2025 is only a few days away! Before we kick off the New Year, we're looking back on memorable moments from 2024 with some of the biggest legends in NBA history. Included in this compilation are interviews with Alonzo Mourning, Oscar Robertson, Dominique Wilkins and Shawn Kemp.
Speaks to the plan in Charlamagne to God here and as we come closer the closing out this year, I just want to say thank you for tuning into the Black Podcast Network. There have been so many great moments over the past year. Take a listen to some of those captivating moments in this special best of episode.
Seven time All Star, two time Defensive Player of the Year, two thousand and six Champions, three time Defensive Player of the Year.
Man, Welcome to the show, Alonzo.
Thank you appreciate.
Than having me. Gentlemen.
You spoke to the growth of the game and the vision of David Stern. And you know, as we currently speak five straight years foreign players and won the MVPs and the knock. When you were coming in the game and when we were coming in the game was European players were a little soft and they couldn't kind of fit into the physicality of our game. Skilled we couldn't fit into the physicality that game. And I think with the growth of the game, it's kind of grown more toward a European style of basketball.
And you know what, and the reason being is because the mentality is different over there. The culture speak to that is different too.
Yeah.
I mean they grew up a little hungrier, almost like we did when we were younger. You know, there's a certain hunger level. I was with David Stern. We were playing an exhibition game and when we had the Big Three here in Miami, and I was coming down with him and I coming down on the elevator, okay, and I just started working with the team recently and as vice president, and I said David, I said, what is it about us coming over here to play? And from a business perspective, I had to think about it when he responded to me. But his direct response was, all we need it's three hundred million of them. And I thought about it when you think of the volume of eyes that are following the game of basketball over in China. I mean he had billions, a billion, over a billion, one point two one point three billion people over there, and he said, oh, we need is three hundred million, which, which, for lack of a better word, trumps which trump's the amount of eyes that we have here. You know, So when you think about the business perspective of it, you know, it's like, you know, the volume of eyes that are global, really, you know, has has been a lot more uh, beneficial for the league because from an international perspective, now we're sparking the interest of this young, hungry generation of Europeans and then the national players, whether it be Africans, you know, whether it be you know, you know, whether it be you know, Europeans and Serbians. And you think about when Miyama, you think about you know, Joel and Bieb. I mean, the list goes on.
Man.
You know, you think about the Joker, you know, you think that was sparked by the seed playing it by David Stern back in nineteen ninety two when we implemented the Dream Team and it just spread like wildflife.
You know, I'm sure he's happy and down.
Obviously, the growth of the game sixth straight overseas MVPs. Do you see this kind of trend continuing to grow or do you think American players will come back around and kind of meet the challenge.
There is a reason why each team has a staff of three, four, five, even six folks that travel throughout the year outside of our country to identify table There's a reason why each NBA team has an international scouting stand. That's the reason for that, you know, and that's where we are. That's what the league is. And I don't see it going backwards at all, you know, I see it growing even more. I don't know the exact percentage, but you know we're coming close to almost fifty percent. You know, you got to think of the amount of jobs in the league. Now, you only got four hundred and fifty jobs. Man, So you got millions of young people playing the game of basketball in the United States that are dreaming about playing in the NBA. But what gets in the way of this process of developing your game and doing all the things you need to do to take care of your bus body is the money, you know. And it starts with au basketball. You know, it's basketball is tainted. I play basketball differ much different, and now that's tainted by these industries man, you know, giving these coaches money, you know. And it's not even about developing the player, it's not it's not even about developing the fundamentals and the skills of the game. It's not about that anymore. When over there, that's all it's about. That's all. It's a power man.
The mean, look at Luca Jesus christ Man, I mean.
His skill level is all the charge is off the charge and it's not like that. You know, our young people here can't develop like that as well. But it's too much. It gets in the way of it. You know, it's too much gets in the way of that process.
You know, Tumbo becomes a teammate too, incredible shot blockers. We heard a story about but Tumble trying to pick up girls at the Georgetown bar. Can you tell us anything about that?
Hey, listen, man, listen. We all had a good time. Yeah, the k had an even bat. He took advantage of those moments when we had as part as you go to because he was the one that was heads above everybody else, so all the eyes is on him. He took advantage of it. But we had a lot of We had a lot of fun. We had some memorable moments. Probably one of the most memorable moments that I had with him, we were we were dominates and his feet hung off the bed in the dorm.
And everything because he's about seven two.
Yeah, he's seven two. But anyway, one day he uh, he was in the kitchen cooking and he.
Ran out of he uh, he ran out of flower.
He was trying to make some chickens, so he used so corn bread mix.
Man.
He had the whole apartment smoking. He had tried apartment smoke coming.
All out of the.
In there, chicken and chicken and bird on the outside, and it was wrong inside. It was like I was like, oh my god, you need.
Cornmeal bro not corn bread.
Cornmeal bro not corn bread.
Welcome to the show, Thank you, domin Man.
Thanks always good to see you guys.
Obviously a career full of highlights. Are there any dunks that's to kind of stand out to your mind? You said you love dunkle on big dudes, that's you know.
Yeah.
I think one of my favorite dunks was against Bobbling there at the end of the game. I remember, I'm on the right side and I come to the middle and Kevin Greedy cuts me off and I go back base. I say, here, jump, that's it. That's the one. Was that a double punt reverse on to the side, so you see a ball fake hold hold?
The post game though, how many guards that post game?
Back?
Then?
Hey, let me tell you he didn't speak to me for nine years.
I said, why you why do you not? I mean, what's up with that?
He said, it's just recently my daughter said I need to get by. He said, it's this little skinny kid dunk on you like that. You should be embarrassed.
Damn when you kind of see how that's yourself. Obviously you can put yourself back, do you.
What do you think one of the things that you could never put a little guard like that on me? Because if you switch, I'm going right to the post. I'm not gonna be out on the wing. You're not gonna switch. He's thinking that you're gonna hide on. Ain't no hiding because we're gonna make you pay for switching. And I didn't know that was gonna happen because I thought I thought maybe I closed my eyes when I went by baseline and we went up, he was at the rim like this, you went and I kept going up. He was coming down and he looked at me all the way down to court, and my teammates said, don't go back to the basket.
Cause he's gonna suck you up.
Wasn't letting that happen?
No, no treat you told my tough guys. Let me explain something about she ain't letting that happen. There's only so much you could say the tree before he slaps I'm not going and I've seen him slap many got Bill cart right guards. I mean he slaps on gods. I said, treat man, why you slap people like that? He said, it takes that manhood when I Hey, that's what we get man the same way.
I know that's my dog. I mean the brother.
That's one of the reason why you don't want to play power Forward.
Look at it right there, that's him and Zeke Oh no in it away.
That said eight foot wings, you're not getting in there. And see he had you got you gotta take one to get in there, and he had no problem hit.
Look how far away he's swinging though, like you can't even get Yeah.
You got you got to take one back.
Then it wasn't no just wolfing wolf wasn't no crazy fine nah man. I remember Oak with the first kid and jump.
So he said, I'm gonna hit.
Your hands, your hands, you know, he scored and just jab somebody running back.
Look, Hey, that's nobody like that.
Something that came in all out brawl because he dunked and Danny ain't. No nobody hit him with his elbow because Danny Ain't kept jabbing him in the ribs.
Every time you go by a pick.
So that was a perfect opportunity for treating to get him.
They got you in your bag too.
Me and Bird got into it, got into a situation and I cook man my train ground.
I couldn't get loose.
I hate that I couldn't get like.
Like this is this little the strength and conditioning motherfucker.
Right, I couldn't get loose. He did on purpose to face.
He almost broke his neck.
He took his face and Andrew's a competitor to Oh yeah, the back down.
You know one guy that he's another guy that gave me so much respect man that after I retired. Yeah, because he was a past man. We we got in so many fights from Boston. Man, it was a normal thing. But you know what, it was expected. It wasn't personal. We're just trying to in between Boston and Detroit and New York teams we had. We had it because if you hit us, we're hitting you back.
You know.
That was just our attitude. We had a we had a policy on our team. Anybody gets into it, bench clear.
If the bench don't clear, you.
Find if you didn't come now, you get fined.
I'm doing just like this I can't after Yeah, I'm not giving up twenty five. That was different. No, But then you know your fines were like one hundred and fifty two hundred dollars fine, you know, and we used to we.
Used to put it.
Yeah, I wouldn't have noticed that, right, Hey, I noticed the one we put it in.
We put it in a pot, you know, and we have shooting and shoot for it.
Yeah, that's our minimal. That's because it wasn't that much.
Man. You know, flagrant found.
We didn't really know what the flagrant found was.
Everything looked flagrant back.
Then against the Troy and my horn, he gonna he's gonna lie about it if you talk to me.
I'm coming down and I.
Get hit by here by my horn, right, I get hit and the small on my back by lambing. I went like that bam.
It hit the ground and I wasn't hurt. But I just looked up.
I said, they didn't just snatch me out of the as. I just jump out, just start swinging, And then I came to my senses. I said, damn, I gotta fight these two big now. Then on this side Kevin Willis comes up and on this side rollin I.
Got more braid.
They got closer, right and you know, and nobody nobody right there too.
He tried to black a shot.
He was just cheap shot it.
You know.
I broke my hand on his head though, punched him in the back of his head and broke my finger. I said, boy, you got a big old head. Boy, I had to pay for that.
You know, I wasn't a guy.
I didn't start a lot of crap. And it's you know, a lot of fighting. But one thing about I wasn't gonna start no fighting. I'm on, yeah, you know you're not knocking this.
You know. One thing I.
Didn't deal with disrespect man. You know, I just played my game. You know that's it. But you know, like I said, you have certain guys that you don't like. I don't care. And like I said, it ain't nothing they did. They just don't like. Like like Chuck Person played with them. We fought all the time. We fought all the time, even in pre season. I'm coming down on the court preciendinga hits men knocked the win on me.
I just got it.
I just start swinging out. You hit him two or three times. Then somebody grabbed me by the neck, and I'm choking. They choking me, right, just like what Draymond did with Gobert. Then it's arm loosen up and all you hear behind him, your boy caves and let him go, let him go, and he went limp and I looked.
Back like, thank you, appreciate the big So if you read, if you if you threw punches back, then what was that five hundred.
Two fifty two hundred, Oh god, that's it, man, Hey, you fifty you got thrown at a million. He might you might have got thrown out, but you might have got a technical file.
You get that second taxtic too, But.
Twenty five thousand for pushing somebody.
Man, you know what we would guys would laugh at that back then pushing time.
We got enough time.
We got pushed and pushed up.
Man.
But you know, for us, it's set the tone, like you know the game, discover the game ain't gonna be nok for.
I got fined three million, and he ain't died.
He said he didn't even die.
He I remember when you got fired at three thousand, watching million dollars.
So y'all had a total of about what eight uh no, not close to ten million, man Ron was eight a piece, I mean just me and him was eight. He got five. I had three. Wow, And all the other players ended up to be like ten.
So you know, you know right now you talk about fine, if you dunk on a guy, you look.
At him ridiculous back.
I'm like, come on, man, come.
On, man, I think I need to call the league and go back and watch this.
You know, you know what he's got the need to watch real street ball. Yeah, how them brothers play, Hey, they would make a lot of them.
Or hockey.
You just go sit down four minutes.
The league is full a whole bunch of light skinned casts and they all ain't like that.
You ain't gonna get how much of that tell you?
The toughest life the lead right now, the.
Tougher light skain you. You talk about life again. The toughest nice you got to play this game is Mary's Lucas. They enforce what hey throw. Nobody messing with him. That's nobody who was the one he knocked someone out? Him and Daryl Dawkins went, he didn't. I was when I was in college back then. You're not supposed to do it. But Marius Lucas and Pete Mary's used to train me in the summertime. And you so when I came league, I got the toughest guy in the league. Then I got the wonder little skilled guy to ever play this game working out with me. And you know Mariic's Lucas. What do you work out? If you ain't working hard with him, he get upset. Man, He'll call you out and you ain't gonna question him. You know you've seen some of the fights he had.
Man.
Man, Today we have twelve time All Star, eleven time All NBA, first player in NBA history to average triple double. Give me a p NBA Champ. Welcome to the show, Oscar Robbinson.
You get to see you guys.
I want to ask you what's what's your opinion on athletes and activism. I was thrown in the George for a situation and yeah, I saw great was able to be a big part of that. And I'm honored because I think that's the best thing I've done in my Life's do something.
For for for our people.
But what's your opinion on athletes and activism? And how was it growing up in Indiana dealing with the KKK and all that growing up.
Let's talk about Indiana. First.
I didn't see any white people at all when I played ball unless I played against them.
In Indiana.
One white person was Bob Collins, who was a writer who loved our team and he wrote about it because he's writing about the facts. Other than that poor as could be mother than five, divorced, two older brothers. We had a little little guys on the street. But tell you everything you have to know. I really appreciate those guys. You know, sometimes they talk about ghettold kids and whatnot and and all the bad things. These guys were great. They raised you. They tell you what they do about women, drugs and everything else, gaming and everything. So so I'm happy about that.
But it's a.
But you know, it's really interested when when you when you live through a lot of different things whatnot, uh that you seek change and whatnot. Uh. I think players today with the media and you know it's the socially outfits. You have to be careful sometimes, but that doesn't mean you you disregard your character and what you want to say about because I think they can be very helpful as helpful and I never forget uh when the kid Uh, I can't think of his name. He stepped still, sat on his knees. They didn't stand from the national anthem. And and I won't tell you the coaches name that you'll figured out, and this and this owner was very very upset about them.
What bob me more than anything. The rest of the Black Paars didn't support it. I couldn't.
I could not understand that they didn't like the national anthem either, right they should to be honest. I mean, I know the national anthem, but I never heard the national anthem. When I was playing ball in college. They played well, we always in the locker room, never heard it. The national anthem is great, I mean I learned came to appreciate it, especially when it was in the Olympics. We want to we want to go medal. Then boy goes up. Something goes through you. You know, you think about you think about your life. You know, where are you from and how you got there, you know, and the guys you're with, and that's what you think about those kind of things.
Think about the words too, just as fall were still waiting on something.
Well, it's true too, but what was that experience like Obviously a different time back then when you're representing a country that didn't necessarily represent or love you at times. What was it like to be able to do that and win at the highest level.
I think this was in nineteen sixty folks, so it goes back a few years. I was fortunate because I I met I met Oli there, I met Wilman, Rudolph, Ray Norton, and Thompson was the high jumper jump first guy from the Americans to jump seven feet. It was It was great experience for learning things about yourself, about life. I never I never been run that many people like that in my life. And you go to the Olympic village and you know everyone's there and you just socialize and meeting people was not you know. I mean I knew Wilma read very well. Wilman, Rudolph was a good friend of mine. And then I got to meet Ali because I kept telling me to tell me the greatest man God and tell them tell me, tell me we can whoop anybody.
Man.
That's come on.
I love it. You were co capping with Jerry West. We just lost rest in peace.
Yeah. Jerry was a good friend of mine. We met at the Olympic trials in Denver. He was kind of quiet at the time, but we got to talk to each other about different things, and and the AU was very strong in those days, and they would always try to get the best team to play against us. You know, something's mighty funny about that. As we won the championship, I was sitting with sitting with Pete Knell. Was that coach? He said, Oscar. He said, I got a difficult task tonight. I said, what is it, coach? He said, they don't want they don't want Bellamie. I said why. He said, you don't know why if they hadn't taken ballot Me but had two black guys on the team. This is a nineteen sixth of some great players, plan Man, myself and Bob Boozer ball Me. We needed him to win the championship in Rome. We couldn't have won without him, couldn't have won it at all.
They didn't want him, they didn't want two blacks. No here here again.
I mean, and it's it's a I know, these things come up and people don't want to hear these things whatnot. Because I had a great experience at the Olympics, I thought, I think that was that's the greatest sport event in the world for people to get together and and and and try to iron out something that differences and whatnot. When you run for a medal and and once you get a medal, you know, just told told happiness. You know, you congratulate the people that that that's running against you, but they understead you're happy for them as well.
Mental health is such a big thing and discussed today, but that's just recent. They just maybe the last five seven years. Mental health. I mean, with so much racial tension back then, although it was the norm, it had to affect you day to day. How did that make you feel? How were you able to focus on the task in hand? How did you get through all the stuff you you know, had to unfortunately go through.
When I went to the universit of Cincinnati, I was the first black to play there, and I didn't realize it because I'd gone to Cincinnati see Jackie Robinson play a lot, and I saw a lot of African American people sitting in the stands with not I said, man, this is a great sound, great city. So anyway, when I go to school there, I didn't see any black people. Man, I mean, I'm going to class at nobody, so One day I told a coach, I waid I want to have a meeting man.
So I met him eight o'clock in the morning. I said, what's going on?
He told me the stories that they just don't like blacks at the school.
I said, why don't you tell me this now before I got here?
Before I got here.
A Lisai didn't want to do that because he wanted me to come. But anyway, I'm any or commitment, and so I was. So I stuck with it. You know, it wasn't always easy, right. I sat in my room one night, not that, but all the other black guys in the same situation up here. Nobody cares, but for at least for me, I was a star player of the year. That got some tension, you know. But I think about all those other players, you know, I really felt sorry for them.
I think that's why I admire you so much.
I mean, you got a lot of guys today with every with all the bonuses and pluses they have, they are not able to go out and not not even average triple doot, but play to the level you play, and they're not really dealing with nothing.
You was dealing with people threatening your.
Life, betting your family's life, betting your job threat and you still went out there and played to be the person you are today. I admire that because you know a lot of people that have every think of the world, they don't have the confidence to stand up for something that that doesn't have nothing, has nothing to do with them.
You did it your whole career, So.
I admire that and still be able to be, you know, the person who has a basketball player with all that stuff.
That just says a lot about who you are in life.
You know, when you get older, if you're realizing that more and more, there's so many things that bother you on a daily basis, difficult things you got to go on, you can't stop. God has has an answer to everybody, and he's still in charge, so you can't worry about things. A lot of times, you know, you're said unforcunate that things happen in your life, that that bother that bother you really bother you some terrible things.
Sometimes, but you got letter play out, but you got later playoffs just like that.
I never forget. There was one guy named Norman Allen who lived on our street, and he said he was talking one day about players being great, and he said, remember one thing, and you're on the court, think about think about the game. And I'll so said, they can't play until they tossed the ball up. So I said, what do you mean by that? He said, allways, talk about this guy and that guy before the game doesn't mean anything. He's when they tossed the ball up. That's when you got to go and see whether you can get it done or not. But but uh, but but it just it just bothers me more than anything that you talked earlier about guys and social social activities whatnot. They got to be careful because they're involved with shoot deals, television deals, commercials.
But not I think they can be smart about it. There's a way to do it.
You don't have to go out and curse somebody out and call them names and what not. But you know, but you can be smart about this, you know, and have statements that that are thoughtful.
You know, conversations, Yes, have the conversations.
The One and Only Man. Welcome to the show with Sean kemp Man.
A lot of you appears from the nineties in the Hall of Fame, Miss Richmond grand Hill as well, but Tim Hardaway all in the Hall of Fame?
Is it time?
The Hall of Fame?
Good time?
But I think so, you know, I've always said that, you know, those first eight or nine years that I had was was was pretty good, pretty solid, you know, pretty solid. And also I will tell you this, I'm a six time All Star. So that's you know those six times, those six games that I started, you know who I had to beat the you know that was Charles, that's Carmelon. That's every year. Yeah, so that's pretty consistent basketball, right.
You know.
I will say this, so me going through some problems and stuff that I went through in my career also hurts you at the end. But I think when you look at the good side of it and you compare the numbers and stuff, I'm right there with some of the best ones. Absolutely.
Would you mind opening up and share and talking about them problems. We don't have to if you don't.
Want to, but well, I'm not afraid to talk about it. I mean, obviously, I think when any time that you uh, you go your body shape goes from this to that, you get weight, or you have some drug problems in any any anything like that is always going to be highlighted you know what I'm saying. So I understand those you have those marks against you, But the dominance I think of what I played with through those early years of my career, I think it should definitely be highlighted. Without a doubt.
I came from two parents that were functioning drug addicts. I grew up in it, seen it, dad sold it. Were there are times where you were out there at your best, making All Star appearances and being great leading your team when you were on drugs.
No, not necessarily on drugs, I believe. I believe when my drug where drug issues probably came, and it was more when things started to go sideways, when I was having some problems with the organization. So I think, you know, as far as I was concerned, when you put so much into the game of basketball, when you when you say that you're going to become the best, when you say that you're going to become dominant, it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, right, And I don't think what people realize. I don't and I don't even try to make them realize this, But I would just say this. At the time of playing basketball in the nineties was a very physical sport, right, It wasn't. It wasn't a weak mass sport. Only the strong hurvive, right. And you know, as you you want to compete at those best at those best levels. So I don't think drugs really came into factor to me until probably when I started to lose. You know, when you start to lose your life change, you know, so you know, the one thing and I tell you, guys, just the one thing that I kind of regret about back then is that I'll say this is that you know, playing with Gary Payton, we had this great friendship, this great camaradi where we won so many games, winning fifty sixty games a year. You sometimes when you start to look at things far as its financial, sometimes you put that ahead of what you have chemistry wise.
You know.
I tell Garry this all the time. If I could go back and change a few things we were, probably both of us would probably work on being with each other, playing with each other a little bit longer.
You got what we did? You have at the bar?
What's the story? So I did voiceovers for this show called What's Real Stories of Basketball? And it was when they brought Old Boy and that average like four points and two rebounds, anything, mclvain. So I did the voiceover for that seed you talked on it and everything. So I did the voiceover for that, and I didn't obviously I was younger when that happened, so I didn't realize, like, damn, why would he leave? But I read how you know, they came in four years on note like, they came in and gave Jim mcavain, someone who didn't play, didn't do anything, a bunch of money. This dude led the team every in rebounds, scoring, to the to the playoffs, to the and he was making more than Sean So that you at the time, right, So that, yeah, maybe some more things, but like I said, that's the kind of what I got.
But I think you know, to me, it wasn't necessarily about the money.
It's more about the respect, right, come on, man, Like it.
Takes great effort, absolutely with the best every day, every night. And when you do that consistently for year after year or that, Yeah, man, absolutely, I think and I'm just telling you this when I look at it now, I look at it back and I'm probably as a young man you're going through that, you probably take it personally, Yeah, in life and in business, one of the things that you don't do is take things personally. Once you take it personally, it's going to affect not only who you are, but also what you do.
But but I assume, with all due respect, it's hard not to and I in no way do I want people to make it think like you were mad about someone else get money. That wasn't what I got from it. It was was it was the respect factor.
But you would.
Accomplish with that team you deserved more than what you were.
Well, I think that's I think that's what you do when you're a player. You're working, You're working for that, that's what you're those steps, those are the things that you're working for. And man, I was one of those guys who who who kind of went in there was just like, Hey, what do I need to do to become you know, the best? What do I need to do to become one of the highest paid and who you know? And I can remember the conversation the general manager. The general manager came to me and h he was like, well, if you if you want to be the high one of the highest paid, then all you got do is go out there. I played Michael Jordan and I was like, okay, well, well, a couple of years later we play in the championship, and uh, I look at it as an opportunity. That's an opportunity for me to shine, and it's also an opportunity for you to make more money. As they said, I mean, if I can outscore Michael Jordan in this series then and also play well and help our team achieve what we try and achieve, then I'm gonna put myself in a pretty good position. Well I played well done, those little things we want it kind of when it came time for payday, there was no phone call when you lose the series. That's what they do to you sometimes.
Man.
You know, it's like, hey, it kind of forgot about that conversation before ahead. So you know, I think you know, and I say this, when as a young man, you sometimes you take those things personal without a doubt. Those those same things that you take personal, you sometimes don't take personal. And that's kind of what makes you, That's what kind of drives you. So you know, there were things that I probably didn't take personal that drove me, but that one right there definitely hurt me.
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