against each other,
and we didn't hook up until college. So he's always
been a competitor of mine, a big argument of who
was the best in our class. So Dominique at times
(04:03):
was unstoppable, especially you know when he had the Jay going.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
You talk about longtime competitors or rivalries, you might say,
I know, you messed up. I mean, were going to
talk about the Boston Celtics a bunch of times. But
any of the like rivalries you had even from your
college days at that small for a position that you'd
like to match up against.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, college, really, you know I was more power forward,
you know, I was. You know, one of my biggest
competitors in college was a guy named Buck Williams. Buck
Williams played in Maryland, and he was just super strong
and had an effort. But I really didn't have too
much of an issue in college. You know, in college
you play against a great player, you know, maybe once
(04:44):
a week, twice a week NBA, it's every night. Gene
Banks was at Duke I was a freshman, so Gene
Banks taught me a little something early in my early
career in college. But as I moved into the professional ranks,
there were a slew of small forwards that were tough.
(05:05):
You know, Alex English was tough, but Nard King, I
would say it was the toughest guy ever had to
go up against. There was a guy named Purvis Short
up at Golden State who could shoot the lights out.
So but most of my competitors were guys like Larry Bird,
Dennis Rodman was a tough guy to play against, Kevin McHale,
(05:30):
his size, you know, Terry Cummings.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Early on.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
There were a lot of guys that I could name
that we were compatible and were difficult. Rodney McCrae, not
a lot of people don't think about Rodney McCrae. At Houston,
there was a guy named Tom Chambers who I think,
you know, over twenty thousand points could be a Hall
of Famer. So there was a there was just a
(05:57):
lot of guys in my position that they could create
having You know, on any given night.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
You mentioned your college career, right, and I know there's
uh you've done, You've you've told stories about coming to
the league and meeting Rambits for the first time, on
on on, you know the Lakers. But when you first
got drafted, right, what moment did you feel a I
belong in the pros.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Well, when I first got drafted, you know I was.
I was the number one pick over Dominique and over
Terry Commings. Because the Lakers had won two out of
three championships, they really didn't need anybody, but they had
made a trade like six years earlier to Cleveland, and
(06:45):
Cleveland gave them their number one pick. And during that
six year period, Cleveland fell straight to the bottom. So
I ended up being in Los Angeles. And when I
arrived there after winning the national championship, I wasn't I
wasn't arrogant, but you know I was. I was. I
was pretty confident, you know. So I walk in the
gym and I'm looking at Kareem Magic, Norm Nixon is
(07:09):
still with the team. Jamal Wilks was a small forward
at the time and he had already won a championship
at Golden State, and I was a power forward coming
out of car So when I saw Kirk Rambis walk
in the gym, I was like, who the hell is
this dude man with these big He had these big
(07:31):
glasses on the look like coke bottles. He had duct
tape in between his glasses and smell like Ben Gay
had all this and I said, I'm gonna get that spot.
That's what I first thing. I said, I'm gonna get
that spot. And so practice started and within twenty minutes,
man Kirk Rammans showed me what an NBA power forward
(07:54):
was all about. And it wasn't about scorn. It wasn't
about nothing but kicking some ass. And I was too
light and the ass to deal with those power forwards.
So I went over to sit on the bench for
a year or two, and then you know, Roles put
me in the starting lineup, I think in eighty five,
and that's when I really felt like I had earned
my stripes. You know, Jamal Wooks was small forward and
(08:19):
I was a bigger small forward, a quicker small forward
who could guard guards. So in eighty five I kind
of felt like I earned my stripes after, you know,
playing my rookie year, broke my leg, my rookie year,
missed the playoffs, came back second year. We lost to
the Celtics. In eighty four and in eighty five, I
(08:40):
felt like that was my time.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
I like that story because you kind of get a
sense of the mentality of the VET back in the
day because my dad was on here earlier and he
was talking about how the rosters only had twelve spots
back in the day, and every time rookie came in
or somebody came in, and he was like, like they
were personally he was trying to take his job, right.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Oh yeah, yeah, VET took that personally, man, because the
salaries weren't that high, the roster wasn't that big, and
they would let you go. So I mean back in
the day, man, I don't know this to be true,
but there was some veterans on certain teams, man, that
would fall down on your knee, put your ass out,
and put your ass out of commission just to keep
(09:20):
that job. Man. So it was like crazy back then.
It was crazy coming out of the seventies into the eighties,
coming from the ABA into the eighties, it was it
was it was dog.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
For dog, yeah, because like in today's games, I feel
like you got to prove you're not good enough sometimes,
like you got to get given a spy if you
draft to high enough. Right, you're the first pick, and
you felt like you got to come in there. You
still had to come in to earth a spot like
you couldn't get a like you said, you can't get
that starting spot for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So it's just a different era.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, Now the expectations was crazy.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Most number one picks go to the worst team. So
at the time, uh, it wasn't a lottery. It was
the team that had the worst record, which at the
time were the Clippers, and the team that actually had
(10:12):
the number one draft pick. They tossed the coin man
and the Lakers won, and so they drafted me. But
prior to that, we already knew that the Clippers weren't
interested in me. The Lakers didn't really need anybody. They'd
already won two out of three. They just happened to
(10:32):
get lucky with that draft pick. So Jerry Weston needed
kind of like a role player, somebody that because most
number one picks they come in they want everything, they
want to start, they want a salary, and but that's
you know, they didn't need that, and I guess, you know,
playing for Dean Smith, they probably thought I could fit
that role.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Seth mentioned earlier about the you know, the the rivalries
between the Boston Celtics. We want to talk about Larry Bird.
How good was Larry Bird.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Larry Bird was. He was different man. He was. He
was great. You know. He he came from French Lick, Indiana,
did not have exceptional speed. You know, he could shoot,
but I think the one thing that Larry had was
(11:24):
between the ears. You know, he was a he was
a trash talking, back it up kind of a guy.
And you know, he wasn't he wasn't afraid to play
against anybody. Uh. And he could shoot the ball so
well that you had to be up on him so
close that his first step didn't have to be extremely quick.
(11:48):
And he was a magician with the basketball. You know,
he could pass, he could shoot, he was big, he
was strong, he was nasty, and he didn't care who
he was playing against. You know, he he just knew
how to wheel his way, uh into a victory or
into you know, kicking your ass. You know, those were
some sleepless nights. Well you know you had to garden
(12:12):
uh because he could get hot at the drop of
a dime and didn't take a lot of energy to
get his shot. Off. So he was. He was a beast.
They'll real liking personally. Uh, they talked a lot of trash.
He could back it up. There were times that I
I wish he would guard me sometimes, but that never
really happened. But Larry was Larry was good man. He
(12:34):
could have come into any neighborhood and in any city
and and and not afraid to play against anybody. So
he was tough. He was big, he was strong, he
was quick, he could shoot.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yeah, we could still see that that competitiveness still there
after all these years. But what I'll see from when
I watched like the old Larry highlights and old game
film and stuff like that, especially playing in the finals
in a big matchups, he he had that that flare
to his game too, Like he was trying to put
on the on top of being competitive, on top of
trying to win the game, he was trying to add
a little spice to it.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
He was He was an entertainer, man, exactly. You know,
Larry was an entertainer. He understood it. Like you know,
he was in the league with with a bunch of brothers,
you know, a bunch of sharp shooting brothers, and he
knew what his role was. You know, he would he
at All Star weekend, he would walk into the locker
room of competing three point shooters and he would just
(13:29):
look at all of them and say, which one of
you guys are coming in second place? And he would
just go out and win the damns three point. He
told several teams what he was going to do and
did it. So, you know, he just he was. You know,
he had that flare, he had that that Russell Crow
you know Gladiator. Are you entertained? He had that, He
(13:52):
had that fashion. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed going and
he enjoyed coming to LA He enjoyed going to New
York Philadelphia and putting on a show. So, you know,
Larry was it was. It was. It was a tough,
tough white boys. We used to say in high school.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I'm kind of glad that you mentioned, you know, you
wish that he could have guarded you. Me and me
and Sef had a conversation about I think it was
the two thousands, about guys guardening each other, you know
what I mean, that's some pride, right, and we're talking
about point guard point guards guarding each other, how do
you think, and you've watched a lot of basketball because
(14:28):
you also you know, covered the Lakers as well, from
from a standpoint of watching the transition of how the
game has gone, right, do you feel that defense is
very like transactional right and optional now in this game
where you don't have to play it so much, or
do you think it's always been that same way the
(14:49):
way you guys played as well in your era.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Well, I think you know, the game has changed to
a faster pace, athletes are in better shape, and I
remember when the game kind of transsitioned from biggs to
you know, to the Michael Jordan era, you know, to guards,
(15:18):
and you know that that changed. I remember Sam Bowie
out of Kentucky seven foot one getting drafted over Michael Jordan,
and so bigs were still the game was still inside
out players starting to come out of school a lot earlier. Okay,
(15:40):
So I think in college and seth you remember, you know,
before practice, you know, guards down here, bigs down here,
you get you get twenty minutes of drill work every
day before practice. You get that over and over and over.
You know, for three or four years, it's it's in
there and you don't have to worry about that when
(16:00):
you get to the next level. I think the defense
suffered a little bit when that started to happen. I
remember the NBA moved the three point line in a
little bit. They took away a little bit of the physicality.
Although I think the physicality is starting to come back
a little bit. You know, I think the game is
in good hands. The athlete is a better athlete, more superior,
(16:22):
you know, athlete than what we were. But I think
I think sometimes the defense is not what it used
to be because we played a half court game most
of the time. We ran when we could, but other
than that, we had a kareem we would go into.
We had offenses that had several options, and you still
(16:43):
have that today, but it's usually off of pick and
roll or a driving key. The game is open, a
little bit more open than what it used to be.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Yeah, talk about fast pace or slower pace back when
you play. But I did my research and it was
like one of the few teams that get up and down.
You could say some of the stats were a little inflated.
You go talk about a guy Alex English maybe in Denver,
who putting them crazy numbers. He said he was the
leader scorer throughout from all the eighties. He had the
(17:14):
most points during that era. What do you think about
his game?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Alex Inglis was unstoppable. He shot the ball on the
way up, so when he was going up, he let
it go. And Denver had a passing game that when
you went to Denver in that altitude, they knew they
had you in the first five six minutes. And Alex
English was just a He was just a straight up
(17:40):
score that's all he did. He just put up numbers forty, forty, five, fifty.
He just give it to you and he had a
running shot where you couldn't block it, you can't get
to it. He's like six eight hundred and ninety pounds
a score machine. And when he was in his prime,
he was unstoppable. Came out of South Carolina. I hated
to play against him because the altitude got to me
(18:02):
early and you knew he was a vocal part of
their offense. So Alex was one of those small forwards
in my opinion, top ten, right up there with Larry Bird,
the nar King, and the Dominique and the rest of
the scorers.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
He was a beast there's this guy, Adrian Dantley. Yeah,
how good was Adrian down?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Adrian Dentley. I talked about Alex English. I talked about
Adrian Dantley in the same fashion. Six' five post up,
player six y five post up, player and there with the,
giants and he could draw found better than anybody THAT i.
Knew he went to the line twelve fifteen times game
because you six ten six, nine you got a garden
(18:45):
and he would just put his body into your fall
down and on the, floor and the referees just thought
that he had the disadvantage and he knew how to
milk that. Man but when he was, hot ad was
the master pump faker. Boy he pumped you to give
you the pump fake and he had the floater you,
know the matha high. School he was another another beast
(19:07):
that you just didn't want to see. Coming he you,
KNOW i think he was a top scorer in the
league several, times had that big old. Ass he put
that big old ass on. You you couldn't get around.
It and he was tough right up there With Bernard
king And Alice English. BIRD i hated to see any
of them.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Coming take us back to nineteen eighty Eight game seven
Versus Adrian.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Dowley, well we had beaten The celtics for the second
time in eighty, seven and no one had won back to.
BACK i think in twenty. YEARS i think The celtics did.
IT i think in nineteen years. Ago so The lakers
were used to winning a, championship but no one had
won back to. Back so we were at the parade In,
(19:53):
inglewood the pep rally after we won In, boxton and
Pat rally stood on the stage and, SAID i guarantee
you we're going to do it again next. Year guarante
is sick and we were, hungover you, know we hadn't
even had a summer yet, man and we looked at
him and we wanted to kill him man for saying.
(20:15):
That But roles had won in eighty eighty, two eighty,
five eighty, seven so whenning, one he knew what to
challenge us. With he knew that after we won in
eighty seven and beat The celtis for the second, time
we might get a little lack of. Daze so coming
back Against, Detroit kareem was getting a little, older you,
(20:38):
know magic had stepped, up AND i knew it was
my time to like step. Up so playing Against, detroit
they were physical as, Hell, Rodman, Mahorn John, sally they
had a great, Guard combo And Isaiah thomas And Joe
dubars and then the microwave coming off the. Fence they
(20:59):
were just nasty and we knew that they were going
to be, physical AND i KNEW i had to step.
Up kareem was getting a little, older, magical it was
JUST mvp of the, league AND i KNEW i being
the third, option it was. Time it was time for
me to step it. Up SO i loved playing against The.
PISTOLS i loved that PHYSICAL i loved that trash, talk
(21:21):
AND i loved that bad boy. THING i loved all.
That SO i KNEW i had to rise to the.
Occasion and we got the game seven at. HOME i
have to SAY i had my best. PERFORMANCE i went
to work BECAUSE i, knew you, KNOW i knew they needed.
Me and so that was my one and only triple
(21:41):
double thirty, six sixteen and, TEN i, think AND mvp of,
that and you, KNOW i have to, SAY, i you,
know playing against, FIRST i had to go up against My,
horn who was a big. Body right then they bring
In John, sally who was a shot. Blocker then at
the end they bringing the toughest guy Was Dennis. Robbins
(22:03):
so my auntennas were up AND i was ready to.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Go we Had Mark, aguire another small small for. It
that was. Tough, yeah you had a crazy game against. Him,
yeah tell us about the forty.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Points, well the forty points WAS i think the year
we lost in eighty, nine and So magic was, Hurt
byron was. Hurt kareem was a little bit, older and
we had swept everybody in the first two or three.
(22:39):
Rounds we Swept, DALLAS i mean, everybody and we were
waiting For detroit And boston and we had about seven days.
Off So ralph took us up To Santa barbara and
we we did training. Camp we practiced two. Days several
people got, hurt BUT i still wanted to send the
(23:03):
message To. Detroit they swept us that, year BUT i
still wanted to send a message that you're gonna see
me next. Year SO i had to DROP i dropped
forty on. Them they didn't have an answer for. Me
eighty eight or eighty.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
NINE i like that talk to.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
THEM i had to give them, forty even even if
it was a Losing even if it was a losing,
EFFORT i still had, to you, know remind them what
was to.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Come so you guys did have that that that off
site for going into the, finals BECAUSE i heard about,
it and, obviously you, know they had the documentary about
you guys out, there AND i wasn't sure what was
true what was, not you know WHAT i, Mean and
obviously that kind of probably had y'all two. Laxed, yeah but,
(23:47):
yeah that was definitely an interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Series, YEAH i, mean, look we you, Know depp was,
good don't get me, wrong and we had just beaten
them the year, Before So i'm not saying that we
were going to guarantee beat. THEM i just wish you
would have been a bit.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Healthier SO i talked to some people who played in
the eighty my, Dad Doc, rivers some other guys who
know about the eighties game a lot more than, me
and they were, saying this guy right, Here Bernard, king
if it weren't for injuries or whatever happened to his,
career he could have been up there in the top
notch of small. Forwards he even players in the. Area
you agree with that one when you think About Bernard keys.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Game to me before the, injuries he was the baddest
dude in THE, nba his small. FORWARD i don't care
About Larry, BIRD i don't care ABOUT i don't seen
As Bernard king would give you. NUMBERS i never played
against a small forward that while he has the ball
in his, hands he beats you, Up he beats you
up getting to the. Cup and, man he could get
(24:43):
the jump. Off you, know they were. NICE i went
To New. YORK i JUST i didn't do, Anything, MAN
i just got, weak got rests because you didn't want
you didn't want. Banards you dropped sixty on you minutes
you didn't watch. Out. Yeah and to, me, man he
was the most difficult small forward. Ever To, god you
say what you want to About larry And alex and
(25:04):
me and other you, know other, guys But Narn king
in the, eighties, man and he had that knee. Injury
then he came back from that knee injury and made
The All star, team Comeback player of the. Year uh
and just the nicest. Guy, man you haven't want to.
Meet he. Had you, know he had a really bad
misfortune with the. Injuries but to, me the tough and small.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Forward, Ever, yeah it seemed like he put That janni's
like pressure on, you like just like none stop, downhill
trying to get to the.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Room, downhill changing, angles beat you in your, chest beat
you with those, elbows bump you, off and just. Relentless
he was, physical he didn't mind love the. Contact he
had soft, touch and when he had that jumper going
from twenty, man it was just it was just you
just didn't want to be on the court with. Him
(25:56):
he was a.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Nightmare, now everybody always talks about your college Teammate Michael,
jordan but what about doctor J BECAUSE i feel like
our generation kind of overlooks him a lot too when
we talk about these you, know these goat. Conversations, Right,
yeah it's it's.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
HARD i MEAN i understand for people who hadn't, seen you,
know some of the players full about it at. Work
but if you go back and look at some of
Doctor j's aba and how he moved around the, court
it's not that much different than the Way giannis gets
up and down the floor and the Way jiannis has one.
Hand doctor j was you, know he was Mister. Chapstick
(26:34):
you had a commercial Mister, chapstick and he was the
first guy that was. Area he was in the air
all the, time AND i mean like from the free throw.
LINE i got a chance to see SOME aba games
And doctor j was with The Virginia squires and he was.
Amazed didn't really have a jump shot till later, on
(26:56):
but he got to the cup and the fast, break
and there was one play it was my u my
rookie year when they beat. US i was, hurt but
that one dunk On Michael, Cooper well he's got the fast.
Breaking he kind of winds it up And Michael cooper
puts his head down like that Because doc is. Coming
and when they Had moses that, year they were just you,
(27:18):
Know doc redefined the game in the air he. Did
they have some good.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Teams one of my middle school coach in seventh and eighth,
grade it was Actually Bobby. Jones so he's another another
small for old school. Guy he taught me a lot about.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
The Jones man Tar. Hill he was a Tar hill of,
course so It's Billy, cunningham But Bobby jones was, relentless
a relentless defensive player and one of the one of the,
purest nicest gentlemen you're ever going to. Meet But bobby
didn't take no mess. Man he. Was he was like
(27:56):
players today would have a problem With Bobby jones on
the defensive. Band he's six six sixty. SEVEN i, mean
you know, him nice, guy but tough on the. Court but,
Yeah bobby was was really good friends With. Docs But,
Bobby bobby was sticking on you. Too he could, run
he could. Fly he was another defensive. Guy he And
(28:17):
Michael cooper very. Similar, yeah, no first, hand that's WHAT i.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Do he was tough on.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
ME i was BECAUSE i was the, opposite kind of
the opposite of who he was as a. PLAYER i
was trying to score the ball WHEN i was in middle.
SCHOOL i wasn't getting it done on the defensive. Vent
he was letting me hear about. It SO i know
a lot about The philly days being around doctor j from.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Him, yeah, Honest, bobby that's what we used to call. Him.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Bobby All, right we're gonna take a quick, break and
when we get, Back i'm gonna tell a story About
James worthy that he doesn't even.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
KNOW i don't know about, that.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
So big. GAME i was mad UNTIL i want to,
say fifteen years. AGO i let it go and it's
not even your. Fault you had a basketball camp At
Compton college sponsored By bank Of america in nineteen ninety,
two and my uncle they're NOT i have twin, uncles
(29:22):
but one of them was really into. Basketball my family
is Diehard laker. FANS i was A bulls. FAN i
just went on that. Side but this is my chance
to meet my FIRST nba player at. NINE i THINK
i was like eight or. NINE i about to turn,
nine and you had an age limit on this skills
camp AND i could not. Go and y'all had The
(29:43):
Bart SIMPSON t shirts with The bank Of america logo
in the. Back and my uncle came home with the
picture AND i had to watch you take pictures with
all the campers AND i was just. Pissed but me
being so, YOUNG i didn't understand how it. WORKS i
thought you picked the, people you know WHAT i. Mean
so the whole, Time i'm, Hot i'm. Hot i'm like,
(30:06):
god Anti. Laker it is Anti Big Game, james you
know WHAT i. Mean but it was just so crazy,
because LIKE i remember, it it was such a big,
deal especially coming To, Compton. California that's Where i'm, from
and you, know everybody Being lakers fans and you you,
know spending time in the. Community SO i want to
say thank you for.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
That i'm sorry it didn't work out for.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
You.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Man we had we Had Lisa leslie down. There. Man
it was. Good uh it was a LEGITIMATE i.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Told him he wanted the Bar SIST t.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
SHIRT i was locked in want it, both. MAN i was,
like you, know because at that, TIME i was just, like,
man you know the inspiration from.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
There but, Man i'm glad that you bought. That you,
know people don't remember. That.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Nah he's still people that talk about it to this. Day,
Man like my UNCLE i.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Still GOT i still got the photo of, it all
the kids At burger king feet and it Was it
was one of my one of the first things that
really made me feel. GOOD i, MEAN i did camps
all the, time but to go on The.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Compton yeah, yeah, yeah no. Problem. Man LIKE i, said that.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Was an adult.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Camp, Okay, okay that's All that's ALL i, need, Man
that's ALL i. Need, man for. Real we're implementing a
new segment. Today we haven't named it, yet but we
went through all these great players and we're gonna go.
Through you get to pick who will get the last,
shot and ultimately who is the ultimate shot taker of
this of these, Players, so who's gonna take the last?
(31:30):
Shot Larry bird Or Julius Irvin.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Larry?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Bird, okay who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird
Or Dominique Wilkins Larry. Bird who's gonna take the last?
Shot Larry bird Or Mark Acguire.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Larry.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Bird who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird Or
Adrian Dantley.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Larry.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Bird who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird Or Bernard?
King But? King who's going to take the last? Shot
Banar king Or Alex English Banard? King Banar king is
the last? Shot thank you for.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
That Nary. King But Larry. Man there was a there
was a game in eighty seven With Magic johnson hit
a baby sky hook to put us up one point
in the garden and we went up three to, ONE i,
(32:31):
believe or two to one coming back To. La but
there was a few seconds left on the clock and
everybody was, celebrating AND i was, like, man there's still
some time on the, clock. Right so sure, ENOUGH i
was Guarding larry AND i was on the top, side
(32:52):
AND i Had Michael cooper in the corner On Danny. Ainge,
well unbeknownst to, me they Clear danny out, right clear
them all the way, out so all that base line
was open down, there And Larry burke pushed me up
the lane and he got that. Shot. Man AND i
gotta tell, you, man when the ball is in the,
(33:14):
air When Larry birry, shoots you peel on yourself a
little bit because you don't know what's gonna. Happen. Man
and he missed it BECAUSE i THINK i but, Yeah
i'm gonna Choose larry most of the time Because i've
seen him hit so many game winning. Shots but But
Nark king will come. Close i'm not mad at.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
IT i can respect. That respect that one thing. About
SO i was going through all the fours and stuff like.
That So i'm, Thinking i'm trying to, gaze like who
would be good in this eraror as far as just
their skill. Set, OBVIOUSLY i mean the rules and everything's.
Different i'm trying to compare too. Much but a lot
of the, four a lot of you guys that small
fort could shoot the. Ball you had the range for whatever,
reason like it was frowned upon to shoot three pointers
(33:58):
and shoot that. WELL i feel like most like your
guys would have had no problem stepping out behind that
three point line and just making like a volume.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Shot it.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Was it was mostly inside, out and you, know our
Coach Pat rally had a rule if you didn't shoot
over thirty four or thirty five, percent you weren't. Shooting
Byron Scott Michael cooper were the only guys who shot
threes on our. Team you, know later on eighty, eight eighty,
NINE i pull up for one every now and, then
could knock down. One but it just we were inside.
(34:28):
Out we cast that double team and when you double
team he comes back. Out we might get a three,
then but even when that, happened we kick it. Out
we drive and. Kicked but we had two guys on our,
team Mostly cooper And. Byron so the three point, line you,
know it's it's a big part of the game. Now
and Like kareem only had one three pointer thirty nine thousand.
(34:53):
Points he had a lot of old three. Pointers but
you look at the centers, now, man he couldn't you,
know he couldn't go out there and Guard he had
to go out there and guard your, kids and you,
know all these guys that are shooting. Threes it's elevated the,
game but it. Wasn't it wasn't like a major. Part
we had guys that could shoot, It Larry, BIRD i
(35:14):
Mean Dale, ellis you Know Dale. Curry we had a
lot of guys that can shoot the, threes but we
went inside out most of the.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Time All, right we're gonna take another, break and when
we come, back we're gonna go through our favorite favorite,
Segment born in The Wrong.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Era all, right say we're back for our favorite, segment
(35:55):
born in the wrong, era and this is this is
our segment.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Where we throw out a play out.
Speaker 4 (36:00):
There LIKE i, said somebody could play in a different
era with their skill. Set and for me this, Week
i'm rolling With Devlin. SHRIMP i don't know if you
ever played Against Debla. Shrimp did you play againt?
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Him? Yes, yes, Yeah, Okay Devlis shrimp Was i'm gonna
tell you second To Dennis. Rodman he carded me very
well In Dallas. Seattle uh you know six ten could
shoot the. Three he was strong as an ox and uh,
Yeah Depth shrimp was the real. Deal.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
Yeah, TODAY i mean today's league is, common but he's
one of the First european players to come over half, success,
right and just his game being that, side stretching, out
being a good jump, shooter physical playing out.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
THERE i think that'll.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Translate, well today's, era we're shooting more jump, shot shooting.
Threes obviously a lot More european, players but.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Well, yeah definite could shoot the. Three he shoot the
seventh team foot that he could, pump fake and. Relocate
can he could hold his. ARM i believe in today's.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Game for, Me i'm gonna Go you mentioned him Early,
James tom changers, fly get up the, core put it
on the, ground shoot a little, bit you know WHAT i.
MEAN i think he. WOULD i think he would ball
out in this.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Era and he defied you know the myth the white
man can't jump because he would dunk on. It he's
sticking on you And TOM i had to guard him a.
Lot at six,' ten he, could shoot uh and he had,
you know he had action in. The air definitely think
he could create some problems in. Today's game he is a.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Classic highlight some people say it's the best.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Dunk ever maybe where he Dunked On mark jackson put
his put his knee in his chest was it.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Trying to take.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
That charge he floated up with a two hand and
those knees were up around. The shoulders man, he had.
HE had i used to Call, him togo especially when
he Played. In seattle like we Had An all star Game.
In seattle somebody was Injured and tom was, the Alternate
and magic made sure that he was in, you Know
(38:00):
but tom did on. His own he. COULD play i
Personally think tom at some point would be a Candidate
for Hall. Of famers got over twenty thousand points and
it was a scoring Machine And. All star so we'll.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
See pivotal part of the free. AGENCY too a lot
of people don't.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Know, that, yeah yeah you did. Your homework, Yeah, yeah
phoenix right Yep.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
In phoenix who do you have as a player from
the eighties born in the?
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Wrong, ERA well I Mean kyi drector played in the
eighties when he played up until what, Ninety Something so
Kie Director man clyde director could give he was the
only guy that could really keep UP. With, mj okay
he could. Give it he could give IT to mj.
(38:50):
As WELL so I. Love clyde they could play Man
who this is a. TOUGH question i Go. With, clyde
uh You. Know dominique, YOU know I think dominique could play.
FOR sure i feel like with MY footwork i could
get the. Job, done yeah there's quite a few guys
(39:11):
That The bernard king. Could play all the guys that we,
talked about there's quite a few guys That could they
could get the. Job, done now some of the biggs
who would have to come out and guard biggs on,
the perimeter that could be. A problem The Pace, Michael
Cooper michael cooper. Could play let's get in these.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Top Five get james out.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Of here, All right so we got our top five, Goat,
players dot you're gonna kick. It off who you got
ranked as the greatest small forwards of the?
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Nineteen eighties, All right i'm going, Number Five, alex english.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
NUMBER five, i mean the numbers are.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Out rages BUT like, i said it's a little like
playing For The, colorado rockies you Know what. I'm saying
the numbers are you're hitting the home runs because because
of the altitude and then that pace is a. Little
crazy so the numbers, are Crazy but i'm obviously one
of the greatest to.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Do it but he's my.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
Number FIVE before i got, Big game, JAMES yourself, i
mean just one of the best. Winners ever and from
my dad was telling me though you had Played with Kareem,
and magic Even once kareem got older, and older like
they looked to you for the big shots and the.
Big moments it was the ball was going. To you
so that's that's saying. A lot Number, Three, DOMINIQUE yeah
(40:34):
i mean we talked about. Him enough human.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Highlight yep, Number TWO doctor j and number One. Le
bird you Know what. I'M saying i love him and he.
DOES it i did.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
It all that's a. Great, list nobody nobody can argue.
With that, you know there's some other guys that might
can fit in there in the top five and take,
some out but, For sure larry was number one. SMALL
forward i just can't think of anybody that has done what.
He's done un at. That position you got.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
Your man it's kind, of, similar man it's kind, of
similar which is kind.
Speaker 3 (41:05):
Of.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Crazy man but, AT five i Got, UH man I Got. Mark,
guire okay didn make. My list four got a, big game.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
ALL right i like that for.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
A SPOT three I, got, DOMINIQUE two I GOT. Doctor
j AND one I got. Larry, legend yeah.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
That's a good. FIVE too i can't argue. Too much who.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
You have james small forward yep uh in.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
THE eighties, I definitely, I definitely like, YOU know I Like.
ALICE english i could Put A banar king. AT four
i could put, You know dominique. At three. At three
i'm gonna leave. Myself out but there's there's like there's
some other small forwards that. You know larry definitely. Number.
(41:58):
ONE adrian i would put it my, number, two Okay
Because adrian dantley. Was up he knew how to deal
with the. Referees man he, was short and he knew
how to get to the free. Throw line you look
at his free, throw attempts it's usually fifteen to twenty,
a game and you look at his time at the free,
THROW line i think it's almost. Ten seconds he had
(42:20):
this thing where he used to like rub the ball
and all he was doing. Was resting he, was tired
and he would sometimes it'd be twenty five seconds he
beat the free throw line and he rubbed. The ball
then he'd give it back to the referee and said
it was some sweat, on there and he would get
like a man in the rest he knew how to. Do.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
It man, oh wow he would have begen cooked in,
Today's era twitter would have been All.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Over harol miner had a crazy, routine. Too man he
used to do the same FROM the U, ball yep
dribble the ball, behind him behind, his legs go behind
his waist and. Then shoot he used the entire Ten
SECONDS and i emulated that as a kid for a. Long,
time man AND then i, was like wrap it up,
to shoot just shoot the ball. For REAL so i
(43:07):
have to. ASK you i mean me being From the,
west coast, you guys being From the, east Coast You,
Wentbacco Road. Tobacco road we had this debate early on
when we first started. This part who has the like
who has the best pros coming out of the out of?
Their areas, You know california has has a large range.
(43:29):
Of it, seth says, you, know uh You Know. North
carolina i'm gonna let, You, choose james who?
Speaker 1 (43:36):
You got so are We Talking north carolina And? Southern California?
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Entire california at getting The, WHOLE cally, i thought ain't
In States.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
North carolina, All right so let's do. This first, let me,
let me let me let me do. This FIRST so
i WANT to i want To Have michael jordan's, at,
guard okay along With Uh, steph curry. Thank, Guard okay
(44:11):
i'm Gonna Have david thompson a. Small. Forward okay i'm
gonna put one of the most prolific scores, In history
bob McAdoo at at, my four and then. At center
let's see who is a good center coming Out Of. North,
(44:34):
carolina okay we'll play without. A center i'll put me.
AT center I put bob mcado, at CENTER and. I played.
Speaker 4 (44:43):
We Got chris paul coming off. The bench so, For
me i'm Gonna Go bill russell at?
Speaker 1 (44:49):
The?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Five Right Who? Bill russell? The five.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Where's?
Speaker 4 (44:56):
He From?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
San francisco.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
You want? To?
Speaker 2 (45:00):
College okay, all right, all right, all right so, All
Right i'm i'm gonna have to take, it Back so
I'll Go tyson chandler at. The five I'll Take. Tyson
chandler THAT'S all i can TAKE because I think i'm
thinking about, height wise you KNOW what? I mean who
we've Got. MAYBE greenwood i Don't know greenwood Better Than. David.
(45:21):
Greenwood crashaw I'll go greenwood to a. Good start I'll
go greenwood at. The fire you don't know Nothing, about
greenwood bro. All right so at the at, The one i'm, gonna,
Go Uh, jason kidd it's still sow or what? Is
it so we'll give you.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
A kid we'll give.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
You, Kid, California.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
Okay california and After two i'm, gonna, Go uh i'm
Gonna Go. James harden and then At three i'm Gonna
Go paul, pierce two, All right and then at the
four swear gets a little Tricky because i'm blanking. Right
(46:07):
there at, THE four i might have to Go With.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Kevin love Now. He's Portland, Jamal, Willkes oh Jamal Will.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Jamal wilkes i'm Finally That bill.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Walton left Bill walk.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Now he's from He's From. San, Diego, RIGHT.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Oh i thought you're talking About. Son, ca okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
EITHER or, I mean i'm. With that I'LL take, I
take I Take. Bill waller you gave me, A Gimmey
but i'm Have to i'm have to dust off my history,
books man and so i can have a. Better argument
but now you you you you said a. GRADE five
i don't, RIGHT now i. Don't know you might.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Got it you got to dust up on. Your history he.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
LIVED it, i mean look y'all got y'all. Got, IT
man i might have to bend, the, KNEE man i LIKE.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
When i cheated him bringing, a REAL REAL o g
and that knows. ITS history i don't even gotta work
hard for. This argument, hey man he.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Got.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Me man that's but, that's why that's why it's important
to to have the ogs on man to to to
keep the keep the. History going it's a walking library. Right.
Here man so, we again we thankful to have you on.
Our Show, hey man.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
APPRECIATE it i learned from those that came before, Me
Man bill Russell And oscar robinson and all. Those guys
and it's cool to see the. Young generation, You know
seth he had a father that's kind of walked him
through the. Whole process but all the, young, guys man.
Show respect it's a great fraternity. We, Have, steve.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
Yeah, no problem.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Appreciate it keep on doing what, You're, Doing man appreciate what. You're,
doing thanks, all right, coming, on, yeah peace, all, Right
peach I'm.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Going this has been a unanimous. Media original got was
Produced By iHeart. Podcast media it was hosted By Me
travon Edwards And. Steph kurk executive Produced By stephen Curry And.
Eric page co Executive Producer Klenna. Maria cutty the executive
(48:11):
producers At iHeart Podcasts Are sean Titon And. Jason english
this series was Produced By derek Jennings And, Peter kutcher
Co Producer. Kurt reddy original Music By. Jesse woodard special
Thanks To stephen Curry And. Will pearson got is the
Production Of unanimous media And. iHeart podcasts for more Podcasts,
from iHeartRadio Visit the, iHeartRadio App, apple podcasts or wherever
(48:35):
you get. Your podcasts
To me before the injuries, he was the baddest dude
in the NBA, the small forward. I don't care about
larrd Bird. I don't care about Allen seeing as Bernard
King would give you numbers. I never played against a
small forward that while he has the ball in his hands,
he beats you up. He beats you up getting to
the cup. And man, he could get the jump off.
(00:22):
You know, they were nice. I went to New York.
I just I didn't do anything, man, I just got weak,
got rest because you didn't want you didn't want Banard,
you dropped sixty on you. Man, you didn't watch out.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome back to another episode of Greatest off their era? Goat,
what's up?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Dot, what's up? We're gonna have a good one today.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Oh man, I'm excited about this one. Man, I've been
waiting for this one. Man, it's been pending, but we definitely,
we definitely excited. You know, you had to go do
your homework because you're kind of young man. I'm glad.
I'm glad we stayed. We stayed in your comfort zone
a little bit. But now we gotta you know, we
gotta show love to the o GS man.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah. Facts Man, we're.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Gonna jump into it. Man, Ladies and gentlemen, it's my
pleasure to introduce a true basketball legend. Three time NBA Champion,
NBA Finals MVP, seven time All Star, James Worthy. James
dazzle fans with this electrifying play as a key member
of the Los Angeles Lakers Showtime era, known for his
clutch performances in smooth style big game. James, welcome him
(01:27):
to go.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Anytime an old school gets to unite with some young bloods,
you know, it's always it's always nice to share those moments. Man.
So I you know, I and Seth his father helped,
you know, early retirement, I had to run his father
(01:52):
off those picks. Man. Dale was a beast trust for me.
So yeah, it runs into family. It's good to see
you guys.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
And we had him on the POT here a while
ago and he was telling some good stories, telling us
about the old days reminiscent. So that's basically what the
POT is all about, trying to show love to the past,
teach about the game, and just do what we do
on a regular basis in the group chatter when we
get together is argue, debate some of the best players,
and hopefully that's what we can do today.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
All right, let's do it, all right.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
This is where we talk about the best small forwards
in the nineteen eighties that were often considered high scoring
wings or versatile playmakers. These players are based on nineteen
eighties performance considering stats, accolades, team success, and positional impact.
So look forward for some healthy debates, but also real
(02:44):
time stories from Big Game James, because he can kind
of tell us from more than what our eyes told
us on the court, you know what I mean. So
I'm going to jump right into it. How was it
defending Dominique Wilkins.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Dominique was very difficult to fan because he had quickness
and he had the leaping ability and uh, he was
extremely hard to box out. You almost had to face
guard Dominique and when he had the jumper going, it
was it was tough. You really had to get some
(03:18):
some some help from the weak side. Uh. He was uh,
he was airborne a lot. So his ability to jump
three or four feet, you know, from the rim and
still get there. Uh, he was difficult. Uh, but you
know you had to you had to serve him up
on the other end too, to you know, take someone
(03:40):
that away. But Dominique and I never played against each
other in high school. Uh he was three A and
I was four A and we never played against each other,
and we didn't hook up until college. So he's always
been a competitor of mine, a big argument of who
was the best in our class. So Dominique at times
(04:03):
was unstoppable, especially you know when he had the Jay going.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
You talk about longtime competitors or rivalries, you might say,
I know, you messed up. I mean, were going to
talk about the Boston Celtics a bunch of times. But
any of the like rivalries you had even from your
college days at that small for a position that you'd
like to match up against.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, college, really, you know I was more power forward,
you know, I was. You know, one of my biggest
competitors in college was a guy named Buck Williams. Buck
Williams played in Maryland, and he was just super strong
and had an effort. But I really didn't have too
much of an issue in college. You know, in college
you play against a great player, you know, maybe once
(04:44):
a week, twice a week NBA, it's every night. Gene
Banks was at Duke I was a freshman, so Gene
Banks taught me a little something early in my early
career in college. But as I moved into the professional ranks,
there were a slew of small forwards that were tough.
(05:05):
You know, Alex English was tough, but Nard King, I
would say it was the toughest guy ever had to
go up against. There was a guy named Purvis Short
up at Golden State who could shoot the lights out.
So but most of my competitors were guys like Larry Bird,
Dennis Rodman was a tough guy to play against, Kevin McHale,
(05:30):
his size, you know, Terry Cummings.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Early on.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
There were a lot of guys that I could name
that we were compatible and were difficult. Rodney McCrae, not
a lot of people don't think about Rodney McCrae. At Houston,
there was a guy named Tom Chambers who I think,
you know, over twenty thousand points could be a Hall
of Famer. So there was a there was just a
(05:57):
lot of guys in my position that they could create
having You know, on any given night.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
You mentioned your college career, right, and I know there's
uh you've done, You've you've told stories about coming to
the league and meeting Rambits for the first time, on
on on, you know the Lakers. But when you first
got drafted, right, what moment did you feel a I
belong in the pros.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Well, when I first got drafted, you know I was.
I was the number one pick over Dominique and over
Terry Commings. Because the Lakers had won two out of
three championships, they really didn't need anybody, but they had
made a trade like six years earlier to Cleveland, and
(06:45):
Cleveland gave them their number one pick. And during that
six year period, Cleveland fell straight to the bottom. So
I ended up being in Los Angeles. And when I
arrived there after winning the national championship, I wasn't I
wasn't arrogant, but you know I was. I was. I
was pretty confident, you know. So I walk in the
gym and I'm looking at Kareem Magic, Norm Nixon is
(07:09):
still with the team. Jamal Wilks was a small forward
at the time and he had already won a championship
at Golden State, and I was a power forward coming
out of car So when I saw Kirk Rambis walk
in the gym, I was like, who the hell is
this dude man with these big He had these big
(07:31):
glasses on the look like coke bottles. He had duct
tape in between his glasses and smell like Ben Gay
had all this and I said, I'm gonna get that spot.
That's what I first thing. I said, I'm gonna get
that spot. And so practice started and within twenty minutes,
man Kirk Rammans showed me what an NBA power forward
(07:54):
was all about. And it wasn't about scorn. It wasn't
about nothing but kicking some ass. And I was too
light and the ass to deal with those power forwards.
So I went over to sit on the bench for
a year or two, and then you know, Roles put
me in the starting lineup, I think in eighty five,
and that's when I really felt like I had earned
my stripes. You know, Jamal Wooks was small forward and
(08:19):
I was a bigger small forward, a quicker small forward
who could guard guards. So in eighty five I kind
of felt like I earned my stripes after, you know,
playing my rookie year, broke my leg, my rookie year,
missed the playoffs, came back second year. We lost to
the Celtics. In eighty four and in eighty five, I
(08:40):
felt like that was my time.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
I like that story because you kind of get a
sense of the mentality of the VET back in the
day because my dad was on here earlier and he
was talking about how the rosters only had twelve spots
back in the day, and every time rookie came in
or somebody came in, and he was like, like they
were personally he was trying to take his job, right.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Oh yeah, yeah, VET took that personally, man, because the
salaries weren't that high, the roster wasn't that big, and
they would let you go. So I mean back in
the day, man, I don't know this to be true,
but there was some veterans on certain teams, man, that
would fall down on your knee, put your ass out,
and put your ass out of commission just to keep
(09:20):
that job. Man. So it was like crazy back then.
It was crazy coming out of the seventies into the eighties,
coming from the ABA into the eighties, it was it
was it was dog.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
For dog, yeah, because like in today's games, I feel
like you got to prove you're not good enough sometimes,
like you got to get given a spy if you
draft to high enough. Right, you're the first pick, and
you felt like you got to come in there. You
still had to come in to earth a spot like
you couldn't get a like you said, you can't get
that starting spot for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So it's just a different era.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, Now the expectations was crazy.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Most number one picks go to the worst team. So
at the time, uh, it wasn't a lottery. It was
the team that had the worst record, which at the
time were the Clippers, and the team that actually had
(10:12):
the number one draft pick. They tossed the coin man
and the Lakers won, and so they drafted me. But
prior to that, we already knew that the Clippers weren't
interested in me. The Lakers didn't really need anybody. They'd
already won two out of three. They just happened to
(10:32):
get lucky with that draft pick. So Jerry Weston needed
kind of like a role player, somebody that because most
number one picks they come in they want everything, they
want to start, they want a salary, and but that's
you know, they didn't need that, and I guess, you know,
playing for Dean Smith, they probably thought I could fit
that role.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Seth mentioned earlier about the you know, the the rivalries
between the Boston Celtics. We want to talk about Larry Bird.
How good was Larry Bird.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Larry Bird was. He was different man. He was. He
was great. You know. He he came from French Lick, Indiana,
did not have exceptional speed. You know, he could shoot,
but I think the one thing that Larry had was
(11:24):
between the ears. You know, he was a he was
a trash talking, back it up kind of a guy.
And you know, he wasn't he wasn't afraid to play
against anybody. Uh. And he could shoot the ball so
well that you had to be up on him so
close that his first step didn't have to be extremely quick.
(11:48):
And he was a magician with the basketball. You know,
he could pass, he could shoot, he was big, he
was strong, he was nasty, and he didn't care who
he was playing against. You know, he he just knew
how to wheel his way, uh into a victory or
into you know, kicking your ass. You know, those were
some sleepless nights. Well you know you had to garden
(12:12):
uh because he could get hot at the drop of
a dime and didn't take a lot of energy to
get his shot. Off. So he was. He was a beast.
They'll real liking personally. Uh, they talked a lot of trash.
He could back it up. There were times that I
I wish he would guard me sometimes, but that never
really happened. But Larry was Larry was good man. He
(12:34):
could have come into any neighborhood and in any city
and and and not afraid to play against anybody. So
he was tough. He was big, he was strong, he
was quick, he could shoot.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yeah, we could still see that that competitiveness still there
after all these years. But what I'll see from when
I watched like the old Larry highlights and old game
film and stuff like that, especially playing in the finals
in a big matchups, he he had that that flare
to his game too, Like he was trying to put
on the on top of being competitive, on top of
trying to win the game, he was trying to add
a little spice to it.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
He was He was an entertainer, man, exactly. You know,
Larry was an entertainer. He understood it. Like you know,
he was in the league with with a bunch of brothers,
you know, a bunch of sharp shooting brothers, and he
knew what his role was. You know, he would he
at All Star weekend, he would walk into the locker
room of competing three point shooters and he would just
(13:29):
look at all of them and say, which one of
you guys are coming in second place? And he would
just go out and win the damns three point. He
told several teams what he was going to do and
did it. So, you know, he just he was. You know,
he had that flare, he had that that Russell Crow
you know Gladiator. Are you entertained? He had that, He
(13:52):
had that fashion. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed going and
he enjoyed coming to LA He enjoyed going to New
York Philadelphia and putting on a show. So, you know,
Larry was it was. It was. It was a tough,
tough white boys. We used to say in high school.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I'm kind of glad that you mentioned, you know, you
wish that he could have guarded you. Me and me
and Sef had a conversation about I think it was
the two thousands, about guys guardening each other, you know
what I mean, that's some pride, right, and we're talking
about point guard point guards guarding each other, how do
you think, and you've watched a lot of basketball because
(14:28):
you also you know, covered the Lakers as well, from
from a standpoint of watching the transition of how the
game has gone, right, do you feel that defense is
very like transactional right and optional now in this game
where you don't have to play it so much, or
do you think it's always been that same way the
(14:49):
way you guys played as well in your era.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Well, I think you know, the game has changed to
a faster pace, athletes are in better shape, and I
remember when the game kind of transsitioned from biggs to
you know, to the Michael Jordan era, you know, to guards,
(15:18):
and you know that that changed. I remember Sam Bowie
out of Kentucky seven foot one getting drafted over Michael Jordan,
and so bigs were still the game was still inside
out players starting to come out of school a lot earlier. Okay,
(15:40):
So I think in college and seth you remember, you know,
before practice, you know, guards down here, bigs down here,
you get you get twenty minutes of drill work every
day before practice. You get that over and over and over.
You know, for three or four years, it's it's in
there and you don't have to worry about that when
(16:00):
you get to the next level. I think the defense
suffered a little bit when that started to happen. I
remember the NBA moved the three point line in a
little bit. They took away a little bit of the physicality.
Although I think the physicality is starting to come back
a little bit. You know, I think the game is
in good hands. The athlete is a better athlete, more superior,
(16:22):
you know, athlete than what we were. But I think
I think sometimes the defense is not what it used
to be because we played a half court game most
of the time. We ran when we could, but other
than that, we had a kareem we would go into.
We had offenses that had several options, and you still
(16:43):
have that today, but it's usually off of pick and
roll or a driving key. The game is open, a
little bit more open than what it used to be.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Yeah, talk about fast pace or slower pace back when
you play. But I did my research and it was
like one of the few teams that get up and down.
You could say some of the stats were a little inflated.
You go talk about a guy Alex English maybe in Denver,
who putting them crazy numbers. He said he was the
leader scorer throughout from all the eighties. He had the
(17:14):
most points during that era. What do you think about
his game?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Alex Inglis was unstoppable. He shot the ball on the
way up, so when he was going up, he let
it go. And Denver had a passing game that when
you went to Denver in that altitude, they knew they
had you in the first five six minutes. And Alex
English was just a He was just a straight up
(17:40):
score that's all he did. He just put up numbers forty, forty, five, fifty.
He just give it to you and he had a
running shot where you couldn't block it, you can't get
to it. He's like six eight hundred and ninety pounds
a score machine. And when he was in his prime,
he was unstoppable. Came out of South Carolina. I hated
to play against him because the altitude got to me
(18:02):
early and you knew he was a vocal part of
their offense. So Alex was one of those small forwards
in my opinion, top ten, right up there with Larry Bird,
the nar King, and the Dominique and the rest of
the scorers.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
He was a beast there's this guy, Adrian Dantley. Yeah,
how good was Adrian down?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Adrian Dentley. I talked about Alex English. I talked about
Adrian Dantley in the same fashion. Six' five post up,
player six y five post up, player and there with the,
giants and he could draw found better than anybody THAT i.
Knew he went to the line twelve fifteen times game
because you six ten six, nine you got a garden
(18:45):
and he would just put his body into your fall
down and on the, floor and the referees just thought
that he had the disadvantage and he knew how to
milk that. Man but when he was, hot ad was
the master pump faker. Boy he pumped you to give
you the pump fake and he had the floater you,
know the matha high. School he was another another beast
(19:07):
that you just didn't want to see. Coming he you,
KNOW i think he was a top scorer in the
league several, times had that big old. Ass he put
that big old ass on. You you couldn't get around.
It and he was tough right up there With Bernard
king And Alice English. BIRD i hated to see any
of them.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Coming take us back to nineteen eighty Eight game seven
Versus Adrian.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Dowley, well we had beaten The celtics for the second
time in eighty, seven and no one had won back to.
BACK i think in twenty. YEARS i think The celtics did.
IT i think in nineteen years. Ago so The lakers
were used to winning a, championship but no one had
won back to. Back so we were at the parade In,
(19:53):
inglewood the pep rally after we won In, boxton and
Pat rally stood on the stage and, SAID i guarantee
you we're going to do it again next. Year guarante
is sick and we were, hungover you, know we hadn't
even had a summer yet, man and we looked at
him and we wanted to kill him man for saying.
(20:15):
That But roles had won in eighty eighty, two eighty,
five eighty, seven so whenning, one he knew what to
challenge us. With he knew that after we won in
eighty seven and beat The celtis for the second, time
we might get a little lack of. Daze so coming
back Against, Detroit kareem was getting a little, older you,
(20:38):
know magic had stepped, up AND i knew it was
my time to like step. Up so playing Against, detroit
they were physical as, Hell, Rodman, Mahorn John, sally they
had a great, Guard combo And Isaiah thomas And Joe
dubars and then the microwave coming off the. Fence they
(20:59):
were just nasty and we knew that they were going
to be, physical AND i KNEW i had to step.
Up kareem was getting a little, older, magical it was
JUST mvp of the, league AND i KNEW i being
the third, option it was. Time it was time for
me to step it. Up SO i loved playing against The.
PISTOLS i loved that PHYSICAL i loved that trash, talk
(21:21):
AND i loved that bad boy. THING i loved all.
That SO i KNEW i had to rise to the.
Occasion and we got the game seven at. HOME i
have to SAY i had my best. PERFORMANCE i went
to work BECAUSE i, knew you, KNOW i knew they needed.
Me and so that was my one and only triple
(21:41):
double thirty, six sixteen and, TEN i, think AND mvp of,
that and you, KNOW i have to, SAY, i you,
know playing against, FIRST i had to go up against My,
horn who was a big. Body right then they bring
In John, sally who was a shot. Blocker then at
the end they bringing the toughest guy Was Dennis. Robbins
(22:03):
so my auntennas were up AND i was ready to.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Go we Had Mark, aguire another small small for. It
that was. Tough, yeah you had a crazy game against. Him,
yeah tell us about the forty.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Points, well the forty points WAS i think the year
we lost in eighty, nine and So magic was, Hurt
byron was. Hurt kareem was a little bit, older and
we had swept everybody in the first two or three.
(22:39):
Rounds we Swept, DALLAS i mean, everybody and we were
waiting For detroit And boston and we had about seven days.
Off So ralph took us up To Santa barbara and
we we did training. Camp we practiced two. Days several
people got, hurt BUT i still wanted to send the
(23:03):
message To. Detroit they swept us that, year BUT i
still wanted to send a message that you're gonna see
me next. Year SO i had to DROP i dropped
forty on. Them they didn't have an answer for. Me
eighty eight or eighty.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
NINE i like that talk to.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
THEM i had to give them, forty even even if
it was a Losing even if it was a losing,
EFFORT i still had, to you, know remind them what
was to.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Come so you guys did have that that that off
site for going into the, finals BECAUSE i heard about,
it and, obviously you, know they had the documentary about
you guys out, there AND i wasn't sure what was
true what was, not you know WHAT i, Mean and
obviously that kind of probably had y'all two. Laxed, yeah but,
(23:47):
yeah that was definitely an interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Series, YEAH i, mean, look we you, Know depp was,
good don't get me, wrong and we had just beaten
them the year, Before So i'm not saying that we
were going to guarantee beat. THEM i just wish you
would have been a bit.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Healthier SO i talked to some people who played in
the eighty my, Dad Doc, rivers some other guys who
know about the eighties game a lot more than, me
and they were, saying this guy right, Here Bernard, king
if it weren't for injuries or whatever happened to his,
career he could have been up there in the top
notch of small. Forwards he even players in the. Area
you agree with that one when you think About Bernard keys.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Game to me before the, injuries he was the baddest
dude in THE, nba his small. FORWARD i don't care
About Larry, BIRD i don't care ABOUT i don't seen
As Bernard king would give you. NUMBERS i never played
against a small forward that while he has the ball
in his, hands he beats you, Up he beats you
up getting to the. Cup and, man he could get
(24:43):
the jump. Off you, know they were. NICE i went
To New. YORK i JUST i didn't do, Anything, MAN
i just got, weak got rests because you didn't want
you didn't want. Banards you dropped sixty on you minutes
you didn't watch. Out. Yeah and to, me, man he
was the most difficult small forward. Ever To, god you
say what you want to About larry And alex and
(25:04):
me and other you, know other, guys But Narn king
in the, eighties, man and he had that knee. Injury
then he came back from that knee injury and made
The All star, team Comeback player of the. Year uh
and just the nicest. Guy, man you haven't want to.
Meet he. Had you, know he had a really bad
misfortune with the. Injuries but to, me the tough and small.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Forward, Ever, yeah it seemed like he put That janni's
like pressure on, you like just like none stop, downhill
trying to get to the.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Room, downhill changing, angles beat you in your, chest beat
you with those, elbows bump you, off and just. Relentless
he was, physical he didn't mind love the. Contact he
had soft, touch and when he had that jumper going
from twenty, man it was just it was just you
just didn't want to be on the court with. Him
(25:56):
he was a.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Nightmare, now everybody always talks about your college Teammate Michael,
jordan but what about doctor J BECAUSE i feel like
our generation kind of overlooks him a lot too when
we talk about these you, know these goat. Conversations, Right,
yeah it's it's.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
HARD i MEAN i understand for people who hadn't, seen you,
know some of the players full about it at. Work
but if you go back and look at some of
Doctor j's aba and how he moved around the, court
it's not that much different than the Way giannis gets
up and down the floor and the Way jiannis has one.
Hand doctor j was you, know he was Mister. Chapstick
(26:34):
you had a commercial Mister, chapstick and he was the
first guy that was. Area he was in the air
all the, time AND i mean like from the free throw.
LINE i got a chance to see SOME aba games
And doctor j was with The Virginia squires and he was.
Amazed didn't really have a jump shot till later, on
(26:56):
but he got to the cup and the fast, break
and there was one play it was my u my
rookie year when they beat. US i was, hurt but
that one dunk On Michael, Cooper well he's got the fast.
Breaking he kind of winds it up And Michael cooper
puts his head down like that Because doc is. Coming
and when they Had moses that, year they were just you,
(27:18):
Know doc redefined the game in the air he. Did
they have some good.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Teams one of my middle school coach in seventh and eighth,
grade it was Actually Bobby. Jones so he's another another
small for old school. Guy he taught me a lot about.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
The Jones man Tar. Hill he was a Tar hill of,
course so It's Billy, cunningham But Bobby jones was, relentless
a relentless defensive player and one of the one of the,
purest nicest gentlemen you're ever going to. Meet But bobby
didn't take no mess. Man he. Was he was like
(27:56):
players today would have a problem With Bobby jones on
the defensive. Band he's six six sixty. SEVEN i, mean
you know, him nice, guy but tough on the. Court but,
Yeah bobby was was really good friends With. Docs But,
Bobby bobby was sticking on you. Too he could, run
he could. Fly he was another defensive. Guy he And
(28:17):
Michael cooper very. Similar, yeah, no first, hand that's WHAT i.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Do he was tough on.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
ME i was BECAUSE i was the, opposite kind of
the opposite of who he was as a. PLAYER i
was trying to score the ball WHEN i was in middle.
SCHOOL i wasn't getting it done on the defensive. Vent
he was letting me hear about. It SO i know
a lot about The philly days being around doctor j from.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Him, yeah, Honest, bobby that's what we used to call. Him.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Bobby All, right we're gonna take a quick, break and
when we get, Back i'm gonna tell a story About
James worthy that he doesn't even.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
KNOW i don't know about, that.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
So big. GAME i was mad UNTIL i want to,
say fifteen years. AGO i let it go and it's
not even your. Fault you had a basketball camp At
Compton college sponsored By bank Of america in nineteen ninety,
two and my uncle they're NOT i have twin, uncles
(29:22):
but one of them was really into. Basketball my family
is Diehard laker. FANS i was A bulls. FAN i
just went on that. Side but this is my chance
to meet my FIRST nba player at. NINE i THINK
i was like eight or. NINE i about to turn,
nine and you had an age limit on this skills
camp AND i could not. Go and y'all had The
(29:43):
Bart SIMPSON t shirts with The bank Of america logo
in the. Back and my uncle came home with the
picture AND i had to watch you take pictures with
all the campers AND i was just. Pissed but me
being so, YOUNG i didn't understand how it. WORKS i
thought you picked the, people you know WHAT i. Mean
so the whole, Time i'm, Hot i'm. Hot i'm like,
(30:06):
god Anti. Laker it is Anti Big Game, james you
know WHAT i. Mean but it was just so crazy,
because LIKE i remember, it it was such a big,
deal especially coming To, Compton. California that's Where i'm, from
and you, know everybody Being lakers fans and you you,
know spending time in the. Community SO i want to
say thank you for.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
That i'm sorry it didn't work out for.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
You.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Man we had we Had Lisa leslie down. There. Man
it was. Good uh it was a LEGITIMATE i.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Told him he wanted the Bar SIST t.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
SHIRT i was locked in want it, both. MAN i was,
like you, know because at that, TIME i was just, like,
man you know the inspiration from.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
There but, Man i'm glad that you bought. That you,
know people don't remember. That.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Nah he's still people that talk about it to this. Day,
Man like my UNCLE i.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Still GOT i still got the photo of, it all
the kids At burger king feet and it Was it
was one of my one of the first things that
really made me feel. GOOD i, MEAN i did camps
all the, time but to go on The.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Compton yeah, yeah, yeah no. Problem. Man LIKE i, said that.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Was an adult.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Camp, Okay, okay that's All that's ALL i, need, Man
that's ALL i. Need, man for. Real we're implementing a
new segment. Today we haven't named it, yet but we
went through all these great players and we're gonna go.
Through you get to pick who will get the last,
shot and ultimately who is the ultimate shot taker of
this of these, Players, so who's gonna take the last?
(31:30):
Shot Larry bird Or Julius Irvin.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Larry?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Bird, okay who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird
Or Dominique Wilkins Larry. Bird who's gonna take the last?
Shot Larry bird Or Mark Acguire.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Larry.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Bird who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird Or
Adrian Dantley.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Larry.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Bird who's gonna take the last? Shot Larry bird Or Bernard?
King But? King who's going to take the last? Shot
Banar king Or Alex English Banard? King Banar king is
the last? Shot thank you for.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
That Nary. King But Larry. Man there was a there
was a game in eighty seven With Magic johnson hit
a baby sky hook to put us up one point
in the garden and we went up three to, ONE i,
(32:31):
believe or two to one coming back To. La but
there was a few seconds left on the clock and
everybody was, celebrating AND i was, like, man there's still
some time on the, clock. Right so sure, ENOUGH i
was Guarding larry AND i was on the top, side
(32:52):
AND i Had Michael cooper in the corner On Danny. Ainge,
well unbeknownst to, me they Clear danny out, right clear
them all the way, out so all that base line
was open down, there And Larry burke pushed me up
the lane and he got that. Shot. Man AND i
gotta tell, you, man when the ball is in the,
(33:14):
air When Larry birry, shoots you peel on yourself a
little bit because you don't know what's gonna. Happen. Man
and he missed it BECAUSE i THINK i but, Yeah
i'm gonna Choose larry most of the time Because i've
seen him hit so many game winning. Shots but But
Nark king will come. Close i'm not mad at.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
IT i can respect. That respect that one thing. About
SO i was going through all the fours and stuff like.
That So i'm, Thinking i'm trying to, gaze like who
would be good in this eraror as far as just
their skill. Set, OBVIOUSLY i mean the rules and everything's.
Different i'm trying to compare too. Much but a lot
of the, four a lot of you guys that small
fort could shoot the. Ball you had the range for whatever,
reason like it was frowned upon to shoot three pointers
(33:58):
and shoot that. WELL i feel like most like your
guys would have had no problem stepping out behind that
three point line and just making like a volume.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Shot it.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Was it was mostly inside, out and you, know our
Coach Pat rally had a rule if you didn't shoot
over thirty four or thirty five, percent you weren't. Shooting
Byron Scott Michael cooper were the only guys who shot
threes on our. Team you, know later on eighty, eight eighty,
NINE i pull up for one every now and, then
could knock down. One but it just we were inside.
(34:28):
Out we cast that double team and when you double
team he comes back. Out we might get a three,
then but even when that, happened we kick it. Out
we drive and. Kicked but we had two guys on our,
team Mostly cooper And. Byron so the three point, line you,
know it's it's a big part of the game. Now
and Like kareem only had one three pointer thirty nine thousand.
(34:53):
Points he had a lot of old three. Pointers but
you look at the centers, now, man he couldn't you,
know he couldn't go out there and Guard he had
to go out there and guard your, kids and you,
know all these guys that are shooting. Threes it's elevated the,
game but it. Wasn't it wasn't like a major. Part
we had guys that could shoot, It Larry, BIRD i
(35:14):
Mean Dale, ellis you Know Dale. Curry we had a
lot of guys that can shoot the, threes but we
went inside out most of the.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Time All, right we're gonna take another, break and when
we come, back we're gonna go through our favorite favorite,
Segment born in The Wrong.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Era all, right say we're back for our favorite, segment
(35:55):
born in the wrong, era and this is this is
our segment.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Where we throw out a play out.
Speaker 4 (36:00):
There LIKE i, said somebody could play in a different
era with their skill. Set and for me this, Week
i'm rolling With Devlin. SHRIMP i don't know if you
ever played Against Debla. Shrimp did you play againt?
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Him? Yes, yes, Yeah, Okay Devlis shrimp Was i'm gonna
tell you second To Dennis. Rodman he carded me very
well In Dallas. Seattle uh you know six ten could
shoot the. Three he was strong as an ox and uh,
Yeah Depth shrimp was the real. Deal.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
Yeah, TODAY i mean today's league is, common but he's
one of the First european players to come over half, success,
right and just his game being that, side stretching, out
being a good jump, shooter physical playing out.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
THERE i think that'll.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Translate, well today's, era we're shooting more jump, shot shooting.
Threes obviously a lot More european, players but.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Well, yeah definite could shoot the. Three he shoot the
seventh team foot that he could, pump fake and. Relocate
can he could hold his. ARM i believe in today's.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Game for, Me i'm gonna Go you mentioned him Early,
James tom changers, fly get up the, core put it
on the, ground shoot a little, bit you know WHAT i.
MEAN i think he. WOULD i think he would ball
out in this.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Era and he defied you know the myth the white
man can't jump because he would dunk on. It he's
sticking on you And TOM i had to guard him a.
Lot at six,' ten he, could shoot uh and he had,
you know he had action in. The air definitely think
he could create some problems in. Today's game he is a.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Classic highlight some people say it's the best.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Dunk ever maybe where he Dunked On mark jackson put
his put his knee in his chest was it.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Trying to take.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
That charge he floated up with a two hand and
those knees were up around. The shoulders man, he had.
HE had i used to Call, him togo especially when
he Played. In seattle like we Had An all star Game.
In seattle somebody was Injured and tom was, the Alternate
and magic made sure that he was in, you Know
(38:00):
but tom did on. His own he. COULD play i
Personally think tom at some point would be a Candidate
for Hall. Of famers got over twenty thousand points and
it was a scoring Machine And. All star so we'll.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
See pivotal part of the free. AGENCY too a lot
of people don't.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Know, that, yeah yeah you did. Your homework, Yeah, yeah
phoenix right Yep.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
In phoenix who do you have as a player from
the eighties born in the?
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Wrong, ERA well I Mean kyi drector played in the
eighties when he played up until what, Ninety Something so
Kie Director man clyde director could give he was the
only guy that could really keep UP. With, mj okay
he could. Give it he could give IT to mj.
(38:50):
As WELL so I. Love clyde they could play Man
who this is a. TOUGH question i Go. With, clyde
uh You. Know dominique, YOU know I think dominique could play.
FOR sure i feel like with MY footwork i could
get the. Job, done yeah there's quite a few guys
(39:11):
That The bernard king. Could play all the guys that we,
talked about there's quite a few guys That could they
could get the. Job, done now some of the biggs
who would have to come out and guard biggs on,
the perimeter that could be. A problem The Pace, Michael
Cooper michael cooper. Could play let's get in these.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Top Five get james out.
Speaker 2 (39:35):
Of here, All right so we got our top five, Goat,
players dot you're gonna kick. It off who you got
ranked as the greatest small forwards of the?
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Nineteen eighties, All right i'm going, Number Five, alex english.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
NUMBER five, i mean the numbers are.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Out rages BUT like, i said it's a little like
playing For The, colorado rockies you Know what. I'm saying
the numbers are you're hitting the home runs because because
of the altitude and then that pace is a. Little
crazy so the numbers, are Crazy but i'm obviously one
of the greatest to.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Do it but he's my.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
Number FIVE before i got, Big game, JAMES yourself, i
mean just one of the best. Winners ever and from
my dad was telling me though you had Played with Kareem,
and magic Even once kareem got older, and older like
they looked to you for the big shots and the.
Big moments it was the ball was going. To you
so that's that's saying. A lot Number, Three, DOMINIQUE yeah
(40:34):
i mean we talked about. Him enough human.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Highlight yep, Number TWO doctor j and number One. Le
bird you Know what. I'M saying i love him and he.
DOES it i did.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
It all that's a. Great, list nobody nobody can argue.
With that, you know there's some other guys that might
can fit in there in the top five and take,
some out but, For sure larry was number one. SMALL
forward i just can't think of anybody that has done what.
He's done un at. That position you got.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
Your man it's kind, of, similar man it's kind, of
similar which is kind.
Speaker 3 (41:05):
Of.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Crazy man but, AT five i Got, UH man I Got. Mark,
guire okay didn make. My list four got a, big game.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
ALL right i like that for.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
A SPOT three I, got, DOMINIQUE two I GOT. Doctor
j AND one I got. Larry, legend yeah.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
That's a good. FIVE too i can't argue. Too much who.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
You have james small forward yep uh in.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
THE eighties, I definitely, I definitely like, YOU know I Like.
ALICE english i could Put A banar king. AT four
i could put, You know dominique. At three. At three
i'm gonna leave. Myself out but there's there's like there's
some other small forwards that. You know larry definitely. Number.
(41:58):
ONE adrian i would put it my, number, two Okay
Because adrian dantley. Was up he knew how to deal
with the. Referees man he, was short and he knew
how to get to the free. Throw line you look
at his free, throw attempts it's usually fifteen to twenty,
a game and you look at his time at the free,
THROW line i think it's almost. Ten seconds he had
(42:20):
this thing where he used to like rub the ball
and all he was doing. Was resting he, was tired
and he would sometimes it'd be twenty five seconds he
beat the free throw line and he rubbed. The ball
then he'd give it back to the referee and said
it was some sweat, on there and he would get
like a man in the rest he knew how to. Do.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
It man, oh wow he would have begen cooked in,
Today's era twitter would have been All.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
Over harol miner had a crazy, routine. Too man he
used to do the same FROM the U, ball yep
dribble the ball, behind him behind, his legs go behind
his waist and. Then shoot he used the entire Ten
SECONDS and i emulated that as a kid for a. Long,
time man AND then i, was like wrap it up,
to shoot just shoot the ball. For REAL so i
(43:07):
have to. ASK you i mean me being From the,
west coast, you guys being From the, east Coast You,
Wentbacco Road. Tobacco road we had this debate early on
when we first started. This part who has the like
who has the best pros coming out of the out of?
Their areas, You know california has has a large range.
(43:29):
Of it, seth says, you, know uh You Know. North
carolina i'm gonna let, You, choose james who?
Speaker 1 (43:36):
You got so are We Talking north carolina And? Southern California?
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Entire california at getting The, WHOLE cally, i thought ain't
In States.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
North carolina, All right so let's do. This first, let me,
let me let me let me do. This FIRST so
i WANT to i want To Have michael jordan's, at,
guard okay along With Uh, steph curry. Thank, Guard okay
(44:11):
i'm Gonna Have david thompson a. Small. Forward okay i'm
gonna put one of the most prolific scores, In history
bob McAdoo at at, my four and then. At center
let's see who is a good center coming Out Of. North,
(44:34):
carolina okay we'll play without. A center i'll put me.
AT center I put bob mcado, at CENTER and. I played.
Speaker 4 (44:43):
We Got chris paul coming off. The bench so, For
me i'm Gonna Go bill russell at?
Speaker 1 (44:49):
The?
Speaker 2 (44:49):
Five Right Who? Bill russell? The five.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Where's?
Speaker 4 (44:56):
He From?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
San francisco.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
You want? To?
Speaker 2 (45:00):
College okay, all right, all right, all right so, All
Right i'm i'm gonna have to take, it Back so
I'll Go tyson chandler at. The five I'll Take. Tyson
chandler THAT'S all i can TAKE because I think i'm
thinking about, height wise you KNOW what? I mean who
we've Got. MAYBE greenwood i Don't know greenwood Better Than. David.
(45:21):
Greenwood crashaw I'll go greenwood to a. Good start I'll
go greenwood at. The fire you don't know Nothing, about
greenwood bro. All right so at the at, The one i'm, gonna,
Go Uh, jason kidd it's still sow or what? Is
it so we'll give you.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
A kid we'll give.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
You, Kid, California.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
Okay california and After two i'm, gonna, Go uh i'm
Gonna Go. James harden and then At three i'm Gonna
Go paul, pierce two, All right and then at the
four swear gets a little Tricky because i'm blanking. Right
(46:07):
there at, THE four i might have to Go With.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Kevin love Now. He's Portland, Jamal, Willkes oh Jamal Will.
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Jamal wilkes i'm Finally That bill.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Walton left Bill walk.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Now he's from He's From. San, Diego, RIGHT.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Oh i thought you're talking About. Son, ca okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
EITHER or, I mean i'm. With that I'LL take, I
take I Take. Bill waller you gave me, A Gimmey
but i'm Have to i'm have to dust off my history,
books man and so i can have a. Better argument
but now you you you you said a. GRADE five
i don't, RIGHT now i. Don't know you might.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Got it you got to dust up on. Your history he.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
LIVED it, i mean look y'all got y'all. Got, IT
man i might have to bend, the, KNEE man i LIKE.
Speaker 4 (46:55):
When i cheated him bringing, a REAL REAL o g
and that knows. ITS history i don't even gotta work
hard for. This argument, hey man he.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Got.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Me man that's but, that's why that's why it's important
to to have the ogs on man to to to
keep the keep the. History going it's a walking library. Right.
Here man so, we again we thankful to have you on.
Our Show, hey man.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
APPRECIATE it i learned from those that came before, Me
Man bill Russell And oscar robinson and all. Those guys
and it's cool to see the. Young generation, You know
seth he had a father that's kind of walked him
through the. Whole process but all the, young, guys man.
Show respect it's a great fraternity. We, Have, steve.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
Yeah, no problem.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
Appreciate it keep on doing what, You're, Doing man appreciate what. You're,
doing thanks, all right, coming, on, yeah peace, all, Right
peach I'm.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Going this has been a unanimous. Media original got was
Produced By iHeart. Podcast media it was hosted By Me
travon Edwards And. Steph kurk executive Produced By stephen Curry And.
Eric page co Executive Producer Klenna. Maria cutty the executive
(48:11):
producers At iHeart Podcasts Are sean Titon And. Jason english
this series was Produced By derek Jennings And, Peter kutcher
Co Producer. Kurt reddy original Music By. Jesse woodard special
Thanks To stephen Curry And. Will pearson got is the
Production Of unanimous media And. iHeart podcasts for more Podcasts,
from iHeartRadio Visit the, iHeartRadio App, apple podcasts or wherever
(48:35):
you get. Your podcasts
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