¶ Intro / Opening
Hi, I'm Sloan. I'm fifteen years old, and I love the NBA. Today, we have a very cool guest Storms. He's the man behind all the awesome NBA two K video games that everyone loves to play. He's always hanging
¶ Grow, play, learn, win.
out with all the coolest influencers and playing in the gaming world. And today he's hanging out with me. How cool is that we're talking to the one and only Ronnie too, kat So, Ronnie, I'm fifteen years old and I'm in ninth grade. Okay, but sometimes when you're in ninth grade or when you're fifteen, you can be in tenth grade, so both ways. But I need you to like think about Ronnie when he was fifteen.
I was in eleventh grade.
Actually, wow, look to you a little prodigy. Okay.
I skipped a grade when I was in first grade. Oh wow, me me at fifteen, okay, so this is gonna be very hard to believe. I'd say at thirteen, I was the shortest kid in my class. So I was like, wow, I was four foot like eight and then I had a tennis grosper in ninth grade ten inches, yeah, and then another like eight inches in eleventh grade. And then I had another one in college. Did you like me? I had to grow to the two feet that I
to make six six? Now yeah, you're six six, yeah, like six five six six.
I'm feeling schedule about this. I think you were two. Let's see if this is real, fact checkers. I don't know. I may have to Yeah, I'm only five four, which is okay. Like I don't think I need It's fine. I'm not like going to pursue a career, so I think it's fine.
My wife is four eleven.
Oh my gosh, Wow, that's crazy.
There's that.
Yeah, exactly, it's fine. Whatever. We all grow to our own that's right.
She's still wedding for her gro exactly.
So because you were four eight, but then six two and then maybe apparently six six, did you play basketball? What was that like?
Yeah, so I picked up basketball late. I picked it up in sixth grade, and I really fell in love with the game to the point where I was playing like four hours a day, like any game that I could find. And then in high school, I was a
late bloomer. And I think a lot of it had to do with every time I shot the basket got closer because I was growing yeah, Like so I my game kind of evolved a lot, like late high school, in early college and then early college like my second year I tore my MCL so I never played again after that, like on a collegiate level. But up until that point, like I had a good, like two three year window where I was playing high school and college at a high level. But uh yeah, like I I
sucked in ninth tenth grade even before that. But I think my thing, which is kind of like funny because my career was the same way, like I had to like work and work and work and work to be a really good player. That worked out, Like yeah, do you play au or no? I played cyo in middle school again, wasn't as good as the you kids, and then and then yeah, then I played in high school and then I played at UC San Diego and.
Grew up a worseman. Or you grew up in Northern Californa.
I grew up in northern California. But like I was definitely a forty nine Ers fan and a San Francisco Giants fan. But with the with basketball, for whatever reason, I never connected with a team. It just never happened. And I still actually am not connected to a team I always followed, like certain players that I really liked, So my early days was Michael Jordan. I know you're fifteen. I hope you know I'm.
Familiar with.
Shaquille O'Neill also familiar, yes, and then Kevin Durant most recently, so like wherever Katie goes. That's that's the team that I kind of like root for.
And were you a gamer? Like, did you like video games?
I was a big gamer, though I may era when I was fifteen, Nintendo sixty four. I still can go back and destroy anyone in most of those games, Mario Kars Smash Bros. Like I literally I put this out there because I feel like if I could have played those games competitively, I was really that good. But I was a huge fan of Zelda. So I'm excited for
next month's Tiers of the Kingdom release. Uh And so, like I maintained being a gamer, but for a long time it was Nintendo products and then early Xbox like Halo and you know those games, And that's when I got to play a lot. Just like high school college, you play, you know, you get a lot of times.
Have you gone to Mario Kart World at Universal.
I'm going on Friday.
Seriously, I'm can you take I really want to go.
I really want to go to ask the wife. It's our six month wife.
That's her name.
Her name is cecc Bring me.
I really want to go. It can be a trial. I'll be your little kid. Great. Great, you can put me in the stroller. Will be fun. I really want to try. Like they have these like bread bull thingies and you can like I don't know how it. It's literally the only thing I know, Like, I don't even know what they like.
The japan experience where you could drive around the streets.
I doubt that it's like Universal Studios, that's a small area.
I should they do it eventually. I'm I'm excited to do that.
I'm definitely the k world like an amusement park. Yeah, sick, I can help you start that.
If you like, I'm excited. Were brainstorming?
Great, I'm glad if fifteen year old you start yourself. Now, what would the reaction be because you've had a career path that is filled with many surprises? So how is that we.
Definitely shocked the fact that like to do this thing in sports and gaming two things that I really loved. When I was fifteen is pretty exciting. Maybe I would have been like, oh yeah, of course, because like everybody at fifteen, it's like, oh yeah, I'm gonna do whatever I want to do. But no, that wasn't the goal. You know, Like I had a lot of pressure, you know, as an Indian first generation kid. You know, my my parents put a lot of pressure on me to go
to post graduate school. I was the first one in my family to go to college. And uh so, like it was computer science or I was being a doctor or was being something like that. I settled on law after a little while, and thank god I didn't do that because that would have been terrible.
What type of law?
I really wanted to be a sports agent, so staying in the sports thing. But like I was inspired by Jerry McGuire.
What that is I do? Ronny, I'm just going to podcast. I'm with you, yes, But so you've been working with two K since twenty ten, right or like since two thousand and eight? Okay, I was sorry, I'm sorry. I was there so at that time, so I'm.
Sorry that was wasn't that the year you were born?
I was on in two thousand and seven. But September, so like I was like, scarely. Yeah, it's sometimes I tell players, I'm like, yeah, the year you were drafted, I was not alive.
So my career can almost drive. That's crazy.
Yes, speaking of that, I got my permit. I had my gradulations driving lesson last week. I didn't hit anything, so that was big.
You have plenty of time to do that.
So yeah, oh don't worry, I will. I don't think it's going to come. I feel very bad for Los Angeles County when I when I start to.
Drive Hodger, Everyone's houd your kids.
Yes, exactly. Ye, I'm scared. But which cover since two thousand and eight has been your favorite?
I mean most connected obviously with two K eleven because like that was the first time we put Michael Shore on the cover, and like obviously he was my idol
¶ Learn from your idols.
growing up and so that was really exciting. I'd say, like the best, like aesthetically, it was either the two K twenty cover with Dwayne Wade where you know that like kind of these colors, like the Miami Miami colors, or the year before with Lebron with the black and goal with the words I'd like him very like words on covers to tell stories, like I'm really connected with those two for those examples, there was Easter eggs and both of them, Like, I think we did a really
good job in those. Recently we've gone back into like kind of like the iconic hero shots, which are great, but like as a marketer, as a storyteller, like I was connected with those a little bit more so.
I feel like we talked about how you're like pretty smart, it's impressive, law school. Cool. Cool. But here's my question for you. Okay, so there's thirty teams in the NBA and each team plays eighty ten games. Do you know how many total games there are?
And you're trying to trick me, of course I am. Well, so this is your math. It takes two teams to play, Yes, it takes so that means eighty two divided by two is forty one times thirty is twelve thirty? Is that right?
Oh my god? Wait you you must have known that.
I got an eight hundred on my math essay. Two do they do sat stad I We're going to keep doing this?
See we know no. Like when I wrote that question, I was like, this is gonna be so fun. I'm just something that's crazy. H wow, look at you. Okay, I mean, can I hire you to be my yes tutor? And you were that honored?
Could I could? I was like, really really good at algebra. You already done algebra.
But honored algebra two. I'm scared, I do, Like I'm I'm questioning it.
So I had younger brothers, so like, I know, and then you have calculus after that. Yes, I sucked at calculus.
I'm not a math person. But now that with my new tutor, I'm so.
Excited for it.
Let's see how this does problem. But onto the one thousand, two hundred thirty games. To give ratings out to every single NBA player, that's a pretty impressive thing to do. How many of those games do you think you watch?
Uh, well, we have a team that does the writing stuff beyond me. But I'd say i'd say that I probably watch right around maybe like one hundred games a year. I watch a lot. I used to watch a lot more when you know, like there's a lot of distractions these days between getting married and everything else.
But coming on amazing podcast.
Great podcasts like this one. Yeah, so like probably one hundred and i'd probably go to like maybe twenty five thirty games a year, all over the in every market this year. I've been to Madison Square Garden, I've been the Phoenix, I've been the Sacramento. I've obviously been to Chase Center. I've been to Staples for both teams. Uh, crypto, Sorry, I'm never I'm never going to do it.
It feels so unnatural.
Never, I'm never going to call it crypto.
It doesn't.
For a long time, I did the same thing, like Candlestick turned did the three Colm Like, what what is that? I don't know what three comm is?
But Candlestick at the same.
No, Candlestick was like an iconic name. But it's yeah again before.
Your time, I know.
I meant the Niners won. The Niners won five Super Bowls when it was called Candlestick time.
That that doesn't seem like it's going in a good direction. Then, for like the new stadium, does it?
Yeah, they have a team that Yeah, I don't like the.
New stadium or just what about the team?
The team's great. The teams should have won the Super Bowl two in the last three years and blew it. But I think they'll win this year.
That's positive. That's not what I've been hearing from others, But let's see how that goes. So can you explain to the listeners, you know, like the process behind your team in choosing the rating for each player.
Yeah, so there's like thirty plus mini attributes, everything from like the tangible things like shooting percentage and all of that, to like the the kind of like you know, IQ things like the mental aspect of the game, health, stamina, Like it's a variety of things that kind of like put together in a formula and spit out a number. There's subjectivity. It's all based on like what you do on the court will translate to what your rating is
in the game. Obviously, over the years, that's kind of changed. Like i'd say too, there's two huge changes, right. The game itself has changed, Like when I watched when I was younger, when I was fifteen, obviously, it was a much more two point game, a lot of stuff in the paint, Like a lot of the great players were like post players. That's obviously changed, you know with Steph Curry and Dame and everybody else. And so that's been an evolution. But I'd say the other evolution is the
way our game has changed. So like my first few years a two K, we didn't have any legends in the game, and then all of a sudden we added every you know, almost every legend in the game from the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and odds, right, and so like we had to all of a sudden compare all of these players against each other, so that like kind
of stretched out. There aren't any current ninety nines, right, Like the only ninety nine in the game is ninety five ninety six Michael Jordan, and so like everybody kind of follows and trails behind that. So that's that kind of like changed things for us. But yeah, a lot goes into it, and it's really funny because like these players care so much. They get so mad at me,
they get so mad in general. But the great, the great thing about it is it's something that they control, right, like you them, go ball out, go do your thing. But it's it's amazing. Obviously, it's a great marketing vehicle for us and gets a lot of people talking.
Oh for sure, it's exciting. So I like to ask players, you know, what was your welcome to the league moment? But for you sort of what do you think your I made it moment was like when did you just sit down and you were like, this is just sick.
I Mean There's been a lot of moments that have been like just things that I'd never imagined doing, obviously playing celebrity games and doing that. But I'd say the one that like stands out to me because it was like early in like the thing like I had had a couple of moments, but like I had maybe like twenty five thirty thousand Twitter followers at the time, and uh, there was a Sunday game I think it was NBA two K fourteen. Hassan Whiteside had got a triple double.
I can't believe he's been playing that long. That's crazy now to think about it. Anyway, he uh he got a triple double, uh with blocks, no, not not assists, points, rebounds, blocks and uh. It was a naturally televised game and they asked him like, hey, why'd you play so well, and He's like, oh, I got my I was just trying to get my two K rating up on national TV.
And like for us, like now, that happens all the time, but like at that moment, it was like a really kind of wow, like yeah, why this guy played well because he was worried about his two K rating. The next day he went on Mike and Mike and uh, they're like, who are famous? People said that reached out to you because we saw Rihanna reach out to you. We saw YadA, YadA, YadA, the list one left and right. And he's like and he said me and my Mike
and same conversation. Yeah, it was like Mike and Mike were like, like they went silent because I don't think at the time they knew who I was. But obviously for him to you know, like react that way, that's just kind of a one memorable moment. There's been many over the course of you know, the past fifteen years, but that was that one was pretty funny.
That is pretty cool. So, I know you talked about how you don't necessarily have a team that you specifically love and how you're more like a player guy. But if I was in your shoes, I think I would have a really hard time separating, you know, being a fan and loving all these guys from actually trying to put out these real legit ratings. How do you separate this?
Yeah, I think that that's the bias that you can't have, right,
¶ Be professional and unbiased.
Like you can't be a polarizing figure and like lean towards one team. You just have to be a professional. And I think that's why it's worked, you know, like I don't really have affiliations with teams, and even where you know, people know who I'm friends within the league, and like I wouldn't say they have gotten any preferential treatment. If anything, it's been harder for them, so to be
a professional. Of course, we're all fans. Of course we love what we do, but we need to maintain some sort of like professionalism to like, you know, not be kind of swept up by the system. As a podcaster, I'm sure you deal with the same thing.
I mean, I I'm not afraid to talk about my Warriors fandom, but you know, I try to keep it a little down low when I'm talking to Cats guys like that.
Do you think they're gonna win the championship?
But I think I think Andrew coming back is going to be really helpful. I think Gary Payton the second being back is a huge win. And I just think I think they'll get out of the West, and I just think that the West.
Wow, really, this.
Is a hot taket.
It's not a hot take. Actually, a lot of people are saying they'll say that way.
I just think that the West is sort of inexperienced, and I'm I'm sort of a little bit of a Nuggets hater in the way that I respect Jokic, I respect Jamal Murray, but I feel sort of that they just don't have enough experience. They just haven't been there enough time, sort of saying with the Grizzlies, you know, I mean the Kings definitely don't have enough experience, and the Suns have barely played together. So I mean then you look at it.
And it's like those are the top four and.
The Clippers on it, Paul George, So yeah, you're stuck with my voice.
Well, I think that's a good way of thinking of it. I would say that Phoenix, like even though they don't have as much depth maybe as the Warriors, they are better defensive squad and they're definitely a better offensive squad. So like, that's that's what you're that's yeah, I mean, for sure, like those four guys, you know, I think I actually have the wars winning last year. I think their their defense is gonna be an issue this year.
It's interesting. It will be interesting to see Andrew's impact on the defense, sure, because you know.
We've seen Gip for sure, for sure, but I.
Mean we've seen games where Andrew's been you look at him and you're like, that's the first team all defense got He's just insane. And then there's games where he barely shows up, you know, So I think that that's and Steph's you know, Steph has this that I think people don't realize is that he's sneaky good on defense, yes, and if that shows up, but as an.
Off ball guy, right, like, you still need your stoppers. I mean, Clay has been amazing this year, but like after people don't remember with him, like an ACL is tough to come back from and it takes two years usually and he's done in like a year year and a half, which is so damn impressive. But you can tell he's a half step slower on defense first, and that's okay, Like he's I mean, he just hit three hundred three, so he just he had more three pointers
than he's ever had. So what he's done this year has been tremendous and hopefully that carries the words over. But you know, I think that where they fall short might be a little bit on the defensive side.
Well, hopefully we'll see. So it's great that we were talking about like a semi hot take because this is what my favorite segment is. So Kelly Ray Junior, right, yeah, beautiful, beautiful man. So this segment. You know, Steven A. Smith has some pretty hot takes, but his takes aren't hotter than Kelly you Brad Junior necessarily, but you know who takes are harder than Kelly you raguingr yours in mine
in one second? Okay, so really hot? Like think about those green eyes, Like think about when he just like goes up for the poster and he just comes down he Like you've thought about this all Oh, I think about this every day every night. They have to be hot like tattoos, the whole thing, tsunami poppy type takes.
Wow.
So we're gonna get into it. Okay, ready, ye gotta be hot? You promise sure, I don't know, we'll see. Okay, on a scale of one through ten, how good are you at two K nine? Really? Do you think others
¶ 2K skills still strong.
would agree with that or that's that's your.
Personal I think that like people want to think that I'm worse, and I probably I'm not as good as I used to be, Like I don't have as much time to play. But I just went on this tour around the NBA. I played twenty NBA guys around the country and really good players. I'm sure we're going to talk about some of the best ones. And I went nineteen and one. Wow, And then we just had this
thing to sew. I did like a marketing thing where we have like fans come from at All Star actually, and everybody was expecting to like just run over me, and I went I went eight. Don'tough, So like I still know what I'm doing obviously, Like I don't have as much time to play in our game is just so amazing because it's it's so large, right, Like there's so many ways to play. You know, you can play in the park, which is different. You can play my team,
which is different. You can play a quick game which is different. So like, to be really good at the game, you have to be really good at all of those. And I just I don't know that many people that are better than.
Me onto that which NBA player is the best?
Well, I always said Paul George and then I smoked him by twenty points a couple of weeks ago, so I'm not I'm not sure anymore. No, I'm just kidding. Probably probably him. He is. He is really good. I know he plays the city all the time. You Know. The funny thing is we can look up all the players of you know, like all their hours, right, so, like I get a lot more information. And then than most people. He plays a lot. Uh DeAndre Aden plays
a lot, Jamal Murray plays a lot. Yeah, it's it's I mean, like we're talking about some of the best players on each of these teams. Kevin Durant plays a lot. So but yeah, I would I would hold up, oh for sure. You know, Like I actually think it works both ways, right, Like they have an advantage because that playbook gets beat into their brains of practice, like over and over every single day, and like our game is so authentic that that's what they kind of are ingrained
to see. So I think it helps them. Like they see off ball movement, they see like kind of sets and stuff like that, they see they know what plays coming before because our ai is so good that I think it definitely helps them. And then it obviously inspires them to you know, take that to the court. It's it's kind of like a symbiotic relationship.
You should get a ring for that, because like if they if they're you know, the final.
I've got a ring. I've actually got a Warrior's ring.
You how much? How much for it?
I don't pay for it?
No, can I pay for Oh?
It was the first one actually, wow, the first championship. Yeah cool, Yeah, that's very cool. It was very nice of them, miss give me one.
Yeah, what okay, what's like your favorite out of the last four years of the Warriors rings? You know, like all of them have like new things on them, Like some of them have like the different diamonds. You have a favorite or the one that you have, you'd have to.
Stay, I have to I'm not saying that business is the one I had. I think it just meant so much to that town, right, like you're never gonna they were so bad for so long and they hadn't won in forty years, and uh, that first one was special. I was on you know, like part of the parade like that. That whole ride was so much fun. You know, having just worked with Steph on our cover a couple of years before that, like U or right right around
that time. Actually we were working with Steph as our cover, so like all of that just kind of like working together in my city. Like it was really cool.
Okay, who is the best shoe game? But also which NBA player has the best shoe?
Oh wow?
And and for all of it.
The best shoe game. I mean, Chris Paul's got a legacy there and people don't even know, Like he's got grails that you would not believe. So he's up there in terms of shoe game, best signature shoe. It depends on what you mean, like if you're playing If to play basketball, I would say toss up between Kobe and PG. But the best looking shoe, I mean there's different. So whatts I think? The new Lebron twenty is actually pretty sick? Yeah, after a couple of years where I was like, eh,
I don't really get the direction that they're going. The Lebron twenty is really dope.
What would you rate your shoe game one through ten?
Well, I used to have seven hundred pairs of shoes and I have I have a bunch of grails. I also have ones that were like samples like that were made for me for some a variety of reasons. So yeah, I'd probably rank up there.
There was a I just saw this video on TikTok where it's this kid and he's in ninth grade, also fifteen, and he's the biggest shoe size like ever, it's bigger than Shacks and everything.
And under three.
Yeah an under armour like made him his own shoe. I thought that that was so.
Cool, super dope, and it was so cool as Shack to send him those shoes. Oh yeah, that was he speaks to hell awesome. I'm a fifteen Okay, that's.
Like, yeah, I feel like that's I wonder what the median NBA size shoes.
I feel like maybe fifteen right around there probably probably.
Something like that. Who do you think is the funniest NBA player?
Probably Carl Anthony Towns. Really, I feel like people don't say people don't know him?
Who aunt Anthony Edwards?
Anthony Edwards, Yeah you don't know this. I don't know. Well, I mean, like, look, I've obviously have spent time. Maybe Anthony Ansidon opened up to me as much, but like kat like you get to know him. He is real hilarious, Yeah, super funny.
Saying you learned something new every day.
I love that.
Now I'm like gonna look at kat in a whole different light totally. Is there a certain NBA player that you really feel a close bond with? You guys are just besties?
¶ NBA players are close friends.
Him? For sure. He was one of my groomsmen for my wedding, so that him definitely. There were all three other NBA players that were at my wedding or were invited into my wedding, Katie, Paul George, and Harrison Barnes and then kat So those are the four.
Oh wow, okay, so this is going to get really this could get hotter than Kelly. Just to get hotter than Kelly. What rating in two k would you give my podcasting podcasting skills?
Uh, I'd say potential rating is like you have ninety eight probably potential Okay. I think right now you're like a solid eighty seven.
Okay, I'm fine with that because, like McHale, I'll probably get traded to the Nets and then I'll.
Just give me the story. I've got it.
So now for this last segment, we go Muggsy or Manu Uggsy Bogues really short, mane Ball really tall. We're teammates at one point. So it's just like a this or that type action, but we got to go fast. Being a lawyer or being a video game.
Icon, I'd just say, like a little bit video game.
Just a tad bitch, Okay, that's fine playing video games. Are going to a game?
Oh wow these days, probably video games. It's so hard for me to go to basketball games now, Like it's just it's insane.
It's really difficult because your mind's just running.
No. Well yeah, but also like I love seeing the fans, but it gets a little like overwhelming a game sometimes.
I get that dunks are three pointers.
I'm always dunks.
Winning a Super Bowl or winning a Champions League.
Final, winning super Bowl for sure.
Yeah, but like the rest of the world would say champions.
We live in America, Well I.
Would say Champions League. Okay, so I have a different diversity, Yeah, because I'm different like that. You know, I'm gonna be a ninety eight no Instagram or TikTok.
Probably TikTok love it.
Everyone says, well, yeah, I guess that's probably a given. Probably has I feel like that has written all.
I've had a lot of fun on TikTok because I like like have kind of calm back to what was so great about my social media at the beginning of my career, which was to self deprecate or like deprecate others, like not in a mean way, but like like kind of clap. Tiktoks allows me to do that a little bit more than.
Let's run that up on TikTok. Let's definiteat I love it watching a game in real life or at home.
Uh. I mean, it's still amazing to watch the game in real life.
For sure. There's some of those guys where I think it's so fun when you see these people and you're like, wow, you don't realize how incredible they are until you see them in person.
Yeah, and then it's like the sometimes the size and the speed of the game, the speed especially, it's just like this is another level.
Yeah. Kawadim is one of those people where, of course we know how amazing he is, but there's something that when you're sitting in Crypto Beastly Stables, Crypto, when guys just sort of bounce off of him and you don't really see that on the TV and in person, it's it's it's crazy to be able to see that.
For sure, Zion or Jaw now or eventually, but you probably mean eventually, Yeah, eventually. One's so close.
I mean it's easy. I'm the first run.
I'm really close with Zion, so I'll take Zion.
Okay, New York or LA for what?
¶ Live life to the fullest.
Basketball for life?
Just living out of the town New York.
Really I'm confused by Okay, it's just there's something about New York. I don't know. Every time I go out there, I'm like, Wow, I would never live there, I don't think so it's just too much.
And where would you rather live?
Where'd you rather where? I'd rather live as LA, but where I'd rather go for a week New York. Yeah, but that's also probably because the grass is screen right, like if you live here?
Yeah, that's what I always I feel rinaldo or messy.
Oh wow, you can't go wrong with out of those guys who probably just messy because of the the recency.
Yeah yeah, okay, final question me or Doris Burke. Okay, well we know his.
Answer me, yes, sure, we'll go great.
Thanks for listening. To check out all the fun Ronnie and I had after the show. Make sure to follow me on TikTok and Instagram at Sloane notes Plus. You can see the full show and catch clips on YouTube. Links are in the show notes, and don't forget it's slown with an E. You can listen to the podcast anywhere you get your podcasts, and make sure to leave us a review. Links are in the show notes, and don't forget, Sloane has an e.