This is Matt Barnes. You're listening to All the Smoke before you dive in. If you want to listen to uninterrupted episodes, you can unlock ad free listening right now with the subscription of Black Effects Plus. Just click to subscribe at the top of the All the Smoke Show page on Apple Podcasts.
We appreciate everyone coming out tonight. Tonight we got a really special guest man, someone that is from the same area as Jack, but just someone who really when I was ten eleven years old, like he was on TV and he made it seem bigger than life back then, and to go on and see the career he had in the NBA and now he's back working with the Knicks.
I've always been a huge.
Fan of him, one of my og somebody being from Texas, somebody I looked up to. I mean, everybody know about the UNLV run.
In those days.
You know how as a kid, if you watch college basketball, you have to know about the running rebels, you know what I'm saying, and the culture they brought to the game of basketball into shit all the youth in the hood, you know, because there was a bunch of brothers doing the day way you know what I'm saying, sewing it that we can get it done. So we all looked up to him, so it's the honor to have him at today.
Further Ado, Man, welcome to stage.
Larry Johnson, appreciate that in New York. Thank you, thank you. Yeah, yeah, I see some big l's. I see some big l h.
I feel like the world is a better place when the Knicks have a good basketball team. I just feel like the energy is different, you know what I mean. Like I'm happy. I'm genuinely happy for y'all. Like when New York, when the Knicks are good, it's a better NBA.
I want to give a shout out to a high school kid that's playing basketball, was battling Chemo.
His name is Johnny, and he's here right now.
Are you at Johnny?
Shout out to my boy Johnny. We appreciate you being here much love. Bro. We appreciate you Bro.
And uh Mail and his stream male's team. This is one of the top What are you a sophomore now junior juniors in the country.
Man explosive.
I've I've been a fan of I've been a fan of him for a long time. Man, So his squad came out, so we appreciate you guys coming out. Tomorrow's our five year in Terresting. It's great we get to spend it with you guys. We're really excited to be here in New York and have the guests we have. But without let's get it Jack, let's get it going. All right, Well, look check this out.
First off, being a basketball player from Texas, I'm honored to have you on the show because, you know not it's not many that we can look up to and say they made it and did it they way, you know, being being from the areas that we come from, people always say you got to look a certain way to be successful, look a certain way to be to get where you want to be in life. And y'all showed us different. Y'all did it y'all way, and y'all were
success for doing it. Today looking at the UNLV and the run you had, how does it feel today knowing that you had a big, a big part in history in cottage basketball and inspiring a lot of young young athletes like me.
I mean, it makes you feel good. I mean when if we took it to another level, man, then you casts taking it to another level. So I'm gonna give you flowers while you're here, man, and thank you for having me on New York. Thank you for coming out. But coming from where we come from, like you said, and then you spoke about Texas, we got to stick together because it's always been like a football state. So when one of us do do what we do, we
know about each other. I've been knowing about Jack. He's he's from Texas, like I said, part off the so which has been a hell of a basketball school for a long time. Appreciate when I was the hell of a basketball school for a long time. But when you get the flowers from of the ynsters like that, and you can appreciate it more because all we was doing was balling. We had we had to write time right coach at the right time. It was a Vegas The
culture was you know, hip hop at the time. And I can remember you know, cats coming to the games and you in LV parking and cats like that. I think Snoop made a game, you know, So back then, man, it was just the way we got down and and the next year after that was like that Michigan team. And I've even heard Webbers said I don't know if y'all say, y'all have Webber coming on, but I have
I've heard well say that. Man, I won't number foe for LJ and it was for that un LV team, So you know that just and at the time, I'm still in the league. So that just makes you work a little fat harder. You know, if you know the youngsters like that, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to take care of the coach and build the coach up for the next generation. That's what you catch on.
Before we go there, we go further the us LV. Let's go back to Dallas, Texas.
Dallas o'cliffe, how was it growing up in Dallas Oakcliffe?
Well, I grew up in Sath Dallas Dixon Circle Tell Talls. Yeah, yeah, you know Cliff and Sath Dallas. You know, we didn't get it all ready, you know that, you know, high school stuff. So I grew up Staff Dallas played I was Skyline High School. Nor if you know Skyline High School. My coach is really who taught me how to play the game. Man, My high school coach, JD. Mayo. Shout out to you, Coach Mayo. About fifteen years after I left, he got national High School Coach of the Year. So CJ. Miles,
you catch remember CJ. Miles my high school last cat to go to the leaf for my high school. So you know, didn't have a father, so almost every coach that I had was like a father figure to me. So this dude really took me to the next level. When I tell everybody all the time, when I left Skyline High School, everything else was easy. Everything else was easy. I was on varsity for four years and we never wanted,
never won, and never had a team. But you know that's really why I learned how to play the game.
Me and you got similar sat stories.
No, we don't, we don't. I'll tell my story.
What was your essay story?
Stuff? Okay, this is how mine went, Matt.
I was supposed to go to University of Arizona, right, and I you know, I'm just not good at certain things, and.
That's one of them.
School being one of them, right, and definitely being told what to do like that, that wasn't my thing.
But Arizona knew that.
So it was like, hey, we'll set it up.
Well, you can take the test at somebody house and we'll have somebody there now me at that time, you know, everybody wiped the police to me time.
So I didn't really know how to judge this guy sitting here. So I wasn't thinking, hey, let me ask him to help me. Now, if it wasn't have been a brother and now I have been like, yeah, you kind of like let me I could slide you something maybe, you know, maybe. But I had no idea that guy was there to help me.
How the dude sitting next to you to help you with the testing?
And I didn't know it, and I ended up not.
Going to school because of it.
Damn shun word. That's how I feel now. But if I were might, I should have told me man, I didn't have I had no problem cheating, right, Can you tell us your story? No, it's I don't have a story like that. Over didn't go like that.
What's your SAT story going?
Like?
I took the test the beginning of my senior year and then come close to what I needed. So I studied, I didn't but yeah, I didn't do none of that. Yeah, you're right, what is that? What I got a big one down is so? So I studied and then I took it at the end of my senior year and I got the grade I needed. Right, I signed with s U coming out of high school. Everyone that's right down the street from the project where I grew up.
So Robert Pye, I got a nice one. Robert Pye was the incoming president and he was coming from Duke University, and he called me and my high school coaching office, looked us in our face and said, man, we're not going to accept your s A T score and you can't do the work here. Now that last part could have been true. I can't do the work here. That last part could have been true. But he didn't accept their safety score and they wouldn't accept me as what
was the reason. He said I made a jump. They were saying that I made a jump from you know, from this to that was too big and the time that you know I.
Had, I would have had the issue too because my previous scores was just my name, right, So if I'd asked.
The dude for that, if I would have do something. Yeah, So I did, right. I saved myself some drama.
Oh that's a college are you talking about the time of That's a college of ju called Pipeline.
You went to the Yep, I went to people a lot of talent. Really, I went to Blend for two weeks. Man, you went to Blend for two weeks two weeks. Couldn't handle Look what you mean you couldn't hand it?
I couldn't handle it. What the Texas?
What you mean you couldn't I had more. I had more envision in life than Juco at the time. Yeah, that was that was the step back for I fail at the time.
You know, I went for two years and he right about that. He right about that. I used to call ju coo gladiated ball. He right about that. I remember I got in two fights in Juco. One of them they sent me to the bench, send him to the bench, and the next time out we can go back in. I got into another one. They sent us to the locker room. Halftime came we can go back in. So yeah, Jr. He right about that. And then the travel you know you Sharon Bath. Yeah, four dudes, five dudes. Yeah, I
see what you said. But I stuck it out for four years, never won anything. Yeah, but I got a junior cote player in your two years in a row, freshman and the sophomore year. Yeah, we never won anything, But I ended up there because of my high school. High school teammate, I had dude named Tony Jackson. Shout
out to juw Jack. I know he's watching. But Tony Jackson was going to o Delsa junior college and he was the number two player Dallas and I've number one playing Dallas, som like, and we was boy, we was cool. So Jack went to Odessa and I woke up one morning and it was Odelsa junior college coach in my house, sleeping in macau, sleeping on my cap. Huda is this dude man? And my mom had already told Jack to tell him, man, tell your coach to come get him. So he came and got me. After this dude then
accept my SAT score. And it was a big thing in Dallas at the time because SMU was just now being able to ball a little bit.
They got black, they got what you're gonna call from the football program. Yes, it was right around that time. He got a death penalty, right.
They got the death county in the same Yeah, I know, we ain't get one of that well going there.
That was after that was before you though, right, was that same time?
No, that was before me, Like two years before me. Dude, that's why they brought niggas. Bring in this new president, Robert Pye, to clean up if the program. He was gonna clean up athletic and he gonna start out with the number one pick. I'm number one one pick. But I was a high school player of the year that year. And he called me and the coach, and my coach
started crying like, man, what are you doing? Cause I had a couple of casts come see me play high school ball too, like Mavericks and Houston Rockets and all that used to come. So I'm like, no, coach, let that go. Let that go. We ain't worried about it. And Cat looked me in my face and said, man, we're not going to accept your score, and we don't think you can do the work. Here. Here come Junior garb.
So from a small town in West Texas to Vegas. I mean, what are you when you get to Vegas? Hold are you putting pictures of Oh that's a nice that's a nicer plastic man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that great question.
Shout out. Yeah, cut it out, cut it out, man, cut it out, cut it out.
Oh bro, that was cold.
What it's like you first, that's one of my coldest posters, man, and that's the only championship I ever won.
And that's what I mean him, I mean and the rest of the guys with the friendship the city. I mean, like you said, you guys have something called Gucci role where every celebrity of everybody was like a professional game at your guys college games. And this is when I'm you know, ten eleven twelve, kind of really starting to get into basketball and I'm seeing it.
What was the life like?
Obviously incredible team, but what was just the as a student athlete from Texas to to Vegas in that fast lane with Tark and all the ship that comes to Vegas?
What was that like for you?
I tell people this all the time, and Audi, I get this question all the time because we're talking about Vegas, right, You're talking about some college dudes in Vegas who's at the top of popping.
Bigger than anything else, though, like for you guys to understand it may not, especially the younger guys, they were bigger than any professional team.
They were the biggest team. And like that you turned it in and you watch the running rebels.
And when I get that question, I know you. I know what you want to mad, I'm here with you.
It's yeah, we's pushing hand.
Okay.
So first and foremost, that happened, that happened, That happens, that's going to happen.
But with them two dudes were squares. Ladies and gentlemen.
Listen to them.
Them to squares in college. Then't drink then smoke, just put him then just put it in basketball has it was the basketball court. Then I'm in the gym trying to find us one movies. You're home, let's get some need yeah, and then over and over and over. But we didn't do anything. Man, those were two squares. Man, I tell you two would have loved it because we had girg and it was all basketball. Coolst shit, it was all basketball. One of the one of the things
I'm proud of. And I tell I said all the time my two years, I only went that for two years. I had access to at least four gym twenty four seven. Always hoop, always what about anything else?
Like obviously, now the nil situation has come about and kids are starting to get paid in high school and college and so forth, But you guys are doing well. Back then weren't you that was so well, wasn't you? Man?
That's what I that's what I want to hear. But I mean, I get the politically corrected.
Man.
I want to talk.
I want to talk that you know what. I can give you the real But I'm just stitching on myself.
It's okay because it's it's not and it's not.
It's not.
If you're not incriminating nobody, you're good.
Yeah you might be incriminating yourself, but you be all right, Oh that's that's not No, nobody's gonna get in trouble jail.
Yeah, well I'm gonna tell the truth. Then, No, it's the truth. It's the truth. It's the truth. It's Look. Look what's happening. Good everywhere you good?
Look story.
The truth is watch. But it's the truth. I'm telling y'all, it's the truth. I was cheating, but only I was cheating. I had a I had an uncle in Dallas. Tax Yeah, paid for my court vett. He paid for my apartment. But I mean, obviously I got money a month. And that's the honest to guard truth. His name is Alex Mudd Gilliam mud gillim d called it mug Gill. He played for the gold tried it for a while. He was a motherfucker boy. He's not with us anymore. Shout out, Mud,
shout out, Bud. I tell you I would have took that bag too, Mud. He took the bag. Now, he took the bag. But he stayed in the n C two A office too, because any time they came to me, man, you got my uncle, my uncle mug Gilling. Yeah, yeah, yeah you and this yes, yes, it's my apartment right here, my uncle, my uncle, Lord gil Well. And he stayed in.
Uh.
He stayed in the investigation too. But he had no tires in rn l V. And he was messing with me since I was. He was my coach, since I was, watch what you say these days. Cut it out.
This is l J.
Cut it out, Cut it out, cut it out. He was my coach, and he was everybody coach. So he was just he was a basketball He coached at bout five high schools in Dallas. Texts he coached all black high school in Dallastics. Alex mug gillen uh and if you knew if if you was going anywhere, like if you going to Miami to play football, We got some dude from Dallas that we went to Minam. Play football, you go through mud Guillen. If you were going here
to run track, you go through mud Gillen. If you were going to play volleyball, you go through mud guiller and you know, you go get perks.
Now it's normal, but had nothing to do with you. Back then, y'all was really risking something though, like really risking something. I mean, you got him just in general, just getting getting a little bit of help. Like I said, this is the norm. Now are making hundreds and thousands upon millions of dollars, But it was a real chance.
Back then, you were taking a real chance. Well it was investigating. I mean again, I was only there for two years, and I think I did six or seven, and I had to talk to these people. Man, they tried to give me one time for I went on the visit. And this is truth, this is this is this is the BS. They was doing the coach talk. They just wanted to get coach talk because he was sawing them. I went to practice, and you don't supposed
to be on the court like a recruit. You don't supposed to be on the court with a coach practicing. So one of the assistant coach was gonna make camp play cleek cleek clear ever was he was our dude, little brother, little old brother. Man, you can't play, you can't play. It's supposed to be him. He can't play. And we was on the side go. He was trying to post me up. We was just you know, battling, and they tried to give me for saying I was practice. When I was on I was looking for any reason, huh,
any reason anything. They put a camera up in our ceiling secretly. Yeah, the president of the school there.
Man, he wasn't on the same page as you guys either.
He wasn't on the same paper with Coach Talk because he wanted Coach Talk to hang out with this crew and Coach Talk hang He hung out with gangsters. Yeah, yeah, East Castle was free. I mean, I'm a shout out to Mike Tony. Shout out to Mike Tony. Anybody ever seen the sopranos. He ideal to that motherfucker. Man, he could play that motherfucker. He was ideal to Tony soprano. Big No. He would come in to practice start and this is what we had, these phones, right, fellas them
big big joints. The first Yes, he being a corner cussing motherfucking somebody out with a big old stoge in his mouth in the gym were practicing. I said, Yo, this dude hang out with thugs man. That's what I need to be. That's what I needed. And the coat and the President didn't like it. So President wanted him out of there. We wanted to get him, so they they put a here and cam up in our rafters. And this is what you uh. The n C two
A we was trying to get us to. It was during that period where you can't be on the court practicing with a coach.
Period.
We had a towel and we took the town, big town and balled up in all the ankle paper, ankle paper, make it like a ball, and that was our ball. But it was just all defense with that. They was after us. They didn't want n C n C A, didn't want you and l V to be the darlings of college basketball, which is that's the way it was headed, you know, like the Dukes now and all that coach chalk was gonna build that, and they didn't want you in LV to be that bro Yeah.
That's because it was a majority black. That's keep for real.
The only reason cast with their shirt tails out and T shirts up. No, he didn't want that. Cast has come from you know, low incomes or projects like that. He ain't want that. All I do is was that. All I do is was that man uh hunt knife and we ain't gonna talk about your home. But that's how I got the un l V. You know, That's how I got the you and your elastic man. Yes, sir, sir, yes, sir.
Coach talk like to take credit. He recruited me. But it was ice, you know when I went you know what I'm saying, the deal.
So where did the gold tooth in the middle park come from? That?
It was hard Souff Dallas Dixon Circle turb with Texas picture that Texas the picture man, I told you my best one. Gotta get your slug in Texas. That's look at the part down in the middle of y'all. Okay, yeah, okay, fuck cut it out, cut it out, cut it out. Classic what skined of ship? Let's go anybody right, Yeah, I've been there. No, No, that's a story behind that one. Why that's the story behind that one. That's that good rayon. That's a story behind.
If you gotta explain, let me explain real quick.
If you gotta explaining, I'm telling you.
If your niggas had a Rayon shirt where you back, then it's just beautiful.
What is that?
What listen, that's a bad motherfucker though. I'm talking about the motherfucker the shirt.
I was.
I think I just got drafted and I'm in the hotel and all I got is sweat. All I got is Swiss everyone and they said they're knocked on to do it about seven in the morning, said man, you gotta go take this. You gotta take this to go. I said, man, I ain't got nothing. If they can show the geens, you really be laughing like a motherfucker. Dee. Mother was like here that I got all of that, I got anything, you see? Said again, that's them doctors, them J C. Penny Special.
So you so you were showing your angles.
You see come from the gift shop, man, that kind you from the I went down there and bought that.
So you put that ship together, then if that's the game, you put that ship together.
Ship. This one, though, this one I just really got with fit and the shirt fit in the past. Then that's all I had. It was either that of sweat, so they wouldn't let me go do sweats so stupid.
The inspiration from the Fab Five came from you. So when you sit back now and obviously a successful college career, successful NBA career, do you ever sit back and kind of be like, damn, like we really did kind of shape a whole era of basketball.
It's hitting me now, it's hitting me now. I didn't it didn't. It don't really register for a minute because you just you're still in the moment, You're still watching ball or whatever. But the Fab Five, like you said, and then we've been mentioning more and more. Now it's like, yo, man, we did that. We did that, and it's just an honor privilege. I mean again, long as I can say I paved the road and made it better for the next generation. I'm proud of that.
Nineteen ninety National championship. Talk about biggest blowout in the NCAA title game history.
Talk about it. Did you hear the.
Noise like the Black and White the robber? They tried to make it between you and and do yes, yes, it was good versus evil. You know it was these type titles. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it were doing number five. It wasn't number five, thank you. That's and yeah, I'm just gonna stay on ninety. But I could have went into the next one.
But it was fire. Yeah. We were just hungry, man. We was home. I want to smoke. Yeah, it is.
But this is the time where you don't have podcasts, you don't have social media to really speak your side.
So you said you was about to go there. How did that make you feel?
Because that shit is tough when they paint you one way and and and paint someone else the other way. But as a man, we can understand. But you guys are still in your young late teens, young early twenties.
Well what's subtled me now? Because it was the nerves? Was there? The nerves was their first one up playing in championship. First year at un l VN. We were and people don't know this, we was picking number one at the beginning of the year. We dropped like three or four. Ear shot got us, shock got us with our Stacy and the LSU.
But so there was something behind that story though, But wasn't It wasn't Stacey like pulled off a plane so talk to us so for.
For a phone bill the year before when they was in Hawaii usually in uh college. I don't know if they did it when you when you guys had they would cut our phone off for every time you went on the road and cut the phone off because if if you have a bill, you gotta go pay it. Of course we you know, we wouldn't do that. But everybody had to sit out a game because of me. I mean except me, because I wasn't on the team
the year before. No, I wasn't on the team. I probably would have set out too because I'd have been making calls. They was making calls back and forth, uh from you know, from Hawaii to they girls, and everybody the next year had to sit out a game but me, and they pulled stay huh.
So they got in trouble for using the phone.
Yeah and yeah. And they pulled Stacy argument off the plane while we was going to uh play Lsu told him he couldn't play. They would just pick a random player uh at whatever game, just whenever they wanted to. Yes, yes, crazy. And they put put my roommate off the plane when we was going over and I say, all the time, we would have won. They one of the greatest UH college game they ever played it. I remember the great
ones because we had three four pros. They had three fourth That was h of Coase, Mick Mood, big shot, and what's the big fellow Stanley Roberts, Stanley Robbers Yeah so nice, yeah yeah, and that and they won that game, and like the last three, it went back and forth the whole game. My mom was at that game too. They drove up. I think what were l s U. I think it was like four hour drive from Dallas.
If y'all would have bro y'all would have won. Y'all would have won the game with we.
Were wanted with ice. I tell you why my mood killed us. I had shout out to Greg Aainst and won the greatest best college point guard I ever played with, I ever played with. And we started the game. In the first five minutes we balling, both teams balling, and Greg got tired. Shout out to Greg, but Mike moved. Listen said, Greg got tired. Greg got tired and needed a break. And when he took a break, I think my mood had like three four points. He took a
break and he was out about two minutes. He when he came back in, he had like twenty He just went on and one jack three and one and won three. And by the time he threw Greg again, he's too hot. He threw him back hand. It was too Now. The reason I said we the one with Ice is because everybody know, I don't know if you know, Stacey won College Defensive Player of the Year.
Two nine seven ft wingspan right, yeah.
And whenever anybody on the perimeter used to get the toastingers, Greg couldn't handle a hunt, couldn't hand Hey, Ice.
Do this, do this?
Do this right here? Yeah, this dude right here and here to put Greg on my mood, I mean to put Ice on my mood. And I mean it's a different look, six y nine long, it's a different look.
Yeah.
So yeah, I believe we'd won that game if Ice would have played.
In ninety one final four.
Y'all started thirty four, I know, before losing the Duke grand Hill Barba Harley, Christian Layman talk about that.
Shout out to Duke.
No.
I played in it. I played in it, you know, And the only thing I can say about it, I say this all the time I lost the game. I lost the game, and I say it's a greg Ain't go bullshit Ice and everybody go bullshit. Now we did this, we did that. But being the number one playing college that year, everyone here, all the Sumore, I lost the game. I didn't play hard. I was out there Ladlergagon, you know, on seventy eighty percent, thinking we're playing somebody just beat
about thirty the year before. But it was closed the whole game, and I wasn't. It wasn't with me. Were up four, we up five, then they're tied up. We go, we going that little run again. But I was loud again. I was thinking about the league. Yeah, man, I said this before. I'm not snitching him. I said this before. I always say I lost that game. And at the end, when I anybody else saw the end of that game, I know you two did right. Should I shot the ball? Absolutely?
I should have shot the ball. Show point out, he's gonna send five men to the boards. Larry Johnson brings the ball up, looks like he wants to go all the way with it.
He's outside now, stopping his trouble.
Later on him Hunt will have to do something great.
Hurley's coast up.
I never heard that.
I shout I should have shot at the bar. Choke say that all the time.
Talk a little bit about you touched on it earlier, but just Tark versus the world, the mentality of the team. What kind of dude Tark was, How he captivated people just like you guys did as a team, and just how good you obviously his wife and everything.
How good was he to you guys?
Again, you're talking to someone who never met his father. So every coach was almost like, that's who's telling me what to do day in and day out, right, So as a man, so he was that and me and coach was real close. And I know people saying, yeah, he was a number one player on the team, but it don't matter who you are. When you see the way he treated people and treated you, that's what a
respect comes in. Because he was bigger than we was. Now, now we were some bad motherfuckers and everybody loved the team, but coach talk was an outcome. You got to remember to everyone. Now, you guys, what the Raiders there? You got the girls team there, you got that bad as hockey team there, right, forget about it. When we was at UNLV. There was no professional team nowhere. It was just that in college right there. And that basketball team.
How important is it too, because we do have some some high school kids and some college kids in that just falling in love.
With the game.
Obviously you're in UNLV, and like you said, the world was right there, but you really loved the game and talked about being in the gym all the time.
How important was that aspect for you? It was very important? That's I mean, you know how when you love the game. These youngsters know how it is. When you love it, you don't never want to be away from it. And I saw an opportunity to get my moms no matter what we was in. You know, we all got that story, you know how that is. I was that dude, so and anybody again when you put up them two dude, that was wilder up. There was two squares. It was
two squares. If it wasn't a female or gym or now you know, you only want to get something neat man, that's all we did. So if I if I had a coach that was like is that was? That was That's all the vision and it was gonna help me with it.
Man, you know I took it drafted number one overall to the Hornets nineteen ninety one. Shortly after that, Grandmama, the character was born, old character.
Check this out, y'all. Check this out. I don't put that ship up there. Check this out, yo. These are my new shoes for Converse. They're so light and so fast. My grandmama can whoop you on them. Grandma, let's go.
What you.
Remember. Can't beat what you can't catch, okay, Grannie, one on one man, You now a lucky shot, Grandma. That wasn't old lady who lived in a ship, a fresh little crib. You never brand space for this killing time and that shoe letter things that no man could do. She duke said.
She cuts, she stopped staying at her track.
She said, she sparsly has chumps on their backs, and who gets the credit? Some mother names you. Check you out your Converse, of course, and that new react. Oh y'all wrong for that ship, y'all wrong for putting it up, y'all wrong for clapping so so so.
Tell us tell us the backstory behind that campaign and explain the felled bird magic commercial that was supposed to happen.
Before you do that, real quick ever, But you got to think that I'm gonna put in context for those of you that may not have been around, so that at the at the time, MJ and Spike Lee were the only ones really commercials, right, they were the only ones doing commercial You came through and sign the biggest shoe deal from the history.
On top of that, signed the biggest.
NBA deal in history. So you was up there like MJ was a ship, but LJ was coming.
Yeah.
So take us back through that time.
I mean, that's how many people can really say that, to take us back through that time and what it was like.
And then Jack follow up with your.
Question, Well, I tied in Sonny Vacab. We talked about him in the back. Anybody don't know Sonny viacav was this big time looking Yeah.
He just did the movie Godfather.
Yeah the movie yeah, yeah, Godfather?
What was it?
What was the movie?
Air?
That movie is about? If you have ever seen it, go watch that much shit was dope. But that's about sonnyca Sonny Vicab.
We all knowing he was a UNLV rep, the Nike rep, and I WoT Nike all through school, all through junior colls Odessa. I was getting some Nikes.
I's getting some Nikes as you should.
Yeah, had little facts and at UNLV, I want Nikes. And like I said, Sonny was our cool dude. We used to go to Sonny crib me and Stacey and I got drafted number one. Uh. About two weeks later, I see I think it was Billy On signed a Nike contract. I said, oh, and Billy was drafted. Shout out to Billy. He wast out to the Q. Billy he was drafting number three and the Q's all Nike too. So Billy signed like two weeks later after we was drafted, and then I think Stacey signed. Then I think the
Kim Base sign. Shout out to the Kim baby man. That hurt me. I was on the golf course. I stopped. I stopped. I was on the golf course and I said, I'm done rest in. Yeah, but I think the ken't signed. I ain't think malloy, I ain't think of Kenny Son. I don't think Kenny has signed. But he was number two. So a month go by and I'm talking to my agent. I'm going to say, man, what's Sonny saying about my contract? What's Sonny saying? And my agent them already know, but
they don't want to tell me. They saying, but won't you call Sonny? Won't you call Sonny? So I called him and he just flat out to him. He said, l J. Nike, you don't think you're gonna be a good player. L J Nike, you don't think you're gonna be a good pro. I said what I said, don't worry, but say, I was a beast back there. Y'all can do this bullshit. We put the other one up. I was, I was there, you were for this. I was cool.
It been in Nike your whole life. Kind of hit me like that a little bit, and then but we brushed that off.
Cool.
Cool. And then as soon as I told my hey, I said, say, man, say oh let's go. We got Converse. Won't you come? Like it was a setup like Converse. Oh no, no, we're flying. And we flew from Dallas to New York the next day. But Converse was in Connecticut, and I think when we got like twenty miles from Converse station, all these Larry Johnson Converse sign welcome to I say, man, when they put this up.
The billboard, the billboards.
My sixth billboard man y'all. I feel like a setup, feel like set up, feel like a motherfuck set up.
It felt good, though, felt good.
Because Converse for to give me the biggest conch shoe count more than Mike at the time. I mean, the next year Mike did what he did. But uh, but at that time he set the standard. Yeah that right, Michael like, Yeah, go do your thing, bro, do your thing. Don't worry about I don't worry about.
Uh.
Did we hit the plant? We get in this plant, Converse plant. It's about two hundred, three hundred workers. They're all doing giving it to me and giving it to strokeing me like a mother. Larry Larry, Larry where And we went into the and I signed that day.
Oh that is.
Is that what you're talking about? Man? Is that that boy shit you talked about? That's you, that's you. Two hundred people what they doing they doing? People signed that day. We're right in the office. We're gonna get your U and we're gonna put you in the commercial. Told you I gonna tied in there. They say, this is what they say to me now, audience. They said we're gonna uh dam, I can't think his name is gonna come to me, this converse rep that's pitching this to me,
he said. And they had two young boys doing their adver time they like twenty two twenty three white boys hair down to here. They were doing like the uh the air guitar. I said, oh shit, I'm in trouble. They doing their guitar. And now while we were side of this shit, and they say they over our marketing and they gonna put you in a commercial. I said, okay, what's the commercial? They said, The first commercial is we're gonna put you on a gurney. We're gonna cover you up and nobody can see you.
And yeah, yeah, yeah.
They said it's gonna be two doctors, one gonna be Magic Johnson and the other doctor gonna be Larry Bird. And at the time, if you can't remember, they both was in converse. They yeah, the one doctor Larry Bird, one doctor Magic Johnson. And they going a scalpel, oh this, ah, that, and they saying, ah, we finished, and they say the perfect basketball player. And then one of them say well, we got a name in and Larry say well, they ain't gotta be Larry. Then Magic say no Johnson, Larry Johnson,
Larry Johnson, and I raise up. I raise up, miss, and the commercial os off Larry Johnson. Larry. Then I raise up and that's the end of the commercial.
Right that would have been cold. Sign me up.
God damn, that's crazy. They gave me a million signing bonus. Month later, I bought my mom house with a million dollars. So the million dollars gone, yeah, shout out doctor Johnson. Month later, we come on, now, come on that, we're out of there. Let's get something. Here's the million. A month later we do that, so season stuff. They come to me, you ready for the commercial? Yeah, I'm ready. Minute, the fella's ready. And another something to that story is one of them didn't want to do it. When I
got to the set to do the commercial. Now, I ain't telling me nothing. I got to the set to do the commercial. I walked into my trade big time program, you know, like like in the movies. Everybody got it, Holly, Yes, everybody got a trailer. Oh, this is my trailer. And I see a dress a weig, I said, all listen in the coner, I said, hmm, where is my wardrobe? Bat I would do because I ain't bring none. They say, you ain't got to bring nothing. And that's all I
see hanging up two or three dresses some wiz. I said, come on, man, and they came. They said, Larry, we want to They pitched this one to me. They pitched this one to me. Now then signed the millia and done and done. I said, what happened to the commercial with me and Magic? And Larry said, one of them didn't want to do it, one of them didn't want to do it.
Wrong.
No, No, I never knew which one didn't want to do it. I never knew which one of them didn't want to do it. Larry was my Larry loved me. Larry loved me.
I ain't.
I never knew which one didn't want to do it. Larry loved me. No, No, y'all getting what I'm saying, right, ro No, No, I mean facts, y'all get what I'm saying. Larry fuck with me. Okay, wait a minute, Larry fuck with me. The first game against Larry and and Hunt and Larry became cool. Sohn used to tell me that Hunt was in Boston training. Came to the last cut, to the last Anderson Hunt ladies and he was in
their training. Came to the last cut and their first game was getting shot Charlotte and he was a proud He said, man, Magic, I mean, Larry, we're going. This is what I'm doing, your boy. This is what I'm doing your boy. The first game and he gave it to me. He gave it to me.
But motherfucker though, he was a slow, bad, motherfucker bad.
He was a slow He could play and he was old because he had a bad back. Because like two weeks later I gave it to him, but he had a bad bag. I said, huh, what y'all say? Oh this you motherfuck.
Say you motherfucker, motherfucker.
Yo, this is l J. Bro.
I ain't never been cut out.
I had gotta do.
Yeah.
So yeah, he had a bad back. Now I'm nineteen, I'm twenty, and don't come out here with that because you just you just toasted me the first game. How about that? Are we good? You just outscored me the first game? How about that?
What was that payback?
Like?
I had thirty five and like twelve, but it went so bad. I looked over and it was all in the paper. You know, you know how they do. We only had ESPN back then. It was like, you know, Larry having back here, shoe back here, shoe back. So I didn't think he was gonna play against us, and he did. And it was in Charlotte, and I had like thirty five and twelve, but like the fourth quarter, like he was trying to go. He was trying to go.
Then the fourth quart I see him do like to I said, yeah, she is sub sub He went over there and you know how he didn't sit on the bench. He laid laid down. Yeah, and he let after Nabby take that punishment and whoever else that they threw it and that took that punishment because I gave it to him.
So what was that transition like?
Though?
So you're preparing for the magic and bird shit, it doesn't go through you and this trailer, how are you at the time twenty twenty one? Yep, they got a dress and a wig? And for you, how did you buy into that shit? Because it became one of the greatest characters of all time? But how did you mentally get there?
Quick?
Motherfucking money.
I ain't got the money quick, oh got the bundy. But and they sent the heavy hitters in there. Everybody that been cool my Asian, Oh man, he gonna kill Roger Morning Star, anybody nobody would converse. He was the converse wherever Roger Morning start. He was an ex baller, white guy by six. I remember used to play me one on one. I'm like, man, get your old ass off the cord. He would be trying to play hard too old ride. I think he had a little stand
in the NBA, But Roger Morning started my age. They walked in there, man, and they got to talking to him, and you know, he's like, and they bring them young boys in there. They was pitching it.
Oh the ar guitar, guitar, Hello, like man, Larry even butt head.
He said, yeah, yeah, that's what I'm getting that these type of dudes.
So I do.
I was in trouble. They say say, Man, we wanna do something different from over. Man, got all these commercials, guys just dunking and doing this bad. We're gonna do something different. So man, whatever, I'm here and my mom, that's what I was gonna say. The first commercial was done at the high school in Dallas, and my mom was there. She got to see that, and she she she was laughing, just like you motherfuckers was. She was laughing, and she enjoyed it. So we did it for like
three four years. But then I started telling them, like after about I think I had like a six year contract. So after like that fifth year, I under one Rookie of the Year played in the All Star Game, I'm going say, man, oh, let's do an LJ commercial. Now, my grandmama, we haven't success, but shit, I'm a motherfucker. Let's let's go on. Let's show that.
Let me be myself.
Yeah, but you know, big success, big success, and I don't regret it at all. I regret one thing. I'm gonna mess you all up now. I regret one thing. I was on Arkle with her Arkle Yeah, shout out family matters. Yeah, no, for the fuck y'all up. Y'all got the picture of family matters. No, no, no, that's enough.
He said, that's enough that I turned down Martin.
You turned down? Oh, grandmama, and what was Martin?
No?
No, no, did mama Mama pain, Mama pain, grand Mama and Mama I turned it down. I told you, I said, I told you I would fuck y'all up. I told you fuck y'all. That's the reason because because grand Mama, Okay, I was and I was studying telling cope the one thing you regrets.
No, you don't know.
I regret not doing markin. Yeah, I regret not doing yeah. Yeah, I regret not doing mar Yes, sir, yes, sir, yes sir.
That would have been legendary.
That's it, Mama Payne and Grandmama. Yeah, I've regretted. I told you how the fuck y'all. Damn, I told you how to fuck y'all.
So rookie year nineteen and eleven, All Star Starter, second year twenty two, eleven and four. Uh, and then you sign a crazy obviously money is astronomical right now, but you signed the biggest deal twelve years, eighty four million dollars.
Okay, so what is that seven?
A year seven, which is it's under a minimum right now, which is crazy, but it is the biggest deal in the league at the time.
What are you thinking?
What did you do with that first bit, that first when you signed, and that that big wire came through and.
Hit that bank account? Listen? How many how many brothers you don't have on and not brothers, I guess sisters too. And here comes to cousins, best friends, best man. I barely know you of this and that and and I wasn't. We can get real. I'm not good with money. I'm trying to trying to be better, but I didn't do the right thing, which was, you know, took care of everybody.
It's hard to say no, it's hard to say man.
And and taking care of everybody is not a bad thing. So you know what I mean, that's that's not a bad thing at all.
Man. Shout out to my knicks on that point right there, because if it wasn't for my knicks.
Right now, I wouldn't be bro he said, you wouldn't be even wouldn't be Are they looking out for you?
That's dope?
Shout yes, sir, Yes, sir. Take us back to Charlotte, though Zoe comes the next year. You guys are the hottest ticket in town. Jerseys merch sold out arenas you guys are.
You're all the jumping yep, Yes, indeed yep. And it's North Carolina, so it's the basketball state. And the first two or three years and even before me, I think they won attendance record over Chicago. But they had a they had like a what thirty forty thousand dollars arena? Uh, Charlotte did and sold it out every year get there and they we studied building Kndle before me Rex was there.
These was height. I mean these was college start all Americans, correct, and so they had the hype and here I am coming from you and every we talked about it. One one go to part down middle right, Ready the ball, Ready the ball. So we had to see the mugs. I did I not mention Tyrone Muggsy boat Yeah, by ba this how this little motherfucker do me this? How okay? This is how mugs talked to me. Uh, halfway through my rookie year. It's between me and the Kim Bay
Rookie of the year. He gonna come knock on my door. We on the road. He come, what a mother? What the mother? Before the games are because you're from Baltimore, so this is him. You want to win Rookie of the year? Young like, yeah, motherfuck, I want to win rook Out of the year. Big, I want to win rook Out of the Year. And for when he did that, I think I started averaging twenty five twenty six for us. Again, it was just coming. He's a bad dude. When when
it come to that, it was just coming, man. It was just coming.
That's the space jam picture.
Yeah, oh space yeah yeah, yeah, yeah here get it.
Talked us about that?
Yeah, what you mean you're gonna get into what talk to us about space gym?
And what was that?
What that was?
Like?
Can I tell y'all story? I hope y'all laughing? Then what was that called?
Right there?
That was that, your ladies and gentlemen. That was Michael. They built that because Mike, I think we was there a month a little over month. Mike was there the whole summer, so they built this like this is like a gym for him to practice in and get down in. And it was better than some arenas bro the showers. This was unreal. And there was ball games every day, and you know a lot of cats in LA, so they was coming down Reggie, you know. Uh And and you guys, see what's my big guy name, Sean Bradley.
If you show that picture, guess who I hung out with for a month money had Sean Bradley was me and shun guess up Meat Muggs was hurt. Muggs was hurt. Muggs had just had knee surgery doing this whole If I don't know if y'all saw space. Yeah, doing this whole film. He was never walking. It's a scene where we was walking. They was pulling him on the trolley. He couldn't walk. They were pulling him on the Charlie mugs. So I couldn't hang out with mugs. He was just
he was in the room all the time. Me and Sean was kind of hanging out. Man Sean Bradley. Yeah, good dude, good dude.
What was it like though, I mean, that's that that movie that experience.
Oh no, no, it's my story. So I had a fade right, I had for everybody? Got a ball heare mugs just got a red look cut. That's easy to do. And Pat you know who, you probably gotta work a little bit, but I don't work a little bit. Pack got what is that? What is that hot? What is that hot time? Pack got a hot time?
But I had that's that Steve Harry Before Steve Harry put it.
I had a blended fade right. And they had a tali in barber and I went there the first day. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that's what he was. I went there the first day. I said, say, man, because they say you're gonna be here, and I said, can you do this?
Oh, no problem, no problem, no prob up.
About five days later, the same man getting a little bit, can you do this, and faded.
No problem, no problem, no problem.
About that tenth day when I went to get a cut, he started off with sizzles. He did all sizars. I know I'm fucked up. I know I'm fucked like. He was trying to fade me with sizzles brothers, and I'm like, I know I'm fucking He got me turned away from the mirror and it was like ten minutes, lady talking about I'm done. I turned around, had a bowl cut around my mother. This was a bowl bro. I say, man, I ain't And I went to my trailer and Muggsy
Muggs little fucker ass. Muggsy cave it because they was waiting on me on set and Muggsy carry it there. He said said, man, we waiting on you, and he talked about her. The bust out laughing.
Right.
I say, man, I ain't going it up. I ain't going it up. He said, all right, man. He went back there told every last one of the moutherfuckers that didn't cave it. I ain't never seen you like a drug like this before. He was on the floor.
He was.
They was giving it to me and T T. K. Carter. Anybody know him. He's one of the actors, man, he was. He was dudes on the he's one of the actors. They had about five or six actors there to try to teach us how to act in a short amount of time. But this dude TK Carter looked at me, said come on, LJ and took me to a barbershop right down the street and in fifteen minutes, dude blending me, yeah, brother, blending me.
Fucked up for a minute.
Though I ain't never seen Mike like that. I ain't never seen Mike and Charle id up like that. They was giving it to me all over my floor. I'll get your ass out of here.
Shortt after he signed a big contract. You hurt your back and that changed your career forever. Talk about the effect of that injury and the process of trying to get back from it.
Well, it goes back to that high school coach I was saying. That's another thing, youngsters. You're getting your job taken now by you know, foreigners right right, because you're not getting the fundamentals. You just want to run and jump and dunk on people. No, man, they got these seven footags coming over shoot threes and runners, and we didn't have that. I mean, now done took away the post game. But if I'm talking to the youngsters, man,
it's about fundamentals. When you this age, it's cool to be athletic. You we want you to be athletic, but be able to shoot, pass and dribble with that athletics to them, right. So it took my high school coach, Like I said, member said earlier, when I left high school, everything else was easy. Everything un LV was teaching I knew, you know, except the meeb you know, everything everything Junior
College was teaching I knew. I knew the fundamentals. So when I did hear my back because I was one of them running jump casts, I was one of them dunk on everybody and do that uh zions you know in that area. And uh. When I heard my back, man, I just went back to the fundamentals to start playing better defense, shot the ball better, you know what I mean? For a point play, I distributed the ball better.
Was that In the simmies of the Eastern Finals, Simmis, Simmis.
Simmis Simmis, Yeah, because when we beat them, Yeah, it was Indiana. It was Indiana, and that.
It made a good catch.
Johnson, Yeah, yeah, team was a long way from being over wash his street throw wash it street throw. Ain't no way that balls should have win the hole. Ain't no way that get out of my head. Boy, I got almost Ain't no way that should a way of the hull. Now, the three point I knew I was gonna make. I knew the play wasn't for me. The play was for Allen, and then the second was Spree.
But I said two piss ass uh half ass screen to get back to the ball because I think I was three for three from three's that game and I I wanted that one. And before we walked that, Jeff drew up the play and it's Allen and Spree and he threw up to drew up the play and Marcus Marcus camping shout out to big EMC, grabbed me for you, went out and say you getting this ball. You know they gonna play that's that's Indiana. They gonna cut Allen
is the first, Uh, the option. They just don't take that away and and they know spree was and they gonna take that away. But MC stopped me and said, man, you're getting this ball my hope. So so I knew the three was going in. But you saw that free throw. Ain't nowhere in the hell that ballo the way of the hull. I got that motherfucker out quick. I got said, I lets that motherfucker go get away. And that mother was the hold. But I knew I was gonna make my three. I know I was, Oh you get away
from about even turn around. We weren't even look you get up talking about some good ship. Did you bring this ship up? Look it up? We want each other, look at over get it guy. See we were doing good. I wanted all to smoke. We was doing No. No, I ain't talking about here in the morning. I'm talking about the faith for whoever running this first hold on, whoever running this neither one of whoever running running.
Back wanted to play.
Look, I hain't no no watch with Jeff fall in the morning.
And that's.
If you get and that's old. I never knew that there was the first to do that.
You hit him, chopped him, chopped it either want of him, you know, and look at Ben Gunny down at the bottom, up screams holding up.
Thank y'all for coming out. We're gonna do this, motherfucker. I just felt I just never with a left did Jeff Bro, Jeff, I thought he just went down there. No, he sent the next day, went to practice. He had He says, what you trying to say? Shin shine up?
And I didn't know till he said he So, you know you hit me? So y'all had you and Spree on the same team. Yeah, y'all was fucking Spree up.
Spree went on that coaching coaches up.
Y'all, fucking coachs up.
That's crazy. I never knew you hit you, bro, that's my dude. Shout out just the trail. When Spree guy here, his locker was always by mind to practice on the road. They put Spree right by me. Yeah, I tell you you talked to I was captain and time man. I don't know what the fun to say. Spring Spree was a bad fucker and he came here. He was only but we always always knew wasn't nothing wrong with Spree.
I mean, Spree was a cool dude. Uh, this is pro basketball now college basketball, so some of you guys can't do two men, which you know family.
Yeah, so I'm not you know, I'm not saying. I'm just saying we all knew y'all have the special team though. Talk about that team and that bond y'all had.
The same thing. It went back to the almost like the un l V days, Man, un l V days with those cats. Man, I love those cats. That uh you know, we used to chill.
That's what that was.
That square, That's what I'm going Square.
I wasn't a square, okay, Yeah, yeah, the city got to me.
Yeah, he said, the city.
No, I ain't gonna put that. I ain't gonna put that on you. You know what we get. It's all the smoke. I didn't drink. I was a square then spoke didn't drink. All I did was chase skirts. When did that stop? I got rook here of I got Rookie of Year, he says, Charlotte, I got Rookie of the Year. I'm on my way up and I heard my back in the summertime. Who facts facts? And the season starts and I'm not ready to play the season.
But I come back and I can't play a lit That one of the legs was this one lonely was was sixty five percents less than this one. So I'm limping out there and we played Utah Jazz in Utah. Karl Malone. Now, the first two games my rookie year toasted. It gave it to him. And you know I'm coming out as a power forward. I uh cal alone, I gotta good at uh yeah, Barkley. I got those games. I was getting them eight to nine hours sleep getting ready for those games, because this is who I look
to be. Like this to first two games. Charlotte, your honey, you're toasted in my brookie yar. We'll play him twice. You talked, Charlotte toasted. It came back that second year. I have no business out there, ladies and gentlemen have no been. He gave it to me. He toasted me. He toasted me. He toasted me. And I was that week that I took my first drink on every children, on my mom who's out here. That's when I took my first drink my sophomore year at Charlotte because I
got toasted in a funk ad basketball. Yeah, my first drink. I listen when I say my first drink. I don't mean no. I did a wine cool little after the game one time. No, I did a why Am and my girl went out, But no, no me, it's ice to this day, this one don't do nothing. To this day, ice don't drink or smoke. Really don't do nothing. And that means don't do nothing. That don't mean birthday, No, we did. The first time alcohol all hit me was
when I was weak after that Utah game. Man went out with one of the homeboys from the team and ain't gonna say who it is. I ain't gonna throw him out there like that, And I said, man, funk that funk. That funk that. I think, I fuck your head. I think I was crying because he toasted me. So high school in Texas, y'all wasn't drinking. No thunderbird and no ship like that they was. That's why we ain't win shit. We had all that no no, and then you know, and I think everybody else did. Were about
the same age. But I used to get ass whoopings through at the Johnson. I used to get ass whoopings. So we stopped doing that. Getting ass whoopings.
You was in a golden age of power forwards. So I'm gonna say some names. Just the first team to come to mind, Charles Barkley.
Goat mmm.
Wow. I like that.
He always complained to me, man, he always complained me in the sawing. Uh he I saw different things. One game, he and I was out there coasting and I had a good bad a good back. At this time, I got like sixteen, so we guarding each other. The game was uh uh was wrapped. Larry Johnson versus Charles Barkley. I think it was my second year of the league, and I was no. Yeah, it was my second year in the league, and I was. I was me and him.
He got about sixteen seventeen. I got about sixteen seventeen and it's the third quarter and he went to go up to shoot and lunso blocked it, threw it out of bounds. Get that fucking shit out of here, I said, no, no, just block the shot. Hit that boo week as ship out of there. He finished with close to forty. He put that big ass head down and I couldn't stop me Longo couldn't stop men study looking at it. Yeah, start nam man, I mean we was going at it.
But once he had something to go for now, I mean here and I was chilling now LUNs on them through the dude ball I have been blocking shit and told him get that weak ass shit out of here. He went there and I couldn't go there. And he toasted.
Yeah.
I think he finished at thirty and he had like sixteen and a third or something like that. Dennis Robin ooh, homeboy, you know whe Dennis Robin's from right Sam Dallas. Yeah. Now, he had a sister named DEBRAA. Robin. She the best rebound in their family.
That's crazy.
She went to Louisiana Tech. Her name is Deborah Robin. Look her up. They said the day. This is the day and days where you look stuff up. She looked like him, she built like him. Her name is Deborah Robbins. She was a motherfucker. They when she was at Louisiana Tech. They I think they'd be Sheryl Miller them. Yeah, they was some. She was a beast. That's the best rebound in the family, Debora Robbing.
That's crazy.
Yeah. So and yeah, me and were from the same neighborhood, Me and d un Dennis Robber. He was a little bit ahead of me. We used to call him worm. He used to call him cartoon. He had these earls and uh yeah, And he didn't started playing basketball until like junior college. That's when he started playing basketball. We lived in the same community. He got put out of
his house one time, like sixteen. Mom put him out and he was he was staying in the Mom didn't put him out, send him over to his grandmother, and he didn't go. And he was living in the uh in the in the park for like a week until the grandmother. Boy, bring your ass on. That's Dennis Robin. That's crazy. Anthony Mason shout out to base beas beas can drivel past shoot said, it took me a year or two to get to that because I used to toast the Knicks. That's why they traded for me when
I came here. But it took a while for me. And when when Mace got his own, oh he was like a different player when they traded me for Mace and Mason. You know, mason't have to deal with Patrick Ewing and you know me a john starts shooting the ball every time he touched it. That's my dude, that's my dude. That's my dude. And Mace had his own. He became that player. He was that dude man.
Sean Kempon just saw my dude, just saw rain, just saw rain.
We was all dream Team two together, so everybody could get about dream Team too. Well, we were some motherfuckers too. Yes, that was some of the best. Oh my god, dream Team too.
Who was on that team?
Remind us shat me? Uh DC, he said, Sean Thron.
The band Dominique Wilkins, Right, Dominique, Dominique.
We went out every night. Hey, we went out every night. Yeah, I wouldn't have I wasn't square then, man couldn't be No, I wasn't bought and I was hanging out with d C and uh, what's what point?
God?
Michigan State, Stevie the Detroit motherfucker. I was had the Detroit butther as Sean as Shawn Man oh Man, oh Man. We played college team. We played the college team in Golden State because the coach was Golden State. Don Nelson was the coach. It's coming to me, Bro, it's coming too me. Don Nelson was coach. So we played the college team and Golden State and they said, all right, we're flying to Toronto. Uh bus leaving at seven o'clock in the morning. Yeah, fucking right, no way. Nobody. Coach
Don the Netson wasn't on it either, Yeah, nobody. So it's about four o'clock in the evening, they banging over. I finally got it, you know, right to answer the mud. I was like, yeah, man, yeah, I said, man, I'm gonna get my own plane. I forget my own player to he said, no, don't worry about don't worry about we leaving at eight tonight. Like there you go, there you go. So whatever they had for us to leave that morning, man, nobody made that play. But we beat
everybody about like thirty something too. I think we won one or two games, like seventeen eighteen. But we big Shock, big Shock, you know. And that's when Shack was Shack.
What was prime Shock, Like I don't think yeah, yeah, yeah, no.
They don't. We look at Shack now, and you know, some other things doesn't happen in the league. And no, and he was unstoppable.
He was that big.
He was just that big. And he developed a couple of little old jump hucks like nice touch. I used to kill him all the time. Me and Shock knew each other from college and we've done hung out in college before, so I used to kill him all the time. Like right for the game, I grabbed it. I'm like, motherfucker, you're best playing our league. Man, learn how to shoot free throw because I know we finish foul and we finished shock. What is that called?
What we used to do?
That hack a shaq and then you try to fight when you do that too. So before the game saying, man, you need to learn how shot freet through and I'm wanting, yeah, we're gonna hacker shock you, but I'm gonna have to
hacker shock you. And we was always close, but I would say say, man, you're the best player in our league, and we can go down here and get a dude that work at the Chicken shock who played high school ball two or three years ago and a little bit of this little back still play on the weekends, who shoot free throws better than you, And you're the best player in our lead work on your fuck the free throe, bro.
But he was a beast man. Well, man, we've appreciate your time. Tonight, We're gonna end this with some quick hit. It's the first thing to come to mind. Let us know one album with those skips.
Oh oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you you on. No, no, because I'm proud of the old list in here. So you know, Anita Baker, no skips.
He told y'all you love basketball and women.
Next question and since we talking about well, who was your childhood crush?
Probably all of them?
Was that?
Yeah? That that got me over here? Right?
Uh?
Jasmine God a different world? Yes, Lord, yeah.
God?
Yeah, she in the city. Jah, what up? Jazz is married?
Is married. So there was a rumor that that ninety fourteen that Dream Team too was what by the media.
They said. They said, y'all was too cocky. We were, y'all was feeling yourself as you should, as we should.
We did a walk out, you know, y out. You played in a couple of those old USA teams, but you know before.
The I watched them and smoked. I didn't play on none of.
We smoked and were to walk out. How they walk out all the teams and all the athletes and we walked past.
Uh.
I think it was a Canadian team, Correct me if I'm wrong. Canada. But they was like, man, we can beat them. They're not Dream Team too, we can beat them. And we all heard that and we all and you're getting you're dealing with d c me sean like what okay? All right, all right, and we we beat everybody. Yeah, we beat everybody.
As you should.
Guilty pleasure. That's fucked up. Huh. I need to stop drinking.
That's a guilty pleasure. A few drinks here and there and nothing wrote that. Uh cosamigos for the wind. Uh five dinner guests dead or alive? You plus five at the dinner table, dead or alive?
So four?
No? You plus five?
All right? All right, all right? Unrule Lijah Muhammad, Muhammad, Ali, Richard Pryor, Red Fox. I knew Red Fox, everyone I knew. I knew my brother Red Fox. Oh Man, that last spot, oh Man, Mon Dukes, Duke, thank you, thank you.
The one person you met, you were in awe of.
Joy. M J damn something about him? Facts facts.
If you could see one guest on our a show, who would it be? But but you have to help us get your answer on the show. Like a motherfucker. I fuck with y'all.
I fuck with y'all. I fuck with y'all.
Y'd old mighty, oh pee wee, we already had Zo, we had Zoe spree. Well, Houston, spree, y'all, we had, oh little trail, nigga, don't watch the show.
We had old already nigga.
He said, look, he hey, he said, spree. Well, you're gonna help us get him, sir.
We we get him. I'm coming back. Yeah, hell yeah, deal, make it a reunion, Make it a nice reunion. God damn right. Well, l J.
Man, we want to thank you first and foremost coming out tonight. But what you meant to us?
Man? Oh ship? What is it?
Birthday cake?
They got weed in it and we get everybody stand up? Everybody stand up right now. We celebrating five years. Five years. Everybody stand up.
Everybody stand up.
Thank you, man, appreciate that, Thank you, ladies, appreciate that five years.
Man.
We appreciate you.
Guys, Like we said, man, thank you guys for coming out.
We appreciate you, LJ.
We appreciate you.
Baby, given on one more time for LJ. Good luck this year.
Yeah, man, I'm be. We got fan questions. We got some fan questions, all right, my bad ship, my fault.
Who wants to ask a question? Where we at?
Right here?
Go ahead? You want to come back, Okay, y'all want us to come back. Huh okay, right here.
When you came to New York, how was it dealing with Anthony?
How was it?
How was it with Anthony Mason when you came.
After we retire? And oh they built that up for me and Mace and uh if you remember that year Charlotte beat us three out of four times. We played them four times, they beat us three out of four times, and they lost like the last four or five games to play us in the playoffs.
Yeah, it was real.
It was serious. And they got swept.
Yeah, so hold on, it wasn't the regular season three.
None, they got swept yea and yeah yeah, but I think Charlotte was happy with with the trade and New York is happy.
With prime sweating. What's up?
How you felt when you played up and coming five? Never played them? Never played them? Missed, never played them? You say missed?
He said, when they see Jersey and the rafters of the in the.
Garden, you're talking about the garden, real talk. When I see Clyde and I don't deserve that. I don't deserve that, bro. I appreciate that love, maam, thank you, But nah man, with what's going up there. Oh man, stop it for real. Go ahead.
Well, I just want to ask the question. And you said something that was very very important. You said in high school you had to learn the fundamentals. Right, So now we playing ote, we all over social media, our team plays everywhere, and now guys don't play towards the fundamental they play towards the clicks.
They play towards the likes. Right.
So unfortunately the high school coach has the tough job of trying to put in these fundamentals. I love them, but we fight every day. What the truth of the matter is, is this what advice? Because when they see y'all three up here on stage, they are motivated, they holding on to it. What advice could you give the youth who's trying to get through this time which is very very different where you just talked about you have to buy your mother's house, You have to strive for
different things. Some of these kids, they don't have to strive. Some of them are making money off of their likes and it ain't really about the game. And they don't really love her like that.
That's a problem. So what would you say, say they don't love they don't love it like that did you just say that that. Yeah, you can build a nice, cool high school player and make all city or all district, But we had a lot of all cities and second team all districts. They ain't going nowhere. You gotta have it in your heart. And it starts with the coaches and brother sounds. I don't know, brother, but he sounds
like he knows what he's talking about. Definitely sound like you're dealing with something, right, So he wouldn't ask to the question if he wasn't dealing with nothing. He wouldn't ask the question if he wasn't dealing with nothing. But no, man, you gotta trust your coach. You got to buy into your coach, coach your system. That's what happened at U n LV. Whatever coach talk, run through that wall. We were trying to run through the wall because we knew
he loved us. We knew it for our best interest. I mean, long as it's for your best interest. Think about it, it's your coach. Why wouldn't you listen and do what the coach say. Who you're gonna listen? You go click up. You're gonna click up, man, fuck you gonna click up.
Definitely, No, man, you just have to realize to go ahead.
No, I was never that player. I was never that player, youngsters, And you know I did all right, I did all right. But just look at that.
It just depends on where you're trying to get to. I mean, the clicks is the only get to get you so far. Playing for that is only with you to so far because other people are playing for their lives and trying to make it.
So That's why I think one.
Question came in though, you go, are you guys doing anything with the UNLV team, You guys doing any kind of docs or movie or anything with the UNLV team.
We got a documentary coming out. Oh yes, sir, we got a documentary. It's called I think we King of Vegas right now, King of Vegas King. Like I said, when we was there, there was no professional team nowhere. It was only about that school in that team. And the documentary should be a twenty twenty five and we got everybody. We got the whole squad back, whole squad back, everybody but Coach Talk used to Coach Talk, but his wife, his wife, lords his wife, Miss Tarkain. She did the document herself.
It's pretty good man looking forward hell man, we appreciate you again. Thank you guys for coming out.
Man, appreciate you, guys, Thank you, thank you. Pick up that coffee.
Table book coming out tomorrow, Grab that and ship We'll be back.
Man.
We appreciate you guys. Thank you guys for coming out tonight. Get home safe