What's up? Everyone? Welcome to episode thirty of Slow Notes, which feels insane to be saying out loud, and today we have a very exciting guest, Danny Green. Danny, thank you so much for coming on.
Thanks for having me. Of course, it's an honor, it's a true pleasure.
Thank you. So I'm seventeen, and I know you're not seventeen anymore, but you once were, Danny, believe it or not. So I want to hear about you as a seventeen year old. What was your game?
Like, I'll tell you I wasn't as informed as you kids are today, Like I was not that smart. To be able to run a podcast is impressive.
Thank you.
My game, I would say I was good at a lot of things, but not great at anything. And that was my kind of thing throughout most of my life. I was a late bloomer where I didn't get recruited highly until my senior year. Like, I could pass the ball pretty well, like a rebound, well like a blockheit I could play defense. I could shoot decently. I could back then, I could handle the ball decently. Now I haven't dribbled. I don't dribble as a pro. I didn't dribble much at all, but I could do a little
bit of everything pretty well. But it wasn't great at anything. It wasn't until I got to even after college. It wasn't until I got to the pros where I kind of honed in on one specific thing and tried to be great at it, and I started getting better at shooting and I focus on certain things. But when I was younger, my game was do a little bit of everything. I played pretty much all five positions.
So as a late bloomer, when did it hit you, like, wait, I think I can make it to the leate.
It was always a goal and I never thought it was achievable. It kind of came and gone multiple times throughout my life. So seventeen no, I think when I got McDonald's, I got selected to being a McDonald's game, it was like, Okay, I might have a chance. And then I went to college. Then it was like coming off the bench start all over again. I had to do all four years. I wasn't starting that. I didn't start till my senior year, so it was like I might get a chance unity to make it to the NBA.
Then it was like after my junior year, I played well. I still came off the bench, but it was like, I might have a shot at making to the NBA. Senior year we won a national title. Was lucky enough to do that. Then it was like, all right, this might be an opportunity not only make the league, but be able to.
Like beat in the league and play.
Then once I got there, it was like, uh, you know, I got cut a couple of times, had to find a rotation. I'm like, I don't know if I'll be a rotational player in this league. So it was kind of up and down. But the first time that I thought I had a shot at doing it was when I made the McDonald's All American Game.
I see. Okay, So you mentioned UNC, which is where you went to college, and like you said, where you won a national championship, which is amazing. How and why did you choose UNC over other offers you had, like Georgetown, Yukon.
It was it was easy. It was easy for me. I grew up a Carolina fan, so I mean I was a kid as a kid because you grew up in New York. I grew up in New York.
My father was a fan of certain back as I learned as I got older. He was a fan of the good teams and a great kind of kind of you know, we weren't New York sports fans. We weren't a bit except for the Yankees were in big jets. He does like them now, but I didn't grow up watch. I grew up watching like Michael Jordan and the Bulls, like certain players, and then you know, Michael Jordan I was went to Carolina and Jerry Stackhouse or Sheep Wallace and all those guys. Some of the greatest players have
come from that school. And it was back then a big time school, and if you were able to go there, it was like you had a really good shot at making it to the NBA. So I grew up as a fan as a kid because of my dad. He's a fan of the game, and all my family were fans of other not just Carolina, but other players and other teams and pros and certain colleges, but Carolina was it was.
Once they started recruiting. It was easy decision for me.
Three or four years. What was your favorite memory at UNC.
Man, It's hard just because I had a lot of great battles with my teammates, my brothers became an adult in college. They say the best years of your life for a reason, because you know you never have that experience again.
And the pros.
It's tough because freeg and see everybody, like trades, move changes, you don't keep the same group together for a long period of time. But every I have a lot of memories. I woul see national title was number one, but beating Duke and Duke every time we played there is pretty special memories. Like we beat them a good amount of times. I was lucky enough to go undefeated. And Cameron and every even the losses, every loss that we had in the tournament, every time we went to the tournament, AC
tournament and the NCAA tournament. Every time we went to the tournament, we went further each year and even though we didn't you know, we weren't successful or as successful as we wanted to be, it was a learning experience. And those were the best memories, even the losses, because we went to battle and our brothers, they showed how much we cared and loved you know, the game, and how much you know, blood, sweat and tears we put into it. So it was it was those were special memories as well.
Yeah, so speaking of Duke, I want to know, like, are the camera crazy? Is really that crazy?
Yeah?
I mean I think the world is different now than how it was then. There's a lot of things. Yeah, you can't say certain things now, you can't do certain things now. But yeah, I always thought they held like classes because they had certain like chance that they would do. They'd be on like in sync, they would be you know, have certain signs, even certain even in Maryland and Clemson, they had some great arenas where student section and fans would say things will have great signs, would be funny.
And back then they had the speedo guy. I don't know if you guys ever looked that up before. I think he was banned after all, he wasn't allowed at a certain point. But that was a funny thing. But they had some great crazy I was like, if you're a fan of Duke, they had some you know, some great like things that they did, you know, to try
to distract players that came in. And you know, it was always fun for us, especially if you win, it's always funny after, but if you lose, it's a it's a pain and ass and yeah, but yeah, we enjoyed the moments of going into other teams buildings and obviously winning some games with seeing with how creative the fans were.
Yeah, no, that's cool for sure. It seems like you had an incredible experience at UNC, and like you guys know, I'm seventeen, so I'm just.
Yeah, I know you're du Yeah, we can we can over you know, chap Hill was a little better than Duke. I would say so, not pitching it fully.
But I do want to you're a pitch. That's what was nast you pitched me.
I think it's better than Duke, And obviously not because which is better overall? Okay, but I think there's a more like the diversity is there. Yeah, it's better. We have a it's a great little bubble. But you know, they love their sports, they love their people. They're very hospitable. Everything is Carolina blue, from you know, the fire hydrants to the fire trucks. Wow, that's yeahs sky blue everywhere.
It's the best blue in the world. But you know, it's a it's a it's a great fraternity and a great alum.
Yeah. I think you enjoy it.
It's a good pitch. I'm not going to consider it, Thank you.
Dan.
So earlier you said that your dad wasn't really a New York sports fan other than the Yankees, which didn't really give you any reason to be a York fan either. So growing up you weren't a Knicks fan. Did you ever go to games at the Garden or that special?
No, I mean so we never a Knicks fan, mind you. I mean it wasn't a I wouldn'tay, it wasn't a thing. I wasn't. No, I wasn't They had some times. I wasn't poor, but I wasn't like one of those kids that can just buy a bunch of tickets to go places. And we were so stuck in basketball. We just played. We didn't have time for anything else to like go attend a bunch of stuff. So like back then we
played three and four games a day. Now, you know, kids are there's load managed LOLd management in every level now from high school to college. You know, we play a lot of football. I played, I played a lot of basketball. We played a lot of sports, but we just wasn't at the time when it was time. We didn't are fortunate enough to go and be in great seats. But I was not a Knicks fan. I was not a Mets fan or Giants. He is a fan of
some of those teams now as he've gotten older. But I said, I was always a fan of certain players, even though we came to football. It was like, you know Peyton Manning, it said, Michael Jordan will come to NBA. Even you know certain other teams, certain players. But it was not the New York sports fan. And I'm not saying I disliked them, but I just never grew up in that of being a New York like New York. I was in New York, but not a New York sports fan.
I see.
So when I was researching for this episode, I read something pretty cool about you that in your freshman year of high school you were actually the quarterback on your schools football team.
I did.
I did play football up until my sophomore year and then I transferred school.
But yeah, what was that like? Having to balance basketball, football and academic workload?
That wasn't easy.
The hardest part for me was actually making the decision to choose which one I wanted to play like full time. That was the hard part, But trying to balance academics high school. I feel like I wouldn't say super easy, but it's easier. I went to public school until I transferred. Yeah, so public school is not as challenging as private school where you have like academic detention and stuff like that you have to wear a uniform every day. Once I transferred,
I realized it was a lot harder and different. So trying to do all those sports and carry the academic load it would have been tougher. And in college doing the same carrying that load with the credits you're trying to keep with eight am classes and stuff like that. So for me, the hard part was said it was giving up football because I loved it a lot as a kid, and it was like choosing which one I wanted to do and like focus on that and try to like make myself into that and go to school
for free for playing that sport. But yeah, doing academics wasn't wasn't easy either. With playing a bunch of sports, it was. It was challenging.
I want to hear what your uniform looked like.
It's some of them at school for us, I mean we just had like a blue navy blazer, like khaki pants, like like beige pants, white button, white button up and tie. You had to wear a suit. You couldn't wear you had to like you get to shave. You couldn't wear jewelry. You can wear earrings, you couldn't wear a lot of things. You have to make sure your tie, pants were buckled up and up on your waist. Because your kids used to wear pants sag and a little bit, make sure
you I think they still do. Yeah, I'm sure there's things have changed, but I'm sure it's similar. But yeah, we just had a blazer, button up tie and and some khaki pants, and I think it changed, like if freshman sophomore had to wear different colored pants something like that.
You already. Yeah, uniforms are crazy. I only had one in elementary school, and I actually now I realize I liked it because now I have to wake up every morning and it makes it easy where yeah, you just have to roll out of you on the thing.
You appreciate more things as an adult, you realize, like like even now, like we appreciate appreciate learning things new every day, but when you're in school, you like you don't care to learn certain things. Yeah, back then, it's like I wanted to wear outfits. But it's like it made things easy for me. I didn't have to choose
outfit every day. You know, I just iron the same clothes, clean what I need to clean, make sure I have like five of the same button ups, a blazer, and some khaki pants, same uniform every day.
So it made it very easy. But I didn't appreciate it till I got older.
Yeah, no, agreed. Okay, So now I want to move on to about your NBA career. We heard about you when you were seventeen, but now we're going to talk real hoops. Okay, So I want to start off with the twenty thirteen title against the Heat and Brown. Looking back, what stands out to you most about that?
Twenty thirteen was not a great standout year. For the thing that I remember most is losing.
Yeah, well, you know.
We had a great fun series. I played well, had a chance to win, and I've been lucky. I've won three, so you know, by any means, not trying to be greedy, but it would be nice to have gotten that other one too, and I had a chance of being like finals MVP. Everybody talks about that, had a great series. But the memory that says out the most is just how much fun it was getting there and playing there, but just ultimately we did lose and lost in seven game series and it really took a turn in game
six for us. So that ray Allen shot always comes to mind when everybody brings up twenty thirteen.
Yeah, so you talked about how you've won three rings, which is an incredible accomplishment, and later on in the interview of Action asking you a trivia question about that. So I had to get excited, get.
Get start thinking brain rolling exactly.
But I want to know obviously all of them were extremely important to you in different ways. Is they're one that stood out the most?
You know, people ask that all the time, like which one was the like the most important? Yeah, it's like, I don't know. You guys might have kids here. Every time somebody I give them analogy, like if you have multiple kids, which you can't choose your favorite, which one which experience was If I'm sure they appreciate one they parent you differently, and I probably appreciate one that's less maintenance,
low maintenance than the others. But each birth experience, I'm sure they enjoyed love and they like them for different reasons. You know, your first is your first. So San Antonio was probably the most special. The most fun I had during the year was probably in Toronto, and then the most difficult one was probably in the Bubble. Mentally, emotionally was tough. But they're all special to me in different ways. I can't say I love one more than the other
because you know, they're all your kids. They're all your kids, you know, So that's what I'd like to give people that analogy.
But they're all with special but said in different ways.
What do you say to the haters that say, oh, the Bubble Ring wasn't real.
The ring is real. You know, I still I got the hardware. To anybody else wanted, they'd still be I think it's just mostly because there's the Lakers, Yes, that too. People either love or hate the Lakers, and people will love or hate Lebron, you know what I'm saying.
There's Lebron haters and there's.
You know, Lakers theaters, so you know, and a lot of those people that don't like the Disney Mickey Mouse ring or somebody else that won, they'd give them full credit.
You know, it happens.
You know, nobody can take that away from you, regardless of what the stipulations were or the conditions were, a lot of teams have won because of injuries, or because somebody wasn't somewhere, or because of you know, uh, a lockout year. You know, they don't say they don't put asteris. Oh you won because of lockout, It doesn't matter. You want somebody has to win. And you know, we were fortunate enough to get that done, be that team to be the last one standing.
Yeah. And I know during the locko you played in Slovenia, right, I did like that. I did quite different from the NBA.
Very humbling, yes, very different. I did not know where it was. I'm not great at geography. Even as I've gotten older, I'm still not great at geography on the.
Map, and that's like one of my best things.
Yeah, and I never heard of the country until my AE brought it to my attention. So I didn't know where it was. I never heard of it. I didn't know what the language was. They spoke there. Luckily they did speak English, most of them did. It was a nice city, it was cool, it was clean. But yeah, that lifestyle is very different, you know, travel, the way you travel is different, the way you play is different. The way you practice different twice a day, the weather
is different, the way you get paid is different. So it was very humbling and it made me appreciate the NBA very much, so much more. And once I was able to get back, I was like, you know, I want to make sure that I'd stay here as long as I can, and I'm gonna work to to not ever leave this place if I.
If I don't have to.
But you know, knocked over overseas, it's a great opportunity to play and make money. I even thought about going back at some point before I retired, but you know, I have a family now, so things are different. You have to make decisions not only for yourself but for the people that are you know, attached, you know, attached to you. So yeah, but overseas, that experience was humbling. There's different places that are different, so, you know, because how do.
You choose Slovenia over China or Spain or that was just the opportunity.
It's usually the opportunities that present to you. You get a chance to choose. Sometimes a lot of times you don't, even just like an NBA like, sometimes very few people get to choose where they want to go when they want to go, and how they want to get paid. And that's just anything in life you get was presented
to you. Weigh the options and see what's the best opportunity, and it's like, you know, this is something I could make good money, stay in shape, play and play well, and then also you know, explore some of Europe.
So yeah, totally. Obviously I was just a little baby when you when you were on the Spurs, So though I don't remember much of it, I've obviously seen really cool YouTube clips and everything like that from that Spurs era. And I'm curious, what's the best quote coach Pop ever said to your team?
Ooh, there's so many.
There's so many gems that I've learned from Pop just as a man, uh not not you know, I would say as a player, yeah, but as an adult. You know, he put a lot of things perspective for us of like, you know, don't take it for granted. The NBA is Christmas every day. There's real world problems going on, and he give us examples, you know, every couple of days to be you know, thorough countries are going through this. There's a world going over here, there's people getting bombed
over here, like and you're waking up. Just play basketball game to work and make a lot of money to take care of yourself and your family. So those things always put things like they always, you know, gave us a good perspective on life.
But I do.
Hold a certain amount of things that pertain to your character that he said close And one of the things is why Timmy is so great of.
Who he is and why he.
Was and Pop is they never allowed the game to or let themselves feel bigger than the game or bigger than anyone else. So you know, the biggest company he ever gave Timmy was you know, he's the same gentleman that walked through that door when he was rookie that he is now when he's finished playing. And Pop is the same guy I'm sure that he is now that he when he was when he first got that.
He's never changed.
So you know his always that would say kind of stay even keel, never let it get too high, gatu lo, but never allow any of these things to change you as a person, or let let it go to your head and think you're bigger than anything because you're good at a basketball game.
You can see that in all the aspects of Tim Duncan, like from his outfits to the way he plays his outfits are was there a specific outfit of Tim's ever that he walked in?
I love them all?
Are you wearing?
I love them all?
Because he allowed us because usually you follow the superstars lead when it comes to anything.
And if so, you were gonna start wearing Burkinstone.
I'm just it just made it easy for us because there was no like certain teams have like a uniform, not a uniform, but they have like a dress code. It's like before we get on the plane, make sure you wear team sweats or you know, certain in Carolina we had to wear suits and ties, like for certain pregame meals with Timmy because he was so las a fair with everything, it was like, yeah, you know, we don't have to have a dress code, don't have to do this, would have to It's like, you know, you
could be comfortable. You know, even when we went to dinners, like yeah, we have this thing with team dinner. You know, certain superstars like yeah, make sure you're dressed up or do this with fact like and even on certain teams, you just feel you have to keep up, which ultimately means you probably have to spend more money to like wear fashionable things. With Timmy was like, you don't have
to impress anybody. You don't have to keep up, and you don't have to like there's not many restrictions or rules when it comes to doing those type of things outside of basketball.
Yeah. So there's another superstar that you played with that is quite different from Tim Duncan. Yeah, that's Kawhi letter you want two chips, Yes, Kawai right, And we all see Kawhi being this guy that doesn't laugh, is very serious, you know, a little quirky. But you have had such a deeper relationship with him. I'm wondering what does Kawi look like behind the scenes.
Actually, him and Timmy aren't that much different. And Timmy seemed seemed like a Kawi I got most people too. You know a lot of people thought Timmy didn't talk. Timmy talked a lot. Actually, he was a very good leader. He was encouraging not only with his words but his actions, and Kawhi saying as he got older he became more of a leader.
Ye.
But behind close doors, he's a funny guy and he cracks jokes. It's just funnier when it comes from him because you just don't expect it. But uh, yeah, him and Timmy are very much to themselves. They're quiet, they don't but they lead when they need to. He loves to compete, you know. He gets to the gym, really leaves late, you know, takes care of his body, does the things he's supposed to. It sucks to see him
go through the injuries he's gone through. But I said, him and Timmy are very similar in the fact that they do work. They do say themselves, but they do talk and make jokes and like to do certain things when they have the time to.
Yeah, I think it's funny that you called him duncan Timmy. I haven't really heard that. I like that, So I'm just calling that. What's the best Timmy dunk?
You'd on his friends and call him that. No, Timmy is great man, So the best Timmy dunk? Tim dunk? Tim's story so the best story of him, just like
off the off the court, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure you've seen more of it now that he's done playing like he does the UFC or the taekwondo like he does some fighting and stuff that I imagine him as one of those guys is ready for the end of the world, Like if it was a zombie apocalypse, He's the guy I'm running to or his house because I'm sure he has like a safe house, a bunker
and all the weapons you need. I just remember we did paintball with him and he's six eleven, but somehow he's very stealthy.
You know, you can't hit him.
He's finding you, he's hitting you all over the play and we had a rule don't hit guys too close, but he was smoking everybody in this paintball action that we had.
And he's very good.
So so if there's a zombie apocalypse, I think he's very prepared and he's probably a really good shot. So he's, you know, good at a lot of things, you know, off the court that more than you would expect.
He was a swim or too. Growing up.
I learned that the hard like I think guys learned that the hard way, because they would come in and bet that they could race him in a swimming and they'd always lose. Only one person I think got him, and I think that was Aaron Bains. Bains was really good. If I'm not mistaken. But they both swim like a fish man, those big big boils dolphins in the water, and they take up a lot of space and they move very fast in the water.
That's so cool. I love to hear that. So I want to talk, you know, earlier we talked a little bit about the Lakers ring being in the bubble for fans. What was life like in the bubble? Not really basketball. I can't even found them what to be like for basically the whole NBA to be staying in one yeah.
I mean, you know, some guys pointed out to be terrible, some guys painted out to be like, you know, it was lovely because of the resort.
I think it was nice.
It was a nice stay like this is a beautiful place that we're in, right, But no matter how beautiful the place is, if you're stay in this place for one hundred days, it could make you feel you know, enclosed, or like feel like you're captured or not in you know, you're mentally it'll wear on you. So they did the best they could and did a great job of making sure everybody stayed clean, no one got sick. Testing people. We had the first month or two without families they came in later.
That was tough.
You know, you're in your own small space. You're just with the seeing the same people every day, eating the same foods, walk on the same campus. But they brought in good food. They brought us some chefs, some like chefs. They brought in some food from out side for us at times. So that was great. But even when you're eating great meals, if you're eating the same meals every day, it's like you get tired of it. You know, I want some canes or some taco bell that you don't
get those access to all those things. So that made it challenging. But ultimately I said, it was a really nice space. They did a great job. It just was mentally emotionally draining because you're in that space for so like we were there for almost one hundred days.
I would say, yeah, that sounds crazy. I'm glad I didn't have to be a part of that. So a classic podcast question, just interview question, is you know what's your all time starting five? But you know Slow Noses a show where as a teenage girl, I like to mix it up a little bit, So I'm going to ask you some all time starting fives, but with some certain categories to shake it up a little bit. So your last name Green is quite the common last name NBA.
What is your all time starting five of NBA players with the last name Green?
Oh, all right, all right, let me see. I'm gonna put Raymond in there at the four. I'm gonna put myself at the two. I think I'm gonna put Gerald Green at the three. Willie Green, Yeah, Gerald, Yeah, second or third? One of those we found out in high school. That's another funny story. I want to say Willy Green. He's coaching for no Orland still right. I think I would put him at the one and at the five. I'm trying to think who would that's that's a That's
a tough one. I'd have to probably go to small because I don't think there's any centers.
That's a five. A C. Green, Jamichael Green, Jamichael Jamichael Green, a C. Green.
Yeah, those guys. I'm there's a lot of Greens, but either J. Michael probably a C. Green probably he is more of a legendary.
No respect to J. Mike, he's a great teammate. But a C. Green. I think it's a legendary dude. For sure.
Yeah. The next starting five is you've played with some incredible teammates. What's your starting five of your all time teammates.
Yeah, that's always tough for me. I'm gonna go with.
The five position is the hardest. H At the one, I'm gonna go. This one's tough too because it's between Kyle Ir and Tony Parker, and it's like.
You can't go wrong with I'm off the bat that's fine.
Yeah, yeah, so I'm gonna put those two together. But before at the one, it's those are my best point guards that I got a chance to play with. At the two, Manu probably probably for sure, Manu at the three, Kawhi at the four, Timmy actually an the four bron.
Yeah, I was about to say, you're leaving out someone.
Okay, this is gonna be crazy because I'm gonna have to leave somebody out because I actually got a chance to play with Shaq. So I'm gonna put Shack at the five, Tommy at the four, Bron at the three, Kawhi at the two, just to throw it out there and I'll put I have to put a spur in this. I'm gonna put Tony at the one. I like k Low at the one as well. I left off Kawhi, which is unbelievably hard. Said, yes, KAUI at the two, but I left who do I leave off at the two?
Manu? I left Manow he can be the sixth minutes.
Yeah, so yeah, that is a good I got Timmy in there. So I got Timmy, Shaq, Bron Kawhi and then Tony at the one. But I mean I would that could be k Low as well. So I've had some really great teammates. I left off a D Oh wow.
Yeah, I mean it's crazy.
And Dwight. I've played with Dwight. I played with a D. I played with Rondo. You know, I could have threw Ron. I know that chance to play Rondo in his prime, and I always wish I could have done that. But yeah, I played with a lot of great players.
Yeah you did. Okay, the last starting five, I'm gonna ask you about this. Before the interview started, Danny and I were talking a lot about fast food and crumble cookies and taco bell and canes and all that good stuff. And I want to know if you had to make a starting five a fast food rest, oh Man, what it would be but I also want you to be strategic, right. Yeah, It's like in my head, right, you could be like, oh, no, Taco is a point guard, Like I don't see Taco
bell as the center. You know, you really got to think about it that way to really make sure that team's going eighty two and up.
Yes, So my fast food preferences have changed over time when I was younger, definitely heavy on some other things. I'm definitely gonna put Chipotle.
In there, obviously at a position.
Probably at the two. I'm gonna probably put Canes at the three, at the four.
Five guys.
It's interesting that you don't think five guys should be at the five, right, That would be yeah, classic.
Because I feel like you need like the best fast like your best fast food place, probably at the center. I think may maybe Chick fil at the five. Can put Chick fil at the five at the point guard position? Man, I'm trying to think, like, that's tough. I'm trying to think of what else that I haven't cut out because there's a lot of things I used to eat that I don't eat.
I mean, it could be a classic like a McDonald's or like your least I.
Can't put McDonald's in there. That would be really bad. Yeah, Okay, I used to eat McDonald's way back.
No, in and out, I'll put in and out the way.
Yeah.
Because you're an LA guy, I'll put in and out of one.
You know what I'm gonna put because I'm a l A guy. But I lived in Texas for a really long time and water Burger. I'm gonna put Waterburger at the.
One time I just had Waterburger for the first time. It's good.
It's good, and I feel like it's more of a locational thing, like if you live in that atmosphere, it's just a late night you know, everybody has a munchy spot Northeast people with like White Castle, that was the thing back in the day. Yeah, water Burger is like the spot that's like it hits especially late night sometimes I think it used to be open twenty four hours.
But it's like a cultural thing and you become like people here, people like, oh they come to visit, Like in and out is not that great, but if you are part of it, you live here, it's a cultural thing. It's like it's a late night great munchy spot or whenever you're in the mood for it.
I'm so glad you said that because I actually sort of agree that in and out is like I love it, I love going in some of my friends whatever, but like it's really not it's someone blindfolded me Burger.
I'd be like, yeah, same with Waterburger, like your first time, like, oh, people really hype this up, but over time it gets better.
Like you, it's sort of like sink into it. That's I'm don't have to have it a second time not to like understand really what it's about. So three your career, you sort of bounce back and forth between the NBA and what used to be called the D League the NBA Development League.
Yeah, which is now the G League.
Exactly, which is now the G League. What do you say to guys in a similar situation who are bouncing back and forth between the NBA and the league. What advice do you have for them on how to sort of hand handle that?
Meant?
You know, I see a lot of the young guys today now, and they're going through some different things because the expectation with social media becomes like more expectations. Take for instance, like LEBRONI right, Everybody's like he's got a four year deal, he's supposed to be this that maybe he's not ready, and maybe in his mind he's thinking like, oh, I'm not ready, I'm not good enough. News flash, kid, none of us were good enough, Like we weren't good at the time. A lot of us when we first
came in, we were not great. So don't get discouraged, you know, like, enjoy the time, embrace the process of getting better, you know, work on your game, and eventually you will be confident you'll be good enough. The G League was a great tool for me to not only get better, but gain confidence in myself and what i'll you know, what I was doing, and be the player that I you know, be a rotational NBA player. So guys that are watching or take advice, you know, just
don't look down upon it. Don't think it's a like demotion, you know, just have fun, enjoy it.
Get better. We've all been there.
We've all, even the greatest of great have started out as not a great, but like come off the bench or not. Kobe Bryant came out to the bench from point, you know, like Reggie Miller, all these guys. You don't realize that until you're like, oh, you know, damn, I thought he came in was a star right away. None of these guys were stars right away like some of them. Yes, but very few guys come in and be great or stars right away. Ninety percent of us, like have to
go through that. So you know, just to enjoy it, embrace it in and don't get discouraged. You know you can. If you don't think you're good enough right now or an NBA player right now, doesn't mean you can't be very soon.
Yeah, that's great advice and I feel like it can apply to really life as well.
For sure, with anything you do.
I mean, you're only going to get better at but if you have consistent repetition of it.
So now you're a couple months into your retirement, do you even watch basketball anymore?
I do because I have to, it's my job. But yes, with a little one, I don't watch as much TV. Even when I played. You know, people talking about the ratings are down, but I didn't watch it as much. I watched what I had to because of teams that I played, or scouted or players. But I didn't want to burn myself out. I was such a big fan as a kid, and I watched it so much of my life. As I got older, It's like, you know what, I don't want to I want to step away from it.
When I'm home.
I want to watch TV series and movies and be fresh for like, all right, I'm not burnt out. When I come into the gym and watch film. It's like, all right, it's fresh for me. So I do watch it now, not as much as I did when I was younger. I's still am a big movie above TV series guy, and because I a little wanted to watch a lot of TV. But yes, I do have to watch.
Burn my job moving into the rapid fire a little bit. Because you said you like movies and TV shows. What's the best movie you've ever seen?
There's a million I can't get.
I can't eve give wait, okay, what about this? Starting five best movies?
I mean, I have to give like one from each category.
Right, there's like a drama, it's like a comedy, a rom com. There's too many movies to choose from. But like growing up, like the movies that I love to watch, and I have tattoos of them on my body, like the Teenage Mutant, Ninja Turtles, Godzilla movies, not like Marvel movies. Those were some of my favorite movies to watch as a youngster, and even as an adult, you know, it still brings me back to childhood. But now I'm a big murder mystery guy.
Like I like that anything with murder I can't do. It freaks me out.
I think you'll grow out it, like once you understand certain I didn't like scary movies when I was younger, but now watching it and I try to predict things or see how things are made, and you can see when the sounds are coming in there trying to scare you jump, So not scared anymore. When I was a young kid, I didn't like scary movies. But now I appreciate all aspects of film, so that may be some that I want to tap into later on in life.
We need to see in a movie, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't be a post but yeah, maybe one day I wouldn't mind being behind the scenes and see how it works. And like writing because I feel like a lot of movies are predictable, and the ones that that I guess capture my attention to the ones that are unpredictable and have like different twists and turns. That's why murder mysteries are like, all right, trying to solve or figure out who was the killer?
Right, Okay, so now we're gonna be in our rapid fire section. All right, So what's your favorite clothing brand?
All right, rapid fire favorite clothing brand is Puma as it stands right now, I'm a Puma athlete. I was a poor athlete currently not yet, but Puma is my favor my probably my best sponsor that I've ever had in my career.
Gotcha, what's your favorite food?
Uh?
Before you get to these questions, I don't have a favorite anything because its hard for me to choose one thing over everything and say I like it that much more. But to play along, I'm gonna give you like my biggest preferences. I'm gonna go with Italian probably, Okay.
If you could go to dinner with anyone that or alive, who would it be?
People? Acts?
But there's a lot of celebrities that I would love to And when you ask kids this question, it's always like family members. So I would love to have a mix of certain celebrities that passed that I never got a chance to see, like the Michael Jackson's of the world, or like the Robin william Like certain actors and actresses, some of them I had get a chance to meet, but also like certain fan members that didn't get a
chance to meet my my little like my grandmother. Yeah, my son, like I would love to have dinner when he's older, to like know her and her you know, be there.
So yeah, I love that. Okay, So if you could make the Olympics for one sport that isn't basketball, what would it be?
Ooh, I'm not really great at many other things. You are sport what other sports would like would it be? It wouldn't be tracked. I wasn't. It took me a while to get fast or like to learn to run. Swimming people A lot of guys say swim because I think that I was a good swimmer at one point. I didn't swim a lot as I got older, or I just wasn't a big ocean guy because I don't
like what's out there. Fair, But it was another sport, like I used to play football, but I don't think I would be Yeah, it's an Olympic sport.
But there's random things like curling or like breakdowns.
Yeah, I was thinking like maybe maybe volleyball or something like that, saying volleyball or something like that.
I don't know. I'm trying to like, it wouldn't be badminton.
It's pretty rare trying to think of something I did like ping pong a lot, you know, ping pong, you know it if I took that serious and like, I would love to be like Forrest Gump, you know.
Just yeah, all right. So now, if you walk into an ice cream shop right, literally every single flavor is out there, What flavor are you getting? And then what topics are you putting on it? And then are you going cup or con because that really says a lot about a person.
Cup golt Man uh around, she looked a little crazy.
I'm gonna go cup.
I'm gonna go vanilla, chocolate cookie dough and all ice cream is one of the top preferences.
Sounds so good, right, And when I do.
Put toppings on any if it was just vanilla ice cream, I would do like some rainbow sprinkles or like chocolate chips. Those would be toppings that I would if I just regular vanilla ice cream.
Yes, if you get the whatever chocolate chip situation in the ice cream. You can't put like rainbow sprinkles can mix that.
Yeah.
So if I'm going to do toppings, I have to do regular vanilla. But if I'm doing chocolate chip cookie dough with an ice cream, I don't really put many of the toppings on that.
Yeah, sometimes I go like crazy vellin ice creams em and ms yes, yeah, sprinkles, you know Reese's cups.
You know what I'm saying.
So, yeah, it's embarrassing. But sometimes I get like cotton candy ice cream with like chocolate chips. It's just like I'm just hungry and I want to try all the things, and I just put it all together and it's just crazy.
That sounds like a wild It's very like.
I feel like eventually, like my ice cream paste will mature as I get older, you know, and whole palate changes. Yeah, exactly.
Younger, we didn't like vegetables. No Brussels sprouts and asparagus is good for you and it's not.
I'll grow out of it. Then. Do you have a favorite candy?
No, They're all from me, especially when I was when I used to go to movies, so I was a big move off and I'll go to movies. I would get different candies, it depends on the move. Sometimes sweet and sour, either like Skittles or Sour Patch Kids. Sometimes just chocolate. You get some snow caps or Reese's cups.
Sometimes you get candy in your popcorn.
No, we wouldn't do that.
What no to do that?
I would do sometimes the ice cream bars, like a Snickers ice cream bar, like those things. It depends on the move. But yes, ultimately they're they're all. It depends on the move.
Yeah, but that's fair. I'm an all candy type of girl too.
I just cut back a lot though since I've been an adult.
So now that you're in retirement, though, you have to really go for it, just eat a lot of candy.
I've taken some time off of being like I wouldn't say on a diet, but like, hey, but yeah, so in a couple of months of just eating some bs and not working out as much. But once the new year hits, we're back on to being a real adult and taking care of your body because you want to live longer for your kids.
Right totally?
Who does your celebrity look alike Lionel Richie? Hmmm, yeah, when you don't pet like it's side by side little picture there.
That's the first person that comes to mind. But there's a lot of other you know, they say light skin people all look alike. There's a lot of different light skin guys out there that I look like. I don't know if you've ever seen Power No Snowfall, Snowfall, you've ever seen Snowfall. There's a character his name is Melvin Grag they call man Boy and the show. I get him a lot. But Lionel Richie was of course a lot. And there's a bunch of other guys. But any light skin guy I.
See Lionel Richie. Yeah, what's your favorite podcast? Because you a podcast? I have a podcast.
Inside the green Room with Danny. I gotta put Danny.
I really set you up here.
You guys are a close second.
Okay, close, I appreciate it. You know, first is the worst, second.
Is the best. That's just the way I used to say that all the time.
No, that's my go to Okay, So, now, like I said earlier, remember I was telling you to get the brain movement for these slow nose trivia. So basically I'm gonna ask you trivia about yourself. Okay, and Danny, I feel like you're definitely like a very memory, like you definitely pay attention to the little details. I tried to, but I don't know if you're gonna remember this stuff. I'm excited to say. Okay, during your career, in seasons where you played at least twenty games, how many times
did you shoot above forty percent? From three?
I played in technically fifteen seasons, which is like fourteen, and I think out of the fourteen, I think I.
Was below maybe three times.
So I would say eleven to be safe, being a little cocky is a less than there is more than that.
It's a little less. It's a lot less.
Wait, so out of fourteen or I think of fifteen, so is it ten? It's not ten, it's less than that.
It's a lot less than that. Yeah.
Really, wow, above forty how many seasons? So eight it's lower than that? No way?
Six? Six is still incredible. Oh wow, it's still incredible.
Six out of fourteen?
Hm? Okay, So I'm thinking I guess the first couple of years I didn't play much above twenty games.
Above twenty games, Yeah, exactly, there you go. That's why. That's why I'm sure if you played six seasons.
Still, it's like, damn, no, it's amazing. I guess so depends on.
You're asking, so humble, I'm telling you it is amazing.
How damn I thought I was good?
See that's the one islanos. I really got to see what you know? Okay, how many games did you play at u NC.
Ooh?
I did four years. I think I hold the record for the most games played still I did at one point. I don't know if that's still true, because there's guys that played five you it's like fifty.
Or six years. Singles now, amando big different. R J has been there for a while.
Four years, we've average about almost forty games, So like thirty seven thirty eight is so, say four times four one hundred and sixty, right, would be? So about one hundred and fifty games?
Oh wow, okay, you're really close one hundred and forty five. Okay, this is unbelievably impressive. Like when I read it, I was like, wow, that's that's crazy. How many of those one hundred and forty five games you win?
I had at one point held the record for the most wins there. I don't know if that still stands true. Was it one hundred and ten?
Okay this one? Now you're being too humble to one hundred twenty three, okay, which is amazing. Okay, Okay, So you were in high school in two thousand and five. You're the class of two thousand and five. Then I was just like a thought in my parents, not even probably I thought of my parents, but anyway, I just wanted to remind you the old Yeah exactly, in the class of twenty twenty, not twenty twenty five, two thousand and five.
What were you ranked in high school? Yeah?
I actually just looked this up recently because I'd argue with somebody. Somebody thought I was like top twenty five, and I'm like, bro, I was not top twenty close. I think I was top fifty, yes, but I think I was in like the thirty.
Of forties, yes, thirties, getting closer.
Like thirty seven, thirty one okay, okay, yeah, pretty good. Only is why I was close, because I say, I looked it up and I was like he people had this, you know, like people formed this image of people in brains, like, yo, you were amazing and high. Yeah, the one was not that good, Like I was good, but I was not that good, and like you were top ten.
I'm like, there was no way you needed.
To make it clear that it was like an underdogs.
I was a late balloon.
So I bumped up to thirty one, but like before my senior year, I was probably below, like out of the top.
Fifty for sure.
Yeah. Okay, so let's see how good your memory really is and how much you really focus on these small details. Okay, Danny, you were drafted forty six. Who was drafted forty fifth? And can you tell me where he went to college?
Ooh, I don't know. Forty five forty five? Can you tell me the team.
That was weal, that's part of the question. But okay, he was to Florida.
Oh, the team that drafted Timberwolves. Okay.
Actually, interestingly enough, the Timberwolves had to pick before you and the pick after you, so they pretty much passed up on you twice.
Yeah, everybody passed up with me twice, and forty six, I think I had passed twice by everybody. The forty fifth pick went to Minnesota and he went to school in Florida, US.
Yeah, I have no clue.
I'm gonna say, yeah, I have no honest Nick oh, nicklethus he was, he was a big time in Greece, Nick Coleathas and.
I remember that. Wow, yeah, I remember our draft class.
I remember a lot of people that went before me. I don't remember exact picks. I think wait an nine.
A few slow nos A Line Blake was number.
One, right, has Sheen was number two, James Harden number three, four, I forget.
I know Ricky Rubio was up there.
I know Brandon Jennings was up there, Drew Holliday was up there, Demarto Rosan was up there, TODJ.
Gibson was in the first round. Like, there's a lot of guys the first round.
Remember you know when we had Draymond on this podcast, he closed his eyes and listed every single person in the draft. It was crazy.
Yeah, he I was so far behind. It was a point. It was a time where everybody but I was. Yeah.
All right, Danny, this is my last question for you. It's a good one, Okay. Can you nominate the next Sloan Nose guest?
Nominate?
Yes?
Do we can? We pick a region or an area, a person.
You know what I'm saying, Like, like, are we when's the next pot is it in California?
This is I appreciate how you're so devoted.
Yes, we're based here, okay in California. I'm trying to think who's local, who's easy locally, who's been doing some good stuff, who's been on like.
One of your boys you can like, you.
Know, somebody I know.
I'm trying to think of, like who's recently also retire, Like a lot of guys retired, yeah, and are in the podcast in the worlds Now, who's also done? Who's doing the podcast game Heavy Now, that's a friend of mine. So I don't have many of those. A lot of people like me. You already said r j P. The ESPN down Who would be a great guest.
Like somebody that's like I'm thinking of, like the ESPN guys that.
I work with all the cacoing.
Yeah, so there's some guys that I work with on Turner, I work with guys A Fandle Chandler Parsons is another one, like Lou will Chandler Parsons slow notes.
But Lou Williams, let's okay, that's can I just.
You can shoot come on, slow, come on, Lou's got great stories, he's done his own pot. He's been doing great with that, even on stuff with with Turner.
I have a bunch of random guys another great guests.
Why don't I just send you like my list of like dream and then get him. You'll just get him all. That's what it's like a deal. I'll just like postmate your canes or something gift and then like that's pretty much thought. Yeah, he once a month's time, I will send you exactly.
Sounds like a plan.
Great, sounds like thanks Sanny, it's so much fun.
Thank you everyone,