Big Bank is what it is. Screen.
You don't be on nothing I be on okay, So let me ask you this bring you big big facts.
Right now. Visit the new website today Big factspod dot com.
Line for the culture labage time for Big Facts, Big Bank, Baby j d J Screen welcoming today. Two time NBA champion the most so many other days, Josh Powers are the building on big what what what?
What up?
Got us outside?
And come on now, Riverdale, Georgia right with that River High School, River High School. Okay, So.
I want to make sure I do this though before we get started over two hundred episodes you know the correct number, correct two hundred something, because I wanted to make sure I ask before I gave you all y'all flowers. Oh yeah, because that's a that's a dope thing, man for the work that y'all are doing.
And I know y'all ain't just letting anybody come sit on this. So with that being said, out of these two hundred plus, were about to get to.
It all right now are uh? We talked to Emon shumperd that was dope.
Uh Baby Baby came Big Baby, Oh yeah, he was. I want to ask you about this money. I just got to get this out the way.
So if you make up if they give you a contract for fifty to one hundred ms in the NBA, NFL with it, like, how much of that do you see?
How much of that do you actually does? Josh Power get to go fuck up?
After you pay your agent, your taxes, your lawyers, your trainer, Like.
What is that hundred m? What do the one hundred ms really mean? We'll go We'll go with the fifty You know what I'm saying, out the gate. Depending on where you live, you might as well have that wow out the gate just for taxes, taxes and everything else. So by the time you paid it to you if you save, for example, you in New York, save for example you in Cali, Like those are some of the highest places. Yeah, yeah, but then but then it's like, depending on where you go, they got different ways to
go about it. But Texas, Florida, you know, those those those places that don't tax you. So out the gate, I would say, just assume you got half of that. Then after just then, after you pay the people that's working for you, if you got anybody, you know what I'm saying, you gotta go ahead and take probably another ticket just in case. But your agent gonna get two to three percent, you know what I'm saying. So by the time you look up man and then you I mean, but out of.
Like standard management.
But if they find other deals and different things like that, Yeah, so it's like you know, that number can be whatever. So I would say if somebody's mothers and you real good with your money, might be able to and you put yourself on a budget at least twenty twenty out of their fifty. But okay, and that's that's what living all like. If you say your monthly spending is, let's just say it's thirty grand a month.
I'm saying, so before you get to go buy a lamb, a chain or whatever. You're saying that one hundred turns into twenty. Said fIF fifty, I said, no, fifty.
I'm talking about fifty from taxis you said no, no, no fifty instead, Yeah, started.
If you have two apples and I take what.
I said, fifty fifty from fifty from the.
Honey, no, say you said fifty, Yeah I got so fifty fifty turns to twenty.
Yeah, okay, that sounds that's still but that's cool.
Yeah, ship when you think about it, it really ain't ship though. You know what I'm saying, you just looking at the number, twenty million is a lot regardless. Get that's just like you hit the number of the day for a billion dollars and they tell you U a text you get two hundred.
Mean you're gonna be mad right right right now.
But it's still an injustice.
How you just you just ain't having with the money you bought that ticket with.
No.
But what I'm saying is no. But see that's my thing.
I want to just speak on that real quick because like people look at it like, Okay, fuck it. I still end up with more money than I had. But at the end of the day, you're you're still being robbed, like because it's your money that you won.
To me, you can't count with jene Got because at the end of the day, to me, you can't count with jene Got.
I don't know how works.
I feel like if I won this fair and square and you're telling me that this is what I want fair and square, like I need to win this fair And as.
Soon as you hold up Jay, you're an American.
Nah, I'm fucking from Indonesia.
Are you a US citizen? Yes, so as soon as you sign up and get that social the security, you.
Get social security, man, like you got it?
Did you a lot of in the beginning? No, no, no, I ain't. I ain't never been that type of person. What what What did it for me was divorce having to start over. Yeah, that's what it is.
So we wanting up.
You got the and that, and that's a lot of there's a lot of learning curves in there, you know. So I did not damn, so I got married on and a lot of what a lot of people don't tell you is like you and again there's more information out here now, but at the time they was like, well you can get a pre numbers like I ain't got nothing. And this is at the beginning.
Again because you're not thinking that far.
I'm at the beginning, beginning. But it's also everything that you all accumulate together, that's what you split. So like let's say, for example, uh, I signed a pre nump right and I'm six years in, but then I signed for fifty ms within the time we married. Got to split that. Oh so it's what you come with, not what I make. No, no, no, not. I'm saying, what you make when y'all get married, like whatever happens after that, because you you might. I've seen some people hold out
until they can't hold out no more. So that way everything goes to them, you know what I'm saying, and then they get married. But anything that you accumulate together once y'all are married, you got to split that.
Wow?
Is that okay?
So you're saying anything that you accumulate, accumulate while you're married, you have to.
Split as far as the prenup is concerned.
So basically, a pre nup really isn't an your best interest if you plan on being in a long term relations.
You already got money, but it still can. But that's why saying the education that comes with it. Because you got pre nump, you got post numb. Yes, you got different things that you could do to protect to text your money, you know what I'm saying. If that's the cause.
After, I mean the post up is after, so.
You know that. For me, it was like I'm twenty four years old, I had already went through a previous situation because the person that I entrusted to help finance, you know, help me be in a much better financial situation stole my money, so out the gate, I was already behind the eight ball. So literally, like what I was making my rookie deal was good money, but still I'm playing makeup on top of the fact that I
had a custody case going on my rookie year. So I was already with my oldest with my oldest Yeah, so I was already like in the middle of fighting and doing all of these things as well as trying to take care of myself, and I was also taking care of other family members and all that. So I was I was stretching it, making it do what to do?
What would you have done different? What would I've done this? From the day you sign into the NBA? What would you have done different? I'm gonna be real with you.
I feel like it's nothing for me to do different because my experiences can help somebody else. And that's that's in life. That's where I am because you learn it. And it's not that I've always been somebody that's bad with money. I ain't never been that type of person, but just knowing the things that I know now, because you know, we fall, we get back up. I didn't stay down. You know what I'm saying, So I'm in a much better place now, but what I learned from
that has helped me where I am now. So if I would have changed that, then I don't know if I would have the same habits or been able to learn to do the things that I that I'm doing now because of the things that's happened.
But I feel like in situations when people come into a lot of money, whether it be like some lottery shit or like some sports shit or some rap shit or whatever, and they lose their money, I be feeling like it's not necessarily like you said, that they're bad with money, but a lot of people's problem is that they're like too overly generous.
And it's not that you know, they're fucking it up on like friblous shit.
They're doing what they feel like they're supposed to do as the top provider of their situation.
N that's a fair thing, but I think that with anything that we do, people don't appreciate what they have at the time that they have it because it ain't just money. People losing they girls, they guys, Yeah, people losing out business opportunities because at that moment you didn't appreciate it when you had it. So you always feel like, well I got fifty million, I'm good, I'm straight, or that next deal is coming and you never know because anything can happen. Yeah, So a lot of times when
people get in them situation. I know for us as ball players, especially because I work with the un you now and helping players, so we do like programming and stuff like that, you know what I'm saying, and with my department, so we're helping guys with their transition. Were also helping the guys you know currently, like I said, as well as retired guys. So it's just a lot of that that goes on when when you're young and
you get money, you think it's forever. So for you and your mindset, if you're not putting yourself in that position, you're not thinking what's the next thing, or how can I secure this or do this to do that.
Because you think you're going to spend a check and get.
It right back and listen, somebody like Lebron or Kobe or all of these different people that have been able to reach close to a billion, like they came in with the mindset on how we're gonna build how we're gonna maximize. When you see people with real money, they
don't pay for anything. That was something that I learned being around like the top dogs, like I seen Kobe shooting around with people's kids, getting one hundred hours of free private jet time, like just on doing some free throw, some simple stuff like that, or doing a little signature, taking a little picture. Now you got a free little lamb. That's that's stuff we ain't thinking about. Were going we getting money, We're going, we're buying. They ain't doing that.
Yeah what minute. That's why they're always in the newest thing. They in the freshest thing, like they just got this a different system at it? Who coming up?
Who's your life basketball? You're like, damn, I want my game to be designed or I want to be looked at like this in the game, like who's your who's your top?
So my mom introduced me to the game, and I was actually playing football and baseball when I first started. And when I first cut on the TV, the first team that I saw was the Rocket, So I saw a team of Juan, So that's my goal, and then next up would be KG. So that's why I like
the number one. Yeah, I kind regard that. So I grew up watching that and I would always patting everything after that because he was like that guy for me, I've seen him do it on both ends of the floor, like giving you a bucket, go up, going the other end, strap strap up. I was like, man, I like what
he's doing. So that's the only person that I could think about growing up, like those teams that I watched, like and then getting a chance to watch the Hawks because I'm a home you know this my hometown and just being able to see Mochi or see the Kimbay or see you know, Nick and all that. So those are some of the people like I looked up to patting my game after and stuff like that.
Man holding up that trophy as an NBA champion versus signing that massive money contract, Like which one was more gratifying to you?
I think championship because it's legended, that's forever.
So you wanted them to take the dinner niggas.
I ain't gonna say I'm gonna take the dinner type of guy, but but I but I do feel for me like the the blood, sweat and tears that I put in, and it's as hard as y'all work like you want to be stamped. You want you want your name and your legacy to be seen. Many like money come and go, you know what I'm saying, But like I'm I'm in a place of gratitude and appreciation. So it's like those things like when you go to my
high school, you see Boom Jim. You know what I'm saying, Like when you think the South Side think of me, you feel me like I grew up Brady Jim, Like that was one of the teams I played that, you know what I'm saying, Like Coach Keep, I played for Outlaw, Like these are just like the same way with Outlaw, like his name, you know, he legendre you know what I mean. But that to me means a lot, because
that means you've helped pave the way for something. When people speak your name like you're a part of that.
Right.
Nobody can tell make that chip away.
It's historical.
Nobody can take that away. Nobody can take two of them away. Yeah, you know what I mean. Like it's just a different thing you feel me like and and it ain't just about me, like I felt like that was for the South Side. You know what I'm saying, like I felt like that was for my fault, like gotty roll like all that, like where I come from, like my people, Like I felt like everything that I've done south Side Clayton County has always been on my heart no matter what.
So you think the people that played and made a lot of money but they couldn't win because they had the Jordan in the way or brun in the way or step hurting them in the way. You think that they feel some type of void some of them players because they never got the hold of the trophy.
Now you know, it's funny because most people, they swear they'll take the money. But then it depends on the type of competitor you are. I'm not here to say anything about what you do how you do it, but if you are a competitor the way that you say, I would think winning is important. Fact, nobody likes to be this because you lose. We know a lot of we know a lot of people with money, but we talk about the people with money who win. That's true, we don't in fact the other people that got reds.
Who getting the Grammars you talk about, right, and niggas who ain't winning that's a.
Part of the argument, the goats and all of that. It's like, all right, that's cool. But then the next thing up is like what puts you up there? What what they talking about on ESPN right now is like, who's the all time got? This has been the conversation forever. Is it Cold? Is it Jordan? Is it Lebron? Is it this one? Is it that one? They ain't talking about who got what money? They talking about who don't want? Who? Putting them stats up? They talking about who? You know what,
I'm saying, Okay, they done got for it? This? How many other points? Now they're doing it on the other end, how do you separate that person? Like that's what they talk about. Ain't ain't about no bread.
They said any else?
I think being being the goat, Like if he ain't talking numbers.
It's really like it's really like your own preference, because some nigga might say niggas the goat because the impact they pushed off on the people.
You know what I'm saying, like he could have he could have just said if you put like you said, Lebron, Kobe and Jordan, Jordan's.
Altogether okay, jo ain't got the money, but he counted he impacted the coach with the shoes, with the with the rings with.
It's like, you gotta put all that shit into play, right, you got to. So that what they say about Lebron too, that's a part of his argument because of the things not only doing on the court, but what he's doing off the court exactly, the schools, the businesses putting that Miers on, you ain't heard nothing crazy now to his side of his camp, like he got a tight ship over there. Nigga run for president. Real talking, be powerful, bro,
real talk, you know what I'm saying. So that's something that's to be commended, man, because when you step into this role, the same thing with y'all, y'all got a powerful voice. People what y'all say, People that stamp, no matter what it is, you tell us, aboy, go vote for somebody. You tell somebody to show up, so well them people coming. There's power in that. Not everybody can do that. Everybody can't move to your beat. So that lets you know where you're at and what you own.
We all saw that Cam Newton situation that he had in his camp. You know I'm saying, when he got into a little scuffle what have you? How do you as a NBA player, celebrity, public figure, how do you personally if you ever had to deal with that type of stuff deal with it? Because you know, obviously this obviously comes with you know, hate, jealousy, confusion, whatever the case is that caused that scuffle.
How do you deal with as Josh Power. I think it's For one, I think it's laying like no disrespect to anybody that was involved. But I hate seeing our people behave in that matter for one. For two, I hate to see the fact that somebody's doing something in their community and to receive that type of hatred or whatever, you know, whatever they're trying to say, Well, he says something to us crazy like we can't allow words or something to get us out of pocket.
Like that he's positive and he's doing something good at the end, what.
Like for real, it really wasn't positive out of it though, because your niggas.
Gonna learn it. But that that that's the unfortunate part, because it's like people are doing so much good stuff and it's like something like that happened, and then it's like the culture. But then we wonder while other cultures struggle in regards to us or while we get pushed out of stuff because we don't know how to behave.
And then on top of that, like Cam is a Cam is a strong person and he's from THEO and he gets it. But it's a lot of people that wouldn't understand that, and that Woulin the program, and that would not only destroy what they were trying to build, but it'll destroy the kids. And the niggas that were fighting aren't even thinking about the effect that that could
have had on the kids. If he was like, fuck y'all, niggas, I'm finna kill this program because y'all want to act like animals and now these kids have nothing to do, nowhere to go and.
Nothing to play.
Or worse, what if somebody really really got hurt? You know what I'm saying. So I think for me, I'm gonna throw this out here. Hope camp see it. But I think for me, invite them on your podcast, bro, have a conversation and y'all show man what we got to see. I don't know the guys, but that's what.
Would want to talk though.
But that's what we got to push for. It would be it would let's do it. Let's talk about it.
Talk about it.
I'm on, I'm I'm on the devil's advocate flipped hand, the other side of the situation.
This is how you feel.
I feel like I get that, and I get like having to talk and doing all of that, but I just feel like.
I feel like.
I don't I don't see like shining light on stupidity.
Like I get the talk.
And all of that, but they really tried it in front of the kids while he was doing something positive with his time and his money that he didn't have to do.
No, that would make.
Sense though what he's saying though, because we don't really know what exactly what he is, won't know what happened.
There could to be a big misunderstanding.
We're looking at it because he ca'm new, somebody tried, and you get what I'm saying. Anything could have happened. He could have he could have been having a bad day. I don't don't not to say that I don't know what happened. I'm just saying we never know what happens. So a conversation would be nice.
But so you you have a hold on you bank got a great point. You got a great point. What I would like to say is, yes, we see enough stupidity online, we see enough stupidity in our communities and in our households. Why not have people set the example to show what emotional intelligence look like, conflict resolution looks like. Why not be the first to say, you know what, let's do that. Even as city as it is. But Cam has millions of people that's following him. He can
literally set the tone and change the narrative. Instead of having everybody else speak about it, he can just address it himself. Now we're doing something different, and that's gonna put us in a different in a different light.
Yeah, and I feel that in everything, But but I just didn't like the way them niggas was trying to talk shit after the fact.
I agree, I.
Put you up everybody saying like, Okay, everybody's taking Cam side because he's Cam Newton and all that ship. But at the end of the day, bro, like I just man, I just feel like he was trying to do the right thing, and them niggas tried it like, and.
That's not going I'm gonna say this too. I'm not I'm not taking nobody's side because they both was pushing peace right, because at the end of the day too, there are some questions that I have even in regards to CAM, like ou done been in my area, right, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna be in my area and not have people on deck. Now, other people may not know they on deck, but yeah, there's no way CAM is supposed to be touchable like that, you know what I'm saying.
So, but on another hand, to though, you're right what you're saying, But you gotta think about this. If I'm doing again for the kid, I gotta feel and let the kid feel like they can touch me. Absolutely, people too, So if I mean, it's the environment you in. So if I'm I got out the security, it make it look like what am I.
I ain't saying all the security like that to your point, right, I'm just saying from the standpoint, it shouldn't have got like that. Hold hold on, hold yeah, yeah, it shouldn't got because it was like this. But then it was like, Bro, it's a whole dude that snuck up with a book bag, swung and everything.
You mean to tell me nobody saw that.
You feel me like he already tussling holes Come up the stairs, bro, like where you come from? What if he had some moment I got to see that. I just seem like, list, we lost somebody shooting dice and doing whatever in Houston behind not making the right decision. That's all I'm saying. Anything can happen because guys us, we get emotional and then it's like, no, bro, my ego bigger than your You're not gonna disrespect me. This is what I'm gonna do. This is what I'm on. Hey,
how you get like right here? Like you know what I'm saying, because you be caught when we on the phone ship. You can keep the same energy at all times. I was, And I'm glad you asked that because my mentality growing up, I was a hot head. A lot of people don't know that. You know what I'm saying, Like, first of all, I was an introvert. I was dealing with my pain and different things I had going on.
But when I started getting a check. It happened before that because in college, when I had a grown man tell me, f me go back home and all that, I was like, that's what we own. Bro, I'm a kid. You're supposed to be here to help me. But they started messing with my playing time. You see what I'm saying, So now you mess with my money. That was in college,
they got so much power control. If you my coach and you don't like me for whatever reason, he just say, you know what, I got something big, don I'm just not gonna play him. I've been working my whole life for this opportunity. Now you just like bump brouh. I ain't gonna play because I just don't like him. I
could be the best one on the team. So when I went to Overseas, sorry, when I went NBA first and then went Overseas and then started going on my journey, I started seeing how the behaviors is impacting guys' livelihood. Why would I want to mess with that.
That.
I had to flip a switch quick, because it's gonna mess with with my name, it's gonna mess with how people are viewing me. Now you know what I'm saying. That gets in the way of my check. So I had to pipe down, bro. And it's the hardest thing, especially when somebody disrespect you would get out of pocket because you willing to stand on being a man first. But then I understood that a part of being a man is having that strength to say no, having that strength to walk away. Hey, bro, you got it. I
don't want no problems. So it wasn't though like specific you saying that's the incident like that was one because over time I really was on that type of time, like, Bro, I'll see you like and people can never see me that way cause they're like, Bro, you've always so come
like Bro, for real could go there. I really got that deep, deep, deep deep embedded in my bones, bro, because I came up having to fight and do certain things because of the way I was treated, because of the things that I went through, Bro, Like when I stayed at Old Tambilla, Bro, we was fighting doing all that off. You know what I'm saying. Being jumped was like, Bru, I got jumped one time, br by seven people bright
had an asthma tack bad because I got asthma. Two folk jumped down on me over some bull like I don't even remember what it was, but I still remember those incidents, you know what I'm saying. I got a lot of those that I can account on. But then, because we always talk about what we do here, I'll never forget going overseas and you on somebody else turf, So playing for Mafia own team for example, and the stuff that be going down. Bro, you got the move different?
You either move different or you ain't coming home. It's however you want to play it. So y'all got it? Bro, I ain't. I don't seen too much. That's that's the other reason why I'm just like, I'm cool.
I don't know, brother, how hard was it like being like NBA playing like on the road for like being in a relationship.
It's hard. It's hard being on the road, and it's hard being presents because it takes it takes work two individuals that are both for one dealing with their past traumas and everything else. And then when you get set in your ways, if you're not willing to do the work. So now y'all seeing life totally different. The way you view problem solving is totally different. Don't add kids to the mix because now you you think in your way
might be better than the other person way. And y'all not talking like communication is key, But in communication a lot of people don't think about listening. There some power in listening, you know what I'm saying. We were so ready to do this, this, this, and this, but were not willing to listen. How can I understand you if I don't listen to you react right, and a lot of people it's like you'll talk, but I'm so ready to I ain't heard nothing about what you like, what
you don't like, what you come from. Because that's gonna help me manage this relationship. If I love you, food with you the way that I say, I need to listen to you facts. If that's a fact, I can sit on the phone, bro, like for real me and you don't chop it up. Plenty of time, bro, we just chop it up whatever you got going on, because I need to listen what bank going on. I'm listening to a lot of things, not just what he's saying. I'm listening to his temperament, or if we're in person,
I'm watching his temperament. There's a lot of things that I get just in being present in the moment. All right, cool, I got it. I see what bank on, I see what King, I see what queen. You know what I'm saying just by paying attention because I want to be able to develop up a level of trust with you all or whoever the person is I can't do that if I feel like, nah, but I got it. Okay, you talk, okay, cool, I'm ready, I got I got
the next thing. And it's like they gonna walk away feeling kind of like he seemed cool, but I don't. I don't really know, bro, it's something about brother. I ain't really feeling that.
Yeah.
And then the other part to that is too, like understand the situations because when I have people that tell me they love me, do the things that they've done to me that let me know too, I need to be tuned in a little differently. But what pushed you in the podcast? Like relationship matag now it's dope, it's dope. Shout out to you, now, what pushed you in the podcast?
Because everything that we do deal with relationships, everything, business, friendships, family, being a parent, you know, your kids, all your significant other. Everything that we do has to do with relationships. So I was like, you know, when I first because I had people hit me like you know, talk about sports or do this or do that. Man, it's bigger than that. I want to I want to separate myself. Like if you go on my page, I barely post anything basketball.
People don't even know who. It's a lot of people that just really don't know who. And to me, that's cool because it's like you get a chance to get to know me as a person versus yeah, like bro who But nah, I want.
You to know me, not two time championship winner.
That's great, but I rather I'd rather I rather you know me. I feel like I feel like I don't I don't sit here if he don't know my spirit. Fact, you know what I'm saying, like the.
Red Ship, what you're saying, because even even not even just in spirit, like, I want you to know me in it now, like a lot of people know me from from now for podcasts, then you.
Got people that knew me from this me from me, So I want you to know that now me. You know what I'm saying. I don't want you to know the.
Reputation it because your reputation sometimes Yeah, So I want you to know the like you say, know me when you see me, know me, like oh okay, I see the bank on like you just said. You know what I'm saying, Cause this nigga that don't even know that I'm the same bank that was in the movie. People don't even know that I'm the same bank. They had a record label that people don't know that I'm the same bank. They just did a lot of different shit, had a song with Candy.
And all this shit. They don't know. It's it's like ten different niggas. But that's the beautiful part of the journey, you know what I'm saying. And that's that's the thing for me, is because I love I love the journey. But the other thing that I learned about the journey is as you continue to grow, it gets lonely because not everybody is seeing that thing the way that you're seeing. Yeah,
did to get real lonely? Bro, because you know, you feel like, man, I'm having conversations people just ain't understanding. Not that you have to agree that they see you, they understand. I get where you're getting at. Now, let me challenge you on this, all right, Cool, let's add that conversation. Yeah, I'm willing to go there. But everything else, Man, it's hard. But I wouldn't change it for the world because I don't want to be the type of person where I was the hot head or I'm talking to
people crazy or doing certain things. I want to be the type of person that move on, especially not being in a relationship like you can't. If you want your relationship to be positive and to flourish, you got to understand grace, You got to understand forgiveness, You got the mimble of it all that you got to move forward because it's more. The most important thing is y'all ain't got nothing to do with me. I gotta let that
out the window. So that's why the relationship thing, man, it's so beautiful because yeah, everybody in it, but what are we doing in it? And then in the space that me and her have because we're coming from two totally different perspectives. That's what makes it great. Because you either got the man thing the woman thing, or you
got couples and then that's it. And then depending on who you're talking to, it's either pro woman bash man, pro man bash woman, somebody losing, you know what I'm saying, instead of just like we're trying to do this thing together. You feel me because that's the only way. And this, this war or whatever this is between men and women, especially in our community, it's a real.
Thing man, in big fact tradition. Like I said, we talked to Big Baby about this. We talked to the Will about this, Steve Jackson, EMU SHUMPERD. But I want to know from the Latin.
Naty, who are the basketball rapping goats? The basketball goats, yes, three of them, the ghats of basketball rapping. Does it matter like current or just of all greatest of all time? That's the greatest because I always jump out there and say shack, and then they jump on me because I say shack, but you said shock. Because of the rewards, the plaques. Yeah, it's some hard songs that people still listen to. He had a song Biggie that people still
listen to. Is that because the Biggie? I'm not getting into that. Oh you should see. We could see all say we could we can say.
We can say people the person on the Lakers right that didn't play, that was on the bench, way on the side and get no minutes, still got a ring.
They're champion right, technically they are. I got an argument for them too because I'm one on them that people like to tell me about me too, So that's cool. Yeah, min this though, but people will just spread it. That's the beautiful part about the conversation. Yeah, and I'm a realist bro like it's not. It's never gonna hurt my feelings, like for me, you know what I'm saying. The league, the league is going on for seventy eight or seventy nine.
Have a long the league has been going on, right, there's only been almost five thousand people to wear a jersey. I'm one of them, so I don't have You could call me a bitch more you could say. But I also got nine years in of service, so it's like I wasn't like the one and done, which is nothing wrong with that. I was able to get a couple of years under my belt. There's something to be said for that. There's something to be said for a person to get a tryout that's not that's not easy, you
know what I'm saying. So I think that it's fair and to your point because we can talk about all this nothing. But I wouldn't give Shaq that because he had Biggie on the song. Cause Shaq really really go bar for bar without any of that other stuff going on I'm thinking about. But they like it. But he came in the era and this is just for conversational purpose, but he came in the era where he was able to use his status and everything else like shot is
popping man. Some of the people using everything movies, music, get all the chicks. They're gonna give it to you, go get it. Some other people use their status amazing, Please talk about God.
I love that.
Listen, I jump with about that. So you ain't saying music. Wan Cold Cole has some music. Yeah, so for mees stack be going, uh a little be going. I don't know if people mentioned his name, but Markue's Dames, Oh yeah, yeah, for sure, look at him. He was hard. Yeah, trying to think who else in there?
I know.
Emon shump shumps some cool Yeah, I got I got some stuff. Who garbage? Garbage? Oh?
I didn't love Kobe. I didn't love Kobe music. Who else I didn't love Kobe music. I can't think of nobody right now, but a lot of a lot of garbage.
I didn't like his music. You know, you know, Dwan Blair had a record, had some some music, the Wan Blair. I don't even know Bro he played with the Spurs. I don't even know. Listen, Bron Bron is Bron is producing. I don't know if Bron been on the KD just kind of snapped on Katy got a few.
Little you know.
Yeah, I'm gonna check kt stuff out. But I thought bron was produced because he just he did two changes on yeah yeah. So now they in it. I'm trying to think who else though I know God listen and I know them too, especially currently right now the name just say propativity. I know the teams. I've seen Miles Bridges do some stuff that uh man, big featherure nasty work too.
So they say, else, how hard was it like staying focus like through school and you know what I'm saying, to just stay like focus.
On the ball, then go to the streets matter, how hard was it? Wow? I think that whether you play ball or don't play ball, or focus is hard. It's hard. It's hard right now. Ain't gonna lie to you because I'm in a different part of my journey. You know what I'm saying, like spirusly being two years in baptized, so I don't go out. You know what I'm saying. I stopped drinking and smoking and the edibles and the additional women. It's harder, no, cap it's death.
So that in like you ordered an extra piece of chicken.
Now it is hard because you know when when you striving and you want to be in certain places, Hey, man, turn it. I don't look at it. The motherfucker. You gotta turn it on. You gotta sacrifice.
Motheruger went from an oven to a freezer fifteen minutes.
That ship on sixty eight man, turn it off, and hey, what was that?
My bad?
Put my hoodie on. Now you just talking about the focus, man, and you know it's it's nothing. It's nothing easy about trying to be a better version of you. So I've been on that. I've been on that journe it.
For forty bars.
I might that what you do, what you do to do, like when it do get hard, like when your mind be trying to play tricks. I ain't trying to shift on what you do with's some of the something shit you do to So beforehand, because I know people you know, can hear what they want to hear now. But beforehand, you know what I'm saying, I would dabble a little bit, you know, I might slide to a little strip club before before folks get up in there. I'm one of them. I don't want to. I don't want to be in
there when that thing jumping. I want to go in there and you know, stretch my wings a little bit, watch a little TV.
Right, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, I don't I don't want no. I don't want no problem. So but something like that was cool, like where you could just go. That doesn't mean I was on anything crazy. It was just the entertainment. Watching a little TV, eating a little food, having some good conversation. Go home. You get to see a little something. Go home. You know what I'm saying. I go to the I like going to the movies. During my playing my playing days,
I spent a lot of time in the studio. I'm a big music here, big music head making music or just giving. Sometimes I give my input, other times just sit in on sessions. I'm talking about. Been in there with Polo I done, been in there with Timberlin. I don't been in there with heavy hitters. Man. I went to I listened to the chron two album at dre spot.
I had a chance to like really just tap in man and just have some fun and connect with artists, have the conversations about who's the best and all of those different things. So that was what I did then what I do now, I'll pick up the phone, reach out to a brother. You know what I'm saying, tap in with him. I'll read that Bible, I'll watch a sermon. You know what I'm saying. I write, read, meditate, go for a walk, workout. That's what my mom went to
the gail late night yesterday. The all thing you be got there slipping back and forth like your mind. You know what I'm saying. In my mind, bro, I'm there right now, be one hundred with you, bro, and that that that'd be my thing. Like, especially like when you share with somebody that you're a believer, it's like, oh, all that just go out the window, and it's like, no, it don't. I'm a man still, you know what I'm saying. My mind still be all over the place sometime, you
know what I mean. So I'm I'm always working on that. The thing that I am proud of is like no action mm hmm. So I'm not doing that the way that I used to do that.
Okay, understood?
Overstood? Then why Atlanta, Bro? Like, because I was you played for a lot of teams, so you played overseas and everything. Why Atlanta? Why you felt like I gotta go back to Atlanta? This way I gotta live being from here, growing up here, you know what I'm saying. I think Atlanta's beautiful. Man. I feel like our people, the way that we move, how we talk, the way
we dress, you know what I'm saying. And you might have somebody clean, they might have, you know, to fit it, to fit it outfit on you go on the south side of everything. Three x t stem, three x three x sweat stem. You feel me like, but we are, we are who we are, you know. I think that's the thing that I appreciate the most. And Atlanta is a straight flight from here to anywhere in the world. Can't beat that, and I love it. Man. I feel like, you know, we don't put on like real Atlanta people like,
ain't no putting on. You know, you know who you are, whatever side you're from, with how you move, how you move, And that's the thing I appreciate. I've lived in a lot of different places because of the teams I played for and stuff like that, so I had a chance to like kind of witness the cultures, you know what I'm saying. So I think that another beautiful thing too, is you know, you can raise your family here. You know what, I'm saying, there's a lot of history and
culture here in the city. So there's a lot that I that I appreciate about about Atlanta and how we are as people. You know what I'm saying. Mm hmm. It was one of the places you moved to that might have been a little bit of a struggle though, like maybe even overseas he was there, he was getting the bread, he was hooping, but you was like, man, listen, I went to China during the lockout. I went to China a few times, but I was in a like
a third class cities. What that means is it's not Americanized. So like if you go to a Beijing, they speak English, you got a lot of like it feels like New York. Oh yeah, where I was, No folks spoke no English. Ten inches of snow. During the time I was there, I stayed at my room in the hotel. Yeah, I stayed at my room the all time. So they had either McDonald's. We was able to find a cool little Chinese spot that you you know, that you can trust for the most part. And then and then they had
like pizza. Pizza hud is a big thing over there, so they treat like the piece of huod is like Ruth Chris like, it's top tier service everything. So now what n KFC crazy, Yeah, go crazy. It tastes different. It's the price so that that money is different. I don't know because you know the dollars change obviously now with everything going on. But back then, man, I mean you can make a dub stretch for sure, just to show you know what I'm saying, you make a dumb stretch.
But the dope thing about like overseas is like they pay for everything, so they give you for dim you know, your spot is free, like you don't have to do none of that. You got a driver, you got a babysitter which is your translator. You got all of that going on. So you just make a call, bro, You just you know what I'm saying. They cater to you. Yeah, so it's love like. And then when you're going everywhere like them folks really will they mob? They come down?
You know what I'm saying, So how don't you stay that time? The two times that I went and played done that season was like six months. Six months. Could you consider yourself like if you had to build a like five year, ten year stript Yeah, especially with the bull going on in the States. Yeah, I'll be out if I could pick my city.
Yeah.
But even if I couldn't pick my city and I got my family, you know, my folks with men, I'll make it stress because you're gonna be over there with a bad brother. Listen to folks be living bro. When I wasn't playing in the Philippines, our gm bro had a compound. This man had three mansions on one property, a zoo. He had three different drivers. Every kid had their own nanny like those folks live different though, like the American dollars stretch Bro. Listen, he had his spot.
The people that stayed and took care of the property had literally their own mansion, like crazy they living bro.
Was it did you have like I remember overseas like sometimes like like a big hotel room as small as fuck, Like did you have that problem too?
It the bell was too small and they had the toilet was like down. So it was just when you travel because obviously in your home city they want to make sure, like they paying you that type of money, they gonna make sure you straight. So I had like a big sweep that was cool, But when you travel man, I done had the shower with the toilet in the shower, you know what I'm saying, Or the toilet that's in the flow. I dodne had. I had a situation one time.
The room was so nasty and infested, but I couldn't I couldn't go stay in another room. So I had to put a full sweatsuit on. I had the time of face up in that joint and go to sleep like this, bro, like like like bugs everything and that thing. But what can you do? Like you on the road, you in the city, and I called, I called my person. I said, hey, man, you gotta tell them they got tight know what we're doing. He called. They said, we ain't got no more results. So what I'm gonna do
through it? I was sick, bro, But you know, I just stayed in a lot of places. Man. I played in Puerto Rico. They had some stuff going on. Sometimes. Man, you might go three no water m hm, So you gotta go to the stove, try to buy the bottle of water and take the showers and do it like that. You saying, like the shower water is fucked up too all that, bro. They might shut the whole water off on the island, you might just play a whole game. Bro in Kate Wash, i'd've been in all that. That's
not what you get paid play basketball. You get paid to play basketball. But to the other question, when you ask, like why are you always like this? And it's like I done seen it all, Like I don't come from nothing, And even when I got to a certain place, you gotta be humble because you're playing on other people's turf. Like whatever the situation is, what what I'm gonna do? What can I do if it's an island issue, What
can I do if it's a city issue? You know what I'm saying, Like there's nothing that I could do. And then like, for example, being in Venezuela, like we was over there when the riots was going up. So I have seen the folks cut up. I've been watching a movie, you know, being hard hited because they like, stay in your room, don't leave the hotel type stuff. I go out anyway, go watch a movie, come out, brother, folks shoot tear tear gas, shoot shoot bullets of people,
the whole show. And I'm caught up in that trying to get back to my room. You know what I'm saying. But what can you do because you stuck in the room, you feel crazy. You got to get out and breathe every now and then. So for me, that's what I would take off.
So what you think like throughout your journey, what you came up with, like the key to having a happy life here? You know how you, how you when you when you find you're inner piece that you got like you kind of know it should.
Keep my happiness. This for me, the key is not happiness, is contentment because people are dying behind being happy or sad. So I got to be I got to be here and just be grateful that I get to wake up every day that I get another chance to be better, that I got a roof over my head, close on my back. That's where I'm at. The happiness part, that's great. Like if I if I have a great day, cool,
I'm having it. I'm struggling with my mental health right now as we speak, bro, because it's things that I got to deal with that's going on in my life court wise these kids, Like there's stuff going on right now and in order for me to just keep it here, like unless I speak on it, people wouldn't know because
I'm just here and that's a real thing. But I'm sharing that with y'all because it's important for guys especially, Like it's okay, you know what I'm saying, Like keep fighting, keep doing what you can to stay with it, because your mental health and wellness, bro. Like we all can put on, Bro, Like we all can put on especially now we got social media, or even if it ain't a social media thing, we can still put on because that's in our nature to make people feel like we okay.
But it's okay to not be okay. But it's also okay to express that you're not okay. And just how do how do we get over that humps? You know what I'm saying. So I'm on that journey, bro, and it's nothing easier about it.
Give us some books, bro, because you're a big reader, right. It was like a few books that you would recommend to us, just people that might have impacted impacted you somewhere man.
First one, I say that Bible. Second book, I would say The Alchemists. Alchemist is hard. Phil Jackson gave me a book, The Role Let's Travel. I like that one. Also many what I wish I knew y'all, Go ahead and check that thing out and you feel me. You know what I'm saying, y'all let your boy man go ahead, pick that thing up.
Man.
Yeah, we're talking about We talked about love and relationships and how to be a better me. Who else that what drummer boy got a book that beyond the be Like, I'm suing everybody because we are artists, bro like our author excuse me, our authors, man, and I think it's dope that that we're doing this. You need to have a book, queen. You need to have a book. You need to have a book. We all need to you feel me, Yeah, because it's you self published. So I wish get that.
Figure it out.
Honestly, I'm gonna get that. I'm gonna get definitely sure. So y'all check us out, man, and keep plugging away. What I wish I knew.
Most definitely final words gems everything for the people, for the fans, for the big fact supporters.
To lead to the viewers from the south side.
From the south side. Uh, I think for me, man, continue continue to state the course, you know, focus on yourself, take the necessary steps to do the work that you're doing. Surround yourself with the right people, and the right energy you know what I'm saying, and don't allow people's situations and circumstances to get you out of out of kilter man and wherever you want to go, attack that each and every day had the right mindset, and it's okay
to fail, continue to fail until you succeed. And even sometimes in success success, there's still failure and things that happen, but it's all a part of growth. So you know, for me, there's so many things that I know I live by and that I got to continue to forgive myself. But I think showing love too, So even when you don't have it, it's important to let others know how amazing they are. That's why I wanted to start off by just telling y'all, man, keep doing what y'all doing.
We appreciate.
You know, Salute to y'all, and thank y'all for having me on. For sure, it is.
Big shouts out Josh Powell pulling up the Big Fact check us out at Triple W dot Big Fasspod dot com, Like, subscribe, comment all that on the Big Facts Network.
It's a Big Fact Capit