Rasheed Wallace | Ep 148 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

Published Aug 25, 2022, 6:04 PM

The NBA isn't back yet, but ALL THE SMOKE is. On the first episode of season 4, Matt and Stak are joined by 4x All-Star & 2004 NBA Champ Rasheed Wallace. Wallace opens up about his 16-year NBA career, winning the title with the legendary 2004 Pistons squad, and the new generation of hoopers.

Welcome back, all the smoke, beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada hot, when the Legend suite here at the wind. Jack's good, bro, feeling good, happy to be in Vegas. Man. We had a special opportunity to grab our but we were trying to get this duce in season one. Man, we finally caught him right before he was about to leave Vegas, and he's here with us. Man, Welcome was she Wallace? Man? I appreciate you, Bro. I a glad to be here already, know that. So what's going on with you right now? How's life? What's going on? Man? Can't complain? Can't complain? Enjoin it? Man, you know, just being a dad, a granddad, grandad. You tried to skip over that kind of fast bro. Yeah, I'm a grandpap. No, I'm not ashamed of It's that next level. Man, it's a blessing. I got two granddaughters went on the way, um, so you know I'm blessed. Man. I can't complain about nothing. Yeah, glad to hear that. For the raising, Philly, I've been up with you a million times. Just got a street named after you. Simon Gratz talk about how important it is to have the identity you have now and Philly, man, it's it's it's huge, it's huge. You know, I'm involving some little small private business stuff around there too. That's again for the city, for the community. It's a blessing. Man, It's a blessing to have a road named after me. And I didn't do it by myself. You know, y'all know the old saying it takes a village to raise a child. And you know, for me to be where I am today, it was a lot of people that helped pave the way. And you know that kicked my ass along the way if I got out of line with anything, you know, class on my mouth for whatever. I felt like it was all of us. You know what I'm saying. It was it was my mom um is, my dad, my aunt's, uncles, my brothers, everybody like that was something that that I can stand on for the family, you know what I'm saying. Like, you know, Murals. Don't get me wrong, Murals is nice. It's good for the community. You get to see you know this and that. But you know, a crazy when you know you put it on GPS and seriously, like right, turn on Rashid while it's what you do down playing and that's big. No, I know that's what I'm saying. It's it's used for my family, and you know that's that's what I That's what I look at it more. You know, I'm excited about it, don't get me wrong. But I mean Dann for like the grandkid's gonna say it like you know my greats. You know it's it's in the books. Man. You can't take it away, can't. I said Simon Grass for a lot of people to know what I was saying what I was talking about. But you know basketball fact, when did basketball come into to play your life way before? Simon Grass? And who was the players you idolized? Well growing up? Of course, Um it's only one in Philly, you know Dr j R. That was That was my man, you know, because one everybody in my house loved him, My mom, you know, my brothers, all of that. Everybody loved him. Um, so of course I'm a love him and just watching the Sixers, you know. And I really didn't understand basketball too much growing up because I was a track and field guy. That's what I grew up with. That's my first love all day, every day before basketball. It was track and field, so just watching basketball. Of course. The only reason I played it. I wanted to be like my big brothers, you know, so as I got older, I kind of sort of took both of their games. My oldest brother before he passed away, you know, he had he had to kill a junk shot, you know, he had a nice little one to handle to get the way he had to. My middle brother, Mohammed, that's the dunker. You know. He was the first cat in the hood to do all of Michael Jordan dunks and all that left handed right dunking on cats. And he couldn't shoot worth ship, but he on your neck, I'm telling you. And I kind of sort of molded that together, man and just wanting to be like them. And that's where I took it up at middle school, and then once I got to Simon Grass, it was a whole new world, you know, And a lot of people think that it started with me, but it didn't. You know, they were winning championships and had all American players before I got there. So once once I got there, though, it was it was it live on stage. What made you pick n see and the Dean Smith recruits you personally, Yes, yes, the great one, the great one, rest for sure. I remember watching them play Michigan and you know, the whole ordeal one down with, you know, with every time out, this and that, and they wanted So go to school the next day and I come home, so I got my headphones on, you know, and at this time it's just me and my mom living in the crib, and we're living in an apartment. So I walked through the door and when I closed the door, you know, I'm just bobbing, bobbing, go into my room, out of my if y'all see some people sitting in the living rooms of backtrack, oh ship Dean Smith and my opinion, the day after they won, the day after they wanted it was Dean Smith and in my opinion, the greatest player to play at Carolina for I knew you, I knew it feels for it was them too. And I'm like, like, coach, what y'are doing here? You know you're supposed to be celebrating y'all just won the national championship. You know, I don't know, it's it's back to business, you know. We let the kids celebrate his back to business, but they came up That right there showed me a lot. I'm like, damn, I'm like, they ain't even thinking about the you know, the present right here. They're just looking at it like all right, look what's next? What's next? And man, coach Smith, great basketball mind, great basketball mind. It was. It was sad to see him, you know, just have that dementia and the whole it needs you to go through that whole thing for him having such a great mind, man, great person. To any other schools you thought about, yeah, yeah, of course locally, UM Temple with coach Cheney, John Cheney. Um, you know, I still get flat about that to this day. UM Villanova when they had Roli Massamino, coach Thompson rest in peace. I got flat from him to UM along my career when I saw him. But there are my four schools, M Villanova, Temple, Georgetown, and Caroline. You got any classic Dean Smith stores, Why don't you can remember? Yeah, it's one. It's one out there that I wanted to sess straight with something. So so we were in practice, right, So now I knew the concept of the team game, you know, I knew the concept of Okay, you know, you gotta come down and at least give two three passes before you get a shot. Okay, got that. So we're in practice and we moving, moving the balls moving around, and I'm wide open on the baseline. I get it. I put that thing up. Now I can't remember if I made it or miss it because he blew the whistle like when it was the ball was halfway to wear. He's like stop, stop, stop, and I'm like, Dad, I do something wrong. And he's like, wow, what are you doing? Why are you shooting the ball like that? You know? I was like, coach, I was open, So here it is. I'm a young board now I'm thinking I'm still being respectful. But it was rhetorical questions that he was asking me, the dumb freshman. And here he is and the guys look, the old heads looking at me like like the felts, like you know, and he said, you think you can hit that shot? Yeah? Can you hit it eight out of ten times? Yeah? Give him the ball? Wow, wow, go shoot the fourth shot. He's like stop, He's like, it was a bad shot. You shouldn't have shot it anyway. Hey, oh man, it was it was great though, man coch Coach Smith, he was he was a great dude. Great things. Any legendary stories about the UNC summer runs, MJ have a pull up on y'all. Give y'all some of that airness. Yeah, Like my freshman year, I remember he came to practice, you know, it was it was I think it was after it was after before their season. You know, he had time. He was down there for a couple of days. So he came to practice, right, So he had practice with us and everything. So at first and I'm like, all right, damn, Mike, you know, growing up young bulls sneakers, you know, right. So I'm like, all right, and after practice, you know, as a freshman and all that, you gotta get your work in you ten fifteen minutes after practice or whatever. So I did that boom boom boom, And so guys we motivated to the locker room. Well, Stack Stack will tell you the story Stack Um Donald Williams, Jeff McGinnis, and it was one more I think it was a kid by the name of Dante Calabria. They all playing Um Rising Shane with Mike. Oh. So They're like, oh, where she that? Where she that? I'm in the locker room. I'm icing down. I took my shoes off. So they're like, oh, coach, want you out there on the floor. I'm like, man, so run out there on the floor. They're like, oh, you want to play one on one? What are you crazy? Man? I'm not sitting up here letting this dude embarrass me. I'm like, yo, I came as at the time. You know, I wasn't confident in my handle like that, you know what I'm saying, And I know he gonna get up in me play the man. You are crazy. I'm gonna staying here and watch him kill y'all. Butt it. Oh, I wish that film could somehow some wagesually appeared like yeah, they was gon, what do you stack? At the time? What year was stack? We were both um, we were both what freshman, I think freshman, sophomore the sophomore season he came back at it. And then in the summer summertime, we always had great pickup games down in the Dean Dome. You know, um close it up and then you got two courts going um the long way, and man, we used to go at a lot of the old heads. It was always the old heads versus the young bulls. The guys who was there now, and yeah, they used to beat our ass. I remember Sam Perkins to come back beat my ass. George Lynch, you know, they used to come back. And I think that was that brotherhood that kept it going. And once my class left, we came back beating Vincent the Mass, beating Antwoine in the Mass, and I want to stay that. You know, it was just the same hand in the dadhood. Yeah, and it's still like that to this day. Fourth pick of the ninety five draft to the Bullets, unfortunately, get to play twenty one games your rookie season. What was that experience like your first year? Awesome? Who's on the team. Was on the team? It was? It was me, Juwan Juwan Howard, see what, Calbert Cheney, Mitchell Butler, Bob McCann, Mark and Brent Price, Robert pat and Jim mcillvane. Jim mclevane. That was our paid he and Chris Whitney for nothing but three power right there. That's that's look check it, check it. Just when I first learned about the business. That's different. Jim mcilvane got paid because the BPM, the blocks per minute, he was leading the league. And then you know, of course we all look at it differently, like, man, you gotta be doing it a night and this and that, but it's the status in your contract. I wasn't mad at him, he got a hunder man. I wasn't mad at him. He was he was closed. I got him back back then in I was like, no, he was closed, the only one who but Juan was the first one with a bucko five. Yeah, yeah, yeah when Duke came with that one? Yeah, man, bucko five? What was it like? So with you, Jiwan and Webb going at it every day in practice, then't beat my ass because they always me against them, but of course they the starters. But um, but no, I loved it because it's that spirit of competition on all Right, y'all gonna beat me up this And now y'all might know a little bit more than me about this NBA game because you know, y'all got that to three years on me. But y'all don't know my game either. So I'm gonna come back at y'all yea and practice. Man, right there in Booie State, that little ash Jim we used to get it on. Man, can you imagine him? And well, that's what I'm saying oh man, there was a whole lot of ship talking dog, a whole lot Hey, look, I know who you are. I've seen what you did. You know, the whole fab five. I know. But I ain't scared of you, you know. And he's like, all right, bad, let's get it. And you went down. Yeah, and you know that's when they took me under their wing. You know. It wasn't the fact that I was arrogant or nothing like that. No, I ain't backing down. I ain't gonna disrespect y'all. Yeah, I ain't know. Pump straight up, straight up, What would you felt like? What was your welcome to the NBA moment? I would have to say it was my rookie season. We were playing Phoenix. I don't know. Yeah, I know y'all remember him, Joe Klein, redhead Arkansas. So we're playing and you know me back then, I got a dunk. Boom ah, run down court. Hey, you little motherfucker. If you do that again, he said, I'm gonna wipe you out. Man. Whatever, dog, you ain't gonna do nothing. I mean strong in him. Yo. Two three plays later, we ran the same play, just a little different option, and I'm trying to go to the rim. I got the ball in my hand. Next thing I know, I'm grabbing for hands getting up off the floor. He was a lumberjack or something. He was too strong, and that for basketball you didn't need all that said, I told you, don't bring that ship down here with me. That was I felt as though that was mine just a regular family. No tea, no flavor, no no, right, no right. You know back there I was saying, yeah, he was strong for no reason. I felt as though that was my welcome to the NBA moment, little piss hand. Keep thinking you we had we played together for one game. Who yeah in Atlanta, right, for one game. You're cooking though played, we have to we cooked. We was cooking that game. Then the next morning we had the bar of cheesecake and we're looking at the time, amount of time out and went body a little fast. You're at the bar of cheesecake morning in the morning. We did. It was in Miami, so you cut your evening shot. You know, you got he started early and being him with cheesecake. We see the ship come on the bottom of the the screen. She got traded. That's how we found out. And then like it was all time and probably like about thirty forty seconds later, that's when my agent called me and he's like, hey, it was feeling good though when they called, so it was like, you know what I'm saying, we got one game together? Yea, Like, oh man, I still got that him they can't take back with That's that's the famous line that I love. One of the most legendary things I thought about your game. Your game was killer, but you wore Air Force ones on the court. Then one of the hardest things to run in. You had the high top, sometimes lace sometimes not. Where that ship comes from. Just being in Philly. That's what I've seen my old heads whooping back home, you know, the Force ones. But the difference with me playing in mines in the league, I had orthotics, so you know, it wasn't a pancake interfo for me. Of course, you know I had arthotics in there, but again it was all business. You know. Um in high school I had a couple of little twisted ankle injuries and colls and had a couple of bad twisted ankle injuries and it was from the shoes I was playing. So I was like, I gotta go with some hot tops, some real ht tops. You know, take my ankle or wear ankle brads tied up and good money, you got your silhouette on them. Though, when when did that happen? I would probably say late nineties. Um, working with my man Nico. Yeah, the other day, late night, that's when he was with Nike. He was a young Nike rap then and um, you know we was talking and next thing you know, we came up with the Man the shee Man shout out. Niko traded to Portland after you after your rookie year? Did you see that movie coming negative? Ghost Rider? I was on everything. I'm in Philly, right, I met my man and barbershop. Uh, we're up on twenty second Street, my man barbershop, and so you know we're in the back doing what we do and getting a little work out in right. You know, my my old hey gonna he prisoned buff giving me a little pointers and stuff. So we're back there working out and my cousin called me with the first one. He's like, yo, you just got traded out the Portland's. I was like, man, whatever, I'm like, I ain't hear from my agent at that time, Like, man, whatever, you know, it's amazing he's like, hey, hey man, how you doing. How you doing? I'm like, what's up. He's like, I'm gonna get right to it. They just traded you to Portland. And for that first thirty seconds, I was heated. I was heated because I saw the potential that that team could have had down there in Washington with me Webb juwan you know in the guards, the plesora of guards that we have, you know, playing with Mark Price a lot from him, Web said the same ship. Yeah, that that team was nice man, And I wish, I wish that I could have had another year or two with that team, for sure. But I knew it was business again. They just paid a new that buck o five. They had a big contract Webb had brought with him from Golden State, and then the other contracts in between, you know, Calbert Cheney. He was making some good money, big money then, and so I knew it was part of the business, all right. So I get traded to Portland's I was mad, but then I was like fuck it, I gotta go. It's like all right. So the silver lining was they got good draw out there, so thank you for the truth. So you know, they gotta call a spade a spade, but um facts but no, to be honest, Um, when I got traded, I was I was young into the whole little family situation. Um. At the time, fiance was living with me and her son. So when we moved out there, I had I had my other sons with me too. And Portland's a great family spot. Man, I ain't gonna hold you everything. Like your kids can't say that they they are bored. There's so much stuff to do there for kids, and that's what makes it awesome. You know, the different museums, um, things that they had down there on the waterway all that. Like, Portland's a good city for kids and in my opinion, for you know, for a relationship, because again, if your kids is happy, then you're not gonna have aggravated parents. You know what I'm saying. That aggravated parents is not gonna be an aggravated couple. That aggrevated couple ain't gonna have you know, all the bitter and fights and back and forth. But no, it was. It was a good time. I can say I truly enjoyed my life or my time in Portland's off the court, but you know what I mean, it was it was pretty good mess. Some lifelong friends out there too. Let's talk about on the court though, who was on that team, because you guys had a lot. I mean, there's some legendary names and stories behind that team. I played with a man Walk the Wizard, william Is with the knee Hives. I played with j R. Ryder right there. I played with my man Kenny Anderson, played with Pitt Steve Smith, played with Sabonus Jail, played with Kevin Duckworth. Yeah, j all right, Yeah did you get young Zebo? Oh yeah, that was my rookie, young Zach Ruben Patterson. Yeah, the quote unquote Kobe Stopper, the Kobe Stopper. Yet, I played with a lot of great guys on that Portland squad man for my six seven years out there. It was we were some athletes too. Man. We was up in y'all. B G lost the mine. Hey, that was That's what was the vibe though, Like the team like we had a special body. We felt like and go to State the first time. It seemed like that team was like all really funk with each other. Oh we did, we did. It was it was close knit, you know. Um, that's what made it a whole old team thing that like that, that team unity because we always would go out it would be at least six or seven of us. It was never um, no one person going out. And you know it was even at times when Big Si Bonus will go out to dinner with us and stuff like that. So that's that's what made that whole Portland vibe better. And then you know about more than half of the team was on that drove, so you know, you had that vibe right there. And we were all young and at the time in the club. That was our scene. But we always we always kept it respectable, you know what I'm saying. Nobody ever really uh caused too many problems off the court to bring it over on the court, you know what I'm saying. So we all had that respect level with each other and plus like man, we knew we could ball. That was the best stuff, straight up, you know, we we felt it though we were formidable foes with that whole you know, Mike Jordan's team and pipp and Hey going at their ask. I'm talking ship to Mike and how that workout, how that work out for you. We won the game. We won that game, but we're talking about Mike. Yeah, he came was bucket, So I'm talking junk to him, you know, I'm like, yeah, man, whatever, man, we're about to plush you all that. And I'm like, man, you get this little ass robbing off of me too. I'm talking big and he's like, all right, young fellow, keep talking. I'm like, man, I ain't scared of you. I ain't gonta guard you. O YO and JR. The whole time, Hey, man, shut up, same kg D JR. Right, that's the same set up. J Jr. Was like, man, shut up. We're playing them in Chicago. Exact story JJ is telling us A JR sotis for real. It's on everything. A lot of you know, getting JR. Beat them. We beat them in Chicago right that next night we had a double head of the next night were playing in Indiana. You know Reggie, the Davis Boys, Um, Derek McKee, you know Mark Jackson, that that whole squad and they beat us by like sixty five. So that was that was a classic from man like that Overnight Overnight you talk to us about the Kobe Stopper. Rubert Patterson did he believe that? Um? He played it? Well, at times he made him work. I mean at that time wanted to say that he probably did believe that. Um you know, Rube was a strong athletic dude. Um Cincinnati he was Yeah, well you know that's that's all they breed out of Cincinnati. He was another one just from then. He was country strong. That's a different strong. Like you just got too much going on fact fact and and ruby. You know, we was hyping it up because of course back then you also got to think of psychological warfare. So you know, we all we did. We just let the media here is and who hyping it up? Me and Bonds stop stop just like hyping it up. And then before the game they said to talked about it in the paper. Right. So during the game, code was like, um, came down, he did something, gave a bucketing somehow three or with a dunk or something. So we're on the line and then we're looking he was like Kobe stopper, huh and just shot his file shot went down for hey, cracking up. Dog was athletic. I think he probably could have played football and strongest. Yeah. Western Conference was loaded back then, particularly in the power for position. Now to me, that was the greatest era of power for basketball ever. It was Duncan Garnette. They threw shocking their webber Malone mcdice. I'm sure I'm missing some people, but night and night out, what was it like every single night in Western Conference? Hey, you gotta tie your shoes up, well, you drop strap up, because just when you think you got a night off, like you said, looking at mc dice, Tim, who got who got that fifteen footer downpack and with a vertical jumps out the gym? I thought I could jump crazy. She had a crazy leap bounced game. Yeah. Yeah, And then like you said, Plaine, you know you got way about there. Talk to us about how nice Sabonus if we would have got Sabonus in this prime in the NBA. How cold was s a bonus? Hey? For him to be that that older vet when I ran into him, Sibonus could pass his ass off. He just wasn't athletic at that time. You know, he still could pop that Jimmy. He was first one of the first sinners. Sinners to pop that three took shack out there a couple of times, you know, to pop the three man. I never saw a film of a young sabonus. You know I only heard the stories, but it was like when he was younger, and you know, of course more athletic. Oh he's putting cats in a bass and or nothing with him? Man like he played overseas for a long as time before he finally came to the US. You know, he didn't come over here until that. Yeah, if he, if he was, if he was in the NBA when he was younger, he probably could have said a couple of records, one a chip or something. Sure, when did you start stretching your game out? I know you had the mid range first, but you started stretching out to the three? You to me, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first ones that were really stretching it out there like that? When did that? When you put that back? That's all thanks to Uncle Cliffy rest in peace. Um that started in Portland. Yeah, so playing the Lakers, and it was times where I had to switch on the shack and you know, I'm not the biggest dude, you know what I'm saying, So of course he got body masks on me and everything. So it's all I got, throwing a whole game, beat me up beat me up. So in the locker room, two ice packs, one on my ankle, and then I had the biggest ones on my elbows because of a couple of times where I thought I could quicken by coming over his shoulder and he both my elbow. So I'm sitting there fuck up there in the chair, right, and so Cliff walks by, he said, damn rock school. He's like, yo, you can't be doing that every night. Yo. He was like, the what you gotta do is He's like, you gotta take them outside sometimes too. He said, you're not gonna be able to bump and grind with him and then go down the other end and play defense. He's like no, And as I thought about it, I'm like, you know, he right, But for me again thinking old school mentality, Yo, I didn't get paid to shoot threes, you know, so I got paid to get down there on them, chop blocks, rebounds, running the floor, block shots, all of that. So it just so happened that one year, Uh don't leave. He was the coach, and I think he wanted to start a bigger lineup with Sabonus at the five, Brian Grant at the four and three. That it worked some nights. I got my ask cook by Glenn Rice cooked bro I'm not used to all them screen job man, I'm running through them. I'm running through I can't back then, I didn't have to know how, you know, debating and going that way or whatever. You know, all right, if we shut it off here, you know, I just had all that and the way that air once are set up, they didn't really give the mobility to get around the big It was tough. Man't no way you chased nobody. The foot ain't none of that sliding and off, none of it. But lit me up though, and that's that was my whole you know, start with the three experience and again watching Cliff and practice. So a lot of people think it started with me, but in my opinion, it started with Cliff and my other old head um Derk Coleman. You know when d C. D C had that mad handle accused when he came in the league, New Jersey, he was shooting threes to to be you know, six and eleven seven feet. So it started to me. It started with them too. But you made it more a little bit more numb. Yeah, I guess so because of my big mouth and with both hands. Not in the game nine games, well in one game in the All Star Game, but yeah, the ability to the ability Yeah, uh two thousand Western Finals games set an up thirteam going into the fourth what's your thoughts going into the fourth quarter? We got this who he's about to see? Who used to see in the final? We're gonna run through Indiana. That's when they had no disrespect my man j Rose I love him, Detroit's findings, but they had Jay Rose Um. I think Mark Jackson might have still been on that team. Of course, Reggie the Davis Boys smits so was like, uh, I was like, oh yeah, we felt we felt as though that series against the Lakers was the championship game because of course you saw what they did to him, and we felt it though we would have beat them, they couldn't because they couldn't run with us. And I think I could be wrong, but I think, um, we either split or we want to oh doing the regular season. Your point of view on that live play arguably one of the greatest lives. They said, Kobe shook up top threw it up there the big fella. What's what are you thinking at that point? Yeah, you was under there. Yeah, I was under there. I'm in the picture. I ain't on front there. Um, I thought I could get it, so so check it. So, like you said, he got by Pitt. So it was to the point where I thought I could get him on a jab. So it was like a little fake jab and I tried to get him to throw a little sooner. So I really on the backstep, I really didn't really straight up, and it kept going over my hand and then big fella boom and ship. The rest was history. You know. That's to me. I think that was their deciding game on that dynasty that those guys had at that time. He was a part of it. But you definitely felt like that that Portland's team was capable of you guys all tail you could have won the championship that year for sure. I think that's one of the greatest me honestly, one of the best teams never to win it. You had to respect us at every position, Dame in that point, you know what I'm say, Mighty Mouse, NBA Rookie of the Year, you know, Mr Toronto, all of that than Jr. Killer We had, Man, we had some great teams out there. I think one thing I remember that y'all started too. But y'all was the first team that was playing through your start your offense, through your big man, because y'all was posting up all your guards all the time. You know what I mean, y'all was y'all was one of the first teams that was doing that consistently, you know what I'm saying, giving it to the big man on the elbow and feeding the guards on the post because you'll was posting Bonds. Y'all was supposed to Steve Smith at the times. I was supposed to all the big goals, especially Bondsi and Smitty because they were so aggressive. That series was also the coming out party for Bonds. That Kobe what he went that cod and I think I think that's when Cold you know, like all right, you know all right, he gave him that respect, Bonds one at his ass did and that was that was a great game right there. I just sucks that I was going to losing any of it, but yeah, that's that was a great game. Right. We're gonna do la watching that ship, right, Yeah, we were u c l A watching that ship. Hell yeah, the whole comeback drinking beer watching that ship. We're didn't the name the jail Blazers come from. Was that the media out there or that's what it was here? How it's crazy because we're in such a crazy media space right now. But back then, they paint you with that picture. Y'all can't say ship understand what blazers was good enough because everybody smoked. You have to put jail on there. They did that for the rhyme with trail, but nobody ever go to jail, nobody ever getting a double or nothing like that. That's what they just painted that picture. And y'all didn't have a platform back then the station because because yeah, the black players that dressed in what they wanted. Yeah, that's and that's what it was. You know, they weren't used to what we were doing all as far as how we were. You know, even though we did as far as team wise and individually, we did a lot of stuff in the community, kept respectable what I'm saying, on both sides of the trap. And every flight to game you had probably about ten pounds on the plane. Nobody got caught, So cut it out, man, that's back. They didn't check nothing. Yeah, but I got a story that was that was before no one the leven. I got a story. I was playing in San Antonio. Bonds to tell the story to our Bonds, Like, Bro, what's up. I'm like, man, pull up, you know we're gonna smoke a couple of shill. He knocked on my door. Just the whole team, like Buzzy, the whole team. I'm like, come on, bro, the whole team. I'm like, so they got the team, bust out there. But I'm just saying, so, now I got the I got the whole team in my house. I gotta play out the more. I ain't cool with all y'all got the whole team, like Bonds, come on, But they brought the whole team. We smoked out Bro. But that's just how they just how he did it, just how we did and go to state. Yeah for real. That's but that was all part of our camaraderie, you know what I'm saying. And the whole team. Dog, I would rather have that than you know, cats going out here getting liquored up and you know, hurting himself saying with the powder, playing with any of that. None of that smoked me a joint. I've always been that way. That's all I need. Kobe Philly native such as yourself. Uh, what's your some of your best memberis with code playing against him, with them playing against him. Um, I got I do. Got one. Just one little quick Kobe story to offer the court. Um, it's actually happened out here again through Niko. He was both our Nike reps and I think Nike was doing a party or something at tow and Um, Kobe had his wife and at the time I was married and so I had my wife, and you know, it was just we shared the evening together, shared the booth, and truth be told. Man. It wasn't even really no real basketball talk. You know what I'm saying. It was just life. You know what I'm saying Because I know his family. Um, you know, he knows my mom all of that. So it's going back his pop JB. Jelly Bean. That's that's my guy. So it was just man family talk talking about, you know, coming up in sunny Hill, because he came up probably like a year or two after me, through like the Sunny Hill programs and stuff in Philly, and we was just talking about that in life, man. So it wasn't it wasn't even nothing about no basketball or you know, we got you all in two weeks. We're gonna bust your ass. Wasn't even none of that was just life, man, That's what's supposed to that's what That's what made that hot, shut out, sunny man billy legend. You got one of the most unbreakable records, probably in the history of the NBA. I don't know, forty one text in one season. They changed They changed the rules because of you. Yeah, oh yeah, changed the rules because of you. Yeah. You all talking about some of the referees you had battles with and just how the hell it just happened so much A lot of its reputation, but of course, yeah, for sure. Now I'll say this, early on in my career, where if I felt as though things were unjust, I'm gonna use a lot of profanity. So you're right, a lot of them I did. But as I got older, came more of a vet and I got to know more than cheating reps that was back out. Then it's like, all right, I know this person, how he going ref and this and that that of that, So now I don't even have to cuss. So now I'll just say little stuff like m I got that email hunt or you know what two mm hmm, yeah, I know what it is. How how do you get a technical foul? You're going to the basket. All you're trying to do is score, You get foul, and you get a technical foul? Who called it? Joey Jack playing Cleveland in Cleveland, so you know that heated rivalry when I was in Detroit. So I got the ball on the post boom, So I'm going, I'm going that ill galskis and give him a move and I go to the middle and here comes vera gile Wamn climbers everybody, right, all three of us fall to the ground and Jack stands over. Gave all three attack, right, So you know I'm getting up. I don't know what's happening. Right, Wait, how the hell I get attacked? I'm trying to score the ball. I ain't you know, I ain't do no dirty plays and I'm trying to score the ball. And then you know, he's like, hey, that's what we were told to do if it's any rough stuff. I was like, all right, I got you already got kicked a whole lot of stuff. Man. Of course, y'all know I wasn't I wasn't the favorite by by the league, rest all of that, you know, But I went back at them too. Definitely my career house about fifteen on the season. I think I got up to fifteen. He almost tripled that though. Yeah, I'm just saying, but I'm saying, I'm just saying, I'm yeah, yeah, I had I had my run to how much? How much for text back then? Were they a thousand? Because then she jumped up to by the time Jones, it was five hundred of pop, not not when they happened when they came out with the sheet route. Yeah, so does she rule you get sixteen texs, and with each tech as it goes up towards that sixteen, yeah, that fine becomes higher and the suspension come and then the suspension comes for the sixteen tech, and then if it goes up to I think it's it was twenty or twenty one. It was a couple more games, and this and that and this and that, it won't on and on. So you got every other game, and you have every other game at least a tech on everything. And here's the thing. Half of the time, like you said, half the time, it was the rep though after at that time was the rep I ain't have to do nothing. So that's what it was. When I was getting them a pop. Hated it, so it was worth it though, Oh yeah, yeah, that was worth it. Yeah, I'm yeah. And then I never regretted they had rest in their area. There was there was. They were shaving on the game too, so I can imagine. I remember, I remember Ron Ron calls some bullshit and you're just staring at him. Bang bang too, and throw you out quick. You're staring and you didn't say one word. How do you know if I'm staring at you for the rest of the game, you didn't say a word. That's the bull that But I knew, but you know, I knew what it was. Um, A lot of it was part of the business, you know, the big, big Lakers city Portland with a small market and then again playing in Detroit. You know, I knew it wasn't that much love as far as you know, league wide with them, because of course would have been a black urban city and the whole bad boys thing and this and that. So yeah, I ain't worried about it. Like I said, I think my young fellow might get me though he might. Yeah, Draymon might get me. You might. He the only one I can see that that might come close. Yeah. Third on the list though, yeah, I don't. I know, I'm not that high overall. And third on the list behind Um Barkley and Karl Malone. Really, yes, sir, some great company, and I think I think robbing his fourth right behind me two four finals with the Legos. The national media say you have a shot at all. I mean, I know the tree help job block it out. But how did job block? We knew we could do. We was ready, man, we was ready. You know, we had the mass scientists pound for pound. Larry Brown did a whole little flip with the playoff scheme. Bro It's like, you know, you got your normal players you're running throughout the year. So let's say you're gonna call it to circle. So on the scouting report, you know when we play y'all, don when we play, you all the same thing playoff time or in a big game, that two circle you're all gonna be expecting, YO wash your pin down on that week side. That ball ain't even gonna go to that change. He changed the whole scheme up. The same thing on defense, and that was the same thing that coach Schmith used to do down in Carolina in big games. And Yo, Larry Brown is a mass scientist. Bro. He knows what he's doing. He got his style. You know, look at the love hate that he had with you. You know what I'm saying. We have not one thing. So you know, you know how that man is here here, wizard back there and until a playoff time we we played, We played, I'm talking about his team. Yeah, nobody got there, but he swept us. We played, but we knew it though. Man, we we just felt that we were more hungry, um at least for for their their big two with Shaq and Kobe. We felt like, all right, they got a couple of rings, so they might not be as hungry, and we were all all in sync. It was it y'all just was on y'all ship or y'all felt it was a little off. We wasn't worried about them period at all. Everybody was talking all that job. I think I said it in the interview with him, like, man, we don't care what these cats. Ain't nobody scared of them. We're worried about us. We know we do what we're supposed to do. We're gonna win. We know if we mess up somewhere along that line, they're gonna win. So we weren't worried about the pick and roll plays. We wasn't worried about you know, double team in shock or none of that. Nah, everybody stay home, Ben got him, everybody stay home. No, let's go. Ty did a hell of a job on code, Let's get it. We weren't scared of him at all. Bro how big was chunce obviously big shot, mastermind. He controlled it all at the time. I didn't see d Fisher being d Fisher like like the point he was back then when you know, the Lakers first had their a few runs at the Chick. So again it could be registered to maybe they weren't again as hungry, but oh no, Chauncey came up big. You know. He was a classic point guard. Any weakness out there, he saw, called it out. So lb let him let him do his thing because he trusted him like that. And so Chauncy down there, I oh, miss matt Hey, so and so, and then we know right away, all right, Tay gonna come through boom this and that boom, and it was it was easy man, we we were so damn confident, yo. So we're on a plane. First two games we beat the first game. Second game, um covid a great shot to get him that dub. So we're like, all right, and this back when it was two three two, So we're on a plane, you know. So then Chauncey, Rip and Tay they played cards and it was a couch just like this. So I'm sitting here, Lindsay Hunter sitting there. So everybody you know, doing anything, We're just watching them. And then it was all like it was kind of eerie for real, for real. At the same moment, it was all we was thinking the same ship. Y'all know, we can't go back there, right because if we go back there for six or seven, y'all know what's gonna happen. And that's when we came out for that for that game three four and five. Hey, I just gave him everything we had from Bartom trying to run him out the gym. Then you know, at the time, um Melman was hurting and all their power, Fors was hurting, had mad Danko on me, and it was we had fun though with it, man, We have fun. And when it happened when that clock read zero is bro my life flash like that, well, my beginning of my basketball life flash like that. It took me all the way back from the time I grew up in the streets of Philadelphia to playground Boom, coming up in middle school, Simon Grass, all that stuff there North Carolina. You know, early on in my NBA career, going through all this stuff with the rest and you know, the league all of like that, I was like, damn, it don't matter. No, it's like, we got a chance right now, we don't out of the world. We're sipping the juice on top of the mountain and that's how we felt. And that's that's that's swagger we were rolling with. That's why I got the belts. That's why I got the belts for that swagger. And then that next season everywhere, that's why we all carry the belts to the games, like, yeah, we did the chance. Looked at that ship like wrestling with what the champ do when he come into the wrestling ring and it's and it's it's love because every time every finals just see it bringing backs. We memory, yeah, man, it's like you're gonna post something a ring I remember this happening. You know, Rip just recently post something about the little finals back then, show this ring and stuff, and it's like that nostalgia. Man, it's take it where you celebrate the chip at the alice. We stayed at the palace all night to like about nonten. That next morning, damn, we was drinking. I lived like about less than a mill from the palace, so you know, the brothers who indulged in the drow ran in my crib real quick, boom bang, ran back up to the palace, and we was grubbing and drinking all night. I didn't take my uniform are. All I did was cut my tape off and changed my sneakers. I still have my tights, the same blood stings on this jersey. Everything kept that on their headband, like y'all was in your house with your Detroit Piston uniforms are smoking, and then went back to the palace. I was I love it because it was just our family up there all night, our family and friends. You have people in the organization already knew what I did. So I was hoping you just gonna tell you live up in the locker room. That's what I was hoping or I couldn't do that one on them, but I know I can't share that one either. Who celebrated the hardest? We all did. The team celebrated. We had a mottel on and off we go hard on the court, we go hard off. We had that model. We just didn't win. No championship for sure for short on and off that that all that next year too. Damn there in every city we want to had a party, right. So we're in Atlanta, so we all again that was another team where we all hung out with each other deep, no matter what's city. So we're in Atlanta. We all want to dinner and we pull up to this club. So it's about four cabs right before Uber, Yeah before Uber. Four casts pull up to this club and we all get out. Boom boom, boom boom. So Lindsay first in line, and you know he's a little pitbull, so he drunk. So walking in security, ball like hoh ho dog. You're like, yeah, you know you gotta see some I D or something. You know, you gotta check you all y'all can't just walk in like that. He's like what what She's like? Man? You know who we is He's like, look, look all these cats. You know who we are. He's like, a matter of fact, I got my I D right here, you're right, show them our I D. And just at that time, I had my ring on, So I showed the dude the ring and Lindsey was like, that's my I D and walked on in the joint. I was like, oh he was gangster for that. But when you're the champ, you know you yeah, yeah, when they put up a statue, what jameson, will it be a poland probably be it would be Detroit. Detroit. You know, it was to us doing what we did there offense and defense, you know, ship we helped you want to chip in the truck, but you made your hate and yeah, yeah we all did. We all were misfits in one way or another, you know me Chauncey RiPP Ben, you know, the only one who was natural on that team was Take because that was the team drafted him. But yeah, we all were something, somehow, some way a misfit on there. So I would think it's Detroit, you know, just just with the love and the effect of the city. Yeah, it was awesome. Okay, before we go to that, because I thought it was gonna be on the just give me your little quick overview of the brawl. So anybody never asked you about it. You was there. I tell people all the time. You came and saved me, and people don't know I was really out there having my way in them stands, y'all. I'm telling me, I ran through everybody like bo Jackson. But even though we got to sit on the court, my brother ran up to the stands and make sure I was straight doing all that. So you know, I gotta get your toes. That was wild. You know, it was game. And another thing a lot of people don't know, y'all were beating that game, beating ship out of y'all. Right, so y'all was only up like thirteen four terms. Yeah, so National team was the biggest game of the season at the beginning of that just one, yeah, y'all, And you know, y'all just beat out of them in these commers, see what I'm saying. That whole bitterness from that. You know, it was small Jermaine one of the real bad too. Yeah, it was a lot of it was all the smoke. Yeah it was um, but no dog, it was it was. It was magical. It was magical. And I say that because it was more than basketball at that time. When I did go up in the stands and getting that that's my young fellow, you know what I'm saying. And at the time, I think Stern was pretty adamant about us going into the stands or you know, really reacting in the negative way with the fans. So of course things happened on the court, right, you know, Ben pushed the soul out of run Ryan want laid down. I had to get my soul back at me because I felt it. I felt I was lost. And when Brian One laid on the table, you know, the fan through the joint and all hell broke loose. Right, So but before that, you know, I'm just trying to hold separate everybody, like all right, no, y'all not working with my guys. You know, we're all friends. So it wasn't like we were naturally really going at them. But if you are going against somebody you don't like, it just goes all that's gonna come out. So the fan through the drawing boom, I see ron Jack going the stands. Then Germine was messing with a fan or something. One of the fans got bold and came on the court. He was doing something over there. I'm like, oh, ship, So I ran in the stands, and that's when you were the first one. You were closer because I wanted to grab, try to grab you and run and I was like, man, I was like, and it's the last thing he's young cast needs because now I was like, bore, gonna try to make an example and throw the book out. You know. You then you're swinging and hitting fans and so you know, that's the main thing that the NBA he was connecting to. He wasn't having my way that I was having my way. I ain't, but I ain't patting myself on the back. I was having my way. I'm trying to like, yo, come on, let's go, you know, get back in there. Out of all of that, you know, I was the one that didn't get fined. I didn't get fired out of that whole little mallets at the palace. I didn't get fined at all or suspended the bad guy man and the bad guy. I was like, wow, it's crazy, but no. I hated to see that though. But you got up there. We all start running back to the court. Man had to man looked at you. You got everybody tension. Everybody started going back to the court. Had to man. A lot of people said, it's lucky that the arena wasn't that part of the city. Part of the city. I said that where he was that was now enough. Yeah, we see, and that's a bringing because with us playing there, there was like, um, you know, and it was always and in Detroit at the palace that the palaces in Auburn Hills. That ain't Detroit. That's an hour away from Detroit the city. But like you said, if right now Little Caesars, if that would have happened, then man cracking. But yeah, it was crazy though, Man, that was that was a crazy night. Man, there I got. I had like at least over two d text messages. You cannot be here and we're not talked about that dog. That was alright, man, we're coming down the home stretch right now. Quick. Kidder's first team to come to mind, you plus four players that you played within your career and your coach who would that be? What coach would you pick and what four players would you put with you? That's unfair question. I'm gonna be biased for sure from your team from the teams. He's gonna say that it's the best five a lot and that coach is pound for pounds. Okay, Larry Brown the best five a lot. And there's no disrespect to any of my other teammates because they're my brethren, you know. But I think we felt as though we were at the pinnacle of of our of our craft right there and couldn't nobody in the world touches. That's why you know, we coined ourselves nickname Afraid the Best five a Lot because we felt we were that that tightening as long as we suspended one night in Vegas all expenses paid. Three give me three people. You go, you're rocking with all expenses paid. Now, we don't hear that often. I don't know. I gotta think some party animals, bro, And you know I don't playing with some party animals. I don't know, Bro, that's who because because because a lot a lot can go on. I mean, you're talking about back in the drinking days or just the smoking days, all expenses page your best times send me. Gave me that question. I came on um so for she Wace's greatest hit in Las Vegas, for sure, for sure, I have to bring my young fello out here, my young fellow Bonds, Oh, no question, Bonds, Bonds would be there. I would have to say, my man, Gary Trent hate Dad's Bonds Senior Senior, I hate. Wow. That's tough. Mm hmmm. We'll come back to it. Yeah, I got him. Come back to What album can you listen to with no skips? R and B R RAT whatever you want telling you can listen to. You know, he a different type of crazy. Yeah, he different with this. He listened to everything, UM, R and B. It don't matter. It could be uh, it could be married, could be some Erica Baidude the nineties married early Mary Um when she was gonna through some Ship. Yeah, you can feel that the whole album. Yeah, um that um trial called quest. First two albums as far as hip hop go, red Man, what the album? Um, He's gonna be all over R and B. I can go with tweet. I like the artist tweet her first Southern Hummingbird. She could go through that all way through Jazz and Sulliman of course, Wu Tang give me give me that double CD. Yeah, I could do that all way through D'Angelo first album, Forever Forever and D'Angelo that uh that Brown Sugar album. Mm hmm, go with a little bit of Icentina. I mean to bring it back. You're gonna bring it back on hey, Like he said, I'm across the range. I said, I don't know why you asked that, having all day right there, piece of advice you would give your younger self. Calm a fun down when you feel like that kicked in, you know when I started having kids. But you know, at that point, to be honest, I looked at it as now I'm not living for me, you know, I'm living for them. So now, um, some of the things my mom was saying about me being careful in the streets and all that just you being saved. But you also gotta protect your family name. So yeah, I would just say, probably calmed down. Um. And it was because I started a family young and that that changed my view on a whole lot of things with life again. Started wearing seatbelts, started caring about where I went, who I was seeing, with what I was doing to make sure that I didn't bring embarrassment. And it happened one time, and I felt the raft from my wife and my kids. When when Damon and I got caught up in that uh whole little uh ship coming back from Seattle and a little speeding ticket, and um so the cop let us go. He had us out there for an hour. For those who don't know what happened, well, just back when Seattle um Sonics were I had a professional team. So Portland's only two hours away. So you know, a coach let us ride back. Those who wanted to drive back, they let him ride back on the bus. I mean, excuse me on your own like we did when we played Secon. So it's me Damon, and he got his homie driving driving and um so you know we boom, boom, boom and bang of jay banging jay. I bang a jay, he banging jay and boom that's it. So we ride down and join music talking ship and you know he told him like slow down a little bit. But at the same time that's when the cop nap. So you know, he had us out there for a while. He was like, man, I smelled a marijuana. Where's the drugs? Like, hey dog, we ain't got nothing like you late. If you would have popped us, maybe like fift twenty minutes ago, you could have, but like, we ain't had nothing, you late, So he bought the dogs out. He bought like two three more cruisers out. Who rides bias the team bus? A fucking team And I'm like, damn, that's damn right. So of course we're still out there afterwards. You know, there's nothing they could do. So did they stop or keep it moving? They had to keep it moving? But what could they do? You know, you had all the other players there, so you know, of course, you know they called this and stuff. But so we're riding home the cop let us go and everything. We're riding home and Biggs like, Yo, you think this Joe going gonna make you know, sports in and all that. I'm like, dog, I'm like I don't. I don't think so, No, it's a speeding ticket. I'm like what the hell? So I go home. I'm sleep, you know, I wake up to some heat. Like I'm like, yo, what what what would I do? What I do? What happened? What happened last night? What do you mean what happened last night? On your drive back from Seattle? I'm like, nothing, we got a speeding ticket? What? She turned the TV on that she was all over Sports Center and they made it seem like, you know, we had weed in the car and all of that, but it wasn't no weed in a car, you know, like like I said, he had a J. I had a J and it was already smoking. So y'all know how the pre rolls go. That's it's gone. And it's not like we was traveling with an abundance. You know, we knew how it was coming on that ride. So I'm like, man, I don't know, it ain't nothing happened and this and that. So my wife got it at the time I was married. My wife got it from you know, some of her friends locally, and then my kids got it at school, so you know, it was the other kids. You know, oh, your dad's on drugs and all of that. So my kids coming home to me, you know, asking and crying and this and that. So you know, hey, I never beat around the bush with my kids. So I told him what it was, and from there on it was like, okay, but that's the only time. Like the technical stuff on the court, I don't care about that. They see that. They watched that on TV with basketball all the time. But no, you never want to bring nothing home to embarrass your family. So That's what I would tell my younger. So if you can have one guest on all the Smoke, who would it be? But you have to help us get your answer on the show. But Zeke Zeke, he knows who Zeke is. Zeke so. Zeke is a brother of mine from Detroit, Amazed, same brother to me. He's probably modern day. Uh, he would be Newton in that in that form what he does for the community and all around the country. Man. Uh. He got a he got a company called new Era, and they got chapters in every almost every state in our country. And they just go back, go um, give back and go to communities, especially community. But they're doing a lot of killing that I'm telling They show up with you hall full of stuff and it's their own money too. So I think Zeke definitely deserves a platform. And at the end, we got we got history together too, because we didn't been. Jack came up the flint with me to pass out goods for their families and people. We we you know, we're going door to door. You know. All we hear is some chanting and we see a lot of brothers and sisters walking by, you know, and all black. They got to u hauls and we're like, damn, who that? And you know, throughout our courses we ended up crossing paths through the neighborhood is doing the same things. And you know, we've just been cool with brothers Zeke since then. And again the brothers and sisters that new every Detroit day amazed. They do a lot of a lot of great things for the community. And man, that's what it's about. Man, It's it's about these babies right here. Man. And while he's saying it, because he started me on that mission to give back. You know, we're talking about Flint and Zeke was Zeke doing dog is just amazing that he's doing it out his own pocket. You know what I'm saying. He's not rich by no type of means. You know what I'm saying that. You know they have a DJ so it's just it's just a whole vibe. So, like I said, that's Zeke is a dope person to have to find him well, she Man, we appreciate your time for sure. Man, love you guys, no doubt. Man. That's a rap reference out here in Las Vegas. The legend Suite with our brother, the one and Only Rashid Wallace Man, you can catch yourself, Showtime Basketball YouTube, and the I Heart platform Black Effects. We'll see y'all next week.

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All The Smoke

ALL THE SMOKE pairs two of the most outspoken and controversial players of their time. Known as fier 
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