Life Transitions & Lessons feat. Brandon Roy // Michael Porter Jr.

00:00:00.000 | (slow hip hop music)

00:00:03.080 | - Man, here another episode of Curious Mike,

00:00:11.300 | here my big bro B-Roy.

00:00:13.120 | You know, Kobe said his dude was the hardest player

00:00:16.980 | he ever had to guard.

00:00:18.100 | I had the pleasure of playing for this dude in Nathan Hale.

00:00:21.700 | He taught me a lot, he's been a big bro to me since.

00:00:24.140 | So I appreciate you being on the show, my brother.

00:00:25.980 | - Oh yeah, no doubt, thanks for having me on the show.

00:00:28.540 | - You already know.

00:00:29.580 | So we're gonna start out in the NBA,

00:00:31.800 | just 'cause that's obviously where most people know you from.

00:00:34.780 | And I grew up watching you, idolizing you.

00:00:38.240 | So we're gonna start up there,

00:00:39.080 | then we'll kind of move to some other stuff.

00:00:41.980 | Man, so yeah, I wanna, first off,

00:00:44.800 | I just wanna ask you about your favorite players.

00:00:46.220 | Who was your, like your time, who was the best players

00:00:49.780 | that you played against in your area?

00:00:52.500 | - Yeah, so my area meaning?

00:00:55.080 | - Like your era, your era.

00:00:57.420 | - Yeah, well, I guess I'll start with first,

00:01:01.720 | you have the names that are like LeBron James,

00:01:04.800 | you know what I mean?

00:01:05.640 | Him are a class apart, so.

00:01:06.700 | - So already back then, he was like--

00:01:08.420 | - Well, I never played against him,

00:01:10.040 | but hearing about him and just hearing the legend

00:01:14.060 | of LeBron James, it's like, okay, is he that good?

00:01:18.700 | So when I first seen him, I went, damn,

00:01:20.820 | he is the best player.

00:01:22.820 | You know what I mean?

00:01:24.400 | It's not that you say, oh, I'm gonna concede to this guy,

00:01:28.400 | but watching him, he was that good at an early age,

00:01:32.600 | and I think that kids kind of get that misunderstood.

00:01:35.360 | And I think I told you, I'm like,

00:01:36.920 | you're one of the best players I've seen since a LeBron.

00:01:39.760 | That doesn't come around often with size,

00:01:42.440 | handle it, shoot it at a young age.

00:01:45.360 | So he was off top, the best kid when we were in high school,

00:01:49.920 | and then another guy that was big was Carmelo Anthony.

00:01:53.080 | He's the next dude you always hear about.

00:01:55.600 | And again, like I said--

00:01:56.440 | - So you was the same age as those guys.

00:01:57.560 | - Well, yeah, we're the same age,

00:01:58.720 | but we're a class of, me and Carmelo are a class of 2002,

00:02:02.040 | and Bron is 2003.

00:02:03.800 | - Oh, okay, okay, okay.

00:02:04.800 | - So I think Melo might be 37, I'm 37, Bron's 36.

00:02:09.560 | So yeah, so we're all in that same,

00:02:12.040 | I would say, era of guys.

00:02:14.200 | And Melo, and then CP3, them dudes are all that good.

00:02:19.080 | - Right there. - Ramy Feldman, those are,

00:02:20.840 | again, so when I get a list of my era,

00:02:22.800 | I always try to go with,

00:02:23.840 | okay, those are the dudes that's in the league,

00:02:25.480 | you know who they are, they've been good

00:02:27.640 | pretty much their entire life.

00:02:29.160 | But then, locally, I've always had really good battles with,

00:02:34.160 | you found out coming to Seattle,

00:02:35.800 | Rainier Beach High School's a big high school,

00:02:38.440 | so I had battles with Logic Stewart, Roderick Stewart,

00:02:41.840 | twin brothers, Nate Robinson went there.

00:02:44.080 | So we battled, another cat that went to

00:02:46.000 | Franklin High School, Anthony Grant, he's really good.

00:02:49.480 | Then you got, my brother was always the hardest player

00:02:52.080 | I'd rather play against.

00:02:53.040 | - Your brother?

00:02:53.880 | - Yeah, my older brother.

00:02:55.360 | - He would beat you one-on-one?

00:02:56.560 | - Yup, yup.

00:02:57.520 | - That's just the older brother thing, though.

00:02:59.040 | - Yeah, you know, you play, I see you and Tay play,

00:03:02.200 | it's kinda like the big brother has that slight mental edge.

00:03:06.520 | So, those are all dudes that I always looked up to,

00:03:10.840 | admired playing against, competing against,

00:03:12.720 | and again, to this day, they're the ones that push me

00:03:15.280 | to always wanna keep getting better,

00:03:16.520 | 'cause you're always hearing about them,

00:03:17.880 | and seeing what they're doing.

00:03:19.360 | And then it's like, all right, I wanna try to make sure

00:03:21.760 | I stay on that level.

00:03:22.840 | - Right, so then, you didn't mention Kobe,

00:03:26.000 | so he was obviously a little older,

00:03:28.120 | but how much older was he than you?

00:03:29.520 | And I was gonna ask you, what is your favorite Kobe story?

00:03:34.520 | - Yeah, so with Kobe, now that's, you know,

00:03:37.680 | I always start with Michael Jordan as my favorite

00:03:41.040 | sports figure, greatest athlete ever.

00:03:44.360 | But what was really cool about Kobe was,

00:03:47.040 | he eventually became my second,

00:03:49.640 | because when I got introduced to basketball,

00:03:51.480 | it was like, Jordan, you know, he's at the top.

00:03:53.840 | But when Kobe came into the league in '96,

00:03:56.880 | I'm like, okay, damn, he plays like Jordan, but he young.

00:04:00.280 | - Yeah. - And he kinda cool,

00:04:01.800 | and more fitting, you know, the age group

00:04:05.560 | and the popularity of how we wanna do things.

00:04:07.720 | - Right. - He had the little baby fro,

00:04:09.440 | and you know, I'm getting to high school,

00:04:10.560 | I got the baby fro now, you know, so it was like,

00:04:14.640 | Jordan was the guy I idolized,

00:04:16.320 | and then it moved into Kobe.

00:04:18.080 | But it was cool, because I always try to play like Jordan,

00:04:21.040 | you know, footwork, pump fakes, fade away,

00:04:23.720 | and Kobe was doing it too.

00:04:24.840 | So now I'm going into it like,

00:04:26.840 | damn, so now my second favorite player plays

00:04:28.520 | just like my favorite player, but he's younger,

00:04:31.240 | and I can relate to him more, you know, it's like,

00:04:33.880 | you know, you watch the shows like Moesha growing up,

00:04:36.360 | and then Kobe go to, you know, you see him

00:04:38.520 | and Brandy going to prom, and it's like,

00:04:40.800 | damn, this is all my, this is all the stuff I'm into.

00:04:43.520 | When Jordan was, you know, he was older and more mature

00:04:46.080 | and doing different things, so that was real,

00:04:48.280 | that was real dope, and then, yeah, ever since then,

00:04:50.120 | he's just always been the guy that I idolize

00:04:52.640 | watching and playing basketball.

00:04:54.640 | So, you know, I would say my favorite Kobe story

00:04:58.720 | was when I was in Portland, and we had a win streak

00:05:02.800 | against the Lakers in the Rose Garden.

00:05:06.120 | So, you know, I got hurt, and leading up into this game,

00:05:10.600 | Kobe sprains his ankle, you know.

00:05:12.920 | I mean, I wouldn't say it then,

00:05:14.120 | but I used to watch Laker games, you know,

00:05:15.400 | it's just as much as, you know, playing,

00:05:17.120 | it's like, all right, now I gotta,

00:05:18.440 | I record my DVR of my Laker games,

00:05:20.520 | 'cause, you know, Kobe was still my favorite player,

00:05:22.480 | but I didn't want anybody to think that he had an edge on me

00:05:24.320 | because I did like him so much as a player.

00:05:27.160 | So, you know, we're getting ready for the game,

00:05:29.400 | and, you know, they asked me, am I gonna play,

00:05:30.840 | and I was just like, nah, it's just not ready yet.

00:05:33.040 | I think it's my hamstring, and, you know,

00:05:36.440 | Kobe was like, gonna play if I was gonna,

00:05:39.160 | if I was gonna suit up, he was gonna play,

00:05:40.800 | and I was like, no way, he hurt his ankle too bad.

00:05:42.880 | - So, like, if you was gonna play,

00:05:43.920 | he was gonna play? - He was gonna play, yes.

00:05:45.200 | - How did you know that?

00:05:46.040 | - Yeah, so, we'll get to it.

00:05:48.000 | So, you know, long story short,

00:05:50.320 | they ended up scratching Kobe,

00:05:51.680 | and they're like, all right, he's not gonna play.

00:05:53.320 | You know, they do that stuff on ESPN,

00:05:55.440 | and then our little pack is like,

00:05:56.960 | we don't know if he's gonna play or not.

00:05:59.160 | So, we're gonna prepare as if he is

00:06:01.040 | and go over the Kobe sets and how they're gonna play.

00:06:03.840 | So, I was like, nah, I'm still about a week away.

00:06:07.560 | So, I put it out there early, and then, you know,

00:06:10.960 | he's obviously in the other locker room.

00:06:13.360 | You know, we know he's in the arena.

00:06:15.040 | Every camera follows him in.

00:06:16.760 | So, I'm in the training, doing all my stuff,

00:06:18.440 | and then I go back to the locker room,

00:06:19.720 | and I had a friend of mine, Chuck,

00:06:22.400 | he works with Nike, and then he worked with Kobe.

00:06:24.840 | I was like, is Kobe gonna play?

00:06:27.320 | He was like, if you play, he's playing.

00:06:29.320 | I'm like, I'm not playing.

00:06:30.560 | You know what I'm saying?

00:06:31.400 | He was like, all right.

00:06:32.240 | He said, nah, I don't think he's gonna play.

00:06:33.320 | So, I was like, all right, cool.

00:06:34.160 | I said, ask Kobe when the team's about to warm up.

00:06:36.840 | Can I come down and say what's up?

00:06:40.360 | He was like, all right.

00:06:41.560 | So, long story short, Chuck didn't come back

00:06:44.680 | in the first quarter.

00:06:45.680 | So, he came back in the second quarter,

00:06:47.760 | and he was like, Kobe said, yeah, come down there,

00:06:49.760 | but wait 'til the teams go out and come after halftime.

00:06:52.760 | So, I was like, for real?

00:06:54.720 | So, I'm getting all nervous.

00:06:55.760 | Like, I played against him,

00:06:56.960 | but we never talked during the game.

00:06:58.840 | You know, he'd just be going at me.

00:07:00.560 | So, I was like, for real?

00:07:02.920 | He was like, yeah.

00:07:03.760 | He was like, he said come down,

00:07:04.840 | but let the teams go out.

00:07:06.240 | So, I'm like, all right.

00:07:07.960 | So, the teams, you know,

00:07:08.880 | Nate come in and give his speech.

00:07:10.080 | Both teams go out, and I'm walking up to the locker room.

00:07:13.320 | I'm like, damn, so what I'm gonna say to Kobe?

00:07:15.400 | So, I'm all nervous, and I walk all the way down the hallway,

00:07:18.160 | and then I get to the door,

00:07:19.800 | and I'm kind of listening in,

00:07:21.160 | and I like tap to knock on the locker room door,

00:07:24.040 | and the trainer was like, who is it?

00:07:25.160 | And I peek in my head, and I was like,

00:07:27.000 | oh, it's B-Roy, and Kobe was laying on the table.

00:07:30.240 | Like, he was fully dressed.

00:07:32.600 | He had his whole warm-ups on, everything.

00:07:35.960 | He was laying on the table getting stretched,

00:07:37.800 | and the dude was like doing something to his ankle.

00:07:41.120 | But, so I'm like, oh, man, it's like Kobe.

00:07:43.440 | So, he hops up off the table,

00:07:44.760 | and he's like, B-Roy, come here.

00:07:48.360 | And I went to dap him, and he like gave me like a bear hug,

00:07:51.760 | and I was just like, this is Kobe.

00:07:54.600 | And then I like loosened up,

00:07:56.440 | and he's like, how you doing, man?

00:07:58.080 | So, I ended up sitting down.

00:07:59.360 | Like I said, he's laying on the table.

00:08:00.640 | I sit like in the little locker,

00:08:02.440 | and we ended up sitting there talking,

00:08:04.840 | and you know, joking the whole second half of the game.

00:08:07.640 | - For real?

00:08:08.480 | - And that was, you know, for me,

00:08:10.840 | you know, not just because of his passing,

00:08:12.680 | but that was like, damn, I'm meeting, you know, my idol,

00:08:16.040 | and I get to hang out with him.

00:08:17.320 | You know, and talking.

00:08:19.320 | Man, I asked him everything under the sun.

00:08:21.440 | You know, I was like,

00:08:22.440 | so how's your and Michael Jordan's relationship?

00:08:24.640 | He's like, me and Mike's cool.

00:08:25.760 | I'm like, oh, yeah, that's cool, you see.

00:08:28.440 | But, you know, most people, you know,

00:08:30.200 | I always try to look at it like I'm in the NBA,

00:08:32.400 | but I'm still a fan of it.

00:08:33.560 | - Right.

00:08:34.400 | - So, you know, I asked stuff that I think my dad would.

00:08:37.240 | You know, we wanted to, you know, know like,

00:08:40.400 | how does Kobe tie his shoes?

00:08:41.640 | You know, all that stuff was cool.

00:08:43.200 | And then I even joked, I was like,

00:08:44.200 | so you really was gonna play?

00:08:45.120 | He was like, yeah, if you was gonna play.

00:08:46.960 | I was like, damn, you are dressed.

00:08:49.600 | - How old was you at this time?

00:08:51.040 | - Man, I was my, that was my third,

00:08:53.920 | that was my third year in the league.

00:08:55.920 | So, I made the All-Star game my second year.

00:08:58.760 | - Right.

00:08:59.600 | - And it was in New Orleans,

00:09:00.440 | but Kobe didn't play 'cause he had like a bad thumb.

00:09:03.800 | And we really didn't talk much.

00:09:05.960 | Like, I was in awe then of him.

00:09:07.520 | You know, I mean, we had a few different things

00:09:09.760 | where we all did it together as a team.

00:09:11.840 | But, you know, I remember like getting on a bus

00:09:13.680 | and it's like, damn, it's Tim Duncan.

00:09:15.160 | You know, you're in the West.

00:09:16.000 | It's like, they're going mellow.

00:09:17.600 | It's like all these great players.

00:09:19.200 | Iverson's on the team.

00:09:20.800 | Shrimp did the next, Shaq's on the team.

00:09:23.320 | So, it's like all these dudes are idolized.

00:09:24.960 | But then it was like, okay, where's Kobe?

00:09:27.080 | I'm all sitting on the bus, patiently waiting.

00:09:28.800 | Where's Kobe getting on the bus?

00:09:29.840 | So, then Kobe comes and cameras follow.

00:09:32.040 | He get on the bus.

00:09:32.880 | I'm like, yeah, that's Kobe.

00:09:33.840 | So, no, it was cool,

00:09:35.640 | but we didn't really have a one-on-one conversation.

00:09:38.480 | - Right.

00:09:39.320 | - Of course, I was playing well in New Orleans

00:09:41.240 | and he was like, man, stop being nice, man.

00:09:43.360 | Stop being passive.

00:09:44.200 | Like, you can go be MVP.

00:09:45.920 | I'm like, MVP of the All-Star game?

00:09:47.600 | Yeah, right.

00:09:48.440 | And he was telling me to do it.

00:09:50.320 | And I was like, man, all right, we'll see.

00:09:52.960 | But that was kind of like the most

00:09:54.320 | of our interactions at that point.

00:09:55.920 | So, then that next year, like I said, when he didn't play,

00:09:58.040 | that's when I was able to sit down

00:09:59.560 | and have, you know, a real long conversation with him.

00:10:02.200 | - So, even all the way back then, like dudes in the league,

00:10:04.880 | it was, there was a lot of really good players,

00:10:07.000 | but Kobe was respected on a whole 'nother level than like--

00:10:10.360 | - Yeah, you know, and it's hard to explain.

00:10:12.720 | Like, they're all really respected.

00:10:14.120 | You know, I was just as happy to sit down

00:10:16.840 | and, you know, have conversations with Tim Duncan.

00:10:19.280 | You know, I had watched him, you know, he was in college.

00:10:22.240 | This was way before you guys was, you know,

00:10:24.480 | probably even born.

00:10:25.320 | But, you know, I watched those dudes

00:10:28.680 | 'cause we got to build relationships

00:10:30.200 | with our favorite players from the college level.

00:10:32.640 | And that's how we got to know 'em.

00:10:33.800 | Where you guys are, you guys get idolized a little younger,

00:10:36.200 | more like high school.

00:10:37.680 | Like, I didn't know nothin' about Tim Duncan in high school.

00:10:40.360 | So, we see Chris Webber and them dudes,

00:10:42.000 | like we learn 'em from Michigan and the Fab Five.

00:10:44.920 | You know, and Tim Duncan and those dudes.

00:10:46.520 | So, that's how we got our celebrity.

00:10:49.520 | That's how they got their celebrity,

00:10:50.880 | but that's how we got to know those guys.

00:10:52.360 | So, it was big, but yeah,

00:10:54.760 | there was somethin' about Kobe comin' around.

00:10:57.200 | You know, it was somethin' about him

00:11:00.920 | where I seen how like, okay, like, you know,

00:11:04.480 | this is LeBron, this is Mello,

00:11:06.880 | but they're all the same age as me.

00:11:08.440 | And we all looked up to the same dude.

00:11:10.440 | Even though they're great, and you know,

00:11:12.480 | LeBron's MVP and a champion,

00:11:14.560 | and Mello's one of the top players in the world,

00:11:16.840 | we're all still like, when we was kids,

00:11:18.640 | lovin' this dude the same way, just in different areas.

00:11:21.360 | And you can sense that, I think,

00:11:23.320 | with bein' around a lot of young dudes.

00:11:25.400 | You know, 'cause Chris Bosch, all those guys.

00:11:26.960 | You know, it's all class 2002, three, one.

00:11:30.240 | And Kobe was like that first dude to really just be,

00:11:33.600 | you know, he was cold, but he was also,

00:11:36.320 | you know, he was that next level of like,

00:11:38.960 | all right, he goes to private school,

00:11:40.840 | but he's gonna go outta high school, you know.

00:11:43.480 | That whole kinda, you know, he got game type thing.

00:11:45.960 | Like, yeah, he's really doin' it.

00:11:47.680 | And he's, you know, all-star, he's rookie,

00:11:50.160 | second year, everybody's votin' him.

00:11:51.360 | So, he was just really that guy that I think a lot of guys

00:11:53.960 | my age just really, you know, we loved him.

00:11:56.240 | - Even your age, but my age too.

00:11:57.760 | I mean, that's one thing that I like,

00:11:59.240 | really wish coulda happened.

00:12:00.480 | Like, I never got to even meet Kobe.

00:12:02.840 | I remember I was at the Nike Basketball Academy.

00:12:06.040 | And Kobe--

00:12:06.880 | - You never got to meet him, huh?

00:12:07.720 | - He flew in on a private jet.

00:12:09.320 | And I left that morning before he flew in on the jet.

00:12:12.160 | So, all my homies got like, you know, Trey, Gary Trent.

00:12:15.160 | All those guys got the picture with Kobe.

00:12:17.200 | I never even got to meet him.

00:12:18.240 | So, I love asking stories about him,

00:12:20.040 | 'cause that was just like, it was your idol.

00:12:21.960 | Like, even younger dudes, like,

00:12:23.200 | he spanned across generations, like his, like.

00:12:26.240 | So, even for me, I was like one of my favorite players, so.

00:12:28.920 | - Nah, it was, you'da liked meetin' him too,

00:12:32.040 | because, you know, I was always worried,

00:12:34.200 | 'cause on the court, he was like, you know,

00:12:36.360 | he'd go after it.

00:12:37.560 | - Right.

00:12:38.400 | - So, you know, I'll tell you somethin' that's funny.

00:12:41.000 | Like, when I was comin' in the draft,

00:12:42.320 | I think the Lakers was pickin' like 20th, 21st.

00:12:45.280 | And I knew I was gonna be a top 10 pick.

00:12:47.440 | And I told my agent, I'm like, man,

00:12:49.240 | I think I'm gonna go to the Lakers.

00:12:51.280 | You know, I'm gonna play with Kobe.

00:12:52.280 | And he's like laughin', like, nah, I'm like, I'm serious.

00:12:55.960 | Like, you know, is there anything we could do?

00:12:57.360 | He was like, I mean, I'll call him.

00:12:59.400 | You wanna work out?

00:13:00.360 | And I was like, yeah, I'll work out for the Lakers.

00:13:03.040 | So, I ended up workin' out for the Lakers

00:13:05.160 | my very first workout.

00:13:06.840 | - For real, 'cause you wanted to play with Kobe.

00:13:08.240 | - Yeah.

00:13:09.080 | - And y'all was the same position.

00:13:10.040 | - Yep, so check it out.

00:13:11.920 | So, we do the workout, Phil comes in there,

00:13:15.880 | and he sits on his little Bosio ball,

00:13:17.480 | and he's, you know, he's watchin' the workout.

00:13:19.600 | Craig Hodges ends up workin' me out.

00:13:20.960 | I was juiced, I'm like, Craig Hodges from the Bulls?

00:13:23.320 | So, you know, I was like, man, this is crazy,

00:13:26.080 | just bein' in here.

00:13:26.960 | So, we end up workin' out, and, you know,

00:13:29.160 | I'd worked out really well.

00:13:30.400 | I worked out, I think, with Aaron Oflalo,

00:13:32.160 | and we ended up goin' up to the back,

00:13:34.800 | and I met with, you know, Mitch Kupchak and Phil,

00:13:36.840 | and they were like, all right, so let's just get to it.

00:13:39.720 | Like, why are you workin' out for the Lakers?

00:13:41.200 | And I was like, man, I think me and Kobe can play together.

00:13:44.080 | You know, and at that time, that's when the Lakers had,

00:13:46.320 | you know, lost Shaq, and then the Heat,

00:13:48.640 | so I was like, man, I gotta get my guy, Kobe, back on top.

00:13:50.920 | (laughing)

00:13:51.760 | - Man, that's crazy.

00:13:52.600 | - And I never even, I hadn't met him yet at that point,

00:13:55.040 | but I went to all the Laker games at that playoff series.

00:13:58.920 | I was there, and he made the shot against Phoenix.

00:14:01.040 | - For real.

00:14:01.880 | - And, you know, I was, yeah, my agent's like,

00:14:03.560 | man, you know you gotta play 'em next year, right?

00:14:05.640 | So you can't be, you can't be sittin' here.

00:14:08.080 | - Yeah.

00:14:09.040 | - You know, yellin' and screamin'.

00:14:10.080 | I wore my Kobe jersey.

00:14:11.200 | I was like, I'm gonna play 'em if I have to.

00:14:13.560 | I might be a Laker, you don't know.

00:14:14.920 | You know, it hurt a lot to hear that he had passed,

00:14:17.160 | because he meant a lot, you know, just to me,

00:14:18.680 | and just basketball, period.

00:14:20.680 | - Man, I remember when that happened,

00:14:21.920 | I was sittin' in the locker room.

00:14:23.520 | We was about to play a game, they canceled it,

00:14:25.480 | and I couldn't believe it.

00:14:26.640 | - Yeah.

00:14:27.480 | - So, like, when you, when that quote came out,

00:14:30.480 | where Kobe, they interview him, and they was like,

00:14:32.200 | who's the best player, you gotta guard,

00:14:34.560 | and they said, like, Brandon Roy.

00:14:37.120 | Do you remember when that was, and like, what year?

00:14:38.960 | Do you remember what year that was for you?

00:14:40.320 | - Yeah, that would've been my third year.

00:14:41.840 | That would've been my third year.

00:14:43.640 | I think we was playin' Houston in the playoffs.

00:14:46.040 | And I'm like, I was happy, 'cause I was like,

00:14:48.480 | yeah, Kobe said that, but also, I'm like,

00:14:51.080 | man, you puttin' a bullseye on my back,

00:14:52.960 | with Ron Artest, so.

00:14:54.520 | - But Ron Artest said it too, though.

00:14:55.800 | - Yeah, but, you know, I didn't take it, like,

00:14:58.440 | in a bad way, I took it like, that's big time.

00:15:02.000 | And, you know, Portland's in a smaller market,

00:15:05.760 | so when somebody like Kobe said that,

00:15:07.880 | you kinda gotta look up, like, is Brandon Roy

00:15:09.960 | really that good?

00:15:10.800 | Like, why are these dudes sayin' that about him?

00:15:13.240 | And I took it like, I'ma make sure I try to live up to that.

00:15:18.000 | - Right.

00:15:18.840 | - But it is a situation where, you know,

00:15:20.960 | I'm not a big, you know, media guy,

00:15:24.800 | to where I do a lot of media stuff, and a lot of promotions.

00:15:28.160 | So, you know, I remember goin' back east,

00:15:30.720 | and, you know, the media was like, well, you know,

00:15:33.320 | New York fans don't really know who you are,

00:15:35.320 | and, you know, but a lot of players speak highly of you.

00:15:38.440 | And I was like, that's fine with me,

00:15:39.960 | because I'm not really goin' after the,

00:15:42.080 | long as when I step between the lines,

00:15:43.560 | a guy respects me, or, you know, approves of me,

00:15:46.440 | then that's all that really matters.

00:15:47.760 | But, yeah, no, that was, you know,

00:15:50.080 | that was like the icing on the cake, you know, for Kobe.

00:15:53.040 | It's not often that, I don't care in what profession

00:15:55.480 | that, you know, you're in, that, you know,

00:15:57.440 | the guy you idol that is at the highest level in the sport,

00:16:01.560 | gives you, you know, that kind of a compliment.

00:16:03.840 | So, I definitely knew what he meant by it, you know,

00:16:07.600 | because, you know, when we talk, you know,

00:16:09.440 | he's just like, man, you know, you have counters,

00:16:11.680 | you know, you can tell, you adjust.

00:16:14.160 | If a guy tried to take this away, you'll do somethin' else.

00:16:17.160 | And Ron Artest pretty much said the same thing.

00:16:19.480 | So, I just took it as like, you know,

00:16:21.000 | validation to a lot of my hard work,

00:16:23.440 | to always tryin' to go in the gym and get better.

00:16:26.360 | Because, you know how it is in this game, man.

00:16:29.080 | Dudes are smart, there's a lot of smart players,

00:16:31.640 | there's a lot of smart coaches,

00:16:33.320 | and they're watchin' you goin',

00:16:35.240 | how can we take somethin' from him?

00:16:37.360 | And I've always tried to keep addin' and addin'.

00:16:39.120 | As long as my body physically would let me,

00:16:41.480 | I thought that, you know, I could, you know,

00:16:43.680 | just keep improving, because, you know.

00:16:45.920 | So, that was, that was cool, man.

00:16:48.160 | I mean, I don't even wanna, it was better than cool,

00:16:50.640 | because, you know, I don't think people

00:16:51.960 | would really understand how much that meant to me,

00:16:53.640 | for him to say that, and to publicly say it.

00:16:57.120 | Like, you know, like, who's the hardest player?

00:16:59.840 | I was like, wow, you know, and then Ron Artest is awesome,

00:17:02.440 | 'cause those are both good defenders.

00:17:04.040 | - Exactly.

00:17:04.880 | - Like, you know, I've had my struggles with Ron.

00:17:06.800 | You know, dude's a, he's strong, he's physical,

00:17:10.400 | and a lot of times, I try to use my weight,

00:17:13.720 | or my size, to get guys.

00:17:15.520 | And I had to learn with Ron, I was like,

00:17:17.440 | man, I gotta try to out-quick him,

00:17:19.000 | 'cause he's too strong to be tryin'

00:17:20.880 | to go up against all day long.

00:17:22.320 | I'd be tired, and then he had really quick hands.

00:17:25.000 | Like, Ron had really, really quick hands,

00:17:26.840 | so I had to protect the ball,

00:17:28.320 | try to attack his feet a little more.

00:17:29.720 | So, all that stuff is just me bein' a fan of it,

00:17:32.920 | and just tryin' to, just really win the dang game.

00:17:36.560 | You know, it's like, you know, you work so hard,

00:17:39.400 | you're like, man, I wanna get over the hump,

00:17:40.480 | get over the hump, and in order to get over the hump,

00:17:42.120 | you gotta be somebody pretty good,

00:17:43.800 | or go after somebody pretty good.

00:17:45.960 | - You ain't lyin'.

00:17:46.880 | Shoot, like you said, you kept adding and adding,

00:17:50.160 | and kept getting better year after year,

00:17:52.000 | and that's, like, you took that compliment

00:17:54.040 | as a testament to your hard work.

00:17:56.080 | I wanted to ask you, like, I remember you,

00:17:57.760 | you talked to me about this one time,

00:17:59.120 | but your game day routine, like,

00:18:00.960 | so, like, we gonna talk about the lifestyle stuff

00:18:03.520 | off the court, what you like to do,

00:18:04.880 | but on the court, what was your, like, motto?

00:18:07.520 | Did you, like, was it the same thing every day,

00:18:09.720 | and kinda, like, walk me through

00:18:10.680 | what a game day would be like for you?

00:18:12.000 | - Yeah, so, college is different, you know,

00:18:14.560 | 'cause college is always a little more team-oriented,

00:18:16.880 | but professionally, my game day usually always went with,

00:18:20.560 | like, I would wake up, but I wouldn't eat

00:18:23.120 | before I left the house, I would go to shoot-around first,

00:18:26.040 | and then I usually try to eat right after shoot-around.

00:18:28.040 | So, wake up, shoot-around, depending on what's ache,

00:18:32.400 | you know, aches and pains, it would depend

00:18:34.360 | on how early I would go before.

00:18:36.320 | And also, depending on how deep into the season,

00:18:38.840 | if I wanted to lift, I would always try to lift,

00:18:41.120 | usually a little closer to game time,

00:18:42.800 | 'cause I wanted to feel a little stronger going into it.

00:18:45.720 | So, my mornings was really chill,

00:18:47.880 | and I would almost even tell my body, like,

00:18:50.880 | I'm gonna be relaxed until about four o'clock,

00:18:53.560 | 'til kinda getting up and getting my shower in.

00:18:56.360 | So, we'll do shoot-around, then I would eat,

00:18:59.360 | then when I go home, you know, I have my son,

00:19:02.400 | I think my, end of my rookie year,

00:19:04.240 | so I would always try to play with him

00:19:06.120 | on home games in between.

00:19:07.600 | And then it's like, all right, now I'm gonna take my nap.

00:19:09.720 | I might have played one or two basketball games ever

00:19:13.360 | from high school on without taking my nap.

00:19:16.080 | - For real?

00:19:16.920 | - And it throws me off in the worst way.

00:19:18.240 | It's like, if I don't get my nap and my shower,

00:19:20.440 | I just do not feel like the same person.

00:19:22.200 | I feel like I'm exhausted.

00:19:23.440 | It's like, damn, I feel so tired out here.

00:19:25.840 | And it's like, man.

00:19:26.960 | So, I would always do my nap, I get a pre-game nap.

00:19:30.680 | Then for my pre-game nap, I wake up,

00:19:32.280 | and then I put on whatever music I got.

00:19:33.960 | If I'm on the road, I put my thing on the little speaker,

00:19:36.480 | play music.

00:19:37.320 | If I'm at home, I got my music ready, blast it, shower,

00:19:40.920 | start getting into my groove, getting my body going.

00:19:43.920 | And then early in my career, I would drive to the games.

00:19:47.880 | Later, I didn't wanna drive.

00:19:49.080 | I was just like, nah, I wanna just sit in the car and ride

00:19:51.040 | 'cause traffic picked up in Portland a lot.

00:19:52.800 | So, I was like, man, I'm gonna be in the car for an hour.

00:19:55.400 | Nah, I'm bumping cuts, changing songs.

00:19:57.520 | You know what I mean?

00:19:58.920 | Last minute tickets here or there,

00:20:01.320 | talking to mom and dad last few minutes.

00:20:03.120 | And then I get to the arena, I would try to go in

00:20:07.640 | and get shots early before the court fill up.

00:20:10.360 | You know, you got the times where certain dudes come in.

00:20:12.760 | And shit, I'd go out to the court.

00:20:15.120 | And we talked about it.

00:20:16.040 | I just tell you the biggest thing is listening to your body.

00:20:18.720 | If I felt really tired, I would just tell whichever coach

00:20:22.800 | I was working out with that year or that time,

00:20:24.720 | like, I'm a little tired, but I wanna work on this.

00:20:28.080 | I feel like last night, I didn't feel good

00:20:30.120 | shooting my pull-up.

00:20:31.000 | Or, you know, this team loads up a lot.

00:20:33.600 | So, I know they're gonna double the markets.

00:20:35.360 | I might get some open threes.

00:20:36.600 | So, you know, let's get some touch on that.

00:20:38.840 | And then I try to work on a sweat.

00:20:40.200 | You know, I'll go good for about,

00:20:42.800 | I might be out there for 30 minutes,

00:20:44.360 | but 15, 10 to 15 minutes, I'm like,

00:20:46.600 | okay, I'm gonna work up a lot just to get a feel.

00:20:49.400 | I wanna get a feel for the arena, the ball,

00:20:51.160 | you know, all that stuff.

00:20:52.440 | You know, I don't know about you,

00:20:53.280 | but all that stuff seems to matter to me.

00:20:54.520 | It's like, damn, what ball we playing with tonight?

00:20:56.760 | Like, 'cause some of 'em are bad

00:20:58.040 | and then some of 'em are, like, damn, that feels plush.

00:21:00.280 | So, for me, it was like, all right,

00:21:02.280 | once I got that feeling,

00:21:04.080 | I was going back to the locker room

00:21:05.240 | and shit, I was kicking my feet up.

00:21:07.280 | - For real?

00:21:08.120 | - Yep, I kicked my feet up going to training room,

00:21:10.520 | messing around with Jay Jensen,

00:21:13.160 | all the guys in there, rank joke.

00:21:16.000 | I play better the looser I am.

00:21:18.440 | - Yeah, and I'm the same way.

00:21:19.280 | - Yeah, you know, I kinda like to take my mind off of it.

00:21:21.320 | Me and Nate had had that conversation.

00:21:23.040 | You know, he was like,

00:21:24.800 | the locker room kinda follows your mood.

00:21:26.920 | You know, he's like, I'm the type of dude, I'm serious.

00:21:28.880 | So, when Nate come in, Nate's like real,

00:21:30.840 | he's the coolest dude, he just looks serious all the time.

00:21:34.520 | So, he was like, but you, you know,

00:21:37.200 | I hear you talking and, you know, kinda goofing off.

00:21:40.120 | Conversation ain't got nothing to do with the game.

00:21:42.000 | We might watch another game, being on the West Coast.

00:21:43.960 | We get all the East Coast games to be on.

00:21:46.840 | And then I'll just kick back and, you know,

00:21:48.600 | clown around again until I tell my mind,

00:21:50.280 | all right, around, you know, 20 minutes before tip,

00:21:52.240 | Nate'll probably do a speech.

00:21:53.400 | And then that's when I'll start to tap back into,

00:21:56.000 | all right, this is what we gotta do.

00:21:57.280 | So, again, it was always a shower.

00:21:59.320 | It was always a nap.

00:22:00.680 | And then, as far as how I worked out,

00:22:03.160 | which is depending on how my body felt, you know,

00:22:04.920 | if I felt like I had a lot of energy,

00:22:06.440 | I would go harder because I play better

00:22:09.200 | when I'm a little tired, you know?

00:22:11.280 | Yeah, people would always ask like,

00:22:12.640 | why you play good in the fourth quarter?

00:22:14.040 | I'm like, 'cause finally it seemed like

00:22:15.080 | my body settled down.

00:22:16.240 | Or like towards the end of the second quarter, you know,

00:22:19.440 | we had games where I didn't even wanna shoot early

00:22:22.480 | 'cause I felt a little too jacked up.

00:22:24.080 | So, I swing it, you know,

00:22:25.360 | try to come out and get some stops, play defense.

00:22:28.080 | Coach Monte was the one to tell me

00:22:29.760 | I had went through a struggle early my rookie year

00:22:32.360 | and I was already playing well.

00:22:33.720 | And then I just went on like a dive.

00:22:36.000 | I just couldn't seem to mentally figure it out.

00:22:38.240 | So, we first started at the free throw line.

00:22:40.080 | He was like, you know, you never look at the free throw.

00:22:41.960 | He said, you always dribble, dribble,

00:22:43.160 | but you never look at the rim.

00:22:44.640 | He said, start looking at the rim more.

00:22:45.960 | I was like, all right.

00:22:46.800 | So, I started picking his brain more and more

00:22:48.320 | about other little stuff, you know, inside of the game.

00:22:52.280 | And he's the one that really helped me, you know,

00:22:55.080 | kinda evolve, not just being a player,

00:22:57.560 | but mentally thinking like, hey, go ahead.

00:22:59.880 | It's okay to think about it or visualize it

00:23:01.520 | before you actually, you know, go out there and do it.

00:23:03.520 | So, that was really cool to have him there

00:23:05.800 | to give me a lot of those small pointers.

00:23:08.480 | - That's dope.

00:23:09.520 | And then off the court, you've always been a real chill dude.

00:23:13.320 | I mean, you know, I've been around you a lot,

00:23:15.280 | be around Dell a lot, telling me stories.

00:23:17.680 | How was your, some dudes get in the league

00:23:19.920 | and they like to wild out, go out all the time, spend money.

00:23:22.480 | Dell, say, you just be chilling.

00:23:24.360 | Like, what was your, how did you like to, you know,

00:23:27.320 | be off the court during those years?

00:23:29.040 | - Yeah, so I would say it's balance.

00:23:32.320 | Some of it is like, I have my son in my rookie year.

00:23:35.120 | So, I never really just had that time to say,

00:23:38.080 | okay, life about me right now.

00:23:40.000 | 'Cause it's like, once he came, I'm like,

00:23:42.080 | all right, I gotta focus on that.

00:23:44.480 | But I also set the bar high for myself with basketball.

00:23:48.680 | So now I'm going, man, I wanna come back

00:23:52.520 | and get that kind of attention and praise more next year.

00:23:56.400 | You know, being rookie of the year was like great,

00:23:58.440 | but now it's like, so that kept me focused.

00:24:00.880 | It kept me grounded.

00:24:02.080 | And, you know, like most people,

00:24:04.000 | I think it's always good to have your fun.

00:24:07.080 | But for me, it was always, you know,

00:24:09.160 | I was gonna put my family first

00:24:11.000 | and I was gonna put Portland first.

00:24:12.200 | It was like, you know, this is gonna take away from me,

00:24:15.400 | you know, taking us up this hill.

00:24:17.680 | Then I ain't gonna do it.

00:24:18.920 | So I was really focused in that way.

00:24:21.840 | And for the first time, I would say in my life,

00:24:23.880 | I was starting to get some attention.

00:24:26.160 | You know, I've always got it flown under the radar.

00:24:28.040 | People go, he's good.

00:24:29.240 | I like him a lot, but nobody really knew me.

00:24:31.280 | So it was like cool to kind of start getting that attention

00:24:33.640 | and then I didn't wanna let it go.

00:24:35.320 | So off the court, you know,

00:24:36.640 | I've always been big on like going to movies,

00:24:39.040 | doing family stuff.

00:24:40.800 | I mean, I like my fun time too.

00:24:42.600 | You know, I just try to be private with it.

00:24:45.280 | And I think, you know, people can do what they want.

00:24:48.160 | But for me, I like to be a little more private

00:24:50.400 | just because it's not really everybody's business.

00:24:52.440 | But yeah, I like to have fun too.

00:24:54.200 | You know, I just do it in a private form.

00:24:58.240 | But other than that, man, I'm like, I'm chill, dude.

00:25:01.080 | I think I was watching one of your episodes.

00:25:04.920 | You said you could just go away for a year

00:25:06.560 | and just get off everything.

00:25:08.320 | And I'm like, man, I can really do that.

00:25:10.640 | Hard part for it now is you'll see

00:25:12.960 | is your kids got stuff going.

00:25:14.560 | - Yeah.

00:25:15.400 | - You know, it's like, I'm like,

00:25:16.920 | if I go run away and disappear, I'll be happy.

00:25:19.280 | But it's like, damn, I gotta go back to first day of school.

00:25:21.240 | Oh damn, my kid got a game, you know?

00:25:22.920 | So it really becomes impossible to do it.

00:25:25.840 | So you gotta learn how to do it in spurts.

00:25:27.520 | - Yeah.

00:25:28.360 | - And that's how I learned how to do it.

00:25:29.200 | It's just always taking my time

00:25:31.320 | and, you know, never feeling rushed for it.

00:25:33.120 | So, and then when it's stuff I gotta do for the kids,

00:25:36.360 | you know, I gotta, of course,

00:25:37.560 | always just be a father for them.

00:25:38.720 | But I'm chill, man.

00:25:40.120 | I could disappear.

00:25:41.280 | I'm fine with nobody, you know, mentioning me.

00:25:43.760 | I'm the same way as you, bro.

00:25:44.920 | - Yeah, not wrong with it.

00:25:46.400 | - Man, one time we talked about,

00:25:48.000 | I want to bring this up, Greg Oden.

00:25:50.680 | Because I seen a video on Instagram

00:25:53.400 | and it was just a video of him.

00:25:54.600 | I don't know if you've seen him walking around

00:25:56.240 | and like a lady, an old lady just asked him,

00:25:58.680 | "Did you used to play basketball?"

00:26:00.000 | And it was like, he said, "I used to."

00:26:02.600 | And he was just like, you could just see how sad he was.

00:26:04.480 | - Yeah, I've seen that.

00:26:05.320 | - But me and you have talked about Greg Oden

00:26:07.440 | and how good and dominant he actually was.

00:26:10.720 | Like even in the practices with you,

00:26:11.960 | he was obviously one of the best players.

00:26:13.880 | So talk about that dude for a little bit.

00:26:15.080 | - Yeah, man, Greg, no, I'm glad you even asked me about him.

00:26:18.080 | Like you said, I always speak about him,

00:26:20.400 | but, you know, never with much of an audience.

00:26:23.920 | So that's cool of you to even think about him.

00:26:26.480 | But, you know, you were a reason why I did think of him

00:26:29.440 | because, you know, when I got to the Blazers,

00:26:32.200 | Greg came in a year after I did.

00:26:34.120 | And man, I remember I was the,

00:26:38.240 | I had just won Rookie of the Year,

00:26:40.200 | and I think it was Kevin Pitcher was like,

00:26:43.280 | "Man, you want to do the draft lottery?"

00:26:45.480 | And I was like, "No."

00:26:46.840 | 'Cause he knows I don't like to fly and travel,

00:26:49.080 | especially, you know, my off season.

00:26:51.400 | He's like, "Nah, I ain't asking this time.

00:26:52.800 | "You gotta do it, come on, B.

00:26:54.200 | "You gotta be our good luck charm."

00:26:55.280 | And I'm like, "Man, all right, but I'm gonna fly there,

00:26:58.600 | "and I'm gonna fly right back."

00:26:59.680 | He's like, "All right, done."

00:27:00.600 | So I ended up going out there.

00:27:02.160 | And we knew who it was.

00:27:03.080 | It was like, if you're number one or two,

00:27:05.240 | you're gonna take Durant or Oden.

00:27:07.800 | So, but we were gonna be like seven.

00:27:10.360 | So I was thinking like, "All right, whatever."

00:27:12.640 | Man, and I get there,

00:27:13.720 | and we ended up getting the number one pick.

00:27:16.680 | And I was like, "Oh, man, I am the good luck charm."

00:27:19.120 | So I joke around, and to this day,

00:27:21.480 | I still got the jersey that they gave that day

00:27:23.840 | where Blazer was number one pick.

00:27:25.400 | I don't know if they know that, but I kept that.

00:27:27.480 | So I was going through some stuff the other day,

00:27:30.160 | and I had seen it.

00:27:31.040 | But, you know, we get the number one pick,

00:27:34.040 | and people are asking all these questions.

00:27:35.640 | But before I went on,

00:27:36.480 | our media person was like, "Don't tell anybody

00:27:38.680 | "who we're picking or if we're leaning."

00:27:39.880 | I'm like, "Yes."

00:27:40.720 | I give the whole, you know, what you call it,

00:27:43.800 | public answer or whatever they call it.

00:27:47.400 | So I ended up getting back to Portland,

00:27:49.080 | and I'm thinking like, "Well, who are we gonna take?"

00:27:50.680 | 'Cause now everybody's texting, you know?

00:27:52.400 | It ain't social media.

00:27:53.240 | Everybody's like, "Well, who are you guys gonna take,

00:27:54.440 | "Kevin Durant or Greg Oden?"

00:27:56.600 | And, you know, everything that I'm gonna say

00:27:59.560 | about Greg Oden is not taking anything away

00:28:01.760 | from Kevin Durant.

00:28:03.080 | Kevin Durant is, you know, again,

00:28:05.040 | he's on that level of guys where, you know,

00:28:07.440 | my favorites are, you know,

00:28:08.800 | Jordan, Kobe, Kevin Durant.

00:28:10.520 | He's in that conversation.

00:28:12.200 | So, but Greg Oden, man, when I seen him,

00:28:15.960 | and you gotta remember, this is a different NBA now.

00:28:18.480 | You know, you still post up.

00:28:19.640 | You know, you still play with the big.

00:28:21.400 | So, long story short, we end up drafting Greg,

00:28:26.080 | and we're having like, you know, these workouts.

00:28:29.040 | And we're doing like football stuff,

00:28:31.440 | and we're out in the field.

00:28:32.960 | Man, we was doing 100 yard down and backs,

00:28:35.000 | and, you know, Greg and LaMarcus are like,

00:28:37.400 | they're winning,

00:28:38.240 | and these dudes are the tallest players on the team.

00:28:40.000 | Like, he could run.

00:28:40.960 | Like, he could run.

00:28:42.200 | And then, when we got in the open gym,

00:28:44.280 | whoever's team Greg was on was gonna win,

00:28:48.200 | 'cause you know how it is.

00:28:50.040 | Like, man, we're all good,

00:28:51.400 | but it comes down to those, like, you know,

00:28:54.840 | couple plays here and there,

00:28:56.040 | and Greg could defend better than just about anybody,

00:28:59.960 | and then he can get offensive rebounds.

00:29:01.800 | He kept every ball alive.

00:29:03.160 | So, I was like, man.

00:29:05.360 | And I remember calling my dad.

00:29:06.360 | He was like, you know, how good is he?

00:29:07.680 | I was like, oh, we could win a championship.

00:29:10.280 | Like, for the first time in my life,

00:29:12.920 | playing with him, I was like,

00:29:14.920 | we could win a championship.

00:29:16.480 | He was that good.

00:29:17.320 | And I'm not saying we could win, like, that year,

00:29:20.160 | but having him on the team,

00:29:21.880 | we had everything we needed to win a championship,

00:29:25.080 | because he filled a lot of those holes.

00:29:27.560 | And I was like, man, he was that good.

00:29:29.720 | I mean, once he got comfortable in games,

00:29:32.040 | I was telling Nate, I'm like, I don't know.

00:29:35.320 | I'm kind of bored, 'cause Greg does so much.

00:29:37.600 | Even defensively, you know, I'm guarding dudes,

00:29:40.760 | and, you know, our help defense don't have to really help,

00:29:43.320 | 'cause he helps everything.

00:29:45.160 | So, I started, like, learning, like,

00:29:46.520 | okay, so I'm gonna leak out.

00:29:47.680 | I started getting more transition stuff,

00:29:49.120 | 'cause I'm like, Greg's gonna get the board.

00:29:51.360 | And offensively, he gets tips.

00:29:53.440 | He just tips.

00:29:54.280 | It doesn't matter.

00:29:55.120 | He's pushing dudes, just tipping the ball,

00:29:56.960 | keeping plays alive.

00:29:57.920 | We got second chance points.

00:29:59.480 | And I was like, man, he made the game so damn easy.

00:30:02.240 | And, I mean, LaMarcus had to figure out

00:30:03.960 | how to play with them, because, you know,

00:30:06.280 | even when he get post touches, man, they're doubling,

00:30:08.200 | so we're more open, and we're not used to being open.

00:30:10.440 | We're used to, like, having to, you know,

00:30:12.080 | carry the load to win games,

00:30:13.600 | and now we're winning games more comfortably.

00:30:16.120 | So, no, he was a special player,

00:30:20.080 | and I mean, I hate when people try to say stuff,

00:30:22.520 | you know, a bust, you know.

00:30:24.080 | He was injured, but if he was never injured,

00:30:27.040 | there's no way in hell he was a bust.

00:30:29.040 | I mean, he had a Hall of Fame talent.

00:30:32.200 | I mean, that kid was, he was good.

00:30:33.360 | He could shoot free throws with his left hand.

00:30:35.200 | He shoot 'em with his right.

00:30:36.680 | He had everything, and I just wish the world

00:30:38.480 | would've got a chance to see that.

00:30:41.200 | You know, he was that good.

00:30:42.440 | He was that good.

00:30:43.280 | He was an even better person, man.

00:30:44.600 | He would've loved to be his teammate.

00:30:46.480 | Cool as a fan, man.

00:30:47.520 | Best dude.

00:30:48.400 | I'm telling you, man, we were in Vegas.

00:30:50.080 | I went to Summer League, and, like I said,

00:30:52.960 | I just wanted rickety.

00:30:53.960 | I played really well, and, man, we were all down there

00:30:56.880 | playing the little dollar slots, clowning around,

00:30:58.640 | and, you know, people were coming up to us.

00:31:00.840 | Man, Greg came down to the lobby.

00:31:02.680 | Man, it was mayhem.

00:31:04.760 | People were going, I was like, we got the league.

00:31:06.920 | Security was like, man, we was gonna take you guys

00:31:08.360 | back to your rooms, 'cause people just went that crazy,

00:31:11.600 | and I was like, damn, he's that big.

00:31:13.720 | So it was real special to see Greg again.

00:31:17.200 | You know, Kevin Durant has blossomed to, you know,

00:31:20.000 | he's one of the best players to ever play the game,

00:31:22.600 | and then Greg Owen was right there with him.

00:31:24.320 | You know, they were, you know, again, like I said,

00:31:26.600 | even then, it was no who's better.

00:31:28.240 | It was just, you know, they're both gonna be great players.

00:31:31.480 | It's just a matter of what's gonna,

00:31:33.680 | or who you're gonna take, and that's what made it,

00:31:36.080 | that's what made it like, man, I just hate

00:31:37.520 | that the world couldn't see, you know,

00:31:39.640 | him at that Kevin Durant level, 'cause they would still,

00:31:42.040 | they would probably still be rivaling each other,

00:31:43.760 | you know what I mean, going at it,

00:31:45.120 | 'cause he could protect that basket,

00:31:46.880 | Kevin Durant could stretch the court,

00:31:48.240 | so, you know, I thought they had that kind of vibe.

00:31:52.080 | - Greg, actually, you know, I don't know

00:31:54.280 | if you had to do the rookie transitions back in the day.

00:31:56.040 | - Yeah, heck yeah, we did, man, it changed.

00:31:57.880 | - So, when I did mine, Greg came down there,

00:32:01.080 | and he gave his whole, you know,

00:32:03.320 | I think it was the first year he did it,

00:32:04.520 | he did a whole speech, and that's when I really like,

00:32:06.760 | I think I hollered at him after, just,

00:32:08.760 | man, I connected that, because I got injured,

00:32:10.800 | I didn't know at the time if I was ever gonna be the same,

00:32:13.200 | I wasn't playing at that time, and he was saying,

00:32:15.760 | kind of when he was talking to the whole group,

00:32:18.280 | like, about what happened after that, like,

00:32:20.560 | he got hurt, you know, and then eventually,

00:32:22.600 | he's out the league, and like, the toll that took on him,

00:32:25.400 | you know, he talked about, man, he just,

00:32:28.560 | he was in a down place, like,

00:32:29.800 | I think he said he went to the woods, you know,

00:32:31.520 | was just drinking too much, like, every day, like,

00:32:34.440 | - You could tell he was depressed.

00:32:35.800 | - Yeah, he was, you know, that obviously was a lot,

00:32:39.800 | and like, even for you, you went through these injuries,

00:32:43.400 | people talk about you could've been an all-time great,

00:32:45.400 | does any of that stuff ever, like, weigh on you

00:32:48.200 | the same way, and do you ever think about,

00:32:50.720 | kind of like, what could've been,

00:32:51.760 | or are you completely past all that?

00:32:53.640 | - You know, I would say compared to you and Greg,

00:32:56.240 | the way I look at it, it was,

00:32:57.360 | I was able to get the early years, so, you know,

00:33:00.920 | when it did come to that decision of saying, like,

00:33:04.400 | this is just getting too painful

00:33:05.640 | to keep trying to rehab and play through,

00:33:08.200 | I was older than where, you know, Greg was,

00:33:11.760 | and, you know, the thing I always felt bad for Greg,

00:33:15.920 | because, you know, again, we didn't have this,

00:33:18.760 | it wasn't the social media era,

00:33:21.400 | but the era we came in was,

00:33:23.400 | it was tough, because, you know,

00:33:24.600 | I think the country was in a recession,

00:33:26.640 | you know, they don't even feel right giving you money,

00:33:31.240 | you know, in the league, so it was like,

00:33:33.080 | we were under that scrutiny of,

00:33:35.760 | but are you really worth it, or, you know,

00:33:38.280 | every time the wind blows, you're hurt,

00:33:40.080 | so we had to deal with a lot of that media presence

00:33:43.160 | that can really wear on a person,

00:33:45.760 | so you can see it with Greg,

00:33:48.040 | because the media put 'em here,

00:33:49.840 | and then the media felt like they had to bring 'em here,

00:33:52.080 | and that was the disappointing part,

00:33:54.360 | our time that we lived in as players,

00:33:57.840 | it's like, you know, there was days where,

00:33:59.960 | you know, I was really in pain,

00:34:01.960 | but I didn't want to hear the radio shows,

00:34:04.760 | and people going, oh damn, he's hurt again,

00:34:06.800 | so I would try to play, and I would keep trying to play,

00:34:09.640 | because I didn't want to, you know,

00:34:11.200 | I didn't want to deal with the naysayers,

00:34:14.560 | and then you gotta deal with the side of contractual-wise,

00:34:19.480 | they're like, you gotta pull teeth to get contracts,

00:34:24.400 | you know, so, you know, and I had heard Trae Young say that,

00:34:28.960 | and he was right in a lot of ways

00:34:30.760 | that we didn't have the social media, you know,

00:34:33.080 | towards the end, when I was in, I think Portland, 2010,

00:34:36.480 | you know, I was in a playoff game,

00:34:39.000 | and I think I played like five, six minutes,

00:34:41.000 | and, you know, I think it was Patty Mills,

00:34:43.120 | and they were looking through like their Twitters,

00:34:44.680 | and I was just like, what they say about me?

00:34:48.320 | Fans was just going in on me,

00:34:49.720 | I was like, damn, how y'all do that?

00:34:51.040 | Like, how do you guys read it?

00:34:53.440 | - I can't, to this day, I don't do it.

00:34:55.080 | - I would be ticked, and I'm thinking in my head,

00:34:57.080 | like, man, I only played six minutes,

00:34:59.040 | how will I upload a damn gig?

00:35:00.320 | But, you know, so, but then I kind of caught myself

00:35:03.600 | in understanding where young kids now, you know,

00:35:06.400 | you guys always got that, that everybody has access

00:35:09.840 | to tell you what you look like, so, for me, you know,

00:35:14.040 | I always just tried to, you know, block it out,

00:35:17.840 | but I definitely understand, you know,

00:35:19.520 | where he's coming from, but, you know, it's also,

00:35:21.800 | in our era, it's like, you know,

00:35:23.760 | I was a three-time All-Star before my second contract,

00:35:28.040 | and, you know, my negotiations was hard as hell,

00:35:30.480 | because, you know, you got owners losing money,

00:35:32.240 | you got everybody, and, where now, you know,

00:35:34.320 | I see dudes making, you know, double the money,

00:35:37.000 | and never really, you know, they're just still getting seen

00:35:39.880 | as the potential, and every era are gonna argue about

00:35:44.080 | which is harder, which is tougher,

00:35:45.680 | I just try to get advice to, you know, master your time,

00:35:48.640 | don't worry about what our era was talking about,

00:35:50.760 | you know, 'cause I'm sure I didn't go through

00:35:53.360 | as much as what guys did in the '90s,

00:35:55.040 | I just have a lot of appreciation for what they went through,

00:35:58.240 | so we was able to get more, you know,

00:36:00.080 | and then the next generation gets more,

00:36:01.680 | so that's how I just always pay it forward,

00:36:03.960 | because there'll be something the next generation

00:36:05.840 | will go through that you guys don't,

00:36:07.760 | try to explain to them what they're not seeing,

00:36:10.000 | so it's not never about looking backwards,

00:36:11.800 | it's always looking forward, but that was just kind of a,

00:36:15.560 | you know, what Greg had to go through in our generation,

00:36:19.000 | you know, it's like, then you can see the pressure

00:36:21.720 | from the general managers and coaches,

00:36:23.840 | it's like, well, you know, we gotta stick with 'em,

00:36:26.200 | you know, we gotta stick with 'em,

00:36:27.920 | and Greg felt that, you know, insecurity of maybe

00:36:30.200 | if they wanted to, or did they have to,

00:36:32.360 | 'cause we took 'em one, and then you got Kevin Rant,

00:36:35.200 | becoming one of the best players in the world,

00:36:37.400 | so he always had to deal with that,

00:36:38.840 | so I always felt bad for him, because he was a good dude,

00:36:41.400 | if he was a jerk, I think you wouldn't care,

00:36:43.320 | but he was a really good dude,

00:36:45.400 | so I was, you know, again, I was happy you asked that,

00:36:49.200 | you know, he was gonna be, he was on his way

00:36:51.560 | to being an All-NBA player.

00:36:53.000 | - That's dope.

00:36:54.760 | So more as advice for, like, younger dudes,

00:36:57.280 | but going through everything you went through,

00:36:59.760 | what would you have done different,

00:37:01.720 | as far as, like, listening to your body

00:37:03.240 | before all the injuries, like, what,

00:37:05.200 | if you could go back, like, what would you do different

00:37:08.160 | than you did?

00:37:09.000 | - Yeah, I mean, of course I would listen to my body,

00:37:14.560 | you know, I try to tell people, you know,

00:37:15.920 | because of our, you know, what do they call it, air,

00:37:20.040 | we had to, we had to play through some stuff,

00:37:22.840 | you know, it was like, we couldn't just say,

00:37:24.880 | look, I'm just gonna take this time and get my body right,

00:37:27.840 | you know, you wasn't gonna get the money you wanted,

00:37:29.760 | neither, so, you know, in order to change, like,

00:37:32.760 | that part of it, we would have to change a lot of things,

00:37:35.200 | but I would say that the one thing

00:37:36.800 | that I would have changed was how I prepared.

00:37:41.760 | I always, like, wanted to go and prepare

00:37:43.680 | as far as play basketball,

00:37:45.520 | and I would have put more time into, you know,

00:37:48.320 | what I think, you know, a lot of younger guys

00:37:50.080 | do really well, you know, like yourself,

00:37:52.000 | is you guys put a lot of time into your bodies,

00:37:54.280 | as in, you know, sometimes you go to the gym

00:37:56.520 | and you don't hoop yet, you just do a lot of stretching,

00:37:58.920 | lifting, just, I would have really focused

00:38:01.520 | on that area of it, where I was a dude to,

00:38:04.120 | you know, I'll go in the gym and I'll do my lift,

00:38:07.400 | but then there's, like, I wanna get on the court

00:38:08.680 | and start doing some court stuff,

00:38:10.040 | where I would have changed that part,

00:38:11.400 | I would have probably put a lot more into, you know,

00:38:14.760 | I had a chef, but then it was like,

00:38:16.120 | man, I don't really know if I really needed a chef,

00:38:19.040 | I would have been more committed to that part of it.

00:38:22.000 | - Yeah, but there wasn't as much research

00:38:24.120 | and as much, like--

00:38:25.320 | - And they were trying, they were trying, though, Mike,

00:38:27.400 | I mean, I will say, like, we put a lot of, you know,

00:38:30.400 | especially with being hurt and then Greg being hurt,

00:38:32.160 | you know, we brought in a lot of people

00:38:34.200 | to really try to focus on those things,

00:38:35.720 | it's just we weren't, we weren't used to it,

00:38:39.400 | we weren't used to putting that much effort into something,

00:38:42.840 | you know, we weren't, you know,

00:38:44.320 | the research and the effort that they brought to us,

00:38:48.000 | we weren't into it, it was like,

00:38:49.720 | that's just not what we do, you know,

00:38:51.320 | and I think it's, you know,

00:38:52.560 | if you go back to the era before us,

00:38:54.360 | it's like, man, all that rehab and stuff,

00:38:56.160 | it's just, let's hoop, you know,

00:38:58.160 | so that's where I would have really focused on,

00:39:00.760 | I think young guys already do it, you know,

00:39:03.240 | focus on your bodies, you know,

00:39:04.360 | look for your body to be able to play until it's 40,

00:39:07.960 | you know, and whatever it takes, be into it,

00:39:10.640 | like be into, you know, nutrition,

00:39:13.080 | be into, you know, you should be able to teach

00:39:15.200 | strength and conditioning, you know,

00:39:16.480 | by the time you're 30 years old,

00:39:18.000 | because you're just, you got to really adapt

00:39:19.800 | and to get into it, to where as players, you know,

00:39:22.040 | I tried to really adapt to, you know,

00:39:24.040 | how their coach gonna think, you know,

00:39:25.640 | what's their scout gonna say about me,

00:39:27.200 | and I should have did more of that

00:39:28.840 | in the, into taking care of my body,

00:39:30.920 | I should have really just been like,

00:39:32.240 | man, I know my body really well,

00:39:35.640 | I'm eating better, you know, more consistently,

00:39:38.040 | just really buying into the, into the taking care of,

00:39:41.400 | you know, what's gonna, you know, provide for me,

00:39:44.960 | so I wish I would have did that better,

00:39:48.160 | you know, and not do it better,

00:39:49.640 | I wish I would have been more into it,

00:39:51.120 | and I think that would have gave me, you know,

00:39:53.600 | more years in coming into the league, being into that.

00:39:57.400 | - Right, right, right.

00:39:58.240 | - My summers was like, all right, cool,

00:39:59.600 | we're gonna hoop, we're gonna work out,

00:40:01.440 | I didn't really lift a lot during the summers,

00:40:03.480 | and then, you know, I started to do it

00:40:05.040 | once I had more injuries, I started to try to catch up,

00:40:07.520 | but by then, sometimes it just feels like it's too late,

00:40:09.960 | so I wish I'd have came in a little bit more

00:40:11.840 | ahead of the curve in taking care of my body.

00:40:14.120 | - That makes sense, yeah, I definitely think

00:40:16.000 | it's more of an emphasis now,

00:40:17.520 | a lot of it is 'cause of the guys' careers got cut short.

00:40:21.520 | - Yeah.

00:40:22.360 | - But man, off the court, like, off of the NBA stuff,

00:40:26.000 | you, I mean, the last few years,

00:40:27.640 | you obviously coached me for that year, Nathan Hale,

00:40:30.200 | you've coached Garfield a couple times,

00:40:32.120 | you've coached three years, three state championships,

00:40:34.720 | but like, now, what does life look like for you,

00:40:37.760 | and what are you really up to these days?

00:40:39.720 | - Yeah, well, you know, I'll first say, you know,

00:40:42.200 | thanks to you, basketball coaches have been good,

00:40:45.440 | you know, I think it's no secret, you know,

00:40:50.080 | that team that we had, you know, helped, you know,

00:40:52.800 | my coaching, so, you know, when I first was like,

00:40:56.520 | okay, do I wanna coach?

00:40:58.120 | You know, I kinda avoided it for years,

00:40:59.920 | I wanted to be around basketball,

00:41:01.680 | so, I'm like, man, I think I wanna coach.

00:41:05.560 | I finally just said, all right, Brandon,

00:41:07.000 | you're gonna have to get out of your comfort zone,

00:41:08.480 | and you can't be a player forever,

00:41:10.840 | but there's nothing wrong with being a coach.

00:41:12.680 | So I had talked to Coach Romar,

00:41:14.440 | I picked his brain about a lot of stuff,

00:41:16.640 | and the one thing I wanted to know was,

00:41:19.140 | does it feel as good being a coach

00:41:20.640 | as it does a player in good games?

00:41:23.720 | And he understood what I was trying to ask,

00:41:26.360 | he's like, man, when I play and I go home

00:41:27.960 | after I played and we did good, it's like, yeah.

00:41:30.480 | I'm like, do you feel good like that as a coach?

00:41:32.560 | 'Cause you didn't play. - What'd he say?

00:41:34.320 | - He said, no, it's not like that, but it's close.

00:41:39.320 | And he said, do you understand that?

00:41:42.200 | I was like, yeah, he said, it's close.

00:41:44.400 | So, coaching you was cool because, you know,

00:41:49.280 | when you play in the NBA, you're around talented players,

00:41:51.720 | so it's like, man, I gotta go to high school,

00:41:53.200 | I gotta kinda, you know, I don't wanna say dumb you down,

00:41:57.520 | but the players aren't as good.

00:41:59.920 | But when I seen you, I'm like,

00:42:01.240 | ah, this is like coaching a pro.

00:42:02.800 | So, I was happy about that,

00:42:04.920 | but I was also happy at the same time

00:42:06.600 | because I felt like I was back

00:42:07.760 | being around basketball again.

00:42:09.640 | So, to coach, you know, you guys that year,

00:42:12.640 | it was cool because it's like,

00:42:14.320 | I didn't have the experience, but I had the player.

00:42:17.280 | So, it helped me where I wasn't as prepared,

00:42:22.280 | you were over-prepared being good.

00:42:24.680 | So, that was like, you know, that was a blessing for me.

00:42:27.600 | And, you know, even Coach Romer said,

00:42:29.400 | you gotta enjoy it now

00:42:30.640 | because everybody ain't gonna be as good as Mike

00:42:32.920 | year after year.

00:42:34.160 | You know, you gotta have to, you know,

00:42:35.520 | lower your expectations.

00:42:37.000 | And not to say that the kids, you know,

00:42:39.360 | there's only one number one player in the nation every year,

00:42:43.440 | you know, so everybody ain't gonna get that.

00:42:45.680 | And for me to have it my first year, you know,

00:42:48.480 | I still found the joy in coaching kids

00:42:50.400 | that weren't the number one player,

00:42:51.960 | but it's just the difference that goes with it.

00:42:54.720 | So, coaching has been, it's been fun.

00:42:59.040 | It's been fulfilling.

00:43:00.040 | You know, the one thing I will say is,

00:43:03.000 | and Coach Romer came to the game when we were in Portland

00:43:05.640 | and we beat Sierra Cane for the championship.

00:43:08.200 | And I remember dapping him up after the game on the court,

00:43:11.360 | and I was like, I feel like I played today.

00:43:14.120 | You know?

00:43:14.960 | - We was hype.

00:43:16.480 | - I was like, I gotta be real with you,

00:43:19.400 | it felt like I played.

00:43:20.640 | Like, so then I got the understanding of, you know,

00:43:23.640 | me and him have moments, coach player moment,

00:43:25.840 | and I was like, coach is juice, you know?

00:43:28.000 | I seen that, I felt it.

00:43:29.360 | I was like, damn, I really went back.

00:43:32.400 | It was like laying in bed, like thinking about the game,

00:43:35.680 | like I played.

00:43:36.520 | - We was so lit.

00:43:37.520 | - So that was the moment that I knew like,

00:43:39.440 | okay, coaching is fun.

00:43:40.880 | It gives you that competitiveness.

00:43:44.080 | You know, you preparing before the game,

00:43:46.400 | can't sleep, thinking about this, thinking about that.

00:43:48.360 | So it gave me all that competitiveness I needed back.

00:43:50.960 | And I also felt like, you know, the wins were like,

00:43:53.520 | I felt good.

00:43:54.360 | Like, that was crazy, we won that way.

00:43:56.440 | - I know.

00:43:57.400 | - Even when we were in, where was it?

00:44:00.200 | We played Oak Hill in, yeah.

00:44:03.640 | And I think we were--

00:44:04.680 | - We was in Boston?

00:44:05.640 | - That was Boston, yeah.

00:44:07.440 | And after the game, I think I told you guys,

00:44:09.000 | I was just like, man, we're gonna be the number one team

00:44:12.320 | in the nation on Monday.

00:44:14.040 | You know, USA Today, like that's--

00:44:15.960 | - Like bro, when they talk about arguably

00:44:18.080 | the best teams ever, they put Nathan Hale in there.

00:44:21.280 | - That's crazy to me, but we were a part of it.

00:44:23.560 | You know, and I think that's the part that, you know,

00:44:25.600 | you gotta always take with you.

00:44:26.720 | And I told PJ this, it's like,

00:44:29.400 | man, don't let people erase, you know, your history.

00:44:33.520 | You know, it's always good to be proud

00:44:35.000 | and think about stuff you did that was cool.

00:44:37.040 | And there's nothing wrong with it.

00:44:38.440 | So, but I remember being in the locker room

00:44:40.680 | after we won that one.

00:44:41.520 | I was like, damn, we really doing it.

00:44:44.080 | And that's something I dreamed of as a player,

00:44:46.800 | but never accomplished it.

00:44:48.960 | But now as a coach, it's like,

00:44:50.440 | it feels like I'm right there with you guys.

00:44:52.320 | And I felt like a player.

00:44:53.320 | So, you know, anybody that,

00:44:55.680 | and I try to tell guys that can't play no more injuries,

00:44:58.120 | it's like, man, coaching is not a bad way to go.

00:45:00.520 | Like, you know, you get to get into it.

00:45:03.280 | It's fun.

00:45:04.520 | And it's another way to be able to be a part of the hoop,

00:45:08.080 | which we love, but it's just in a different way.

00:45:11.920 | You know, it's just more strategy.

00:45:13.760 | - Man, I tell people all the time,

00:45:14.840 | I told this to my AU team,

00:45:16.360 | and I tell this to like the young dudes

00:45:18.360 | or the coaches that were gonna coach my AU team.

00:45:20.160 | Like, I tell them about how you coached me.

00:45:23.520 | Like, it wasn't, man, there was no pressure.

00:45:25.800 | You said, man, go out there, be you.

00:45:27.160 | It was ultimate.

00:45:28.000 | The way your coaching was was ultimate confidence.

00:45:30.240 | It wasn't like, you know,

00:45:31.920 | some coaches got all these little things you gotta follow,

00:45:34.800 | which isn't a bad thing,

00:45:35.720 | but your approach was confidence.

00:45:37.360 | And that's why we were number one team in the country,

00:45:38.960 | 'cause we just went out there and hooped.

00:45:40.360 | And obviously we had to get along off the court.

00:45:43.320 | But man, the way you coached me,

00:45:45.160 | like the jump I took from my junior year to my senior year

00:45:48.720 | was the biggest jump I took.

00:45:49.960 | And it was a large part to you.

00:45:51.440 | I mean, we'd be in the gym,

00:45:53.160 | I'm working on my footwork with you.

00:45:55.400 | Obviously that helped.

00:45:56.280 | But like the way that you coached me,

00:45:58.480 | it took my game to the next level.

00:46:00.840 | - But you know, that's what I thought.

00:46:03.320 | It just worked.

00:46:04.200 | I don't know how we, you know, we meet at that point,

00:46:06.520 | but I always looked at it like, man, he's really good.

00:46:11.040 | You know, so I never wanted to make it confusing.

00:46:14.280 | It was like, whatever you wake up in the morning

00:46:17.320 | and figure out, you can do it.

00:46:18.880 | So I never wanted to step on your toes in that way.

00:46:22.120 | So I said, well, what's the best way I can help Mike?

00:46:27.120 | First was make sure you're confident.

00:46:29.400 | If you're confident, then the team's gonna do fine.

00:46:31.800 | And then the next thing was just not,

00:46:33.640 | guys around you be complacent to go, oh, we're just gonna,

00:46:36.360 | you know, so I'm like, oh God, I gotta kick this guy's butt.

00:46:39.400 | Or I gotta kick this guy's butt.

00:46:40.640 | Or in practice it's more like, you know,

00:46:42.120 | Mike, you know, let's split it up.

00:46:43.680 | But these guys need a little more work

00:46:45.680 | because, you know, in harder games,

00:46:47.760 | you're gonna need 'em more than, you know,

00:46:49.880 | maybe, you know, 90% of the games.

00:46:53.240 | You know, you could probably, you can't win by yourself,

00:46:55.480 | but to win championships,

00:46:56.880 | you're gonna need, you know, these guys around.

00:46:58.920 | So no, I just wanted to give you confidence.

00:47:01.600 | I always told, you know, like I always talk to my parents,

00:47:05.000 | no matter what I do, it's like,

00:47:06.000 | mom and dad are always gonna be, you know, rocks

00:47:08.120 | because that's who I sat with as kids and bounce stuff off.

00:47:11.240 | And my mom had told me, she said,

00:47:13.280 | you don't have a big ego, so you'll be okay as a coach

00:47:16.440 | because you won. - Exactly, that's what it was.

00:47:19.160 | - But she's, that's what she, and I was,

00:47:21.640 | when I talk to you and other people,

00:47:23.720 | or other players, it's just the same thing.

00:47:25.400 | It's like, I don't feel like I gotta put my stamp on it.

00:47:29.280 | It's like, nah, if we win, that is the stamp.

00:47:33.600 | So with you, it was more like,

00:47:35.280 | I don't need to prove to nobody that we're winning.

00:47:39.400 | You know what I mean?

00:47:40.240 | So I don't, but I didn't feel like I had a personal thing

00:47:42.720 | to prove to anyone.

00:47:44.320 | I'm like, but let me show I can draw this up,

00:47:46.880 | or let me show you that my scheme is working,

00:47:48.960 | or let me, because I never looked at it,

00:47:50.800 | was it about me, it was about the team.

00:47:52.680 | So, and each year is different.

00:47:54.120 | Like, I can't play, you know, this upcoming season

00:47:56.840 | like I did when we had you.

00:47:58.800 | I gotta go cater to their strengths.

00:48:00.720 | So my biggest thing was just to try to cater

00:48:03.040 | to your strengths, and then I think the rest filled in.

00:48:05.560 | You and Tay being brothers helped

00:48:06.800 | because him being a second best player,

00:48:09.560 | you guys already had your chemistry.

00:48:11.320 | So he was like, yeah, Mike's the guy,

00:48:13.200 | and I'm right there with him.

00:48:14.160 | I'm riding with him.

00:48:15.000 | So I didn't have to worry about my two best players

00:48:16.600 | having a problem, because my two best players

00:48:18.720 | were brothers that you guys just had,

00:48:21.360 | you know, you guys had chemistry, great chemistry.

00:48:24.160 | So, like I said, my job was easy the first year.

00:48:27.440 | It was really, it was sweet, you know?

00:48:30.480 | You got me started on my coaching.

00:48:32.400 | I'm like, people ask me about coaching.

00:48:33.800 | I'm like, you guys gotta thank Mike, man.

00:48:36.480 | Mike got me coaching.

00:48:37.440 | He got me in the game, you know?

00:48:39.840 | So no, I appreciate that.

00:48:41.480 | I mean, you were the, you know, hardest working dude.

00:48:45.920 | I tell the kids that I coached after you.

00:48:48.400 | I said, I had a player who's the number one player

00:48:50.320 | in the country.

00:48:51.400 | He worked harder than everybody on the team.

00:48:54.080 | So if I got a guy who's not working that hard,

00:48:57.960 | then, you know, he might wanna start

00:49:00.240 | playing basketball now, because if the number one player

00:49:02.360 | works the hardest, how hard you think you gotta work,

00:49:04.680 | and you top 100?

00:49:05.920 | So those messages and the little things

00:49:08.040 | helped me with these guys now.

00:49:09.560 | - It was a fun year, and I appreciate you, man.

00:49:12.360 | We wrapping it up, but I got one more personal question,

00:49:15.760 | then I got just a fun question.

00:49:17.200 | - All right.

00:49:18.040 | - Man, so we talking about your life,

00:49:19.440 | like the last few years.

00:49:21.520 | Man, I remember getting the news a couple years ago,

00:49:23.680 | you and my guy, Deli, y'all got popped.

00:49:26.120 | - Oh, yeah.

00:49:27.560 | - Y'all got, my mom, I think my mom told me,

00:49:29.760 | she's like, Mike, on Twitter, it said B-Roy got,

00:49:32.960 | B-Roy and Del got shot, like,

00:49:35.240 | but I don't know any more news in my heart.

00:49:37.160 | Like, I remember, like, bro, it felt like one of my brothers

00:49:39.840 | had died or something, like, I didn't know if you,

00:49:41.840 | I didn't know what happened.

00:49:43.040 | - Yeah.

00:49:44.080 | - Man, walk us through that story,

00:49:45.560 | and, like, how you got shot, bro.

00:49:48.080 | - Yeah, so, you know, I'll be honest,

00:49:49.760 | I never really spoke about it.

00:49:51.760 | I don't wanna say I've avoided it, but,

00:49:54.200 | this the thing with getting shot, especially from,

00:50:00.320 | you know, the, I don't wanna say culture,

00:50:02.320 | I don't even know the right word to use,

00:50:03.640 | especially from where, you know, I know I came from.

00:50:06.600 | You know, sometimes getting shot can get,

00:50:11.160 | it can kind of create its own story, you know,

00:50:14.200 | and, you know, from when I was growing up,

00:50:16.560 | it was like, if a dude get shot and survive, you know,

00:50:20.760 | it made him almost cool, you know,

00:50:22.680 | and I never wanted to, I never wanted the message

00:50:25.960 | to be put out there a certain way.

00:50:28.840 | - You ain't never talked about it.

00:50:30.160 | That's why I didn't know if you was gonna answer.

00:50:32.240 | - Yeah, no, again, and it's for the reasons of,

00:50:35.480 | I never want kids to, 'cause there's too much,

00:50:38.400 | you know, violence, you know, especially with,

00:50:40.080 | you know, people getting shot and those things,

00:50:42.240 | and, you know, I don't never, I don't wanna detail it,

00:50:46.200 | but the part that was really sad was that,

00:50:49.840 | you know, there was just so many kids out there,

00:50:52.640 | and to see, to see that kind of,

00:50:56.640 | you know, shooting and things going on

00:51:01.760 | with no regard for families and kids,

00:51:05.120 | and, you know, not even knowing who I was,

00:51:08.880 | was like, I felt bad for the people in that community.

00:51:13.880 | You know, like, damn, you guys have to live

00:51:17.000 | under that kind of threat.

00:51:18.400 | - Yeah.

00:51:19.240 | - And again, it was, I was just,

00:51:22.920 | I had a lot of mixed emotions, you know.

00:51:25.400 | We always talk about what we're scared of,

00:51:28.280 | but until you're pushed to that envelope,

00:51:31.360 | is when you find out, and it's not just getting shot.

00:51:33.640 | It could be a car accident, plane, whatever it is,

00:51:36.800 | and I remember, like, you know, when I was running,

00:51:41.680 | and I finally, you know, ran around a corner,

00:51:43.680 | and I sat down, and I was like,

00:51:45.080 | whoa, I got a hole in my sweats, like, what the?

00:51:49.440 | So, the thing that scared me in, you know,

00:51:54.240 | even to this day, every once in a while,

00:51:55.720 | I have a bad nightmare about 'em,

00:51:57.160 | is I thought about my kids,

00:51:59.520 | and I thought about a world that is, you know, it's chaotic,

00:52:04.520 | but them having to grow up in it without me

00:52:08.480 | being there to be that buffer,

00:52:10.880 | and I was just so worried, and I remember, you know,

00:52:14.400 | I finally, you know, they cut my pants off and stuff,

00:52:17.000 | and I'm in an ambulance, and I'm like,

00:52:18.160 | I wanna call my kids, and I wanted to call 'em

00:52:21.120 | for the same reason where, you know,

00:52:22.960 | you hear the news that somebody gets shot,

00:52:24.240 | you think the worst, and I was like,

00:52:26.720 | I wanna tell them before they hear from anybody else.

00:52:29.760 | So, I got to get on the phone with 'em,

00:52:32.000 | and I was like, hey, I got shot.

00:52:33.960 | I said, I'm not hurt, I'm okay,

00:52:36.840 | but I don't want you guys to get that feeling of,

00:52:39.600 | you know, somebody calling my kids or, you know,

00:52:41.640 | their mom saying, he got shot,

00:52:43.280 | and we don't know what's going on.

00:52:44.800 | So, I never want them to feel that, like,

00:52:46.440 | oh, crap, is dad not gonna be around?

00:52:48.960 | But again, the fear of being not in their lives,

00:52:53.960 | because there's just so much crap.

00:52:56.480 | It ain't, it's not just, you know, shootings.

00:52:58.920 | There's a lot of stuff that goes on,

00:53:00.600 | a lot of manipulation that goes on in this world,

00:53:03.200 | and I just would hate to not be there for 'em.

00:53:08.080 | But, yeah, nah, I never really detailed it.

00:53:10.840 | I never wanted to seem like I was coming across as,

00:53:13.320 | like, you know, it's nothing to ever glorify,

00:53:16.400 | because, you know, it could be over that fast,

00:53:20.640 | and it reminds you of that.

00:53:21.880 | So, nah, you know, it's hard to go, I guess,

00:53:25.280 | into details of it, but I really felt bad

00:53:27.760 | for the people that was there.

00:53:29.560 | You know, that, you know, I had a couple,

00:53:32.880 | you know, little cousins and things,

00:53:34.320 | and, you know, I talked to 'em a little bit after,

00:53:36.560 | but, you know, they gotta go, so they started school,

00:53:38.360 | and it's just like, man, it wasn't that big of a deal,

00:53:42.560 | I guess, that that happened.

00:53:43.840 | - Down there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:53:44.680 | - You know, and that's where I felt really bad,

00:53:47.320 | and I felt really, really, you know, good that,

00:53:51.360 | you know, my kids aren't in the same environment.

00:53:53.520 | You just want to be able to, you know,

00:53:55.200 | hopefully be able to help more people

00:53:56.880 | that are in those dangerous situations.

00:53:58.880 | - Yeah, that makes sense.

00:53:59.920 | For you, did it, do you feel like it changed

00:54:02.120 | any of your values, or anything that you, like,

00:54:04.200 | look to in this life to fill you,

00:54:06.680 | or perspective-wise, anything like that?

00:54:10.000 | - You know, I'm pretty solid with, like, my beliefs.

00:54:14.320 | You know, I don't, I'm not easily swayed.

00:54:17.360 | You know, even though it was an unfortunate incident,

00:54:20.920 | I don't, I don't have, like, any ill will.

00:54:23.600 | You know, I have forgiveness, you know.

00:54:27.440 | For me, it's like, you know, they couldn't have,

00:54:29.920 | whoever did it, couldn't have possibly known,

00:54:32.480 | 'cause I didn't have any problems with anybody.

00:54:34.440 | So, it's just like, you know, I'd rather forgive,

00:54:37.840 | and hope that a person can see that I forgive them

00:54:40.920 | for something they, for almost taking my life,

00:54:43.720 | and hopefully they can be better people going forward.

00:54:46.200 | Like, you know, hopefully it's,

00:54:48.560 | it ain't about a person getting caught,

00:54:50.280 | it's just hopefully a person changing, really,

00:54:52.760 | and never, and never doing that again.

00:54:56.440 | You know what I mean?

00:54:57.280 | And hopefully talking somebody else out of doing that.

00:54:59.760 | And if that's the, if that's the, if that's the message,

00:55:02.400 | then that, that's what makes me happy,

00:55:03.960 | 'cause it's like, it always hurts worse

00:55:06.560 | when you know the person, but if you don't know anybody,

00:55:08.920 | you know you didn't have any problem with them,

00:55:10.640 | then it's like, you know, you almost took somebody's life,

00:55:13.800 | so don't do it again, 'cause that's the,

00:55:16.520 | that ain't how you wanna live.

00:55:17.680 | So, no, I don't, I don't know.

00:55:19.400 | I mean, my perspective is just, you know, again,

00:55:22.400 | I just hope that we can stop getting these kids

00:55:24.200 | to, you know, stop shooting each other, you know what I mean?

00:55:25.920 | - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:55:26.760 | - But giving them something else to do, you know,

00:55:28.760 | and something else productive where they feel,

00:55:31.120 | feel a part of things.

00:55:32.440 | - Yeah.

00:55:33.440 | Stop, man, last question.

00:55:34.760 | Obviously, man, you 37, you can't say.

00:55:37.400 | - Don't tell my kids at 36.

00:55:38.760 | - You a young boy.

00:55:40.200 | You got, like, a lot of life left.

00:55:42.360 | And I know, for me, I think about after basketball,

00:55:45.200 | like, what do I, what am I gonna view as my purpose?

00:55:47.360 | Like, what am I gonna even wanna do?

00:55:49.120 | - For you, kinda like, what's your,

00:55:51.480 | what's your goals moving forward and what's your,

00:55:53.320 | what do you feel like your purpose is moving forward?

00:55:55.600 | - Yeah, I would say my goals now,

00:55:57.880 | my son's gonna go to high school,

00:55:59.080 | so it's, number one is my kids.

00:56:03.000 | Like, just seeing their progression.

00:56:04.520 | You know, now I'm, you know,

00:56:06.120 | seeing him into that high school realm.

00:56:08.080 | I really wanna get in the gym,

00:56:09.720 | what even, work, what even, and hopefully,

00:56:12.800 | I guess, sum it up, push them to reach their goals.

00:56:16.320 | You know, my parents did a lot of sacrifices

00:56:19.840 | so, you know, I could reach mine,

00:56:21.240 | and I wanna be able to do the same for them.

00:56:23.320 | As far as, you know, just, you know,

00:56:26.480 | my parents are great, and I wanna be great to my kids.

00:56:28.920 | I still wanna, you know, I wanna coach.

00:56:30.920 | I love being a part of coaching.

00:56:32.320 | I'm not sure, you know, I think I wanna get more involved

00:56:36.120 | in, you know, maybe team building.

00:56:38.720 | I've always been, you know, really big on personnel fits.

00:56:42.680 | I'm not sure where that lies.

00:56:44.560 | You know, I do like coaching,

00:56:45.720 | but I don't know if I'm more of a, you know,

00:56:47.920 | helping, you know, evaluate talent, you know,

00:56:50.440 | helping evaluate, you know, personnel,

00:56:53.200 | you know, what guys fit, chemistry,

00:56:54.920 | you know, all that type of stuff.

00:56:56.800 | But, you know, other than that, man,

00:56:58.200 | my faith is always, you know, it's always in Christ.

00:57:01.760 | So, you know, at the end of the day,

00:57:02.960 | that's where it's always gonna lie.

00:57:04.120 | You know, if I'm good there, I feel like I'm good anywhere.

00:57:07.120 | So, you know, I know it sounds, you know,

00:57:08.960 | a lot of people think it just sounds cliche,

00:57:10.840 | but if you feel like you're right there,

00:57:14.680 | then, you know, all that stuff in the world

00:57:16.160 | will take care of itself.

00:57:17.160 | - You ain't lying.

00:57:18.240 | That was dope.

00:57:19.080 | Well, man, listen, I appreciate you being on here.

00:57:20.880 | I feel like you shared a lot of wisdom,

00:57:22.760 | a lot about you and where you at.

00:57:25.040 | I know a lot of people be wondering where you are,

00:57:26.800 | 'cause you don't really do know anything.

00:57:27.640 | - I'm gonna come out a little bit.

00:57:29.440 | - You don't never come outside,

00:57:30.560 | but appreciate you, my guy.

00:57:31.840 | - No doubt, man.

00:57:32.680 | Thanks for having me.

00:57:33.520 | - You already know.

00:57:34.360 | - I got to come out with you, you know,

00:57:35.200 | and do an interview.

00:57:36.880 | - Got to, for sure.

00:57:38.280 | Yes, sir.

00:57:39.120 | (upbeat music)

00:57:41.700 | (upbeat music)

00:57:44.280 | (hip hop music)

00:57:46.940 | you

Life Transitions & Lessons feat. Brandon Roy // Michael Porter Jr.

Chapters