From AAU to the NBA ft. Trae Young // Michael Porter Jr.
Chapters
0:04:15 Favorite Memories
5:18 Favorite Camp
14:36 Kevin Knox
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - My guy, Trey in the building.
00:00:10.420 | What's good with you, fam?
00:00:11.800 | - My guy.
00:00:13.160 | Sir, what's good, guy?
00:00:14.720 | - All right, bro.
00:00:15.560 | So let's get it poppin'.
00:00:16.380 | So first I wanna start off at high school.
00:00:18.880 | Do you remember how we met?
00:00:20.240 | - Yeah, for sure.
00:00:24.960 | Nike Elite, what is it?
00:00:26.280 | - You know, at the top of Hunter Camp?
00:00:28.280 | - You know, in St. Louis.
00:00:29.400 | - Yeah, I remember 'cause I remember
00:00:30.920 | seeing this light-skinned dude.
00:00:32.800 | And he was like, you was like what, like five?
00:00:35.880 | You was like five, what are you like?
00:00:37.560 | - Probably like five, six.
00:00:38.880 | - And he was just gettin' buckets, you know?
00:00:40.760 | - No, no, no, no, no, I was like probably 10.
00:00:43.040 | - But everybody was at that camp.
00:00:44.720 | And that's when I first met you.
00:00:47.000 | And then we, and then the time when we,
00:00:51.360 | the time I really remember was we was at that gym
00:00:53.840 | with Mo Can, you walked in the door.
00:00:57.240 | Coach Perry was like, man, it's this kid comin'.
00:00:59.700 | He's like the best point guard in the area.
00:01:02.000 | And I had no idea who it was, and you walked in the door.
00:01:04.880 | And I was like, man, this dude, I remember this dude.
00:01:07.040 | But I didn't remember you being that good from the camp.
00:01:09.760 | And then we had a practice or whatever,
00:01:11.560 | and you was like, you was killin', like,
00:01:14.040 | same game you have now, you was doin' your thing.
00:01:16.320 | And then that's when we linked up.
00:01:18.400 | - No, for real, I remember that 'cause that was
00:01:20.960 | right after, 'cause that was my first time
00:01:22.800 | goin' to practice, goin' to Kansas City.
00:01:25.040 | I think that was the first time we actually linked
00:01:27.160 | after game 100 was that practice was great.
00:01:32.160 | - Yeah, how did you even, what made you wanna
00:01:34.240 | play with Mo Can, though?
00:01:35.680 | - Reason why I came over to Mo Can,
00:01:38.400 | Coach P hit me up, Matt Souther,
00:01:42.320 | told me I was able to come play with you.
00:01:46.200 | I was playin' in Dallas, and our team wouldn't really like that.
00:01:50.000 | - Oh, I didn't know.
00:01:51.800 | - I was tryin' to play on the 17U level,
00:01:53.280 | and then I was tryin' to come over to Nike
00:01:55.440 | and play with Mo Can.
00:01:58.520 | So they gave me the opportunity to play with you,
00:02:00.880 | so I was like.
00:02:02.520 | - It was great.
00:02:03.360 | - Yeah.
00:02:04.200 | - I mean, for the jump, we had like a crazy chemistry,
00:02:06.400 | like, from the jump.
00:02:07.760 | And that was our 16s, and we was playin' up 17s, I think.
00:02:11.120 | - Yeah, it made it easy 'cause we were both young,
00:02:14.360 | and we were outta town, and we,
00:02:16.400 | remember we had to stay over at Coach Dave's
00:02:17.920 | house all the time?
00:02:18.760 | - Yeah, Coach Dave's.
00:02:19.760 | - So we had a lot of time, we was just in the basement,
00:02:22.360 | chillin', watchin' games.
00:02:23.480 | - So that's when we, yeah, that's when we first
00:02:25.040 | got real close, we was tryin' to sneak out the crib.
00:02:27.200 | - Yeah.
00:02:28.040 | (laughing)
00:02:28.880 | - Yeah, I remember that, so.
00:02:30.640 | And then, so that 16s year, we had that year,
00:02:34.120 | and we made PGM, we ended up losin' the pool play, right?
00:02:37.520 | - Yeah, we, I don't even think we won two games.
00:02:40.920 | - I think we won two out of three.
00:02:42.360 | - Yeah.
00:02:43.200 | - And then we was like, but we knew we had the potential
00:02:44.680 | to be like, cold.
00:02:45.640 | - Yeah, yeah.
00:02:46.480 | - And so, we knew we was gonna come back that next year,
00:02:48.560 | and then 17s, we came back, and we was dominant.
00:02:53.560 | I think we lost, what, one game?
00:02:57.120 | Two games?
00:02:57.960 | - Yeah, two games all season.
00:02:58.960 | - Which one do you think we should watch,
00:03:00.320 | this one or this one?
00:03:01.200 | - Nah, bro, the PGM one, bro.
00:03:02.720 | - This one?
00:03:03.560 | I ain't seen it.
00:03:04.400 | We was so tough, bro.
00:03:08.520 | - Okay, first play of the game was good.
00:03:10.800 | - That was the first play of the game.
00:03:12.840 | - Our whole class is pretty much in the lead.
00:03:17.620 | - Yeah, we were.
00:03:18.960 | Good, Tae.
00:03:21.020 | - Lay.
00:03:24.200 | - Good, Tae.
00:03:25.200 | Oh, look at you in there.
00:03:29.980 | - Yeah, we was getting too hyped, yo.
00:03:32.800 | First half, we were all right.
00:03:35.300 | Hey, he was not missing, though.
00:03:39.300 | - Jarrett, where?
00:03:40.720 | - That whole PGM?
00:03:43.380 | - I know, bro.
00:03:45.880 | I mean, I be telling people we was, like,
00:03:47.340 | the best AU program ever, like, ever.
00:03:50.220 | - Yeah, I mean, we in the conversation, for sure.
00:03:54.940 | I think we, I can't argue with my friends all the time,
00:03:59.020 | like, players, they always talk about the AU team.
00:04:03.220 | Like, I don't see a team that can match up with us.
00:04:05.860 | - Nah, 'cause it was like, we went to PGM,
00:04:08.140 | and it wasn't like we was winning by two or 10 or whatever.
00:04:12.380 | We was winning by, like, 30.
00:04:13.900 | - Every game.
00:04:14.740 | - Every game.
00:04:15.700 | - So, what was your favorite memories, would you say,
00:04:17.520 | from that whole, from that whole, like,
00:04:19.700 | AU side of, side of thing?
00:04:21.960 | - I think, really, just what we were just talking about,
00:04:29.180 | like, the time when we were going
00:04:32.460 | and having those three days on Saturdays,
00:04:35.500 | and, like, throughout the day,
00:04:37.380 | we're always kicking it with each other.
00:04:38.980 | Like, me and you, with the team, like,
00:04:43.020 | we're either going to watch other games,
00:04:45.060 | or we're at the crib, or we're doing something.
00:04:48.180 | Like, we're always with each other.
00:04:50.380 | - We were always together, every weekend,
00:04:51.900 | and I'm up there.
00:04:52.740 | - Every weekend.
00:04:53.580 | So, for us, out of state, like, we were always,
00:04:56.540 | me and you were always together,
00:04:57.620 | 'cause we didn't have nowhere else to go.
00:04:58.980 | Like, I mean, your parents were always busy,
00:05:01.340 | like, your family, mine, same way.
00:05:03.260 | Like, they're doing their stuff,
00:05:05.820 | so we were always with each other.
00:05:07.100 | So, that's what I think, why we were so close.
00:05:09.620 | - We got close.
00:05:10.660 | - Crazy.
00:05:11.900 | - We went, remember, we was trying to make college work, too.
00:05:14.660 | - Yeah.
00:05:15.500 | - Trying to make the college thing work,
00:05:16.320 | but we could never get it to happen.
00:05:17.540 | What was your favorite camp we did?
00:05:20.260 | Like, any of that?
00:05:24.100 | We did so much, we did Chile, the two USA, the...
00:05:27.340 | - You think NBA Top 100 was fun?
00:05:31.300 | - I thought it was, it was fun.
00:05:34.540 | It was like, it was informative,
00:05:35.860 | 'cause we'd hoop, and we'd have the class stuff.
00:05:38.380 | - Yeah.
00:05:39.220 | - And everybody was there, though.
00:05:40.300 | That's what I like about it.
00:05:41.140 | Every good player was there.
00:05:41.980 | - That's what I think about it, yeah.
00:05:43.380 | - But it was cool, you was killing.
00:05:46.020 | That's really like when you took a leap.
00:05:48.500 | That, I remember seeing that video,
00:05:49.780 | I think it was A Baller's Life,
00:05:50.820 | that came out of you and Gary going back and forth.
00:05:53.340 | - Oh yeah, me and Gary went back, yeah.
00:05:54.740 | - Yeah, that was crazy.
00:05:55.580 | - No, that was cool, that was cool.
00:05:57.100 | We had a, yeah, USA, that was just a long, a long trip.
00:06:02.100 | - Bro, they kept trying to make you say, "Thank you."
00:06:05.340 | Remember?
00:06:06.180 | (laughing)
00:06:08.940 | - Look, you're not allowed to say thank you.
00:06:12.620 | (laughing)
00:06:16.580 | - Bro, I was, bro, I was good like man.
00:06:19.340 | - Oh wait, that's my teammate now.
00:06:21.100 | - Who?
00:06:22.300 | Who?
00:06:23.140 | - Oh yeah, I'm here.
00:06:24.220 | - Oh yeah, is he, is he playing?
00:06:25.780 | - I don't know.
00:06:26.620 | - Yeah, he's playing a little bit.
00:06:27.540 | - They were really tripping on saying, "Thank you."
00:06:29.460 | - No, that's, it was for the assist.
00:06:31.420 | - I know.
00:06:32.260 | - To the mic.
00:06:33.100 | - Hey.
00:06:33.940 | - Look, you gotta say it.
00:06:34.780 | Look, I know you didn't say it.
00:06:37.380 | (laughing)
00:06:38.940 | I knew it, I already knew it.
00:06:41.980 | - USA was crazy, but the food they gave us was so weak.
00:06:44.740 | Hey.
00:06:45.580 | - Look, no you didn't say it.
00:06:48.060 | (laughing)
00:06:49.820 | You didn't say it.
00:06:51.380 | You didn't say it in fast enough.
00:06:53.180 | - Bro, that is.
00:06:54.500 | - They was tripping on that too.
00:06:56.500 | You had to say it like.
00:06:58.540 | - I mean, that was the thing, if you was throwing,
00:07:00.140 | you had to be the USA, you know what I'm saying?
00:07:02.060 | - You were MVP.
00:07:02.900 | - Yeah, nah, I remember, I don't know.
00:07:04.220 | - I was back there, Matt Coleman.
00:07:05.540 | 'Cause we had like, it was like, we had a camp,
00:07:09.620 | and then we went to Team Europe.
00:07:10.940 | No, we had Peach Jam, I think.
00:07:12.540 | And then we went to some camp.
00:07:13.940 | And then we did Chile.
00:07:15.540 | And then we went to another Nike camp.
00:07:17.140 | We was with each other for like a month.
00:07:18.820 | And like, people, we got so tired of each other.
00:07:22.820 | Me and this dude got so tired of each other.
00:07:25.140 | And I remember we was in Chile, and Chile was so crazy.
00:07:28.660 | Is that how you pronounce it, Chile?
00:07:30.500 | - Chile, yeah.
00:07:31.820 | - We was up there, and we had been with each other
00:07:33.700 | for like a month, and then we was like,
00:07:36.220 | rooming together the whole time.
00:07:37.620 | We was so tired of each other.
00:07:39.140 | And I think that's the only time we really got
00:07:40.860 | to like, a real, like, fight.
00:07:42.300 | We got to like, an argument, you remember that?
00:07:44.020 | - Yeah, we were in LA though.
00:07:45.260 | We were at the Skills Academy.
00:07:46.740 | - That's when we got in a fight?
00:07:47.740 | - Yeah, that was the last place.
00:07:49.460 | - That was the last place, we was so tired of each other.
00:07:51.540 | - It was all, all because I was on FaceTime,
00:07:54.740 | and he wanted me to turn off the lights.
00:07:56.820 | - So this is what happened.
00:07:57.740 | So we had been with each other for like a month,
00:07:59.860 | and I'm tired, I'm trying to go to sleep.
00:08:01.900 | This dude on FaceTime with his girl,
00:08:03.540 | and I'm like, "Bro, turn the light off."
00:08:05.260 | But he had the light on.
00:08:06.100 | I'm like, "Bro, you can't FaceTime with the light off."
00:08:08.220 | He's like, "Nah, bro, I want the light on."
00:08:09.580 | So I get up out of my bed, and I go, "Turn the light off."
00:08:12.700 | Soon as I get back from my bed,
00:08:14.020 | he turned the light back on, I'm like, "Bro."
00:08:16.180 | So I get back up, turn the light off.
00:08:18.100 | He turned it back on again, and then like,
00:08:19.860 | literally we both just was so like, irritated with each other,
00:08:22.380 | we started fighting, like, actually like, fighting.
00:08:24.340 | - For real, for real.
00:08:25.820 | - I think, yeah, I got a picture somewhere, but.
00:08:29.340 | - I do remember that.
00:08:30.180 | - That was.
00:08:31.860 | - Hey, you was, it was a trip, bro.
00:08:33.740 | - No, that was fun, though.
00:08:34.900 | - But going, like, from high school,
00:08:36.460 | so you was ranked like, I think like in the 20 to 30 range.
00:08:41.220 | But like, every player you played against
00:08:44.060 | in your position, you was killing.
00:08:45.500 | - Yeah.
00:08:46.340 | - But they still had you ranked, so like,
00:08:48.780 | so they didn't have you ranked, like, high enough.
00:08:50.940 | Why do you think that was?
00:08:52.060 | Like, what were people tripping about with you,
00:08:54.140 | and what was the, like, criticism you got in high school?
00:08:57.820 | - I think it was just more like, just my,
00:09:00.780 | just my, nobody really thought that my game
00:09:03.540 | would translate to the next level, I think.
00:09:05.620 | And for me, it was just about showing it.
00:09:08.380 | I think once I got to college, and played on TV,
00:09:13.900 | and played in front of all these people,
00:09:17.260 | like, my game, you know this,
00:09:18.860 | like, my game hasn't really changed since high school.
00:09:22.140 | So it's like, it's really just since,
00:09:25.100 | once I got on a national stage,
00:09:27.180 | and played in front of more people, more eyes,
00:09:30.140 | more people saw my game and could translate.
00:09:31.940 | So that's really what it was.
00:09:33.260 | And I think it was just people,
00:09:35.340 | and you know, people can, people can boost,
00:09:38.140 | and like, you should've been number one player
00:09:39.900 | in high school.
00:09:40.860 | - Yeah.
00:09:41.700 | - For the longest, but it's like,
00:09:43.580 | everything is, it's all politics, like,
00:09:45.740 | it's all politics.
00:09:46.580 | - It's all, and they'll find something, like,
00:09:48.500 | if they don't, and it's so crazy,
00:09:50.180 | 'cause they'll judge these kids,
00:09:51.940 | but like, look at what you're doing right now.
00:09:53.580 | Like, they wasn't looking at what you was doing right now.
00:09:55.020 | Every matchup you had against another good point guard,
00:09:57.220 | you was killing 'em.
00:09:58.260 | So, but they was basing everything off of potential.
00:10:00.780 | - Yeah.
00:10:01.620 | - But like, that's what I don't get about, like,
00:10:03.060 | some of these rankers, or analysts, or whatever.
00:10:05.980 | Like, you're doing the same exact thing.
00:10:07.940 | Your game hasn't changed.
00:10:08.900 | I remember one of the things they said was like,
00:10:10.780 | they didn't think you was athletic enough,
00:10:12.300 | or couldn't get your shot off at the next level.
00:10:14.420 | But like, athleticism is more than just having balance.
00:10:18.380 | Like, you ain't got no balance,
00:10:19.340 | but you got, like, every other athleticism you have.
00:10:22.340 | Like, you're quick,
00:10:23.180 | you're one of the fastest players in the league.
00:10:24.620 | Like, and you get your shot off whenever you want.
00:10:26.820 | Your body control is crazy,
00:10:28.380 | and that's like, they was missing that.
00:10:30.060 | But like, we always knew that you was like,
00:10:32.740 | and I used to always tell you,
00:10:33.900 | like, you're the number one point guard.
00:10:35.620 | And then, 'cause we used to debate
00:10:37.500 | who was number one and number two.
00:10:38.660 | You remember that?
00:10:39.500 | - For real, for real.
00:10:40.980 | I was always number one in the class,
00:10:42.460 | and you was number two.
00:10:43.660 | - Who used to win one-on-one?
00:10:45.780 | Don't cap.
00:10:46.620 | All right, if we're not gonna cap.
00:10:50.260 | All right, you got me,
00:10:52.620 | but it don't give the height difference, man.
00:10:55.180 | You get to your spots, and you just...
00:10:57.100 | - I used to kill every one-on-one.
00:10:58.860 | - Man, we gonna run it back now.
00:11:00.620 | - But, so we gonna go,
00:11:02.420 | we gonna transition to now college.
00:11:04.140 | So you do your thing in high school,
00:11:06.140 | all of high school,
00:11:07.940 | and then you go to college at Oklahoma.
00:11:10.260 | Why did you pick Oklahoma?
00:11:11.620 | - Just being able to be me.
00:11:16.940 | Like, for real, like, just being able to go to a school.
00:11:19.500 | Like, we were talking about that,
00:11:21.220 | like, picking our school.
00:11:22.460 | We wanted to go to places where we could be ourselves
00:11:24.620 | and be, I mean, just us.
00:11:27.060 | And I had trust in Coach Krueger and the staff
00:11:30.420 | that they were telling me,
00:11:32.700 | everything that they told me was gonna come true.
00:11:34.580 | And, I mean, it kind of did.
00:11:38.220 | My whole plan was to be there two years.
00:11:41.420 | - Yeah.
00:11:42.740 | So you didn't even think you was gonna do
00:11:44.180 | what you did that first year?
00:11:45.420 | - I mean, I had thought it, but like,
00:11:48.900 | for me, I didn't want to put the pressure on myself
00:11:51.820 | to go in, like, for you, it was different.
00:11:54.700 | You know what I'm saying?
00:11:55.540 | Like, you were gifted, bro.
00:11:57.780 | Like, you had everything, you had everything.
00:11:59.620 | Like, for me, I had to go, like,
00:12:01.020 | I was thinking, like, two years maybe.
00:12:03.940 | And if it happened, it happened.
00:12:07.460 | It happened the right way.
00:12:09.660 | And so, it's a blessing, bro.
00:12:12.180 | - Nah, it was crazy.
00:12:13.500 | I used to always tell people, like,
00:12:15.260 | from knowing you, when you're put in a situation
00:12:17.540 | where you can do your thing and, like,
00:12:19.060 | an organization gives you the keys,
00:12:21.380 | whether that's MoCan, whether that's Oklahoma,
00:12:23.900 | whether that's, you know, the Atlanta Hawks,
00:12:25.980 | you're gonna be dominant.
00:12:27.540 | But, like, when the team tries to put you in a box,
00:12:29.780 | that's when you can't be Trey Young,
00:12:30.940 | and then you'll probably just be an average player.
00:12:32.380 | 'Cause I remember, we was playing Team USA,
00:12:34.620 | and they had all these point guards ahead of you
00:12:37.100 | that they wanted the point guards just to distribute,
00:12:39.580 | not really look for their own shot,
00:12:40.900 | not shoot the deep threes or whatever.
00:12:43.780 | And you, like, you struggled in Team USA.
00:12:45.780 | And I used to, like, I just knew the whole time
00:12:48.460 | it was 'cause you weren't put in a situation
00:12:50.060 | where you could beat Trey.
00:12:51.020 | - Yeah.
00:12:51.860 | - But, like--
00:12:52.700 | - Yeah, nah, you--
00:12:53.540 | Nah, I know, it's like, we was in our room talking about it.
00:12:56.180 | Like, after games, like, I was hyped, like, everything,
00:12:59.420 | and we won, but remember how we was talking?
00:13:02.300 | Like, we've been talking about this stuff since then.
00:13:04.900 | So, nah, you right, like, if you put us in a box,
00:13:08.300 | like, it's hard for us to really, to flourish.
00:13:11.180 | - Right.
00:13:12.020 | - For our skills to show.
00:13:13.100 | - I'm glad we in situations now in the league
00:13:15.180 | where we can do our thing.
00:13:16.420 | You've been doing it, you know,
00:13:17.660 | I was just starting to kind of find my flow
00:13:19.340 | with Nicola and Jamal, but, like, you,
00:13:22.340 | from the moment you stepped in, you was balling.
00:13:24.780 | - Yeah, you've been out with injury.
00:13:26.540 | Now you're getting back into it.
00:13:27.700 | You see it, like, as I've been watching you play.
00:13:30.100 | Like, you're getting more, like, into it.
00:13:32.740 | - Starting to get into it.
00:13:33.580 | - Yeah, you starting to get into it.
00:13:34.900 | You can see the confidence, like, everybody has in you.
00:13:37.820 | Like, they give you the rock, and it's,
00:13:39.700 | the coach has in you, like, that just, it makes,
00:13:42.140 | it brings the best out of you.
00:13:43.140 | - Nah, dude, like, the, like,
00:13:44.580 | coaches, man, like, the situation you're in
00:13:47.740 | plays such a key role into, like,
00:13:49.220 | who you can be as a player.
00:13:50.180 | And that's why I tell people, like,
00:13:51.660 | to talk about the league.
00:13:53.100 | Like, my friends over there, but, like,
00:13:54.260 | there's so many cold players in the league
00:13:56.620 | that will never really be, like,
00:13:59.020 | who they could be just because of the situation.
00:14:00.900 | But, like, you go put 'em in, like, a,
00:14:02.580 | like, a run in the summertime,
00:14:04.100 | and they'll, they're gonna look amazing.
00:14:05.700 | You know what I'm saying? - Yeah.
00:14:06.860 | - And there's so many players like that.
00:14:08.580 | Like, the one that comes to mind is Trayvon Duvall.
00:14:11.420 | Like, remember how cold he was?
00:14:12.780 | Like-- - Trayvon was nice.
00:14:14.260 | - Or, and then, like, he just doesn't,
00:14:15.980 | hasn't really found a situation.
00:14:17.060 | But there's so many players that's kind of like that.
00:14:19.700 | Like, they just don't find a situation.
00:14:20.980 | So we're blessed, 'cause-- - Yeah.
00:14:22.620 | - We're in good, good programs.
00:14:24.100 | - Yeah, that's tough.
00:14:25.580 | I was thinking Trayvon, who's another guy, like?
00:14:28.900 | - Billy, I think. - Billy?
00:14:30.140 | - Billy Preston.
00:14:30.980 | I mean, he's one that, like, was cold in high school.
00:14:33.620 | I don't know what he's doing now,
00:14:34.580 | but, like, I always thought he'd be in the league.
00:14:37.340 | And then Kevin Knox is another one, I think,
00:14:39.300 | who was real talented at high school.
00:14:41.700 | He's in the league now in New York,
00:14:42.900 | and, like, he hasn't really gotten the situation,
00:14:45.100 | the opportunity to be him.
00:14:46.780 | You know what I'm saying? - He's there, yeah.
00:14:48.700 | - But there's countless players in the league
00:14:50.580 | that's like that. - Yeah, I agree.
00:14:52.700 | - Yeah, for sure.
00:14:54.380 | Last thing about college, what's,
00:14:56.460 | so the situation you was in,
00:14:59.100 | what's one piece of advice you would give
00:15:01.780 | to a freshman going into college
00:15:04.300 | that received as much attention as you,
00:15:07.020 | but at the same time is trying to keep team chemistry?
00:15:11.980 | - Oh, that's a good question.
00:15:13.740 | I mean, for me, it was tough.
00:15:17.900 | Like, I had, like, 'cause I had a bunch of,
00:15:22.100 | I had a bunch of, like, older guys.
00:15:26.300 | Like, I had a, it wasn't a bunch of young guys,
00:15:28.020 | so it was like-- - The older team?
00:15:28.860 | - Yeah, it was more of an older team,
00:15:30.180 | the team that the year before didn't do well,
00:15:32.260 | they didn't make the tournament.
00:15:33.700 | And then this team was supposed to be here,
00:15:35.940 | and, like, you got an All-American coming in,
00:15:38.340 | and it's like, and he's getting all the national attention,
00:15:41.620 | and they're just right there,
00:15:43.820 | so, you know what I'm saying?
00:15:44.660 | They saw a team, and it's like,
00:15:45.900 | the only person I really had that was really close to me
00:15:48.820 | on the team was a couple of guys that were freshmen,
00:15:52.460 | and then my roommate, Cam Augusti.
00:15:55.100 | And then, besides that, it was all older guys,
00:15:58.020 | and they kind of stuck together,
00:15:59.100 | and it was like, it was hard, it was hard.
00:16:01.140 | For me, it was just, it was a learning thing,
00:16:03.300 | a learning thing for me, just having to talk to guys,
00:16:06.980 | and just make sure I keep it team.
00:16:08.820 | - Try not to step on toes, but still, at the same time,
00:16:11.580 | let them know, like, nah, you're the man.
00:16:13.820 | - Yeah.
00:16:14.660 | - Like, this is my joint, but y'all, like,
00:16:17.420 | I feel like that'd be so hard.
00:16:18.540 | That's why I asked the question,
00:16:19.460 | 'cause, like, I feel like, especially in college,
00:16:22.140 | you get them older dudes, and the freshmen coming in,
00:16:24.620 | and he by far the best player.
00:16:26.220 | Like, how do you keep that case?
00:16:28.180 | - Yeah, you just kinda just gotta, like, talk,
00:16:29.860 | you just gotta just be, you just kinda just gotta
00:16:32.220 | be yourself, like, don't ever let the,
00:16:35.140 | don't ever let the national media and,
00:16:37.780 | - Yeah.
00:16:38.620 | - You know what I'm saying, all that get to your head,
00:16:39.740 | and just make you change, 'cause, like,
00:16:41.980 | if you come in one way, and then all this stuff
00:16:44.940 | comes at you, and you're a different person,
00:16:47.220 | then they see that, you know what I'm saying?
00:16:48.500 | But if you're the same person from beginning to end,
00:16:51.580 | they see that, too, and I think that's something that,
00:16:54.100 | I mean, I didn't struggle with, but it was just,
00:16:58.100 | as far as changing myself, but it was just, like,
00:17:01.140 | a situation where, I mean, I think it was good,
00:17:04.900 | and I just had to learn, and learn that on my own.
00:17:07.260 | - Right, 'cause lookin' in, like, y'all,
00:17:09.060 | like, y'all, look from the outside, y'all was good,
00:17:12.260 | but y'all, like, I just wondered that,
00:17:14.900 | like, y'all were really good, but I didn't know
00:17:16.580 | if y'all could be better, if the chemistry was better,
00:17:18.900 | 'cause y'all were, like, what, like,
00:17:19.820 | top five for a second, then y'all start losin'.
00:17:21.780 | - Yeah, we got all the way up to number,
00:17:23.940 | number three in the country.
00:17:24.860 | - Then why y'all start losin'?
00:17:26.380 | - We started seein' teams twice in the Big 12.
00:17:29.940 | - Oh, for real?
00:17:30.780 | - So the second time, teams,
00:17:32.620 | - They figured y'all out?
00:17:33.460 | - Yeah, they weren't, they were teamin' me,
00:17:35.220 | and, you know, I just, I just, I just, I don't know.
00:17:40.020 | - But let's talk to the league then, bro.
00:17:42.020 | So you, so, so you in the league now,
00:17:45.940 | your first year you did really, really good,
00:17:47.900 | your second year you're an all-star,
00:17:49.940 | and then, so, like, now, from now on,
00:17:51.740 | people kinda view you as, like,
00:17:53.620 | oh, he's supposed to be an all-star from here on out,
00:17:55.820 | like, and, and that was your second year in the NBA,
00:17:58.980 | and people expect you to play at this all-star level,
00:18:00.860 | which, I feel like you should've been
00:18:02.220 | an all-star this year, like, like, no question.
00:18:04.860 | But how do you, my question for you is,
00:18:06.700 | how do you deal with, like, the expectations now,
00:18:09.060 | going forward, and just not putting that pressure
00:18:11.540 | on yourself, but at the same time, like,
00:18:14.020 | you know what I'm sayin'?
00:18:14.860 | - Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, for me it's,
00:18:17.140 | I, like, you just can't worry about it.
00:18:20.100 | Like, you just, for me, like, I've gotten to the point now
00:18:23.420 | where, like, I don't, I don't care about
00:18:26.780 | other people's expectations on me.
00:18:28.420 | Like, my expectations of myself are higher
00:18:31.500 | than anybody else's could be.
00:18:33.020 | So it's like, I mean, nothing they say is,
00:18:36.220 | is gonna make me feel some type of way
00:18:37.820 | when anybody else puts on me.
00:18:39.660 | Like, I'm, I know what I, what I want,
00:18:43.140 | and you know what I'm sayin'?
00:18:43.980 | Like, I know--
00:18:44.820 | - And it's higher than any, what anybody else
00:18:46.260 | could expect from you, anyways.
00:18:47.100 | - Yeah, yeah, and so that's, that's, that's how I'm just,
00:18:49.740 | that's how I go about it, that's how I think.
00:18:51.740 | - Yeah, I feel like, like, a lot of young players,
00:18:54.420 | especially, but I know, like, me and you used to,
00:18:56.180 | me and you used to struggle with this, too,
00:18:58.180 | 'cause we'd look up our name on Twitter,
00:18:59.620 | see people talking about, like, as young players,
00:19:02.860 | you tend to want to, like, you play a lot of times
00:19:05.740 | for the approval of other people,
00:19:06.820 | like, you want them to talk good about you,
00:19:08.940 | you want people to, you know,
00:19:10.300 | approve of how you're playing, whatever,
00:19:12.220 | and then, like, if you're not meeting that,
00:19:14.300 | it can really, like, weigh on you.
00:19:15.620 | But then, as you get older, and you get to the NBA,
00:19:18.100 | you see there's so many games,
00:19:19.580 | there's so many highs and lows,
00:19:21.220 | then you kinda learn, like, okay,
00:19:23.100 | I'm not playing for the fans,
00:19:24.340 | I'm not playing for, for the approval of other people,
00:19:27.260 | I'm just playing 'cause I love the game,
00:19:29.540 | and because, like, I wanna be the best I can be.
00:19:31.860 | And then that kinda lets you play free.
00:19:33.780 | And I know you, like, you be playing so free out there,
00:19:36.740 | so I know you kinda have a mindset of, like,
00:19:38.860 | you're not worried about what other people are saying.
00:19:40.620 | - Yeah, yeah, but it took me a while to get to this point.
00:19:44.260 | Like, and I think it's tough,
00:19:45.100 | 'cause our generation is, like,
00:19:47.260 | is the first generation that's really going through this,
00:19:49.900 | 'cause, like, the older people, like, I mean--
00:19:53.060 | - They ain't have no social media.
00:19:54.180 | - They ain't have no social media.
00:19:55.420 | This is new to them, like, they're, like,
00:19:58.380 | like, a lot of the older guys in the league,
00:19:59.860 | like, they're, they didn't have to go from college,
00:20:02.740 | and you're on your Twitter all the, like, in high school,
00:20:05.540 | and, like, we've been doing this since high school.
00:20:07.740 | Like, and so, like, to be able to do that
00:20:11.100 | through high school and college,
00:20:12.260 | and then know when you get to the NBA
00:20:14.940 | that all that doesn't matter,
00:20:16.860 | and, like, all that looking for approval, like you said,
00:20:20.420 | like, that stuff doesn't matter.
00:20:21.940 | Like, it's hard to, like, shut that off.
00:20:23.500 | But once you, if you understand that as an early,
00:20:26.580 | like, at an early age,
00:20:28.340 | I think that can help you, I mean, like you said,
00:20:31.580 | the better you're gonna be.
00:20:32.460 | - Yeah, no facts.
00:20:33.980 | And I think, like, I be saying, like, humans in general,
00:20:37.340 | people view NBA players like we're not really human.
00:20:39.780 | Like, we don't have emotions,
00:20:40.860 | we don't see certain stuff on social media.
00:20:43.140 | And I be saying, like, no human is supposed to experience
00:20:46.500 | that much praise, and no human is supposed to experience
00:20:48.860 | that much, like, hate.
00:20:49.980 | Like, if you have a good game or a bad game, you know?
00:20:52.060 | Like, the way that fans talk about you is just crazy.
00:20:55.540 | And social media obviously plays, like,
00:20:57.140 | the biggest part into it, 'cause they just,
00:20:59.260 | it's easy for them to just comment
00:21:00.900 | whatever they want on your picture.
00:21:02.340 | But like, but like you said, like, no one,
00:21:05.500 | the generation before didn't have to deal with that.
00:21:07.180 | We received so much, like, praise,
00:21:09.860 | which I feel like can be a bad thing,
00:21:11.100 | 'cause it gets people's head too big,
00:21:12.860 | and they start changing it,
00:21:13.940 | and they start playing for that praise.
00:21:15.980 | But then also, like, the criticism that we be getting,
00:21:19.020 | like, if we don't meet people's expectations, it's crazy.
00:21:22.860 | You know what I'm saying?
00:21:23.700 | - No, no, that's, that's crazy, bro.
00:21:26.500 | - No.
00:21:27.340 | - It's wild, bro.
00:21:29.380 | - I can go on there for days talking about, like.
00:21:32.380 | - No, say something about it, then.
00:21:33.580 | Like, how you be feeling, how you be feeling about that?
00:21:35.540 | - I mean, for me, like, I don't,
00:21:37.220 | like, I just, I don't talk about, I don't,
00:21:41.300 | for me, it took a while to really get away from,
00:21:45.860 | like, not caring about other people's approval.
00:21:51.180 | Like, you know what I'm saying?
00:21:52.860 | My, I don't know, like, I literally have a,
00:21:57.860 | excuse my language, not give a fuck, like, motto.
00:22:02.900 | Like, that's just, I just don't.
00:22:05.540 | Like, I just, like, unless it's important to me,
00:22:07.820 | like, if you can't help me, or, like,
00:22:10.140 | you're not benefiting, like, helping me,
00:22:11.940 | or my family, or whatever, like,
00:22:14.300 | it's, I don't care about your opinion.
00:22:16.220 | - Yeah, like, yeah, who are you?
00:22:18.580 | All these people talking, stuff, like,
00:22:20.900 | you never even gonna meet 'em,
00:22:22.460 | and they don't even care about you, like,
00:22:24.220 | you know what I'm saying?
00:22:25.060 | And that thing, I realized, like, bro,
00:22:26.420 | you can be as good, you can be the best player in the NBA,
00:22:31.100 | and have everything, and then, like,
00:22:32.940 | if you have a bad game,
00:22:33.780 | they still gonna talk crazy about you.
00:22:35.060 | - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying?
00:22:36.020 | So, if you feed into that, bro, like,
00:22:38.340 | your emotions are gonna be on such a rollercoaster,
00:22:41.020 | 'cause you can never live up to what people want.
00:22:44.340 | People want perfection, like, fans want perfection.
00:22:46.500 | - And you've seen guys, you've seen guys in the league go,
00:22:48.580 | like, leave the league, 'cause they just,
00:22:52.260 | they're so mentally, like--
00:22:53.900 | - Yeah, they don't know how to deal with the pressure.
00:22:55.780 | - The pressure is tough, and it's, like, some of you,
00:22:58.220 | it's a real thing, like, a real struggle people have.
00:23:00.380 | - It's a real struggle, and I just,
00:23:02.460 | I think, like, what really makes, like,
00:23:04.900 | the best the best, the more I'm thinking about it,
00:23:07.060 | is not, like, how people handle, like, the praise,
00:23:10.740 | but it's almost, like, how people can bounce back
00:23:12.740 | from the bad games, or the criticism,
00:23:14.500 | and they get right back on their, like, what they do.
00:23:17.260 | Like, you know, we've been talking,
00:23:19.380 | we've both been talking to Brett, you know,
00:23:21.460 | our mental strength guy, help us out with that stuff.
00:23:23.900 | But he was just telling me the other day, like,
00:23:25.140 | Tiger Woods, like, he's won, like,
00:23:29.140 | he's lost way more matches than he's won,
00:23:31.340 | but he's still considered the best ever.
00:23:33.060 | And it's got me thinking, like,
00:23:34.180 | what really, like, separates the greatest
00:23:36.300 | is really how they handle, like, losses.
00:23:38.460 | You know what I'm saying?
00:23:39.300 | - Yeah.
00:23:40.140 | - So I think, like, and for me, really,
00:23:42.380 | that's why I kind of get off social media,
00:23:44.860 | because, like, it's easier to stay locked in
00:23:48.740 | and not really care what people think
00:23:49.940 | when you're not getting all the comments,
00:23:51.420 | and not getting all the whatever.
00:23:53.100 | There's other reasons, too.
00:23:54.500 | You know, the females.
00:23:55.700 | - Yeah, yeah.
00:23:57.020 | - But that's a big reason, so.
00:23:59.700 | - Yeah.
00:24:00.540 | - Yeah, bro, like, I was gonna ask you, too.
00:24:04.220 | So, especially this year, like, in general,
00:24:08.260 | like, from the outside looking in,
00:24:09.860 | it's been a lot of talk about the way you draw fouls.
00:24:13.020 | You know, Steve Nash said he wasn't playing basketball
00:24:15.180 | or whatever, but to me, it's like,
00:24:17.500 | you're utilizing the rules of the game.
00:24:19.260 | You're doing what they're giving you.
00:24:20.620 | And, like, in the past, when players have figured out
00:24:23.100 | the game and figured out how to, like,
00:24:24.940 | take advantage of it, then it can cause, like,
00:24:27.820 | people, them to change the rules or whatever,
00:24:29.700 | but that's not the player's fault.
00:24:30.660 | That's being smart and having a good IQ.
00:24:32.660 | So what do you think about, like,
00:24:34.020 | people criticizing you, like, especially this year?
00:24:36.740 | - Yeah, I mean, for, especially with the foul drawing,
00:24:39.340 | like, I'm just, it's kind of frustrating.
00:24:42.980 | I mean, Steve brought up, like,
00:24:44.860 | how smart I am at drawing fouls.
00:24:47.260 | Like, how good I am at drawing fouls.
00:24:49.460 | Like, the media took the "that's not basketball"
00:24:52.420 | and just blew it up.
00:24:53.500 | Like, I was kind of frustrated at first when I saw it,
00:24:56.140 | but then I saw the whole quote and I saw what he said.
00:24:58.940 | But, like, me drawing fouls, like, that's just--
00:25:03.780 | - That's smart.
00:25:04.740 | - It's just smart.
00:25:06.180 | - I don't see why people would get mad at you,
00:25:07.860 | and why they, I see why people might get mad at the rules.
00:25:11.220 | Like, if you, like--
00:25:12.060 | - Don't blame me, like, blame the rules.
00:25:13.900 | - That's just being smart, like, you just,
00:25:16.180 | that's being smart, like, if you,
00:25:17.620 | if they wanna change the rules, make it so, like,
00:25:20.060 | if you pump fake and then you jump into someone,
00:25:22.980 | that's not a foul, or it's an offensive foul,
00:25:24.900 | but don't get mad at someone, like, utilizing the rules.
00:25:27.340 | - Yeah, yeah, I'm just, that's the thing.
00:25:28.980 | Like, I'm not doing anything that the rules
00:25:31.540 | aren't saying I can't do, you know what I'm saying?
00:25:33.460 | - Right, exactly.
00:25:34.300 | - I'm just, like, if a dude,
00:25:36.060 | and the thing is, is, like, people already hate
00:25:39.180 | that a smaller guy like me is, is, like,
00:25:43.900 | doing what I'm doing, and so, like,
00:25:45.260 | they're gonna try to be physical,
00:25:46.620 | and try to be, like, the thing that,
00:25:48.780 | I know what, like, the game plan against me is,
00:25:51.060 | be physical, be rough 'em up, like--
00:25:53.140 | - So you learn how to use--
00:25:54.420 | - So I'm just learning how to, when they go,
00:25:56.460 | okay, you wanna bump me, all right, let's just,
00:25:58.940 | we go off the screen, I know you gonna bump me,
00:26:00.880 | so I'm just gonna stop and just let you keep running.
00:26:03.060 | - Right. - You know what I'm saying?
00:26:04.060 | Like, there's little things that I just,
00:26:06.460 | I'm, like, especially when my starting stops,
00:26:08.700 | like, like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go off the screen,
00:26:12.380 | I'll go full speed, and the natural thing is,
00:26:16.460 | if I stop, your momentum is still going,
00:26:18.860 | like, you still--
00:26:20.140 | - You gonna hit your--
00:26:20.980 | - You gonna hit me regardless.
00:26:21.820 | - That's gonna be a foul, and that's, that is a foul,
00:26:23.740 | but that's, that's smart.
00:26:25.420 | - Yeah. - Now, that had me tripping,
00:26:26.940 | too, like, how people gonna get mad at you
00:26:29.180 | for, for being a smart player?
00:26:30.940 | - It's, it's, it is what it is nowadays.
00:26:33.700 | That's what I'm talking about when it comes to social media,
00:26:35.460 | it's like, like, now, it's like, I don't, I don't like that.
00:26:39.660 | Like, I don't care about that no more.
00:26:41.060 | - You don't care about none of that.
00:26:41.900 | - Like, I don't care about that no more.
00:26:42.940 | Like, maybe back a couple years ago,
00:26:44.740 | like, when I'm in college, and rookie year,
00:26:46.820 | like, that stuff fazed me, but it don't anymore.
00:26:50.340 | - So, criticism, like, you would say you don't care,
00:26:52.220 | or did, like, some people could use it to make 'em better,
00:26:55.860 | or some people use it, and then they fall,
00:26:57.340 | and they don't know what to do with criticism.
00:26:59.180 | Do you, you just don't care about it at all,
00:27:00.700 | or do you feel like it make you better?
00:27:01.860 | - I, I think it's, I think you pick and choose.
00:27:04.780 | I think you, you, you hear everything.
00:27:08.900 | You know what I'm saying?
00:27:09.740 | Like, I hear everything.
00:27:10.900 | You know what I'm saying?
00:27:11.740 | I'm gonna, I'm gonna pick and choose what I let,
00:27:13.780 | I mean, let inside, and let it affect me,
00:27:17.100 | and what I don't, you know what I'm saying, so.
00:27:19.780 | - That's, I mean, bro, that's what separates you,
00:27:21.340 | 'cause I'm, like, a lot of players can't do that,
00:27:23.340 | especially with the attention, and, you know,
00:27:25.380 | the criticism, and, like, the love,
00:27:27.300 | and the hate that you receive.
00:27:28.900 | Like, a lot of players can't do that.
00:27:30.740 | How would you say the NBA is different
00:27:34.420 | on the court and off the court
00:27:35.900 | than, like, college or high school?
00:27:37.660 | - I mean.
00:27:40.380 | - On the, we'll start with on the court.
00:27:42.900 | Like, how, how is the game different?
00:27:44.940 | - On the court, I mean, it's just the spacing.
00:27:47.580 | - Yeah. - Like, the spacing.
00:27:48.420 | Like, I look at college games now, and, like.
00:27:50.780 | - It's hard to watch.
00:27:51.620 | - It's hard to watch it,
00:27:52.460 | just 'cause, like, the defensive three safeties,
00:27:54.140 | like, the fact that somebody can sit in the lane,
00:27:56.620 | and you can't, you can't drive, and all that stuff.
00:27:59.900 | That's, it's hard to watch,
00:28:01.260 | and I think that's the most frustrating thing,
00:28:03.260 | like, the college game, and the difference from that,
00:28:05.540 | in the NBA, is the spacing, and the,
00:28:09.380 | the fact that everybody can hoop.
00:28:11.100 | Like. - In the league?
00:28:12.100 | - Everybody, yeah. - Like, there's no
00:28:12.940 | weak link, but if you leave a player open,
00:28:14.820 | he probably gonna make a shot,
00:28:15.820 | even if he's the 12th man on the bench.
00:28:18.380 | - Yeah. - He's still called.
00:28:19.500 | - Still good, so.
00:28:20.700 | I think that's, that's the difference,
00:28:21.980 | and then off the court, it's like,
00:28:24.220 | I don't know, it's like,
00:28:25.820 | you don't have to worry about anything.
00:28:27.420 | - You got the bread, you got the money,
00:28:28.780 | you can do what you want.
00:28:30.140 | - Yeah, it's more about treating this like it's,
00:28:34.660 | basically, you get the option of treating basketball
00:28:38.540 | how you want it, you know what I'm saying?
00:28:40.340 | It's like, you have everything,
00:28:42.980 | so you, you have this time after basketball,
00:28:46.540 | like, you get to pick, you wanna--
00:28:48.940 | - You get to pick what, yeah,
00:28:49.780 | you get to pick what you wanna do.
00:28:50.820 | - You wanna, you wanna, how, how good do you wanna be?
00:28:53.420 | - You wanna lock in, and, and use your money,
00:28:56.380 | like, to buy a chef, to help your body, whatever,
00:28:59.460 | and you wanna use your money to fly five girls out
00:29:01.980 | to the crib, and, or go out, and, you know.
00:29:04.740 | - Yeah, spending all the money on bottles and stuff,
00:29:06.580 | and do all that, or you can do,
00:29:07.940 | or you can spend that money on, like you said, a chef,
00:29:09.940 | like, like, so it's, it's, that's really the difference.
00:29:13.860 | - It's like, the difference almost then is like,
00:29:16.220 | whatever you dreamed that you could do
00:29:17.620 | in high school or college, now you can actually do.
00:29:20.780 | - Yeah.
00:29:21.620 | - That's why a lot of people get the league,
00:29:22.460 | then they fall off, 'cause like,
00:29:23.460 | they have the world in their, in their hands,
00:29:25.820 | and they don't stay locked, like, their whole goal,
00:29:29.100 | I think one of the biggest, like, differences
00:29:31.460 | between players that really, like, become really good,
00:29:34.700 | and players that just get to the league
00:29:35.940 | and kind of fizzle out, is like, what was your goal?
00:29:38.260 | Like, was your goal just to make the NBA,
00:29:39.940 | and then you just wanted to live the lifestyle?
00:29:41.820 | Or was your goal to be, like, one of the best players,
00:29:44.300 | and like, really, like, you really love basketball?
00:29:47.020 | You know what I mean?
00:29:47.860 | - Yeah, yeah, it's definitely a difference of,
00:29:50.180 | of mindsets, whatever, of, of guys.
00:29:53.420 | You can tell, like, guys, as you, as you start playing,
00:29:55.780 | on what guys really focus on, too, you know.
00:29:58.780 | - What do you think is the next step for you,
00:30:00.300 | and your game, to become, like,
00:30:01.780 | the player you ultimately could become?
00:30:04.220 | - Um, I think for me, I think for me,
00:30:07.860 | it's all just about winning, you know what I'm saying?
00:30:10.260 | Like, I mean, I'm always gonna be,
00:30:13.260 | I mean, I've, I've done, done a lot of things,
00:30:16.300 | couple years already, but, I mean,
00:30:18.820 | all the individual stuff is gonna come, like,
00:30:21.580 | like, I think I'm always, one thing I've always took
00:30:24.820 | from Coach P is, win takes care of everything.
00:30:28.180 | Like, if you win, everybody gonna eat.
00:30:31.500 | You know what I'm saying?
00:30:32.340 | So, like, winning, I know for me, like,
00:30:35.020 | all the individual stuff, like, all that,
00:30:37.340 | all that stuff's gonna come, like,
00:30:39.700 | it's, for me, like, to be looked at,
00:30:41.780 | like, looked at different.
00:30:43.220 | - As a winner.
00:30:44.140 | - I wanna be looked at as a winner, so that's why.
00:30:45.420 | - Like, CP3, like, now, at this point in his career,
00:30:48.100 | everywhere he go, like, his, his reputation now
00:30:50.620 | is he's just a winner.
00:30:51.740 | - Yeah.
00:30:52.580 | - He can go to any, any organization.
00:30:54.540 | - Just stick around the league for years doing that.
00:30:56.340 | - Turn it around, yeah.
00:30:58.020 | - So, I feel that.
00:30:59.140 | What do you, so, so, how are you gonna spend
00:31:01.940 | your off-seasons, or what do you like to do
00:31:03.900 | outside of hoop?
00:31:04.740 | - I like being, I like being, like, with my close people,
00:31:11.100 | friends, family, I mean, vacation, I mean, I play blackjacks.
00:31:16.180 | - I feel that.
00:31:20.060 | - We'll be in Vegas.
00:31:21.620 | - We definitely gonna be in Vegas on the roulette, for sure.
00:31:24.820 | - Oh, yeah, okay.
00:31:25.660 | - Or, or, where did we go, Bahamas?
00:31:27.940 | - Yeah, Bahamas.
00:31:28.780 | - We was on the roulette, losing crazy.
00:31:30.860 | (both laughing)
00:31:32.620 | - We didn't even, we didn't even go to the beach for real,
00:31:35.180 | bro, we was in the casino the whole time.
00:31:38.500 | - Yes, fam.
00:31:39.340 | All right, this is my last question for you.
00:31:41.700 | What would you say is your, what do you view
00:31:44.140 | as your purpose, like, what's your purpose?
00:31:46.740 | - Oh, my purpose is, my purpose is just making sure,
00:31:56.380 | making sure my family is good, and then also inspiring
00:32:01.380 | the next generation, and making sure the game is better
00:32:07.660 | than it's left, I mean, for me, I get frustrated sometimes
00:32:11.820 | with the older players, not understanding that the game,
00:32:16.820 | it's okay if the game is better today, you know what I'm
00:32:19.580 | saying, like, it's because of y'all, like, the game,
00:32:23.740 | y'all made the game better, or whatever, and so now it's,
00:32:28.500 | LeBron came in from Jordan, then Steph came in,
00:32:31.860 | changed the game, like, the game gets better over time,
00:32:34.060 | so for me, I just wanna be one of those guys, hopefully,
00:32:37.900 | that makes the game a little bit better, and inspire others.
00:32:41.100 | - Inspire others, that's dope, bro, well, I appreciate you
00:32:44.380 | coming on this joint, this is dope, man, my guy.
00:32:47.980 | - What's the show called again?
00:32:49.380 | - Curious Mike.
00:32:50.820 | - Curious Mike.
00:32:51.900 | - Shout out to Lemon Perfect, too, hold it up,
00:32:54.340 | shout out to Lemon Perfect.
00:32:55.860 | - Shout out to Lemon Perfect, body armor too, though.
00:32:58.460 | - This episode was sponsored by Lemon Perfect.
00:33:02.900 | (upbeat music)
00:33:05.480 | you