May 13, 2025 • 44 mins
Andy visits with NBA & international basketball Legend & current President of the Metropolitans 92, Boris Diaw! Boris talks about being selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round in 2003, playing for the Mike D'Antoni-led Phoenix Suns, his 3D (Drive, Dish, & Defend) approach, being one of the league's earliest Point-Forwards, joining the "international" San Antonio Spurs alongside fellow Team France teammate Tony Parker, his unique first experience with Kobe Bryant, the evolution of the French men's national team, lessons from the Finals loss to the Miami Heat that informed the Spurs' Championship run the very next year in 2014, the league's newest French star in Victor Wembanyama, and their shared love for travel & photography!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:22):
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like never before. Hey, everybody, Welcome back to the Legends
(00:55):
of Sport Podcasts presented by Fujifilm. I'm your host, Andy Burns.
This week's guest is NBA legend Boris Diao. I've been
trying to connect with Boris for a while now, but
as you'll hear on this interview, he's a busy guy.
So big thanks to Boris for taking the time to
chat with me now. Boris is a member of the
(01:16):
Great Wave of French and European players to come on
the scene in the NBA in the early two thousands.
He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the twenty
first pick in the epic two thousand and three NBA
draft that included Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.
We became friends on an awesome trip I made with
the Phoenix Suns in two thousand and six to Italy
(01:39):
when Boris was a big part of that Sun's run.
We also bonded over Boris's love for photography, which we
talk about a lot on this episode. Boris finally reunited
with his French teammate and best friend, Tony Parker in
San Antonio, and together they won an NBA ring in
twenty fourteen as a member of the Spurs, along with
(01:59):
future Hall of famers Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. We
talk about a wide range of topics on this interview.
Playing under great coaches like Larry Brown, Mike D'Antoni, and
Greg Popovich, his playing style, which I really feel invented
the point forward position, playing alongside two of the greatest
guards in NBA history, Tony Parker and Steve Nash, and
(02:21):
much much more. Also a lot of discussion about the
French national team and the newest French sensation in the NBA,
Victor Webbin Yama. So glad I could catch up with
Boris for this interview today that he wasn't out sailing
on his boat around the world, or taking photos on
an exotic safari or guiding his team in France as GM.
(02:43):
So thank you Boris for taking the time to chat.
Hope you all enjoy this conversation with Boris diaw and
as always, I'll see on the backside. Well, welcome, my man,
Boris dlb D. How are you, my friend? Welcome to
the Legends of Sport podcast.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I'm grand India. Are you so good to see you?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I'm good man, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Listen, we've known each other a long time. You know
your career is monumental. We'll get into that in a second.
We actually, I think I think you and I bonded
really over photography and we'll talk about that too. Wondering
where you are right now, Like where is home for you?
Because I know you like you're a global guy, So
where is home?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I do travel. I'm in Salt Lake right now. I've
been going around. I've been in the US for a
few days. You know, I work for the national team now, huh, yes,
just to go around and go see all the different
French player playing in the NBA.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And obviously you have a place in France as well,
I'm sure and you know, yeah, but you're but you
have that kind of nomad life and I want to
talk about that too, you know, in terms of just
being a free spirit. So b looking at your history
and diving into it because you know, I've known you
a long time, but that you know, whenever we do research,
(04:00):
we find these gems of things, and I kind of
kind of saw that you might not have been the
best athlete in your family.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Is that true?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I bet your your dad was analgales Is.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
That correct way to say? High jump champion? Your mom?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Your mom was like considered the best female basketball player
probably in the history of French women's basketball, and she's
in the French French Basketball Hall of Fame. Right, So
your brother's play, I mean, what what was that like
growing up in that environment? Was it competitive or was
it everyone's cheering each other on or what?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, kind of I mean, you know, always grew up
with that knowing and having pictures all in black and
white of my dad and you know, record of Senegal
in high jumping, yes, and then and then my my
mom as well as some pictures from from when she
was playing. And it was none for that was not
for being very athletic actually, yeah, And so I always
(05:04):
remember being very very intimidated by the pictures that I
would see, you know, like professional pictures from back in
the days in the seventies, playing like in World Cup
and in European Championships. So that was always something that
I would model myself to or take as an example.
(05:26):
And so I grew up with my mom in France
and my dad grew up in My dad was in
Senegal at the time, and always with my mom following
her on still on basketball court and everything. Everybody was
talking me about her career and what she has done.
And I was when I when I when I grew up,
she already you know, stopped playing at a high level.
(05:48):
She was just playing run at that time at that point,
but always people were talking about it. So it was
it was hard to you know, live up to that standard.
But it was also a challenge that I got my
career right.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, I'm wondering, did she push you at all or
she just kind of let you just just kind of
take to it naturally.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah. No, she definitely didn't want to be one of
the parents that pushed you to play sport because she
played or because she liked the sport. She was like,
I just want to do whatever you like, and so
she actually pushed me to try other sports to see
if I like them better. Yeah, and so I always
was playing basketball because it was always a basketball laying
(06:29):
around in my house. But at the same time, I
went and tried in club teams, you know, organized sport,
to do a lot of different things. I mean in
school I was doing like volleyball and handball. I was
doing rugby because it was big in the south of France,
southwest of France. I did a little bit of fencing.
(06:50):
I did some track and field because my dad was
doing track and field as well. So I try a
lot of different sport. The longest that I did, probably
parallel to basketball, was you okay, I didn't know that
like that. Yeah, I really loved it. And just the
values that you had in judo, Yeah, you know a
lot about respect, respecting you opening respecting the people you're
(07:12):
working with. You know, you're a salute when you get
on the field. So it was always something that I enjoying,
and obviously I love basketball so much that I wanted
to do just that. At some point, I couldn't do
all the rest of it.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
So yeah, yeah, that's that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I remember having a conversation with Yao after I met
his parents, and you know, his mom was a big
time Chinese basketball player.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
You know, she's probably I.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Don't even think she was six feet tall, you know,
and yeah I was seven four and he.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Was. She was much better than me.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, but anyway, it was just it was just interesting
to learn that about you because I didn't know that,
you know. So let's fast forward, my friend. Here in
the two thousand and three NBA Draft, one of the
great great draft classes literally of all time. I mean,
you're in there with Lebron d Wade Carmelo, You're selected
twenty first by the Atlanta Hawks.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
What was that that night like for you?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Because I love talking to guys about draft night, especially
guys who were drafted, you know, high in the first round,
and it's got to be a surreal experience, right.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yeah, especially if you think about the time that it was,
you know, it's not like today. So I was back
in Europe. Antonette was not that great. It was like
the fifty six k motumn. You know, it was not
like today. We could not converse like this. It would
be five minute laggings. And so we were. I was
(08:44):
in France because we were still playing. So we had
a finals. I was playing for Portes and we had
the third game of our finals because it was first
to two. It's the best at the three games, yeah,
the time, and so we had the final game the
next day of the draft. So obviously I was. I
(09:06):
was in France. I was not I didn't, you know,
fly My brother went to New York and Luke and
watch the draft happening. But for me, I was on
the computer. He was probably one am.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
I had a game the next day, the final. This
was the most important game of the year.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Nothing like putting it all in one basket at the
same dive.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yes, it was tough, and I was trying to follow
and try to see my agent calling me. It's like,
oh yeah, maybe we you know, I think we're going
to be first round. There's a few teams that want you. Yeah,
And so I was waiting to see what was going
to happen, and it was so slow that it would
really like come in five to ten minutes later. So
(09:50):
I was on the phone with Tony. Tony Parker already
was in San Antonio, was my best friend, and he
was there so I could have the results through the
phone before Internet will give it to me. And so
Tony was following It's like, okay, no, you didn't go there.
You didn't go there, okay. And then we were moving up,
you know, like fifteen sixteen. I think like around fifteen
(10:13):
we had a scare because I remember at the time
the Jazz I think, I think it was you that
I was thinking of drafting me, but they drafted Pavlovich
I think, instead of right before. And Tony really wanted
(10:34):
me to go up to San Antonio and was waiting like,
I hope you're going to go at thirty right the
first like at the end, yeah, And I was like yeah, maybe.
And then it was so funny because that was like
the first reaction or I had learned I got drafted.
Was Tony so disappointed It is like, oh, you got
drafted twenty one, and it was so mad I got drafted.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Happy to be drafted, Yeah that kidding, yeah, of course,
especially especially.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It was like oh yeah, well no, great, congratulations, you know,
it's great to being drafted. It's just too bad to
San Antonio. Yeah, but yeah, that's what I was in,
like twenty one by the Atlanta Hwks.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Yeah, to see.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
So you finished up your season, you have to go
to Atlanta for a press conference and the whole you know,
obligatory photo shoot and all that, probably with my good
buddy Scott Cunningham, one of my dearest friends forever is
also down there. So a couple of years in Atlanta,
you go to Charlotte. Then you end up in Phoenix, right, which.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
No, Phoenix after Atlanta two years ago.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, Phoenix after Atlanta, and then they.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Came in sho, Atlanta, I go to Phoenix, right, Sorry
about that.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And so you end up So you end up in
Phoenix and you're playing with this amazing team under Mike D'Antoni.
I think this is actually where you and you and
I met in the two thousand and six pre season
when the Suns went over to Treviso and trained and
we and you guys played over there and Mike was
literally a god over there. But you know, the guy
has a statue in the middle of the city. It
(12:06):
was incredible. You're playing a style of play which I
don't know if you'd ever played that style of play before.
I had never really seen that style of play, except
maybe when Doug Moe was coaching the Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
But you know, you were like a perfect fit for
that team.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I mean, you know, you're You're on a team with
Steve Nash and a Mary Stottamayer right, and Sean Marion
and it's a run and gun team basically announced you're
just going to try to.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Outscore the team.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
But team with the highest you know, number of points,
of course, will win. And you were known for you know,
three D right, drive, dish and defend. Is that something
that you brought with you or is that something that
Mike helped develop.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I mean, I think that's something that I brought. I
got the most improved that year. I don't think I
improved that much over the summer. It was more the
fit of where I was yeah and Yeah was coming
from when I came from Atlanta. We're at the worst
record in the league, and I moved into a team
that the best record in the league, and so I
was like, wow, that's going to be a big change.
(13:08):
But yeah, it fitted right away. But Maris Meyer got
hurt and at the time I was playing more swing man.
I was more like a three. And I remember Mikedntoni
asking me, It's like, Boris, do you think you can
play a little bit before? Sure, why not?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Whatever you want, coach, I'm going to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
But yeah, and then and I think that's what you
know I brought, you know from before and doing three
D and three dimensional type of play is coming from Europe.
I always was curious. I wanted to learn everything and
wanted to be good everything, and so I was, yeah,
trying to be as versatile as possible and trying to
(13:48):
do everything on the court. And so that's why I
was about to transition from playing outside to playing power forward. Yeah,
because because I like to work on those skills as well,
and so that that that's when my career as a
power forward really started, was with Mike Dantoni.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, but do you think that and we'll talk about
spurs in a sec, but do you think you invented
the position?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
They point forward? Position. I mean I had never heard
that before.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Really before you do you think like that should be
named after you in some way?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I don't know if it should be named after me.
I mean we we heard about yeah, well big guys
that were more of like a second point guard right
for it, right, I think was kind of doing that. Yeah,
that it was before, but more as center. It was
more center for.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Well, yeah, but he didn't have the speed and the
agility that you had, not even close.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So yeah, coming from the outside, I was, yeah, trying
to do the point forward position. Was a fasciditator. And
you were talking before about you know, what we're trying
to do and where we're playing, and all the guys
we had in that team. Yeah, that's how you do
be a factiditator. We had so many great scorers around,
didn't orse anything, just you know, try to look for
(15:05):
the best open guy as possible and by just moving
the ball. And we had a lot of smart players.
I mean we moved the ball really well. Everybody moved
pretty well as well, you know, back cutting when you
need to, flaring when you need to, and so it
was really you know, it felt easy to find open
shots with that team for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Well then you end up with your buddy, with your
best friend, Tony Parker in San Antonio, right, and you're
playing under another legendary coach with completely other different style
and different personality of course, Gregg Popovich. I mean you
go from this like I mean with Mike, I mean
I always felt it was I mean, might kept a
tight ship, but it was always kind of like a
(15:47):
little bit more of an open friendlier atmosphere, you know,
pop kept it like a military operation, right as I had.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The in between yeah before that, so before when I
go from Phoenix, I got Charlotte and I go with Brown.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Right, right, I forgot about Larry Brow, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Exactly, and another legendary coach amazing and x's and o's
was like you know, yeah, and so playing for him
as well, you know it was it was great. It
was kind of in between. You like, you had that
military style, you know, that work with in his in
his career, but also when he when he trusts you know,
the players, you give you also a lot of freedom
(16:27):
and like you like the players that have a lot
of freedom and use it wisely. So I was like
in between first, you know, and going into Charlotte with
Larry Brown and then went to to to pop in
in San Antonio and and then yeah, it was it
was it was a lot different as well.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, truly an international team. I mean with you and
Tony of course French descent, and then you got Tim
Duncan from the Virgin Islands, you got Manu from Argentina.
It was like, you know, like an all star team
of international players on that team.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
What was it like just finally reconnecting with Tony I
mean on the court the day after day, traveling together,
you know, I mean I know how close you guys
were and still are, but that had to be a
dream come true for both of you guys.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, it was great. It was great. I mean it's
always fun, you know, the play with with uh French
players in the in the league, but play with Tony
it was, you know, the best for sure, being able
to go back to all the memories that we had
and we're still playing together in the summertime anyway, we
will always you know, be together. And so yeah, I
(17:35):
arrived when I first arrived in San Antonio, I slept
in tony guesthouse, you know, for the remaining of the season.
Because it was just the easy, easy way to do
it and he just you know, so natural. So yeah,
it was It was great to be able to be
there and play with TP and get all these memories
we already had, you know, great battle and memories in
(17:55):
national team and having them the NBA was was you know,
even another gift of course.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
And then you know, winning the championship in twenty fourteen
is the icing on the cake. Obviously, finally an NBA champion. Hey,
can you give me a little comparison? You play with
two of the great point guards that I'd ever seen,
you know, and literally in the history of the game,
with Tony Parker and Steve Nash. Are there's similarities between
those two guys or differences or you had to adapt
(18:22):
your game in a certain way. I'm always interested in
that because you know, players move around a lot, and
they're playing with great players from one place to the next.
But here you are playing with two of the great
point guards ever. I mean, what can you say about that?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
That brought me so much? And you know another thing too,
and like I said before, and you know, very curious
that it's also outside of basketball, and maybe we talked
about that after but also you know, a way I think,
you know, to get better is also learned by you know,
watching and be around these kind of guys. And so
he taught me so much to be around Steve Nash first,
(19:01):
then be around Tony that was with already, you know,
and Tony already from when we were sixteen years old.
I was already learning from him and what he was
doing on the court. And so yeah, both of these guys,
you know, have a way of of of being in
control of organizing the whole team and and and Avanora
(19:22):
you know, on the team and controlling the temple and
how we're playing and what we're doing. And so it
was it was so great to be with them. And
like you said, you know, some of the best point
guards and through point guards. You know, we're not some
scoring port guard that we see sometimes or like we
don't know if they really want or two. You know,
(19:43):
they were point guards. They were really making sure the
team was playing well and what they were doing and
and and really we're caring about you know, the teammates
and and everybody on the court as well. And so
that's definitely the similarity that you know, I see those
two guys two.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Just one, one quick thing I want to talk about.
You know, I like you have traveled to every NBA city.
Every city has its has its fan base, has its character.
San Antonio's is a little different, you know. I mean
the fans in San Antonio. I've been going. I've been
going there since the George Gervin days, you know, the
Hemisphere Arena. I mean, they are insanely rabid fans and
(20:23):
they love love. I mean they say they love their spurs.
It's like an understated And then you got to play
in Utah, which is kind of the same thing. You know,
only game in town, all that stuff. You know, everybody
is a fan. I mean, did you did you feel
you must have felt the love there in San Antonio
because I know how they wear they wear their spurs
(20:43):
on their sleeve and live and die, right.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
So not for sure. Still today, still today you can
go to San Antonio and defense and you can always
feel that. So yeah, obviously, being you know, the only
sport in town, everybody was really rallying around the around
the team and and supporting the team. And I think
that's that's one thing that is great as well about
San Antonio is they supporting you you know in good moments. Uh,
(21:09):
they got spoiled for a few years because we're every
year and going far in the playoffs every year. But
even when you lose and everything, And that's something that
I saw. And I remember when we when we actually
lost in twenty thirteen and lost in the finals. Yea,
it was thousands of fans waiting at the airport even
after we lost, just to cheer us on, you know,
(21:33):
not too yeah, I'm not too curse at us, Yeah,
just to to to say that they were proud that
you know, we we try to hurt us and and
that's what they expect from from the players. But but
they hear for you. And that's something that yeah, I
haven't seen you know somewhere else where. The fans are here,
whether it's it's good or it's tough.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Hey, as much as I love pat Riley, you guys
should have won that finals. I'm sorry say the heat
the whole, but that damn you guys came close in
that twenty thirteen finals, right, but you know.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Just made you hungry the wrong way and one shot
and you know that was spent. It's you know, details details,
that's right, that's what I winning the year after.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
That, That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I mean the details and the fact that that we
did made a mistake and one last shot killed us. Yeah,
we didn't make mistakes the year after that because we
were way more prepared because of that experience, and.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Maybe it made it I don't know if it made
it a little sweeter or whatever.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
But then you know, you you were standing up there
with the trophy, which is pretty cool. So boris you
you played around against Kobe like your whole career pretty much, right,
I mean you know he was a nemesis for sure.
When the great Lakers Spurs matchups, the Lakers Suns matchups,
I mean I for me, that was like the Golden
(22:57):
Age because every game was just fun nomenal. Do you
have a Kobe memory? You know, it could be in
the NBA, could be on the Olympic stage, you know, internationally,
something you can share about the Mamba.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I have a few. Yeah, yeah, but I mean yeah,
I remember when I did like the top ten of
his best plays of his career. I think he's three
times on me on this top ten, So that felt
that felt bad. But as I said time, I mean,
it is the black mamba. He made tough, tough shots
(23:31):
that he made it every time. No, but the earliest
memory I have actually I was in in sept so
I was in Paris, so not you know, even close
to the NBA. That was five years before I met
it to the NBA, just in high school with TP
and and they're coming in Paris for some I think
(23:56):
for some some show and some things. Yeah, well I
think it was a data back then that had been
a d this. You're right it was because it was
em TMC. It was.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
It was definitely, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
And so they were asking for a place to to
practice because they wanted to get some shots. And I
was like, wow, it's summertime, you know, they chilling its
off season, and and and we went and we went
by the window and kind of climb and look at
these guys working. And I was, you know already And yeah,
I never you know, told that that story, but.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Very thank you for sharing.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
They were impressed by how hard they were working on
their craft, on their game in the off season. Uh
supposed to be vacation time. They were here for sponsors
in Paris. There's a lot of things we can do
in Paris, but here in our little high school gym
working out so hard. Uh, and so that was yeah,
(24:57):
I think you know felt the member mentality there was
just a teenager, so you know, always always had that respect.
And then obviously you got to play against him many times.
Hardest hardest player. Actually, those two players were the hardest
player at to Garden. I was playing the forward, the
small forward position, and so yeah, just a great, great memories.
(25:21):
Every time I had to play against him, it was
a it was a bottle.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, well thanks for sharing that memory. That's a great one. Man.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
I can just picture you, like creeping up to the
window and watching it.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Yeah, that's great. That's a great story.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
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Speaker 3 (26:29):
So let's talk about French basketball, right.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I've covered USA basketball since the Dream Team in ninety two.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Obviously there was a.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Huge gap of talent between you know, these are the
top NBA players. The USA destroyed the world, right, I
mean everyone knew it going in. They probably should have
just given them the gold medal at the opening ceremonies
and just had exhibition games, you know, but they.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Played the tournament.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
There was some interesting players, but the gap of talents,
as you know, was not there. And slowly, but maybe
not so slowly, the gap started closing with the rest
of the world really embracing the game and being able
to compete on the same level. And you know, I
talked to Pagosol about this a few times that you know,
(27:15):
you with the French team, he with the Spanish team,
and you guys were together like a year after year
after year. Basically the core group and the USA team
is not like that. You know, the USA team comes together,
you know, maybe the year before and they train a little,
but that cohesiveness I think made a big difference once
they got to two thousand and four and actually did
(27:36):
not defend their gold medal. Do you think that was
a secret ingredient? I mean, of course, talent is huge,
and the talent gap had definitely closed by that point.
But did you guys ever speak about that that like
we're we're brothers here, We're not just a team of
guys put together, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Oh, of course, as you're saying, the gap get closer
as far as talent, and we see a lot of
talented foreign player more and more being the league right now,
and as the gap gets smaller, every detail make a difference,
Every edge you can have, it's going to make a difference.
(28:16):
And so of course siveness playing together knowing each other
will make a difference for two teams that are at
the same level. If one team is a lot better,
obviously it's gonna win, even if the other one has
been playing together forever. But when the team are getting closer,
you know, the couasiveness and the fact to play of
playing together will will help you win those games. So
(28:41):
that's why we see definitely in in Europe, for example,
when we do like European Championship for all the other teams.
Usually the team that wins is a team that's players
that have been together for years play summer, not just
one summer, not just like a month, you know, but
summer after summer, they've been playing together, and that's usually
(29:04):
the team that wins. You'll be a championship and that wins,
you know, these kind of games.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Yeah, did you feel that way? Did you feel that
way in two thousand and five? You'd been named captain, right,
and you guys, you guys win the bronze in two
thousand and five and you ended up winning the gold
at your basket in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
For sure, that's what it was. Boys. You know, it
took us ten years to you know, work together and
get to learn and the core team obviously, players always change.
It's never the same twelve, Yeah, but you have you know, five, six,
seven players that are you know, staying the same along
along the years. And then you have youth coming obviously,
you need that a couple of young blood that are
coming in and that's when that's when the team is
(29:45):
at its best. So for sure, that's that's what we did,
and we saw it again. You know this this summer
with the Olympics, you know, the US the US one
and they still had you know, that talent that was there.
But the gap is closing, as you were, as you
were saying, well seen in the future, as the gap
is closing, for sure, experience and playing together will be
(30:07):
a big part.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So quick question, was it sweeter to win a gold
at your basket than an NBA championship because you want
you know, you want to back to back, I mean thirteen,
you want euro Basket goal and then then you won
the NBA champions in fourteen, is it? I don't know,
do you take more pride in because you were playing
for your country or.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
It didn't really matter. It doesn't really matter. A win
is a will.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That was an amazing twelve months. Yeah right, yeah, things
in a span of twelve months, so that was pretty crazy.
But it's it's yeah, they're both the same. I don't
know you can compare with one is better than the other.
I really really enjoyed, Yeah, winning both and both for
(30:54):
a different reason. National team, Like I was saying, it
took us ten years of working together and and build
the team up to get to the level to win
NBA because I was chansing it as well. You know,
eleven years I've been in the league before I win
the first championship, so I know as well as hard
it is to to to get it was actually sweet
because we lost the year before as well in the finals,
(31:17):
so everything makes it just like just a great experience.
But I mean it's not even it's really the journey
that's the best time, you know, it's it's doing it
at the time, Like now that I done it, I
was like, which one is the sweetest? Like I don't
know the past anyway. Yeah, what's good was living it.
What was good was competing. It was fighting for it,
(31:40):
and that's what was fun, you know, trying to get better,
trying to find out why we can do to win,
try to you know, not make mistakes all this time,
and and playing together. Yeah, that's what was was good.
You know, it was really leaving it at the.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Time interesting, you know, thrill of competition for your whole
life really from being a little kid, high school, you know,
all growing growing as a player into the NBA and
then you retire and then are your juices now flowing
again competitively as an owner of a team, Like is
that was that one of the motivations of getting sort
(32:19):
of back on the court, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Yeah, well, I don't want the team. I'm the gym
for the team, all right. But it's different. It's different
as a GM than than it is as a Playerlin
that you're feeling, like you were saying, you know, flowing
through your veins is different when you when you're player
when when you when you gym. But for sure, the
(32:42):
competition is still there to try to figure out, you know,
what you can do better at your level because you
cannot be on the part and do it. Yeah, I
can you you know, I can you help? I can
you put people in the best position as possible to
to to do that. So the compt company edge is
still all there. Yeah yeah, but doesn't feel the same
(33:03):
those when you're playing, for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Now I'm with you, man, I you know, I'm off
the court now forty three years and I go to games.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
And I watched them.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Sometimes I'm like, oh, I wish I was down there
by shooting that dunk or whatever. But you know, it's
it's it's natural progression of life. And I'm glad I
had that run. There have been so many great French players.
You were one of the first, you know, the leaders,
you Tony. You've seen so many come in the league.
I think Nick Batooma is still playing, right, isn't he
(33:31):
still playing?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:33):
And then you got this guy Wemby, who I got
to tell you, man, I went down to San Antonio
last year to shoot him, and I thought I'd seen
everything by that point. Okay, but you got seven, seven
to five guy. His first points were three pointer and
I literally saw this guy block a shot. He was
outside the paint and blocked a shot, you know, at
(33:55):
the rim.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
I mean, even though that was possible. Do you know him?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
I mean, how do you feel about this kid? I mean,
he's just an amazing I don't know, he's a unicorn.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
I guess they call.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Him for sure. I mean, you know, it's different. It's
different than anything we've seen before. We've seen him in
different different people guys. You had athletic guys, you had
guys that could shoot, you have guys that could dribble
all in one guy. That's that's something different. That Yeah,
like you said, we didn't think we would we would.
(34:27):
I mean, yeah, yeah. The dexterity that he has doesn't
even make sense. For his size, You're like, okay, you're
too tall. You cannot you know, between your mind your back.
But yeah, and something that he does special, you know,
definitely special, special player as well, because because mentally is
(34:48):
he knows that, you know, staying kiel you knowss to
and all the pressure that is coming with it. And
oh yeah, it's been it's been great. It's been amazing
with that. He's been improving and he's going to keep improving.
So the only thing with him is is the player
was the most potential that we ever seen. And the
(35:11):
big question is as far is his potential is going
to take him? Nobody knows right now.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
It's nice too, he's got to put a little bulk
on that body, though, I mean, look at him.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
I'm like to me, I remember Minute Bowl.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I don't know if you ever played against Minute, but
you know, it's almost scary how skiddy that guy was.
And then you know, I did notice that when we
put on a little bit of upper body.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
You know. But he's strong, Yeah, he's strong. It's like
you know, Durant. People think it's strong, strong, strong, Yeah,
And I think it's the same kind of belt, you know,
is he's strong. You seem, you know, falling and getting
back up right away and pushing around people as well.
So I don't I wouldn't, you know, worry you know
(35:57):
too much, too much, too much about that. Yeah, yeah,
we don't know.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
It seems like it seems like a nice kid too.
I mean I've never talked to him, but I talked
to his dad actually, who was very nice.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
So of course, let's.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Let's finish this off talking about off the court. Okay,
you and I, like I said earlier, you and I
pretty much met, bonded, became friends when you were in Phoenix,
and I learned about your love for photography through my
good buddy, your good friend, Barry Gossage, my longtime assistant.
Now he's been Barry just told me the other day,
twenty nine years with the with the Sons as their
(36:29):
team photographer. In fact, you guys had a studio together
for some time, right, And then I started looking at
your work and it was honestly blew me away. I mean,
your your nature photography, your landscapes, it was, and all
the stuff you shot when you know, you were going
on safari's and stuff. It was just it was amazing,
really and I'm not you know, blowing smoke, I mean,
(36:51):
really good photographer. Where did that love for photography start
with you? Where was that first seed?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Well? Thanks, I appreciate that first. Yeah, I mean it
became with with traveling. And so when I first got
to the NBA, and so the first person too, I
got in contact to Waskat Catherine Stein, you know, in
in in Los Angeles, and so I was asking her
tips because she was like professional photographer and NBA in
(37:18):
French and I just brought a new camera and I
was like, look, I want to go back to Senegal, uh,
and I want to be able to take pictures and
then I'm gonna go on Safari and I want to
be able to take pictures. Can you know, teach me
a couple of things, And so she skimming a couple
of tips, you know about about the photography. And then
when I got to Phoenix after that, I did the
(37:39):
same with very Gussage, and you know, I was asking
him tips about you know, what are you what are
you looking at when you're taking the pictures? You know,
where is your eyes going? What do you want to
you know, representing that picture? And so I fell in
love at the same time with traveling nature. Yes, uh,
wildlife and photography at the same time. I love the wildlife,
(38:02):
but I love to capture it. I love to take
pictures of it. And going in a safari taking pictures
was the best thing that I was doing in the
off season for eight years in a row, and so
really really fell in love at that time with photography.
And so I always loved every kind of photography. And
I always admire your work and you know it, and
(38:23):
some of your pictures, you know, are like the legendary
pictures of the NBA obviously, and always always admire what
you were doing. And but I'm more I don't I'm
not as good. I mean, I'm not good at doing
you know, more of like more and more sport pictures
(38:45):
and more landscape nature taking time. I remember, it's like
you guys doing it so hard.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Yeah, it was like the infancy of Instagram.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
And you were like one of the first guys, you know,
professional athlete that I knew had an Instagram. But you
weren't putting like your your profession on there.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
You were your beautiful safari photos that I remember.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
We talked about it and it was like for me,
really amazing I love that you've had a couple of
good mentors, really good friends of mine, you know, Cat
and Barry. And sailing of course is another passion and
love for you. What's on your bucket list for sailing?
I mean, is it like going around the world or something?
Is what's left boards for you?
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Is it going around the world? The my Canmera and Rhino.
It's in French, pretty Asia, okay, Yeah, loving that, Loving
scuba dive a lot. Yeah, it's now I'm doing a
lot of pictures underwater, which is all all the world.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Yes, I don't think I've seen any of your underwater
So you have a housing and the whole thing or yeah,
yeah I.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Got housing, couple of housing and yeah, a lot of that.
Now I'll send you something.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Yeah, and there's a couple of I was just at
this Exposure Photography festival in Dubai and there were a
couple of underwater photographers who were doing the most unbelieved
I mean, underword photography is fascinating to me. I can't
do it because I have like a claustrophobia thing. But
I just admire what people do and I'll share those
sites with you because it might be inspiring. But I'd
(40:13):
love to see what you're doing too, man, be great.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah, for sure, I'll send you. I'll send you a
couple of what I've done. Yeah, the same your wildlife.
You know, it's not the lion now. So I love
all of it. I love all of it. But yeah,
going around the world, I'm probably halfway right now being
in in Asia, and so I got to keep going
to Australia and Indonesia.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
And you do it solo, you go by yourself.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Yeah, And I have a crew because I have the
boat when I'm not on there, which is good because
a part, you know, half of the year and which
the national team, and half of the year I'm on
the boat. And so when I'm not on the boat,
I rented out and so there is a crew as well.
That's that's not about on the boat and and taking
care of it. But yeah, it depends. Sometime I got friends.
Sometimes it's family come in a boat.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
That's great. Man.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Well, listen, the last thing I wanted, the very last
I promised. You know you you've been known for doing
a lot of nonprofit work, and I know you don't
too your own horn about it, but what what do
you got cooking right now. On the nonprofit side, what
what can you talk about?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Uh, the thing that we're that we were doing and
working with. We did a lot of stuff in Senegal,
working with with Seed Academy and Gallo. Uh, they used
to work for the MAVs and now working for the
NBA started that Seed Academies. We were working with the
(41:40):
the women's side of it with our with our foundation.
Yeah and so yeah, creating that that women sport and
and uh and basketball at the same time. And so
it's been very successful. They did a great job. We're
just supporting them. We were not, you know, in charge
of it. Uh. They did amazing and bringing a lot
(42:03):
of women being able to get some degrees and go
to college and all these things. So they've been doing
great work.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Well, it's a beautiful thing. Boris. Listen, man.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
You know, I can't tell you enough how much I
appreciate taking the time. You are a busy guy, and
it warms my heart that we could sit down and
chop it up a little bit on the podcast today.
I hope our paths cross at some point. You know,
I don't know if you get through LA, but you know,
I'm not traveling.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
I usually stop in LA before I go to French
potin Asia.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Good, well, give me a buzz man, we'll go to
game together and actually sit in the stands and watch
it nice. Hey, thanks, bor It's great to see you man,
and safe travels. Be well and hey, good luck to
the French team.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
Man. I love those guys, so you know, keep it going.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Thanks. I appreciate it, Hi, Bun, they care well.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Big thanks to Boris for taking the time to chat
with me on this episode. One of the truly great
guys I had to pleasure to be around and document
during his NBA career and internationally. So glad he is
doing what he loves to do in basketball, photography, sailing
and all his charitable efforts. Thanks folks for tuning into
this episode and for continuing to support the Legends of
(43:15):
Sport podcast presented by Fujifilm. Please follow them on Instagram
at Fujifilm x underscore US. Again, that's at Fujifilm x
underscore US. Please tell all your friends to subscribe to
our YouTube channel, Legends of Sport and also our Instagram
at Legends of Sport. And of course, my photography can
(43:37):
be found on Instagram at ADB Photo, Inc. Thanks as
always to our producer Carlon Barker and our editor Sean
Gosser and Addison Shau. Thanks again everyone for checking out
this episode. We'll be back, of course, next week with
another great episode on the Legends of Sport Podcasts, presented
by Fujifilm.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
What's up everyone, I'm Kobe Bryant. I want to learn
anything about what the mama mentality is.
Speaker 3 (44:02):
I suggest you listen to Legends of Sporting
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like never before. Hey, everybody, Welcome back to the Legends
(00:55):
of Sport Podcasts presented by Fujifilm. I'm your host, Andy Burns.
This week's guest is NBA legend Boris Diao. I've been
trying to connect with Boris for a while now, but
as you'll hear on this interview, he's a busy guy.
So big thanks to Boris for taking the time to
chat with me now. Boris is a member of the
(01:16):
Great Wave of French and European players to come on
the scene in the NBA in the early two thousands.
He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the twenty
first pick in the epic two thousand and three NBA
draft that included Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.
We became friends on an awesome trip I made with
the Phoenix Suns in two thousand and six to Italy
(01:39):
when Boris was a big part of that Sun's run.
We also bonded over Boris's love for photography, which we
talk about a lot on this episode. Boris finally reunited
with his French teammate and best friend, Tony Parker in
San Antonio, and together they won an NBA ring in
twenty fourteen as a member of the Spurs, along with
(01:59):
future Hall of famers Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. We
talk about a wide range of topics on this interview.
Playing under great coaches like Larry Brown, Mike D'Antoni, and
Greg Popovich, his playing style, which I really feel invented
the point forward position, playing alongside two of the greatest
guards in NBA history, Tony Parker and Steve Nash, and
(02:21):
much much more. Also a lot of discussion about the
French national team and the newest French sensation in the NBA,
Victor Webbin Yama. So glad I could catch up with
Boris for this interview today that he wasn't out sailing
on his boat around the world, or taking photos on
an exotic safari or guiding his team in France as GM.
(02:43):
So thank you Boris for taking the time to chat.
Hope you all enjoy this conversation with Boris diaw and
as always, I'll see on the backside. Well, welcome, my man,
Boris dlb D. How are you, my friend? Welcome to
the Legends of Sport podcast.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I'm grand India. Are you so good to see you?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I'm good man, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Listen, we've known each other a long time. You know
your career is monumental. We'll get into that in a second.
We actually, I think I think you and I bonded
really over photography and we'll talk about that too. Wondering
where you are right now, Like where is home for you?
Because I know you like you're a global guy, So
where is home?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I do travel. I'm in Salt Lake right now. I've
been going around. I've been in the US for a
few days. You know, I work for the national team now, huh, yes,
just to go around and go see all the different
French player playing in the NBA.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And obviously you have a place in France as well,
I'm sure and you know, yeah, but you're but you
have that kind of nomad life and I want to
talk about that too, you know, in terms of just
being a free spirit. So b looking at your history
and diving into it because you know, I've known you
a long time, but that you know, whenever we do research,
(04:00):
we find these gems of things, and I kind of
kind of saw that you might not have been the
best athlete in your family.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Is that true?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I bet your your dad was analgales Is.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
That correct way to say? High jump champion? Your mom?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Your mom was like considered the best female basketball player
probably in the history of French women's basketball, and she's
in the French French Basketball Hall of Fame. Right, So
your brother's play, I mean, what what was that like
growing up in that environment? Was it competitive or was
it everyone's cheering each other on or what?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, kind of I mean, you know, always grew up
with that knowing and having pictures all in black and
white of my dad and you know, record of Senegal
in high jumping, yes, and then and then my my
mom as well as some pictures from from when she
was playing. And it was none for that was not
for being very athletic actually, yeah, And so I always
(05:04):
remember being very very intimidated by the pictures that I
would see, you know, like professional pictures from back in
the days in the seventies, playing like in World Cup
and in European Championships. So that was always something that
I would model myself to or take as an example.
(05:26):
And so I grew up with my mom in France
and my dad grew up in My dad was in
Senegal at the time, and always with my mom following
her on still on basketball court and everything. Everybody was
talking me about her career and what she has done.
And I was when I when I when I grew up,
she already you know, stopped playing at a high level.
(05:48):
She was just playing run at that time at that point,
but always people were talking about it. So it was
it was hard to you know, live up to that standard.
But it was also a challenge that I got my
career right.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, I'm wondering, did she push you at all or
she just kind of let you just just kind of
take to it naturally.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah. No, she definitely didn't want to be one of
the parents that pushed you to play sport because she
played or because she liked the sport. She was like,
I just want to do whatever you like, and so
she actually pushed me to try other sports to see
if I like them better. Yeah, and so I always
was playing basketball because it was always a basketball laying
(06:29):
around in my house. But at the same time, I
went and tried in club teams, you know, organized sport,
to do a lot of different things. I mean in
school I was doing like volleyball and handball. I was
doing rugby because it was big in the south of France,
southwest of France. I did a little bit of fencing.
(06:50):
I did some track and field because my dad was
doing track and field as well. So I try a
lot of different sport. The longest that I did, probably
parallel to basketball, was you okay, I didn't know that
like that. Yeah, I really loved it. And just the
values that you had in judo, Yeah, you know a
lot about respect, respecting you opening respecting the people you're
(07:12):
working with. You know, you're a salute when you get
on the field. So it was always something that I enjoying,
and obviously I love basketball so much that I wanted
to do just that. At some point, I couldn't do
all the rest of it.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
So yeah, yeah, that's that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I remember having a conversation with Yao after I met
his parents, and you know, his mom was a big
time Chinese basketball player.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
You know, she's probably I.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Don't even think she was six feet tall, you know,
and yeah I was seven four and he.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Was. She was much better than me.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, but anyway, it was just it was just interesting
to learn that about you because I didn't know that,
you know. So let's fast forward, my friend. Here in
the two thousand and three NBA Draft, one of the
great great draft classes literally of all time. I mean,
you're in there with Lebron d Wade Carmelo, You're selected
twenty first by the Atlanta Hawks.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
What was that that night like for you?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Because I love talking to guys about draft night, especially
guys who were drafted, you know, high in the first round,
and it's got to be a surreal experience, right.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yeah, especially if you think about the time that it was,
you know, it's not like today. So I was back
in Europe. Antonette was not that great. It was like
the fifty six k motumn. You know, it was not
like today. We could not converse like this. It would
be five minute laggings. And so we were. I was
(08:44):
in France because we were still playing. So we had
a finals. I was playing for Portes and we had
the third game of our finals because it was first
to two. It's the best at the three games, yeah,
the time, and so we had the final game the
next day of the draft. So obviously I was. I
(09:06):
was in France. I was not I didn't, you know,
fly My brother went to New York and Luke and
watch the draft happening. But for me, I was on
the computer. He was probably one am.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
I had a game the next day, the final. This
was the most important game of the year.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Nothing like putting it all in one basket at the
same dive.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yes, it was tough, and I was trying to follow
and try to see my agent calling me. It's like,
oh yeah, maybe we you know, I think we're going
to be first round. There's a few teams that want you. Yeah,
And so I was waiting to see what was going
to happen, and it was so slow that it would
really like come in five to ten minutes later. So
(09:50):
I was on the phone with Tony. Tony Parker already
was in San Antonio, was my best friend, and he
was there so I could have the results through the
phone before Internet will give it to me. And so
Tony was following It's like, okay, no, you didn't go there.
You didn't go there, okay. And then we were moving up,
you know, like fifteen sixteen. I think like around fifteen
(10:13):
we had a scare because I remember at the time
the Jazz I think, I think it was you that
I was thinking of drafting me, but they drafted Pavlovich
I think, instead of right before. And Tony really wanted
(10:34):
me to go up to San Antonio and was waiting like,
I hope you're going to go at thirty right the
first like at the end, yeah, And I was like yeah, maybe.
And then it was so funny because that was like
the first reaction or I had learned I got drafted.
Was Tony so disappointed It is like, oh, you got
drafted twenty one, and it was so mad I got drafted.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Happy to be drafted, Yeah that kidding, yeah, of course,
especially especially.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It was like oh yeah, well no, great, congratulations, you know,
it's great to being drafted. It's just too bad to
San Antonio. Yeah, but yeah, that's what I was in,
like twenty one by the Atlanta Hwks.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Yeah, to see.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
So you finished up your season, you have to go
to Atlanta for a press conference and the whole you know,
obligatory photo shoot and all that, probably with my good
buddy Scott Cunningham, one of my dearest friends forever is
also down there. So a couple of years in Atlanta,
you go to Charlotte. Then you end up in Phoenix, right, which.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
No, Phoenix after Atlanta two years ago.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, Phoenix after Atlanta, and then they.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Came in sho, Atlanta, I go to Phoenix, right, Sorry
about that.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And so you end up So you end up in
Phoenix and you're playing with this amazing team under Mike D'Antoni.
I think this is actually where you and you and
I met in the two thousand and six pre season
when the Suns went over to Treviso and trained and
we and you guys played over there and Mike was
literally a god over there. But you know, the guy
has a statue in the middle of the city. It
(12:06):
was incredible. You're playing a style of play which I
don't know if you'd ever played that style of play before.
I had never really seen that style of play, except
maybe when Doug Moe was coaching the Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
But you know, you were like a perfect fit for
that team.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I mean, you know, you're You're on a team with
Steve Nash and a Mary Stottamayer right, and Sean Marion
and it's a run and gun team basically announced you're
just going to try to.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Outscore the team.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
But team with the highest you know, number of points,
of course, will win. And you were known for you know,
three D right, drive, dish and defend. Is that something
that you brought with you or is that something that
Mike helped develop.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I mean, I think that's something that I brought. I
got the most improved that year. I don't think I
improved that much over the summer. It was more the
fit of where I was yeah and Yeah was coming
from when I came from Atlanta. We're at the worst
record in the league, and I moved into a team
that the best record in the league, and so I
was like, wow, that's going to be a big change.
(13:08):
But yeah, it fitted right away. But Maris Meyer got
hurt and at the time I was playing more swing man.
I was more like a three. And I remember Mikedntoni
asking me, It's like, Boris, do you think you can
play a little bit before? Sure, why not?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Whatever you want, coach, I'm going to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
But yeah, and then and I think that's what you
know I brought, you know from before and doing three
D and three dimensional type of play is coming from Europe.
I always was curious. I wanted to learn everything and
wanted to be good everything, and so I was, yeah,
trying to be as versatile as possible and trying to
(13:48):
do everything on the court. And so that's why I
was about to transition from playing outside to playing power forward. Yeah,
because because I like to work on those skills as well,
and so that that that's when my career as a
power forward really started, was with Mike Dantoni.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, but do you think that and we'll talk about
spurs in a sec, but do you think you invented
the position?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
They point forward? Position. I mean I had never heard
that before.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Really before you do you think like that should be
named after you in some way?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I don't know if it should be named after me.
I mean we we heard about yeah, well big guys
that were more of like a second point guard right
for it, right, I think was kind of doing that. Yeah,
that it was before, but more as center. It was
more center for.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Well, yeah, but he didn't have the speed and the
agility that you had, not even close.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So yeah, coming from the outside, I was, yeah, trying
to do the point forward position. Was a fasciditator. And
you were talking before about you know, what we're trying
to do and where we're playing, and all the guys
we had in that team. Yeah, that's how you do
be a factiditator. We had so many great scorers around,
didn't orse anything, just you know, try to look for
(15:05):
the best open guy as possible and by just moving
the ball. And we had a lot of smart players.
I mean we moved the ball really well. Everybody moved
pretty well as well, you know, back cutting when you
need to, flaring when you need to, and so it
was really you know, it felt easy to find open
shots with that team for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Well then you end up with your buddy, with your
best friend, Tony Parker in San Antonio, right, and you're
playing under another legendary coach with completely other different style
and different personality of course, Gregg Popovich. I mean you
go from this like I mean with Mike, I mean
I always felt it was I mean, might kept a
tight ship, but it was always kind of like a
(15:47):
little bit more of an open friendlier atmosphere, you know,
pop kept it like a military operation, right as I had.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The in between yeah before that, so before when I
go from Phoenix, I got Charlotte and I go with Brown.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Right, right, I forgot about Larry Brow, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Exactly, and another legendary coach amazing and x's and o's
was like you know, yeah, and so playing for him
as well, you know it was it was great. It
was kind of in between. You like, you had that
military style, you know, that work with in his in
his career, but also when he when he trusts you know,
the players, you give you also a lot of freedom
(16:27):
and like you like the players that have a lot
of freedom and use it wisely. So I was like
in between first, you know, and going into Charlotte with
Larry Brown and then went to to to pop in
in San Antonio and and then yeah, it was it
was it was a lot different as well.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, truly an international team. I mean with you and
Tony of course French descent, and then you got Tim
Duncan from the Virgin Islands, you got Manu from Argentina.
It was like, you know, like an all star team
of international players on that team.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
What was it like just finally reconnecting with Tony I
mean on the court the day after day, traveling together,
you know, I mean I know how close you guys
were and still are, but that had to be a
dream come true for both of you guys.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, it was great. It was great. I mean it's
always fun, you know, the play with with uh French
players in the in the league, but play with Tony
it was, you know, the best for sure, being able
to go back to all the memories that we had
and we're still playing together in the summertime anyway, we
will always you know, be together. And so yeah, I
(17:35):
arrived when I first arrived in San Antonio, I slept
in tony guesthouse, you know, for the remaining of the season.
Because it was just the easy, easy way to do
it and he just you know, so natural. So yeah,
it was It was great to be able to be
there and play with TP and get all these memories
we already had, you know, great battle and memories in
(17:55):
national team and having them the NBA was was you know,
even another gift of course.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
And then you know, winning the championship in twenty fourteen
is the icing on the cake. Obviously, finally an NBA champion. Hey,
can you give me a little comparison? You play with
two of the great point guards that I'd ever seen,
you know, and literally in the history of the game,
with Tony Parker and Steve Nash. Are there's similarities between
those two guys or differences or you had to adapt
(18:22):
your game in a certain way. I'm always interested in
that because you know, players move around a lot, and
they're playing with great players from one place to the next.
But here you are playing with two of the great
point guards ever. I mean, what can you say about that?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
That brought me so much? And you know another thing too,
and like I said before, and you know, very curious
that it's also outside of basketball, and maybe we talked
about that after but also you know, a way I think,
you know, to get better is also learned by you know,
watching and be around these kind of guys. And so
he taught me so much to be around Steve Nash first,
(19:01):
then be around Tony that was with already, you know,
and Tony already from when we were sixteen years old.
I was already learning from him and what he was
doing on the court. And so yeah, both of these guys,
you know, have a way of of of being in
control of organizing the whole team and and and Avanora
(19:22):
you know, on the team and controlling the temple and
how we're playing and what we're doing. And so it
was it was so great to be with them. And
like you said, you know, some of the best point
guards and through point guards. You know, we're not some
scoring port guard that we see sometimes or like we
don't know if they really want or two. You know,
(19:43):
they were point guards. They were really making sure the
team was playing well and what they were doing and
and and really we're caring about you know, the teammates
and and everybody on the court as well. And so
that's definitely the similarity that you know, I see those
two guys two.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Just one, one quick thing I want to talk about.
You know, I like you have traveled to every NBA city.
Every city has its has its fan base, has its character.
San Antonio's is a little different, you know. I mean
the fans in San Antonio. I've been going. I've been
going there since the George Gervin days, you know, the
Hemisphere Arena. I mean, they are insanely rabid fans and
(20:23):
they love love. I mean they say they love their spurs.
It's like an understated And then you got to play
in Utah, which is kind of the same thing. You know,
only game in town, all that stuff. You know, everybody
is a fan. I mean, did you did you feel
you must have felt the love there in San Antonio
because I know how they wear they wear their spurs
(20:43):
on their sleeve and live and die, right.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
So not for sure. Still today, still today you can
go to San Antonio and defense and you can always
feel that. So yeah, obviously, being you know, the only
sport in town, everybody was really rallying around the around
the team and and supporting the team. And I think
that's that's one thing that is great as well about
San Antonio is they supporting you you know in good moments. Uh,
(21:09):
they got spoiled for a few years because we're every
year and going far in the playoffs every year. But
even when you lose and everything, And that's something that
I saw. And I remember when we when we actually
lost in twenty thirteen and lost in the finals. Yea,
it was thousands of fans waiting at the airport even
after we lost, just to cheer us on, you know,
(21:33):
not too yeah, I'm not too curse at us, Yeah,
just to to to say that they were proud that
you know, we we try to hurt us and and
that's what they expect from from the players. But but
they hear for you. And that's something that yeah, I
haven't seen you know somewhere else where. The fans are here,
whether it's it's good or it's tough.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Hey, as much as I love pat Riley, you guys
should have won that finals. I'm sorry say the heat
the whole, but that damn you guys came close in
that twenty thirteen finals, right, but you know.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Just made you hungry the wrong way and one shot
and you know that was spent. It's you know, details details,
that's right, that's what I winning the year after.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
That, That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I mean the details and the fact that that we
did made a mistake and one last shot killed us. Yeah,
we didn't make mistakes the year after that because we
were way more prepared because of that experience, and.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Maybe it made it I don't know if it made
it a little sweeter or whatever.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
But then you know, you you were standing up there
with the trophy, which is pretty cool. So boris you
you played around against Kobe like your whole career pretty much, right,
I mean you know he was a nemesis for sure.
When the great Lakers Spurs matchups, the Lakers Suns matchups,
I mean I for me, that was like the Golden
(22:57):
Age because every game was just fun nomenal. Do you
have a Kobe memory? You know, it could be in
the NBA, could be on the Olympic stage, you know, internationally,
something you can share about the Mamba.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I have a few. Yeah, yeah, but I mean yeah,
I remember when I did like the top ten of
his best plays of his career. I think he's three
times on me on this top ten, So that felt
that felt bad. But as I said time, I mean,
it is the black mamba. He made tough, tough shots
(23:31):
that he made it every time. No, but the earliest
memory I have actually I was in in sept so
I was in Paris, so not you know, even close
to the NBA. That was five years before I met
it to the NBA, just in high school with TP
and and they're coming in Paris for some I think
(23:56):
for some some show and some things. Yeah, well I
think it was a data back then that had been
a d this. You're right it was because it was
em TMC. It was.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
It was definitely, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
And so they were asking for a place to to
practice because they wanted to get some shots. And I
was like, wow, it's summertime, you know, they chilling its
off season, and and and we went and we went
by the window and kind of climb and look at
these guys working. And I was, you know already And yeah,
I never you know, told that that story, but.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Very thank you for sharing.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
They were impressed by how hard they were working on
their craft, on their game in the off season. Uh
supposed to be vacation time. They were here for sponsors
in Paris. There's a lot of things we can do
in Paris, but here in our little high school gym
working out so hard. Uh, and so that was yeah,
(24:57):
I think you know felt the member mentality there was
just a teenager, so you know, always always had that respect.
And then obviously you got to play against him many times.
Hardest hardest player. Actually, those two players were the hardest
player at to Garden. I was playing the forward, the
small forward position, and so yeah, just a great, great memories.
(25:21):
Every time I had to play against him, it was
a it was a bottle.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, well thanks for sharing that memory. That's a great one. Man.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
I can just picture you, like creeping up to the
window and watching it.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Yeah, that's great. That's a great story.
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Speaker 3 (26:29):
So let's talk about French basketball, right.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I've covered USA basketball since the Dream Team in ninety two.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Obviously there was a.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Huge gap of talent between you know, these are the
top NBA players. The USA destroyed the world, right, I
mean everyone knew it going in. They probably should have
just given them the gold medal at the opening ceremonies
and just had exhibition games, you know, but they.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Played the tournament.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
There was some interesting players, but the gap of talents,
as you know, was not there. And slowly, but maybe
not so slowly, the gap started closing with the rest
of the world really embracing the game and being able
to compete on the same level. And you know, I
talked to Pagosol about this a few times that you know,
(27:15):
you with the French team, he with the Spanish team,
and you guys were together like a year after year
after year. Basically the core group and the USA team
is not like that. You know, the USA team comes together,
you know, maybe the year before and they train a little,
but that cohesiveness I think made a big difference once
they got to two thousand and four and actually did
(27:36):
not defend their gold medal. Do you think that was
a secret ingredient? I mean, of course, talent is huge,
and the talent gap had definitely closed by that point.
But did you guys ever speak about that that like
we're we're brothers here, We're not just a team of
guys put together, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Oh, of course, as you're saying, the gap get closer
as far as talent, and we see a lot of
talented foreign player more and more being the league right now,
and as the gap gets smaller, every detail make a difference,
Every edge you can have, it's going to make a difference.
(28:16):
And so of course siveness playing together knowing each other
will make a difference for two teams that are at
the same level. If one team is a lot better,
obviously it's gonna win, even if the other one has
been playing together forever. But when the team are getting closer,
you know, the couasiveness and the fact to play of
playing together will will help you win those games. So
(28:41):
that's why we see definitely in in Europe, for example,
when we do like European Championship for all the other teams.
Usually the team that wins is a team that's players
that have been together for years play summer, not just
one summer, not just like a month, you know, but
summer after summer, they've been playing together, and that's usually
(29:04):
the team that wins. You'll be a championship and that wins,
you know, these kind of games.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Yeah, did you feel that way? Did you feel that
way in two thousand and five? You'd been named captain, right,
and you guys, you guys win the bronze in two
thousand and five and you ended up winning the gold
at your basket in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
For sure, that's what it was. Boys. You know, it
took us ten years to you know, work together and
get to learn and the core team obviously, players always change.
It's never the same twelve, Yeah, but you have you know, five, six,
seven players that are you know, staying the same along
along the years. And then you have youth coming obviously,
you need that a couple of young blood that are
coming in and that's when that's when the team is
(29:45):
at its best. So for sure, that's that's what we did,
and we saw it again. You know this this summer
with the Olympics, you know, the US the US one
and they still had you know, that talent that was there.
But the gap is closing, as you were, as you
were saying, well seen in the future, as the gap
is closing, for sure, experience and playing together will be
(30:07):
a big part.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So quick question, was it sweeter to win a gold
at your basket than an NBA championship because you want
you know, you want to back to back, I mean thirteen,
you want euro Basket goal and then then you won
the NBA champions in fourteen, is it? I don't know,
do you take more pride in because you were playing
for your country or.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
It didn't really matter. It doesn't really matter. A win
is a will.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That was an amazing twelve months. Yeah right, yeah, things
in a span of twelve months, so that was pretty crazy.
But it's it's yeah, they're both the same. I don't
know you can compare with one is better than the other.
I really really enjoyed, Yeah, winning both and both for
(30:54):
a different reason. National team, Like I was saying, it
took us ten years of working together and and build
the team up to get to the level to win
NBA because I was chansing it as well. You know,
eleven years I've been in the league before I win
the first championship, so I know as well as hard
it is to to to get it was actually sweet
because we lost the year before as well in the finals,
(31:17):
so everything makes it just like just a great experience.
But I mean it's not even it's really the journey
that's the best time, you know, it's it's doing it
at the time, Like now that I done it, I
was like, which one is the sweetest? Like I don't
know the past anyway. Yeah, what's good was living it.
What was good was competing. It was fighting for it,
(31:40):
and that's what was fun, you know, trying to get better,
trying to find out why we can do to win,
try to you know, not make mistakes all this time,
and and playing together. Yeah, that's what was was good.
You know, it was really leaving it at the.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Time interesting, you know, thrill of competition for your whole
life really from being a little kid, high school, you know,
all growing growing as a player into the NBA and
then you retire and then are your juices now flowing
again competitively as an owner of a team, Like is
that was that one of the motivations of getting sort
(32:19):
of back on the court, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Yeah, well, I don't want the team. I'm the gym
for the team, all right. But it's different. It's different
as a GM than than it is as a Playerlin
that you're feeling, like you were saying, you know, flowing
through your veins is different when you when you're player
when when you when you gym. But for sure, the
(32:42):
competition is still there to try to figure out, you know,
what you can do better at your level because you
cannot be on the part and do it. Yeah, I
can you you know, I can you help? I can
you put people in the best position as possible to
to to do that. So the compt company edge is
still all there. Yeah yeah, but doesn't feel the same
(33:03):
those when you're playing, for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Now I'm with you, man, I you know, I'm off
the court now forty three years and I go to games.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
And I watched them.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Sometimes I'm like, oh, I wish I was down there
by shooting that dunk or whatever. But you know, it's
it's it's natural progression of life. And I'm glad I
had that run. There have been so many great French players.
You were one of the first, you know, the leaders,
you Tony. You've seen so many come in the league.
I think Nick Batooma is still playing, right, isn't he
(33:31):
still playing?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:33):
And then you got this guy Wemby, who I got
to tell you, man, I went down to San Antonio
last year to shoot him, and I thought I'd seen
everything by that point. Okay, but you got seven, seven
to five guy. His first points were three pointer and
I literally saw this guy block a shot. He was
outside the paint and blocked a shot, you know, at
(33:55):
the rim.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
I mean, even though that was possible. Do you know him?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
I mean, how do you feel about this kid? I mean,
he's just an amazing I don't know, he's a unicorn.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
I guess they call.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Him for sure. I mean, you know, it's different. It's
different than anything we've seen before. We've seen him in
different different people guys. You had athletic guys, you had
guys that could shoot, you have guys that could dribble
all in one guy. That's that's something different. That Yeah,
like you said, we didn't think we would we would.
(34:27):
I mean, yeah, yeah. The dexterity that he has doesn't
even make sense. For his size, You're like, okay, you're
too tall. You cannot you know, between your mind your back.
But yeah, and something that he does special, you know,
definitely special, special player as well, because because mentally is
(34:48):
he knows that, you know, staying kiel you knowss to
and all the pressure that is coming with it. And
oh yeah, it's been it's been great. It's been amazing
with that. He's been improving and he's going to keep improving.
So the only thing with him is is the player
was the most potential that we ever seen. And the
(35:11):
big question is as far is his potential is going
to take him? Nobody knows right now.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
It's nice too, he's got to put a little bulk
on that body, though, I mean, look at him.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
I'm like to me, I remember Minute Bowl.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I don't know if you ever played against Minute, but
you know, it's almost scary how skiddy that guy was.
And then you know, I did notice that when we
put on a little bit of upper body.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
You know. But he's strong, Yeah, he's strong. It's like
you know, Durant. People think it's strong, strong, strong, Yeah,
And I think it's the same kind of belt, you know,
is he's strong. You seem, you know, falling and getting
back up right away and pushing around people as well.
So I don't I wouldn't, you know, worry you know
(35:57):
too much, too much, too much about that. Yeah, yeah,
we don't know.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
It seems like it seems like a nice kid too.
I mean I've never talked to him, but I talked
to his dad actually, who was very nice.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
So of course, let's.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Let's finish this off talking about off the court. Okay,
you and I, like I said earlier, you and I
pretty much met, bonded, became friends when you were in Phoenix,
and I learned about your love for photography through my
good buddy, your good friend, Barry Gossage, my longtime assistant.
Now he's been Barry just told me the other day,
twenty nine years with the with the Sons as their
(36:29):
team photographer. In fact, you guys had a studio together
for some time, right, And then I started looking at
your work and it was honestly blew me away. I mean,
your your nature photography, your landscapes, it was, and all
the stuff you shot when you know, you were going
on safari's and stuff. It was just it was amazing,
really and I'm not you know, blowing smoke, I mean,
(36:51):
really good photographer. Where did that love for photography start
with you? Where was that first seed?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Well? Thanks, I appreciate that first. Yeah, I mean it
became with with traveling. And so when I first got
to the NBA, and so the first person too, I
got in contact to Waskat Catherine Stein, you know, in
in in Los Angeles, and so I was asking her
tips because she was like professional photographer and NBA in
(37:18):
French and I just brought a new camera and I
was like, look, I want to go back to Senegal, uh,
and I want to be able to take pictures and
then I'm gonna go on Safari and I want to
be able to take pictures. Can you know, teach me
a couple of things, And so she skimming a couple
of tips, you know about about the photography. And then
when I got to Phoenix after that, I did the
(37:39):
same with very Gussage, and you know, I was asking
him tips about you know, what are you what are
you looking at when you're taking the pictures? You know,
where is your eyes going? What do you want to
you know, representing that picture? And so I fell in
love at the same time with traveling nature. Yes, uh,
wildlife and photography at the same time. I love the wildlife,
(38:02):
but I love to capture it. I love to take
pictures of it. And going in a safari taking pictures
was the best thing that I was doing in the
off season for eight years in a row, and so
really really fell in love at that time with photography.
And so I always loved every kind of photography. And
I always admire your work and you know it, and
(38:23):
some of your pictures, you know, are like the legendary
pictures of the NBA obviously, and always always admire what
you were doing. And but I'm more I don't I'm
not as good. I mean, I'm not good at doing
you know, more of like more and more sport pictures
(38:45):
and more landscape nature taking time. I remember, it's like
you guys doing it so hard.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Yeah, it was like the infancy of Instagram.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
And you were like one of the first guys, you know,
professional athlete that I knew had an Instagram. But you
weren't putting like your your profession on there.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
You were your beautiful safari photos that I remember.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
We talked about it and it was like for me,
really amazing I love that you've had a couple of
good mentors, really good friends of mine, you know, Cat
and Barry. And sailing of course is another passion and
love for you. What's on your bucket list for sailing?
I mean, is it like going around the world or something?
Is what's left boards for you?
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Is it going around the world? The my Canmera and Rhino.
It's in French, pretty Asia, okay, Yeah, loving that, Loving
scuba dive a lot. Yeah, it's now I'm doing a
lot of pictures underwater, which is all all the world.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Yes, I don't think I've seen any of your underwater
So you have a housing and the whole thing or yeah,
yeah I.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Got housing, couple of housing and yeah, a lot of that.
Now I'll send you something.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Yeah, and there's a couple of I was just at
this Exposure Photography festival in Dubai and there were a
couple of underwater photographers who were doing the most unbelieved
I mean, underword photography is fascinating to me. I can't
do it because I have like a claustrophobia thing. But
I just admire what people do and I'll share those
sites with you because it might be inspiring. But I'd
(40:13):
love to see what you're doing too, man, be great.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah, for sure, I'll send you. I'll send you a
couple of what I've done. Yeah, the same your wildlife.
You know, it's not the lion now. So I love
all of it. I love all of it. But yeah,
going around the world, I'm probably halfway right now being
in in Asia, and so I got to keep going
to Australia and Indonesia.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
And you do it solo, you go by yourself.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Yeah, And I have a crew because I have the
boat when I'm not on there, which is good because
a part, you know, half of the year and which
the national team, and half of the year I'm on
the boat. And so when I'm not on the boat,
I rented out and so there is a crew as well.
That's that's not about on the boat and and taking
care of it. But yeah, it depends. Sometime I got friends.
Sometimes it's family come in a boat.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
That's great. Man.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Well, listen, the last thing I wanted, the very last
I promised. You know you you've been known for doing
a lot of nonprofit work, and I know you don't
too your own horn about it, but what what do
you got cooking right now. On the nonprofit side, what
what can you talk about?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Uh, the thing that we're that we were doing and
working with. We did a lot of stuff in Senegal,
working with with Seed Academy and Gallo. Uh, they used
to work for the MAVs and now working for the
NBA started that Seed Academies. We were working with the
(41:40):
the women's side of it with our with our foundation.
Yeah and so yeah, creating that that women sport and
and uh and basketball at the same time. And so
it's been very successful. They did a great job. We're
just supporting them. We were not, you know, in charge
of it. Uh. They did amazing and bringing a lot
(42:03):
of women being able to get some degrees and go
to college and all these things. So they've been doing
great work.
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Well, it's a beautiful thing. Boris. Listen, man.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
You know, I can't tell you enough how much I
appreciate taking the time. You are a busy guy, and
it warms my heart that we could sit down and
chop it up a little bit on the podcast today.
I hope our paths cross at some point. You know,
I don't know if you get through LA, but you know,
I'm not traveling.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
I usually stop in LA before I go to French
potin Asia.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Good, well, give me a buzz man, we'll go to
game together and actually sit in the stands and watch
it nice. Hey, thanks, bor It's great to see you man,
and safe travels. Be well and hey, good luck to
the French team.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
Man. I love those guys, so you know, keep it going.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Thanks. I appreciate it, Hi, Bun, they care well.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Big thanks to Boris for taking the time to chat
with me on this episode. One of the truly great
guys I had to pleasure to be around and document
during his NBA career and internationally. So glad he is
doing what he loves to do in basketball, photography, sailing
and all his charitable efforts. Thanks folks for tuning into
this episode and for continuing to support the Legends of
(43:15):
Sport podcast presented by Fujifilm. Please follow them on Instagram
at Fujifilm x underscore US. Again, that's at Fujifilm x
underscore US. Please tell all your friends to subscribe to
our YouTube channel, Legends of Sport and also our Instagram
at Legends of Sport. And of course, my photography can
(43:37):
be found on Instagram at ADB Photo, Inc. Thanks as
always to our producer Carlon Barker and our editor Sean
Gosser and Addison Shau. Thanks again everyone for checking out
this episode. We'll be back, of course, next week with
another great episode on the Legends of Sport Podcasts, presented
by Fujifilm.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
What's up everyone, I'm Kobe Bryant. I want to learn
anything about what the mama mentality is.
Speaker 3 (44:02):
I suggest you listen to Legends of Sporting
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