April 23, 2024 • 18 mins
Catch the energy and insight of basketball virtuoso Jimmer Fredette as he shares his journey from the hardwood floors of the NBA to the fervor of Olympic 3x3 basketball. Experience an intimate conversation where Jimmer illuminates the contrasts between the two basketball styles, and opens up about the complexities of fatherhood. His candid tales from abroad reveal the emotional and physical demands of an international career, while the bright flame of his Olympic aspirations reignites a deep passion for the game he loves.
Step back in time with us to Jimmer's legendary days at BYU, where his legacy was cemented as a collegiate superstar and NCAA tournament player of the year. In a heartfelt reflection, he discusses the power of family support and a high school contract that predicted his ascent, weaving through discussions about the future that may include coaching or new, uncharted territories.
Join us for this inspiring episode as Jimmer Fredette discusses not only his illustrious basketball career but also the personal values and relationships that have shaped his life on and off the court.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello everyone and welcome to Sound Off with Sync
Off.
I'm Brian Syncoff, your hosthere.
Of course, sound Off withSyncoff sponsored by the Syncoff
Realty Group, and we are joinedby literally one of my favorite
athletes of all time and I cansay that I've known this guy for
almost 20 years.
Jimmer for debt, the GlensFalls legend, former NBA player
(00:25):
and now USA Olympian.
Jimmer what is going on, my man?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm doing well, Brian .
How are you?
It's great to be on the showand to kind of reminisce and see
you again.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, it's awesome.
I had Jimmer on the radio showa while ago and go back a long
time my television days and youmet Zach, my son, when he was
real little, and now you gotthree little ones yourself.
First of all, how's the family?
How's it like being a dad ofthree as you live out now in
Denver?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
yeah, it's great.
I mean uh, best thing that I'veever done right up and will
continue to do.
I have a seven-year-old who'smy daughter oldest daughter,
wesley, and then a five-year-old, taft, and then a almost
seven-year-old who's my oldestdaughter, wesley, and then a
five-year-old Taft, and then aalmost two-year-old, grayson,
who's also a girl.
So my girl, boy, girl, and thehouse seems full.
We got two dogs as well, sowe're busy, right, and when I'm
(01:18):
gone, whitney is holding downthe fort and she's incredible at
doing it.
So it uh, it's been a lot offun to uh to be home with them
and just kind of see them growup and be at their activities
and do all these fun things.
It's been uh very rewardingjimmer.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Uh, of course, for those that don't know is now a
part of the usa olympic team,the three on three usa olympic
team.
Um, we're going to get into BYUand sort of the gym or mania in
just a few minutes, but let'stalk about how the three on
three, how you got involved inthat and then how it morphed
into being an Olympian beingpart of the US team.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, so 2021,.
I was over in China playing myfourth season over in Shanghai,
but it was a COVID year, so wego over there and we were in a
bubble for about six, sevenmonths.
It was just at a hotel playinggames and then coming home to
the hotel afterwards, so Ididn't get to see my kids and
family for that six, seven monthstretch.
(02:17):
So mentally and physically itwas really difficult and I just
needed a break.
Honestly, I just needed a breakfrom basketball.
So I took about six months offand it it was like I'm not going
back over.
And then Fran Fraschilla uh gotconnected to me from a mutual
friend who's a part of the USA3x3 basketball.
Him and Jay Demings uh calledme up.
(02:37):
It's like hey, would you beinterested in playing some
tournaments in the summertime3x3?
Um?
You know, for Team USA we'retrying to qualify for the
olympics and you know there's apossibility that you could be on
the team if you play.
And as soon as I heard olympics, I was like I'm all in, right,
that's, that's an incredibleopportunity that most people
don't get an opportunity to do,especially at my age 34, 35
(02:58):
years old um, to play basketballin the olympics.
It was, uh, was was definitelysomething that intrigued me, so
I went all in and have startedto play about a year and a half
ago and and it's been an awesomejourney since.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
How is it?
I mean obviously the, the, theshot clocks basically cut in
half, it's half court.
It's kind of like street ball alittle bit in terms of you know
that, that type of flow, howmuch different is it than the
full court, more organized gamethat you guys play, that you
played yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely different.
Obviously, for all the thingsthat you just said, we played by
twos and ones as well, which iswhich is different?
You know continuous play, whichis different.
You got to play sometimes two,two and a half minute stretches
in a row and you get tiredbecause it's physical.
Right, it's more physical thanthan five on five because they
(03:51):
let you get a little, a littlebit more handsy and you're able
to body up a little bit more.
But also just little nuancesthat you kind of get to know as
you as you go through theprocess of the actions that they
run, the screen, there-screening, also defensively,
there's no help side.
You don't ever help off of yourguy to to try to help out the
basket, usually because they cankick it out for a two and it's
(04:13):
worth so much more than the oneit's more important.
So just little things that arethat you kind of are used to in
five on five that are differentin three X three.
So it takes, you know, severalmonths to feel more comfortable
and have it slow down the game,slow down once you get out there
because it is a quick shotclock that 12 seconds is fast.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Jim, are you?
Obviously this is a huge dreamfor you I mean any kid in any
sport to play in the Olympics,to be part of the Olympics.
I know it's a couple of monthsaway and you're prepping now
with the camps and leading up toit, but if you fast forward
ahead to that moment, are yougoing to have to pinch yourself
(04:51):
a little bit?
You know, the openingceremonies and things of that
nature.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, it's going to be surreal for sure.
I know that for a fact.
The opening ceremony is goingto be unbelievable.
Just to be there with all theathletes the best athletes in
the world, from all over it'sgoing to be amazing to be able
to walk or float.
However we're going to do it,whether it's on a boat or
actually walking in Paris isgoing to be pretty incredible to
(05:16):
have that USA on your chest andbe able to wear the gear that
you see and just kind of gothrough the whole sequence so
super excited about that.
Obviously, once we take thecourt, everyone's going to be
extremely nervous.
That first game I mean, there'sno way around it it's the
biggest stage you've ever playedon.
It's going to be the mostnerves you've probably ever felt
.
But then once that ball ischecked up and you're playing,
(05:38):
then it just becomes more real,obviously, and becomes a little
bit easier once you get outthere and start playing.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
All real, obviously, and it becomes a little bit
easier once you get out thereand start playing.
All right, Jimmer, we go fromthe Olympic team.
Take me back 13 years or so.
You're a senior at BYU.
It's 2011.
I mean, Jimmer mania is in fullforce.
What was that like for you?
You're Naismith Player of theYear.
You lead BYU to the NCAAtournament.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Yeah, such a fun time right, just only fond memories
back at BYU.
The whole four years that I wasthere Just met so many great
people have still stayed incontact with today that we a lot
of my teammates you know I'mtalking with a lot on a weekly
basis sometimes go on vacationswith them or see them.
You know, when I get back inUtah or different places, um, so
(06:27):
just unique, uh, uniqueexperience, um, and just uh,
very, very fun, uh, that's,that's the best way to describe
it.
But that was that.
Senior year was definitelylife-changing, uh, for me, um,
as a basketball player, as aperson, um, and for the legacy,
for the legacy to be able tohave such a great year and be
able to win such prestigiousawards that, uh, most people you
(06:50):
know don't get to to be a partof was, yeah, it was.
It was amazing.
I got to meet so many legendsof the sports and just kind of
be around them and be in their,uh, you know, be in their
vicinity, which is, uh, you know, it was really, really cool.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So there's going to be two questions here about that
.
What do you sort of remembermost about that time?
And then you know you're alittle older now, you got kids
grown man.
You look back at that time now.
Does it feel different, sort ofreminiscing about?
You know that back then Because, let's face it, jim and I know
you're one of the most humbleguys I've ever met.
(07:26):
You took over the country man.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You did, you seriously did so kind of a
two-part question.
Yeah, it was crazy, I mean, youknow, I just feel like I
remember just BYU Nation kind ofsupporting us all over the
country wherever we went.
We even played a game up inGlens Falls my senior year where
we played at the civic centerand it was packed and with byu
(07:50):
blue and and uh, you know,there's not many byu fans up in
the northeast normally, but noweveryone was a byu fan.
And to be able to do all thesethings, to be able to have, uh,
such a great, uh, you knowopportunity to play in front of
fans all over the country, wasamazing and truly was worldwide,
which was really, really cool.
(08:11):
And now, looking back on it,it's just it's amazing to see
the, the, the impact that we hadand you know, just being on
ESPN all the time and having aJimmer tracker and, you know,
doing all these crazy thingsthat you see, you reminisce on
it and be like, wow, that reallywas like a really big time.
(08:32):
And I still get people thatcome up to me being like I used
to yell your name when I shot,you know, back in high school
and like all of these coolthings that you see was, you
know it was a special time andto look back on it now, you know
, 13 years removed, you kind ofsee the magnitude of it and, uh,
people are still people neverforget.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
so it's, it's really cool so 2011 draft taken by the
bucks and obviously traded tosacramento.
You did play in the league forfor a few teams, I know.
Obviously, at the end of theday, wasn't the results you
wanted in the nba.
The bottom line is Jim or a kidfrom Glens Falls, a section two
guy, goes from the foothillscouncil to the NCAA tournament
(09:14):
player of the year and then tothe NBA.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Take me through your time in the league, the best
basketball league in the worldyeah, you know, I mean, that's
what I always dreamed about as akid, right, and I had a lot of
people that were you didn'tthink that it would be able to
happen, right, just because ofwhere I came from and the way I
looked, and you know all allthese different things, right,
the competition that we wereplaying against, saying they
(09:37):
wasn't good enough.
You know all all these thingsthat come from being a small
town in upstate New York, inGlens Falls, right, it just it's
the way that, the way that theworld works sometimes, uh, but
for me, I always had that, thatfaith that I that I could do it
and that I was going to do it,and my family was super
supportive of me, obviously,throughout the whole process and
(09:59):
and, uh, you know, just wascontinuing to work with me and
continuing to get better, andand I always just felt like it
was it was going to happen.
And you know, look back on it,maybe it was a little bit naive
of me to think of that when Iwas super young, but I honestly
think that that's the reason whyI was able to do it, because I
didn't have a plan B and kind ofspoke it into existence and
(10:22):
then a lot of hard work and alot of good fortune along the
way and a lot of good fortunealong the way.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Jimmer, I will pull this up here and we can take a
look at the contract that youhad your brother, tj, had you
sign.
Tell me about this.
What grade were you in and sortof?
How did this come about?
And then you ended upfulfilling the contract, which
was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, it was really cool.
I mean, my mom and my brother,my family, have always been a
real big proponent of goodvisualization and goal writing
and those different things.
So I remember when I wasyounger being ingrained in that
and I know when TJ brought thatto me in high school, I was
going into high school and hebrought the contract.
(11:11):
We go play up at our church allthe time right, that's where we
practice most of the time and Iwas shooting and he's like keep
shooting, you know, do yourthing.
And then after that he walkedaway, got a piece of paper,
wrote some stuff down, then cameover and was like hey, jimmer,
I want you to look at thiscontract and you know, obviously
, as you can see, what it saysthere, contract, and you know,
(11:36):
obviously, as you can see whatit says there.
And uh, I remember the, the, thefirst, the first contract.
I, I wrote down uh, or we wrotedown jimmer, uh t for debt, and
he like ripped it up and he'slike no, we can't do that, it's
got to be an official contract,it's got to have your real name
on it.
So he went back and wrote jamest for that instead of Jimmer
and I was like all right, thisis the official contract.
I want you to read it.
(11:57):
No, I want you to sign it ifyou believe that it's going to
be true.
And then I want you to put itup over your bed so that every
single night, you see that whenyou go to bed and when you wake
up and that's what I did I wokeup and I and I I went to bed
looking at that, woke up lookingat that and it just was a
reminder of every day.
That's what I wanted to do.
It was, it was the main goal,and I'd be daydreaming about it
(12:20):
in class probably most of thetime, which, which is the way it
works.
So it was.
You know it's powerful.
Writing down goals are powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
So you, you go through the NBA.
Then you end up going to China.
A couple of years before COVID,you were, I mean, really
revered in China.
You set all sorts of scoringrecords, led the league in
scoring.
What was that experience likefor you?
Because you were alone outthere in China.
Yeah, Physically probably evena little mentally, if I'm not
(12:49):
mistaken.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yeah, it was a bittersweet situation.
I loved the basketball aspectof it.
A, it was a bittersweetsituation.
I love the basketball aspect ofit.
Right it was.
It was perfect for me.
They said hey, jimmer, I wantyou to get the ball and I want
you to be you every single timedown the court, right?
Whatever, whatever that wasthat possession, but I had the
ball in my hands all the time.
That's what I feel mostcomfortable doing and when I
have that I can make the rightplay and be aggressive and shoot
(13:13):
and pass and do all the thingsthat have made me me throughout
my career.
So of course, it was amazing.
My teammates were great.
Shanghai, the organization,really treated me well and they
treated my family well and dideverything they could to make me
feel comfortable.
But at the same time I was awayfrom family a lot and during
that time we had two kids duringthat stint in China.
(13:34):
So to be able to manage thatand be away from the family and
not be there for the young partsof some of my kids' lives was
definitely hard.
And they gave me the nicknameJimo Dachin, which meant the
lonely master over there, and itkind of was very fitting in a
couple of different ways.
Right, I was kind of lonelyover there because I was by
(13:56):
myself, but they also said thatit's not necessarily the meaning
of lonely.
That they meant what that meansis like you're alone at the
mountain up top by yourself andno one can reach your level.
So they're like you're beingthe best but also being lonely.
So it was like a perfectnickname.
So that's what we ran with andthat's what people call me over
(14:17):
there jimmer, let's.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Uh, we're gonna wrap it up here in a couple minutes,
but I want to show you a reallyfunny picture.
How about that?
Wow?
Look at that you I think you'rea junior in glens falls.
I'm at channel 10.
I believe that's james allen inthe background.
I'm told you have that that fordebt family.
Has that picture framed in yourhouse?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
We do.
We have that picture for sureSomewhere in the house.
I recognize it very well.
My mom, my mom has about amillion pictures in the house,
so it's like there's there's somuch stuff going on.
But I remember that I thoughtthat was junior year, so that
was.
You're interviewing me.
You can tell that I'm mad rightthere.
We just had lost, I think, inthe sectional finals right there
, and we got my award, but I wasnot happy with the result?
Speaker 1 (15:03):
The end result no, no , no, I mean Jimmer.
I can autograph for you if youwant.
You know what I mean.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
We've got to get the autograph.
That'll be the only memorabiliaout there, with Brian and Jim
are signing the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
We should get that authenticated.
That would be awesome.
Before I let you go, jim, weknow that the Olympics are
around the corner.
Is this it for you?
Are you going to?
Is Jimmermania back?
I mean because, look, millionsof people watch the Olympics.
It's going to get your nameback out there.
What's your future hold?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, you know, I, I honestly can't tell you yet I
could.
I could go in any differentdirection.
To be honest with you, likeit's, there's a lot.
I could keep playing, I couldbe done.
I could go the coaching route.
I could keep playing, I couldbe done.
I could go the coaching route.
I could go all over the place.
To be honest with you, there'sI, it's, it's such a.
You know, I'll put so much intothis next year and this last
(16:07):
year and a half that we've hadall the way up until the
Olympics, right, put so muchinto this, my time, my energy,
focus, eating correctly,sleeping, like all the things
that you need to in order to bethe best at what you want, to be
right.
And then I know, once theOlympics comes and we haven't,
we're done I'm going to need atleast a little bit of a break,
and then at that point we'llkind of see what happens.
You know, but they're allthings are on the table.
(16:27):
At this point.
I couldn't tell you, but I'mreally, really excited and
focused on these Olympics comingup first, and then after that,
you know, we'll see what I do.
I still am not.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
You're not closing the door on any opportunity.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I'm not, I'm not closing anything yet at this
point.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Jimmer.
Last question, this is my final.
How do you want to beremembered when people look back
at Jimmer Fredette's basketballcareer?
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
to be.
The first thing for me is Iwant people to remember me as
someone who treated people theright way, whether it's the
manager or a coach or a playeror teammate or a fan, or a
player or teammate or a fan.
That's, that's the most that Iwant to be remembered for is.
I think that's the longestlasting legacy that you can have
.
Is is being a good person andmaking sure that you treated
(17:19):
people the right way, and when Iwas in their presence, they
felt like I was trying to upliftpeople that were there and have
fun and enjoy the process.
Right, that's that's what Idefinitely want.
And, as a basketball player, Iwant them to remember me as
someone who you know was a goodteammate but also a winner.
You know was out there to doanything to help the team win
(17:41):
and obviously, you know canscore the basketball and can
score with the best of them.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Well, jimmer, I want to thank you so much.
We wish you lots of luck in theOlympics coming up.
We'll be watching here, asyou're in Paris, and I really do
appreciate you taking the timebecause I know it's a huge.
It's a huge task to get preppedfor the Olympics, but I want to
thank you for taking the timeto speak with me.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Of course.
No problem, Brian.
Thanks for all you do.
We appreciate it.
We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
All right, take care, that is a Jimmer for debt.
Of course a Glens Falls.
That is Jimmer for debt.
Of course a Glens Falls.
Glens Falls legend, section twolegend and now representing the
USA in the Olympics.
So thanks so much for watchingSound off with Sink Off, again
sponsored by the Sink Off RealtyGroup.
Hope you have a great day,everybody and we'll see you next
(18:30):
time.
Hello everyone and welcome to Sound Off with Sync
Off.
I'm Brian Syncoff, your hosthere.
Of course, sound Off withSyncoff sponsored by the Syncoff
Realty Group, and we are joinedby literally one of my favorite
athletes of all time and I cansay that I've known this guy for
almost 20 years.
Jimmer for debt, the GlensFalls legend, former NBA player
(00:25):
and now USA Olympian.
Jimmer what is going on, my man?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm doing well, Brian .
How are you?
It's great to be on the showand to kind of reminisce and see
you again.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, it's awesome.
I had Jimmer on the radio showa while ago and go back a long
time my television days and youmet Zach, my son, when he was
real little, and now you gotthree little ones yourself.
First of all, how's the family?
How's it like being a dad ofthree as you live out now in
Denver?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
yeah, it's great.
I mean uh, best thing that I'veever done right up and will
continue to do.
I have a seven-year-old who'smy daughter oldest daughter,
wesley, and then a five-year-old, taft, and then a almost
seven-year-old who's my oldestdaughter, wesley, and then a
five-year-old Taft, and then aalmost two-year-old, grayson,
who's also a girl.
So my girl, boy, girl, and thehouse seems full.
We got two dogs as well, sowe're busy, right, and when I'm
(01:18):
gone, whitney is holding downthe fort and she's incredible at
doing it.
So it uh, it's been a lot offun to uh to be home with them
and just kind of see them growup and be at their activities
and do all these fun things.
It's been uh very rewardingjimmer.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Uh, of course, for those that don't know is now a
part of the usa olympic team,the three on three usa olympic
team.
Um, we're going to get into BYUand sort of the gym or mania in
just a few minutes, but let'stalk about how the three on
three, how you got involved inthat and then how it morphed
into being an Olympian beingpart of the US team.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, so 2021,.
I was over in China playing myfourth season over in Shanghai,
but it was a COVID year, so wego over there and we were in a
bubble for about six, sevenmonths.
It was just at a hotel playinggames and then coming home to
the hotel afterwards, so Ididn't get to see my kids and
family for that six, seven monthstretch.
(02:17):
So mentally and physically itwas really difficult and I just
needed a break.
Honestly, I just needed a breakfrom basketball.
So I took about six months offand it it was like I'm not going
back over.
And then Fran Fraschilla uh gotconnected to me from a mutual
friend who's a part of the USA3x3 basketball.
Him and Jay Demings uh calledme up.
(02:37):
It's like hey, would you beinterested in playing some
tournaments in the summertime3x3?
Um?
You know, for Team USA we'retrying to qualify for the
olympics and you know there's apossibility that you could be on
the team if you play.
And as soon as I heard olympics, I was like I'm all in, right,
that's, that's an incredibleopportunity that most people
don't get an opportunity to do,especially at my age 34, 35
(02:58):
years old um, to play basketballin the olympics.
It was, uh, was was definitelysomething that intrigued me, so
I went all in and have startedto play about a year and a half
ago and and it's been an awesomejourney since.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
How is it?
I mean obviously the, the, theshot clocks basically cut in
half, it's half court.
It's kind of like street ball alittle bit in terms of you know
that, that type of flow, howmuch different is it than the
full court, more organized gamethat you guys play, that you
played yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely different.
Obviously, for all the thingsthat you just said, we played by
twos and ones as well, which iswhich is different?
You know continuous play, whichis different.
You got to play sometimes two,two and a half minute stretches
in a row and you get tiredbecause it's physical.
Right, it's more physical thanthan five on five because they
(03:51):
let you get a little, a littlebit more handsy and you're able
to body up a little bit more.
But also just little nuancesthat you kind of get to know as
you as you go through theprocess of the actions that they
run, the screen, there-screening, also defensively,
there's no help side.
You don't ever help off of yourguy to to try to help out the
basket, usually because they cankick it out for a two and it's
(04:13):
worth so much more than the oneit's more important.
So just little things that arethat you kind of are used to in
five on five that are differentin three X three.
So it takes, you know, severalmonths to feel more comfortable
and have it slow down the game,slow down once you get out there
because it is a quick shotclock that 12 seconds is fast.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Jim, are you?
Obviously this is a huge dreamfor you I mean any kid in any
sport to play in the Olympics,to be part of the Olympics.
I know it's a couple of monthsaway and you're prepping now
with the camps and leading up toit, but if you fast forward
ahead to that moment, are yougoing to have to pinch yourself
(04:51):
a little bit?
You know, the openingceremonies and things of that
nature.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, it's going to be surreal for sure.
I know that for a fact.
The opening ceremony is goingto be unbelievable.
Just to be there with all theathletes the best athletes in
the world, from all over it'sgoing to be amazing to be able
to walk or float.
However we're going to do it,whether it's on a boat or
actually walking in Paris isgoing to be pretty incredible to
(05:16):
have that USA on your chest andbe able to wear the gear that
you see and just kind of gothrough the whole sequence so
super excited about that.
Obviously, once we take thecourt, everyone's going to be
extremely nervous.
That first game I mean, there'sno way around it it's the
biggest stage you've ever playedon.
It's going to be the mostnerves you've probably ever felt
.
But then once that ball ischecked up and you're playing,
(05:38):
then it just becomes more real,obviously, and becomes a little
bit easier once you get outthere and start playing.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
All real, obviously, and it becomes a little bit
easier once you get out thereand start playing.
All right, Jimmer, we go fromthe Olympic team.
Take me back 13 years or so.
You're a senior at BYU.
It's 2011.
I mean, Jimmer mania is in fullforce.
What was that like for you?
You're Naismith Player of theYear.
You lead BYU to the NCAAtournament.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Yeah, such a fun time right, just only fond memories
back at BYU.
The whole four years that I wasthere Just met so many great
people have still stayed incontact with today that we a lot
of my teammates you know I'mtalking with a lot on a weekly
basis sometimes go on vacationswith them or see them.
You know, when I get back inUtah or different places, um, so
(06:27):
just unique, uh, uniqueexperience, um, and just uh,
very, very fun, uh, that's,that's the best way to describe
it.
But that was that.
Senior year was definitelylife-changing, uh, for me, um,
as a basketball player, as aperson, um, and for the legacy,
for the legacy to be able tohave such a great year and be
able to win such prestigiousawards that, uh, most people you
(06:50):
know don't get to to be a partof was, yeah, it was.
It was amazing.
I got to meet so many legendsof the sports and just kind of
be around them and be in their,uh, you know, be in their
vicinity, which is, uh, you know, it was really, really cool.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So there's going to be two questions here about that
.
What do you sort of remembermost about that time?
And then you know you're alittle older now, you got kids
grown man.
You look back at that time now.
Does it feel different, sort ofreminiscing about?
You know that back then Because, let's face it, jim and I know
you're one of the most humbleguys I've ever met.
(07:26):
You took over the country man.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You did, you seriously did so kind of a
two-part question.
Yeah, it was crazy, I mean, youknow, I just feel like I
remember just BYU Nation kind ofsupporting us all over the
country wherever we went.
We even played a game up inGlens Falls my senior year where
we played at the civic centerand it was packed and with byu
(07:50):
blue and and uh, you know,there's not many byu fans up in
the northeast normally, but noweveryone was a byu fan.
And to be able to do all thesethings, to be able to have, uh,
such a great, uh, you knowopportunity to play in front of
fans all over the country, wasamazing and truly was worldwide,
which was really, really cool.
(08:11):
And now, looking back on it,it's just it's amazing to see
the, the, the impact that we hadand you know, just being on
ESPN all the time and having aJimmer tracker and, you know,
doing all these crazy thingsthat you see, you reminisce on
it and be like, wow, that reallywas like a really big time.
(08:32):
And I still get people thatcome up to me being like I used
to yell your name when I shot,you know, back in high school
and like all of these coolthings that you see was, you
know it was a special time andto look back on it now, you know
, 13 years removed, you kind ofsee the magnitude of it and, uh,
people are still people neverforget.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
so it's, it's really cool so 2011 draft taken by the
bucks and obviously traded tosacramento.
You did play in the league forfor a few teams, I know.
Obviously, at the end of theday, wasn't the results you
wanted in the nba.
The bottom line is Jim or a kidfrom Glens Falls, a section two
guy, goes from the foothillscouncil to the NCAA tournament
(09:14):
player of the year and then tothe NBA.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Take me through your time in the league, the best
basketball league in the worldyeah, you know, I mean, that's
what I always dreamed about as akid, right, and I had a lot of
people that were you didn'tthink that it would be able to
happen, right, just because ofwhere I came from and the way I
looked, and you know all allthese different things, right,
the competition that we wereplaying against, saying they
(09:37):
wasn't good enough.
You know all all these thingsthat come from being a small
town in upstate New York, inGlens Falls, right, it just it's
the way that, the way that theworld works sometimes, uh, but
for me, I always had that, thatfaith that I that I could do it
and that I was going to do it,and my family was super
supportive of me, obviously,throughout the whole process and
(09:59):
and, uh, you know, just wascontinuing to work with me and
continuing to get better, andand I always just felt like it
was it was going to happen.
And you know, look back on it,maybe it was a little bit naive
of me to think of that when Iwas super young, but I honestly
think that that's the reason whyI was able to do it, because I
didn't have a plan B and kind ofspoke it into existence and
(10:22):
then a lot of hard work and alot of good fortune along the
way and a lot of good fortunealong the way.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Jimmer, I will pull this up here and we can take a
look at the contract that youhad your brother, tj, had you
sign.
Tell me about this.
What grade were you in and sortof?
How did this come about?
And then you ended upfulfilling the contract, which
was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, it was really cool.
I mean, my mom and my brother,my family, have always been a
real big proponent of goodvisualization and goal writing
and those different things.
So I remember when I wasyounger being ingrained in that
and I know when TJ brought thatto me in high school, I was
going into high school and hebrought the contract.
(11:11):
We go play up at our church allthe time right, that's where we
practice most of the time and Iwas shooting and he's like keep
shooting, you know, do yourthing.
And then after that he walkedaway, got a piece of paper,
wrote some stuff down, then cameover and was like hey, jimmer,
I want you to look at thiscontract and you know, obviously
, as you can see, what it saysthere, contract, and you know,
(11:36):
obviously, as you can see whatit says there.
And uh, I remember the, the, thefirst, the first contract.
I, I wrote down uh, or we wrotedown jimmer, uh t for debt, and
he like ripped it up and he'slike no, we can't do that, it's
got to be an official contract,it's got to have your real name
on it.
So he went back and wrote jamest for that instead of Jimmer
and I was like all right, thisis the official contract.
I want you to read it.
(11:57):
No, I want you to sign it ifyou believe that it's going to
be true.
And then I want you to put itup over your bed so that every
single night, you see that whenyou go to bed and when you wake
up and that's what I did I wokeup and I and I I went to bed
looking at that, woke up lookingat that and it just was a
reminder of every day.
That's what I wanted to do.
It was, it was the main goal,and I'd be daydreaming about it
(12:20):
in class probably most of thetime, which, which is the way it
works.
So it was.
You know it's powerful.
Writing down goals are powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
So you, you go through the NBA.
Then you end up going to China.
A couple of years before COVID,you were, I mean, really
revered in China.
You set all sorts of scoringrecords, led the league in
scoring.
What was that experience likefor you?
Because you were alone outthere in China.
Yeah, Physically probably evena little mentally, if I'm not
(12:49):
mistaken.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yeah, it was a bittersweet situation.
I loved the basketball aspectof it.
A, it was a bittersweetsituation.
I love the basketball aspect ofit.
Right it was.
It was perfect for me.
They said hey, jimmer, I wantyou to get the ball and I want
you to be you every single timedown the court, right?
Whatever, whatever that wasthat possession, but I had the
ball in my hands all the time.
That's what I feel mostcomfortable doing and when I
have that I can make the rightplay and be aggressive and shoot
(13:13):
and pass and do all the thingsthat have made me me throughout
my career.
So of course, it was amazing.
My teammates were great.
Shanghai, the organization,really treated me well and they
treated my family well and dideverything they could to make me
feel comfortable.
But at the same time I was awayfrom family a lot and during
that time we had two kids duringthat stint in China.
(13:34):
So to be able to manage thatand be away from the family and
not be there for the young partsof some of my kids' lives was
definitely hard.
And they gave me the nicknameJimo Dachin, which meant the
lonely master over there, and itkind of was very fitting in a
couple of different ways.
Right, I was kind of lonelyover there because I was by
(13:56):
myself, but they also said thatit's not necessarily the meaning
of lonely.
That they meant what that meansis like you're alone at the
mountain up top by yourself andno one can reach your level.
So they're like you're beingthe best but also being lonely.
So it was like a perfectnickname.
So that's what we ran with andthat's what people call me over
(14:17):
there jimmer, let's.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Uh, we're gonna wrap it up here in a couple minutes,
but I want to show you a reallyfunny picture.
How about that?
Wow?
Look at that you I think you'rea junior in glens falls.
I'm at channel 10.
I believe that's james allen inthe background.
I'm told you have that that fordebt family.
Has that picture framed in yourhouse?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
We do.
We have that picture for sureSomewhere in the house.
I recognize it very well.
My mom, my mom has about amillion pictures in the house,
so it's like there's there's somuch stuff going on.
But I remember that I thoughtthat was junior year, so that
was.
You're interviewing me.
You can tell that I'm mad rightthere.
We just had lost, I think, inthe sectional finals right there
, and we got my award, but I wasnot happy with the result?
Speaker 1 (15:03):
The end result no, no , no, I mean Jimmer.
I can autograph for you if youwant.
You know what I mean.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
We've got to get the autograph.
That'll be the only memorabiliaout there, with Brian and Jim
are signing the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
We should get that authenticated.
That would be awesome.
Before I let you go, jim, weknow that the Olympics are
around the corner.
Is this it for you?
Are you going to?
Is Jimmermania back?
I mean because, look, millionsof people watch the Olympics.
It's going to get your nameback out there.
What's your future hold?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, you know, I, I honestly can't tell you yet I
could.
I could go in any differentdirection.
To be honest with you, likeit's, there's a lot.
I could keep playing, I couldbe done.
I could go the coaching route.
I could keep playing, I couldbe done.
I could go the coaching route.
I could go all over the place.
To be honest with you, there'sI, it's, it's such a.
You know, I'll put so much intothis next year and this last
(16:07):
year and a half that we've hadall the way up until the
Olympics, right, put so muchinto this, my time, my energy,
focus, eating correctly,sleeping, like all the things
that you need to in order to bethe best at what you want, to be
right.
And then I know, once theOlympics comes and we haven't,
we're done I'm going to need atleast a little bit of a break,
and then at that point we'llkind of see what happens.
You know, but they're allthings are on the table.
(16:27):
At this point.
I couldn't tell you, but I'mreally, really excited and
focused on these Olympics comingup first, and then after that,
you know, we'll see what I do.
I still am not.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
You're not closing the door on any opportunity.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I'm not, I'm not closing anything yet at this
point.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Jimmer.
Last question, this is my final.
How do you want to beremembered when people look back
at Jimmer Fredette's basketballcareer?
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
to be.
The first thing for me is Iwant people to remember me as
someone who treated people theright way, whether it's the
manager or a coach or a playeror teammate or a fan, or a
player or teammate or a fan.
That's, that's the most that Iwant to be remembered for is.
I think that's the longestlasting legacy that you can have
.
Is is being a good person andmaking sure that you treated
(17:19):
people the right way, and when Iwas in their presence, they
felt like I was trying to upliftpeople that were there and have
fun and enjoy the process.
Right, that's that's what Idefinitely want.
And, as a basketball player, Iwant them to remember me as
someone who you know was a goodteammate but also a winner.
You know was out there to doanything to help the team win
(17:41):
and obviously, you know canscore the basketball and can
score with the best of them.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Well, jimmer, I want to thank you so much.
We wish you lots of luck in theOlympics coming up.
We'll be watching here, asyou're in Paris, and I really do
appreciate you taking the timebecause I know it's a huge.
It's a huge task to get preppedfor the Olympics, but I want to
thank you for taking the timeto speak with me.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Of course.
No problem, Brian.
Thanks for all you do.
We appreciate it.
We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
All right, take care, that is a Jimmer for debt.
Of course a Glens Falls.
That is Jimmer for debt.
Of course a Glens Falls.
Glens Falls legend, section twolegend and now representing the
USA in the Olympics.
So thanks so much for watchingSound off with Sink Off, again
sponsored by the Sink Off RealtyGroup.
Hope you have a great day,everybody and we'll see you next
(18:30):
time.
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