“2009 Western Conference Finals” with Kenyon Martin | Nuggets vs. Lakers

nine Western Conference Finals Game two. Lakers burst the Nuggets, and I swear this isn't a podcast that hates the Lakers, but maybe kind of. They hate the Lakers a little. But we like Genny Bussy because we're Ginny Busy fans. But we both don't like the Lakers because it's but we like Genie Bussey's so and also the Lakers are the benchmark. Yeah, they're huge. Lakers and Celtics are the number one franchises win wise in the NBA. We got to trash them a little bit. That's called a measuring

stick team. Every time you play them, you pull out the measuring stick. Later today we'll be joined by Kenyon Martin can't wait. We'll check in what was going on in the world in May of two thousand and nine. We'll take a look back at both these teams, and we'll wrap up by naming the game and scoring the game. But follow Games with Names on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter

at Games with Names is the handle. Subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, rate and review, and leave a comment. We want to hear from you. Why are we doing this match? I mean, this was a pretty cool game, This was a cool series. This is as high as the Nuggets have really flown in my lifetime. I can't think of like it because I grew up.

I guess they had that big upset on the on the one seed Sonics in the nineties, but you don't think of them as having like a cool Now they have a cool team with the Ookics, But like, yeah, this was I think the toughest team they've had. Yeah, I mean they had Chauncey billups Kenyon Martin, and you always forget how good what's his name, Carmelo, Carmelo, You always forget his name. I always forget his name. No, he was, he was generational talent. In his prime, Mellow

was unfreaking guardable. He couldn't be stopped, you know, even in the game. In game interview he said, no one in the world could stop him five teams. I love that he didn't care, and you saw it throughout the game. I mean, in those baby blue, sweet silky looking nuggets unis, can you call it a Carolina blue? Is it a Carolina blue? It might be even more powdery blue? Is it more powdery blue than the Carolin line blue? To do a color palette check, but George Carl is the

Carolina guy, so he'd probably say yes. George Carl coaches team. A lot of the players have trashed him. We got to ask Kmart about that later. But like Kmart was on one of those sports shows being like he sucked, he's an asshole. I wonder if it was just tough. I wonder if he was just a tough coach to play for, you know what I mean, those nineties coaches, like guys like George Carl, Jerry Sloane. You know, they

let some slurs fly. There's no way they weren't, you know, like they they definitely I mean, look, that's allegedly allegedly. We don't have any proof on this. It's just a mirror I get. If I met George Carr, I'd be like, did you say the N word? Maybe a couple was that the problem? There's something there's something hard nosed about him.

He definitely did not seem like a player's coach. No, but this was an era where coaches were coaches and players were players, and you know it was it's all been miskewed because of how Phil Jackson was with his zen mentality. Because he He's had the best teams that had to, you know, get all these superstars to play well together, but most other teams were trying to beat Phil Jackson type teams. That's a great point. Phil Jackson. You picture him giving you like a navajo like feather.

He's like this is from Runs with Bull And then you know George Carl's like run pussy. That was the two different vibes. Phil Jackson seemed like he'd be fun to play with, but he also you know what Phil Jackson feels like he would do. He feel like he would give you like a book and if you didn't read it, like the next day, he'd be like dude, I gave you a book. Yeah, he had that energy full mister Miagi vibes. I don't know why the Bonzai tree just came into my head, Uh thinking about that.

You know, these little kind of weird, tedious drills to build team chemistry. But you know, screw the Lakers right now. We're here to talk about the Denver Nuggets. Yeah, and this team that had a shot and won this game too. They lost this series and six, but they won this game. And it was a tough matchup honestly for the Lakers. This was they The Lakers went on to win the championship. For one, they beat the Orlando Magic, Uh, Kobe, They Dwight Howard. Yeah, Turk Lou. That was a fun Magic team.

This was a tough This was a tough Lakers team to beat. It was, but I think this was their toughest matchup in the playoffs. Yeah, I think this was a team that pushed him. But yeah, the Lakers were just destined away. It was one of those this is the championship. If we win this, we got the ship, no doubt. And they had, Uh, they had just come off that loss to the Celtics the year before, so It's like Kobe was like, I'm fucking winning, Kobe. This

was Kobe's first ring without Shack. They had Andrew Bynham Young, Andrew Bynham, lamar Odom, Paul Gasol obviously. Uh, you know all these good role players like Derek Fisher. Uh, you know who is the guy you could jump out of the building, Shannon Brown Brown Jewish, Jordan Farmarm, I'm farmer and jew from U l A Farmer U c l A. Luke Walton Lou Walton, Arizona and future head coach of

the Lakers, Luke Walton. Yeah, shout out. Even though you don't like his dad, he just criticizes the next two much. You just don't like his dad. I think he's fun. He's like it's like he is fun. It's like going down a crazy trip listening to him at like twelve o'clock at night from the East Coast doing a Pack twelve basketball game. If a person were tie die, he's a fun vibe for that. I hope we can get him on the pod one day. He'd be good. Yeah. I think we'd have to do a Blazers game though

probably UCLA. You like John Woodens, he was like almost perfect, the pyramid of success. Yeah, I'm just I don't give a shit about your college ball. If you're on time, you're late five minutes before the meeting. If we're doing college ball, it's because one of these guys forced us. It's because Kyler's Like, come on, I know Jack fucking loves college ball, Davison, I don't give a shit. I'm a pros guy, dude. You know, real cities love pro sports.

Big city, big city, Real big cities like pro sports. Yeah, what's going on? In May twenty first, two thousand and nine number one movie Terminator Salvation. I never saw this. Yeah, it was weird. It was two side. It was like almost two sci fi e for me. Really, Yeah, Like I love Terminator two. Yeah, T two rules. T two was the best. Robert Patrick is a badass villain. Schwarzenegger is now the good guys. Kind of fun. Yeah. It was kind of like in wrestling when Hulk went to

the bad guys and then the good guy. You know what I mean again? Right, Yeah, the he'll switch, he'll switch, but the other way around. But the Senegger became good. Yeah. T two is awesome. This is the one with Christian Bale isn't it. Yeah, and you want it to be good because I love Christian Bale as an actor. He's the best top five? Is he your tough? I think that's for this generation. It's debatable. I think it's you got it. He's not a top five for range. He's

been there for everything started out. What was that one movie were he News? Remember that when he was a kid? Empire of the Sun, Empire of the Sun, newsy Is though. He's singing, dude, So that's that guy. We're giving range points. He's Batman, that he's I think he's the best. Bruce Wayan best by far, not even not even closed. And I'm a Keaton guy. I'm a Keaton guy. He's a Ken State alone, is he? He went to Kent State him and well, dude, fucking Christian Bale, American psycho and

he's amazing. I didn't know he was British when I saw that movie. I didn't. I still don't know. He's British. The Fighter, The Fighter, the Fighter. Yeah, we're talking range. You got to put him in that conversation. This was also the the movie where Christian Bale had the legendary on set rant the y cinematographer for walking through during the scene. You're a great actor, not a good person. Yeah, what'd he say? You're an amateur because I was walking around?

Hey man, I mean we're talking about greatness, you know what. It kind of reminds me of It reminds me of DeVante uh with The Raiders. Oh when when a guy goes on the on on on the through the tunnel, he pushes him. Sometimes you got to get out of the way of the artists when they're working. It feels like Christian Bale is such an art artist type actor that you feel like this is clearly one he did for the money. Like, you know, he's not doing he's doing like you know, other movies for the art. He's

doing the machinists for the art. But then he gets this one. He's like, yeah, this is They're paying me a lot of money. So he's probably already cranky to be there. Is he a method actor? He is? I think is did he have to feel like it was maybe he was in terminator mode? Maybe he was maybe he's in terminator Was he playing a dick in the movie John conn John Connor's like son or is John Connor? He's the kid indeed too grown up, that's what he is.

I think I tried to watch it. I think he's the kid in two that was on the dirt bike all time and that Arnold was protecting. Yeah, I think when he grows up, that's who he is. Oh man, have you seen Ed Furlong grown up? He does not look like Christian Bale. That movie is a best case scenario, even if it's the end of the world. Vibes yeah, boom pal, oh black Black Eyed Peas, No one's yeah, which one is that? Boom boom pom boom boom pal. Remember Black Eyed Peas had Let's get retarded. I can't

say that. That was like ten years ago and that was a number. They're like, you can't say anymore. I'm like, okay, but it was top forty. Like they made a lot of money off that word. Did you see eight? Antonio Brown's post to the Arizona Cardinals. What do you say? You can't say it? Well, he said it? What is it? It's like, what does it say? Like I'm starting a new team called like the Retardinals or something Retardinals And he did a photoshop with it and all, I mean,

it's a bad look. Yeah, I mean day and age for Antonio Brown, know the client, know the climate, you know it's you know, it's a bad look when we're saying it's a bad look for Antonio Brown. Yeah, that guy that I whipped it out in the tub. You you can't whip your dick out in the public tub, did he? Yeah? Over there in Dubai. Yeah, what do you mean I didn't hear this story. You didn't see the video. No, he was like sitting in a tub

or a big pool in Dubai. The meat just pulled it out and then he jumped up and put his butt cheeks on this lady's head. He wasn't even with the ladies. You's just some random lady in the pool. Yeah, what are we doing, buddy, Yeah, that's not you can't be doing that. He's actually such a charming guy in person. Yeah. I like, Aba came over, we broke bread together. We only spent like six days together until you know, he was out of the building. But I thought he was

such a charming guy. Yeah. No, I mean I think guys like that certainly have the ability to charm, But I don't think she was charmed by him at all that is CTA in full motion. That is You're lucky you got out, dude. Thank god. We don't want to see Julian Edelman whipping it out in a public pool. Thank god you got your shit together. Yeah, I mean I kind of want to see it personally, but I think, like, you know, it's a bad look. It's not a good look. Yeah,

there's not a good Glee premiered on Fox. Uh Glee? Yeah, that was that was big Jane Lynch. I didn't really watch it. I just remember I watched it once on a flight and it was like it was good. It's a good show, which is not my cup of tea. Yeah, I was a little too old. That was like when like being gay was edgy. That's when they were like, oh my god, a gay show is like on TV and you're like it's not a big deal, but they

were like, it is. It's on Fox. Fox. Yeah. I just remember there was like, wasn't there a rapper date in one of the cast members And he kept on like referencing, my girlfriend works in Glee? What big Sean? Yeah, big Sean? He did Glee member who he date? Nia Rivera Yom Yom's on fire today that kid that kid died too, remember the one from Glee. That's Sad one of the main guys r ip alrighty dude, Yeah, drugs, drugs. Drugs are bad. Don't do drugs, dude, so bad. Facebook

launches Farmville. Farmville was annoying. I didn't play it was you know what. I didn't play either, But like you'd always get those invites. Someone was like invite what what did you get points for inviting someone? It's like being It's like being a Jehovah's witness. They're like trying to get you to recruit. I'm like, get the fuck off my page, dude. Do you get points for recruiting? Is there like a Farmville afterlife or something? So? What was

the concept to the game? You just farm I remember a lot of guys in the locker room being on it. Really yeah, farming for hipsters. You'd be surprised that all these little like phone games there was a phone game was yeah. Phone games would be so hot in the locker room in between meetings. This I remember Matthew Slater used to play this game a lot all the time. He's I'm like it's cool, Like, what are you doing He's like, yeah, I just watering my crops. I'm like,

we're in the training room. It was like an adult hamagachiyeh. Remember the Tamagatchi. Yeah, that was like a good test to see if you'd be a shitty parent. Your friend would just have one die immediately. I'm like, that's the person who left their baby in a hot car later in life. The guy who can handle a tamagatchi for like a day. Good sign. Speaking of premature deaths, Michael Jackson died at age fifty here, Yeah, that was my newest segue speaking of people who died before their time.

Michael Jackson at fifty. That was that was one of the more shocking celebrity deaths of our time. Yeah, I mean Michael Jackson was single handedly probably the most famous person in the world, like one of the most beloved entertainers ever and he died. What does he have, like a heart attack from what was it? Profofle was that what it was called? Yeah? Profofall was what he ingested.

They said. Conrad Murray was the doctor who gave it to him and was charged with involuntary manslaughter in twenty eleven. A lot of I bet there was a lot of celebrity who are like, dude, I need a prescription. Like a lot of people probably saw that he was probably like a celebrity doctor, right, definitely. Yeah, he got his medical license revoked, but they said as of twenty sixteen, he's still visiting with some patients, so he's still I

guess he's just gonna be. He's out of prison, yeah, man, after two years on parole of his four year sentence. I wonder if that's the dude in prison who like would get the hook up. He'd have a friend sneak in prescriptions and he's like, I got your shit, guys. Maybe he's like the popular guy in prison like that. That was definitely his value. He didn't have to do You ever have a doctor who would just hook it

up for you. No, they got really serious with that stuff ever since the Sean Payton incident where they broken and the whole vikinging thing, like you couldn't even have. They used to be able to store medicine at the facility, like they have a huge like room full of it that would be locked and everything. But then once that that all happened, you had to go get your prescriptions elsewhere. You couldn't get it out like they used to on the planes on the way home from games. The trainers

would just be like, who needs an ambien? Who needs something? And that all went away real fast. You guys must have popped like ambient the the You must be exhausted at night. You know a lot of guys would do that. You know, obviously pain pain meds were huge, sure for those guys. Sure never. I was never a pain med guy though. Fo up your shitting schedule? Interesting, it plugs

you up. And if I my routines jacked up, like in the morning, I have my you know, five am, five point twenty dump, go on, like if I can't put first thing in the morning, Yeah, first thing, two dumps before practice, two two dumps before you got a sweet metabolism. Dude, it was it was on like clockwork, buddy, oh man, get that thing down. But yeah, the pain pills, like when I'd have surgery, I'd get off of them and like as soon as I could, because it just

I didn't like I didn't like the feel. And also it's probably bad to be on those because you don't know where you're hurting. Really, No, that that that it wasn't anything to do with the pain relief that you got. It just was my shitting schedule. It was just poop. I could not not poop. You never you didn't. I

mean you must have needed them sometimes, right. There was a couple of games early on in my career where I would do it, but you could take towardal Tordoll was a it's an anti inflammatory, like it's like gonna leave times a thousand, which that did the job for me. I didn't I didn't want to feel oozy. I remember one time I had a prescription and I took a like a vik it in. I had a bad back. I tackled Vince Young and I when I was playing defense, and I fucked up my back. This wasn't like skinny

Vince Young. This was thick Vince Young. This No, this was Philly Phil. I remember Philly Vince Young where he had his little time and I hit him square in like the middle part of him. So I didn't take him low enough where he'd flip over and or high enough where he would go down. Hit I'm right in the middle and like my back like just jammed and I couldn't walk for like he was huge huge. And the next week we played the Redskins and I had to.

I took a vik it end before the game and a turtle and like pre workout drink and I remember going out and getting called for a punt return and looking and seeing three balls. I saw, like three ball. I'm like, I can't do this anymore, almost muffed up punt. Three balls is too many for any occasion. Yeah, I like to cap it at too. Just keep it at too, Let's keep it. That's brutal, Dudeeah, did you catch the ball? I caught it, Yeah, but I just I just didn't

like that. Yeah, that's terrifying. Yeah. And did you feel okay to play though? Yeah? You were just you don't feel pain? You didn't, I didn't feel pain. But you know, did you feel like almost invincible when you were running with the ball because you didn't feel pain? No? I mean yeah, you always feel that way. Yeah, whenever you have the ball in your hand. It was, you always feel invincible. Fuck yeah until you jump up and get clobbered. Yeah,

by like five guys. If you were that dude, you were that dude who would just get hit, get hit. You got hit a lot, especially when you're younger. When you're younger, you're young, dumb, full of come, don't have many opportunities to have the ball in your hand. So every time you were trying to make a touchdown, you know, second, third, fourth, efforts, just getting lit up. Yeah, but that was that was

who you were. I always love Jeremy shocking the giants because he didn't do that ship and I was like, that was his thing. But that takes years off your career. Oh dude, he retired young. Yeah. I think he was a party animal too. I think I think once you start banging tar read your days are numbered. That's that's a bad sign. Tom Brady got it though. What Tom used to be back in the day, really before my time.

I could either conform nor could I deny. Jules, you were going balls to the wall, letting Vince Young had it. But you recorded after the game is saying, with all these rules floating around in regards to hitting the quarterback, I wanted to hit him, but do it right. I just didn't want to get out of there and get

a penalty of any kind. Wow. So you were thinking, hey, ahead of your time, you know you gotta I didn't want to have a penalty and then you know, and get a hit on the quarterback and then all of a sudden see a little yellow Yankee and just trot over to the bench with Bill staring me down like he wanted to kill me because you extend a drive by No means that I ever want that. No means let's go to the NBA. In two thousand and nine, the Lakers ended up winning it all. As we said,

they beat the Magic four to one. Kobe's first championship post shack. This was big. You know, that one in Boston really hurt him because he grew up, didn't He grew up a Lakers fan. Kobe. Let me look, I know I knew he well whatever, regardless, he was mister Lakers, so he knew what he knew what it meant to be Boston, that I meant to lose to Boston too. That was a tough one. And then they well, he got his revenge in twenty ten. I used to go to that that went to that game. Those games they

played again in twenty ten. This was a crazy series. This is a crazy year because yeah they did and that's when Kobe got them. But this was a crazy series because, uh, or season, because the Calves had the best record in the East, the Lakers had the best record in the West. The Caves were sixty six and sixteen. I believe this is the series they lost to the

Magic where Delante had sex with Lebron's mom. Let me take we double check, but I think it's I think it's pre is it pre is It didn't Lebron go to the Heat. In twenty ten, Cleveland lost four to two to Orlando in this playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Let me look up. I think this was the Delonte West had sex with Lebron implosion. Can't fuck the captain's mom. That is something you definitely should not do. You should not,

especially if it's the generational talent player of the world. Yeah, no one on the Patriots would have tried the fuck Tom Brady's mom. No. Oh, First off, she's a sweetheart. Second off, I'm not getting anywhere near anything like that. No, it's draw, it's bad for the team. The MVP was Lebron that year, Wade was a leading scorer and they teamed up the next year. The Rookie of the Year

was a young Spry, A Spry Derek Rose athletic. He was unlike anything you'd seen at that point, a guy who could jump like that, and he was kind of like Russell Westbrook. Yeah, he had that same explosiveness. He was better and then you know when Russell was cooking. I mean he was the youngest MVP of all time too. I mean he was unreal. Had really good commercials with

Adidas too. He made Adidas look cool for sure. Remember he had like he would do the jog outside of because he was from Chicago, right, he was from Chicago When he played for the ball. It was kind of like an incredible story. It was unbelievad It doesn't happen often. Man, it sucks that injuries he's had. You know what, though, give him credit. He's had an amazing second half of his staying around because he's been good to last few years. But yeah, I mean he could have been. He's like

if I could. If there's one NBA player who I wish never had an injury, it's probably Rose. I mean, Grant Hill and Penny are in the convo too, But before games I would listen to like these mashups of like inspirational speaking and there's like one of Derek Rose saying like, why cannot be MVP? Why can't I go play for like my hometown, like, and I would listen to him, he'd fire me up. So shout out Derek Rose. He were so soft spoken too. Yeah, he was a

good pro around the league. This was the first season of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They had a young KD in Westbrook, and the good people of Seattle were deprived of an awesome young team. Maybe KD doesn't leave if he's in a city like Seattle. Good fish, good fish, and Seattle is a good city. It just always cloudy. It's depressing, it's a little I mean, that's where Grene was invented. So yeah, you know those people aren't let's just say the most happy people. Weird vibes. You've got grunge,

then you got frasier. It's a weird combo. Right, that's Seattle. But uh, two thousand and nine, what were we doing. I was in college still, I guess, Julian, you had just been drafted by New England. I just got drafted to New England. I was like in a whole different world. Yeah, just changing positions, changing sceneries, being the big man on campus to a slap dick rookie for the New England Patriots, which were like the benchmark of that generation. How pumped

were you to be going to New England? I was like legit bro I had so I was so fired up, like I was having epiphanies that you know, Wes Welker and me and the slot Randy Moss on the outside, Joey Galloway Maroney in the back field. And it didn't geel like that at all. I rode the pine and became a special teamer for like a few years, and you played your way in man. Yeah, that must have been older Joey Galloway, right, old Joey Galloway still could

a run though. Oh dude, I remember Cowboys. Joey Galloway keep a smile. Yeah, that was Those were some good receivers. Smile speed they had. He they said he ran like a four to two, Like there was like like old folklore that he ran like four to one at the Ohio State Pro Day and and he was like almost forty and still running like four four. Damn it was. It was fun. But uh yeah, but that's a stacked

receiving team to join. It was. That's why I didn't think I was going to make the team, and that's why I had to, you know, make myself versatile enough where I could give enough value to the team to not cut me. You know, return punts, cover kicks, and you know, be a good viable backup. So it was, uh, it was definitely. It was a crazy time in my life as far as just being hit with just where am I? Yeah, you know what I mean, finally getting to have your name called in the draft and you're

wearing a Patriots jersey. I mean putting that on the first time must have been. I mean I used to just stay in the locker room until like ten thirty eleven and uh, you know, just marvel at my my my helmet and my my jersey and the fact that we got like free Gatorades and Kent State. You know, we didn't have the budget, let's just say, of an NFL football team and be at the facilities. It was a it was a cool year. It was a cool year.

Who was the first of those receiving guys who was the coolest to you, Sam Aikin, Uh, you know those guys like Randy and and West and Joe. Those guys were like the stars, you know, and I was kind of a kid who was you know, I didn't know

to get into receiver stance. Bro. Yeah, and uh you know, but Sam Aikins, he was a receiver that was you know, special teams captain and he was kind of like an older brother figure that like put his arm around me and knew that I was all over the place mentally because you know that they're evaluating you every day and stuff. You have a bad practice, you think you're getting cut, and you know, Sam, maybe you get your dream and you're like, I could lose this in a in a second.

You know. That was that was a thing. You get drafted, you hear your name and then you go to rookie camp and you see that there's ninety guys and they're only going to keep fifty three. You know, he started playing numbers game. Am I going to be here? And how many of them were the best dude on their college team? It's like everyone was the best in their college a high scho everyone was the best football player around. Yeah, you know, but it was it was a great start.

That was the start of it. Man. Awesome. Well, let's get into this game. The Denver Nuggets head coach George carl As we said, uh, fifty four and twenty eight franchise is best record since is that nineteen eighty? Damn? Who was on that eighty seventeen? Was that like Alex English? Those are those old jerseys were fucking nice. It was like those were like those blue and yellow the rainbow. Let me see that. Yeah, pull those up, the Alex

English Nuggets jerseys, the blue ones. Yeah, those are sweet. Alex English was on this team. He was the number one score of the nineteen eighties in the NBA. People sleep on this, dude. I'm a fucking hoops Jones. You're a hoops historian. You're hh. I love it, dude, all right. So they were the number two seed in the West behind the Lakers. I believe this is when they shipped Marcus Camby to the Clippers before the season. Camby was a DPO why that guy was a fucking killer and

as a Nick was one of my favorite players. I love Marcus Camby. They sent iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups Antonio mcdce. I mean, Billups was the glue for this tea. He was the missing piece on this team because Iverson was great, but he was a little past his prime. He was too similar to Carmelo. You know, they're both scorers. You know, when you have two major scores, you need someone to be able to delegate. And that's what Chauncey did. He delegated. He was a floor general.

He was a general, such a good defender. Yeah, they had Mellow Nanay who if you go to a Fogo chow, the Brazilian steakhouse, you might see it in a Jersey. The one in New York has when I know, uh, Brazilian's finest, Brazilian's finest dude, right after the pussy wax. It's him and the vagina wax. And that's their claims. The fames uh, Dante Jones, Duke, Chauncey Kmart coming off the bench. They had my guy j R. Smith x Nick six Man a year was great Birdman who didn't

love Birdman. He was a fun character. He was was wrongfully accused of child pornography acquitted. Yeah, you don't hear that often. That's so yeah, that's usually that's the sinking ship. I think he was the first to get catfish. There's a huge catfish story about him, right wasn't that what that was about? Something like looking at the catfish. He definitely got a cute. That's something you don't want to be accused of, innocent or guilty, but if you're guilty,

you do deserve it. But he wasn't. This is a fun team, great tattoo team. They all were tatted up, mellow and Kmart had the head bands, the sleeves. Swag team. Yeah, they were swaggy. They beat New Orleans four to one to get to the Western Conference Finals after beating Dallas. They beat Dallas, a good Dallas team. They beat Derrek Kirk Yeah, and the Lakers head coach Phil Jackson records sixty five and seventeen. Really good year killer. Coming off a year where they lost to the Celtics in the

NBA Finals, Andrew Bynum was back healthy. There was high hopes for this team, expected to be a title contendered top seed to the West. Had the best record of the West all season. Their starters were Kobe Andrew Binam, Derek Fisher, Trevor Aresas he was lighting it up to this he was lighting it up, dude. Nicks traded him for a washed up Steve Francis and that was like a heartbreaker because we all were like, oh shit, Oriza is like a good defender. He can you know in

this game. You know, you see he can shoot the three, and he's athletics. He dunked on someone too, he posterized and they had pale Gasol. Yeah, Hall of Famer, I mean, very good, very good basketball player. This season would mark the Lakers' thirtieth NBA Final appearance. That's crazy, thirty thirty finals appearing in grade fan base too. Just a bunch of fucking ingrades. But they do have cool fans. I mean,

the stars were out tonight. Jack Nicholson was there, Macenroe, Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell, John Cena, a lot of I mean Nicholson was sitting next to his boy, Robert town his former roommate, the guy who wrote Chinatown. Love seeing them together. A lot of what the Lakers need. They need, They need to get Jack back. He's too old to put up with this horse shit. Does he know he's got to be eighty five or eighty four. He doesn't want to sit through this whatever this team is. Eighty

five eighty five five? Yeah, Nicholson maybe here, maybe the coolest movie star in American history. Really and I mean, he's up there, gotta be. He's so, he's so cool. He's cool, he's funny, charming, he's the best. Yeah, this was a This is a good jersey matchup too, those those powder Blues versus the classic Laker yellows denver ended the first half on a fourteen to two run. Billups had this had that sick inbounds pass off Kobe's butt, throws it off, his butt, grabs it, savvy play love

that shit. And this was kind of, as we said, the kind of the Trevor Reza game. He dropped twenty. He played amazing d The series of Lakers win one five, one three. Mello had thirty nine, but Kobe had forty. That matchup was prime Mello versus prime Kobe's to Kobe thing too. He got thirty nine, I'm getting forty, so true. Game two, the Nuggets won one O six one oh three Game oh. Game two, rather game three, the nugget Lakers win one O three ninety seven. Game four the

Nuggets win it with a two two series. The Lakers won Game five. In Game six, the storylines were Kobe versus Mellow. Could the Nuggets get over the hump, and you know, Denver broke a record streak with their game to win their first playoff win against the Lakers since nineteen eighty five and coming to the Western Conference finals, Mello is bawling out. You know a lot of he gets a lot of shit for not being like a playoff performer. When you put a team around him, he

was pretty damn scary. He could not not score. It was unreal just watching him shoot threes, mid range. He could take it to the rim. He was everything. Man, he was. It was a fun matchup to watch because you know Kobe being you know what was his an eighth year in the league at this time, goes on team. Maybe maybe it was his two thousand and nine, Yeah, thousand and six. Yeah, yeah, he'd been there a mina.

He's been there a minute. And then you got the young gun, you know what, was mellow in his third season, third, fourth, fifth. He was young. He was young. He was in his prime. This was his prime. This was Kobe. I mean, Kobe's prime was just so long. But yeah, you're right, that's what we forget about that Kobe had like he had rivalries with guys like Iverson and t Mac and then he had rivalries with Lebron and Mellow in the next generation. So it's a testament to Kobe's longevity. This is This

is Kobe podcast. We just talked about Kobe all the time. But you know what, it's it's hard not to get caught into Kobe like rabbit hole, Like I'll be on Instagram and I just can't not watch his clips and there's so many tributes and he was he was incredible generational player. I mean that's he's one of the goats. And all the young guys revere him. You see what the way Tatum talks about the way Devin Booker talks about him like he he was that dude, Dwayne Wade

talks about him, all of them. Mentality Mamba, mentality baby. And let's get to the gaming Corner presented by I Win Bet. What's the prop bet gonna be on this one? How many times we can say k Matt k ma mat kmart. Yeah, it's gotta be something. What can we do? Uh? What's it? M You'll have the insides of this one. It's a tough one. Yeah, I mean I I remember when they beat the Knicks, they swept the Knicks, and I had to quit smoking weed. I had like two

really bad basketball related highs. One was in the USA lost to Puerto Rico, and the other one was one Yeah, fucking Carlos or Royo couldn't miss a fucking shot. Uh USA lost, And then the Knicks got swept and Kmart lit us up. Jason kitten Kmar just throwing alley oops all the Kmart in his prime was a fucking gazelle. Dude. He could jump, He could jump out of the fucking arena. What yeah? What is the k Mart? How many times we could say Rocky Mountain High? Did you ever get

Rocky Mountain High? Yeah? That was the altitude you get drunk in that city quickly, two or three beers in Denver? You feel that shit? Yeah? I never, I never. I don't think I've really gone out in Denver like that great city. All right, we got to think of a good one. J R. Smith? Maybe? Yeah? How many times can you remember when JR. Smith DM de girl and it got screenshot and he just wrote to her, you're trying to get the pipe and that became Nick's shirts.

Knicks fans of wear shirts saying you're trying to get the pipe. Let's let's see how many times we can ask him if he's ever talked to jar about trying to get the pipe? I like it. What do we think? How many times? I mean you can only ask him maybe twice? One five? All right, we got to find something. But all right, we're going to be joined by Kenya Martin after this break. Well, Kenya, thanks so much for joining us. Man, this is a it's a privilege to have you on. I'm a Knicks fan, so that that

year you gave us meant a lot to me. A great career, new jersey nets at the end, the Clippers and the Bucks. But we're talking about the Nuggets today, which was I think one of the all time cool NBA teams. And we had you, we had mellow Billups Jr. Bird Man, just a fun group of guys. Is right after you guys lost Camby but you know obviously a Cincinnati Bearcat. Great your numbers hanging the rafters that you see and thanks for joining us today, man, no problem. Man,

appreciate having me. What do you what are you doing these days? Post retirement? Post retirement man? Family stuff mostly Man, I'm a father of six from twenty one to four. Yeah, keeping me busy that regard business things, man, Just staying out of harm's way for the most part, just enjoint but most in Portland, joint retirement. That's that's that's that's that's the most important thing, man. Just not not having mandatory things to do besides be a dad. So that's

I'm feeling that, Well, that's not mandatory either. There's some a lot of dead beats out there, but oh yeah, definitely a lot of definitely a lot of dead beats out there. But no, I tried definitely not to fall in that category. No. I mean, just the way you play, there's not a chance you could be a dead beat. You were a badass in the court. You're probably Its funny I saw you take a hit from that pen earlier because I think you're a big reason I had to quit smoking pot because I had a really bad

high when you guys swept the knicks. I think you injured Tim Thomas and I was like, I can't handle that's not See, that's the narrative out there. It wasn't me. It was Jason Collins. Listen, let's get it straight. I ain't read, but we can go look at the field. It wasn't me, but I got I got called out and you know what I'm saying, Yeah, but definitely swept the man in Game four, Yeah yeah, I put Yeah, I put foot to ask in game before in the guard.

It hurt. And I remember Tim Thomas was like, I want to I want to box Kenyan Martin, and even as the Knicks fan, I was like, dude, do not challenge Kenyan Martin to a fight that is not gonna end. Well, yeah, man, I'm all that box is missing. Man. I'm just like we was there to play basketball, man, and it just it got taken to a point that you know, hey,

Missen whatever, I got a question. You ever do you ever hurt your goddamn shoulder after dunking on someone and giving one of the arm the arm things in mid air used to get I'm paying for it now. Yeah, like both of them, Jack, both of them jacked up like this. I think I need to go see somebody. But yeah, and I don't just I don't know what made me start swinging off of it, man, I just just enthusiasm, Like I guess it's the same as I'm saying you was going under this spike in the BA, all,

I guess you know what I'm saying. I guess that's the I'm saying the equivalent, like, I guess it's one of them, man. And then it got to a point where I got really good at it, and I start timing the ball coming out the neck like when I dunk it. I start timing and I could hit the ball come out the neck. So I started, Yeah, so it was. And then I started doing some ignorant stuff. I started trying to hit the reff with the ball because I like certain riffs. And but yeah, you were

such a tough guy. I mean, it was undeniable that you you backed it up. Do you look at are you one of those guys that looks at the modern guys no matter who they are soft or there are there guys right now that you're like, he's a tough guy. Is Draymond a tough guy? Draymond plays hard? I was

in this NBA Draymond is considered a tough guy. Yes, absolutely, in your NBA He's not like not necessarily they he like Draymond play as hard as they as you can possibly play all the time, and sometimes that getting misconstrued, as you've been a tough guy or or a dirty

player or something like in that regard. But in my opinion, like tough guy, I am saying you had to necessarily get in a fight on on floor in game, but that was part of it, Like for the for the world to see you fight somebody like that, that that put that image in people's head and not just hearing about it, but when you see it, you know what I'm saying, Like they give people that that notion like, man,

he'll take it right there with you. So I look at guys in that regard like and it was a lot of them, guys in the eighties and early nineties. Oakley would fight you. Oakley is a dude. I'm like, I don't think anyone wanted a piece of that. Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't. Like I'm I'm glad me and oak never like, we wasn't around at the same time. Who were dudes that you were? Oh sorry, were there any dudes that you were like? No, not at all, No one, No

one intimidated you. No, no. Now did this mentality point where did this mentality come from? Did it come from Bob Higgins or Huggins? And in a uc over in the natty or not. This is just where you grew up with Cincinnati at eighteen. Yeah, just from Old Cliffe, Texas. Man, Old Cliff Texas, Oldcliffe, Texas. So I don't ask anybody around Dallas where Old Cliff is. Man. It's like like Dennis Rodman went to Old Cliff High, Like that's South

Oakcliff High is where you went to high school. I'm from pretty much the same area as Dennis is from. We grew up a little different. Dennis Path was a little different. A lot of guys that's from Dallas, but not a lot of guys that's from Dallas that played the NBA from Cliff like where I'm from. So I brought I took mine to Cincinnati with me, Like I had a fight with the starting center on the team my freshman year. I'm a freshman, heir senior, Like I put hands on it my freshman year. So it wasn't

like nah, I brought mine with me. It wasn't. It wasn't. I wasn't. I went backing down from nobody, and I went back and down. Is anyone in today's NBA a tough guy to you? Or no? You have guys that play hard like people think Jimmy Butler is a tough guy because Jimmy play is extremely hard, Like, I don't. There's a few guys like the Morris Twins people look at it's probably tough guys outside of them. Two, Uh, it's James Johnson is still around the guy that you

know jiu jitsu. Yeah, yeah he won't. Yeah he won't issues like he won't fucking problems with people like and like like you can't have issues and won't know that ship it won't and won't problems like it just don't like you looking to go cause problem with people like other than them? Three guys, Nah, who do you like watching? Now? Who are players that you enjoy? Jannie, Yes, I like watching Giannis play man, I'm I watched I like Steph Curry.

I actually I like Golden State's team. I love watching them play outside of my own child like I'm I'm I'm a big time kJ fan, Like I'm I like watching kJ play basketball. I'm biased, but I like watching him play. I like Jimmy, but I like the way he approached the game. Uh. I like a few dudes skill set, Like, I think a few dudes are really really good. I think Joki is really good. I think Jamal Murray is really good. I think Kawhi and Paul

George are really talented. I like Chris Middleton. I like his growth and development because I was there, I was around him early. I like those guys. Yeah, it's not a I don't. I don't watch a whole lot of teams play because I can only stand to watch very minimal bad basketball, and I'm forced to and and by default, I'm forced to watch the Houston Rockets play. So that's my bad. That's enough. Fucking bad basketball will last me

listen a lifetime, so I have to watch them. But but now, yeah, man, I just like watching guys who do it the right way, who play the game the right way. Man. That's why I love watching the Golden State Warriors played, man, because they just they played the game the right way. Well, you, your son is on a rebuilding team in Houston. You coming to the league,

You're on a good team already. I mean, what's the difference is I mean, you're playing with Jason Kidd as a baby, right, well, yes, and no, like my rookie year, we won twenty six games. My rookie year, Jay Kidd wasn't there. I had Stephan and you got kid the next year. So we won. Yeah, we won twenty six games. Traded for Steph the next year. We want fifty two. So when Jay Kidd came, I was twenty three years old. Ohow, you know what I'm saying. So I wouldn't. I was.

I was? I was, I was. I was a grown man basically, you know what I'm saying. Wait, I got a quick question that you just talked about. You grew up in Oakcliffe, Texas. I actually when I was twelve years old, I played a super Bowl in Florida against Oakcliffe, Texas Redskins. Okay, did you ever play football growing up? Because that was a good football area. Yeah, the Redskins and the comments I played for the Cedar Crest comments and the Redskins were they were Yeah, absolutely so yeah,

so you get that played up my sophomore year. That's dude. I always watch you taking these alley oops and just dunking on fools, and I just think to myself, you could have been an unbelievable tight end or a receiver, red area target. Just throw it in. I played tight end up to my sophomore year in high school. Man, Like, my last year playing football is my sophomo year in high school. See, that's that's why he was so tough and hard because he played football. You had that football

in your bloodline when you when you grew up in Texas. Well, they love that stuff. Man. You have to look like like like you have to man, Like I broke my wrist when I was twelve playing football like stiff throwing. The guy tried to break my fall. He pushed me. I tried to Yeah all that. Yeah, my my sophomore year, I ran a four six forty. Man, damn Like I

was six six seven. I ran a four six forty so I was yeah, yeah, catch everything like tough, like play defensive end on defense, It's like, yeah, I couldn't imagine trying to block him. He is a fast defensive end. Now take us back to two thousand and nine when you're with the Nuggets. What was your life like in two thousand and nine at the beginning of the season before everything goes down, you guys make it to the playoffs and play what you guys did? What was going on?

Could you guys feel you guys had a team that was going to be able to contend. Yeah, I think so, man, I really think so. I think just us having Chauncey there man and him settling things for us. What was that iverson trade? Like, were you guys bump to see Allen? Were you pumped to get Chauncey? What was the vibe? Yeah, no, we were. When Ai was there. It was probably some of the funnest times I had as a prof the floor.

But having him and Mellow it wasn't gonna work basketball wise, and with the coach that we had, so it was multi layer. What's some of that fun off the court you guys had? It was like the Beatles on the fucking road, man like, because we all had like our own following of course. But I was watching Dion's sixty minutes interview and the coach and somebody asks him, I've been around stars before, but I ain't ever been around a superstar like we were stars here, a superstar like

Ai superstar, like he a rock star. So having that kind of a following, man, and and we're out there winning and just some of the late night card games and playing rides and going to gambling casino with him and just like just seeing seeing the love that he gets what was what was everybody? What was the casino like with iverson? What? What's his game? What are you guys playing together? Are the women circling the whole table? Uh,

he's he's he's playing big money as we like. I've I've seeing him fluctuate him be up like one hundred and fifty. I leave, go do something, come back, he down two hundred, then get back up one hundred. So he playing black jack, man, and he playing big hands,

like big big hands and playing two hands as well. Man. Yeah, yeah, but I like our card games on the plane were like like legendary, like not to them numbers at times, but but the consistency of it being twenty five thirty, forty thousand dollars pots, fifty thousand dollars pots, like it's regular like and you have to have a certain amount of money to get on the plane to play. Are there certain guys that are trying to play with you? Guys, you're like, dude, you're on a ten day contract. Get

the fuck out of here. Oh yeah, no, we won't let you play. No, certain certain guys. Now, if you if we think you're trying to quit liquors or you're trying to just come in for one flight and all this. No you if you play, you play. There's no hitt an quit you ain't ain't none of that shit going on with us, Like we ain't win' allowed none of that.

Like we we the same four or five guys like them, was I car Budd And we knew like somebody might play for a little while and if they started losing, if they if they had a bad four game road trip and they they might not play the fifth like they might not play for a while. So we so we had a few guys that was like that, and

we knew that about them. But for the most part, now we wasn't let just anybody play now was it was it liar's poker, That's what That's what we used to play a lot of We played a lot of people play like some yeah, some some teams they play guts and ship like that. But I don't like guts. Ain't no thinking to it. Ain't no, ain't no, ain't no thought process to guts any tonks. Early on my next days, you know, we played talk with Rod Thorn,

like Rod Throne is the president gym. So Rod played with us man that was that was a great experience earlier having him, like getting to know him and getting to know his competitive nature as a front office guy, Like yeah, like that was dope. Now having him there like that was that was dope. Now what I'm saying throughout my Denver days, my Mick days, Clippers, Yeah we play we played by all right, So let's get back

into the Denver Nuggets. You guys get Chauncey the year before you get what you get swept by the Lakers, and then all of a sudden, Mello is like, I want to guard Kobe. What were your thoughts going into that? No, hey, let him do it. Hey, it's a collective effort, man. It ain't just gonna be one guy. Like we all know that. Like we we we've been there. We know what's what what Bean was capable of doing. So it's like, Okay, Melo gonna have this turn. I'm gonna get something, Jarr

gonna get something, Dante gonna get some. Chon's is gonna get something, like we always and gonna do the best job we possibly can do. You know what I'm saying, make make each each possession tough, Like I'm all about making each possession tough as possible, man, no matter what it is. And now going up against greatness. So and we knew that, and we knew his competitive nature, man, so we just trying to meet that. Was he the greatest you ever went against? You think? I mean you

went against a lot of amazing assignments. I mean you guarded Tim Duncan, you went against Kobe. I mean who is the hardest. Yeah. I think Kobe and Tim Duncan are arguably in anybody's top five NBA players of all time. At least it would have to be so definitely top ten, but a lot of people top five. So yeah, Now, just having knowing what he is and knowing what he is about brings the best out of you. It brings the best out of a competitive nature, bring the best

out of your game. And going against Tim Duncan as well. Man, I think Tim Duncan made me get better, made me become a better basketball player, made me become a a deeper thinker when it comes to the game. And man, Kobe, but most of my matchups with team like I had to I had to dig deep in my thought process, I'm saying, in my thought bag to try to how to riddle how to figure that out because he couldn't.

He always played at the same speed. So yo, yeah, yeah, but them guys, man, like what I'm saying, they brought it out of us. But wait, oh nine man, we made it to the Western Cooms finals. We had a chance, man like, we had a chance like, well, yeah, we had a chance to get them. Boards did that narrative of that the the Nuggets couldn't beat the Lakers in the playoffs? Did that seep into the locker room at all or did you guys say fuck that this is

we're gonna We're gonna do this. Well, we never talked about it as a group. I don't know if some guys paid attention to it, but I didn't fear nobody, man like, they had that number for a little while. But we were in the position to get them. So it wasn't wasn't no if anybody had that thought process that we we can't beat this team, that I don't want you around you know what I'm saying. But we knew we had what we had in the locker room. We knew what we was gonna be, man, and it

was it was special. It was special. Who is talking to you during this game, like, did any players get in your year? Was mellow? Vocal? Was Chauncey kind of an emotional leader? Were you leading people like? Was anyone kind of keeping the morale up? Because this is a team with a chip on his shoulder, this Lakers team coming off losing the Boston the finals. You know how much Kobe wants this. Who was the motivator in the

locker room? I always did. I've always been that kind of a basketball player within on the bench, in the locker room, I've always been that guy to where I'm going to voice whatever negative or positive, I'm all in. And having a voice like Chauncey there was was very I'm saying, helpful, relaxing because he's been there, you know for a lot of the guys that had been on that stage yet. And he beat Kobe. Yeah, so for

me and him, yeah yeah. And and it beat the Lakers already, so he knew how to go about it. You know, it's just experience with some guys. Bad situational basketball by us, bad coaching, it was. There's enough blame to go around. Did you hate playing for George Carl because I've heard you say that before. Oh, Yeah, No, I couldn't stand it, man, Like, it's just just bad, just coaching one aspect of the game, man does it

doesn't make you a great basketball coach. He has a lot of wins, been blessed with talent over the years. But no, I'm not a big George Carl fan, not at all. Was that was that tough playing for a guy? And you see Phil Jackson on the other end, You're like, this is guy's considered one of the great coaches ever? Was not? Was it just you who felt this way? Or do you think all the guys like this guy sucks? Yeah, a lot of guys felt that way. But ain't nobody

gonna say it. Ain't nobody gonna challenge him what I'm saying, But yeah, certain guys that would and certain like this. I think we made it as far as we did because of Chancey. Like in Situational Basketball, Chancey told George I got this, so basically, sit your ass down and don't fuck this up, like I got this, Like that's who Big Shall was, Like that's just who he was, Like he had earned that right when those moments and big moments, close games and all that, Like you don't

need to coach this right now, I got this. The only thing we need you to do during time mouse is drop a play like everything else I got. So then that was that. That was That was the like he he like I said, he calmed things down, and he knew when to get other guys involved, when to get his shot, when we need to lean o Mellow. If Mellow had it going distribute the ball, he gonna get here. So that was that was part of being the leader, you know what I'm saying. That's why we

got as far as we did, man, because we had him. Now, you guys are playing in Staples. You guys are battling you guys. You guys pretty much hold Kobe pretty well throughout the game. What's it feel like to play in the Staples Center, play the villain and and win this game? Like did you guys going into this? You guys are like, hey, what was it? What was the series at? They were? I think you were down two to one, two to one,

it was one zero zero. Well, also to go along with Julian saying Nichols, Jack, Nicholson's there, Tom Cruise is there all these do you do? You look over and the party you like, fuck you Nicholson, I'm about to throw it down. No, it's however, many people at see if you ain't cheering for up, then it's fuck everybody,

man Like. That's just that's the way we're approaching That's damn sure the way I approached it, like I didn't I want to shut everybody up, like, And we had a lot of guys that fit that had that same that same thought process, man like, like, we want to shut you all up in there. I loved that. We knew we had a shot. That was one of my favorite things, villain. Yeah, when you go up, absolutely the

crowd's going crazy. It's third and fucking ten. You get a fourteen yard completion of the silence of the Wold stadium. You know, that's what you live for as an athlete, if you're a real tough guy. Right, Oh, that's what you used to do, you know that's what Hey, that was your thing. Hey, them big third down completions and big big red zone catches and plays and end the rounds and all that. Like, yeah, I'm with you, and then they might let you go out there and throw

you on you know what I'm saying. So I had to campaign for that for fucking eight years before Bill let me do it. It was fucking bullshit. I'm with you, I'm against my coach. Hey, hey, he told you we brought you here to fucking catch passes. We got a pass through it. God damnit. Listen, I'll let you know if I need your services. That's exactly what he said. That's exactly what he said. Now, you guys win the game,

but you lose the series. Is there anything that you wish you guys would have done differently in two thousand and nine to keep that bad boy going? Yeah? Man, it's two out of bounds plays, man, Like two out of bounds plays. We should have had the world withal to run something different. Because it happened the first game. We threw it away. Anthony Carter threw it away because they took the same they took our out of bound side out of bounds play away. Had a bad turnover

that incident. Next game, I think I threw it away in the same situation or or or a similar situation because they knew, like I sighed, out of bounds was horseshit. Situational basketball. Lose your time score situation, time score situation. I'll know it I'm saying, you know it, Jules, it's all two minutes. I'm saying, So you got a four minute drill, you got a two minute drill. You got it. You got no time outs, one time out, all that shit. You know how it is. So you played with Mellow

here in the Nuggets. You played with him again on the next That was a really fun next team. You know, I remember when they signed you. I was like, holy shit, Kmart can still jump, he can still get blocks, Like he's still he still totally had it. And uh, did you have a good relationship with Carmelo You felt, Yeah, that's my young man man, like he was. I came in, Mellow was in the second year. I'm saying, he was still a kid. So yeah, we always had a dope relationship.

There's a lot of winning together, man. We kicked a lot of ass together, a few heartaches together, you know what I'm saying. So we know what it is. I'm saying, I think we Yeah, we dire's some special things. Man. I witness a witness greatness right in front of me. Some of the one of the purest scores that I've of the basketball that I've ever seen. Man score effeless. I've seen him grow up right before my very eyes.

I've seen him become a man, seen him go own New York try to do things there was able to join him over there. You know, it's I look at Mellow in a different light than a lot of people. Like a lot of people look at Mellow at selfish, A lot of people look at him. It's not a winner. A lot a lot of people look at him and all like different various things. Is hint to Whyle. He probably don't have a job right now. A lot of people the outside don't know the inside though. That's that's

outside noise. But how cool is yeah? Yeah, you know, can I ask you to go along with that? Because I think that's really interesting. I mean, do you think that Russell Westbrook is getting kind of an unfair treatment right now? Because I feel like he's been the butt of every negative common with the Lakers. Meanwhile, their front office has done a dog shit job. Who in they right mind? Thout Hi and Rob plincoa was a good fucking decision in the first place. Just be honest, man,

the man was an agent. Like that shit is wild to me. Like just because you can go and get a guy to sign with you as an agent. Don't necessarily mean you can put a fucking team together? Man? Does it make you man feel the criticism that Russell's getting right now as a former player, you kind of like what's going on? Yeah? No, I think it's a crock of shit, to be honest with you. It's just like just a social media aspect of it. But Russ doesn't make it easy on people going out there and

going oh for eleven and shit like that. Like he don't make it easy, true, well hard on him. He don't make it hard on him. Rather so he don't make it hard on He makes it easy for them

to have ammunition at times. But it's just like it's that power on shit man, which is unfortunate for what he's done done for the game, the first ballot Hall of Famer man, Like, how can like we go through things that athletes like you have up, you have downs, you have good games, you have bad games, like and the people who criticize couldn't do a percent of what

this man has accomplished. Yeah, that's that's why I keep my mouth shut because I couldn't and he and he does a good job at basically saying fuck him, like because it could it definitely probably when when it's affecting your family, it's going to affect you. Because he can't tell me that it's not affecting him because it's affecting his family. So he has to hear when he get home, his wife has to deal with his kids, has to deal with it. It's unfortunate air regard because it's sports.

It shouldn't shouldn't translate to your home life in their regard. But it's unfortunate a regard, but the sport man. I think he'll bounced out of it, whether it's with the Lakers or if they make a move or whatever. He loves to compete man, so he I think he'll get the last laugh. How's how's j R. Smith as a teammate, Joe's cool. Man. I understand my teammates, man, I understand who they are. I understand what they're about. I don't.

I don't. I don't put too much and own it, know what I'm saying, Like I'm I'm I'm to mind my business kind of a teammate. If I fool Witch, I fool Wich and we can go out, we can hang out. But I'm a I'm a mind my business kind of a guy. If it don't affect me directly, I I don't. I ain't got nothing to do with it. But nah, I understood y'all. Like I was shockingly surprised how actually good Jerall was a basketball I thought he

was just an athlete. When I got on the team winner, I thought he was just an athlete like that boy could listen. I'm like, yo, he can play like some of the ship he used to do in practice, or he used to put on exhibition in practice, like scoring exhibitions in practice. All right, So yeah, Nah, he was a better He was a well rounded. He was a better basketball player. And I thought before he got with us, but he definitely helped us man in a lot of ways.

And like, and I just keep going back to I know, it sounds like I'm beating the dead horse. If JR, if we had different coaching, if JR had different coaching, things be different. Yeah, what's his popcorn story? I'm saying yes, and not so April fools. As we know, we get four random drug tests in the league. We we used to. They test for everything. They tested for weeds, so we it's not it's documented that Jr. Partakes in the You know what I'm saying, So it's not like I'm telling

the people something they don't know. So I guy's name. So I had the trainer put guy's name on the board, saying there was a piss test. Right, it's April. It's late in the season. Guys that's on their third test. They bob to think it's gonna be their fourth. So I put guy's name on the board. I put like six names on the board a few games. Guys who I knew that smoked, Guys I knew that didn't smoke.

So just a mixture of guys. So they come in see their name on the board, and they hype the guys that partake, like, oh shit, I'm a fourth fist. So we go out for shooting around. Come back, ain't no names on the board. It's April. Foods on the board, high high high ki key, no harm, no foul, So I thought, so we got a game that night. I leave my car key in my locker. I don't play that night for the me was probably about the something I don't shut up. I'm in the suit. So the

game over team bring it in. I'm the first one out of the locker room because I didn't play. I go get my car. I hit the lock. They don't unlocked. I hit go open the door. Popcorn and shit fall out. I leave a door open. I go right back in the building. And I threatened everybody in the organization life. God, listen, I need to I need to find out who did it. I mean, you got it. You on the clock, damnit, listen. I need it's a camera outside the locker room. I

need to know who's in here doing the game. So they saw who was in here doing the game, they went and questioning him, and and he spilled the fucking beans right away. He said who put him up? He said who put him up to was a ball boy like he said, they'll put him up to it, and a liz He paid him and did all this. So yeah, so I threatened his life, j our life, and yeah, and everybody else. Castle and Brady were getting into it with pranks one year and they did the same thing.

I think that's what makes the team team, though, Like you gotta have some of that bullshit prank shit. Of course you were probably pissed me. Yeah, but some people. Yeah, but you know, I wasn't that kind of a key key guy, Like the April Fool's thing, the names on the board, that's one thing, Like you do something like that. Okay, I'm a I thought it was high. Yeah, but everybody in the organization was like, of all people, you can do that too, Like j why you pick him? Like, yeah,

I'm looking at that roster. You're my last pick on that roster. Who I would do that too? Yeah? Like why him? All people? You know how he is, but you know I want to Yeah, if I could have got JR address that night, I would have did some stupid problem. We loved in New York. I mean we're all, you know, Knicks fans love j R. Smith. He was a sixth Man of the Year here. He was great. I do remember when the the d M went viral of of j R. Asking a woman if she's trying

to get the pipe? Do you remember that good or bad pickup line? Listen, man, hey, because he is describing his penis is a pipe. Sounds pretty big? Hey? Are you straight? Are you straight to the point? Hey, listen, she's gonna accept that she ain't. Yeah, are you a skyline chili guy? Or oh no, I need it one. Oh my god, that ship. I don't get it either. I think I don't understand nuts. That ship is oh and it's sweet. And they put the ship over Spaghetti's sweet.

All no, thank you for four years and we were like we had sponsorship up with them and all that they used to bring that ship to the games and all that. I'm like, no, no, no, before we get out of here, it's not it's not gonna happen. I gotta ask you, are there any Kobe stories you remember that are like maybe funny, or any any moments with Kobe that like stand out to you. Actually, my first time ever seeing it, I wasn't into big into the

the like high school rankings and all that. I mean, I just played basketball, like I lucked up and got an AAU team I had to cut. I caught a greyhound bus from Dallas to Newark to go to ABCD camp. Took me like twenty two hours on a greyhound to get there. And at that camp, all the names over there, like I didn't know nothing about these camps, so I was able to get an invitation to go there, and people like just falling this dude around like it's like a big deal. I'm like, yo, what who is that?

Or what? Like? Why is everybody like that's the number one playing y'all class? I'm like what class y'all talking about? Man? Like because they was making us go sit in these sat classes and certain prepl I'm like like, oh, he good at school. I'm I'm like naive to this ship, Like I have no idea. He's walking around with a big ass radio music loud playing music. I'm like, who fuck is this dude? Like what what make him? Like? Man,

that's like that's Kobe Bryant. I'm like, who, Like, it's Kobe Bryant, Like he going straight to the league like and this, oh okay, and we went out the ABC. Then I saw why so you have your kids in the league. He's played against mellow, do you give him any inside? Any inside? Like, hey, he doesn't like this if you do that right here, you got it right? Every absolutely everybody, anybody anybody that played that I played against that's still in the league or was still in

the league his first three years. Oh absolutely, Like his first time he played against Paul Millsap, hear me like ya, yeah, I think i'mna have to go out Paul Mills after night, I'm saying, what do I need to do? I told him how to play. You know what I'm saying, because Paul was my era. Play Paul. I play a lot of games against Paul. Yeah, with Mellow as well. You know what I'm saying, force him here. You're gonna try to get into your body. You're gonna do this on

the free throw line. You gotta get into early because he's gonna try to quick you in certain situations like that. Now I got you. Gotta give him his CHEEKO is that. It's gotta be so satisfying seeing young Buck play that, Like that's almost like an extension of your career. I have a five year oldhen we go to soccer practice and I see her do something good and it's like I just scored a fucking touchdown. I can't imagine watching my son in the league. Oh, I can only imagine

how you're gonna have a footwork though. You know what I'm saying. You're gonna have a footwork me on that socker on the pitch. You're gonna have You know what I'm saying. I got her. I gotta like I gotta like tricker and like bribe her with candy to make her go out and practice and ship. It's a little different when girl she like nothing but you know, horses, Oh, you ain't got to tell me my daughter that seven soccer teams. She been doing the same ship for the

last two and a half year, three year. Listen and I'll be out there. She tell me, Daddy, you can't keep yelling. I said, okay, baby, I'm sorry, Like you're making me nervous. I'm like, I'm sorry, baby, I try in the very next week. She look over there, she'd be like, I'd be like, I get it, dude, I get it. Man. We appreciate you coming at the basketball game. I could be that way at the Hoho games. You know what I'm saying. I'm loud in there. You know

what I'm saying, so everybody know I'm there. I sit in the front row, and I let everybody know it. Kenyan, do we miss anything about this era, about this game, about just any NBA stories that we that we missed out on here? Wow? Man, I think it was dude is dope. Man. I just just just the talking about Kobe Man and what he meant to what he meant the game and and those matchups. Man, I think people need to hear it. I'm saying how it was, Man, it was. That's why I like watching certain guys and

certain teams play now. Man, it's just that competitive, Like I missed that. I miss watching guys compete at a high level, you know what I'm saying, And and it means something to more guys. Like that's just what I miss about it. And that's why I'm like, I enjoy watching my son play man because he embodies all that. It's different generation though, I'm the same way you watch the new generation play. And the thing to me though, like pregame, like guys are too key key with each other.

Like I used to hate the fucking Jets. I used to want to fucking kill Bart Scott. I used to like I saw ray Lewis before a game, I want to spit near him. Like now everyone's like best friends hanging out by the way. Now you're like best friends with ray Lewis. It's different now we're on the same team on inside the end. But you know, I'm with it, man, all that, all that, Yeah, I just I'm I don't I don't like it. I'm with you, Jules, I just I really it irks my ass, man, Like it really

chaps my ass at times. Yeah, all the hugging and dapping and helping helping opposing team up and all that shit, it chaps my ass man. I get it. Man. Well, I we appreciate you taking the time to come talk ball stories with us if you ever need anything on our end. Man, we were there for anything. So I'll be out in LA. We have to have to get

together and talk some more stories. Sure, let's catch up man, all right, bro, we love the way you play, man, loved it like it feels like getting a time machine. Just your intensity and the way you throw down dunks and get blocks and compete. I love the enthusiasm. I mean it was it was a lot. You played in a lot of cool teams, including one that ripped my heart out. But this Nuggets team, that Knixt team you played on. As we say, once you're a Nick, you're

a Nick for life, So Knicks fans will love you forever. Too. Played the game way it's supposed to be playing. And if you listen to him, like, look, no situational basketball student of the game, Like it's an honor to have you on our podcast. Man, and we appreciate you. Appreciate it, Mane. He was awesome, love him even more now. Intense. He was one of those guys that you didn't fuck with in the locker room, clearly as JR. Didn't know that with the popcorn story, some poor ball boy oh to

deal with Kmart. He literally just thought he was part of a fun prank and then one of the toughest enforcers in the NBA is in his face. Yeah, I mean, I just love He's just an intense guy. You could tell he he just wanted to fucking slam basketballs on people and fight like that's that's a real tough guy. It's crazy. He played in an era where you couldn't smoke weed, and now I feel like every player smokes weed. I mean they did then too, but like you couldn't

do it. They got drug tested. Yeah it there, that was a tricky situation. Yeah, Man, to hear some of his stories and it was just it was cool. Man. I love I always I always cleaned up with those kind of guys on the team that were just like hard motherfuckers like you always wanted. You always wanted a guy that ate a steak with like his hands, not a forking knife. And that's kind of guy kmart is, you know, just a tough motherfucker, doesn't care about this,

doesn't care what other people think. Always had you talk to him about any of his teammates. He had all of his teammates back. Even when he would criticize someone that was with love. You could tell he's a dude that would go to war with you. Yeah, he's a guy. Definitely a glue guy. Jack. Did we hit the prop bet? I got a little I'm gonna give it to us. We got to did it? How we oh? Repeat counts? Okay, we hit it. I was scared to bring it up. At first. I was like, let's see if he's cool,

and then he smiled. I was like, thank god, Wait who Jr's d m Uh, they're trying to get the pipe? But what's the bet? Was the beef? Right? It was? Would we would we get to or over? One and a Half's trying to get the pipe? Yeah? We went over. We went over because I said it. Then he said it seemed like Kenyon was a fan of that DM strategy. Also seems like, uh, yeah, they made T shirts Knicks fans would wear the you rock one I have before Jack.

Jack's got all like the funny, cool, little niche stuff that was A j R. Was absolutely one of the most beloved necks of that era because he was reckless. He played the way he DM's. You didn't know what was gonna happen. He'd pull up from fucking way too far out. I mean, he was the king of the no no, no, yes shot strum, the air guitar. Oh ude, Oh yeah, he did do the this shit. That was one of the greatest celebrations. What's the legacy for this game?

It's the game is more just the talk hoops with Kmart. It's not like it's a great series. The game itself is cool to see the Nuggets beat the Lakers, because I didn't I didn't like that Laker team. I respected them, But I don't know if it's a great uh game itself. It's a solid game. I mean it was. It's a It's an entertaining game. It's just not an iconic game like some of the ones we've had on here. It

is a great game, don't get me wrong. It was great to see the players like Chauncey Billups and Kmart and Mellow against Gasol Kobe, Like there was great matchups, but you know, it still was a Game two of a Western Conference final. It was a little it was a little tough to find the legacy for this. The lasting image to me is Kobe and Mellow guarden each other because that was like a cool just a cool matchup, two dudes that respected the hell out of each other.

The lasting image for me is probably the eyeballs that Kmart gave the ball boy as he asked him, who the fuck put the popcorn in my mother fucking car? Like that's my last That is, by the way, that's like a funny thing in movies. You don't realize that people actually do that as a prank. That's been done in Patriots. That's a rich guy prank. That's very rich guy prank. Yeah, Kmart's prank was fun. The drug test

prank is fun. And then that's like when you do the one and then the guy takes it to Tan and you're like, you ruined a fucking probably really nice car. Yeah, it probably smells like whise buttery popcorn every time he takes a drive after that. I mean, I'm sure he's got a He probably had enough money to get that bad boy cleaned up. I hope so we'll get a new car. That's good. Imagine bringing that to a to a mechanic or whoever as the clean in that, and

they're just like, what popcorn? Was it popcorn? Or was it popcorn from the packages? That's what we didn't ask because I think it could have been the popcorn from the packages. You know you put in like boxes when you ship shit. That's called popcorn too. I think old packing peanuts kind of vibe. Yeah, maybe it was that. I think it was popcorn. But yeah, om Rimmenbaker, the bounce off Kobe imbound and bounce pass is a good image. I think mellow and Kobe is what I think of.

This the name of the game, I mean, there's not really a great name for this, to be honest. Uh, it's more like you name the series the Kobe Melo series. Almost to me, Yeah, it's got to be the Kobe Melo series. We'll name the series. So steaks are pretty high. It is the Western Conference Finals. It's what so, sorry, Jack, what do we forget? Oh? Not a lot? Good ep. I got a little deep dive on h went to the color palette hit tones. We were talking Powder Blue

versus Carolina Blue earlier the nuggets. Powder Blue is Pantone p MS two seventy nine you and c Blue is a proprietary Pantone pantone five four two. For all you color heads out there, love it, we do. Hey, sometimes it's for the color heads, man, Hey, we want them all. We take all the head good Jack, The depth of research on this podcast knows no bounds. You're trying to get a job at the paint section at Lows after this clip that, Oh, let's score it steaks. I don't

think the steaks are crazy high. I would go like seven two. I mean it is seven to two for sure. It was star Power. You gotta go crazy high on star Power because and Jack Nicholson are in there. It's a niner, Will Ferrell, Kobe Mellow. We'll go nine O. I know. Is that not high enough? Jack? That's that's real high. Yeah. But Jack, the Tom Cruise and Will Ferrell where the Terry Hatcher was there? I just saw Terry Hatcher. She adds, at least makes some nine. Yeah,

Terry Hatcher tipped the scales. That's what you're saying. Jack loves a good Terry Hatcher gameplay. It's a good game. It was good. They were down with Lakers were down fourteen at one point. It's a it's a great it's a great basketball game. There's a lot of entertaining players. Aresa with a great game. Kmar put up good numbers. Kobe and Mellow were incredible billups. You got to give it like an eight four eight four, a five. I'll give a five. Name is this is what we're going

to get killed? I think it's like a two four or something. The name is not two six sick. We'll get, We'll get We'll give it a two six. What was that? Total? Lists up at six point eight? Not bad, six point eight. A great game. It's just not an iconic game. But it's a great game. It's really good. An iconic series, but it's not an iconic game. Yeah, we got it, you know it is. It is a game two. Yeah, this was game seven and they won. Could have been

you know, a different different story. What do you got check? I see over there? That puts us right in between the Manning seven, which was Week one twenty thirteen Broncos Ravens and then just ahead of Ricky's record Texas first, Texas A and m it's good company eight. Yep, it's respectable that Manning seven was badass too, so it surpassed that. I mean, the star power really surpassed it. That's where

we're really won. But yeah, I mean, this was not an amazing, like iconic game year because look the magic kind of trump, the Calves in six, then the uh then the Lakers won in five in the finals. It wasn't like a game that was as iconic as like the next year or the year before with the Lakers Celtics games. This was straight Lake Show year. Yeah, this was straight Lake Show year. We have to give it

to them. But followed Games with Names on YouTube, tub Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Games with Names is the Handles, subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, rate and review, comment the game you want to hear us do. That's all for this episode of Games with Names, presented by win Bet. Thanks so much for listening again, and to our sponsors. I'm Sam Morrell and I'm Julian Edelman. Thank you so much to Kenyan Martin and we'll see you the next game.