← Club 520 Podcast
Club 520 Podcast
BEST OF 520: Jeff Teague’s crazy story of Tracy McGrady punching him, Adam Silver on Luka Doncic trade
01:02:05
Loading summary
Transcript318 lines
- [00:00]
DJ Wells
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Bishop B
Yo. This is DJ Wells from Club 520 podcast Draft Night ain't just about who goes number one. It's about how you show up. And JD Sports is where the future of the league gets laced up. Whether it's Dylan Harper's tenacious two way play or Trey Johnson, sharpshooter from deep down south, JD's got the gear to match every draft story. From exclusive kicks to player collabs, JD Sports is the plug for the next level style. So while the league's getting younger, you're fix getting fresher. JD sports where the game meets the streets. Visit jdsports.com to check out their new collection or download the JD app today.
- [00:33]
DJ Wells
Meta AI is the personal AI to help you with whatever you need. Plus it meets you where you are. Not only is Meta AI now an app, but it's also on the apps you already know and Love. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Plus the Ray Ban Meta glasses. It's easy to access wherever you are, so whether you're talking or texting, Meta AI is convenient to use throughout your day. Experience Meta's newest AI that's tailored to by Download the Meta AI App Try the Meta AI app today on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- [01:05]
Adam Silver
Here's why April chose to vaccinate her child.
- [01:08]
DJ Wells
I think actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children.
- [01:28]
Adam Silver
Talk to your pediatrician or visit yvaccines.com Brought to you by Merck the best.
- [01:35]
DJ Wells
AI assistant isn't one that knows the whole world.
- [01:39]
Adam Silver
It's one that knows your world. A custom assistant built on WatsonX with.
- [01:44]
DJ Wells
IBM's granite models can leverage your trusted.
- [01:46]
Adam Silver
Data, be easily trained on your workflows, and integrate with your apps.
- [01:51]
DJ Wells
It can be tuned to do just.
- [01:52]
Adam Silver
What you need because the more AI knows about your world, the more it.
- [01:56]
DJ Wells
Can help you do.
- [01:57]
Adam Silver
Learn more@IBM.com ProductHealth Activity IBM let's create.
- [02:05]
DJ Wells
The volume.
- [02:09]
Bishop B
Yo Yo yo yo yo fanatics. How y' all doing? How y' all doing?
- [02:11]
DJ Wells
What up, what up, what up, what up?
- [02:13]
Bishop B
Yeah, love this energy. Y' all know what time it is? It is Club Five Twenty. I'm your host. My name is DJ Wells Live at Fanatics Max Man One time for boost model we know the vibes 25 unlimited talk text data where they at with the TIG 5G nationwide y' all know what time it is. Come on, man, tap in. Get you a phone, man. Still got my gang with me up here. To my far left, we got my dog, Bishop B, hitting out the Pearlies. How you? What? Nasty?
- [02:36]
DJ Wells
What's happening? What up, fanatics? My boy. What's up, baby? What up? What up?
- [02:40]
Bishop B
Tapped in for sure. To my right, my dog, Young Nacho, Young Teague. How you? What? What's good? We got a good one today. Got a good one today. Come on, man. Listen, man. We got a special special guest, man. We couldn't imagine that we would have this gentleman on our platform, but it's a blessing. We about to have a dope conversation. We happy to share this moment with y' all. We have the one, the only, the commish, Mr. Adam Silver. Join the 520. Make some noise.
- [03:05]
Adam Silver
Yes, sir.
- [03:07]
DJ Wells
Yes, sir. Go. Let's go.
- [03:10]
Bishop B
Yes, sir. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure.
- [03:13]
Adam Silver
Thank you, man.
- [03:15]
DJ Wells
Boss man. Hello.
- [03:20]
Bishop B
Yeah. Energy, energy. Love this.
- [03:23]
Adam Silver
Wow.
- [03:24]
Bishop B
First and foremost, we want to say thank you. We appreciate you joining us, sir. How you doing?
- [03:28]
Adam Silver
I'm doing great. This is incredible. I mean, I. For the fans, this must be fantastic. Just the whole environment here. I mean, congratulations to Michael Rubin. I can't believe what he's built. For sure.
- [03:40]
DJ Wells
For sure.
- [03:40]
Bishop B
Listen, this is a blessing to have you on this stage, obviously. You know what I'm saying, T? You got to walk across that stage. But for me and be in. This is our draft night moment, baby. We got the. Yeah.
- [03:48]
DJ Wells
The real draft night.
- [03:51]
Bishop B
Yeah, I got. I didn't get. I didn't walk across the stage. I didn't go to the draft, but I got a chance to hear my name called. It was pretty cool.
- [03:56]
DJ Wells
That's dope.
- [03:57]
Adam Silver
You got a championship ring, though.
- [03:58]
Bishop B
Yeah, I got a championship ring.
- [04:00]
Adam Silver
It's better than being drafted.
- [04:01]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [04:02]
Bishop B
Talk about it. I snuck out of there with one. Yeah. Now, I wanted to ask you this question because everybody's moment, you know, is their dream, to get across the NBA, shake your hand and hold a jersey. What was it like for you, the first time that you got to be in that position and host the draft as the commissioner, it was.
- [04:18]
Adam Silver
It's. It's emotional. For me, it still is, because, you know, for that moment to come into the NBA, for these players and just as importantly, for their families, so when you're standing up on stage, particularly for, you know, the top draft picks who are sitting there right in front of you, you're staring often at their parents, their siblings, their friends, so it's truly emotional. I mean, I feel it along with them. And then when the guys come up on stage, I mean, obviously, there's some of the best athletes in the world. They've already performed at a high level in college, in Europe, or whatever else. Like, when I put my arm on them and I shake their hand, they're often. You can feel how nervous they are. You know, it's such. And I think it's just a lot of them been holding in the emotion, and it's just a release, because even if you're projected to be the fifth pick or the fourth, but whatever it is the reality of that actually happening. So I'm just saying, like, I'm holding it together, too. For a lot of them, it's just. And it's. I'll just add it. It's a privilege to be up there. I don't have any particular talent, unlike a player, so I realize I'm fortunate to be part of the experience.
- [05:29]
DJ Wells
Who was the first player you introduced to the NBA?
- [05:32]
Adam Silver
Which is.
- [05:32]
DJ Wells
I said, who was the first person you introduced to the NBA? Like, what was your first pick?
- [05:36]
Adam Silver
Oh, man. I got to think about that because, you know, I was the deputy commissioner for several years and did the second round as well. So I got to think about that. I can't remember who the first player is. Is that I drafted.
- [05:50]
Bishop B
Most definitely. I wanted to ask you this question. Obviously, you know, legal background, worked in the NBA as well. Recipes, obviously, to, like, great David Stern. What was that moment like when you found out that you were going to be the commissioner?
- [06:04]
Adam Silver
Oh, man. I mean, I. Again, I just remember feeling how fortunate I was. I had. At that point, I had already worked for the league for 20 years.
- [06:15]
Bishop B
Yes, sir.
- [06:15]
Adam Silver
At the time I found out I had worked for David Stern that entire time. So I had a seat in the room, so to speak, for a lot of that had transpired over that time. And I. And I, again, I worked hard, but at the same time, I realized it takes a fair amount of luck to be in the right place at the right time. I saw it as tremendous responsibility to carry this league forward off of all those great players that had come before me, great commissioners, you know, David Stern being the most recent. So, you know, it was momentous. There's no question about it. But, you know, it takes a while to sink in. You just. Again, just. And I still feel that even 11 years later, just. It's an awesome responsibility because in addition to the literally hundreds of millions of fans globally, that for the players Their families, the tens of thousands of employees of the NBA, you know, and now the WNBA that we're part of, it's, you know, it's. You feel the weight of the responsibility. And in this league, I mean, there's. There's incredible things that happen every day, but there's also things that are risk to the business, you know, and it's ultimate responsibility working together with the players, with the team owners to make sure the league continues to operate smoothly. So I would say I'm awestruck, but also feel that sense of responsibility most definitely.
- [07:42]
Bishop B
I got a question. We was talking about draft night and you being up there calling names and it's been some nights where guys names didn't get called in that first round. What's that feeling like? Do you ever be like, man, I just hope, hope this kid gets called because obviously I didn't go to the green room. But that was a scary feeling for me to be in the green room and not get my name called. And we had some guys go super, super late in the first round and be the last guy in the green room. Like, what's that feeling?
- [08:07]
Adam Silver
You know, I'm often. It happens occasionally where there is a player who's projected to go higher and drops for whatever reason. And often in some cases in between break in between picks, I'll walk down and just say hello to the player and their family. You know, we have a luncheon the day of the draft. So I've talked to them and I see them before the draft, but also just to remind them that nobody can predict the future that I mean, I think about, you know, I mean, our MVP in Shea, I forgot, I don't know, he was like the 11th pick or whatever. He wasn't a top 10 pick. Tyrese wasn't a top 10 pick. But not only were they not 10 top 10 picks, but they were both traded, you know, and you have incredible players. You know, Jokic was a second round pick. Young man just pointed out to me, you know, Draymond Green was a second round pick. I mean, you have look at the current finals, you know, you have players who are enormous contributors who weren't drafted at all. And so I always see it as my responsibility to remind them that this is just one point in time and you should take motivation from this and that again, that understandably these teams are making these decisions. But. But don't let that sort of prediction be controlling on you and go double down on your work because there's a reason that they're there. That they were projected to be there. And even if, you know, if you think the NBA is the 450 best players in the world, so we have a relatively small draft compared, like if you watch the NFL draft, how many rounds they have, it's only a two round draft. So again, I just remind them, like, yeah, it sucks in that moment. It feels embarrassing potentially, but go get them. You know, this, this isn't going to determine your fate most definitely.
- [10:07]
Bishop B
You brought a very interesting point up. We're looking at the finals right now. Obviously game seven will take place very, very soon. We have two small market teams. You see a lot of the narratives just like, oh, the NBA is upset. We don't have bigger markets than that. We would love to have that conversation with you because obviously it's been great basketball being played, the energy's been high. You've been in both arenas. The fans there seem happy. Is it just a narrative? Is it just like, nah, you're not really tuned in to the actual product.
- [10:30]
Adam Silver
You know, I, I could say so much about that. A few things. I'll say. One of the points I made the other night was, you know, I'm sure a lot of NFL fans here, when the Steelers and the packers play, you know, Pittsburgh and Green Bay, nobody says two small market teams. Instead, it's two storied franchises. And, and I want to emulate the NFL from that standpoint. I mean, our goal, and we're on our way there, that whatever market it is, they have passionate fans, they're competing for the championship. And just like in Milwaukee where you won that championship, Jeff, you know, it's the story isn't that it's a small market, it's the best franchises in the NBA, the best teams in the world competing for championships. And increasingly in a digital world where the incremental difference between Indianapolis and Chicago should become irrelevant because we have a global fan base, we have something like a 2 billion person social media community. I mean, something like 70 million people will have watched the NBA Finals this year. So the fact that there may be a million more people that live in one market or another shouldn't be the issue. Now, I accept that it's a narrative going in. The other thing I'll point out, some of those markets are only smaller relative to the size of other NBA markets. The mayor of Oklahoma City pointed out that 300 million Americans, close to 90% of Americans, live in cities and towns that are smaller than Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Most of us, I'm from the suburbs of New York, but I Grew up in a town, Rye, New York that had 15,000 people. And so, and in my growing up, yeah, New York City wasn't that far away, but it seemed like it was a million miles away. That was my town. When Little League season started, we had a Little League parade. My high school class only had a couple hundred people in it. That was my world. So I think this small versus big market narrative only becomes relevant because of historically how we've looked at things. But, but again, the world's changing quickly. To me, if you're Giannis Antetokounmpo and you're in Milwaukee, you're globally known and nobody's gonna convince him that if you went down the road to Chicago, then you can be that much of a bigger star. So, and I lastly saying, just having gone back and forth from Indianapolis to Oklahoma City and vice versa over the last two weeks, the passion is unbelievable in those towns. I just came in from Indianapolis this morning. I mean, you're there. Every storefront has banners in it for the Pacers. Same thing in Oklahoma City. Every building has a huge banner on it. Everyone's wearing merchandise. If you see on television, everyone's wearing the team colors. It's like a college environment. And so in some ways, when you're in those markets where they're smaller, it captures people's attention even more than, you know, I live in New York City now. When, when we have teams in this town that are competing for championships, as big as that audience is, it's not as all consuming as it might be in a so called smaller market.
- [13:42]
Bishop B
Most definitely, for sure. I mean, we were talking to a guy yesterday, he was telling us about how it was in New York when they were just making the Easter conference finals. And I think that's what the narrative is because we, when you see all the people outside, it was what, a million people almost outside. Yeah. You start thinking like, man, if they was in the finals, what would that look like?
- [14:00]
DJ Wells
Exactly.
- [14:01]
Bishop B
So I think that's the worst, you know, talk about. But to me, being from Indiana and seeing how the Pacers react and the fans are, it's crazy. I think it's beautiful for the league.
- [14:11]
Adam Silver
It is. And also, I mean, when it comes to basketball, no state is more closely associated with the game than Indiana. I know you're still coaching high school ball there. Same in Oklahoma City. I mean, it's. This sport feels endemic to those markets. It's, as I said, it's not. There's the support for the Thunder, for the Pacers, but also People just love the game in those cities and states, and you can really feel it. And I think particularly the way these Finals are being played. Just good, selfless style, the pass first. I mean, both teams, it's a great defense, really physical. I think people are really eating up these Finals. They're just really enjoying them.
- [14:53]
Bishop B
For sure.
- [14:54]
DJ Wells
We'll be getting some expansion teams here soon.
- [14:57]
Adam Silver
They what?
- [14:58]
DJ Wells
The expansion teams, man. How you feel about that?
- [15:00]
Adam Silver
You know, I. It's something we're gonna look at. It's. It's. It's more complicated, I think, sometimes than people realize, because I think some people look at expansion that you're printing more money, but it's not. Because it's like if you own something, you're selling an interest in it. If you're one of the 30 owners in the NBA and just say you expand by two teams, it's not that different than selling a portion of your team to someone else.
- [15:24]
DJ Wells
Okay.
- [15:25]
Adam Silver
You know, having said that, there's so many great markets out there that love the NBA. It's something we're definitely going to look at.
- [15:31]
DJ Wells
Okay. For sure.
- [15:33]
Bishop B
Most definitely.
- [15:33]
Adam Silver
Yes. Hi.
- [15:36]
Bishop B
Hello.
- [15:37]
DJ Wells
He says Seattle. We were just trying to figure out, like, what cities would be good to bring a new team to.
- [15:42]
Bishop B
Obviously they do the summer league in Vegas, so it's equipped for NBA basketball. So I know Vegas would probably be a cool spot. Like you said, Seattle had a team already.
- [15:50]
Adam Silver
You know, it's interesting. I mean, we had a team in Seattle before. It's such an incredible market. Many of my years at the NBA were spent when we still had a team in Seattle. There's no doubt about the love for basketball there. And Vegas you just mentioned where we have our summer league. I feel like we have a team there. Yeah, because, you know, the two weeks or so that summer league goes, it literally, like it consumes the whole basketball world. Those games. When we first started playing the summer league there, those games were hardly even on television. Now sports centers operating out of Las Vegas, studio shows there, you know, it's. It's like they. I never been to the baseball winner meetings, but that's what it feels like. You know, all the general managers are there, teams are doing deals. Guys who weren't drafted are there. The draft picks are there. They're selling out in the arena. So, like, I feel like we already have a huge presence in Las Vegas.
- [16:44]
Bishop B
Oh, definitely. I wanted to ask you a fun question. I recently introduced somebody to the movie Eddie, and then we watched Celtic Pride. So those old NBA movies that used to Integrate all the things between us, me and his fans, fictional and the NBA. I wanted to know, how does that happen? Is there a license or a conversation that happens? Because, you know, you see a lot of things being used. Some of the players, some not. I would love to see. Is that something that's in the works future, as the game is growing, we get back into that. But how does the conversation or something like that happen?
- [17:10]
Adam Silver
Well, the way it works. And I was at the league for Eddie and Celtic Pride, and there's a division of the NBA called NBA Entertainment that I used to run. And so when people and for anybody here today or is listening to this, wants to make a movie involving the NBA or its teams come to us. I mean, we try to make it easy. You know, in essence, we come and say, if you want to license, you know, our logos or our name, you know, we want movies to ultimately be positive, of course, about the league. So, you know, most people realize that. So it's not that we're not approving things that come to us, but we'll have discussions with the producers and the writers and the directors. But we want people to be talking about basketball. We want them to be talking about the NBA and the WNBA and all the things we're doing. So, you know, I think over the years, we've learned to try to make it a bit more turnkey for people who want to use our intellectual property and say, please, you know, we. To the extent that you have a new angle and it may be people want to do something about mascots, it's not always just about, you know, there was a movie called like Mike Some May Remember. You know, there's, you know, the Michael Jordan Last Dance, you know, that came out in the middle of the pandemic.
- [18:22]
DJ Wells
What's the movie with Common?
- [18:24]
Bishop B
Just right.
- [18:25]
DJ Wells
Just right. Yeah.
- [18:26]
Adam Silver
You know, I mean, but also, even, like, one of my favorite basketball movies is Hoosiers, even though NBA had nothing whatsoever to do with that. Like, any movie that's about the love of the game is, we think is really positive for us. So we're always encouraging people who want to do anything around basketball. You know, I'm. When I walk through this fan festival, I want more attention focused on basketball. I mean, that's like, my job is to get more people to love this game.
- [18:53]
Bishop B
Most definitely. You say your favorite basketball is Hoosiers. That's very interesting. Have you seen Hoosiers?
- [18:59]
Adam Silver
Come on.
- [19:00]
DJ Wells
I see Hoosiers.
- [19:01]
Bishop B
Did you see Hoosiers? I haven't seen Hoosiers.
- [19:03]
DJ Wells
Did you play back in the day in high school or anything?
- [19:05]
Adam Silver
Did I play?
- [19:06]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [19:07]
Adam Silver
That's why I wear a murder suit. I played, but not well.
- [19:12]
DJ Wells
I don't know.
- [19:12]
Bishop B
I mean, when you walked in, I was like, okay, he might set a screen and slip to the side.
- [19:15]
DJ Wells
I didn't know you was that tall.
- [19:16]
Adam Silver
I said, yes, sir.
- [19:17]
Bishop B
Yeah. I was like, he might have been.
- [19:18]
DJ Wells
A sniper, a big guard back in the day.
- [19:20]
Bishop B
We might need you in the park.
- [19:22]
Adam Silver
Yeah, 3 and D. I'm in the office, but thank you.
- [19:26]
Bishop B
So I had a question. Like, when the, like, a trade, like Luca happens, right. And it kind of shocks the league. Like, what's it like in a league office? Like, do y' all know? Like, whoa, this is about to be wild.
- [19:38]
Adam Silver
Or, you know, first of all, I'll say one of the misnomers, I think, out there is that I have the power to disapprove a trade. I don't what the league's role is. As you can imagine, in a cap system and a set of rules around trades, what happens is before the trade is known publicly, although sometimes they're leaked or they're informally announced, but for a trade to be official, it gets called into the league office. It's kind of old school where both teams have to get on the phone, and lawyers and people in basketball operations literally line up the contract. So if somebody make it up is making $8 million, you have to ensure that the other team has $8 million of cap space in order to sign that player. You have to be. You have to assure that it complies with all of our rules. And so we get. Assuming a trade hasn't been leaked, a call will come into the league office. A team will say, we want to set up a trade call. Both sides will be on the call. It's a little bit like anybody who's bought a home, and there's a closing.
- [20:48]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [20:49]
Adam Silver
The closest thing where you got to make sure, like, you indeed have the title to the house, there's been an inspection, and there's a contract, all those things. So there's, in essence, a checklist. And then the trade becomes official. So we don't. And because the teams often, in particular trades, and Luka's a good example, where the teams are very secretive, they're not necessarily tipping us off. We learn about it. I mean, we learn about it ahead of the public. But only. It's usually only a question of hours, because we have to go through that official process of approving it, but not sooner than that.
- [21:23]
Bishop B
Was that like when you seen that come across, were you kind of shocked?
- [21:26]
Adam Silver
Like, yeah, I would only say. I mean, because in many ways I'm a fan like others, and teams aren't necessarily calling the league office for suggestions on player movement. So there's the fan in me that only because that's not a player move that people were talking about or the shows like yours were talking about. I was surprised from that standpoint.
- [21:52]
Bishop B
I want to ask you that question. Obviously, with the grain growing, media is evolving, ever changing, right? You got player podcasts, got independent stuff like that. What's one thing you think that the actual media outlets could improve that could actually help the game? I know we get a lot of criticism, but what's something that we can actually help promote the game better or help progress?
- [22:08]
Adam Silver
Well, first of all, I'll just say kind of in the same lane, when I was talking about movies, about the NBA, I'm very appreciative of the amount of media coverage we get. I recognize it's not all going to be positive, but to me, as long as it's genuinely from the heart and it's real passion and people aren't making up stories about us, I appreciate it. And you know, it's one of the things great about sports is people come with their opinions and they like things, they dislike things, and we learn from that too, you know, and it's. We pay attention to social media, we pay attention to. To traditional media. You get great ideas from there. I think the only thing I'd add to the extent there's more media that's educating fans about what goes into championship basketball. I think sometimes if you haven't been close to the game, and I've learned a lot over my time because I didn't play at a high level to understand that it's not just about effort, it's about the plays that are unfolding. It's about the sophistication of the coaching, it's about the sophistication of the scouting. I mean, I think sometimes, like understanding what goes into being an NBA player, the amount of hard work, the amount of training. But also I think sometimes, because the way our game is called, you know, it's moving so quickly, even for the best announcers, play by play announcers like Mike Breen or the best color commentaries, the best color commentary, it's moving so fast, there's not necessarily time to explain everything that's happening that, you know, it's not just this guy is off tonight, but he may be off because this incredible defense and what is the scheme and what is that defense? So I think sometimes like those other shows, whether it's a pre game show or halftime or it's an afternoon show, podcast, you name it, about the NBA, just to be talking about more about the game and what goes into team basketball and what. And what goes into making the NBA and staying in the NBA for sure.
- [24:23]
Bishop B
Most definitely. Now T, you always talk about how the NBA is a business in a fraternity and what they do for the players after they leave the game. You want to indulge in that a little bit more. Yeah, obviously it's a bunch of programming now that it's been coming into the league. When I first came in the league, the rookie, rookie transition and all those great things that you have to do when you first get in the league. I was wondering how can we like, I'm not going to say better it. I think it does a really good job and everything is nice when you retire from basketball. But is anything like you would suggest for some of the guys who might retire at the age of like 30, 31, is there anything you could suggest to help them with that process?
- [25:01]
Adam Silver
It's a great question. A few things. Number one. So for the first time we have a former player who's running the players association, Andre Iguudala. So he's very attuned to the issues of not just former players, but the transition for a player to go from being on the floor to then the rest of the their life and to how they're going to use the skills they've developed as a player and what new skills they might need to be successful at whatever they choose to do, whether it's to be in the media or to run business or whatever else. The other thing Andre is doing is building a closer relationship between what has been a separate organization, the Retired Players association and the union that currently represents the players. Because I think that can help with the, the smooth transition as well. And then you mentioned the rookie transition program. So that's a program for players coming into the NBA. The transition of coming from college or Europe, wherever it is now the world's changing quickly because now with nil deals and collectives, guys are now coming into the league. And same thing for the women in the WNBA now in many cases having been paid. So they already have a certain sophistication around payments and being, you know, shoe deals and things like that. But so they come in, we have the training in. I think one thing that Andre is very focused on and in fairness and the union Leaders before him is enhancing those programs so that while you're a player, there's a lot of different counseling on managing your money, managing your life, you know, dealing with social media, media, all those things. And the union's done a fantastic job. There's a role for our teams and a role for the league in doing all those things. And then I think also where Andre, now I think the focus is, all right, what more can we do for helping the players manage that transition? And then once I said they become a retired player because I often. And Jeff, you can speak to this when you're right off the floor. There may be a period of sort of decompressing.
- [27:06]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [27:06]
Adam Silver
Taking some time. There's that change from being on the road the whole time. Often guys are getting reacquainted with their families or they, you know, they've had kids while they were playing and haven't been around as much. So there's that period. But then now you have essentially the rest of your life ahead of you. What kind of programs can we help provide to train people? And I'll just say lastly, I mean there's also one of the things that we put in place several years ago and Michelle Roberts was head of the players Association, Chris Paul was president. Union is lifetime health insurance for guys who played in the league, which is a huge deal. And also enhancing the pension programs, the 401k programs. So that for somebody who has played, you know, a certain minimum threshold of years in the league, you know, to a certain extent you'll be set, you know, you're going to have health insurance, you know, you're gonna have a pension. Now that's not suggesting they should just be satisfied with that. But on top of that, there's all these other opportunities and you're obviously a great example of it, of what can you then use that platform you have by virtue of being an NBA player and then building careers beyond what you accomplished on the floor?
- [28:20]
DJ Wells
For sure.
- [28:21]
Bishop B
Most definitely. We talk about the nil situation all the time. And I know you probably get asked this about million times, is it a possibility that high school players go back to the NBA straight? Maybe. But the nil impact, you say you got lesser people in the draft this year. You think, is that something that's going to be an ongoing issue or is it just a new transition period? Because it's just new.
- [28:37]
Adam Silver
Yeah, when you think about it, we don't, as I said, we only have a two round draft. And the fact, I think it's really positive that some of these young men are getting good information, in essence, and realizing that they're unlikely to. To be selected in those two rounds. And if that's the case, and they can remain in college and be paid, and in many cases paid significant amounts of money that. So one, they're getting compensated for their skill and maybe even more importantly, to the extent they want to be professional basketball players, they're getting real minutes, they're getting great coaching, and they're continuing to. To train and improve at their craft. So it's a win. Win for everybody, as opposed to losing eligibility, because somebody's convinced you that you're going to be a top draft pick, not getting drafted, you can't go back to college, and now you're going to play maybe in Europe or Asia or something else, as opposed to really honing your skill and having your best shot at playing in the NBA. And the other thing is, if you're not going to be drafted and you're going back into school, it shouldn't be lost that you're also, you know, continuing to get an education because realistically, you may not have an opportunity to play in the NBA. It may be great, you know, to go play in Europe. There's great basketball being played around the world, but that may, you know, not compensate you at the same level as being in the NBA. You might not be able to do it for as long as. So now you finish, you play for three, four years in Europe, whatever it is, but now you have a college education, and then you can go out and then pursue another career. So I think the fact that some of those young men are withdrawing their names is very positive. To me, that just means there's better information out there in the marketplace.
- [30:28]
DJ Wells
Will we ever get back to kids being able to come straight out of high school? Like, would that ever be a thing again in the NBA, do you think?
- [30:36]
Adam Silver
You know, we've talked about that. You know, just so everybody understands, like, that's not a decision we can make on our own. It can only. It has to be negotiated with the players association. And when we last discussed it, I think that the general feeling from the teams and the players is to the extent that those young players have that extra year.
- [30:56]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [30:57]
Adam Silver
Honestly, whether it's in college or playing in Europe, they're. It's better for the league because. Because they come in better skilled, with a little bit more maturity.
- [31:06]
DJ Wells
I got you.
- [31:07]
Bishop B
We've talked about, obviously, the all star format possibly being the USA versus the world. We've got a lot of great international Players, a lot of them won MVP recently. We got camps around the world. Is there a possibility that we could get a expansion team that's not in the United States?
- [31:23]
Adam Silver
Well, we have the Raptors, of course.
- [31:25]
Bishop B
But you know, they. Around the way, they don't.
- [31:28]
Adam Silver
I know they're attached. It's not the same. Yeah, over time. I mean, one of the things we've been looking at the league is whether we can help operate a new professional league in Europe. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's incredible basketball being played in Europe and there's some really great teams. And you know, several of our most recent MVPs have come from Europe. But I think from a commercial standpoint, basketball, professional basketball hasn't been nearly as successful in Europe as the size of the market might suggest. So that's one path. I wouldn't call it expansion directly, but it's building off the NBA brand and potentially doing more in Europe. To your direct question about teams in Europe, I think over time it's definitely possible. I was in Paris last summer for the Olympics. I mean, the interest was off the charts. I mean, to me it was the hottest sport there. I mean, like we were selling out every game. Not just the games involving usa, but you know, the gold medal game was USA versus France. I mean, the game before the US Serbia game was some of the best basketball I had seen. So there's great players, enormous interest. I think part of the limitation is on players bodies. It's not just the length of the flight, but when you're jumping multiple time zones. It's important guys get proper rest for being on the floor. It's disruptive. You know, there's people. Remember there used to be supersonic jets that went back and forth from New York to Paris. You know, the Concorde that there's some commercial airliners now who are talking about restoring supersonic jets. I mean, I think that if the travel were faster, honestly, that would be a game changer. It would make it easier to do. But as I said, I think the next step is to sort of plant a flag in Europe, potentially with a European league and then go from there. But I think if any league could do it, you could easily imagine teams in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin. I mean, it's not for lack of interest, that's for sure.
- [33:42]
Bishop B
Most of it. Take. Imagine having a back to back in Paris, man. Yeah, like you said, that fight would have been crazy. But it probably be a lot of fun though. I think guys will be open to playing in Paris. I've seen guys go with her for preseason games, exhibition games, and they're like, this is cool to be over here.
- [34:00]
DJ Wells
You got any adjustments that you would like to make for the All Star, the All Star Game? You want to bring something new, take something out like how you feel about All Star Weekend?
- [34:10]
Adam Silver
Well, the weekend itself, which we're not judged on for those who are there, is fantastic. I mean, I think anybody who was in the Bay Area, in San Francisco last year, I mean, there's tons of events and parties and there's a fan festival kind of like this. I mean, people love that experience. The game itself, we've not put our best foot forward and I think the players recognize that, we recognize that. So as you mentioned, we're talking about changing the concept, doing something maybe close to what the NHL did in the four nation face off. I mean, I think if it were just straight up USA world, as much as fans would love that, I'm not sure it would be fair to the players because roughly 30% of the players are from outside of the United States. So it wouldn't be fair to pick half the team from 30% and the other half from 70%. But I think we're. Look, I know we're looking at different formats now, talking to the Players association because we need their agreement where we would use that concept again, similar to the NHL did, where you create that passion around the usa playing other countries, other regions in the world. I mean, I'm particularly excited about it. I'll just add, so next year our All Star Game is moving to NBC where it was in the old days. And we'll be in the middle of the Winter Olympics. So on the Sunday when the All Star Game takes place, for TV watchers, they'll be watching the Olympics, you know, all day. Then you'll come to our All Star Game. And then after our All Star Game, we'll be going back to the Olympics. So I'd love to play off that theme that will be smack in the middle, as I said, of that Olympic competition. So I think it's a, it's a good time for us to be looking at those formats.
- [35:55]
DJ Wells
Okay, cool, Cool. I wanted to ask too though. So LeBron, you know, he's on his last leg of the league.
- [36:04]
Adam Silver
Yeah, you make sure you said that, not me.
- [36:06]
DJ Wells
I'm saying that. Who you think that could fill that void of like the new face of the NBA? Just give me like, you know, I.
- [36:13]
Adam Silver
Always say, like, you know, we don't create those faces at the league office. They earn it on the floor. Yeah, it's interesting just to watch these finals. Obviously, Shea is our mvp. Yeah, he was the scoring leader this year, but again, I mean, he's having a great final so far. But ultimately, LeBron is a face to the league, and Michael was, and KD was, and these guys and Steph because they win championships. I mean, I, it's, look, in fairness to any individual player, it's also a team sport. And LeBron made that point the other day for sure. But look at sports. Sports are about competition. It's about winning. And the great news is kind of like what I was saying about the draft earlier. I don't have to sit here and predict sort of who our next face of the league is. They earn it. They are established by what they do on the floor. And it's great to see now this next generation. I think, in a way, it's the best of all worlds because LeBron is still, at 40 years old, playing an incredibly high level. Steph is playing an incredibly high level. So is Kevin, you know, so it's wonderful to see that generation still here mentoring this next generation. But ultimately, this next generation who want to take that mantle from them again, that's where the competitive juices come in. They got to earn it by demonstrating they deserve to be the face of the league by their performance on the floor.
- [37:38]
DJ Wells
Got you.
- [37:38]
Bishop B
Definitely. I wanted to ask, I think for all those basketball heads in the off season, we get to see all the players playing different situations. Now, once you're integrating the NBA, like having the Drew League on the NBA app, things of that nature, Is that something that's like purposely saying, okay, we're going to embrace every aspect of this game and keep growing, or is this something organically? You guys are just like, you know what? If everybody's rocking with this, we might as well include ourselves in that.
- [38:01]
Adam Silver
I, I, I would say that's a case where it's definitely both. I mean, what's cool about the Drew League or Rucker or anything else is that it's truly organic. I can take zero credit for that. But then we can be very intentional about it and say the NBA app is a central repository of basketball, of every, you know, over time, truly everything basketball. But right now, anything involving NBA players, and it's NBA players are playing in those summer leagues. Whether it's summer leagues here in New York or in LA or Drew or whatever else that, you know, Especially one thing about social media, it's not always fine. It's not always easy to discover what you're looking for, if you think about X or Instagram, whatever else, like, those algorithms are pretty good at feeding you more basketball. You show an interest in it, but there's nothing like that ability to go to the NBA app. And that is identifying for you. If there's great basketball out there involving NBA players off season or future NBA players or what's happening in Europe or Asia, we're going to deliver it directly to you. And that. And that's a place where we're trying to get a lot more sophisticated, but we want to take advantage of.
- [39:14]
DJ Wells
All.
- [39:14]
Adam Silver
That great content, all those great games that are already out there.
- [39:17]
Bishop B
Most definitely.
- [39:18]
DJ Wells
For sure.
- [39:19]
Bishop B
Now, listen, I got the jersey on. I'm saying the goat. A lot of fans miss the classic jerseys. Is there a world where we could possibly have the All Star Game back into the original uniforms of the players?
- [39:32]
Adam Silver
You know, I'm looking around. There's a gentleman out there named Sal La Rocca, and he oversees all of merchandising. So, Sal, you heard that? Are you nodding your head? Yes? He's saying yes. We're looking at that idea. No, we go back and forth like, people want new uniforms, they want old. But I love the idea of the classic jerseys.
- [39:51]
Bishop B
Hey, I love how you put him on the spot. Everybody start clapping. Show some love, my man.
- [39:55]
Adam Silver
Hey, you know, the feedback from our fans is critically important. So thank you, everybody.
- [39:59]
Bishop B
Most definitely. Well, listen, Commissioner, we appreciate your time and make some noise in Mr. Silver. One time. Yeah.
- [40:05]
Adam Silver
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
- [40:07]
Bishop B
Most definitely. One time for fanatic sex. Two pounds for boost mobile. $25 unlimited talk text data. Where they at? T5G nationwide. For sure. We appreciate y' all. Y' all be safe. Hotels in Vegas might be booked this weekend, but it's one vacancy left. That's right. It's going to be filled. At UFC 317, a new lightweight champ will be crowned.
- [40:25]
DJ Wells
Grab your old crowd. At DraftKings Sportsbook, the official betting partner of the UFC.
- [40:29]
Bishop B
You know what's going on, man. Tuperia takes on Charles Oliveira to fill the vacant men's lightweight title as a headliner of the International Fight Week. First time betting on DraftKings on a UFC fight. All you got to do is pick one of the fighters. It's easy. It's an easy win. If you knew the DraftKings. All you got to do is bet $5 new customers. If you bet that 5, you get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Listen, download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use that code Club520. That's right, code Club520 get you $150 and bonus bets instantly. When you bet just 5 bucks only.
- [41:00]
DJ Wells
On DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York, call 877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny 467369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 87777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng co Audio Meta AI is the personal AI to help you with whatever you need. Plus it meets you where you are. Not only is Meta AI now an app, but it's also on the apps you already know and Love Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Plus the Ray Ban Meta glasses. It's easy to access wherever you are, so whether you're talking or texting, Meta AI is convenient to use throughout your day. Experience Meta's newest AI that's tailored to you by Download the Meta AI App Try the Meta AI app today on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- [42:04]
Bishop B
Yo, this is DJ Wells from Club 520 podcast Draft Night ain't just about who goes number one. It's about how you show up. And JD Sports is where the future of the league gets laced up. Whether it's Dylan Harper's tenacious two way play or Trey Johnson, sharpshooter from deep down south, JD's got the gear to match every draft story. From exclusive kicks to player collabs, JD Sports is the plug for the next level style. So while the league's getting younger, your fit's getting fresher. JD sports where the game meets the streets. Visit jdsports.com to check out their new collection or download the JD app today.
- [42:35]
Adam Silver
Malcolm Gladwell here. I recently recorded the first episode of Smart Talks with IBM where I learned how AI agents are joining AI assistants as a major productivity tool. Let's start with AI agents. AI agents can reason, plan and collaborate with other AI tools to autonomously perform tasks for a user. Brian Bitzel, an expert from IBM, gave me an example of how a college freshman might use an AI agent as a new student.
- [43:03]
Bishop B
You may not know how do I deal with my health and wellness issue? How many credits am I going to.
- [43:08]
Adam Silver
Get for this given class?
- [43:09]
Bishop B
You could talk to someone and find out some of that but maybe it's a little bit sensitive and you don't want to do that.
- [43:15]
Adam Silver
Bissell told me you could build an AI agent, a resource for new students that helps them navigate a new campus, register for classes, access the services they need, and even schedule appointments on their behalf, which in turn buys them more time to focus on their actual schoolwork.
- [43:32]
Bishop B
We can see patterns of how agents and assistants can help employees and customers and end users be more productive, automate workflows so they're not doing certain types of repetitive work over and over again and streamlining their lives and making data more accessible to them 24 hours a day.
- [43:53]
Adam Silver
To learn more about IBM's AI agents and how they can help your business, visit IBM.com/agents here's why April chose to vaccinate her child.
- [44:06]
DJ Wells
I think actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children.
- [44:26]
Adam Silver
Talk to your pediatrician or visit yvaccines.com brought to you by Merck.
- [44:33]
Bishop B
Yes, sir. Man, we back at it again, man. Another episode of Club five twenty podcast. I'm the host. My name is DJ Wells. Still got my brothers on stage with me. To my left, we got my dog Bishop B. Heading out the pearls. How you what?
- [44:44]
DJ Wells
Sad and nasty. What up fanatics?
- [44:46]
Bishop B
What's happening? Fanatics Fest. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. To my right, my dog Young Nacho, Young Teague. How you what? I'm chilling. I see you back there, Fred. What's up man? What's happening with it? For sure, man. Listen, man, we have fanatics with it and we got another wonderful guest, man. Long awaited guest, man. We are very excited about this episode. Hall of Famer, one of the coldest to do it. We all grew up on his shoes. Pure Hooper, man. The one and the only Mr. T. Mac Tracy McGrady. Big Darryl join us on stage. Show some love.
- [45:14]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [45:25]
Bishop B
Hey.
- [45:25]
Adam Silver
Yes, sir.
- [45:27]
Bishop B
Matt.
- [45:27]
DJ Wells
Make my young and get up and greet me, man. Turn my mic on in this, man. What up, Youngin?
- [45:33]
Bishop B
What's up bro?
- [45:34]
DJ Wells
Huh?
- [45:34]
Bishop B
What's up man? You remember you punched me. Let's get this. Let's get out this out the way.
- [45:38]
DJ Wells
Let's just get it out the way right now. This dude right here, man, he used to play so much. I just wanted to beat his ass way too much. He was young, bro. He just played entirely to too much, man. I'm trying to get back in the lead. This nigga's playing around too much.
- [45:52]
Bishop B
I did play around a lot, but.
- [45:54]
DJ Wells
We had to get your side of the story. You know what I'm saying? It's two sides to the story. So do you remember what happened? Y' all really bleed till you going that. He said it really happened.
- [46:03]
Bishop B
I'mma tell you. I'mma put it for you. So I used to mess with Mac every day. And he used to be like, man, shut the. Like, shut up. Why you always talking like. So I used to mess with him. So one day we was eating, I was. We was in the thing, and I was sitting back and he walked up, he was like. I was like. I was hot.
- [46:24]
DJ Wells
You hit him in his chest.
- [46:25]
Bishop B
Probably ain't thinking nothing of it, but I'm like, man, what the. And Marvin, like, what you going to.
- [46:30]
DJ Wells
Do o OG initiating a young fellow? That's my little homie, man. Yeah.
- [46:37]
Adam Silver
What's up, man?
- [46:38]
DJ Wells
Y' all doing good things up here, bro. We've been watching y' all, man.
- [46:41]
Bishop B
We trying to, man. Long awaited episode, man. We happy you could pull up, man. Like we said, we all big fans of you, for sure, man. Grew up with the C max, man. We going to start. First and foremost, we all love the good feet game, and you got some legendary kicks, right? So what's it like?
- [46:56]
DJ Wells
We.
- [46:56]
Bishop B
You know what I'm saying? We know how you came into the league, but what's that moment when T mate gets his first signature shoot?
- [47:01]
DJ Wells
Just like that kid, man, you know, shit. We always a kid playing on a playground, and you was out there with your favorite player, hooping in them shoes. And for me, it was MJ's, it was Pips. And then Penny came along and that's all I wore when I had, you know, opportunity to get some pennies. But then when I. It came along with. I got my shoe. And then it wasn't. It wasn't to the point I saw my shoe, had it in hand award. But when you go out in public and you see kids or your fans with your shoe, that's the validation right there. That's like, damn, dog, I made it.
- [47:38]
Bishop B
What's crazy seeing somebody with your jersey on? Seeing somebody with the sneaks on.
- [47:42]
DJ Wells
Nah, the sneaks. Because anybody in the NBA gonna have a jersey. Everybody can have them sneaks. Facts. Everybody can have their own Sig. That black and blue colorway. Crazy. LG Colorway.
- [47:52]
Bishop B
And what's crazy is, you know what I'm saying? You had, like, iconic moments in your shoes. Like, you know what I'm saying? The TMAC ones. The all star moment off the backboard. Like.
- [48:00]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [48:00]
Bishop B
When you see that, you just see, like, moments. Like when we look at other people's shoes, we think of moments. So for you to have your first couple of signatures with, like, crazy moments in them, it just kind of, like, cemented it all in our minds. I want to ask you, what's your favorite shoe that you designed? What's your favorite T Max shoes?
- [48:15]
DJ Wells
For me, it's the 3.5. And a lot might not know about the 3.5s. I wore those when I was on a USA team with the qualifying team. But by 3.5. But because they don't know, I'll say that TMAC threes. The threes was the most.
- [48:28]
Bishop B
The.
- [48:28]
DJ Wells
The fire that we still sell into this day.
- [48:32]
Bishop B
Yeah, the TMAC threes, you know what I'm saying? Almost got me a whooping in my household. Cause I asked my mama to buy two pair of shoes so I can mismatch them. And she was like, yeah, we ain't going for that. Most definitely, man. But listen, man, before we get to the episode, we got a gift for you, man. Shout out to Tommy John. Tommy John. Tommy John. Yes, sir. Be here and tell the people what they need to do. For you, sir.
- [48:50]
DJ Wells
Man, just wear them draws. Get some draws. I don't know if they white artists fits. All right, Draws.
- [49:00]
Bishop B
They not.
- [49:00]
Adam Silver
They not.
- [49:00]
Bishop B
Then they got the elastic band, the extendo band. Oh, man. For today is how it takes the ball handling matters. Pause on the court. But I'm talking nigga draws. Keeping balls. Head up with Tommy.
- [49:10]
DJ Wells
You see that little pouch in the front?
- [49:12]
Bishop B
Hey, yo, that's to get him together right there.
- [49:16]
DJ Wells
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Gray draws are like gray sweatpants. You know the vibes. Shout out to Tommy John.
- [49:23]
Bishop B
Hey, hold it up. Like will 100 point sign is crazy.
- [49:26]
DJ Wells
Shout out to Tommy Dunn.
- [49:27]
Bishop B
Bro, you know we rocking heavy with y' all, man. But you've been going crazy recently, man. We gotta talk about it instantly.
- [49:36]
DJ Wells
Oh, you about to say it.
- [49:37]
Bishop B
Hey, you brought up. And we ain't gonna get to it. We ain't trying to be messy. But you brought up an Indiana Pacer legend, man. One of the code is the lace about the PG for the Pacers. Our dog, Jamal Tenzin.
- [49:46]
DJ Wells
Yes, sir.
- [49:47]
Bishop B
We heard the back and forth conversation about Kyrie. That's cool. We ain't gonna get to that. But it's dope to hear. Players especially who was around, show love to people who don't get, like, recognition. All the Time.
- [49:56]
DJ Wells
Yeah, I'm glad you said that, because that was the sole reason for. For me saying that. Yeah, I know. I'm a. Trust me, I know basketball, bro. Yeah. And I know Kyrie is the best when it comes to handles. It's two of my best. And as I'm on record saying this, it's Kyrie, and it's skipped to my little. My old teammate. Them the two best, like, for me. But, yeah, when I get an opportunity to highlight somebody that's in my generation of basketball, my era, I'm going to take the time to do that. The thing is, people don't know my agenda when I said that, so of course I expect that reaction, and it's the reaction that I wanted. Yeah, right. Because I'm highlighting somebody. Like, when you look at Jamal Tinsley, bro, people and comparing him to Kyrie, yeah, they gonna laugh at that. But you go over and really see what that did when he was a rookie. It ain't too many cats that had 23 assists when it was a rookie. So although you might laugh that he's not compared to Kyrie, he's still somebody you can learn to and appreciate his game. So using Kyrie was my main goal. You gotta use somebody like that. And then the trigger words is, yeah, he better. He got better handles. Right? It's. It's. It's the Internet game, bro.
- [51:11]
Bishop B
Oh, yeah.
- [51:11]
DJ Wells
That's all I did. So shout out to Jamal Tinsley, man. Now these young fellows know who he is. Yeah.
- [51:17]
Bishop B
Like, looking in the crowd and you still see people with tmac jerseys and stuff like that. What is that like? Because I don't never see a Teague, but, like, to see that, like, what's that like, you know?
- [51:32]
DJ Wells
T, man, it's love, bro. You know, And I don't take it for granted. I appreciate every time I see somebody with a T. Mac jersey on anything. T. Mac, you know, even 12 years after being retired, that shit still does something to me because I appreciate that. I appreciate their appreciation of me, and I'm always gonna show love. Facts, facts, facts. That's the best one right there.
- [51:57]
Bishop B
Which one?
- [51:57]
DJ Wells
That pinstripe one right here. The buddy strikes was tough.
- [52:00]
Bishop B
I was gonna ask you the next. What's your favorite jersey? Because you got a lot of iconic jerseys. You know what I'm saying? You got the Raptors, you got Orlando, you got Houston. What's your favorite jersey?
- [52:08]
DJ Wells
That.
- [52:08]
Adam Silver
That purple.
- [52:09]
DJ Wells
That purple Raptors jersey is Fire.
- [52:11]
Bishop B
Oh, yeah.
- [52:12]
DJ Wells
I'm talking about, like, out of all jerseys, that purple Raptors Is fire the rookie year? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the one. Yes, that's the one.
- [52:20]
Bishop B
Yes, that's that one. Now you look at today's NBA, right? Little bit of a difference between you play, a little bit more freedom. We got the finals going on right now. Game seven, OKC Pacers. I want to ask you if you could play for either one of those teams right now. Where are you pulling up to?
- [52:35]
DJ Wells
Indiana. Yeah, Indiana. I mean, I, I, first of all, they got a freaking great coach. You know, Rick Carlisle is, is probably one of the best basketball minds in the game right now. And we're seeing that every night. But I like their cohesive. They don't have a superstar, so I like that cohesive. I like that they do it by committee and integrate somebody like me that could get buckets consistently with what they already have. Great shooting, you got great penetrators. And ask someone that can get buckets. I like my chances most definitely.
- [53:07]
Bishop B
And you got both those teams, obviously with all star superstars. And you have a lot of role players. You see the league gravitate more towards that because I know back in y' all day you had, the hierarchy was a little bit different. You had like two or three guys took a majority of shots. Everybody kind of filled their roles. Now with both these teams, you got some off the bench who can go shoot six threes and it's all gravy.
- [53:22]
DJ Wells
Hell yeah. I love it. I love it. Because in today's game there's a lot more Hoopers.
- [53:28]
Bishop B
Okay.
- [53:28]
DJ Wells
You know what I mean? There's not guys that just do one specific thing, right? One thing that's really great. You got these guys, man, they can score on both sides of the body. They could do multitude of things on the basketball court. Coming off your bench. When I, you know, when I played, you had somebody that can only, he's only a guy that can shoot in the corner. That's it. Like you just stationary pieces now. You could interchange with these type of players that that's playing the game today.
- [53:55]
Bishop B
I like how you said that. Would you think your game, obviously you could score in bunches. You could score any kind of way. You think your game would have translated better now than it did back then?
- [54:04]
DJ Wells
I mean, yeah, come on, team.
- [54:06]
Bishop B
No, I'm being, I mean, you have it. So you probably would have averaged 40.
- [54:11]
DJ Wells
I'm not going to be arrogant and say 40 in my mind. Yeah, I feel I can score 40. I mean, but realistically I think I say average 32 this year in a Wide open league. Wide open game. I averaged 32 when that shit was tight.
- [54:27]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [54:28]
DJ Wells
Score was 78 to 80. You see what I'm saying? And only shot like four or five threes. Put me in today's game where I can shoot 10, eight to 10 threes.
- [54:37]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [54:37]
DJ Wells
And I'm gonna get to the free throw line because I'm gonna get to my spots. That's damn near 40 piece. That might be a 40 piece.
- [54:45]
Bishop B
And you had that mid range. I remember when we was in Atlanta, you used to shoot the midi. Used to like. Yeah, you probably average 40. I'm thinking about it like 32 back then. You probably gonna average.
- [54:58]
DJ Wells
Yeah, I mean, it's. It's an easy game now, bro. You defensively, like, now they want to try to add the physicality to it. But if you can't touch me when I got the ball in my spot, like, you got to back up and give me. Nah, I'm a shoot right up. I ain't even got to put the ball on the floor. I'm gonna shoot right on you. Right in your face.
- [55:17]
Bishop B
People don't realize how tall you are.
- [55:19]
DJ Wells
Yeah, you bet. You. You like 16? Nah, no way.
- [55:23]
Bishop B
Unless is. Y' all know they had me guard him one time when he was in Detroit.
- [55:29]
DJ Wells
Did you lock his up?
- [55:30]
Bishop B
Hell no. He went straight to the block. They like just pick l. D Pick him up. Full court.
- [55:37]
DJ Wells
Smart man. I couldn't move. Really?
- [55:39]
Adam Silver
You didn't.
- [55:40]
Bishop B
You said.
- [55:43]
DJ Wells
You know, you know what's crazy, Ty for him to be so good. I. I identify him. When I look at Magic Johnson play basketball, I see Tyrese a little bit. Okay, well, here is what I mean by that. When you watch Magic play. Dominant right hand player. Dominant, dominant. You don't really see them do too much on his left side of their body. Tyrese is the same way. If you only could be dynamic on the right side and you got two killers that can play both sides all over the court, you think you going to beat me being dominant on one side? So for him to. For Tyrese to be great, Tyrese going to have to. If you're going to have four points, damn it, you got to accumulate for your team at least 40 points. That has to be the accumulation. Okay? You can't have 4 points and only accumulate like 12 points for your game. Now, if you want to be a superstar, I'm fine with four points, but give me 15 assists, give me eight rebounds. That right there to me is like a Jason Kidd. That's a ma. Like, that's having an imprint and you don't have to score that much. Gotcha. But you can't give me four, seven, six. Nah, fam, nah. I respect it.
- [56:58]
Bishop B
T. Mac. What I'm banking on is, you know, two years ago, they trying to make their jokes about Jayla Brown. They're saying his left hand isn't the strongest, but you know what he did? He went and got paid and got a chip. They always talking about, Tyrese ain't got. He ain't got no left hand. He ain't going left.
- [57:10]
DJ Wells
Cool.
- [57:10]
Bishop B
Don't even gotta have a left hand to raise that banner up. Keep killing. Speaking of Jaylen Brown, I know that's like, your little brother, like, who reminds you of you in the league right now. Like, me, only person I really see that kind of remind me of you is, like, Kevin Durant. The way y' all score the ball is really kind of similar.
- [57:28]
DJ Wells
That's. That's. That's really it. I mean, it ain't too many.
- [57:33]
Bishop B
I used to think Paul George, but then when I watch pg, Y' all kind of a little different. But, like, you and kd, y' all do the rocker, hang, dribble, pull up.
- [57:40]
DJ Wells
Why, why, why, why? Pg What?
- [57:43]
Bishop B
He was a little more like pin down, cute shoots. He tried to be funny. He tried to be funny. Hey, T. McPod, today, he drive me funny.
- [57:55]
DJ Wells
See, that's why. Hey, T, I fuck with.
- [57:57]
Bishop B
I like that.
- [57:58]
DJ Wells
I fuck with T.
- [58:03]
Adam Silver
I'm the game.
- [58:04]
Bishop B
I like that. I like you F. But speaking of comparison, some of the youngsters coming up, I've seen a lot of people do a lot of, you know, comparisons for Ace Bailey to say, you know, best case scenario, he could be a really. He could be close to Tracy McGrady. How you feel about that?
- [58:17]
DJ Wells
I like Ace Bailey's game. I actually want to see him in play this year. Kid has tremendous upside. Smooth about 6, 6, 7, 6, 8. Got a nice shot. Tough shot maker. You got to be a tough shot maker if you want to be. You got to be able to make tough shots. And I think he. He's going to be able to develop in that creativity off the dribble. Needs to get better. But he has the potential most definitely.
- [58:40]
Bishop B
Obviously, we know you went straight out of high school to the league with the nil situation. Now, we know you do a lot of mentoring you around these kids. What's the advice that you give them now where. You know what I'm saying? You could possibly make more money going back to school than being a first Round pick.
- [58:53]
DJ Wells
You saying, what would I do?
- [58:54]
Bishop B
Oh, I know what you do. I'm saying, what advice would you give the youngest man?
- [58:59]
DJ Wells
Honestly, I think you gotta have people around you that understands finances.
- [59:04]
Bishop B
Okay.
- [59:04]
DJ Wells
You know what I mean? Because giving high school kids, you know, two, five million dollars, that's tough to have for them on their mental. I was 18 years old coming out of high school, signed a $12 million deal, but I still kept my drive. Like, I didn't let that affect where I wanted to go with my game. And I think a lot of these kids now, man, I'm hearing them, and it's like they feel like they made it. When they get their money, bro, it takes a little bit of that drive away. Yeah. And I don't think these kids have that same type of drive or, you know, enthusiasm to reach the highest level of basketball within themselves. You know what I'm saying? When they get this money, I think they lose a little bit of that. And it's strong and important that they have people around them that can understand the money and what to do with it, but also keep them level headed and keep them focused on the task at hand. And that's improving as a basketball player because you know where. Near where you're going to be in five to ten years.
- [60:10]
Bishop B
Most definitely. And you talk about this all the time because Tig is a coach right now. The nil. It looks good, but it could stunt your growth. Where you get this money now, you could jeopardize the money later. But it's crazy how y' all talk about it as professionals, but they take advice from other people who ain't even got to that level yet.
- [60:25]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [60:25]
Bishop B
It's like they forget the main thing. Like, the goal is to make it to the NBA. Like, that's the goal. I tell all the kids that I come in contact with, like, okay, you can get this money. That's great. You can help your family right now. But the goal was to make it to the league. Like $2 million, believe it or not, it go kind of quick.
- [60:42]
DJ Wells
It ain't a lot. Yeah, it's not a lot.
- [60:44]
Bishop B
I used to think people was crazy when they said that. And I'm like, $2 million, you crazy. I'd be good for life. But in that world, it goes kind of quick, though.
- [60:53]
DJ Wells
Yeah. You're trying to keep up with the Joneses. Yeah. Then when you run out your money, then your family looking at you like, what's next? Now you done your whole self up and your career, so I get it.
- [61:03]
Bishop B
Yeah. That'd be the first thing is they take care of everybody else with that money. They stressed out now, they don't get no more money.
- [61:07]
DJ Wells
It's scary, man. It's a scary situation, you know what I mean? Because these guys are so fragile, and it's glorified on social media. So that's all they see. Yeah, they're consuming all this information via social media and they think, damn, I'm getting this money. Like, I got a lot of money in my pocket. I'm rich now. Nah, bro, you just. You ain't nowhere near that. You could blow that shit tomorrow.
- [61:32]
Bishop B
Most definitely. Now, you talked about you came into the league at 18. You know what I'm saying? Got you some chicken. We know you're responsible, but what was your first wild out purchase? Was like, all right, I'm on that today.
- [61:41]
DJ Wells
My first wild out purchase. Honestly, my wife, like. Cause listen, hold on. Look back, Mac. Now, look, let me explain, all right? Let me explain. Let me explain. So this is crazy. Cause what, act like you went. You married?
- [62:02]
Bishop B
Yeah.
- [62:03]
Adam Silver
Yeah.
- [62:03]
DJ Wells
You broke bread. Yeah, you broke bread.
- [62:09]
Bishop B
Pay what you weigh now.
- [62:10]
DJ Wells
Let me tell you. So I always, like. Biggie was my favorite artist back then. And Biggie used to talk about Lexus Land Cruiser, okay? So I always wanted a Lexus Land Cruiser, bro. So when I graduated high school, I drove to Raleigh, because that's. I was in Durham, North Carolina. I drove to Raleigh. I'm at the Lexus dealership, looking to get my Land Cruiser. I see this. This female. That's the receptionist. I was like, damn. So I had to go talk to her to see what's up after that. This is the time where, before the draft, I'm driving, I'm going around, touring all my teams, man. So I got connected with her. The Bulls are playing, we go to dinner, watching the NBA finals. I felt like, this is gonna be my wife, bro. I'm traveling from city to city, calling her on the flight, on my flight, checking in. That's when they had phones on the plane. So I'm swiping my credit card, calling this woman. This was 1997, fam. It's what, 20, 25. Still married. That's fine. Four kids later. So, yeah, great investment.
- [63:21]
Bishop B
Y' all can make some noise for that. The best club, love.
- [63:23]
DJ Wells
Great investment, Great investment. Was my wife.
- [63:26]
Bishop B
Damn. 97?
- [63:27]
DJ Wells
Yeah, 97, dog. How old was we?
- [63:30]
Adam Silver
10.
- [63:31]
DJ Wells
97. How old were you?
- [63:32]
Bishop B
I'm 37. 97. I was 7. Yeah. I was a 10. Now, I gotta ask a question. Did you still buy the car?
- [63:41]
DJ Wells
I still bought the car. Yeah.
- [63:43]
Adam Silver
Yeah.
- [63:43]
DJ Wells
Where is it at now? Oh, I saw it. Oh, that's. Man, that probably crushed somewhere in the great. In the junkyard. I wanted to ask you, did you and Vince ever have any one on one matchups? Nah, never? Nah, we didn't order. Tell me about your one on one league, man, how that started. So I, I, I, I started my one on one league in 2022 and it's really just based off of my story and how I got to where, you know, I ended up being 1996 Junior in high school, one of the best players in central Florida. No one really knew about me and, and outside of my region. Yeah, this guy from Adidas comes to my high school and he has a camp that wants me to attend. This camp. I go to abcd. We all know about the ABCD camp. Lamar Odom, top high school players. I make a name for myself on this platform. Right. It's not that anything changed about me. It's just a platform that I got on and it created, you know, some buzz for me. Yeah. Ended up being the number one player in the country. Well, for these kids out here that is being overlooked probably had some, you know, turbulent times on their journey to play basketball. Who knows, somebody in the family probably died. They had to step up as a man and take care of the family. You just don't know what their role was. For these cats. I wanted to create a platform for those type of dudes that get overlooked. And one on one basketball is not for everybody. There's a lot of talent out there, Jeff. You know, it's some cats on your block where you come from. Nice as hell at one on one. So. And to me, we all grew up playing one on one basketball. That's the pure essence of our sport. So creating that, that, that foundation for these guys, that platform I want to create stars through one on one basketball. And that's what OBL is really about. Just really giving guys another chance, giving them a hope to live out their.
- [65:42]
Bishop B
Dreams because we all come from places. It's like such and such could have made it, but such and such could have did this. But so for somebody else have another outlet. Maybe not the most traditional route because you never know what they got going on, but a chance to make it to feed their family some basketball. That's always a good look for sure.
- [65:56]
DJ Wells
So check us out. OBL started a YouTube channel. We on our five part series right now. We got four episodes out and you can see what I'm doing with these guys, man. I think they appreciate that. We need to come commentate one of them, bro. Y' all come do it, bro. I wanna come commentate.
- [66:12]
Bishop B
Let's come out here and act a fool.
- [66:13]
DJ Wells
My next man 1 I'm for real.
- [66:15]
Bishop B
We pull up.
- [66:15]
DJ Wells
All right.
- [66:16]
Bishop B
Don't wax.
- [66:16]
DJ Wells
Love that.
- [66:17]
Bishop B
Yeah. So most definitely, man. Make some boys for T Mac. One time for the one time. Mac.
- [66:23]
DJ Wells
Wear them draws, ma. Them your size, boy. And they ain't thin. And that little pouch. Can I walk around the beach with them? Walk around the beach. Well, that's on you, Sandy. No shirt on with just these. Just the drawers. Oh, you out of pocket.
- [66:36]
Bishop B
Respect, man. Shout out to talking about wearing them boxes. For sure, man. What type of boots mobile.
- [66:40]
DJ Wells
Y' all keep doing your thing.
- [66:41]
Bishop B
Appreciate y' all.
- [66:42]
DJ Wells
Yeah.
- [66:44]
Adam Silver
Give it up.
- [66:45]
DJ Wells
Give it up.
- [66:45]
Bishop B
Give it up again.
- [66:46]
DJ Wells
Club 520.
- [66:48]
Adam Silver
Okay.
- [66:49]
DJ Wells
On the big stage.
- [66:50]
Adam Silver
I was holding it down. Hey.
- [66:52]
DJ Wells
I don't know what they doing, but hey, don't worry. Be back here at 1:45 for the Subpar Golf Podcast with CC Sabathia. We're gonna be going all day, all week. The volume.
- [67:08]
Bishop B
Yo, this is DJ Wells from Club 520 podcast. Draft night ain't just about who goes number one. It's about how you show up. And JD Sports is where the future of the league gets laced up. Whether it's Dylan Harper's tenacious two way play or Trey Johnson, sharpshooter from deep down south, JD's got the gear to match every draft story. From exclusive kicks to player collabs, JD Sports is the plug for the next level style. So while the league's getting younger, your fix getting fresher. JD Sports, where the game meets the streets. Visit jdsports.com to check out their new collection or download the JD app today.
- [67:36]
Adam Silver
Here's why April chose to vaccinate her child.
- [67:40]
DJ Wells
I think actually meeting someone who was not vaccinated and now has a lifelong struggle with a childhood disease really cemented for me that it's super important that we as parents continue to vaccinate our children.
- [68:00]
Adam Silver
Talk to your pediatrician or visit yvaccines.com brought to you by Merck.
- [68:05]
DJ Wells
When it's tip off time at my.
- [68:06]
Adam Silver
House, there are a few things that.
- [68:08]
DJ Wells
Are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check my favorite jersey. It is good luck.
- [68:14]
Adam Silver
Check. An iconic drink that's a fan favorite. Check.
- [68:18]
DJ Wells
Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical.
- [68:23]
Adam Silver
Flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five.
- [68:26]
DJ Wells
I consider Hypnotic the point guard on.
- [68:28]
Adam Silver
My game day roster because not only is it versatile, but like having it.
- [68:31]
DJ Wells
On the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth. So grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely, drink wisely. Hi, I'm Danielle Fishel from Pod Meets World. So for my two boys I got.
- [68:59]
Adam Silver
Samsung Galaxy Watch for kids.
- [69:01]
DJ Wells
And I'm not saying I'm kind of jealous of my kids tech. I'm saying I am definitely jealous of my child's tech. This thing lets them call, text and explore all from their wrist. No smartphone required. And don't worry, you're still the boss. You control who they can talk to.
- [69:19]
Adam Silver
And yes, you can totally stalk their.
- [69:21]
DJ Wells
Location in real time. Get Galaxy Watch 7 on T mobile now. Kid ready with a new paired line? Visit t mobile.com to order yours today. Parent and child must have a Samsung account and Google account with family link requires initial pairing with a compatible Samsung smartphone and qualifying wireless plan with LTE service activated. Please check with your carrier for more information. Trusted contact applies to compatible apps. It does not restrict communication through third party or other communication apps. Emergency services and contacts remain accessible. Location sharing is dependent on network connectivity and device being recently active. T mobile terms via 24 monthly bill credits when you add a qualifying Paired Watch line. See additional Offer terms on t mobile.com this is an iHeart podcast.