NBA Rookie Life with Ryan HollinsByron Scott on Getting Traded to the Showtime Lakers and Coaching Kobe's Last Game
Ryan talks with the legendary Byron Scott about the real story of him getting traded from the Clippers to the Lakers, facing down LeBron James on his return to Cleveland with the Heat, the special relationship he had with Kobe Bryant and coaching Kobe when he dropped 60 in his final game.
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How's everybody doing. I want to welcome you into a very very special episode of NBA Rookie Life with Ryan Howlins. I know say all I know, I seem to say all these episodes are special, but this one hits different for me. I can't even I normally I can say this young man and this gentleman man, this og og to the Game of Basketball. Was the fourth pick in the nineteen eighty three draft to the Los Angeles Lakers. Three time NBA champion, NBA All Rookie First Team Jersey retired. I'm giving away a little bit at Arizona State. Ain't too many of them there. Well, I'm not gonna start to start in there. McDonald's All American, two time All Star Game head coach. Okay, and one of my coaches, Man, I could be more privileged coach Byron Scott be what's going on with you?
Man?
And everything's good? Right? How you doing? My brother?
Okay? Now for podcast purposes, I feel like I always work with back. So can I call you Byron? Or do I have to address you? I feel like I should call you coach the whole time, So you tell me what I'm okay with?
Man, I answer to both, to Byron, to coach, to I mean, I answered Papa, as my grandkids call me. So uh yeah, yeah, it's all good. You can call me be, you can call me Byron. It's up to you, right, all right, our coach.
I might slide a couple of Byrons in there when I can get away with it. Man. I just I just feel like respecting for me and your relationship. I think I don't know if we talked about this or not. It was always special, man, because I had ten coaches. I had ten or eleven coaches in ten years in the NBA, nine different teams. But me and you have a different relationship because Byron, one of the things I always love about you as a coach, you know, love and hate you. You're gonna be you and you have. You treated us like your sons man like. It wasn't like some coaches are players. You treated me like your son. You're yelled at me, you got all me, you hit me of here when needed, and we had those talks. So I think for for me looking back, I didn't have what I'll do. I didn't have those relationships with those coaches, and even to this day, you carry yourself like that, and that's why you are to me NBA Hall of Famer. You are the real deal, and that's why people rock and roll with your coach. But I appreciate you for that. Man, Why is that like to me? Coach Barbroann Scott never changed from player that You've always been you.
You know what, Ryan, The one thing I always wanted to be was me. My dad always told me, and my mom was the same way. They said, always be you, no matter what the situation is.
Uh.
When I became a coach, you know, one of the best advice my dad gave me is was, you know people are going to fire you and and hire you for different reasons, he said, But you've got to stay true to who you are, you know, so you can look yourself in the mirror the next day knowing that you did everything you could do it do it to the best of your ability. And so I've carried that my whole life. And like you said, Man, one advice that my man, my main man, Bill Walton, told me was never get.
Attached to players.
And say, you know what, because coaches are hired to be fired, you don't want to ever get attached to players And I said, how is that possible? You know, that's almost impossible for me not to get attached to guys. So, you know, our relationship, like you said, me and you would have some serious sit down talks. I would scream and yell at and then I would hug you and tell you I'm much lucky, you know. I mean, yeah, that's how it should be. I mean, you should treat the players the way you want them to treat you, and you got to treat them with respect. And I did everything that way for my whole career. You know, you love me, I hate me.
You know.
I am who I am and I would never be apologetic about that because I think that's the reason that I've been so successful in life, and it's so successful in my professional career as well.
And Coach, it's funny you bring that up. Man. I want to say something to you right now in this podcast that I don't think we ever got a chance to talk about it. Never. It never sat right with me. For those who do know I played, I played a year and a half there in Cleveland with Coach. Coach brought me in and we had a relationship even even when I didn't play for you. When you were with the Hornets, you were like, hey, you could fit in what we're doing. Man, you come right behind Tyson and we're not gonna miss a beat. So I always had respect for you watching you and uh, you know what we had. And I felt like when I left Cleveland, we never got a chance to talk, We never got a chance to sit down. It was a situation where I was transitioning from you know, a young guy who could kind of make mistakes and play through things, to kind of put my big boy pants on. And it was to me it was pivotal. I felt like, with all the respect me, I felt like I was on my way out the league. I didn't feel the longevity there. And we had a situation where Chris Grant where you know, the Celtics wanted me, and then we were trying to make it work there. And you know, it's funny, like you said, I felt that emotional attachment and it never felt right when I left. And then, you know, it's funny. I asked Chris Grant, I forget where we were on the road somewhere, and he told me just don't go down to the bus, you know, don't go down to the bus. We'll figure it out and move from there. But it never It never sat well with me, And I remember Luke Luke Walton shout, I looked doing a great job actually in Cleveland coaching now he hit me and was like where are you at? Like what you late? And I'm like, I didn't respond to him, you know, so so coach you handed for me. That never sat well with me. I know it's professional sports, but I appreciate everything you've done for me. And you know, when I went to the Celtics, I went from the house to the penthouse. As far as winning, I got a taste of you know, you'd always tell us those Laker championship stories and what it was like and the hard work and everything that you said. And for those who don't know Byron Has, we'll get into a historical training camps, mister pat rodding junior there, we'll talk about that. But in shoot arounds we were tight. We we knew our coverages, we knew our second and third coverages. And when I got to Boston with Doc, I never missed a beat defensively. So even though our team wasn't winning, you taught me winning basketball, and I came a game away, you know, forget Leviron whatever from from the championship that year and my most successful year and winning years approach. I appreciate your coaching. I apologize. I know we talked, but I ain't never said well with me, man.
You know what so I mean for me too, Ryan, it never said well with me because I remember Chris calling me and letting me know that they were going to make this trade for you, and you didn't come to the bus, and that's that for me. That's I didn't get a chance to have closure, you know. And that's the one thing that I tried to do with every player that I've ever coached, being in trade or being a free agent, being a draft whatever, you know, I would love to have been able to say at that time, you know, Ryan, and you did a great job here. I hope that we helped you, you know, from a coaching standpoint, get to the next level, understand what winning is all about, hard work is all about, and you're going to the better a better situation. I hope you do well and I hope you guys win a championship. That's all I really wanted to say, and I did so sitting on the bus knowing that you were you were going you were getting traded that day and you ain't gonna be on the bus. Obviously, for me as a coach, I got to start thinking about the game because we're going, We're going to the street. You got to get ready for the game. So when I get to the game and you get prepared for the game, you got to, you know, make sure that everything outside of that is not going to affect you to get your preparation for the game. So that was something that that that hurts me. It's the same thing with BD. You know a while back when BD was at New Orleans and everything and we had to trade him, uh to Golden say, uh, Those type of non closures never sit well with me because I want the guy to know how much I appreciate everything that he did. You being in this case, how hard you worked every single day, how you came in early. People don't know all this, but how you came in early and we get your workout, saying we would even have talks in the weight room because I was there early to get my work out in. I want to get my work out before we started practicing. You would be one of the first players there you know. So I'm glad you brought that up because it didn't sit well with me, man, And I'm glad that you were able to go on to an organization who I hate but I admire.
Because you know, so I admired them.
And I gave you a chance to get to the other side. So you know, I appreciate you bringing it up.
And Coach, you know, I gotta I gotta bring this to you too, you know, story wise about you and some of my admiration for those who don't know, like like like being touching. It's funny, man, Coach, you still beat me to the spot, man, and I can't even get the questions out. But like I played, I got a chance to play for the legend coach Larry Brown, and Larry hated me until I was gone and traded and wished me well. And that's just how l B get is down. Coach. You know you know LB better. It's just like I remember priding myself on like beating the other players, maybe not all the time, but beating the other coaches or players to the gym because we you know where we come from, b We ain't come from nothing, man, So we was talked to this how you stick in this league? And you know you kind of live and die by so LB. I remember racing him to the gym and that sucker would get to the gym at like four thirty five am, and like it killed me. And I remember getting to the gym early to work out. You know, I get there about about six and when I would walk in the gym, you're finishing your workout, and then I remember going all right, bump Byron, forget him, like because at this point, I don't know if you feel this. It's a silent competition for me. B And I'm like, is this dude really? Is he really?
Like?
This?
Is he like?
And then I'm getting there a little earlier, and I like it got to a point you were like a ghost and it was like, I know he's working out and b you be on the bike getting it and you're like, yeah, this is the cool down. So I got a coach. I gotta salute you in that. For those who don't know, you know, it's a whole different level respect because you practice what you preach. You did it and you know, I don't know, coach, let me know if you felt that from me, But it was just like it was just like a yeah, you know, fella, I'm working You're not gonna beat me at this.
I figured it out pretty early when I kept seeing you come in, you know you would come in.
A little earlier, a little earlier earlier.
I was like, okay, all right, I can see right now that he's gonna beat everybody else in here, but not me. I can't let him beat me in it. I gotta get in there early. I gotta get my work out. Then I got to go in the office. I gotta meet my coaches. We gotta get you know, our practice, game planing, and what we're talking about doing today. So I got to make sure I get it early, just so I can get it in and then I can relax for a minute before I meet with the coaches.
And you would be in a good mood. That's I don't know what it is. That would be the best mood you being when you're working out. If you ever want to talk to Byron Scott, do it? Why why He's like on his by and the workout has ended.
I'm in a great movie because I'm finishing number one, number two. Yes, uh, you know, anytime, you know when you get to that level when you're coaching, especially in the NBA.
Man, you wake up in the morning, it's a good day, you know.
So I always started my day off feeling good and looking forward to my workout and then looking forward to practicing with you guys, because did you know I used to always say, Hey, each day is a day to get better. And you know it didn't work. What happened last night. Today we get better and that's what we.
Live by, all right, Coach, we we alluded to you talked a little bit about the hard work that your father instilled in you to be you, we know as a coach, the same og, the same guy you were as a player. Talk me through your rookie day, Giraft day experience. Man, where were you? Who were you with? Walk Walk me through that, coach, Talk to me about that experience. I want to know where was How old were you because a lot of these guys leave early now, and you know, was it three years in college? Was there four years in college for you? And and talked me to that day? Who let me know who Byron was at I'd like to say, you know, seventeen eighteen, But y'all did a little different back there, man, No.
I was twenty one, you know, so, yeah, I did go to three years of you know college in Arizona State, and excuse me, and I remember, you know, so it's so different now, right. I mean when they talked about the top picks at that time, you know, we we basically just went into the prospective team that was thinking about drafting us and we would just talked. You didn't go on the court, it didn't work out, none of that stuff. They just brought you in kind of like an interview. And I remember the Clippers at that time, with the San Diego Clippers, they brought me down to San Diego. I walked around with Jim Lineem who was the coach at the time who ended up being an assistant coach at Philly for a number of years. And we walked around the city of San Diego for like two hours. We had lunch and we just talked basketball, and I think he really wanted to more, wanted to know more about, you know, who Byron is besides the basketball player.
You know.
So we talked about family, we talked about siblings, we talked about everything. And once we were done, basically I drove back home, you know, I drove all the way back to LA I told my mom and dad how it went, you know, told him I didn't know what was going to happen. I said, but you know, hey, that wouldn't be a bad place to be, San Diego Clippers. You know, I would be the four player pick. I'm right, It's in my backyard pretty much. So I was thinking this would be a pretty good fit. So Draft day comes and they called me. Shoot about seven or eight hours before the draft, and they said, we're picking you. So now we're going to send a car and we want you down here in San Diego and we're having kind of a draft party. And so I said before the draft, this before the draft. So the the car for me, Yeah, they send a car for me. It's totally different. Like you said, all the guys are in New York. They go on stage.
Now yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
With David Stern back in the day. Now, you know, Commissioner Adam Selver. They they shaped, No, it wasn't nothing like that.
For me.
It was they want me here. They didn't want me in New York. So they drove me down to San Diego. I met with everybody you know that was in the organization, the CLIP Organization at the time, Donald.
Sterling came up gave me a big handshake.
So Draft day, you are summoned to San Diego with the Clippers, and you're you're gonna celebrate with the Clippers.
Yes, with the CLIP Organization, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor, all those guys were there, and you know, I might have had maybe one suit, So I had to put that suit on.
And get my butt down there.
And we ended up having a party for about an hour and a half before the draft, and then the draft came and we just all kind of sit down and when they said with the fourth pick, the San Diego Clippers select Iron Scott from Arizon the State University. Now they showing highlights on me in New York, you know, doing what I do. But I'm there in San Diego. And so when I finished, when they finished that, you know, I do all the uh they do, all the interviews with all the people in San Diego, all the radio stations and everything, and all the TV stations. I think the car dropped me back off home at like one in the morning. Wow, that was my draft day. So the whole day I basically was in San diego with the whole organization celebrating getting drafted by the Clippers. My family didn't come. It was just me by myself, my mom, my dad, nobody came, just me by myself.
Now what you know, obviously you had to, you know, at some point, did you run? Did you borrow a phone? Did you get to hey, man, I got to use your phone and call my mom or something like hot like, I can't imagine the guy you'll grow man at this point because these guys.
I'm grown twenty one year old man, but Ryan, this is forty years if they didn't have a cell phone then that pages and nothing like that. I didn't ask to borrow, you know, a regular phone to call going to the office and nah, I just said, I'm gonna just celebrate with him, and then when I get home, I tell mom and dad all about it.
And that's basically what I did.
The next day when we all woke up, you know, I told him my experience and how great it was down there. I said, now I'm I have to, you know, go down there down there and start looking for a place to live, you know, And I think I did that about a week later, and then we started negotiating, and that's when all hell broke loose and you know, we couldn't.
Come up with an agreement.
And then the best thing that ever happened to me basketball wise, and then they traded me to the Lakers.
Wow, as much as you like to talk about, you know, how did that? How did that process go? Because I ain't too bad B from Morningside to a YESU just he ain't go to to the to the crab. Now, Okay, you know, talk how did this? How did this go? Because I don't know, B. I don't think a lot of people know this. How did this work out? Way?
It was crazy, Ryan, because I'm going to work out every day because I'm you know, I'm getting ready trying to get ready for training camp and everything. And I mean five weeks six weeks ago by you know, I'm looking at all the guys that were drafted, you know, that are signing before me. You know, they signed Ralph Sampson. He was the first pick, so everybody knew, you know, you can't compare what you're gonna get to him, So let's just put him out of the equation.
And hold on. For those who don't know, the rookie scales were not just slotted like they are now. You had to negotiate your pain. Correct.
It was a straight negotiation.
You negotiated your dollar value in your years, and so Ralph Sampson was on a different level. So I think the second pick was Steve's the Panavis. Third pick was ritting him of Craid from Louisville. I was a fourth pick, Russell Cross from Purdue. It was the fifth pick. So I'm looking at all these guys signed. I'm looking at Jeff Malone at like nine or ten. He signed, my boy, Deve Walker he signed, and I'm going, wait a minute, out all the top ten players and signed. I'm the only one of the ain't signed. And I'm not asking for nothing crazy, but what they were offering me was what the eleventh and twelfth.
Guy got, you know, Sterling Donald, that was a Clipper.
So we can come to I'm working out every day trying to get ready. I'm watching now. I'm at the point where i'm watching preseason games right watching preseason.
Still was signed, So there's like three or four preseason games.
Left and I'm sitting there going I might have to sit out the whole season, you know, because these guys are acting crazy, you know. And me and my me and my eighth at the time, we both were like, look, I'm not, I'm not. I'm not signing for that.
I'm not.
This is what I want and this is, you know, less than what the third guy got, but more than what the fifth guy got, you know.
And I said, that's that's only fair. Still couldn't sign with him, Still wuldn't But.
And and all this time I was signed, they sending me letters saying I've been fined for not coming to camp, for missing games.
And.
At right, yeah, yeah, right.
So two weeks before the regular season's about to start, I'm about to go work out. Phone rings. I answered the phone and I hear a young man, uh, just Byron Scott. I said, yes, this is Byron Scott. Who's this? This is Jerry West with the Los Angeles Lakers. And I almost, you know, took a dump man.
I was like, you.
Got and he said listen. He said, we've been trying to It's like nine in the morning. He said, We've been trying to make a trade for you for the past two weeks. And if it doesn't happen today, it's not gonna happen and we're gonna do this trade. But we got to do it by two o'clock. And I'm like, oh my god. So I hang up the phone and tell my mom what just went on. And my mom was like, Oh, don't worry, they're gonna call you. Two o'clock comes around, they don't call. Two thirty comes around, they don't call. I'm like, Mom, I'm gonna go work out. I'm still a clipper. I'm all dejected, and I to the car. My mom could running out of the house telephone. So I run back in the house. It's like ten minutes to three, and I picked it for hello, young man, congratulation now you are a Los Angeles Laker, and it was it was Jerry Buss, I mean Jerry West, and I just meant, I just you know, I almost just dropped to my knees, like I believe that this was happening, that I get to play for the team that I've been a big fan of for so many years. And he put the trainer on the phone who wanted on my shoe size and my jersey number. Now I would never be eleven pretty much all my life.
You know, why is that any reason behind the eleven.
My favorite basketball player. And then there was Bob McAdoo. Because I never seen a big dude who shot the ball like that. I was like, this is so from the seventh grade. I will never be eleven. So I get to the Lakers. Guess who's on the Lakers Bob mcadood. So I can't wear them. Let Yeah, So I he said, well you want number twelve or what number you want?
I said, well, do you have numb before? Is that available? Yeah?
We got number four. I said, I was the fourth player pick. I'll just take them before then. And that's how I took you know. So I mean within three days, you know that they had made the trade. I gave them pretty much the same amount that I wanted. You know that I've been begging the Clippers, and we made the deal with the three days, you know, I mean to get the paper all written up and all that stuff. And I went to the Laker game, their last pre their second and last preseason game, and went in and met everybody, and I remember Magic was, you know, looked at me and he said what's up? And then he said you ready?
And I was like yeah.
He was hitting me and elbowing me and everything, and finally, you know, the inglewood came out of me and I said, look, next one, you got to throw an elbow.
Straight. And Coop looked at me and was like.
Oh, okay, okay, you got some balls. He said, well then bring it us. Okay, we'll throw another elbow. I mean it went like that and how they accepted me, and it was like we just had to see if you were tough enough, and you you, you passed all our tests, so you know, welcome to the Lakers. So that's basically was my introduction to the LA Lakers.
Wow, like you know, that's that's crazy, coach. It was almost literally like a football negotiation. You talked about it and let me ask you this. So people don't know, I actually originally signed a university Saint Louis Romar leaves the deal. I end up at UCLA. They come around late, but for me, by the time, UCLA would be a dream for any kid, but for me, it was like bump them, this is business by that time, Like you feel like the right, like like all right, I don't want me no way? Right, Like do you feel like because you came in that way? The oh I'm from on inside. I'm a lake.
Like.
Do you think it was like not as his business by the time, or do you feel like you already had that that grind mindset going.
I had that grind mindset going.
You know.
I knew once I got to the alphae at the grind, I was got to earn respect. Yeah, but you know, I also knew I wasn't gonna be backing down from anybody either, you know. But I knew going into the situation that I was going into, you know, being traded for Norm Nixon, who was extremely popular with the Lakers back in those days, especially the fans, and him and Coop and Magine were boys, you know, So I you know, even though when I came in that situation, I wouldn't trying to take anybody place, and there wasn't nothing that I did. I didn't demand to be trading or nothing like that. But that's that showed me right away that this is truly a business. You know, from day one, this is truly a business. They don't care about your friends, they don't care about family, don't you know. Because again, when we get traded or we have to leave the team, as you know, you got to pack everybody, you know, the whole family, kid's wife, everybody has to go. So they don't really care about, you know, the type of situation that's going to infect you know, not only the player but the player's family.
You know.
So I found that at twenty one very quickly. This is strictly a business, and you got to treat it as dumb.
Yeah. Absolutely, you got any more than practice stories.
Man.
I feel like, you know, b I played for you, and I know you got it from somewhere, okay, because you know, even when I play for you, coach, our practices were so much more than the games. And we got to the games, we're like, oh we could run all day. So man, what was practice like? You know you talked about you getting into it with cool. Was there any other things going on man that we could say your rookie year where you looked around like, man, this is different. I guess I know about Magic's cheating over at the u c l A Men's gym. How how was Magic in practice? Man? Did he have to win every drill? And you know, talk walk me through it.
Man, he cheated practice it?
Because pat Riley would be like, no, no, that ain't fl or blah blah blah, you know, keep playing. But the one thing that practice was so competitive, Like I like you just said, you know, and I grew up learning that if you make practice so hard, the games are easy. You know, you never run out of breath, You never you know, you never are in the worst condition out there. I always thought that, you know, the teams that I've coached, we were always in better condition than the teams play. You know, but it's just on talent or talent alone. But that Laker team that we had had unbelievable talent and unbelievable effort, and we worked every single day because we knew the games would be that much easier, right, So I had I mean I got that legitly from pat Riley. I mean he was a workaholic, very demanding as a coach, and he's the first one Ryan to me when I was twenty six years old that I would be a coach. And I told him it was crazy. You know, that's just won two championship. You talking about coaching, you crazy? More years playing you talking about He's like, one day, when you become a coach, you'll understand some of the things I have to go through, I say Robes, and I told him just like I said, right, you're crazy as head and I gonna never coach.
You're crazy.
And then it's thirty two years old. I go to play for Indiana and I'm playing, you know, for the great Larry Brown. And Larry Brown. He didn't tell me I'll be a coach. He asked me if I would be interested in coaching, because he said, I think he'd be a very good coach. That's what got me about being a coach. When you got two Hall of famers, you know, like that to see something in you that you don't see in yourself. I was like, I got to start taking notes and start being a little bit more mindful of what these guys are seeing, you know. So that's when I start really getting into thinking, you know, thinking about the process of being a coach. After playing the game of basketball.
Let me ask you this, you know, just just just fancy me coach because for me, don't know, people don't know. Byron had us run the easy run, which is twenty five straight minutes around the court with your hands up. Uh, you are the first triple suicide recorded in history, at least in my generation. A triple suicide. One on one full court close out drill. Excuse me, half court close out drill for a minute straight. I just fancy me, coach. How many of those drills came from from Riley or Larry Brown? How many of those came because you you're coaching, you know, you got a wreath around the league now that you would paint, not a rep man. How many of those did you give us from them?
I would say ninety percent of the drills that I that I learned that I had you guys doing from those guys, you know, the only I mean the one minute drill you know, with your boy Daryl Armstrong called the killer m F drill. He said, that's what you should rename it, the Quilla m F drill. I said, no, it's just gonna be the one minute drill. But that might be that that's one of or few that I did get from them that I you know, that I figured out on my own with a couple of my coaches.
We was like, man, what if we did this? You know?
And at first that one minute drill used to be two minutes, and I said, no, that's too much.
It was.
It was people were just damn near dying, you know, on that drill side, back to the minute drill. But yeah, I mean, you know, I've had some great coaches, you know, in my life during my basketball career. You know, Larry Brown obviously and pat Riley are the two of the greatest. But I think one guy that who's been very underrated that I really enjoyed coaching under when I was assistant coach of Sacramento was Rick Adelman. Rick Adelman one of the best coaches I've ever been around. Very unassuming, but man, everywhere he went he won, you know, so he understood the game of basketball extremely well. So taking a little bit from all three of those guys and trying to, you know, put it into my little bag of tricks and make it my own.
Uh.
It's something that I tried to do over the years.
And yeah, I think every player that came to me from another team said, man, we hear about your training camp.
So I was like, yeah, we'll get ready.
And for those who don't know, so anybody, any anybody coaching kids or any young kids, want to try this at home so that the defensive drill to be would have us do. So we would put a minute on the clock and you would line up. It'd be a line of us and you got everybody okay in the drill, so you're doing defensive slide. They're dribbling and turning you. And when you and the bees, when one of the bees camp you not you know, we would try to coast with each other. Ain't no coasting, dog. So the man with the ball has to push it. You gotta slide. You gotta cut him off. So I'm going slide, slide, slide, cut him off, slide. I got him, okay. Right, once you get to half court, the man takes the ball on offense and throws it all over the way, so you gotta hell a whole hot not not.
Like a freight through line.
So it's a half court close out. You run half court, cloak up next guy. You got good legs to the first two of you and shake down first two. I got him, got him by the time you hit the third and fourth guy. Be is just seeing what you may of dog. Ain't ain't nothing else more than what you made up at that point.
I just want to make sure you ain't to quit him. If you're quitting, then I'm like, okay, I can't have him but if you go through it, you work your way through it, and you just powered and by most of the guys would just be dying on that third and fourth guy.
And if you got lucky enough.
To get to the fifth guy, who by the time the ball was thrown back around to you, you just be recovering. So now you you have to dribble, you know. So to me, Ryan is one of my best defensive drills. I love that drill because, like you said, it's gonna tell you you know who the men are and who the boys are.
Stay tuned, guys, you're gonna find out something about iceman George Gerbin that he would do in games, Yes, in games that you did not know. Fun stuff coming up next on NBA Rookie Life. All right, let me let me add see this man, you went to a study team and obviously you're a twenty one year old rookie, so you came in a little different b Is there anybody who busted you up in practice or kind of like a guy off brand that you didn't think could like? Kind of because be you're one of the you don't get credit. You're one of the first three and D Guys Championship three and D guys in this league's history, I'm guarding all all five positions. Well, you didn't guard off our position. It was a little different back then. Want you could have you were tough enough, but yeah, you had real centers. That's not that's not a knock. Now in today's NBA, you could guard a center with your toughness. One of the first three and D guys. And was there anybody who just caught you off guard and that just busted you up or got you like dog? He is like this this league is that, this dude is busted me up?
Man?
What is going on?
You know?
The guy that busted me up there and he did it and he didn't even sweat was George Iceman Gerdy And I mean the Iceman was just so nice man. I mean he had the finger roll and he he would he would talk smack, but he wasn't talking smack, you know what I mean, blocking shot And he would tell me, he say, hey, young fella, that's a good challenge, you know, but you're gonna.
Be all right. You know, he tapped you on your ass. You're gonna be all right.
Now.
This is why he bust He had thirty seven at halftime on me and I was right there on every shot, and this dude when then he went to the hole and brought it like this. And then when them finger rows and Kareem tried to block it, and when Koreea came down, he patted Kream on the bus and said, big fella, you know you can't get that, you know. But the dude had thirty seven at half and didn't break a sweat. He was so nice and so smooth with it. I was like, Okay, this is what the NBA is all about. I got to get a little bit stronger, a little bit more physical with some of these guys. I said, yeah, this is gonna be. This is gonna be a learning a learning experience for me.
And people don't know. Shout out to George Gervin, man, brother Girvin. There, man, he's huge. George Gervin is not like six five or six three h gir is huge. Am I wrong?
Be six eight? He was six eight now I'm six four of trying to guard now he was six eight, one hundred and eighty pounds.
You know, I was like one ninety. But man, this dude, he was smooth. I mean, I would think that I got him and he still get by me. I would think that I'm right there, he still get over me.
I mean he was.
He was just one of the one of the nicest players I've ever seen. With that ball, he could score from anywhere and that's the one thing that made him so dazed. But he did everything with a smile. Man, he was so polite about it and everything ice man, Like you said, one of the best people in the NBA as well.
Man, absolutely, man, shout out, shout out, brother Girvin. Who did you Who did you watch? Who did you watch? What made you dial in with the NBA? You talk about McAdoo wearing the eleven, But who did you want? Who helped you like fault like? Who helped you dream man? For me, it was Hakim and those Rocket teams, big shot, big shot rob Who who dowed you into being like this is it?
Well?
I think Bob McAdoo watching Jerry West and elgend Banner, those guys when I.
Was here in l A.
You know, just so you were a Laker fan.
I was a Laker fan. Yeah.
So when I when I say getting traded to the Lakers, it was the happiest day in my life, brou I never dreamed about playing.
For the Lakers. Uh, to start off my career.
I always said to myself, I'm gonna be in the NBA, and I know I'm not gonna play for the Lakers, but maybe later on my career I'll get a chance to play for him or something at the free age and all that.
But I never, I never, in my.
Wildest thought I would start off my career, you know, playing for a team like that that had opportunities to win every single year, win the championship. So I wasn't happy. My mom, my dad, all Laker fans, so our whole house was Lakers. So so when I when I got traded, Man, you talk about the whole house being excited. Uh, everybody on the street that knew us was excited because they knew how bigger fans we were the Lakers.
So yeah, it was a big deal man.
Be for for me, I had similar with you, and I want to stay at the crib, you know, to start my career. But when I got I got I played for the Clippers at the crib. I was all, you know, it's different at the crib. Yeah, why how are you ready? I can look back and say I came to the crib at the right time to minimize tickets and not hang with the homies. I couldn't. I couldn't have done that.
You know.
I needed the East Coast, I needed you, I needed you know, lost and all that. Like Charlotte, how are you? How are you ready? Because that is done near that that's tough to do.
Man.
I think I was ready because of the people that I was around. You know, you go in a situation where you're playing with Magic and Kareem and James and Coop and all these guys. If you ain't ready, you ain't gonna be there long, you know. Soy being you know that I was young coming into that situation, and those guys kind of took me under their wing and showed me what it you know, what it is to be a professional, how to come to work every single day, how to how to get prepared for a game, you know, how to work yourself, you know, work on your weaknesses and make those weaknesses stript. I think if I was with another team that didn't have the veteran in the leadership that the Lakers had at that time, it might have been different, you know. But Bess to be put in a situation like that. That taught me real early what it was to be a pro and how to approach the game every single night, and how to approach it from a business level as well, you know. So, I mean, you know, Magic and Coop especially, those were my two guys, you know. And I sit next to Kareem for six years, you know, in the locker room. So he was always you know, you know, just throwing wisdom in my face and was talking about this and that and uh, you know, so if you don't learn, then you know, it's you're making the biggest mistake in the world. So I was just eating that stuff up, man, and just gathering as much information as I could to make sure that I would be able to perform at a high level the coach.
The word on the street is that Kareem ain't just opening it up to you, Like you got to earn your keep with Kareem? When did you earn your kid with Kareem? You know, seeing that you guys had that type of shout out, cap man, when did you earn your keep with him? And how did that come about? You talk about having to you know, being ready to describe with in the first week or two. But when was that moment where Kareem was like, you know what, be you go with me. Let let let's talk, you know, let me take you out of my way.
Yeah, you know what. It took a while.
And when I mean a while, it wasn't like the first couple of months of the season. It took till I think my rookie year till that summer.
I still didn't know it.
And you sat next to him, oh, and I said.
Right next to him, and we would talk and talking, but he was never you know, he would give me advice about this and that.
You know about business in general.
You know about hey, make sure you take care of your money, make sure you look at your your financial back, make sure your CPA is doing what he's supposed to do. You'll always check on them and you'll have quarterly meetings. He was always giving me that type of advice. But I don't think I ever really felt that I was that I was accepted by him until that summer. And it tripped me out because I'm at home one summer and I'm getting ready for the season, you know, getting ready for training camp. So I'm working out and Kareem calls me, you know, and my my ex wife picked up the front and said Caps on the phone.
I was like, Cap, so what's up. I'm chilling? He said, man, what you doing tomorrow? Working out? What's up? I want you to come over the house for lunch. I was like, okay.
So I go over for lunch and we have a ball for like two hours. We're just chilling and having lunch and his housekeepers cooking us all this food. And about two weeks before we're about to go to training camp, call me again, come up flunch. So when we get to the you know, to the regular season, we start playing and we're talking one day and I'm telling Magic and Coop there I was at Caps house and summer for lunch. They was like, what he ain't never invite wants them to the house. I was like, Hey, I don't know to tell you. I guess we got a connection all of a sudden here. And that's when I knew that he was like he was my dude, you know. So for that next five years that were sitting there together, it was it was unbelievable. And then every time that we would leave to go on the road trips, we were practicing low yoga and we didn't have these unbelievable practice facilities, so we had to go home and take a shower, then go to the airport. Well, Cat would, Cap would follow me to my house, take a shower of my house, we have breakfast there, and then my ex wife will drive us to the airport. So, I mean, that's why close.
I'll tell you what. I've been around a whole lot of people.
I don't think there's one person I've been around as smarter than Kareem My good.
Jebal Wow, shout out the cap man and and Cap is deep.
Man.
I'm sure we can we can talk. We can do a whole pod on and understands just beyond by just this, this earth, our being, our essence are all that, man. Okay, Coach, let's we're gonna have to break this up into a couple of it so we could go all day on this.
Listen.
For those who don't, don't shout out your podcast to be Scott. You are killing it there. So if you like to taste of this, we'll talk about it later. Get to that. But this is my favorite part of the show. Coaches called the NBA rookie life film man, let's step step into the filmer. Normally I have to tell my former teammates or my colleagues to go ahead and put their coaching hat on. But you already coach and listen, you know, so this should be easy for you. Man. This is the last two minutes of the first chip. Coach, run the clip, Run the clip. I want you to talk me through these moments. It's not a highlight clip. There's not nothing that big going on. Just just walk me through the feeling. Walk me through what's going on for the city, for the town, the kid, the kid out of the morning side. Man, talk to me, coach, is what is going on here that we don't know?
You know?
What's going on here is that we come to realize right now that this Laker team in eighty five is about to beat the Boston Celtics in the seven game series in Boston, and we're the first Laker team ever to beat the Celtics team in the NBA Finals.
So right now we are just celebrating. On the bitch.
One on seven ninety it says if no one is at Boston.
Garden right now, that's how quiet it is.
That's gotta be an ultimate thrill for the Lakers.
Kareem hits again with a Skyhawk, the Lakers will less come a minute away. The Lakers could win their third title Tommy in six years. They have reached the finals in five of those six years. Not a dynasty here, but it's the closest since the Celtics won eleven of thirteen.
Unusual site Celtics losing a championship at home never happened before. You know, you know, we got the game won, We just got to get across across half court, you know, just kind of dribble the clock out. I'm messing around with I don't know if there's Danny or Scott Webb, and I was like, you know, neither one of y'all really can guard me, so I'm just they go out and near Coop. If you guys know nowadays, Coop should have just hailed on to the ball and we should have kept that ball with us, but he threw it up in the air. As you could see, it was a double digit lead, win one eleven, the Lakers.
I went again three and six years La comes to the Boston and wedness the world title.
That was my first championship.
And I'm telling you, Ryan, Uh, it don't get better than that, man, one of your first one, especially in the style and in the manner that we did it and where we did it at. You know, being in Boston made it that much more special. And the celebrations in the locker room, man, it was, it was it. Listen. We left the locker room, we celebrated on the bus. When we got off the wind hotel room, we all took in the shower and we went upstairs and batt Riley had on a tuxedo, had a ballroom already set out for We celebrated until one two in the morning in their city and party and had a three time. It was, as James said, right here. Made it feel good. That's all it was about. It just it just felt good.
What were the first things running through your mind? You're on the road, you're not at the crib. What were those first things when it happened, like the kid from on inside, the guy who underdog, What are the first things that just hits your mind, like when it happened coaching?
The first thing is that, man, we world champions, We world champions, We're the best team in the world. We came here, we conquered. You know that that beast of the Boston Celtics and that mystique of them always beating the Lakers. And as Doctor Buss says here, you know later on, you can never be said again that the Lakers are never beaten the Celtics in the series.
This is removed the most odious sentence and the English language.
It can never again be said that the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.
It's just a great feeling.
Not only that, but just to celebrate with your teammates because you guys know what you go through, you know, being a former player, you know the agony and the pain and the misery and the joy that you go through during the season.
You know, you go through the ups.
And downs, and all those guys are like your brothers, It really are. It's like your brothers because we you know, just like ourssemblies. You have fights, you have disagreements, you have arguments. Then you love each other and you're you're hugging each other and you take each other to dinner and you you know, you apologize and then you get back at it. And that's just a whole year of just going through all the stuff that we had to go through and listen to all of you know, all the talk about the Celtics gonna beat the Lakers. Uh, and to kind of be able to get that monch of you back is one of the greatest feelings to do it with your teammates that you ever, ha.
What's the biggest thing that changed in your life here that didn't you didn't see coming? And then the opportunity to come back and do it again. Because normally people get fat and happy, and the world champs sometimes don't come back as world champs. So talk a bit about about those two things.
Yeah, I don't think.
I don't think subconsciously we got fat and happy, but but we did. To be honest with you, we're going into eighty six champions, said, we end up losing uh to Houston in the Western Conference finals.
Uh.
And then we come back, you know, we we got.
That that you know that that that mystique of coming back, you know, hungry again and we win it as eighty seven. So I go back to pat Riley being a genius, you know, and saying at the at the form when he's standing on the podium and said, I guarantee you gonna win it again.
And I guarantee everybody here next year we're gonna win it again.
Because he already knew. Look, every year that we wanted we lost the next year. So he's like, what the hell I got to lose? Let me let me challenge these guys. He knew that we loved that challenge.
We loved that.
You knew y'all took that personal, man.
Ryan, When I say we took it personal. We stood up there and we were sitting on the stage right when he said, and we all looked at the other like, what the hell did he just saying, you know, we can we this moment of winning the championship and we're gonna put that type. But the one thing that the trip is I wouldn't normally take two or three we saw don't do nothing. You know, after we won a championship that year in eighty seven, we won the championship. When he said that statement, I think about three or four days later, I was at the track at UCLA. But guess what, so it was magic, So was cool. So was we all were like, you know what, you know, we're gonna we're gonna get We're gonna get ready right now, you know. So we didn't let that hangover that, you know, that fat cat that we did have the year before, that challenge that pat Riley put to us. It was perfect, man. It was a masterpiece and we were able to come back and do it.
Who orchestrated the workout? Was it you? Was it magic? Was it just something you guys kind of knew y'all were gonna do and just kind of just just fell into it.
Yeah.
No, we all all all had our own type of workout regimen, but this time we just happened to be all at UCLA and I was like, well, this is what I'm doing.
What y'all doing?
They was like I'm doing this and I was like, all right, Well I had a guy there named Henry Hines who who kind of was our track guy. And Henry was like, look, I know, be got ten two hundreds today and you gotta you gotta.
Run them all.
Yeah, we got box and push up some sit ups. So we would be there two hours and they were like all right, and then we would leave there to go to your l a gym and play for the next two or three hours.
You know.
So the thing that I knew after that after he challenged is like he did, and everybody was on the same page. Everybody was on the same page. Everybody was ready to you know, to prove him right. You know, that's the one thing we wanted to do with Rowse's prove him right.
All right, let's let's pull this next clip up. Man. We talked about you getting busted up a little bit. We got to bring you back, man. You you had you a nice little highlight here over m J. Man, we got pull this up.
Bee.
I thank you guys for down walk me through, uh this moment. You know, you know what's crazy, Coach. I was watching this game as a young kid, and I remember this. I remember this game, but I want to hear what was going on from you.
This is our press. We're down, so we're trying to right quick our a little one two two press. And when MJ shot it, basically I just took off and Magic was able to find me in MJ.
When he jumped, I knew I had him. I said his angle was bad, man, you done, his angle was bad.
So when I dunk it, he you know, accidentally kind of hit me on the side of the face and then he turned away real quick. Like, you know, like he didn't do it by Jack got a fire up the sky.
Fires, got cocks to have and drives it all but has a chance for a three point play.
They're gonna call this a yeah.
I mean, this is this is one of those highlights that a lot of people always ask me about. Man, you dunked on Michael Jordan. I was like, yeah, I did, But he also got me too. He got me too. Yeah, this was a good one right here though. But again I knew he was gonna jump, and I said, no, your angle is bad, and so I just had to throw it down and go to the free throwne and knock it down.
Now, coach to a lot of your dunks. You're a one legged jumper? Was that from the track workouts? Was that just you're like you were so fast that you knew everything off one was easy? Why was that?
I don't know, right, you know, to be honest with you, because I jumped just as good off of two. But for the most part, if I'm going through traffic and everything, it was just you know, take off on.
That strong leg.
You know, that left leg of mine was just strong and just try to get up there and ram it down. But you know I had some dunks back in the day where I jumped off two feet as well. But I just did that, you know, every every every now and then, but that, you know, I was kind of known as that that one leged you know that right hand, I'm gonna bring it down with the hammer. So you know, that was kind of my signature dunk right there.
Coach, you talked about nineteen eighty seven, that championship. As sweet as it was, it wasn't easy, though. I need you to walk me through this performance from Magic Johnson and let you know why it was special. What was different because you guys were still up against the odds here, so just kind of we're gonna watch them clips. Walk me through this game and you know, let me know, we don't know about this moment? Was it was magic feeling? Okay? What was he saying on the bench? What was the feel here? You guys are road warriors again, and you know, was this the must have game?
What?
Walk me through this moment?
Coaching ball and a shot to win it down by one five seconds to go?
Paddy got medaled in what I thought you got ain't even guy?
Well, I think for us it was a must have game, and we wanted to you know, try to get a little bit more of a spread, you know, a little try to widen our our league against this team. And this play, this this play originally was not for magic, you know, but I think what he what he went through the year before when he missed a couple of free throws, and you know, being a great player and a great leader that he was, he tried to take the owners that you know, the reason we lost that series because of him.
But man, we let's not get it twisted. We don't. We don't even get to that series without him.
I mean, so sure, he's still the greatest point guard I've ever seen, but you know, he he really took you know, took that part this playoff out of this time out. You know, after Kareem you know, made one of the free throws and they missed it and they hit it out of bound. The magic came off this play. The play was really to get the ball in the Kareem. Uh but what Barbara Pairs and Kevin McHale did it. They switched it. And now magine seeing that he has you know, McHale on him, and he was like, oh no, I'm taking him because he was always picked last year, and he just he didn't even look at Kareem. He just looked. He just had a little studstep boom. I'm gonna go pass him and I'm gonna shoot, as he called it. Then the baby baby Scott hooked and if you remember, you look at this place, even Paris challenged. If he would have dumped it down the Kareem, it would have been a dunk. Or if he misses it, Kareem probably would have got the offensive rebound. But I think Magic took that jack shot that was all based on last year. He was so pissed off it last year that he didn't, you know, deliver, uh, that he had to go ahead and deliver. But that shot by Larry Bird was the craziest shot because he hit one before that, and then he told us he was going to the same corner. It was the same player. Ain't nothing y'all can do about it, and.
Held on, No, he didn't. Larry Bird made this shot and then came back and told you guys in the championship he was going to the same spot.
Ryan.
They lined up and he said, look, guys, the same players. We just ran a minute ago, I'm going to the same spot and the damn thing y'all can do about it. And I'm gonna tell you because pat Riley took me out and put Coop in. And I remember being on the bench and right where Larry shot the ball. I was right behind him, and from my angle, from my angle, right where he comes over to that corner and he catches the ball, I'm right there to the side, yep. And from my when we let it go, it was gonna be all net.
That's sucking.
Hit just the back of the rim, and I was like, oh my god, cause when he let it go, I was like, oh damn.
Michael Thompson is back in to try to distract Dennis Johnson on the inbout. Bird fires at I'm the Lakers have won it, hot Ley, I'm the Lakers dance off the court.
I was like Larry, but it hit the realm. And he even after the game was he said he was just he couldn't believe he missed it. But that's how good Larry Bird was too. He was he told us exactly where he was going twice. The first one he made. The second one was just a little long, and I mean we we couldn't guard him.
He was that good? What was what?
What was it about Larry? We know he ain't the fastest in the gym. If y'all ran sprint jills, he probably comes in last. What was it about Larry Bird where he just got opened? Or like it could be like I said, you were one of the better defenders to ever play this game. You guarded the league's best. How did this dude get this open? How was he this effective?
Coach man? That dude was so smart?
Uh?
You know, just like the great players, they see they see the.
Game in in frames, you know, and they're so far ahead, you know, they don't already seen that happen before it happens.
Uh, And they and they see the game in slow motion, you know.
And Larry was one of those guys that you know, like you said, you could look at him and say, if he was in the gym, you know, you were picking a start and five, he'd probably be one of the last guys you picked if you just looked at him. By appearances, you know, he's not fast, he's not you know, he doesn't jump high. But the guy had unbelievable vision. His basketball IQ is one of the highest I've ever seen. And he was a winner. You know, he was a winner. You know, that's what made him so great. And uh, you know, anybody that had a chance to play against Larry on a day to day basis, you know, they they had nothing but the most respect. Michael Cooper, you know, to this day, said Larry was probably the toughest guy he ever had the guard and Larry to this they said, Michael Cooper guard him better than anybody ever guarded him.
Wow.
All right, hang around, guys, we got a really really cool, uh throwback memory by Coach Scott is going to take us through something that we did not know about Kobe's last game as a Laker, that sixty point performance. It was a movie. There's some things we're gonna find out that we didn't know about it from this game. Stay tuned, will be back up. NBA rookie like Ryan Hollins, all right, we gotta we're gonna stay with some with some Laker greatness. And you had a chance to in a major way pay it forward. Be I remember when you came back to the Lakers. That was special. Later in your career and you got to a mentor a young rookie Kobe Bryant, and then you had a chance to coach him. I was doing radio and I was talking crazy for you to be when the coaching church was going, I was like Virus Scott gonna be the next coach before he was a coach. We were pulling for your coach, and through that season it was obviously a rebuilding and I love we could. We could talk for hours on this on all of the young guys you instilled the hard work and they ain't want to hear it, but they are pretty darn good. Okay, Julius, Randa, Jordan, all these boys pretty darn good. Okay, we gonna we can talk about that again. But in the last game for Kobe Bryant, you coached. I need you to walk me through this game, coach. This was a special one. I mean, man, listen, man, when Bean passed, I man, I cry harder on my old man pass. That hit different. But walk me through this game, coach. What what was it like? You know, coach, just go ahead and do you man? Walk me uh uh through this? This is one of the this is this is a movie, coach.
Yeah, it's in.
It's fitting, It's in la You know this is Hollywood where movies are made, but I'm gonna tell you Ryan, at the beginning of this game, I was like, oh my god, I don't want Kobe to go out this way. He missed his first five shots like it wasn't nothing. Then he got fouled. He hit a couple of free throws and that kind of got him rolling. The second half. I told himself, it's not coming out, so you know, hopefully you know, why why did you why did you tell him he won coming out? Because I wouldn't even just play. I just won't even go out there and just play. Do what he does, you know, what he does best. And I didn't feel I think the people wanted to see him play that last game, just like everybody else, you know, and I just wanted him to go out the way he.
Wanted to go out.
And I thought, personally, I said, if he get twenty five thirty, you know that's gonna be a great sind off. You know, that's gonna be a great sindoff for his last game. And like I said, it didn't start off well at all, but then the second half, mant he just got it going. And I'm telling you most of this is just real and determination because he was he was so tired. I remember three minutes left in the game. I said, Kobe, you got three more minutes left in that body of George and his whole chest was moving because he was so tired. He just looked up at me. He said absolutely. And so to watch him, you know, go out with sixty points in his final game, like I said, you can't. If you drew this up in Hollywood, people would think it's a lie. You know that this is not a true story. But the Mamba was special and our relationship, meeting him when he was seventeen years old and having a chance to spend time with him there and then come back and coaching the last two years. I tell a lot of people that the last two years of me coaching, it was two of the most fun years I've ever had because I was reunited with Kobe. It wasn't fun to losing and the development of these young guys, but you know, you have to go through those situations as well, but just to be reconnected with him, to talk to him almost every day. You know, there's pictures of him in the locker room where I'm in the locker room he comes up and he just grabbed me from behind and we just talked. I mean, it was just it was just special to be there that last two years with him in this game right here. Man, we will never in our lifetime see a twenty year vet. You'll have his final game and score sixty mjs. Didn't you know, wasn't close to that. Nobody's been close to that. But to watch Kobe beating and Brian go out that way, man, I was, I was.
I was ecstatic.
What were some of the things that he was saying during the game or was he focused or some of that? You know what you're going through your mind? And let him know I called you. You not coming out? Or are you like I need to encourage him, you know, let's run some offense, give him, get him eat or easy looks, or like just let him do his thing. What what was your mindset? Because you're in the midst of history and I know you could feel it coming.
Coach, Yeah, I could feel it coming. My my. My whole thing was, look, we're gonna give Kobe ball here. Y'all get the hell out the way now. You know, if you need a scream, he's gonna call you up, Julius. So if you need to scream, make so you said it. And I said, you might have to set it twice, you know, because they're already trying to play him on one side. And I said, but make sure it's at the top. I don't want nothing on the side because I don't want them to funnel him down and keep him on. Let's let the floor be spread wide open. And I said, let's just let let him do his thing. But hey, let's get him the ball and let's let him do his thing. And every you know, all those guys at that time, and they were so into that, and they wanted him to go out, you know the way he went out, and uh, this right here, this moment right here, man, when he came out, he just came over to me and told me, I loved your coach. And I said, man, I love you, bro, I just I love you like a younger brother, our son, you know. And and it was just a special time, a special moment for me, for us to have this embracement.
After the game went.
Half a minute to play Pride for the lead. Yes, Kobe Prian did like this the lead.
I tell you something, this is you know, he was legendary before this game.
This is this takes it.
Too an absolute another level, an absolute, another level. And b you know, for those who don't know, Kobe's a basketball historian. So he came to play shooting golf for the Lakers. He knew exactly who you were. I'm sure he knew your shots. I'm sure he would probably say the game. So what was kind of the conversations that he had? And you know, Kobe was known. You can tell me better than anybody of just like asking questions are B, how you do this? How you do this? So tell me about you know, that relationship you guys had, even from playing with him and keeping the contact coaching.
Yeah, he was a sponge man. He wanted to learn as much as he could. He asked all kinds of questions. The one question he asked me all the time is how do you go one hundred miles an hour and stop on the diamond, pull up and shoot the jumps out? He said, I can't do that.
How did you do that? You know? I said, Well, if that's the only thing you can't do that I do, I'm good. I'm gonna keep that.
Everything else you do so much better than me, I said, let me have that one, Cobe, you know. But yeah, he, like you said, when he came to the Lakers. I mean, first of all, he was calling me mister Scott for the first month. I was like, Kobe my teammate, now me b or Byron, you know, And he was just like you said, he was very respectful. He knew the game already at seventeen, eighteen years old, and he already knew what he wanted to do, you know. I mean one of our first conversations is I asked him, I said, what do you want to accomplish in the NBA? And he said, I want this of all time, and I mean we both just looked at each other, and I knew how hard he worked. So I told him, I said, you will be because I see you every day and I know how hard you work and how much you want this.
And man, man, wow, I couldn't imagine.
I knew it was gonna be great, but I didn't know he would be at the time when he left the game, the third leading scorer in NBA history, you know, twenty All Star appearances, five NBA Championships, MVP and I mean All Star MVPs. I didn't know to the magnitude of what he would have accomplished.
You know, I just knew he was gonna be a great basketball player.
But man, was there a moment when you was there a moment when you realize like, oh, he's gonna get there.
Yeah, when I was watching him against us, when I was coaching Jersey, Yeah, yeah, he's He's definitely one of the greats. And he's gonna be without barn An the injury, he's definitely gonna be one of the greats. And yeah, he didn't disappoint. Man, he did not disappointment, that's for sure.
All right, coach. Before I get you out of here, we got to talk about a little a little bit of our history. Man. We made some Cleveland history. Man, let's talk about it. And taught me, uh through this game. Man. We were both a part of this and it was you know, Lebron came back home. This was an interesting topic situation, man, but we pulled it off, all right, coach, So just talked me through this game, man, because we're playing I'm where I'm on the team with, You're playing against Lebron. He's coming back and the city was just aching after this the decision and this is this goes down in Cleveland history and shout out LBJ by the way man the goat man. But taught me through this game because this was just big for the city healing. Man, I assume you didn't have to buy a meal in the city for a while. You know, we were losing at the time, but we ended up pulling this game out. Yeah.
This this is one of those games that you know, like you said, you know, Lebron's coming back. So you got all these people that are there, and you know, you got you got the haters that hate Lebron for leaving, and then you got the ones that still loving and wish he was back. But like you said, this was this was a very potional game that you can see. I mean you and Dwayne Wade got into it a little bit, and you know, I remember Jamal Mosey, one of my assistant coaches, got into it with Lebron. I mean, everybody was just the emotions were extremely high and it's a packed.
House of course.
Uh So for us to be able to play, uh this game the way we played, man, it was great because of the fact that everybody in that building wanted some type of revenge against you know, against lbj uh and so you know, hey, we were we were able to pull it off, which is a big thing for us, big win for us, and in front of our crowd.
Uh.
And to be honest with you, I even thought Lebron at the end of that game was kind of like, you know what, this is pretty cool, you know, Uh, because he's a historian as well, he understood the type of impact it was gonna it was gonna have on the city of Cleveland that we could beat them at which we ended up beating them because the first time they came back, they demolished us. So we were ready the next time. Yeah, we were ready the next time. We wasn't in awe of him the next time. So this was this was a great, a great, you know win for us. Uh, you know, at home against a great, a great basketball team.
No upper inside Bosh locations, right, Hans Bush mess it again.
Kevin is swarming, you might because of the state tip every stuff.
Out of here.
Pear fires. Yes, the fight up suit him this South pictures. Yes, tie the Cavaliers on a fourteen old run doing a good job of playing that game and knocking it down. See from the quebe Ryan hans Son.
Datis the best gamers in Catalier.
I felt like the thing about this and Lebron at this time in his career. Lebron is such a good guy. He was trying to be this villain and he was trying to create moments. You know, we knew the Kobe moments. We knew. It felt like Ron tried to create a moment and it wasn't him. He's very and I think this one is the best. Just be you, like b we are talking about you are who you are. I think when Lebron embraced being him, he went like this. But I thought he was trying to be this villain, this bad guy, you know, and it never sat right with him.
Now, and that's not him. That's not his personality. That's not like you said. That's not him. That's Kobe. Kobe loved being the villain. He loved going to the other reader, you know what I mean. He loved going to the other reader, playing and trying to shut people up. You know, that's he loved wearing a black hat, and that was his personality. Lebron, that is not his personality. I mean, he is, like you said, one of the nicest guys that you'll ever meet, one of the most intelligent basketball players that you'll ever meet. And at some point in time, and he did do this some point in time in his career where he got to the point where he was like, look, I'm gonna just be me. That's all I can be. I'm not gonna try to please everybody, because at the end of the day, you can't anyway, you can't please everybody, so why try.
Hey be coach, I'm laughing that. You know, when me and Dwayne Wade, d Wade bumped up, you know, and I felt like I just had to you know, I may, I may have not been the best player of my ten years, but I ain't no punk, and I'm always gonna be ready to go. You know, the mental games start going. I'm laughing because when I'm what was going through your head? I never asked it is. You know, when I'm bumped with Dwayne Wade, and you know, I knew his move. He was going to split, and once he splits, there's nobody behind me. So I was like, if you go to split me the way you're getting closed line, bro, you get you know, chested now.
Holland's and away double technicals and flash, it's flapping the guns down.
Boy, you knew Ryan Holland's bumping when he went down the middle of that one time, so you knew something was gonna happen. So now all of a sudden he gets a little bump down here on this end of the floor. Now he wants to start something.
You never got on me. You never said that what was wanted to your mind?
When I have it, coach, I loved it.
But like you just said, we didn't back down, and you illustrated that on that blade.
He was like, no, man, not tonight.
You know, not to And for me, as an old school coach, to getting closed line back in those days were just a fire get free throws, you know. So I was like, yeah, I love that. I appreciated it. So I was like, yeah, I didn't, That's why I didn't say thathing. I was like, yeah, that's right, Brian, No, that's right. Let him know, that's right. Yeah, that's right to say what you want to do, what you want to do. And we both loved the Wade. I mean, he was talking about terrific dude.
I knew d Wade didn't want to fight, but I knew he was going to try me, and I knew I couldn't get out. And I think the hardest thing for me at that time, Coach, is I had so much potential. I was seven ft, could jump out the gym, but I didn't know how to bottle my emotions, how to play the game. And we didn't have a team like full of veterans. So I was right on the cups like I had it in the moment, but I didn't know. But this was a game. I was like I was. I was there. We not losing.
Good week stuff out of there. He set it back like he's defense. It turned in.
I had a pack in my head. Second time round, dog, we not lose it. I don't care what I got to do. That was Coach, That was one of the games of my career.
Man.
That was one of your best games, is no doubt about it. And I think because of the attitude that you just talked about that you took into that game is one of the reasons that you played so well, and the guys also played well. You know b D was there doing his thing, you know, Anthony, I mean our team at that that night, for that game. Man.
We were all on one accord.
Everybody just had winning them on the mind, depending on their mind, rebounding the mind, and that's the reason we got that win.
Took care of it that night.
I don't think people, you know, let's talk a little bit about them, man. I think people knew how good Baron Davis was, but I think they forgot. You know, I had the game of my career. But this is one of the games where I remember coach. At the end of the game, I don't know people for this. Baron switched on to Lebron and went physically foot speed stepped for step with Lebron and then chess to Lebron physically Lebron six s two seventy five and BD was right there. Baron Davis. This was, I mean, a complete game, and he made me look good. Ap looked good. Zoe was catching lives. Like talk a little bit about b D man, because this was and b I know you before you do it, I'm gonna tell you this real quick. I know you don't know this. When I was in there in the training room, I'm sitting down on the training room. Baron just walked into the training room before this game is just started cussing me out. He get up, move, You're not doing this? What's wrong with you?
Oh?
You already bugging? Dog, you already bugging. I'm like, Baron, what are you talking about? You bucket? And he he like he pissed me off from what the game go. He got on me and it was like, stop thinking, you know what I'm saying, but talk to me about bead and kind of like his you know, eighty five his talent, man, this is we're gonna call him eighty five for.
This one eighty five. Let me tell you something. And I've told a lot of people that I've had Chris Paul Jason Kidd. You know, it's two of the best point guards I've ever played this game. And a healthy Baron Davis. I put him right up there with him, And I told people talent wise, man, this kid was so talented. If he didn't have some of the injuries he had throughout his career, I think Baron Davis would be a Hall of Famer. You know, it's no doubt in my mind. He was quick, explosive handles off the chain, unlimited range, could post you up and then on the other end could be you up because he had the foot speed, he had the strength, he was six four. I mean, the kid had a total package. And like I tell people all the time, I'm like, look, man, I had two of the greatest. But I'm telling you the VV would have stayed healthy his whole career, he'd be a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest point guards I've ever played.
Wow. Good good stuff there, Coach. I'm we're gonna have to get you out of here. Man, Listen, I'm gonna have to call you back. We still got a lot to talk about, man.
You listen.
You know you got nine lives in basketball world.
Man, anytime, anytime, Ryan, you let me know, Bro, I would love to sit down and talk more about this. This great game of art. There's no doubt about it.
Okay, Well, coach. The one thing that I like to do here at NBA Rookie Life for Ryan Hollands. You took the time to bless myself in this podcast and the people and the fans. But forget this. How can we support you? We know you're doing your thing with your podcast. You know there's charities. How can we support you? How when we're shot it out?
Man?
And Yeah, you already know, coach.
You know what I mean. I'm very simple. You know.
My social media's official Byron Scott at gmail dot com. Just kind of check in on me and see what some of the things that I'm doing, uh, some of the things I'm doing in the community. I just did a two day camp at Morningside of High School. My oh, I'm a model to raise funds from Morningside of High School to try to beautify that school again, bring it back to life. So I'm always trying to do a little bit of this, a little bit of that. And you know, anytime that I that I'm about to do something, I'll probably holler at you Ryan and say, listen, that's what I'm doing. Blasted out there, you know. But yeah, I'm just trying to enjoy life.
Man.
Life is good right now. The wife and I are just enjoying and my grandkids, right I got eleven mind grandalls that I see often here and then Thomas his tour in Atlanta, so I don't see him often. But man, I'm just trying to enjoy life and get back as much as possible.
Well, Coach, I appreciate you. I love you, man. I can't tell you enough about the things about what you've done for my career on and off the court. I watched you. I want to follow in those footsteps, hopefully what you've done in broadcast and what you're doing with your podcast again. So I appreciate you, coach, and you are a pillar of the basketball community much beyond Los Angeles and through the through the league.
Man.
So I appreciate you, Coach, Ryan.
I appreciate it, brother, and keep doing what you're doing. You look good on TV. You're doing not a podcast.
Brother.
I'm proud of you as well and love you to death. Man, And tell them family, I said hello, appreciate coaching, Yes, sir.
Wow. I cannot thank you guys enough for hanging out with us on the pod. Shout out to coach Byron Scott Man NBA Hall of Famer Man. There are so many, so many stories that coach can run through and talk about. But nonetheless, guys, we cannot do this without you, so we thank you for being here. Make sure you like your follow your subscribe, shout us out, man, do whatever you like, and if you get a chance, man, let us know who would you like to see on the podcast. So tweet at us, show us some love, but love you guys. I appreciate you, and guess what, I see you next week.
