So look today we got Jokim now coming in here on KG certify them Gas. It'll be good to conversate and catch up with your stay tuned.
I'm really happy to be here on the KG show.
You know, uh, the demographic that we're targeted for sure, I might call this soft. There's nothing soft about facing your ship, you know what I mean. So I'm really excited to be here and uh talk to KG.
I start KG Certified to have a platform to be able to bring not only young players, older players, players that you know built the built the game, so on and so on, but I built it for a platform of conversation. So you know, it's dope that we can actually go back to this time or the times where we played each other or a battle or whatever you want to call it, and be able to talk about it. So you know, it's it's dope to have a platform to be to bring the guys over here and do just that.
So that's what we're gonna do that.
I only know KG from the Court. I don't know KG from the Court, So I'm excited for this. You know war you know Ultimate Warrior and uh, you know he got that chip. Nobody really like competing against this guy. But I loved it.
It was It definitely made me stronger, and that's why I'm here today.
In the art of competition. That's what it is. So you know, I think that I think that he understood where we were. I made it very plain and simple where we were in the art of competition. But yeah, I'm I'm probably apologized during the day because you know, I'm never here to kill someone's spirit. I'm never here to kill someone's a fan appreciation of why.
You were fans. You know, fans make the game. I really believe that.
You know what I'm saying, fans, I'm fans of people. You know what I'm saying. I'm fans of sports. I'm fans of other athletes. So, you know, to kill his bob and all that, you know. But then I want to ask no question, like in a sense of what you want to what he asked me, which was what moved that show? Like what did you want me to do? You want me to stop the game and actually show
you what move like? So yeah, but and all in all, Joe Kim was he was young, energy, he played hard, I respected and when we played he was a force, you know, he made his teams better.
So yeah, it'd be dope to have a man to day.
It's important to speak your truth, you know, and you know we have an opportunity more than ever now to to do it our way. So I think that's important. You know, as as competitors out there on the court. Sometimes you know you don't have time for that. It's not about content. You know, you're trying to get w's that's all it is. So now we can look back at the body of work and uh and really you know.
Put our minds to it.
How you doing, you're doing you're thinking it's good man, I'm good man, no complaints.
First I wanted to show you is the move I caught it face.
I think mental right, just like the boom you go forward right under lage. That's the move.
That's what happened.
That's the move.
When that happened, come back down.
It was like ages ago, like when like eighteen sixty four BC, I hit you with that move back then when to that side on the fire you asked me, what's up to get off my dig?
That's how we wow. You see, that's how you did it. That's that's your story, that's your okay, let me see it.
Okay, tell me from your perspective.
What did you see? A. First of all, it wasn't light like that, you know, but it was sweet like that.
No, you was catching the rock. Ha, I'm in your ship ha. Nothing nothing l like Okay.
Then you know that knee started hurting at the end.
Oh you had an ailment. Okay, you're oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah remember yeah yeah. So when I was catching at the elbow back, yeah, I'm dancing. Okay, that's what I remember.
Okay. So obviously we had two perspectives of this whole thing, as as I can recall. I had to give you mine, right because everybody was like, yo, what's the movie talking about?
So that was the move. Come sit down, man, let's let's do it.
This is the moment of generosity. Thank you for coming on. KG certified. I appreciate you, Bro, appreciate you man him man real yeah special yeah mm hmm.
I'm happy we did this.
Not real shit, it's needed, you know what I'm saying.
But no, no, at the end of the day, just what you were talking about, you know, don't feel bad about it.
At the end of the day, that moment made me a better fucking player, No doubt I needed it.
No, I'm telling you from a character standpoint, I get it. It was on the court whatever, and it was competition, but from a big bro ship like, yeah, if I if I can change well, I was, I don't want to say this, but yeah, if I can change anything about myself back then, I wouldn't have been so man. I was so fucking locked in, man, and I'm I'm trained so differently just to get to a point where it was like kill or be killed and it wasn't nothing in between. So when I would you know, it's
what it is, you know what I'm saying. And when I heard that man fuck with me, I was like, damn, Bros. Bro was a bro fuck with me? Like oh Man, I'm like, oh man, I'm gonna have to apologize to Bro.
Man.
That's that's you know what I'm saying. But then I know two, you go through those life lessons man, and were not chopped before, you know what I'm saying, before all this and ship man, it's good to it's good. It's good to come into a platform be peace and uh, you know, and chop. I gotta ask you, bro, Bro, you shoot this monf for like this, Bro, I saw you shut.
The free though.
Bro, when you get from when you get this, where you get the joint from?
Give me on your all. After that playoff series, so we come back to Boston. I remember I had like four of.
The word and I was like, I gotta jumping up, but you shoot that motherfucker. Listen, listen to the ball, y'all supposed to go twelve to six. It's supposed to spind like this. It's not supposed to go three to three to nine, three to three to nine, and I got it right here. It's not supposed to go like this.
Joke.
You the only nigga I know to take that take. I don't even know what this is. I got to consult with rich Gray and figure out what the axle of the ship. But nigga shot the ball sideways?
How you do?
How you doing three to nine on the twelve to six?
I don't even know what to say. All I know is when that ship went in, though devastated, I.
Was like, yo, it did haven't stated he was doing it like this.
I was hit him with that.
He was doing nothing. He was doing all this shit like man. So I looked at Rondo because every time I had a problem or I had an issue with you, I would go to Rondo a baby and then and don't be like, man, he been working on the ship. Man, he don't shoot that ship. I was like, well he not hit fort these motherfuckers, like, yeah, you might have to get up on that ship. Man, ain't getting up on that ship. After you hit three, then you hit the third one, you went, you know, let me get
up on this ship. Fuck out here bashed with the bulls.
Man.
I love everything you've been doing.
Man, Yeah we're working. We're working hard. Man. You know, purpose, purpose is strong, that's everything too is. But I appreciate you taking the time, you know and doing this is real. I was.
I was excited to do this because I don't think, at least for me, I haven't seen individuals that battle came back and have conversation. What a lot of people don't know is that me and you and I had a conversation since all of that right there, right. I like to call it antics. I like to call it leverage. You know, when you're playing each other, you studying each other, you're trying to figure each other out. You know, you know you was no different from that, you know what
I'm saying. I talked to Doc Rivers and uh Rajon Rondo and Big Baby. I think Big Baby and Region had actually played against you, either in college or whatever the situation was, and you know, it was more of a it was more of a conversation of what to expect from you. And then when I played you, it was a different experience. It was more talkative. I could tell right away your IQ was different. You had a different vibration. I could see you gathering the rest of
the guys. So all the stuff that they was giving me was totally inaccurate. So that's why not to say I seen you as a threat or nothing like that. And I never anticipated or or uh meant for that to become off like it was light. Anything we did was always at a high volume. We battled at a high value, both mentally and physically, you know what I'm saying. At the same time, too, when when when when I'm when I'm competing, just like when you competing, or at
least it felt like this you hit destroyed. I'm here, I'm here to like create doubt. That's that's that's one of my things. Like I was trying to destroy your will, but never in another in another stratus. For what I ever thought that you was a fan of mine. So you know, I come today and I say, I apologize for killing that light and because I'm because I take a lot of pride in being a big brother to all the young guys. You know what I'm saying that.
But in the form of where we were in competing, that's what it was, and I understood it coming from you too, but I just wanted you to know I recognized your genius. I saw it, I respected it, and yeah, we battle, bro and it was nothing like that mental play because although you could see the physicals, you could see the little whatever's answers, but it was a whole mental, mental part of the game being played in front of
everybody's eyes, and it was over everybody's head. So you know what I'm saying, take it takes a real wind to play that game, you know what I'm saying. Which that which was leads to my first question with you was was, No, I don't hear a lot about like your makeup or excuse me, your early beginnings. Could you take me to your early beginnings. I didn't know you you from New York.
Yeah, I'm from New York.
We're part of New York are Front.
I'm from Hell's Kitchen, so midtown Manhattan. Yeah, I played a lot of tournaments uptown. I think playing in New York definitely like shape me. You know, my first year at Florida, I didn't play a lot and that was tough for me. So a lot of my homies uptown were like, yo, you gotta come and play in these street ball tournaments. So playing that Kingdome, playing at Rucker Park, shout out Roscoe Biggers, shout out a mass voice of you know on the mic. So it was just like
for me, I think that that really shaped me. If it wasn't for playing with in those street tournaments, I don't think I would have been the player that I was. But before we even go any further, I just want to say, you know, this is this is a really special moment. I was like talking to some of my vets before I came on here, and you know, I realized that everybody had something to say and for me. I'm doing this for me right now, this is not
for this, not for anybody else. And being able to talk to somebody that I grew up, you know, really, you know, admiring on the court, just the.
Way you competed really shape my game.
So uh, you know, I hear a lot of people like talking about you know, the moments when we were talking ship, when you were talking shit, and and you know that that moment right there, it turned me into an animal on the court.
It made me definitely made me stronger.
You know.
I remember you Hinge shooting.
That turnaround silver spoon ass nigga, you know, and you know I used to hear that from everybody, and that was another reason why I had to, you know, go even harder because I always had that that thing to prove because you know, Pops was a tennis player. So you know, I think that it made me who I am.
And that's why today, right now, this moment right here is for nobody else but for me to be able to talk about this because you know, the demographics I'm trying to, you know, reach to might call this shit soft. And there's nothing soft about facing your past, you know what I mean.
So I'm proud of this. That's what sup man, That's what help. And I want you to know, man, just from growth, gotta go through those hard moments. Gotta go through those moments to where it does something to you and you and you're stimulated off of it. You know, I think today's game, or at least it looks like you know, things have to have a worth. And you know, I don't care what you get paid. Once you get
in between those lines. It's about winning and losing. No no one wants to be on the other end of losing, you know what I'm saying. So I like to think that you know, still sharp and still you know what I'm saying, And if it wasn't gonna be me, it's gonna be somebody, you know what I'm saying. And then I like to think that whatever you took from this, you took and you actually dominated something else or you
dealt with something else, And that's what this is. Somebody, our our our ready, our interaction and what we had. I had one when I was younger and then shaped me to the to the competitor and the person I was. And that's what I want to be known for it straight up, man, When all this gets stripped down of its purity and you at your baar and you're erected and you like, Hi, Yeah, That's what I'm talking about. So at the end of the day, I wanted to be labeled something, and I wanted to be known for
a certain style. And I really believe still sharp and still you know what I'm saying. Talk about a little bit about what you learn from your father being a tennis player.
Well he was competitive as hell too, you know, so in a different time too, right, in a different time. You know, he was playing in a white sport. You know, he was the only black guy. And today this year is his forty years since he won the French Open.
So a lot of people say, you know, he pops shout out to Yannick, you.
Know, doing his thing, still doing a lot of stuff with the kids in Africa, you.
Know, building building, building, building, you know.
But as a tennis player, you know, people always said, you know, oh it's the last it's been forty years since the Frenchman won, you know, the French Open. But people don't realize that. You know, he came from Africa and he left home.
He left he left Cameroon when.
He was eleven years old to go to so Arthur Ashwll saw him play in Africa, gave him a scholarship in an academy, and you know, but people don't realize the rifices that you have to make at an early age to have a shot to be called champ.
You know.
So I was blessed to be able to see that work ethic and the work.
That goes into it.
You know.
I think that even though my parents were weren't together, just seeing seeing the work ethic, and it's just like it's not just practice, it's it's a way of life, you know what I'm saying.
So that's what I learned from my pops. That's dope, man, that's dope. Now, can you play tennis?
I can't play tenna, I can't. But unlivable though, you can't lie me right.
Yeah, yeah, a dull right right? But if if you can, you can return. You can get you can you get you can you can get into it like.
A little eye, you got a little hand.
No, I'm just sure like you can. We can go into exchange like you can carry an exchange, like you can hit back and know all that.
Yeah, I'll fuck you up with that ship for sure.
No, No, you'll fuck me up. You fuck me up in you know what I'm saying. I'm super competitive. You can't live me either, you know what I'm saying. And I got shipped back here and all that. But I can, I can, I can lie. I can rally a little bit, you know what I'm saying, if I get the right rhythm. You know, to marbles from the Hoodicine Valley, you need a marble who know how to hit the ball back? You know what I mean? You feel me? But show me that fourhanded you track? You see how that you
see how that ship was coming over your son? Like I was like, what's my technique on that? Do I even I didn't know that John Jay Lucas. I didn't know Jay Lucas was a real tennis player like be Andy Roddick, like was in it and just chose basketball. Was that hard for you? Knowing that your father and probably was passionate fuck about tennis and actually actually like laid the groundwork for if you want to go there route?
Was it hard?
Was it hard for you to go for basketball to tennis? Or was basketball like your calling?
I was born in New York, and you know my pops used to His agent represented Patrick Ewing, Oh okay, his agent Patrick His agent also represented Donald Shild Donald Dell representing Michael in the beginning as well Michael Jordan. So you know, I was to be around basketball at a young age. So I used to go to the
garden and see the love that it got. And you know when I saw that energy, basketball is like a religion in New York back So for me, it was like I didn't like people comparing me at an early age all that stuff. So basketball was just kind of, you know, my sanctuary and my peace of mind. And you know, there wasn't no comparison or anything like that. But I learned a lot from from my pops work ethic. It doesn't matter what sport, but it definitely shaped me into the player that I became.
Who do you credit for your basketball knowledge? In your build? And I know it's I know, you got to have a coach somewhere, especially in your early days when you go into high school, you're not in college yet. Who's your who's your coach? First time I got to ask you the Riverside.
Now, I was Long Island Panthers.
All the way left.
Yeah, you would gets the establishment exactly.
But we had a squad though it was like Charlie Fell in the waiver, Uh, you know, we had.
Lenny Cook.
Lenny Cook. Shout to Charlie V too, yo, because many who else was on that team.
Uh.
We had Day on Merit doing a lot of good ship with the kids out there in New York. Shout out Day on merrit. We had a guy called Cameron too.
He was nice.
No, we had we had a squad. We had a squad Long Island Panthers. I had a coach called mister Green. He worked security at a b c D camp, so he used to take me with. I used to go with him to a b C D. I wasn't playing, but I could watch everything. I saw Lenny play against Lebron, and Lebron won that matchup. That ship hurt from the beginning, man, it was. It was tough from the beginning because Lenny was my guy.
And Lenny's real too.
Yo. He had a real game, real game.
So he was the number one player in the country. You know, we're playing in all these street ball tournaments. I'm living with mister Green in the summer because my pop was always I didn't live with my father, so he was always like, yo, come in the summer, Like come hang with me in the summer with chill, go to Saint Bars, go on all these cool places. And mister Green is like, look, if you want to get if you want to get good at this basketball, then
you got to stay with me. So I used to stay in his house and Flushing, stay on his couch all summer, and you know, playing in all these street ball tournaments. Man, for real, that's what shape me. You know, I came into New York. I came to New York. I was speaking English like this with an accent. So you could imagine being like a twelve year old kid. You're playing with all inner city kids, playing with Lenny.
All these guys.
I would never get in the game, never, but I would just watch them, watch what I should do, watch what I can't do.
And you soaking up, you soaking up culture, you soaking up New York. Listen, if you ever talked to a New Yorker straight up. I met Ray Kwan one time. Y'all thought I was a nigga from the hood, almost talking to me at law me probably like that sentence too, and he was talking God and he was you know, you know, real respect to the guard too. You know
what I'm saying, shout to Ray Kwan. But I'm imagine you soaking up all this New York verbiage and all this right right for real, So you're picking up on slang, how to do, how not to do?
What today's mathematics knowledge.
God, you know I love Ray Kwan two. So no, but New York, New York, man, I mean there's nothing. The culture out there is just it's on another level.
So that's and you know.
Being able to play all these street ball tournaments, that's a blessing.
You know.
You look at Chicago. You know, we're doing a lot of work in Chicago with the kids and stuff, but they can't even do that no more. They taking the playground, they taking the rims off the playgrounds and all that stuff. So just to have a basketball streetball culture, you know, DJs, DJs people on.
The mic while you're playing in the trees.
I played in New Yo. Like I'm a journeyman too.
Bro.
One of my my favorite things you should do is go play everywhere West fourth Rock, one hundred and fifty fifth, Dykman Basketball City, downtown, right where else they playing that? Because I won't to say, man I Gordon Malone took me to Brownsville, never ran never will you know what I'm saying, Like, man, Steff, take me to Coney Island. I'm playing in the garden over there. Man, you hear me, You hear what I'm saying. I hear exactly what you can. Badgers, bro,
you get them Badgers. The Badgers make you straight up. You got a favorite place to play in New York? Let me hear your park.
My favorite part was Kingdome west of Kingdom Uptown, right in the middle of the projects. And after I didn't play my freshman year in college. I remember my homie Roscoe. He was like, Yo, you gotta play in these tournaments. Be this shit's gonna get you right.
So I remember playing at Kingdome, voice of Harlem on them, like doing all this shit, Like what you're gonna do? What you're gonna do? You know what I mean? Everybody's smoking ones everywhere. You know what I mean. It's hostile.
I love it.
It's hostile. You need that environment. So now I'm I'm in there. Next thing, you know, I'm grabbing the rebound.
Wow, I'm not passing it to the guard. I'm bringing up myself a button. Mad as hell.
Adrian looking at me like, yo, pass me the fucking round on the point guard.
But you know I used to like to get the rebound and bring that ship up myself. I got the whole crowd going crazy. That shit really got me hyped.
You know.
I didn't come from that environment, but to be able to play in that when I came back the next year, we end up winning the CHIP, getting the MVP.
But it got me.
Right Florida, right, why University of Florida. I love coach Donovan man.
Oh yeah, you know, shut the coach Donovan.
Man out Coach Donovan. Do you know the Irish dudes they got something. There's something in the water over there.
You know.
They they different but work at the crazy IQ. And you know what what I loved about Coach Donovan is he used to do our individuals himself.
Okay, you know what I mean. So y'all going through all, Okay, he jumping in there, jumping in there, he's starting, he's retiring to work out. He was like, I got the whole thing planned out. So I knew there was not a lot.
Of coaches that would that would do the individuals, you know, so that was big.
That's huge too, and that's growth and it gives you confidence and continuity because now you know what he's thinking and what he's probably expecting.
From you, right exactly. You know.
The one of the things I watched you when you was in Florida. Uh, Like I said, I can't remember the first year, but your second year was so adamant, just how you and Al I forget. I know Corey Brewers on that squad too, and y'all had another guard or something, Toryan Green. Yeah, I'm going blank on all your names, but watched the continuity man. Torian Green was on that jo I'm watching. I'm watching y'all continuity and just to passing the Big Man, the Big Man and
y'all looked like y'all have been together forever. You know what I'm saying.
Talk about that team at Florida and what made y'all special.
I think we loved being in the gym, you know. I remember I came into school, I had my two bags, and I met my college teammates in the gym right away. We're checking up one on one. I'm like, Okay, you know this is going to be good because we were in the lab. We were in the lab and we lived together that class just lived together, so you know, and the good thing was same shit.
Coach Donald was like, yo.
If you get the rebound, he didn't let the point guard come back and get the rock.
So now we you know, well that.
Yeah, and then you know what, we were playing all summer, so we were like as freshmen.
We were coming and we were playing.
Against you know, David Lee, Matt Walsh, Anthony Roberson, and you know, we were competing with those guys.
We were busting the ass. Actually, but that's another that's another story. But it was good. You know what I'm saying. We were on it.
We were on it and from the beginning and then after the second year we won the chip. We had so much fun playing together. You know what I'm saying that we did it again. That was crazy.
When did you start to think about the league? When did you start?
For me, it happened later. It happened later. So it wasn't until after we won that first chip.
That people were like, okay, Joe, you can you know you're probably going to be a top three pick.
It's time for you to go.
But you know, I wasn't too worried about I didn't have to worry about you know, taking care of moms, taking care of pops.
I knew they were all right. So when when Corey, Corey's situation was a little bit different, and when Corey was.
Like, Yo, let's go back to school, Let's let's do this shit again, like we just we're having too much fun.
You know, the league can wait.
And I know that's a that's a rare position to be in, you know, especially when we had we had opportunities to go get some money right there, and and when Corey said that, we all decided to come back, and you know, it's I'll never forget those moments, those memories, you know, just the competition, being able to win trophy, bring.
It back to school. It was wild.
Man, have the bulls out in your back? Did it feel different?
It did.
It wasn't as fun to me, you know. The expectations sometimes were heavy, because you know, when you have when you're in the league, you know you can protect yourself being a little bit outside. You have your money, you know, you take your care of your family. But when you're in college, you know, we living in the dorm, so you got people coming at you from everywhere.
So that was that was a lot at times.
Yeah, y'all had no like shelter or nothing, nobody to kind of protect you from that. But then y'all students, y'all in every day, every day hustle and bustle.
Right, I mean yeah, but you got the students knocking on the doors, you got students waiting outside your dorm.
You know you're not protected. We lived, We lit as hell, so it was it was fire though it was fire.
Are you following all the NIL stuff?
Bro? The N I l shit, not really, to be honest, but I'm had for college. Huh.
I said she was doing for college.
I think it's good.
I said, you fuck with it? No?
Uh, you know, you know college was a great time.
When I look at it, you look at how much how much money this shit is generating, you know what I mean? The annihilists just kind of putting a band aid on it.
But the reality is.
This tournament is generating billions of dollars and kids aren't getting paid on it. So the NIL is a good start, but to me, it should be more.
You know what I mean?
Are these players employees? These players the players start are playing in college swimming, softball, baseball, basketball, football, track, whatever you're doing stickball, goddamn whatever. Would you consider that an employee, not just a player, but an employee. They're working, they're working for well, yeah.
One hundred. Everybody need everybody who's generating some bread needs to get paid. I think that's just that's just fair.
Yeah, that's the standard to me, standard. Right. Yeah, But they call them players and don't call them employees. They would not label them that. You think players. Do you think the nil would hurt players in any way from their determination and wanting them to get to the next level.
I mean, it shouldn't. It shouldn't.
They might.
I mean I've seen them many times.
Like people get contracts, people get money, It makes them sawce sometimes all back fall back. It depends on the person's personality, you know what I mean, And what's going on with that person too, right, Yeah, Like you just said your situation was different for court bro. He probably have to do things a little different because of his situation exactly. But now it's taking you away from the important shit, and that's putting that block word, elbow word, shooting.
Being in the court, being on the court.
Yeah, I actually said, man being a friend was talking and uh, he asked me, he said, you think giving guys bread at an early age is a bad thing. And I was like, you know, we all are different, you know, and I didn't want to generalize, but I was like, I don't think it's a bad thing for someone like you. Think of kids that you know, a middle class and don't have that, you know, struggle and no shit like that. They still got, you know, come out great people. They still out, you know, come out
with professionals and stuff. So it's not a bad thing. But I understood what he was saying, does it not give them them instead of anymore? So I was like, nah, listen, I always say, man, if you really want to see if someone loves something, give them everything, give them a boat load of money, see if they still work hard. Because I'm telling you, once you get in between them lines, man, don't nobody give a fuck about what you made. If anything's a bigger target on, you're bad right.
That thousand a thousand percent.
But that being said, you know it's big business. You know, that's why you play hard. You know, you work your ass off to be able to be in those positions. You know, we bless this games giving us a lot. But for sure, I mean I think if if kids have opportunities to make money, they should make as much as they camp.
For sure, that's what it's all about.
I believe that too. So, you know, it's crazy hearing you talk about New York. You know, I lived in Chicago for some time, came out of high school there. When you when I hear you talk about New York, it's dead ass mirroring. I mean a straight mirroring of Chicago. A ton of hood tournaments, north Side, west Side, south Side, you know, High Park, east Side, like wherever you can find a game, and you can get into some of
these places and play, that's where you play at. And then playing in some of those environments gives you those badges that I was talking about. So when you get drafted, you go through the draft process, you get to Chicago, does it feel like New York?
Uh?
Parts of it?
To me?
It was to me, Chicago was rougher a lot of ways. You know, that's real, that's reality too, that's you know, yeah, you know, I think that I've been studying a lot of conflict resolution, you know, in Chicago, working with a lot of angels out there who changed their lives, doing work with the kids, you know, the kids who are you at risk of the bullshit. So shout out Kobe Williams for all the work, you know, just being able to,
you know, teach me. I feel like, you know, when you play for the Chicago Bulls, you have a responsibility to this wherever you're playing, you have responsibility to that.
City, community, to that community.
So looking up to you, to me, all that stuff was the biggest blessings that you know, the most impactful stuff I ever did was not on a basketball court. It was, you know, working with these violent prevention groups and really just going in there, even though I didn't come from that world, just really going in there and listening and using my position as a Chicago bull player to you know, do basketball tournaments bring the guys together? Because it's a divided city. There's a lot more than
a lot more than New York is. You know, when you say, oh, I'm from the Bronx, people aren't saying.
Oh, he represented it, he's with that group.
Or you say oh, I'm from Brooklyn, you're not saying, oh he's this, he's that, he represents that set.
You know, in Chicago, it's like that.
No, I was like that right in some of the yester years of older times. It was a huge migration of the blacks that came from the South trying to get a better life. And when they got to these bigger cities, just like New York, just like Philadelphia, just like in Chicago, they fell upon really really hard times and in some instance where the police wouldn't even come to the nahborhoods because it was so bad in some of these rural areas that the neighborhood had to actually
band up and protect the neighborhood. So then all the all of a sudden, you have these neighborhoods come up with these little street games and they neighbor them street games, called them street communities, street groups, whatever you want to call them, but they was real protectors of the neighborhood. When the women and stuff were to get you know, robbed of the persons and stuff, they went to the local who ran this neighborhood to go handling the situation,
and vice versa. Same thing with small businesses, windows getting busted, you know, the little petty theft things in the neighborhood. Keeping the neighborhood clean came from these these city groups and it wasn't until the soldiers came back from war. Now guns and drugs are introduced, creatures of habit would the last to get resources, all the stuff compiled and you got an environment now. But these street groups never
went anywhere. If anything, they unified, there was communative and when they became problems, when they had all a strategic structuring and they all want the build on something to make their communities better. You know what I'm saying, we can all sit here and talk about the definition of what that looks like. I hear what you're doing back
in Chicago. Talk about some of well I think you just tested on a little bit, but talk about what you're doing in Chicago with gun prevention, with bringing these groups together to at least start dialogue, because I feel like when you start a dialogue, a lot of these groups look at themselves as they are different going into the dialogue, and once the dialogue starts, they see that they're very much alike, They're very much on the same page,
and they're very much parallel in their efforts to make something better. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. I want you to speak a little bit on what you're doing back in Chicago, because I think it's not only what's needed, but I think it's so important for people to hear.
I appreciate that doubt and salute you too, King for that. Appreciate that real shit.
You know. We're working with.
A lot of violence prevention groups and being able to bring them together through sports, through basketball, so we do the basketball League. It's not about getting the top talent, it's about bringing the guys together and giving them a voice.
You know. Obviously there's a lot of hardship.
In the neighborhood, and if we can bring them together as much as possible, I think a lot of beauty can come out in the unity, you know, and being able to talk, and.
Because everybody's just so divided.
So I think that one thing that was really important was just being able to bring the guys and come to the game, give them tickets, you know. I think that that also gave me a lot of strength when I was playing, because I knew I was playing for more than myself, you know, And that's why when I played in Chicago, I think it just definitely I knew I was I knew I was I had My purpose was stronger than ever and still to this day, look
I'm done playing, I'm still on it. And you know, the reality is the violence isn't getting any better.
So you know, I'm not trying to come over here. I'm not going out there preaching to anybody, but you know, it starts with just doing shit like this.
Like you know, when I'm walking in the street I'm in New York, people might be like, yo, fuck KG and they don't even know the situation. I'm hearing people like talking about a moment that happened twenty years ago, you know, And I want the I want people to know, Look, this is about conflict resolution, and you guys are dealing with with shit on a much bigger sk scale.
You know, when you're.
Talking about nobody dying, nobody's dying when you're playing basketball, you know, so when your cousin's getting killed, you're talking about conflict resolution.
You know, that's that's real.
Perspective, Like how do you how do you diffuse the situation without somebody getting killed or somebody going to jail. So the reality is the violence is not getting better. But there has to be a bigger investment in the community and bring guys together and get letting them talk their shit out. You know, it's not about It's not about me. I don't like coming into environments like that preaching and telling them about my It's not about my story.
This is about the guys coming together. And if I can help bring the guys together, I'm gonna do that.
I love that, Bro. If you need any help with that, let me know, BRO. I'm interested in not only bringing people together, but starting to talk and changing the script.
Bro.
Script needs to be changed. I feel like these young kids are looking for or have an all the ology of an idea that they want to believe in but don't know how to execute it. I think the old heirs want to help these young guys but don't know how to go about it. And I think when you get them together, it's beautiful because you get an older generation and new generation coming together. I can't say that everybody, or it doesn't always feel like they want them to
to be together. Sometimes it feels like you won't, you won't you want it at odds, or it's felt like it's promoted to be at odds. And anything that can change that narrative or anything that can change that script, I'm all for. So let me know, BRO. Real ship real ship.
I love. That's that's why I came here for.
No real you know what I'm saying. I want you to know that, man, and man, I love what you're doing with Africa. Man, I see the African League, bro, talk about it? Man, what you is that a real thing?
It's coming, It's coming.
I saw your I saw you're real. I saw your real you know you're in your team sent me. I was like, it had Obama endorsing it, it had it had the lead talk about the African League.
Man, Well, it's something I'm really proud of, you know, just to be a part of a of a league.
So now you look at it. You know, when you're a competitive when you're in it, you don't look at the big picture.
You don't look at the wide scope.
Of you in it.
And now it's like, okay, I'm a part owner of a league in Africa. This is really special because I would go back in the summers, you know, at the height of my career and there's so much work to do and now you know you're you're alone and it's like you can't change your culture, like you can't do this shit by yourself.
So now it's.
About bringing you know, your network bringing all the people together to do this ship. But when this opportunity came to be able to be a part to invest in n BE Africa, for me, it was no brainer.
I was like, this is exactly what I'm looking for.
You know, but basketball is not a big part of African culture yet. But you know, you look at Joel mb he probably the MVP of the league right now, but the reality is he started playing basketball at sixteen seventeen years old.
So imagine when they lower the hoops and they got the.
Little shorties, wait till these young African boys come in with the hot.
Hesy right to put their own li on it exactly.
So we don't have that yet. That's not there yet. So the league is great. You know, the NBA has invested a lot of you know, a lot of big leaders are invested. Now I'm at the table with the big dogs, so I'm learning a lot. I'm learning a lot about business. But at the same time, it's like, yo, let's really focus on the grassroots.
And what I'm hoping for is like, you know.
OG's who are done playing, who want to give their you know, their experience, their leadership, Like we can go and do that. And the reality is we're so blessed in America. People don't realize, like Cameron got one indoor court in the whole country.
One in the whole country.
So now you start building infrastructure where you have the ogs coming in and really showing these kids how to really hoop.
It's a rap.
How they building it? Are they building it from legos like Nigeria, Cameroon, a coach some of the bigger South Africa? Are they starting with some of the bigger the bigger countries.
Right now there's two there's three big arenas. So they're in Senegal, you know where there's probably the two best academies for the kids on the continent to learn. So a'm au Galla Fall who's the president of he was he was a scout for Dallas.
I saw that, so we were we were, we were.
Tight coming up. You know, I almost went there to play with Dirk when I came in, but we always kept our relationship and you know, when he became the president and there was an opportunity, I jumped on that. But right now, the big structures, the big stadiums are in Rwanda, in Senegal and in Egypt.
But we still have we got ways to go, We got ways to go. But the talent is there, for sure.
I saw, I saw it on the rail. I saw I saw obviously on the social media, and I see a bit some pieces I saw Ja cole Go in the league play. Do you see, matter of fact, on the scale of one to ten, when it comes to skill, what's the what's what? What's what's Africa? The continent as we know basketball And by the way, basketball right now is the international. It's a European sport right now.
Mm hmm.
The moves that's in the game, the euros the flopping don't look American. And then the best players are European. Give me a take on that. You agree with that.
I mean there's a lot of great European talent, but I mean there's the talent is coming from everywhere man, and it used to just be States States.
So it's not like that no more so. But what people in the States have to realize is, you know, I don't care where you're from. You have everything here.
You got everything, you got the best facilities in the world are here, the best coaching is here. But I feel like the kids are are spoiled as hungry, not as hungry as the world. As the world, the world is hungrier. So that to me, that's where I want
to put my I want to put my energy. When I'm talking to it shorty, he's not looking at me like, oh, he's not playing no more like you know, I don't care about my Instagram is not going to be as lid as it was when I'm not trying to hear all that shit I want to when I'm talking to you about basketball, I want you to be one hundred percent in it. And yo, I haven't experience in this shit. I played against the best players in the world. And if you hungry and you really want it, I want
the kids out there to really have an opportunity. So that's what this league is showing these kids. They don't have to fly all the way to the States to go to you know, boarding school or.
Go play NCAA. You don't have to do we're just talking about NIL.
There's a league out there, a professional league, and you don't have to leave home. So obviously, you know, Africa is a huge continent. There's a lot of different cultures. You know, South Africa's culture is very different from the North uh, you know in East West Vice it's all different. But the reality is when you lower the hoops and you let these kids play and they get the good coaching.
It's a rap. Imagination takes over imagination.
Soccer still huge over there.
Soccer is huge.
Soccer sotillners, right.
They winners. But same thing.
It's like, yo, the guy, and we got to invest in the in the structures, do you know?
That's what it is.
It's like just if we can invest in this. But to me, it's like my purpose is stronger than ever, more than when I was playing. It was like when I was playing, I was representing the Bulls. I was representing my team, and I try to do that to the best of my ability. Now it's not about me. It's just Okay, I have my experience, but I'm watching. I know what it looks like. I know what a good practice looks like. I know again better looks like, you know, because I lived that for most of my life.
But and I saw that I did that in Europe, you know, starting to play basketball in France. The same same facility as where Victor winbin Yama, same place that he's coming up. So that's why I started playing and so I saw, I saw the grassroots and what it looks like in Europe.
America as well.
You know, we talked about that New York City streetball term all this stuff, and now Africa, it's like, Yo, they're building slowly but surely. But when the investment starts coming in and people really see, like, yo, if we put this you know, if we put this time in right now, this next generation from over here is going to be on another level because they're hungry.
Greater than the G League.
No, not yet.
It's not better than NCAA. I wouldn't say it's better than the Super Raw Raw Raw, but.
It's the same thing.
It's like you look at African dudes when they come in, right and they come to America.
First of all, what's their job? The dirty work?
You set, the screens, you roll, you don't rebound, don't ask for the don't you dare ask for the ball.
That narrative that's changing. You got Embiid was about to go m VP.
You passing, you better passing the ball every fucking time down the court.
You know what I'm saying.
See Il come come down with dribble pump pump, fake one dribble, pull up right hand hook you got Jannis who a year or your ass to death and put you in the rim like Shaq like yeah, yeah, it's totally different. The whole narrative is changing, the whole narrative. But the resources are not all the way there. But the time and the equity and the investment has been there for those players to be like this, wouldn't you say? I mean it worked out with Cold. Johanna's worked out
with me. You know, Johanna's worked out with other NBA Jason Kidd, Jannis has had the investment. Think about m B. M B got not one year, he said, out two years. Think about their investment on on Africa and the players that come out of there in the time usually oh you know this and in the times where because I'm a little older than you, but bro, you don't get two you get two years for you can get two years two years meaning somebody was like nah, yeah, we're gonna wait on.
Yeah, but in the league that's a different thing once they're already there that I see what you're talking about.
Those investments are making I'm expecting listen, all the fun you got to work out with COVID.
Nah.
Now, yeah, you're gonna be different at some point. I'm waiting on it to hit so that. So I'm saying, when you drop those resources in there, I don't think there's gonna be something. I look at it. I see Africa being greater than the China League, and I say
that because of the sourcing right there. Once you start throwing the imagination, start teaching, you start teaching little things like getting your head up and identifying in the Once you start really getting through the nuances and tangibles that really make the game, the details those kids, imagination starts taking off for sure. You know what I'm saying. And that's what needs to happen.
That's what needs to happen.
Yeah, you know, but you you you walk to the market out there and you might see a dude that looks like he never touched the basketball.
He he looked like you, bro, just like me. He looked just like you.
She never touched the basketball before, you know what I mean, never, never, ever.
He's sixty eleven, motherfucker. All that purple, black, green, all that blue, all that shit, right, Super Melani, right, super, don't even know what does it?
What is this?
What is that Are you serious? That's the that's the reality of the thing. So now we're building a course. You know, there's a lot of people doing a lot of dope shit. We just got to keep it up and keep building.
Damn.
That's twenty years behind, twenty years behind, twenty years behind, twenty years. Damn. How you speak? How you speak? That up? Camps involvements because I know they I know the NBA does something over there, right or they go over every year. I know Tumble used to be bigger than I'm shout out Tumble, shout out shut. What's what's the guard from Toronto? I'm going blank on this name? Helped me rich? What's the what's the African? Yeah? Yeah, I see him sending
a huge charge. So every every year. Now, I think we need to put the investment of these camps flo some of the old HEAs over let them because you know they know us. And then it's so it's so hard on some of these young guys who are playing. You play the whole season. I know you don't want to take your summing and go over to Africa. Then too, I think that script is gonna start changing, right for that.
That's the reality at the end of the day, it's taking your time, just giving your time, and that's that's the most important thing.
You know.
We get some of these ogs to come over there, that means a lot. It goes a long way, does and these kids they appreciate it on another level. So that's really what my focus on more than you know, the investment in the league. All that stuff is great, but focusing on the grassroots part.
If we get this piece right.
Then the league is only gonna blossom, you know. So you know, I love I love talking about this with.
The guys and see, really who who's into it?
Sometimes I talked talk to guys about it and they're like, man, they're not interested. But the guys who are and who were like, yo, I want to know about my heritage a little bit. You know, it's deep, you know. Going back, we did a beautiful trip with d Rose last summer. We brought his high school team to Senegal, so he was playing against the best competition in Africa at the NBA Academy and it was like the cultural exchange was beautiful, you know. So being able to have do that trip,
I had just got married. I was on my honeymoon. Who was like, Okay, I want to do this trip to Africa. I'm not missing that shit.
So we went. It was awesome.
We went to go visit the slave castles, you know, and then it became a trip that was bigger than basketball, you know, because now you got kids from Chicago coming in competing against the guys in Africa. They in Africa, they looking around there was and the same thing. It's like, you don't even have to preach, you don't have to say because they're just you know, taking in this experience.
They're coming back to their neighborhood and they're like, yo, inspired, how is Africa?
And they can they have They have a real story to tell, you know, So talk about perspective.
That was. That was one of the dopest things I ever did in my life, to be honest.
That's so you gotta go through it. Ship, You got to go through the whole shot and do that. By Farragut would do something like that, man. So now I got to ask the question is the is the It's the ideal is to bring like, uh, some African teams over in the summer and have them play some of some of the talent in Chicago and get kind of that experience and back and forth.
I mean, to me, that's that's my dream, that's the move, that's what that's the move.
Benm GM are you listening. We're gonna sponsor that idea. We're gonna talk about the Nor's Art International certify you hear me, Yes, talk about it, man, Nod's Art Foundation. You know, shout the Nords Art. You know what I'm saying, y'all doing big things, No doubt I appreciate that.
Man. I love that name. Man to talk about a little bit.
What's nord ar uh Noah's Ark is a foundation I started with my mom's.
You know, mom was on the West side.
Shout the mom exactly.
Mom was, you know, knocking at the Major Adams Community Center.
Mom.
Mom does a lot of art therapy with the kids. So my mom was very hands on in the work in the community. She would come out when she came visit me watching him play. She would always go to the community and do.
Do work with the kids with the art.
And then you know, I was doing these basketball tournaments with with the Ogs, and to me, I always I always loved the Vets. You know, the Vets to me was probably the most. It was amazing getting the knowledge from them. You know, I think about you know, Kurt Thomas, you know Keith Bogan's even scal. Scal used to come in and talk about about you all the time, like, Yo, there's so this is how, this is how, this is what KG used to be.
I'll be like, man, I'm nobody trying to hear that ship right now.
Man, it was just a motivation, some insight. Shout the White Mama.
Shout out to the White Mamba. But you know, before before we get out.
Of here, I just want to also talk about, you know, the motivate TIBs man. And you know, I know we're talking about Noah's Ark, but let me let me finish on no good Good take your.
Time, but Noah's Ark. It has been special.
But you know, we're really focused on the work in Chicago, and right now it's about this basketball tournament that's starting up this summer using the twenty eight violence prevention groups.
Come together.
We got South Side going on, we got the West Side going on. Bring the guys together, have the conversation. It's more than just basketball. When I talk the basketball part is cool. We're bringing we're doing that, but all the programs that are going to come in the conversations that are going to come after. That's what it's all about. And that's that's my mission right now. My purpose is
stronger than ever. And yeah, man, I'm fucking really hyped to be here right now because like we're talking about, we're talking about conflict resolution. You know, I want people to know I'm about I'm handling mine right now, you know what I mean. People are going to go in the street and say they can say whatever they want.
This one was for me.
I love it. I love it. I love it. Are you watching? Are you watching the NBA? You're keeping up with it?
For sure?
All is it bug Is it bugged out to watch? Still going?
It's not bugged out.
It's bugged out that I'm rooting for Boston a little bit.
I want him to get it.
You're getting this, yo, y'all hit us. We got the whole room.
You heard this right right?
Say that again? Nah?
Just but mostly I can't. I want to now for I want hor Fee to get one bad.
You know, he deserves it, the fact that he can still go playing at a high level, and you know he's making that team go.
You know, and and it's always the importance of having like the right O G.
And that's more than just basketball. That's in life, like having having guys that you could talk to. Has been through every situation. He's that guy.
So really proud of him. The way he's handling his business, and.
It's on that three ball really changed everything for him. He started. He's you know, it's weird that it got it got it got preached to us to stay away from it, right she I'm trying to think of big Sta shot the three now a lot, not a lot, right, I'm going blank. Apologies Dirk Dirk, but I'm watching the Red the re emergence of a guy like Brook Lopez goes to the Lakers, start shooting the three, and next thing you know, he's having a whole nother career, right man.
Al Horford's in that same category. The three ball has changed. And then last year I watched him change the cold course of why the Celtics and destroy it or if yeah, yeah, he he destroyed in that series. To me, he actually, you know, but then when you look at Al, he took it. It was a year in Okay, see where he didn't play, where he had the whole year to just not only work out but be on a roster still be here. How long do you think al continues to play? If you know how well?
So I was my college roommate, and you know, I think if his approach is his approach is definitely the same. You know, he's even in college, he was probably like the most professional person that I ever been around.
It's always been big like this for as long as you know him.
Yeah, I mean he got bigger.
For sure, I know that, but he's always been in a like a a bigger person.
Yes, like center, you know.
But you know, it's funny because when we were in college, I was playing top of the key.
He was the one who was playing in the post.
You know. But you know he's he's an all around player and just like you said, you know he got that three ball, but more than just basketball. I think like when I talk to like some of the guys talk to Jalen Brown, all started a little bit and just like the respect that he gets from.
The guys, that's that's dope to me. You know.
Yeah, man, he's a good o G. And you know he's been in this situation. So now he's fighting for you know it's the end of It's who knows, he could probably play for a little more, but you know, just to be in that position to be able to wake up in the morning.
And you know, I got the playoffs today. I got a playoff game. Like, that's the ship I missed the most. It's like, you know, those moments of just you know you in layup lines. I mean that that to me is like those.
Moments playing against y'all. Like I could, like hear the in the air tonight, I can hear that song.
You know what I mean.
I'm those layup lines. I was so crunk, I couldn't even feel my legs. Bro, you know what I'm saying.
It was just super super It was the best. It was the best.
So those moments is what I missed the most. This is the time of the year that I missed the most. And you know, I really hope hor if he gets one.
Playoffs exposes everything. You can't hide anything, ain't nothing new. They know what you love to do, they know they know your catalog of moves. And I actually think that this is when players get better because you got it. You can't go with the A and B, right, So yeah, my CND is nice too, though, you know what I'm saying. So I want to this is where I want to see like the real nice players or the players. So we got on like higher levels, go to another level with it.
And those those playoffs.
Man, it's like you think that the you know, you get to the league and you think that the season is what the NBA is all about, you know, But guys, there's so many games that it's hard to play at that level every night.
You know.
I think some guys do it, but as a whole, when you get to the playoffs, I mean that first time I.
Hit the playoffs is against you. Guys. You will hurt that series, but that series, like it change.
My life great. Serious, by the way, it was hard watching that ship. It was hard sitting there and not being able to physically contribute. When you give me your assessment on today's game, man, like you're still young enough to be understanding of these young guys.
You know.
The funny clip I love on the internet is when y'all in summer, y'all in the summer playing and y'all double double booker. He was like, man, I'm trying to work on my game, man, Like ain't no double team in summer, Like, yes it is, and you just kept moving like on some O G ship. What's your assessment at the young generation right now? Man?
I think that the game is just is different. The kids are just way more polished. Man's say, everybody's better. And the difference between yes, skill wise, but one through eight you're the first seed against the A seed.
These games are close.
Like the talent you the fifteenth guy on the roster, the difference is not that big. You know, these guys are getting better. I think the talent is is better and it's just different. You know, guys, if you can't shoot the ball, you're.
Not playing no more. Fus, you're not playing no more. You need the three balls. The difference in generations, I think so it's made the big not so traditional. You're traditional big right now. I don't give a fuck. How'm nice you're on the box. If you can't shoot the floating three, if you can't take it, if you can't take the trail three or make a three in the corners, and it's got to be I'm talking about like six for ten type shit. You gotta be like sixty percent
from those two and he giving it to you. You ain't doing shit in on defense. Try They're not having bigs come up no more and actually be up. Steph Curry comes off of the top screening roll. You're you're in the paint like it's no ice. They don't push things to the side no more, like MANE forty five, Like,
come on, man, what the fuck? Come on man, it's Crealy been fighting in the locker room bro for real, Like like like yeah, but it's all designed for a different audience, and this different audience shit to be hyped up like that. They're selling offense and then come playoff times. I feel like they're selling defense because I'm so hyped in you know what, me and my homies be sitting here watching the TV. Man, it'd be like one forty you know forty.
Yeah.
It does trip me out, Like yesterday, I'm watching the game and I'm seeing like I'm not even gonna whatever. He gets the offensive rebound. You you got, you got Chris Paul on you, you got like you got small guys on you throwing that ship out for a three. I'm like, yo, you come on man and go up.
Analytics, Go up analytics.
That that bugs me out. That trips me out.
If you was commissioner for for two years, what would you change? Damn, it's a tough question. Lord, gotta have you on your toes.
You know what I'm saying.
I changed, Yeah, first thing you changed in day one.
Well, I'm happy that they changed the piff that. I think that the weed thing was great. Really, I'm really.
Happy about that. Guys can just at the end of the night relax, can relax.
See, we didn't have that, and so I'm happy that they did that.
That ship took a lot of careers too, bro a lot of careers, and they never did anything about drinking and all. That ship took it out of locker room. But I start drinking such a bigger, harsher habit than than anything else in our obviously harder drugs, the harder drugs. But I was watching motherfuckers get drunk on every night and me, what like, nah, because you need to live on in your kidneys and all that, you know what I mean.
But yeah, I'm glad they actually relaxed on that guys can actually have solutions to some of these elements that they have. Because you know, nobody wants to say this, but anxiety is a real thing. Some of these conditions are a real thing. You know, uh as ain't gonna fix but so much, you know what I'm saying. So I totally get it. Man.
Yeah, I think I think that that was that one was really important because I don't think people realize game. You know, you're playing a game at the highest level. You got twenty twenty thousand people going crazy. You know, you think with that kind of adrenaline being on the court, you think that you're going to sleep at twelve o'clock just all the game's over, it's time to go to bed, Like I can't. I couldn't shut it down. I couldn't
shut it down. So I'm happy that guys have, you know, have that outlet to just be able to calm down, meditate on it, and get some resting. I think the rest is the most important thing. You know, guys, guys are getting hurt left and right.
I was gonna say that.
Man.
You see how they talking about sixty five games, and you see how they are you a fan of Loaves management?
Not really, but I mean it's tough, man. I mean everybody's different.
You know. It's like you look at how people are talking about Kawhi and shit, Yo, Homie's fucked up. Homies fucked up.
So that's that's load management, just because it wasn't my way.
You know, it wasn't the way we were raised.
But at the end of the day, you know, I can't I can't be over here just because it wasn't my way and say you know what's right and what's wrong. You know, some guys need that shit for real. So is it hurting the game or is it helping the game or hurting the game? Would you say load management?
Load management?
I think there's a lot of analytics in it that's just taking taking away the soul of the game. You know, listen to the guys like sometimes like yo, sometimes you got to play through Ship so and and you know what, that's how you get your respect. Like when I when I go around in Chicago and people are talking to me and they're like, Yo, thank you for your services. That's not because that's because I was playing through ship. You know, That's because I was battling in the playoffs.
You're not going to get that because you got a big contract or you know, just because you were a good team. No, you gotta you gotta fight through that shit times. But sometimes the guy, I think there's a lot of like nerdy ship going on where people are like, oh, you know you're you're in the red. They're putting all kinds of stuff to get data and all this. You know, listen to the guy, man, just listen to the guy. Sometimes I think it's it's it's too much.
I know you, I know you spoke through him earlier.
Uh.
First off, shout out for you being a ambassador of the game for the French team. Shout out to you being the ambassador for the Chicago Bulls. You know what I'm saying. Those are those are real key points. People just don't get those real ship. That's respect to you. Talk about Victim a little bit. Man, is he is he? What is he? As advertised? I see I see him do one legged threes? I see him. First off, he's how tall is bro man? Bro seven seventh for really?
Yeah, he's like seven four look like a seven four k.
Yeah, like long win biggest wingspan NBA in the NBA.
Right away, you shoot them.
You can shoot that for real and we'll see. You know, there's a lot of expectations on him.
I hope that he gets a good coach, he's surrounded, he's in a good environment.
You know how that can be early on.
So if he's in a good environment and a good structure. I don't know him well enough to really know you know, who's going to be coming with him when he gets to the league and stuff. But you know, when you come in you are top pick, you know you're going to a not great team. Then that's why these playoffs are so important, because when you have that playoff energy from the locker room, and you know the guys that played in it, they can.
Be like, yay, we fucking around right now, it's January.
But when that ship, when April may come, you know, that's a whole different animal, you know. So that's why you're in the weight room more that I mean that playoff series.
I want to just talk about it a little bit.
It's just that first playoff series just shaped my life, man, and that's my basketball career. You know, just playing against Perk, I was getting pushed, I was getting pushed around, and and that summer I remember I was like, okay, like that's not happening, no more, that's not happening. It motivated me like crazy. I remember you know even I mean, I'm in my house. I'm smoking them like yo, I'm putting the blunt down like I gotta focus. I gotta
stay focused. We got we gotta go back because that feeling, there's no better feeling that I'm going back doing my push ups.
You know, Celtic Circle on the calendar. Real shit. I love the real shit.
This is a platform for all the older cats, all the cats I banged against, all the casts, I played against all the casts. I respect all the cast got something positive going on. I'm here to echo what they're doing on this. You know, I'm so I got partners, don't have no boss in this, And so I left turning at that experience that came over here and got with showtime. And we're just building something. So I wanna I want to. I want to. I want to keep
doing that. But I'm watching Dough, I'm watching you, I'm watching Baby, I'm watching Ta, I'm watching Perk. I'm watching a bunch of young cats under me come under this and want to be in this and do it a whole other way. So you know, we're just trying to We're trying to be a door Mars can come through. Yeah, because right now, if you ain't going to ESPN, you're going to turn and you sitting there like in limbo. You know what I'm saying. I see Gill doing this thing.
I see Knuckleheads Queue and the three Miles doing anything. You know what I'm saying. So everybody, I'm trying to I'm trying to bring us all together and do something on a bigger joint, you know what I'm saying. Not just have it be over here, you know what I'm saying. And that's how this is.
Man.
I'm a huge fan of the younger generation man or generation that was younger. And one of my favorite matchups that I enjoy watching was the Rondo Derek Rose match. And you know, my perspective was just like yours. I was always seeing it from like you know what I mean, And I was watching these two great point guards be great. Talk a little bit about playing with Derek Rose man his greatness.
I mean, Derek is.
You know, he's it was. It was awesome playing with that guy. You know, just what he represented to that city of Chicago looked like it too, looked like y'all have chemistry, and.
He was just like, you know, he's a quiet guy.
But you know, every time he stepped onto the floor, you know, we felt like we had a chance to win. So that was he gave everybody around, not just the team, but the whole city. Was so much confidence, you know, just his talent alone, just the way he approached the game. He never ran from no matchups. You know, I remember his first year. It was a funny story. Uh you know, he Kirk Heinrich was our best pick and roll defenders. So he's going Nash and Vinnie deln There was like, yo, Kirk,
you got you got Steve Nash. And Who's like, nah, I got Steve. Nah, I'm the point guard. I'm not running from no matchup.
So the whole the whole locker room quiet as hell.
But that's the kind of guy, and like who was not taking no for that as a rookie, as a rookie, So that's the kind of energy he had. He didn't want to run from no matchup, you know. And he was about this this he was all all about this hoop ship. And he was the quiet guy. I was a loud guy. So we were kind of you know, we even though we came from completely different worlds, we mashed like we were brother we're still brothers to this day,
and that's something I'm proud of. It's like, Yo, it's not about I'm proud of our brotherhood with those teams. You know, like Luall Dang, shout out Luall Dang. All the work that he's doing in South Sakdan president of his country in basketball.
They just qualified for the World Cup doing real, real, real real ship shot him up d Rose too.
It's like just to see the ship that he went through, the adversity that he went through with his injuries, and just to see him at peace with the game the way you know, his role as a OG with the younger guys, like that goes a long way. Like he's not playing as much now, seeing him just being there, being supportive, being there with the guys, and you know the guys are looking at like, Yo, if he can handle it and handle his ship like a like a
man and handle his adversity like a man. Yo, They the guys on the knicks are seeing that every day. That goes a long way. So you know, I appreciate that guy, not just as a hooper and the greatness that he was as a hooper, but the way he's handling his ship.
He shocked he's still in the league.
Yeah, nothing shocks me with that guy. Nothing shocks me with that guy. But I just like, I like his mindset. You know, I think that people in his position there's there could be a lot of He could be bitter about a lot of shit because you know, the injuries probably robbed him of some of his greatness. But to see him at peace with it is what I'm the most.
Happy because that's my brother. At the end of the day, win to lose, I don't give it.
It's more about seeing him happy. That's what I care about.
Love that, that's what's up. And I'm not. I look at bro as lord great and when you're great, you just don't put that out It just don't go nowhere. You know you're great for a reason. It's a lot of times in between what's between your ears, you know what I'm saying. So when I watch him play the other night, Tims threw him in there. Tim and Tims still together, by the way, right, they gonna they gonna
go forever. Right when I've seen Tims threw him in there for like two seconds, he got the joint through the lib like it was just I'm just in Central Park. I'm just chilling like, yeah, man, make shout to d ros Mamber huge, huge d rolls.
It's not over. It's not over either.
Keep it going, b Tis Tis Tims might not be playing him right now, but he might be somewhere.
No, you never know.
Listen, it's good to have him right there where you can put him in there. Ain't he ready, he's sitting there. You know what I'm saying. On go so yeah, shout to d ros Man. It's my dog man. I gotta ask you just, bro, would you ever get into coaching?
He no, have no.
I'm saying it's like you got a lot of knowledge, Bro. You got a lot of energy, you got a lot of vision, you got a lot of knowledge. Man, you gotta some of that ship. You know what I'm saying. I know it's I heard you just say you got married, if you got kids with at some point you gotta pass this down. And I'm sure you do this to when you know dealer with your you know your African
teams and everybody else. But I want to know that would you go back to Florida, take a take a coaching job, or would you.
I don't mean there's.
Too much politics and coaching, you know. I actually I coached.
All Star game, the rookie Sophomore game, and there was a kid on Houston and I didn't play him at the end of the game, and he should have.
I mean, it was an All Star game.
But I got competitive and I was like trying to win the game. I leave, I leave the arena and I see he's walking with.
His grandma and I'm like, oh, ship.
And Grandma comes to me, how you not this is the All Star Game. You should be ashamed of yourself. You don't play my son.
And I was like, my grandma, you know what, You're right. I should have played. It was an all Star game.
And he's like, Grandma, chill, Grandma chill, And I should have you know, I should have put him at the It was the All Star game. Everybody deserved to play in the All Star Game.
But that's the kind of man. That shit fucked me up, though, He.
Just fucked me up, Like, dang, grandma, you tell grandma you're trying to win that motherfucker Grandma trying to win it. That's drove right right, We got right in your ship. You know what I'm saying, What's next for you?
Man?
What's next for me? Mean, I gotta throw this before you even answer that. My bad not to cut you off, excuse me, but Bro, you got a personality. Bro, you have a fuck with content podcast. Man, what's what's next for you?
Look, that's another reason why I'm here. You know, I'm trying to figure it out. You know, I got my purpose work in order. I know a lot of my energy is going to go on that. But at the end of the day, I love what you're doing right now. You know the content is you know, it's the future, you know, because we need it.
Man.
It's like there's too much bullshit on the internet. You know, we need to have the ogs come in there speak their truth and you.
Know, give it. Give the guy. This is a this is a great platform.
I'm just like really happy to be here and be able to talk about this stuff. I'm hearing people talking about things that wasn't their story. This is our this is there is a moment that happened between me and you, So being able to talk about this, I think it goes a long way, and it's just bigger than what happened between the lines, So I'm not really happy we were able to do this because to me, this is what it's all about.
That's not respect.
That was great. That was great.
That was great.
Certified for real, certified, ain't no outro man certified