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1:39

What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond

1:42

Green Show. This next guest as

1:44

a brother of mine, one of my golden brothers.

1:46

We want to gold medal together. That is just one

1:48

of his many accomplishments. He is

1:51

a twenty twenty one NBA champion,

1:53

two time NBA All Star, three

1:55

time NBA All Defensive First Seam,

1:58

probably slided a little bit there, Two

2:01

time All NBA Defensive Second

2:03

Team. You can have those,

2:05

because I got too many of those, and.

2:07

He should be on first team all the time.

2:10

This last one is

2:12

one of my favorites because this is him

2:16

in a nutshell and life.

2:18

This is him in basketball.

2:21

Like I said, I had the opportunity to play with him three

2:23

time NBA Teammate of the Year.

2:25

Drew Holliday, what's up, my brother, man.

2:29

Glad, Glad Glad. I'm glad we can make this

2:31

work. Man, Glad, I could be on here.

2:33

Man. I appreciate you.

2:34

And we've been making efforts to make this

2:36

happen, and Drew been making efforts and our you

2:39

know, our schedules get a little

2:41

crazy at times, and then you got the West Coast

2:43

and the East Coast.

2:44

And all of those things.

2:45

But we wanted to bring you all this and

2:47

we're doing and Drew, I thank you for coming

2:49

on the show.

2:50

Brother.

2:50

Sure for sure.

2:52

Ah Man, let's just take me

2:55

back number one, like or

2:57

just for starters, your your parents

3:00

both played at Arizona State, played

3:02

basketball at Arizona State. Just

3:04

talk to me about like growing up in a household

3:07

with parents that played at a high

3:09

level that understood that because y'all are an extremely

3:12

athletic family.

3:14

Yeah, I think, honestly,

3:17

it was it was competitive,

3:19

but it was so natural for us.

3:21

Like everything that we did.

3:23

Yeah, it was.

3:24

It was competition, but I think our parents knew

3:26

because they were competitors, that when

3:29

it comes to family, that

3:32

comes first. So that

3:34

was one of the big things. You obviously played

3:37

with my older brother Justin, and you've seen my little

3:39

brother trying to do his thing

3:41

in Houston.

3:42

But we've always we've always

3:44

tried to be able.

3:45

To cheer for each other, you know

3:47

what I'm saying, through our successes, help

3:49

each other through our downfalls. But

3:51

I think my parents did a really good job of keeping

3:54

us.

3:54

Competitive and then at the same time like loving

3:57

on each other. So it's been bro, it's

3:59

been.

4:00

The hell of a ride. Being able to kind

4:02

of talk about my family. People don't even know about my sisters.

4:04

She played basketball, but

4:08

just really being able to, uh.

4:10

Be competitors and then just love each

4:12

other through all the other bs.

4:14

You know what I'm saying, absolutely, how

4:16

was that growing up? Like you being middle

4:20

child and just

4:23

but in particular up the boys and

4:25

Justin Justin being older than you?

4:27

What was that like?

4:28

Because you're way, like

4:31

the way thicker than Justin Justine skinny

4:33

as hell a twig? Like, what

4:35

was that like growing up and

4:38

y'all two playing against each other two totally

4:40

different games as well?

4:42

Man, I tell people all the time, my brother made me

4:44

who I am? Uh, he's taller than

4:46

me. Uh, longer

4:48

arms, you can jump higher. So all

4:51

the finishing and stuff that I usually do over

4:53

people and trying to do it over you

4:55

know, length and people that are tall to me was

4:57

because of him, and

5:00

obviously him being older, Like I looked up to him.

5:02

A lot of the stuff that he did, I

5:04

always wanted to do. So I follow

5:06

his game, I mirror him, and

5:08

then once I kind of got.

5:10

A chance to like be on the same level

5:12

or try to. When we play one on one.

5:13

Or two on two, he

5:16

would like always block my shot, he'd

5:18

always take the ball from me. But I

5:20

mean, shoot, he made me better just because we had battle

5:22

every day.

5:23

Bro, every day we battle.

5:25

We fight, going side for twenty minutes,

5:27

cool off, and then come back outside and start start

5:29

hooping again. So it was a

5:32

man.

5:32

I so much credit goes to my big brother

5:34

for just the player that I am.

5:37

No, that's fire.

5:38

And you went to Campbell Hall back

5:41

when we were in high school. For those of y'all that don't

5:43

know me and Drew is the same high school class.

5:46

And then look up our high school rankings. You'll

5:48

find Drew pretty fast. It will take you a long

5:51

time with your magnifying glass to

5:53

find me on those rankings. Nonetheless,

5:56

it was rightfully, so I was

5:58

not bea you

6:01

know, It's okay. It all worked out at the

6:03

end of the day. But there's a lot of

6:05

kids in LA now attending Camber

6:07

Hall wasn't quite that way.

6:10

When you attended Camber Hall.

6:12

What was it that drove you and your family

6:14

to or you to go to

6:16

Campbell Hall in in the first place.

6:18

So my mom works there. My mom's worked there

6:20

probably ten years before I

6:22

got there. I had

6:24

some I had, like my auntie and my cousins

6:27

that went to school there. So we're actually

6:29

going there for a better education. It was nothing

6:31

about sports, nothing for sports. It was

6:33

about getting a better education.

6:36

We got to get to college. We got to graduate from college.

6:39

My mom being a teacher and

6:41

an educator, that was what was most

6:44

important to her. She would

6:46

always tell us like, if you're good enough, you

6:48

would make it anywhere. They will find

6:50

they will find you anywhere if you get enough. So we're

6:53

not going to go here for the basketball, We're going here

6:55

for the education. And that's kind of how

6:57

it started in and now, I

6:59

mean it's just totally different,

7:01

especially like the private school game. And uh,

7:04

I mean you have so many other athletes now who

7:06

have made some money and they can have their.

7:08

Kids in private.

7:09

School and doing all that, and obviously

7:11

being in LA, the

7:14

abundance of Hoopers that you have

7:16

in kind of this small area. It's

7:20

been crazy and it's been fun to watch kind

7:22

of kind of from a distance up. Yeah,

7:24

when I went to Campbell hall Man, it was it

7:28

was me and my brother and uh,

7:30

I mean a couple other dudes from from Pasadena

7:33

or whoever, and then all of a sudden,

7:35

it's like blowing up.

7:37

Yeah, No, it's crazy to watch.

7:38

I think, like I remember, if I remember correctly,

7:41

y'all had an ESPN game was in high school

7:44

we did. I remember watching

7:46

that, yes, which is why I watched

7:48

it because Delvon we were both going to Michigan State.

7:50

I remember that, definitely remember

7:52

that game. But then you stay home,

7:55

you go to u c.

7:56

L A for one year.

7:58

What was it like, like, what did it do for

8:00

you at that time to have another

8:03

guy like Darren Collison on your team where

8:05

you're coming out your top five, but

8:08

don't have to shoulder all the responsibility

8:10

at point guard because you got a vet like Darren Collison?

8:13

What what was that like man college.

8:15

Yeah, I think it was a blessing in disguise, you

8:17

know, obviously going into college,

8:20

especially nowadays, where like you see

8:22

freshmen coming in and they kind

8:24

of had a world on their shoulders, a

8:26

lot of pressure to do a

8:28

lot as a freshman, I mean an eighteen or nineteen

8:30

year old kid, where that could be hard

8:34

for me.

8:34

I had somebody who's a season vet went

8:37

to two or three final

8:40

fours and made

8:42

some big.

8:42

Plays and had some big games and kind of ran

8:45

you sell a basketball and kind of the whole campus

8:47

and everything. So it was cool just learning

8:50

from him and then being able to get

8:52

drafted with him the same year, and

8:55

then and then play against him in the league for so long

8:57

it's been it's been cool. Definitely, like a

8:59

bigger break there to be able to kind of

9:01

step into college life with

9:04

in the the NBA.

9:05

Yeah. No, And man, I remember

9:08

that we went further than y'all

9:10

our freshman year, but he went on

9:12

to the league seventeenth pick, seventeenth

9:16

pick after freshman year, drafted

9:20

by the seventy six ers in

9:22

the two.

9:22

Thousand and nine NBA Draft.

9:24

You then go on to become the youngest

9:27

All Star at least at the time.

9:29

I'm not sure if it still stands, but you're going to become

9:31

the youngest All Star in seventy

9:33

six or history, and then the next

9:36

year you're traded. I

9:39

remember talking to Andre Godala. You

9:42

know Andre obviously we played many years

9:44

together, and he specifically

9:47

talked about when they traded you just us before,

9:49

and he was like, I was

9:51

talking to Drew, Like I can't remember the

9:54

story vividly, but something I was talking to

9:56

Drew. He was on vacation or I was on vacation

9:58

or something, and like, you out the

10:00

blue get traded. What

10:02

what? What do you think about the

10:05

business at that time? You

10:07

coming off an All Star and you get traded

10:09

the next year for Nolans.

10:10

Noel Man, I

10:14

didn't know what to think. Like

10:17

you said, I just became an All

10:19

Star. I

10:21

just signed an extension, And

10:25

I mean I thought I was one of the cornerstone

10:28

pieces or one of the major pieces of seventy

10:31

six years basketball, like Philadelphia basketball

10:34

me Evan Turner. D Young

10:36

was still there. I think they had already traded Dre, they'd

10:38

already traded lou Will, but

10:42

it was like Dang,

10:45

I was on my way to a Dodger game.

10:47

I just did a camp.

10:49

I just did a camp in Orange

10:51

County at one of my best friends colleges in Orange

10:53

County.

10:54

We went our way to a Dodger game, and I.

10:55

Get a call from Sam Henkey like, Amen,

10:58

we've never met because this is when he started

11:01

taking over that year.

11:03

Yeah, He's like, hey, man, I know we've never met her.

11:05

Great things about you over

11:07

trading to New Orleans for

11:10

It was like a thirty second conversation.

11:12

I never met him or talked to him before. I

11:14

think at this point, I don't even know what Bro looked like.

11:16

So wow. Yeah, So we was.

11:18

We was on our way with me, I think, my brother and

11:21

so my best friends on the way to the Dodger game. And

11:24

next thing, I'm like, next thing, you know, I get

11:26

off the phone. I'm like, hey, I just got traded. They're

11:28

like, no, you didn't, like

11:31

all right. Two seconds later, pops

11:35

up on the on the little screen ESPN

11:38

drew how that got traded.

11:39

For number six pick? That's

11:42

crazy And that's how you found up bro. Yeah,

11:46

just like that.

11:47

That's the only conversation you've ever had

11:49

with Sam.

11:50

I haven't spoken to him before

11:52

or after that. Wow,

11:55

the only conversation I've had.

11:57

He came in and did that. Let's

11:59

look back at that, all right, when he starts

12:02

turning, weel.

12:03

That Michael Carter Williams. Remember Michael

12:05

Carter Williams.

12:05

I think that rookie going

12:08

keep going, keep going. Tell me somebody

12:10

else.

12:13

But I mean, I think I was, like, I like

12:15

to think I was the start of the process.

12:18

You want to start the process. I'm just

12:20

not sure the processes ever worked.

12:23

He could still be going, yeah,

12:26

I don't know.

12:27

I mean, you get Joel, right, like, all

12:29

right, so you got Joel.

12:31

Everything else outside of that process

12:33

didn't work.

12:34

Yeah that's tough, like Joel.

12:37

Is obviously, but everything

12:40

else outside of the process fail.

12:42

I mean yeah, yeah.

12:43

I mean they traded Evan away after me. I

12:46

mean, and I called Evan right away because Von

12:48

was my dog.

12:49

Like I got I got drafted.

12:51

The next year, Evan Turner got drafted, and

12:53

he like, there's no way that they just

12:55

trade you. I'm like, bro, look

12:58

like we are not. Like me and Evan

13:00

thought we'd be teammates forever. We

13:02

thought we were the youngest, the two best players

13:05

and team. We thought it would be teammates forever and

13:08

just like that literally thirty second conversation.

13:11

That's crazy, man. That's the NBA for

13:13

y'all, folks.

13:14

Yeah, and it and

13:16

it ain't any different now.

13:20

It might even be a little worse now because you have

13:23

Twitter, you have Instagram, but you have these other

13:25

outlets, media outlets that

13:27

will catch it before you do, and

13:30

maybe that hurts lit a little worse. Like

13:32

I've seen a couple of teammates come in

13:35

from a game and find out they get cut. Yeah,

13:38

you know what I'm saying, Like, I know you've experienced it too,

13:40

Like you've seen teammates just like dang

13:42

bro, like I had no clue and they didn't

13:45

have the boss to tell you face

13:47

to face. You know what I'm saying before anything else got

13:49

out. I'm talking about like right after you step

13:51

off the court, right after you just got them playing. To

13:54

me, that's crazy to me, it's

13:57

yeah to me. To me, that's crazy.

13:59

No, I think it's

14:00

it actually

14:02

should be illegal. I

14:05

agree, Like because if

14:07

I came out and said something about

14:09

the trade before, I get

14:11

fined for sure.

14:14

So why is it that.

14:16

They can announce me being traded and

14:19

my feelings just gotta be hurt, right,

14:22

and I'm left to pick up the pieces of my feelings.

14:24

I'm left to pick up the pieces of my life. I'm

14:26

left like, I'm just left to pick up

14:28

the pieces. But if I said that first, no

14:31

problem, Like, I mean, come

14:34

off the bread. Yeah

14:37

it should, it should be illegal. Take

14:39

take me through the process. This time though, this

14:41

time around, there's a bunch of reporting that going

14:43

on that Damian Lillard is going to get traded.

14:46

No one knows where.

14:48

He keeps saying Miami or people

14:50

keep saying he Miami's number

14:52

one choice or the Knicks Bucks.

14:55

Isn't even a conversation. Ah,

15:00

And then like, how soon

15:02

with that? Did you know that you were getting

15:04

traded?

15:05

And yeah, I was.

15:09

I mean, so I.

15:13

Through the week, you know, in the off season, you

15:16

go in, I'm already Milwaukee because my

15:18

kids go to school there and they started school

15:20

and we're working out.

15:22

I mean most of the teams they're working out.

15:25

Monday Tuesday will workout. I take Wednesday

15:27

off kind of do my own thing, recovery

15:29

day, and then Thursday Friday I workout, and

15:31

then the weekends I can'd of.

15:32

Do my own thing. Me and my wife.

15:34

Well, Wednesday was my day off

15:37

and I'm taking a nap and

15:40

I'm taking then and I got my.

15:42

I got my watch on my have a watch on and

15:46

I see the text. I see a call from the GM

15:48

and I'm like, I'll call him

15:50

back, like I'm deep in this nop

15:52

too.

15:52

What I'm saying, it's a

15:55

good one. And then two seconds later my

15:57

agent coffee. I'm like, all

16:00

right, so I picked a his call. He's like, you

16:02

talked to him. I'm like, nah, bro,

16:04

I'm sleeping. He's like, well,

16:08

you just got traded, so you should probably call him

16:10

back. And then

16:12

I ended up looking at my phone. He ended up

16:14

texting me everything

16:16

that was happening, like yeah, we traded

16:18

you here here, And then I ended up calling

16:21

him and ended up saying like, yeah,

16:23

we traded you for Damian. So I also had

16:25

no clue, like just like the world

16:27

had no clue, also no clue.

16:30

He did tell me. I think before

16:32

it broke on.

16:35

Twitter and all that

16:37

the world kind of knew.

16:38

But I think for me.

16:40

It was just a shock because I

16:43

had no clue, like out

16:46

the blue, and I

16:48

think a part of me thinking like maybe

16:51

I felt like I not that I was untouchable

16:53

but maybe I had done enough

16:56

to at least

16:58

let me know twenty four hours in advance,

17:01

not five minutes in advance. And

17:04

maybe I'm asking for too much. I don't know, but

17:07

it's kind of like, I

17:10

mean, we want I won there.

17:12

You know what I'm saying.

17:13

We won there, so how many championships

17:16

in Bucks history? Yeah,

17:19

you ain't asking for too much, yer

17:22

span, But.

17:23

Again I'm not. I'm not upset with it. Yeah,

17:26

I'm not.

17:26

I'm not upset with it. It was just more of a shock,

17:29

Like I didn't I didn't

17:31

think that if I was going to get

17:33

traded. I thought I would

17:35

at least know in advance. I can

17:37

prepare my family, I can prepare

17:40

my kid like we had a life there and like

17:42

I said, my kids were already in school. And

17:45

then that next Sunday

17:47

or that next Monday was training camp.

17:51

Wow.

17:51

So like it wasn't like in the middle

17:53

of the summer or the middle of the off season,

17:56

Like, no, we had four days. So I have

17:58

to figure out how to who my family.

18:01

I got to figure out from one, I

18:03

got to figure out where I'm going, yause

18:05

I didn't end up staying in And

18:08

that also took a minute too. So I'm

18:10

in limbo for three days, like

18:13

not really knowing what's going on, and

18:16

then when it all kind of came together

18:19

at the end. I mean, I

18:21

really thank God for Portland and

18:24

and Chancey and the GM there because

18:26

they really liked did

18:28

good bye me, just really

18:31

asking me and talking to me where I wanted to go

18:33

and if I was

18:35

on the same timeline as them and.

18:36

All that, and they did it. I mean, I

18:39

love them for that, but.

18:42

It was just such a shot. And then being

18:44

thrown into another system that I

18:47

had no clue about, but being

18:49

traded four days ago and

18:51

then having just to fly there and

18:54

go straight in the training camp was crazy.

18:56

Did you get a chance to talk to Gianni's dang

18:59

anybody?

19:00

Like? Uh? I talked to Dan.

19:03

I was like, uh, hey, bro, you're

19:05

gonna love it here. I think,

19:07

like because honestly, just like everybody

19:09

else think, I thought Dame was a good fit with Yanni.

19:12

Like how they play together.

19:14

The pick and roll addam came

19:17

into that and you got you

19:19

got Brooked obviously stretching the floor.

19:21

You got Bobby stretching the floor and being a bully

19:23

in the paint.

19:24

I thought it was a good.

19:25

I thought it was a good fit for him. So I ain't

19:27

had no no hate or anything. I

19:30

talked to Giannis a little bit, but the first person that called

19:32

me was Chris and he came.

19:34

He came to the house, and

19:37

uh, we had a we had a deep conversation.

19:39

We had we had a good conversation. So uh

19:42

yeah, yeah, came in my boy.

19:44

So it was it was good

19:46

to kind of talk it through

19:48

with him, because honestly,

19:51

I think a lot of them were

19:53

just as shocked as as I was. Like, I

19:55

don't think anybody knew. I think they kind of

19:59

kept it close to the chest for the most part.

20:01

Again, I don't know who knows who

20:03

knew like the whole story and who didn't,

20:05

So I can't speak on all that, but

20:08

like I know, I know a lot of them they just kept it

20:11

close because if it did get out. Yeah,

20:13

again, I don't know. For

20:16

me, it's like I'm

20:18

a grown man and

20:20

if you tell me that, like I'm possibly gonna get

20:22

traded them and be like all.

20:23

Right, yeah, I think

20:25

that's a tough thing to do though for a GM for

20:27

being who you are and what you meant to that team,

20:31

and like, like you have to play well

20:33

for that team to win. If they're like, yo, you

20:35

may get traded and then all of a sudden you don't.

20:37

That could be tough because like, all

20:40

right, trade me, then like like get me out of here.

20:43

So I get that from a certain extent,

20:45

But this isn't a normal situation. This

20:48

isn't like some guy that just play

20:50

here and now we're

20:52

just moving on because it didn't work, Like we

20:55

just won a championship. We're within

20:57

two years of winning a championship

21:00

and we still have championship

21:02

aspirations. Is pulling

21:05

me out of the puzzle gonna

21:07

help better that championship? I personally don't

21:09

think so. Not that Dame

21:12

isn't great, but just for what you meant to that team,

21:15

that team took a big hit defensively all

21:17

year because of the way people.

21:20

Don't understand the way

21:24

Janni's.

21:24

And Brooke play in the drop

21:27

that only works in today NBA. If you

21:30

have a guard that a

21:32

doesn't get screened and chases

21:34

over the ball like a hawk, Like

21:36

he chases over the screen like a hawk, And

21:40

with you chasing over the screens, they can sit in

21:43

that drop and you're good enough to funnel them

21:45

to the drop. All of a sudden, you remove

21:47

that and you don't have anyone to do that, and

21:50

Grayson Allen was gone, who also thought was your

21:52

second best perimeter defender, like

21:55

defense to a huge hit.

21:57

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guaranteed bro.

23:10

When I tell people during

23:12

that time because me and Grayson just

23:15

ironically, me and Grayson didn't go in the

23:18

same day the day that we got traded.

23:19

Grayson also been going that day, which

23:22

I don't know. I don't know why.

23:25

Grayson was killing

23:28

this offseason. Grayson put in work

23:31

and he was killing. I'm like, he is the best

23:33

player on the court this offseason, So

23:36

I think all of it kind of like, looking back

23:39

at it, I'm like, man, it was I

23:41

do think defensively it was.

23:42

A big It

23:46

hurt him a lot, But you know.

23:48

Trades can be made and you can try to find defense

23:51

and do all that.

23:52

But I agree with you.

23:53

I think that I was kind of perfectly

23:57

put or I fit perfectly and

24:00

funneling guys to Brook,

24:02

who I.

24:02

Think last year had career hiring blocks.

24:05

Obviously, you see what Giannis does blocking

24:07

shots and stuff, so I

24:10

was like, I was meant for that.

24:11

But yeah, for sure, brook

24:14

Brook was mentioned as defensive possibly

24:16

defensive Player of the Year last year, and I

24:19

don't remember nobody ever mentioned

24:21

a brook for Nobody's defensive Player of

24:23

the Year. So that does definitely

24:25

show your impact. But I

24:28

did so, so you pretty much chose

24:30

to go to the Celtics, like the Blazers

24:32

kind of gave you that right to just kind of Yeah.

24:36

There were other teams that I wanted to. They

24:38

were one of the teams that I wanted to.

24:40

Try to go to. Obviously they

24:42

had pieces. I think something.

24:44

Happened with Brot with Malcolm earlier

24:46

where he didn't go to the

24:48

Clippers, so I think he was maybe

24:50

looking to go somewhere

24:52

else and he

24:55

was definitely one of the teams. But I want to go to contendent.

24:58

I mean, this is a few of them out there

25:00

where I felt like I could make my impact. It was like,

25:02

there's the Clippers at the time, it's Miami, there's

25:06

Celtics, and I think maybe those.

25:07

Are the like the big three,

25:10

the ones that I

25:13

felt like, you know what, if I go there, I could.

25:14

Really really do something, and you

25:17

know, after you get traded sometimes you kind of question

25:21

not your abilities, but like sometimes your confidence,

25:23

Like am I.

25:25

As good as I think I am? Because like I.

25:27

Can just be traded for nothing or

25:29

not even know about it. But

25:32

to see so many people kind of text me

25:34

and be like dang, Like I didn't see that coming getting

25:36

those text messages. Man, I'm like, you know what, like,

25:39

yeah I can still

25:42

It ain't mean

25:45

I'm still nice.

25:45

So it was cool. It was cool to kind of have that

25:47

fee back.

25:48

But what was your reaction, like initially,

25:52

like y'all just finished playing the Celtics and

25:54

back and forth the last few years and

25:57

you know that thing has grown into a rivalry.

26:00

What was your reaction to that was?

26:02

It was it more like damn, I

26:04

don't know if I want to go or because

26:06

of the way they traded you, it was just like, no,

26:08

I actually want to go there and get.

26:09

Back at them.

26:11

Uh.

26:13

It was more like, yeah, I want

26:15

to go there and win.

26:18

It wasn't necessarily to get back at them because,

26:20

like I told you about my first trade experience,

26:24

it's happened to me before. I've been traded without

26:27

knowing I've been traded for I

26:30

mean, for whatever reason and it just

26:32

go like like thirty second call, I'm

26:35

somewhere else. So and I still love

26:37

the guys on the team, you know what I'm saying, But I

26:40

also want to beat them. Yeah,

26:42

also you know what I'm saying, I also want to beat them.

26:44

So it's not like in spite I didn't

26:46

go there in spite of them. I went there because

26:48

like that's my best chance of winning. And

26:51

again it ended up working out where I

26:53

feel like the Celtics equally wanted

26:56

me to.

26:57

Like it wasn't just right.

26:59

It wasn't just me.

27:00

Going after them, like they also pursued

27:03

me too, So I think it was that

27:05

definitely worked, But it wouldn't I wasn't going

27:08

there like yeah, I'm gonna get back at

27:10

the at the Bucks.

27:11

It was like, well, I'm gonna go there and win. If

27:13

we got to go through the Bucks, then be.

27:14

Going through absolutely, And

27:16

I you know, I can appreciate

27:19

that, and I love it because see what people

27:22

and you know, people get mixed

27:24

up all the time and they forget these these these

27:27

time of these events. Marcus

27:30

Smart was already traded. The Celtics didn't

27:33

have a point guard going

27:35

into the season, Like again, four

27:37

days away from training camp, they didn't

27:39

have a point guard. This

27:42

Damian Lillard trade actually made Bride

27:44

look like a genius because

27:46

now all of a sudden, you you, you end up

27:48

in Boston. They traded Marcus

27:50

Smart not knowing that that was happening. No,

27:53

No, it was almost like a panic,

27:55

like, oh man, we can't win, all right, the

27:57

money getting up there, JB money kicking in.

28:00

We know we about to pay JT. We might as well start

28:02

getting off some stuff now.

28:03

It was almost like a panic and like them letting

28:05

go the rope how I viewed it, and then all

28:07

of a sudden you pop up and everybody's

28:10

like, oh, Drew's in Portland.

28:12

But Drew said he not standing in Portland. He's available,

28:14

and they come up on you, and I

28:18

mean, it's changed everything.

28:20

It's a it's been fun,

28:22

bro, I'm not gonna lie, it's been it's been

28:25

fun. The culture here in Boston,

28:29

what it means to win, the

28:31

history that it has, Like me being from

28:33

La growing up a Laker fan. That

28:37

was probably the weirdest part for me, Like

28:40

being in that green being

28:42

like being a Celtic, knowing that I was gonna

28:44

sign and be a Celtic was like, like,

28:47

am I portraying my roots? Like

28:49

where I came from? Orically growing up

28:51

a Kobe fan, I thought I was supposed to be six eight

28:54

and be like magic, Like like, am

28:56

I betraying.

28:57

Where I came from?

28:57

Because all my family to this day

29:00

still Lakers fans. Like I

29:02

got family that came to the game in Boston

29:05

with Lakers stuff on. I'm like, You've got me messed

29:07

up. Watch

29:10

this game with a Lebron jersey

29:12

on?

29:12

Like what is wrong with you?

29:14

Right right?

29:15

I got like like I got family.

29:17

From La who still came to the game with Lakers stuff.

29:19

I'm like, yeah, that's that's crazy to me. But that's the

29:22

rivalry. That's like the history

29:24

behind it. But being

29:26

in at set the Green bro like it,

29:30

Like the pressure is like it's different. I

29:32

mean you can probably attest.

29:33

To it, like being on

29:35

top for so long or even

29:38

then like kind.

29:38

Of doubt you like you can't win, Like

29:42

all they talk about here is winning

29:44

and the only thing that is important is winning.

29:47

And I'm like, man, I'm here for it, bro, Like

29:50

I'm here for the ride. So I'm excited. I'm

29:52

excited to be here.

29:53

Now that's crazy, but that's also a different type

29:55

of pressure. Like even for us when we came in here

29:58

this like we made it to the playoff my

30:00

rookie year, we pour water on each other, like Mark

30:02

Jackson, don't don't do liquor, Like we had a

30:04

water celebration, not chap but because

30:08

that was like I mean, the biggest

30:10

moment was was

30:13

the we Believe season and like

30:16

since seventy five, that was the biggest moment

30:18

in history was do we believe? Winning

30:21

the first round playoff series, So we didn't necessarily

30:23

have like pressure to win

30:26

at the level that we won at because you

30:28

just couldn't compare it to anything. But you saying

30:32

y'all feel that pressure, like they make sure

30:34

y'all feel it and know like no, we we

30:36

gotta win championship.

30:37

That's it here in Boston.

30:39

I mean, you played, you played in the garden.

30:41

You know what the fans are like, you know how crazy,

30:44

right, It's like it's

30:47

it's live or died, like they something's

30:49

green all the way. So I think kind

30:51

of being in a position and bro

30:53

big like big props

30:56

and big ups to JT and JB because I

30:58

feel like they ho there

31:00

most of the pressure, like

31:02

a lot of it is on them because they've

31:04

been together for so long and

31:08

kind of have gone through this where they've been to the conference

31:10

finals and they've been to the they've been

31:12

to the finals and all that so many years

31:14

in a row, and even what they did

31:17

last year, like almost coming back

31:19

from down three against

31:21

the against the heat.

31:22

Yeah, I think that playing

31:26

with them and seeing like now that I'm on this

31:28

side and seeing like the pressure

31:30

that they go through and how

31:32

they handle themselves is like

31:36

is ultimate professional. Like I

31:38

don't think a lot of people would be able

31:40

to do what they do now.

31:42

That's incredible, and they carry it well because it

31:44

doesn't come off that way like obviously we all

31:47

here the talking heads on ESPN

31:49

or on this shore, like, but

31:52

to be feeling that pressure at home, you know

31:54

what I'm saying, Like to be feeling that pressure from

31:57

your fans to like, that's a different

31:59

type a thing to handle because when

32:02

at any moment, like you hit a rough

32:04

patch, yeah, like they you

32:07

should trade this person, you should trade that person,

32:09

And yet you still got to try to keep that same

32:11

love for this fan base because you're

32:14

one and the same in the sense you're trying.

32:16

To do that's that's a tough

32:18

thing to do.

32:19

And I don't think people realize how much

32:21

that takes and how much that says about those

32:24

two and just where they

32:26

are and their maturity.

32:28

Yeah, no, it's and I

32:30

saw that from day one, bro, like, and

32:32

you know JT, and I mean you know JB two

32:34

but you know JT like super cool

32:36

and calm.

32:37

It don't seem like anything mess with

32:39

him and all that. But I

32:42

know, like again, just being here

32:44

and seeing.

32:45

That type of pressure, Bro, I'm like, man

32:47

like, I really admire it, like and they do with

32:49

such a grace and

32:52

just how to handle themself is like way

32:55

wiser or like wise

32:58

beyond the year.

32:58

So it's been has been cool to kind

33:00

of see that.

33:01

That's super dope being on the other side and now

33:04

being with them.

33:06

You coming to the Celtics, your role has

33:08

changed quite a bit

33:11

offensively, But

33:14

in that change offensively me having

33:16

the opportunity to play with you, watching

33:20

you play, you don't get off on offense.

33:22

Like you're more than capable of scoring

33:25

the ball at any level, which I think most

33:27

people don't understand. You can take guys

33:29

to the post. You are a great finisher around

33:31

the rim. You have a floater, you have a

33:33

mid range, you have a three point shot. There's

33:37

guys that average far more points than

33:39

you in the NBA that can't score at every

33:41

level like that, and so just to be

33:43

able to score like that already puts

33:45

you in an elite category. However,

33:48

you've taken on a lesser role knowing that JT

33:50

is going to get a lot of shots. JB is going to get a

33:52

lot of shots, and everything else from

33:54

there is fleet throwing, it's you d.

33:58

White, some nice, it's our some nights,

34:00

it's Peyton something like.

34:02

It's so free flowing outside of

34:04

those two getting the shots that they're

34:06

going to get every night. And your role has changed

34:09

great. Granted I understand that maybe

34:12

people don't understand that, but I don't

34:15

really want to talk about that. What I want to talk

34:17

about is the role that I see

34:19

you playing now on the defensive

34:21

end, because you've gone from

34:23

a guy who, like were speaking about earlier,

34:25

where you're gonna be on Steph Curry, you're gonna

34:27

be on Kyrie Irving, you're gonna be on

34:30

the best ball handler at all times,

34:33

to now you're on me when we played

34:35

y'all to start the game, and I see you playing

34:37

more of a like I used to love to do

34:40

that. When our lineup's allowed for me to just

34:42

match up with a guy who's maybe a

34:44

lesser shooter, I can I can mess

34:46

up y'all offense in a totally different way than

34:48

just having to go guard that guy.

34:50

And I see y'all doing more of that now

34:53

with you.

34:53

How has that been for you, adjusting to

34:55

that role as opposed to being the gardener

34:58

dominant ball handler.

35:00

It's been a different experience

35:03

for sure, because, like you said,

35:05

and especially when we first came into the league, it

35:08

was like you guarded your matchup

35:11

absolutely.

35:11

If I was the point guard, I guarded the point

35:13

guard. If I was the two, I guarded the two.

35:16

Uh.

35:17

And honestly, my first few years or whatever, like I

35:19

don't ever think I guarded a three

35:22

like a small forward or whatever. Was

35:24

it the point guard or shooting guard now

35:27

and then it became like hound

35:29

the ball, best player, don't matter if they

35:31

six, eight, don't matter if they five.

35:34

To ten, hound them.

35:36

And those two are kind

35:38

of the same though, Like I still had the hound because

35:40

you know, when we came in the point guard is just

35:42

the one who brings it down, sets people up

35:44

and does all that. But they didn't pretty much the main

35:47

ball handler getting it to the guy in the

35:49

spot where the guy yes absolutely.

35:53

Now it's like.

35:55

I think our first time we played Philly Usguard

35:57

and Joel like seven

36:00

to I'm six four and

36:02

I some day six y five, depending on

36:05

if I got my hair. You

36:07

know what I'm saying, And I think kind

36:09

of like being a roamer

36:11

or disrupting.

36:12

Kind of like what you said, has been

36:15

so fun to me. It's been so

36:17

fun because.

36:17

I see the game in a different way. Now I

36:20

see the reason why I'm on this person. I

36:23

start to catching Now. Me and Joe talk about that quite

36:25

a bit, Like I start to catch with Joe

36:27

is thinking defensively before he tells me. I'd

36:30

be like, hey, you want to do this, You'd be like, yeah,

36:32

yeah, that's what I want to do it. I'm like, see,

36:35

I'm starting to catch on. Before I was just so

36:37

locked into hounding the ball,

36:40

disrupting it, sending them over

36:42

the screen, sending them down to Brookrianni

36:45

before that, send him the ad when

36:47

I was with the Pelicans. So it was like that

36:50

was it was a consistent type

36:53

of thing that I was doing. And now, Bro,

36:55

one day I might be on a non shooter, the next

36:57

day I might be on a shooter. I might be on the big for

37:00

if they want to come up and set a screen, but we

37:02

don't want to big in it. So because I'm

37:05

on him, now he's in the corner, and

37:08

now they're going with like somebody else who's maybe

37:11

less of a shooter, you know what I'm saying, Like so

37:13

many things playing to the defense now, And I

37:15

didn't see the.

37:16

Game that way. I was always

37:19

the person who had to hear

37:21

people tell.

37:22

Me what to do, which is a scare

37:24

re feeling. You're out there on that island.

37:26

Everything's happening behind you. Yeah,

37:29

but you can't turn and look, and

37:31

you just have to do it like you're at the mercy

37:33

of whether the big wants to talk.

37:35

Or not for sure one hundred percent. And

37:38

then yeah, So I learned early

37:40

to let my.

37:40

Biggs get the rebounds and feed

37:43

them the ball and stuff, because then they talk. But

37:46

now I'm the one screaming. I'm

37:48

like you, I'm trying to be loud, I'm trying to be

37:50

crazy. So like my teammates ain't getting smacked

37:52

by scream, so they know what's going on in situations.

37:55

And I think that that was something a little different from me because

37:58

I've always been like a quiet

38:00

player because I didn't.

38:01

Really have to say much. I was always on the ball, you

38:04

know what I'm saying.

38:04

So it's it's been a cool experience,

38:07

Like I guess, I'm I'm

38:09

I'm like Draymond Green, not

38:12

way.

38:13

Better, way better. And

38:18

I include myself and this.

38:20

Anytime someone talks about a

38:22

defender being overrated in the

38:24

NBA, I cannot

38:27

recall ever seeing one person say another

38:30

name outside of you, Yeah,

38:33

you've never finished higher than seven

38:35

place in defensive playerity of your

38:37

voter.

38:38

What do you make of that?

38:39

Because that to me, I know

38:42

the type of defender you are number one, and

38:44

playing against you and watching you play, I

38:46

know the type of respect that

38:49

people have for you as a defender, especially

38:51

those guys that you are guarden.

38:52

But what do you make of that thing?

38:57

I think that for the most

39:00

or.

39:02

The people, the players in the NBA

39:04

and a lot of the coaches in the NBA see

39:07

how good of the defender I am, and

39:09

that's all I need. Like

39:12

I could see the respect when somebody

39:15

when my guys going up to set a screen and they're

39:17

like, no, go to the next one.

39:20

You know what I'm saying. What

39:23

I'm like, all right, respect to

39:26

me, Like that's what I mean. I don't really care

39:28

for the accolades. I don't care for the

39:30

whatever. It would it be cool to get DPO out

39:32

yet, but I think

39:35

me personally it was for

39:38

one, Like I was super happy when Marcus got it

39:40

because it had been so long since a guard had gotten

39:42

it. Or and no offense

39:44

to the bigs out there that block shots.

39:46

And I know that they affect the game, but

39:49

like not all the time.

39:51

They not guarding the best players night, and

39:54

that they're not affecting the game in that way

39:56

where they got to fight over screens or

39:58

chase them around or pound them

40:00

full court. Like not saying that it

40:02

is easy because I can't block shots. I'm not averaging five

40:05

five blocks a game. But you would

40:07

know, like you have to guard. You have to

40:09

guard the best players at the end of the day,

40:12

you had to you they were

40:14

either trying to get away from

40:16

you or you would go and seek them out.

40:18

Because you knew, like I'm that guy, I'm tend

40:20

to.

40:22

So when Marcus got it, I was like so

40:24

excited because I'm like, all right, well we

40:26

trending in a direction now where I feel

40:28

like they could possibly go to guards

40:31

and do all that, but me not getting it.

40:33

Man, I could

40:35

I could care less. Now I wouldn't say care

40:38

less. I wouldn't say careless, but like I'm

40:41

I don't know the sleepover it.

40:43

You got more.

40:44

You have more respect from your peers

40:46

as a defender as I

40:49

wouldn't say more. You have as

40:51

much respect from your peers as

40:54

a defender as Steph

40:57

has as a shooter, or as like from

41:00

I mean the guys you've guarded, Like if you talk

41:02

to the guys that you've guarded, like

41:04

they don't think for a second like oh, Drew Holliday,

41:07

like like you asked Drew Holiday,

41:09

Like no question, And that's what I like.

41:11

It's just the same way, like obviously Steph

41:14

is the greatest shooter we've ever seen, if

41:17

you actually is the best shooter the first

41:19

Steph Curry, like you not a second

41:22

thought like Steph Curry, and guys that you've

41:24

guarded that know the game, that know what

41:27

is what their facing went they're up against

41:29

you.

41:30

It's the same. It's true holiday, no, no question.

41:33

And I think and as you just

41:35

like that's that's that's the biggest compliment one

41:37

could ever get.

41:38

Ever, that's that's crazy to me, that like

41:41

it's not even a question. It's not even like

41:44

yeah, like when I hear people are

41:46

when I hear that, like every time I hear it, Bro, I'm

41:48

like, yeah, that's that's insane

41:50

to me. But that's that's a good feeling.

41:53

That's I think part of the reason why, Like I

41:56

know, I mean going to sleep at night, bro, I'm

41:58

good, yeah.

42:00

No, and

42:03

gearing up for.

42:05

You know, you guys are the best record in the NBA by

42:08

probably double digit games at

42:10

this point, playing better

42:13

basketball or as good as basketball

42:15

as anyone.

42:16

I think Denver. Denver is playing great

42:18

basketball right now too.

42:20

So who's playing better Tomato

42:22

Tomato, probably you guys and the

42:24

way y'all been.

42:25

Winning as well.

42:26

But what do you feel as

42:28

a champion on a team with guys who's

42:31

gotten there conference finals,

42:33

gotten to the NBA Finals, yet

42:35

haven't been able to get on over the hump

42:37

as a champion. What is it that you

42:40

see that it's going to be important for

42:42

y'all to be for you and the Celtics

42:45

to be able to get over that hump that they

42:47

haven't been able to get over.

42:52

Man. I think it's this

42:55

sense of.

42:58

Consistency, but like calm

43:00

through the storm, because you know,

43:03

in every series, in every playoff

43:05

run, something goes to shit, some

43:08

go bad. You got to have a little

43:10

bit of luck. You gotta have a lot of bit of luck and a lot

43:12

of bit of health and stuff going your

43:14

way to get to where

43:16

you want to get to. But I

43:18

think that like our mindset right

43:21

now has been really good, and knowing

43:27

obviously been there and experiencing

43:29

it, me being able to and then even

43:31

then making it to the finals, losing, experiencing

43:34

that, experiencing what it takes to get

43:36

there.

43:38

I think that I think that it's

43:40

been really good.

43:41

Like our mindset hasn't been even

43:43

when we up double digit games

43:45

or even when we're playing against the worst teams

43:48

in the league.

43:48

It's always like our mindset

43:50

is to win this game,

43:53

like go for the kill. And you

43:55

know how it is, sometimes especially at this time

43:57

and the at the end of the year, it get

44:00

hard to play. Sometimes just

44:02

get me to the playoffs. We

44:05

already we already up in games or

44:07

whatever, like give me to the playoffs, and I'm looking forward to.

44:09

But I feel like as a

44:11

team, we're kind of in the place where it's like we

44:13

can still learn from each game, and

44:16

I think that's going to kind of take

44:18

us and carry us over the top

44:20

whenever we get to that point, if we.

44:22

Ever do no.

44:24

And I just think like the things that y'all are

44:26

doing again, like just going back to the way y'all

44:28

been winning, Like when you're doing things

44:31

like that, that to me is

44:33

like, Okay, they ready,

44:35

you know what I'm saying, Like they are ready to

44:38

win a championship, you know, not

44:40

blowing games, you know, not like

44:43

you guys supposed to be the team

44:45

y'all beating them, you know what I'm saying, Like beating

44:47

them handedly sitting fourth quarters like

44:50

and so to me and

44:52

watching, it's like, all right, they

44:54

really ready to compete for a championship

44:56

now, you know, I think you you

44:59

coming over there. It adds a totally

45:01

different demeanor to the team. I think it also

45:04

as a totally different confidence on both

45:06

ends of the floor.

45:07

And I see that y'all y'all have been able

45:09

to benefit from that.

45:11

But how what what is

45:13

it that you've seen now this

45:16

year and being on the side that you on

45:19

as opposed to side that you were on with

45:22

Jason Tatum, Like what is it that makes JT

45:24

so special that you've been able to see now?

45:28

I think when I was going against him, I

45:33

just saw him as an opponent. I didn't really

45:36

take him for everything

45:38

else, you know, like everything else off

45:40

the court that plays

45:42

into maybe the person he is or

45:45

even the player that he is. I think it was just an

45:47

opponent like him and JB, Like,

45:49

these are my opponents. I got

45:51

to beat my opponents.

45:54

Now that I see JT.

45:55

And obviously like yeah, we played

45:57

with him on the on the Olympic team and all that, but

45:59

like really getting the gnaw now and you learn

46:02

somebody on a deeper level, you

46:05

can see honestly

46:07

just how good of a person he is. And to me, I know

46:09

that that doesn't always I

46:12

know that that doesn't always matter in winning, but

46:14

to me, I think it matters. I think

46:16

it matters how you treat people, not

46:20

just in the organization the people that you work with, but

46:22

like how.

46:23

You treat people off the court.

46:25

Every time I see JT with fans bro, I'm

46:28

like, he literally like

46:31

doesn't take this for granted, you know what

46:33

I'm saying when he's talking to a little kid,

46:35

or he sees a little kid as his jersey, or

46:38

I don't know, if somebody says something to him

46:40

and he's.

46:40

Turning in a way then and I'm like, he

46:43

don't have to do that. Like y'all

46:45

came here to see him, y'all came here to see

46:47

him perform.

46:48

But like he's giving y'all kind

46:50

of like a piece of him, which

46:53

I feel like means a lot, and it's

46:56

genuine, and I think that that's

46:58

the biggest part, Like how genuine and

47:00

how great a character.

47:01

That he has.

47:02

I feel like that plays onto the court

47:04

because i mean, look,

47:08

God loves the winner. God loves

47:10

a give or too, and he's giving. He's

47:13

giving more than he has to out of the

47:15

kindness of his heart. So I

47:17

feel like that translates on the court and you can tell,

47:19

like he cares about this game.

47:22

Yeah, and it's not just sets, it's

47:25

not just how I.

47:26

Look that night on the stat sheet, Like he

47:29

cares about basketball. And you

47:31

can tell on the court,

47:33

but off the court.

47:34

You go often too.

47:36

No, that's absolutely amazing. And also

47:40

now being on the other side with JB. To

47:43

me and watching him play, it

47:46

seems to me like he's taking even more steps.

47:48

And I've always been a fan of JB because, you

47:51

know, being out here in the Bay, I remember going to

47:53

his game at Cal and watching

47:56

him and being like, oh, man, this kid is a good

47:58

athlete.

48:00

Do not great shot not great, but

48:02

he's a good athlete.

48:03

Got a great body, like super

48:05

athletic, like you know, can

48:08

score a little bit. And

48:10

to see the player that he is today,

48:12

where the way he can handle the ball,

48:14

the way he can shoot the ball, like he

48:17

is one of those guys to me that you see every

48:19

year he gets better every year, and to me it

48:22

seems like this year he's even taking a bigger

48:24

jump. Like what's it been like watching

48:27

like playing against JB with the growth

48:30

that he's been having over the years, but then also now

48:32

being with him and seeing

48:34

the growth up close and personal.

48:37

Playing against him is kind of like what you said,

48:39

there's always something that he couldn't

48:41

do.

48:43

He didn't shoot well enough. He finishes

48:45

at the rim. Well, he's an athlete, but

48:47

he doesn't shoot well enough. Or

48:50

it could be like you said this handle isn't

48:52

good enough. And I think coming

48:54

into this season and throughout

48:57

the season, he's just shown that, like when

48:59

people doubt him, he really

49:01

take that the heart, bro.

49:03

Like, oh, you don't have a left hand. And if

49:05

y'all really look at JB game this year, he's

49:08

been finishing crazy with

49:11

his left and it's

49:13

like, I don't know if it's he

49:16

do it on you know what I'm saying, Like, I don't know if

49:18

he was just practicing that in the off

49:20

season or or whatever it is.

49:22

But like literally everything

49:24

that you that they've talked about him

49:26

not that good of a shooter, he's shooting the

49:29

three.

49:29

Very well this year, like one of like

49:31

one of our go to three point shooters, you know what

49:33

I'm saying.

49:36

Before our defense, but go ahead.

49:40

Yeah, we was like, oh JB shoot

49:43

it every time? Every

49:45

time shoot the ball? Can you shoot? He

49:48

like, yeah, all right, shoot it. But

49:51

he brouh.

49:52

I feel like everything, whenever somebody doubts

49:54

him, he's like, all right, I'm a pretty.

49:56

Wrong And that's a dog to me. That's

49:59

a dog to me. Like he he.

50:01

Just he got that that barking him, He

50:03

got that tough in him. That's like

50:06

I really want to win. And I saw

50:08

it before like playing against him, that he

50:10

really wanted to win. But it's even

50:12

born now because like you

50:15

hear the doubts that people had about him, And can

50:17

j B and JT do it together?

50:19

And you will?

50:20

And you see how they play together, bro, It's like

50:23

like they play well

50:25

together. They both work on that game. And JB's

50:29

mid range is going crazy. His

50:31

finishes at the.

50:32

Rim are going crazy. It's three points going crazy.

50:34

So, man, I don't know. JB is

50:36

a complete player to me, and to hear the thing

50:38

he don't.

50:40

We got him in the corner at times, like coming off down

50:42

screens, catching off downscreens and making moves that

50:44

way, and then we'll have him bring

50:46

it down and him run point guard and him running off screen

50:48

and rolls and making plays and diamond

50:51

people.

50:51

I'm like, he has such a complete game to me that

50:53

I love. I love playing with JT.

50:56

I mean, Ja's definitely he's definitely put

50:58

it together, that's for sure. Just

51:00

switching switching gears a little bit

51:02

before we get out of here.

51:05

I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about your

51:08

wife, who you

51:12

Jeezon already.

51:15

That's my girl.

51:16

But a few questions about

51:18

your wife, but number one Lauren, who's incredible

51:23

World Cup gold medalists and soccer.

51:25

For those of y'all that don't know, I

51:28

was diagnosed some years back, I

51:30

think in twenty sixteen with

51:33

a brain tumor. And you

51:37

number one, you're a solid as a person as they

51:39

come, but you taking

51:41

time away from the season being there

51:43

for her, taking care of her.

51:46

Like, what was that like for you in that process

51:49

of number one, dealing

51:51

with that, like the scare of a brain

51:54

tumor, like that serious stuff, so that

51:56

before any basketball, but then going on

51:59

and you know like, yeah, I'm not going

52:01

back to the season, like that'll be there or

52:03

it won't be, but this is what I have to do.

52:05

What was that whole process like for you or her?

52:10

For me, it was the easiest decision I made

52:12

because as much as I love basketball,

52:14

it's always been God family basketball.

52:17

So growing up being

52:19

in the church obviously, you know,

52:21

growing up your mama dragged the church and all that.

52:24

You don't want to go.

52:25

But when you're faithful, I feel like God blesses

52:27

you and He's done that in my life so many time. And

52:31

another thing that my family has always taught me

52:34

is that my family is most important.

52:37

Obviously I loved again in basketball, and I've loved

52:39

it since I was two or three years old, but

52:42

I've loved my family more so. Again,

52:46

you see my family league. We've talked about

52:48

him earlier. But my

52:50

wife, like I told you, is my dog, Like she's

52:53

she's my person, and she has

52:55

been for so long because

52:58

of our same values.

53:00

Same faith. Not

53:02

only that, though, but she's always pushed me in

53:05

my career and she's always had

53:09

my back in my career. Like when I

53:11

had doubts about uh ME

53:14

being traded from Philly to New.

53:16

Orleans, Like why would they do that after I had

53:18

this type of season, Like am I just expendable?

53:21

She like, not, you're the

53:23

best player, No, you

53:25

are the best players. So she would show she would

53:27

show me love. But it's also because she experienced

53:29

it herself, Like she got

53:32

two gold medals in the Olympics, she

53:34

got a World Cup gold medal and

53:37

the w in the uh in the NWEL

53:40

she was two time MVP

53:43

and two time champions, like like

53:45

like people don't know, like she is like the

53:47

real athlete in my family, and

53:49

I'm really just trying to sit at the table with her. And

53:52

when it came down, when

53:55

it came down to stop and to

53:57

play basketball, bro, it was like it

53:59

was like, yeah, that's that's easy, Like she's

54:02

my rock.

54:02

I wouldn't I

54:06

wouldn't know what to do if I.

54:07

Didn't have her, So it

54:09

was it was an easy decision for me

54:12

to take care of my family. And my

54:14

daughter was also being born. So first my

54:17

daughter had to be born. She was five and a half

54:19

weeks early. She was born premature.

54:22

And then a month later, my wife had surgery.

54:26

All this happened at Duke in Carolina, right.

54:28

So we got a new born.

54:30

We got to make sure that she's okay, and say

54:32

she's in Nikki for seven or eight days.

54:35

My wife is going crazy because she's like she should be home

54:37

with us. And I also still have to

54:39

recover because I have surgery a

54:42

month later, and it's like it's gonna

54:44

it's gonna be okay. And then my

54:46

wife had a ten hour surgery. Like

54:49

think of like being in a hospital

54:52

room for ten hours, not knowing

54:54

what's gonna wait, just waiting

54:56

but not knowing, Like somebody's like

54:59

about that, like cut

55:01

your brain open and you know, with your

55:03

brain, so many different functions you

55:06

can either have, you can have after

55:09

or you can lose.

55:09

Them, you know what I'm saying.

55:11

So not only are we waiting

55:14

to see what happens at the end of the day, like she's

55:16

also waiting. And it was

55:18

like the longest ten.

55:20

Hours in my life. I'm not gonna lie to

55:22

you.

55:23

But we had support from my family,

55:25

her family, our friends. It was

55:27

like we got a really good

55:29

community. But it was, bro,

55:32

It's hard. It's hard to think that somebody

55:35

who was the best athlete in your family,

55:38

somebody who's at i mean especially health

55:40

wise, like the best health.

55:42

Of her life, she just had a brain tumor

55:44

and to.

55:45

Go through this.

55:46

So like I'm kind of hurting for her because

55:49

I'm like, I'm an athlete, Like what if that would

55:51

happen to me, you

55:53

know what I'm saying, Like and me not knowing

55:55

what's going on. So it was it

55:58

was definitely a crazy time,

56:00

but we did it together.

56:02

Bro, And I mean I

56:05

think I think that we made it through.

56:06

And God bless us with a healthy child and we

56:08

got another healthy child. My

56:12

daughter's seven and my son is three, so

56:14

and my wife is healthy too, So I'm

56:16

not I'm not a set And.

56:17

Then I just put in perspective what basketball really was.

56:20

It's a platform to show this

56:23

ability that God gave me, and the

56:25

glory goes to him, but also

56:28

it goes to show like, as

56:31

serious as I take this game, there

56:34

are things.

56:34

That are more serious, Yes, more

56:37

important.

56:38

Man. That's that's number one. That's crazy,

56:41

but very special to see.

56:45

I've been married now for a year and a half, but

56:47

like to see that bond and

56:50

like just being so willing, Like,

56:53

you know, people sign up for marriage for

56:55

a lot of reasons, and oftentimes

56:58

people don't think, like, yo, I'm a have

57:00

to deal with a woman that has a brain tumor

57:02

and like take on all these things. And we have

57:04

a one month old baby, and now

57:06

I have to take care of the one month old and.

57:11

My wife.

57:12

And I mean, let's face it, man, we like

57:14

your wife obviously an athlete and

57:17

doing her own thing on the athletics side,

57:19

but man, there's still so

57:21

much that we don't so

57:23

much of the burden that we

57:26

don't have to carry due to our wives, you

57:28

know, and to now have

57:32

the person who lifts all the burdens

57:34

up off you.

57:36

Not be a burden to you, because it's

57:38

not a burden.

57:38

It's something like, I'm with you no matter what, but

57:42

not be able to lift one of the biggest

57:44

burdens, which is a newborn

57:46

baby. And then also you,

57:50

you know, having to be so relying up

57:52

on you herself for you

57:54

to just pull everything together, and that says

57:57

so much about your strength. And obviously I've

57:59

all you know, I've known for years, like

58:01

I said before, one of the most solid people

58:04

that I've ever met, you.

58:05

Know what I'm saying, And I've known that for years.

58:07

But to just hear that,

58:10

like and how you spoke about

58:12

that, and to relive that, man,

58:14

that's so special. That is

58:17

because again, like

58:19

you said, she's extremely healthy. And not only is

58:21

she healthy person, she's thriving

58:24

in her career.

58:25

All right, bro, all right, like

58:27

one of the best to ever do it. Yeah, crazy

58:31

and number one.

58:32

Just have to abruptly

58:34

stop and like deal with all of those things.

58:36

Man.

58:37

I take my hat off to her.

58:39

I take my hat off to you and

58:41

and your and y'all family, because

58:43

that that's man like,

58:46

that's just out of god, Lee, I couldn't

58:48

imagine.

58:49

Well not I appreciate it.

58:50

It was.

58:50

It was the time in my life where like it

58:54

was definitely hard.

58:55

Actually, I'm not sure I really told anybody

58:57

outside of like my close friends is but like I

58:59

didn't tell my wife how

59:02

I felt or what I was going through in those

59:04

moments, like in that year span or however

59:06

long we knew until two years after.

59:11

Like that two years later, I broke

59:13

down and told her, Like, by

59:16

the way, I think maybe it was a

59:18

year or two after the whole thing went down,

59:20

We in our bathroom and.

59:22

I'm like, oh, by the way, like this

59:24

is what I like, this is how I felt during

59:27

that time, you know, like I felt like I had to be

59:29

strong for him, but like internally,

59:31

like I was scared shitless, you

59:33

know what I'm saying. Like I was, I was

59:36

like I was scared out of my mind to lose my best

59:38

friend. I know, I didn't know what was gonna happen my

59:41

daughter. But I ended up telling her just

59:44

one random day, like, hey,

59:46

so this is actually what I was feeling back

59:49

back when. Back then, I

59:51

just wanted to.

59:52

Let you know and get that out there. She was

59:54

like to keep long

59:56

enough because

59:59

I mean because she cause she know me.

1:00:02

That in that time like, I'm also hurting

1:00:04

too, but also she

1:00:07

also felt like I had to be tough for her,

1:00:10

and she was like, yeah, it took you long enough.

1:00:11

I'm like, yeah, my bad in

1:00:14

my own time. I mean, I had to

1:00:16

tell her.

1:00:17

So that's

1:00:19

fire, that's fire. And she

1:00:21

how she knows she's good enough.

1:00:23

Great, great, God

1:00:27

is good.

1:00:28

God is good.

1:00:29

Man, Bro, I appreciate you taking

1:00:31

the time before we get out of here.

1:00:33

We're going to end it on a much lighter note

1:00:36

than that.

1:00:37

But there's, as you know, like

1:00:40

there's this influx of NBA

1:00:43

brothers, there's this influx

1:00:46

of NBA father, NBA

1:00:48

sons, there's this there's just this influx

1:00:50

of all of these things.

1:00:52

You got the brothers

1:00:56

and y'all. You got the curries.

1:00:59

Well, Idlan will add dell

1:01:01

in for the curries, will take them back

1:01:03

to his prime for the curries.

1:01:05

There we go.

1:01:06

We put all y'all up against each other.

1:01:08

You got the Thompsons, you got Michael Thompson, Klay Thompson,

1:01:10

Mikey Thompson, you

1:01:14

got Cody Zeller, Tyler Zeller.

1:01:18

You got Mason plumb Lee, Miles

1:01:20

Plumbley. The other brother

1:01:22

wasn't quite good enough.

1:01:26

But you got the Boss,

1:01:29

you got the locals twins. Uh,

1:01:31

you got the Morris twin. Brother, there's a grip of them.

1:01:34

It's crazy. Who winning these

1:01:36

games? Who

1:01:43

winning these games? Y'all

1:01:46

taking them easy?

1:01:47

Oh, it ain't easy because they the

1:01:50

NBA players, But come on, now, we've

1:01:52

got dogs over here.

1:01:55

It's your whole family. Brothers don't

1:01:57

make sense to me. It's your mom, it's your dad,

1:01:59

it's sister. You with your

1:02:01

brothers. It's crazy.

1:02:03

Yeah, it's in our blood literally,

1:02:06

So it's an easy answer

1:02:08

to me.

1:02:09

The most athletic family out

1:02:12

of La Drew my brother. I

1:02:14

can't thank you enough. Last question,

1:02:17

are y'all winning the championship?

1:02:20

You know, I

1:02:23

think we got a good chance, Bro, I

1:02:26

think we got a good chance. I think

1:02:28

we got a good chance.

1:02:30

I don't like to speak on it, like, oh,

1:02:33

maybe out loud to myself obviously

1:02:36

I know what I'm thinking, But I think we got

1:02:38

a good chance.

1:02:38

There's a lot of.

1:02:39

Things obviously in place, hell and

1:02:41

all that that we got to stay locked

1:02:44

into. But man,

1:02:46

we got a real good chance. And obviously

1:02:49

right now in a month left, like it's

1:02:51

a good feeling going in to

1:02:55

this process knowing where we are mentally

1:02:58

knowing where I'm not mentally feeling feeling real good.

1:03:00

So yeah, man,

1:03:02

we got a good chance.

1:03:03

I love it, brother, I love it.

1:03:05

One thing I will tell you about your

1:03:07

Eastern Conference playoff series before

1:03:09

it starts.

1:03:11

I think y'all handled the Eastern Conference. I

1:03:13

really do.

1:03:14

I think y'all are that good. One

1:03:16

of the best teams I've seen around since,

1:03:19

like our power teams.

1:03:21

You know, like when we were like one of the best,

1:03:25

like you, y' y'all got

1:03:27

one of the telling you telling me, y'all

1:03:29

got one.

1:03:30

Of the best teams since since me.

1:03:36

Honestly, we

1:03:40

knew we were going to win the championship. It

1:03:42

was just a matter of the date getting there. Like

1:03:45

when we got Kevin. It was weird,

1:03:48

not weird, like

1:03:50

all of us playing together and trying to make it work.

1:03:53

It was weird up intil Christmas, and

1:03:56

we got smacked on Christmas Day.

1:03:59

If I'm not mistake either,

1:04:01

we got smacked on Christmas. No, I

1:04:03

don't think we got smacked. That may have been the

1:04:05

game where Kyrie hit the shimmy fade

1:04:08

to win it, But then after

1:04:11

that game, we lost that game to the Cavs

1:04:13

because at that time. That was during the time where

1:04:16

if you played in the finals, it was always a rematch

1:04:18

on Christmas there, and it was

1:04:20

at the home team. You know, whoever won the

1:04:22

finals, they got the home game. And

1:04:24

so we're playing the Cavs and like,

1:04:27

it don't work out for us in that game, Kyrie hits

1:04:30

a tough shot, as Kyrie does, and we

1:04:32

lose that game. And I remember after that game

1:04:35

Kevin telling Steph like, Yo, you

1:04:37

don't have to worry about me, Like, you don't

1:04:39

have to try to give me the ball, y'all don't have to try

1:04:42

to run a bunch of plays for me. I'm gonna

1:04:44

be fine. I'm going to score to basketball, do

1:04:46

what y'all do. And when

1:04:49

Kevin said that, that unlocked Steph.

1:04:52

That unlocked Kevin. We beat

1:04:54

them two weeks later by fifty points,

1:04:57

and it was just once that happened,

1:04:59

it was just.

1:04:59

A at a time of us like, yo,

1:05:02

we know we win in a championship.

1:05:04

And I'll tell you one of the craziest things

1:05:06

for me with those teams, one

1:05:09

of the craziest things for me was that you

1:05:11

know how coaches always say, like you can't flip

1:05:13

the light switch on and off, like you

1:05:16

try to flip that light switch on and

1:05:18

it don't turn on, Like it just don't

1:05:20

work like that.

1:05:22

That is the first time in my life that I learned

1:05:24

I was a lot.

1:05:27

We literally like half times

1:05:29

during the season where we turning up, we

1:05:32

get drunk, we kicking it, and

1:05:34

we have times where we walk in and

1:05:37

like, yo, for the next two weeks, we're gonna approach

1:05:39

this like playoffs, nobody drinking, nobody going

1:05:41

out, and let's just see where we are. We win nine

1:05:44

games in a row or eight out of nine games,

1:05:47

and so that's like or we

1:05:50

walk in at halftime, we down twenty points

1:05:52

and we're like, yo, turn it up. Now, let's

1:05:54

turn it up and go win this game. By the end of the third

1:05:56

quarter, we up fifteen points. And

1:06:00

so for me, yeah, it was crazy

1:06:02

like that.

1:06:03

Y'all could have like a thirty point

1:06:05

swing in what seven minutes.

1:06:08

Yeah, it was crazy. It

1:06:10

was crazy. So I think that's what

1:06:12

I like.

1:06:13

That's the thing that stood out most for me is

1:06:15

that if we walked in the

1:06:17

gym and we said, Yo, this

1:06:20

is a game we need to win, or this

1:06:22

is a game we need we're going to win, or let's

1:06:25

go win this game.

1:06:26

We were gonna win the game like and

1:06:28

that like that to me mentally're

1:06:32

just on a different level than everybody.

1:06:35

Yeah, and that's that's like I see some of

1:06:37

that out of y'all right now, where like y'all coming

1:06:39

into these games and it's like, no, we

1:06:41

winning this game, like the game didn't like it

1:06:44

is what it is.

1:06:44

We win in this game.

1:06:46

And that's like right now,

1:06:48

if there's any teams in the NBA that have

1:06:50

that is y'all in them, you know, that's like,

1:06:53

oh, we winning this game when we walk in. And

1:06:55

so, man Bro, I

1:06:57

can't thank you enough for coming on the show. It's

1:06:59

a good luck in

1:07:01

the playoffs. And I'll tell

1:07:03

everybody one last story. We want

1:07:05

a gold medal in two and twenty

1:07:08

one, which was twenty twenty Olympics,

1:07:10

and Drew.

1:07:13

Book came in.

1:07:16

All arrived the morning of the game

1:07:18

because the playoffs went late that year.

1:07:20

They were playing in the finals.

1:07:21

Drew hops off a plane from La

1:07:24

I think or somewhere

1:07:28

west of Seattle. Hops

1:07:30

on a plane, flies all the way to Japan,

1:07:33

comes out the gate, no practice, play

1:07:35

thirty one minutes. We end up

1:07:37

losing that first game, Evan forty

1:07:39

eight played out of his mind. But

1:07:43

what you did for offense,

1:07:45

Like we got to a point where

1:07:47

we lost that first game, we had a player's only

1:07:50

meeting and we just talked and we're like, yo, everybody,

1:07:52

just play basketball.

1:07:54

Like drive if you can score,

1:07:56

go score if you can't kick it out.

1:07:58

And what you did far off, like

1:08:00

you just start driving the ball just to kick the

1:08:02

ball, and like starting the domino.

1:08:05

And when I watched you play

1:08:07

during.

1:08:07

The Olympics, and you did that offensively,

1:08:10

and then obviously what you was doing defensively,

1:08:13

like I obviously had seen you playing

1:08:15

and like all of these things, but that right

1:08:17

there for me, when you were doing that, that took

1:08:20

you to a whole nother stratosphere for me

1:08:22

in my mind to watch that. And

1:08:24

I just want to say thank you because you got

1:08:26

me another gold medal. I appreciate you,

1:08:28

brother. I can't thank you enough.

1:08:33

No, I thank you for saying

1:08:36

that, because a lot of people do talk about my defense,

1:08:38

but I do take probably in my offense

1:08:40

too. You know, absolutely, you know what I'm saying. I

1:08:43

work on it and I put in that

1:08:45

type of work. But I think knowing what the

1:08:47

type of talent that I was playing with, Like, it

1:08:50

wasn't really meant for me to score.

1:08:52

We got scoring, but I think

1:08:54

getting advantage and just like getting

1:08:56

into the paint.

1:08:57

I've seen you do that so many times where you getting

1:08:59

to the bank, you draw that person up, you throught a lot,

1:09:01

or you draw the person you get the kickout.

1:09:03

So I think,

1:09:06

man, it was so fun playing

1:09:10

not only like the European game, but.

1:09:11

Playing with like the best players in the world. Bro, Like that's

1:09:14

like such an honor because who doesn't

1:09:16

want to represent a country and play with the best

1:09:19

players in the best league in the world.

1:09:20

So no AGGREI you had,

1:09:23

my brother, I appreciate you.

1:09:24

For those of y'all out there watching, I'm

1:09:27

about to send Drew a couple of restaurants in

1:09:29

Detroit so he can have a whole other

1:09:31

sperience in Detroit that these NBA players

1:09:34

don't be having. And Detroit is going to become

1:09:37

a city, is going to become a player

1:09:39

favorite city, y'all just watch, and

1:09:42

I'm starting here with Drew.

1:09:43

I can't thank you enough for coming on the show,

1:09:45

my brother. Good luck in the playoffs, Bro.

1:09:48

You said, Bro, you know you know I'll see you around

1:09:50

hopefully in the finals.

1:09:51

Absolutely, you playing the Olympics this year.

1:09:55

I don't know. I don't know.

1:09:56

Yeah, I

1:10:02

I am praise to God Almighty that I could

1:10:05

end up carrying somebody backs.

1:10:06

On that team. There we go.

1:10:08

Yeah, hey man, hey, we'll

1:10:10

see. We'll see what happens.

1:10:12

Man, Yes, sir much love

1:10:14

my dog. Thank you, bro.

1:10:16

For sure.