Craig Melvin (2:03)

Why?

Anthony Davis (2:03)

No matter what, I always try to one see the silver lining and everything. No matter what happens. Right. It's always a greater purpose. And I never want to look at myself as half empty. No, I'm not where I want to be probably now. Yeah, but we still got half the glass, you know, let's, let's get the rest. So I'm always looking at the glass half full instead of half empty. How.

Craig Melvin (2:26)

How could you say that? You're not where you want to be right now. You're an NBA champion all star. Like NBA 70, 50. Like you've seems like you kind of got gold medals. Like what's, what's left?

Anthony Davis (2:40)

It's a lot. I mean, haven't got mvp, haven't got defensive player of the year. I want the parade.

Craig Melvin (2:46)

Okay.

Anthony Davis (2:47)

For a championship.

Craig Melvin (2:48)

Okay.

Anthony Davis (2:48)

I'm gonna be able to do that again.

Craig Melvin (2:50)

That's right. Because when you want. That's right. Yeah. Kobe.

Anthony Davis (2:52)

Yeah. So, I mean, it's still, you know, things, you know, I wanna try to get 20,000 points. I wanna play 20 years.

Craig Melvin (2:58)

Oh, so you got a list of.

Anthony Davis (2:59)

Yeah, I have a list of things that I still wanna do.

Craig Melvin (3:02)

And you guys got, like, Steph and LeBron make it look easy.

Anthony Davis (3:05)

They do, they do, they do.

Craig Melvin (3:08)

We like to focus on the moments that really sort of shape and mold people personally and professionally. Looking back on your career, looking back on your life, is there a moment that you could point to where you could say, you know what? That's when Anthony became ad?

Anthony Davis (3:28)

Yeah, I do. So it's a crazy story. So I was 6 3, basically my entire life, going into my junior year of high school, I grew 7 inches, all right? So I went from 63 to 6 10.

Craig Melvin (3:43)

In. In one year.

Anthony Davis (3:44)

One summer. In a summer. Not even a year. In one summer, in three months, how many inches? Seven inches. All right. I try out, you know, I'm playing local basketball.

Craig Melvin (3:54)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (3:54)

Like, to me, I'm really good. Like, man, I'm really good. And then I go for this AU team. Go try out, you know, this Nike guy, you know, know, approaches my dad like, hey, we want your son to play for AU team. My dad, like, give it a try, you know? And I go out to the tryouts, and these guys are running faster than me, jumping higher than me, making more shots, blocking shots, stronger.

Craig Melvin (4:20)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (4:20)

And I'm like, I. I stand no chance. Get in the car. And I tell my dad, I'm like, I quit. Like, I don't want to. I don't want to play AU basketball, like, because I felt that I wasn't good enough. These guys are way better than me. He, like, play the first tournament. Let's see how it goes. Yeah. Okay. First tournament is that weekend. I played the first tournament. The very first game is against LeBron's team, right? And at this time, I'm 17 years old. The first six minutes at a game, I roll my ankle. So I only play six minutes, roll my ankle bad, out for the rest of the weekend, and I have 6.6 rebounds and, like, three blocks done for the tournament. And I'm like, see, this is why I didn't want to play.

Craig Melvin (5:02)

I told you, dad.

Anthony Davis (5:03)

Exactly. I told you. We get back to the house, you know, stay for the rest of the weekend, get back home. That Monday, all the mail comes in, and I have about 10 scholarship offers, mind you, before I only had one. One college scholarship offer, and that was to Cleveland State. That's it. So now I'm getting all these schools. And then at that point, I was like, maybe my dad was right. And it's one of those things like, oh, your parents said, and you don't listen to them. And then somebody. And so played the rest of the tournament. And from that point went from being, like, basically unknown. I wasn't ranked at all. And by the end of the summer, I was number one player in the country.

Craig Melvin (5:46)

That's a great story.

Anthony Davis (5:47)

So at that moment, like, just seeing those college offers and realizing, like, what I'm able to do.

Craig Melvin (5:51)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (5:53)

If I play the actual full tournament, then things can happen. And, you know, I was getting like, any college you name, I was getting offers you got an offer from. That's when I was. That's when I think the shift happened for me was like, okay, now it's time to really lock in.

Craig Melvin (6:07)

Have you ever thought about what life might have been like had you had. Your dad said, you know what? Okay, son, you're right all the time.

Anthony Davis (6:16)

Like, man, where. Where would I be? I was big into, like, technology, like computer science. And my dad was like the security guy. So I want to be like a police officer and all this. And I'm like, well, 6:10 police officer, probably.

Craig Melvin (6:31)

You would have been a hell of a cop. There would have been no crime on your beat.

Anthony Davis (6:35)

So I think about a lot, you know, like, what. What if life would have been. If. If I didn't, you know, stick with it.

Craig Melvin (6:42)

Were you a prankster growing up?

Anthony Davis (6:44)

A little bit. Not as much as I am now.

Craig Melvin (6:47)

Yeah, this has become little.

Anthony Davis (6:49)

Little pranks, like I'll put a, you know, jump scares around the corner or a little spider, you know, on the shoulder.

Craig Melvin (6:55)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (6:55)

You know, things like that.

Craig Melvin (6:56)

But you're good at it. I mean, you got me.

Anthony Davis (6:58)

Yeah, I mean, you know, you got me.

Craig Melvin (6:59)

Well played thing. Now how. But how did. How did foul play come about?

Anthony Davis (7:04)

Yeah, so I went to. I'm a big impractical jokers fan. Huge Impractical Jokers fan. And I was able to become a guest on one of their episodes. I always thought it was fake. I mean, there's no way that they're doing the things that they're doing. Like, it's scripted. There's no way that, like. And I went on the show, it was like, it was completely real.

Craig Melvin (7:25)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (7:25)

You know, they're pouring wine. You know, one of the guys poured wine on his mom's head. He ate soup out of a old fireman's boot, you know, walking on hot coals. I'm like, this is insane.

Craig Melvin (7:36)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (7:36)

Like, I would want to do something like this. And just having discussions afterwards, you know, talking with, you know, some of their producers and some of the guys that was on the show, and lo and behold, we ended up getting it done. It was like, hey, let's do a pilot and see how it goes. And I did a pilot, and the reviews were great.

Craig Melvin (7:52)

No, it's a. It's a great. It's. There's nothing like it on tv. For sure.

Anthony Davis (7:55)

Yeah.

Craig Melvin (7:55)

The Draymond Green episode.

Anthony Davis (7:57)

It's one of my favorites. I mean, it's one. The thing is, though, you don't have to do much. And, Dre, I love you.

Craig Melvin (8:04)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (8:04)

Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have to do much to get Draymond riled up.

Craig Melvin (8:07)

That's true, by the way. His entire career in the NBA would demonstrate that it doesn't take much to get it worked out.

Anthony Davis (8:14)

But. Yeah. What do we need to do? Just say that he's in a G league. He's G league capable. He doesn't have the money. And as soon as I said that, it was all hell broke loose from him, and he gave us what we needed.

Craig Melvin (8:25)

It sounds like he was the easiest to prank. Who is the hardest?

Anthony Davis (8:28)

The episode had not been released.

Craig Melvin (8:30)

Okay.

Anthony Davis (8:31)

But it was a guy. It's a guy named Kobe Brown. And that episode is special because I want to give it away, but the episode is really special, and you'll see how much it takes. And. And the.

Craig Melvin (8:44)

The.

Anthony Davis (8:44)

Right. That.

Craig Melvin (8:45)

The.

Anthony Davis (8:45)

The reason why everything has to go right.

Craig Melvin (8:47)

Okay.

Anthony Davis (8:48)

Right.

Craig Melvin (8:48)

Kobe Brown.

Anthony Davis (8:49)

Kobe Brown. And I talk about it in. In the episode, and I. I want to say, too, okay, okay. That is the episode where you, like, I understand why this is the way it is.

Craig Melvin (9:00)

What do you want people to take away from the show? Like, what's. What's. When people watch it and they finish an episode, what do you want them to feel?

Anthony Davis (9:09)

Joy happens. I mean, we live in a world where it's so much crazy stuff going on.

Craig Melvin (9:16)

I talk about it every day.

Anthony Davis (9:18)

Yeah. It's insane. And so for me, it's like, I want people to have a good laugh. I want people to sit back and enjoy it and. And, you know, and co. During. COVID You know, we always said when people start coming back in and, you know, to watch the arenas, but it wasn't full. Watch the games, and it was like, how do we make people's lives very enjoyable and have some type of normalcy for two and a half hours. Right. So we play with that type of conviction. Like, hey, we're gonna just go out here, have fun, put on a show. And that's the same thing that I was trying to project in foul play. It's like, with everything going on, how when someone watches show these two pranks per episode, how can they feel like, man, this was, like, amazing. I can't wait for the next one.

Craig Melvin (10:13)

Yeah. You know, I needed this escape.

Anthony Davis (10:14)

Yeah. And so that's what I. That's what I tried to do and just make people laughing and enjoy the time.

Craig Melvin (10:20)

One of the things I find fascinating about you, it's the same thing I find fascinating about Shaq, who sat in that same seat a few weeks ago. Melo.

Anthony Davis (10:26)

He fit, right?

Craig Melvin (10:28)

Barely. Barely. Barely fit. And his head and ego are so big that. I'm kidding. Don't edit that out either. Because my rivalry with Shaq is real. You guys have a lot going on professionally. Like, you are an elite basketball player, but yet you find time or you create the bandwidth to do stuff like this.

Anthony Davis (10:52)

Why this basketball is going to end at one to one point of our lives. Like, we look at the entire spectrum of our life. Like, basketball is a short window. You know, my goal is to play 20 years. So you think about it, it's 20 years professionally that I've played. You still got 60, 70 years. You know, so when I'm done, let's say I'm 35, 37, 38, 39, 40 years old. Say 40, to make the numbers easy. Right. Well, I still got 40 years, 50 years to live. What are you going to do? Yeah, right. So I think having the platform to be, you know, an NBA player and this icon, whatever you want to say, like, we can use this to propel us into our next chapter after basketball. And so for me, production, and I've been in couple movies and been on a couple, you know, sets and stuff, seeing, like, all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Like, it intrigues me.

Craig Melvin (11:51)

You like it?

Anthony Davis (11:52)

I love it.

Craig Melvin (11:53)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (11:53)

To see how, like, something is made, right. You know, where you using green screen animation, like, whatever it is, and then to see it in a movie theater, on a show.

Craig Melvin (12:06)

You like the creative process?

Anthony Davis (12:07)

I love the creative process. And. And it's like, oh, wow, that's. Yeah, that's how it turned out. And it's phenomenal, you know, so even going through the shows, like, I know what we did. It's like, all right, we Gotta edit this and make this look good. And it's like, that's how I came. Wow. It's. It's phenomenal for me. Like, I get joy out of that and I. I don't like being in front of the camera as much.

Craig Melvin (12:29)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (12:29)

But behind the camera and seeing the producers, produce, director, directing, like, seeing everybody do what they do best and then seeing it all come together at the end is great for me.

Craig Melvin (12:41)

You've been in front of the camera a little bit. You're also done. You've done some voice work. You voiced the brow.

Anthony Davis (12:46)

Yeah. Space Jam.

Craig Melvin (12:48)

Yes. That was a big deal.

Anthony Davis (12:49)

That was good.

Craig Melvin (12:50)

I've always wondered about the brow. I know it's your nickname. And. And I've thought for years, I was like, it's like, you know, Anthony. I mean, Anthony Davis has made hundreds of millions of dollars. He could wax the thing off. But you don't.

Anthony Davis (13:06)

I don't.

Craig Melvin (13:07)

You embrace it. Has that always been the case?

Anthony Davis (13:09)

Yeah, because I've made hundreds of million dollars with it, so why cut it off?

Craig Melvin (13:16)

But who was that Always your idea?

Anthony Davis (13:18)

So when I was younger, when I was in high school, my freshman year, you know, going into my freshman year. Right. It's high school. You're nervous about going to high school. A freshman. Like, man, I gotta impress the girls or I gotta, like, my boys gonna be with me. I gotta act. So I remember looking in the mirror and was like, I gotta get rid of it. So I asked my parents, they were like, go ahead. And I shaved it right in the middle.

Craig Melvin (13:41)

You shaved the brow?

Anthony Davis (13:42)

Shaved it freshman year. And I was like, okay, two eyebrows. I'm looking good, looking in the mirror. And then after a while, it just, like grew more. And I was like, oh, no, no, we can't. And so I realized, even though you cut hair, it's going to come back always.

Craig Melvin (13:59)

Always.

Anthony Davis (13:59)

And I said, you know what? I'm not. I'm not going to continue. I'm not. I can't keep this doing this. It's going to. Now it's going to be like a very thick. And I was like, I don't want that. So I just left it alone and it just kind of flowed. Like when I went to Kentucky, it was, hey, the brows here. And it just kind of stuck. And I started getting a little paper on the side.

Craig Melvin (14:19)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (14:20)

You know, and I just. Just rolled with it. So it's been very good to me.

Craig Melvin (14:25)

It has. It's the most profitable brow in the world, probably.

Anthony Davis (14:29)

Yes.

Craig Melvin (14:30)

When you. When you're done playing, are you going to keep it?

Anthony Davis (14:32)

Yeah. This is not going anywhere.

Craig Melvin (14:34)

That's part of who you are. I love that.

Anthony Davis (14:36)

Like, I don't. The crazy thing, I don't even see it. I mean, obvious. I don't see it because I've had it forever. But as my wife sometimes. Hey, you ever. She was like. I don't even notice it.

Craig Melvin (14:44)

She's like, you're pretty, baby. Don't you change a thing.

Anthony Davis (14:47)

Don't you, man. Just because it just become. It's a part of who I am now.

Craig Melvin (14:51)

Let's go back to Kentucky, because you just mentioned it. Of all the options that you had, how did you end up playing at Kentucky? How'd you become a Wildcat?

Anthony Davis (15:00)

So I originally committed to Ohio State.

Craig Melvin (15:02)

I wasn't going to bring it up, but I. Yeah, I know. And by the way, a lot of Buckeye, they still remember.

Anthony Davis (15:08)

Yeah, I verbally committed to Ohio State, and that was my choice. Like, I wanted to be there. I was a huge LeBron James fan, you know, growing up. Had the shoes, 23. Like, all this stuff. And I had 23 because of Mike as well, being from Chicago. But Ohio State was like, the place I went on a visit. And I was like, this is heaven, right? Big Ten school. And my dad, like, well, Kentucky, you know, just had John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Blesso, first round. Then you come back, Brandon Knight, all like, all these guys. First round. Coach Kyle. The one and done era just started. And I'm like, I'll go on a visit. Go on a visit. And I'm literally. And you can ask Coach Cal. I'm in Cal's office, and he's talking to me, and I'm just sitting here like this, like. Cause I'm not interested, Right. Ohio State is on my mind.

Craig Melvin (15:59)

You're doing it for your dad.

Anthony Davis (16:00)

Doing it for my dad, whatever. Sitting there. And then we go to a game, and I walk into the arena and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Rap arena on the best arenas to ever play in. And I was like, this is the experience I need. And then sitting down as well with Coach Kyle after, and he told me, he said, listen, you're the number one player in the country. I mean, you're the best. You have no guaranteed spot on my team. You're gonna have to work for everything that you. That you get here.

Craig Melvin (16:30)

That's what he said.

Anthony Davis (16:31)

That's what he told me. And I said, okay, I like that.

Craig Melvin (16:36)

I'm not sure that was true.

Anthony Davis (16:37)

But, yeah, I don't know.

Craig Melvin (16:38)

Right but, you know, it worked.

Anthony Davis (16:41)

Mind games. And so we get back in the car, we're leaving to go back to Chicago to drive home, and I tell my dad, I'm like, I want to go to Kentucky. And he was like, all right, you got to ask me, was I sure? Was I sure? I said, yes. He said, okay, you got to call coach. Was just that mine at the time. You know, you got to call them and tell them that you decommitting and you going to Kentucky, which is the hardest thing that I've ever done because I was so locked in. We would talk every day. You know, the assistant coach, Jeff Bowles, was there, and me and him talking every day. But, man, what the team is going to look like, you know, I got 23. Like, they showed me a jersey, and, like, this is it. This is where I want to be. And so that was, like, one of the toughest things I had to do was call him and tell him. And he's like, well, what did we do wrong? And I'm like, it's not even what y' all did wrong. You know, I just feel like this is a place for me. And ultimately, I made the right decision. But, yeah, turned out pretty well. I turned out pretty far.

Craig Melvin (17:37)

More with Anthony Davis when we come back.

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Craig Melvin (19:14)

So you, you, you crush it at Kentucky. And then, and then it's draft night and then we hear the New Orleans Pelicans Hornets.

Anthony Davis (19:25)

Wait a minute, we were still the Hornets at the time.

Craig Melvin (19:27)

Oh, that's right. That's right. They were the one. That's at the time. You're right.

Anthony Davis (19:31)

Yeah.

Craig Melvin (19:31)

And when you, when you heard that, what did you think? Be honest.

Anthony Davis (19:36)

I, honestly, I was just excited to get drafted.

Craig Melvin (19:38)

Okay.

Anthony Davis (19:39)

I, I didn't matter where you played. I was just in New Orleans for the SEC tournament and the national championship game.

Craig Melvin (19:44)

That's right.

Anthony Davis (19:46)

So I kind of get like, was used to New Orleans. Well, the other team that could have drafted me was Charlotte if they would have got the number one pick. So I wasn't sure, but I knew I would have been with Michael Jordan like. So New Orleans comes and I'm like, okay, I don't know anything about the city, you know, close to home in only two hour flight. But my time in New Orleans was like, ended up being great.

Wells Fargo / Optum / Plan B Announcer (20:09)

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Anthony Davis (20:10)

But I, I was just very appreciative of being drafted and just going like number one. I mean, we all knew, but it was like I was so nervous on draft day.

Craig Melvin (20:20)

Why would you be nervous if you knew you were going number one?

Anthony Davis (20:22)

I don't, I didn't know that. I, I didn't. Most people, everybody knew and I knew, but I don't know until, until you hear your name. And I was like, because it could be a pivot.

Craig Melvin (20:31)

Like, you know what strange things have happened.

Anthony Davis (20:34)

That's true. Very strange things. So I wasn't sure. And when I heard my name get called, I was like, okay, it's over. And I was excited to get to. I think I went to New Orleans the next day and was just like, went straight to a basketball camp. And my time there has been, was great and maybe the last stretch, but

Craig Melvin (20:54)

that was, I was, I wasn't gonna bring it up. I wasn't gonna bring it up. But then you have a hell of a run in la, a hell of a run in la. NBA championship and now you're in Washington. I wonder sometimes with guys like you, guys who have checked all the boxes in terms of championships and medals and accolades, all star, all NBA, all this stuff, how hard is it for a really good player to play for a really Bad team.

Anthony Davis (21:26)

That's the thing, right? So I had this, and everybody knows this. I told the owner this. I told gm, everybody, media. Like when you're looking at the Washington Wizards right from the outside looking in, like, everybody's right, you know, but when you get into the organization and see how great of an organization it is, like, the owner is amazing, obviously, the city is. D.C. is amazing. We are very bad basketball team. Yeah, for sure. On the flip side, I think it's very tough to go from bad team to a championship contender. It takes time. Yeah, that's with anybody. I mean, it could be a team, you know, who's. Who's just one and just like, not good. So it takes time. Take a couple years. You know, I want to.

Craig Melvin (22:16)

We're going to pivot from basketball after this, but I wanted to get your take on something this. And it's come up a lot over the last couple of weeks because at the end of the season, this new rule that the NBA. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the 65 game rule, you know, for folks who aren't familiar, you've got to play a certain number of games to be eligible for postseason awards now. And I think a lot of folks understand the thinking behind the rule, but it looks like, as a result, there are going to be a number of guys who deserve to be best defensive player in the league, maybe even mvp. They're not going to qualify.

Anthony Davis (22:49)

They don't qualify.

Craig Melvin (22:50)

Did league overcorrect?

Anthony Davis (22:52)

I think they fixed a problem when it was the whole low management thing. Guys weren't playing. The owners were getting upset because we paying all these guys a lot of money and guys are not playing. So I think they tried to correct that problem, but then you have guys who. And I. And I. And I think like the situation. All right, Luca, for example. Right. He should be deserving of a nod for mvp. Right.

Craig Melvin (23:18)

Didn't play the minimum number.

Anthony Davis (23:19)

Didn't play the minimum number. But he also left to go see the birth of his daughter. So I think they're filing something about that to get them two games back. And then Wemby as well, you know, if Wemby doesn't play in any of these last games, he becomes ineligible.

Craig Melvin (23:35)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (23:36)

Which sucks because for me, he's the MVP for mvp for me. So I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't know. I don't know. I understand what they tried to do a couple years ago with it, but now, you know, it's kind of backfiring because these guys, like you said who should be eligible for these awards aren't able to because of circumstances that they might not be able to control.

Craig Melvin (24:01)

More with Anthony Davis after the break.

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Anthony Davis (24:08)

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Anthony Davis (24:15)

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You don't be silly.

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Rock, paper, scissors for it.

Anthony Davis (24:26)

Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot.

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Craig Melvin (25:44)

Limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery. This is my favorite part of the podcast. This is where I get to ask the the.

Anthony Davis (25:55)

The.

Craig Melvin (25:55)

The questions that I've always been curious about. What's your. These are quick. These are rapid fire. Your go to pregame meal. Pasta just with butter or marinara?

Anthony Davis (26:04)

No, no, no. Okay. Chicken Alfredo pasta.

Craig Melvin (26:06)

That's pretty heavy before game.

Anthony Davis (26:08)

No, but I eat it 7 hours

Craig Melvin (26:09)

before with the cream sauce though.

Anthony Davis (26:11)

7 hours before it didn't mess with your stomach. 14 years. Never changed it. Pasta Alfredo every game day. Ford never changed it. Your whole time in the league, never changed it. Only thing that I changed was the noodles.

Craig Melvin (26:25)

What kind of noodles?

Anthony Davis (26:26)

You. I used to have tortellini. Then I went to linguine and now I'm doing rotini.

Craig Melvin (26:34)

What were you eating when you won the championship. Which noodles were you eating?

Anthony Davis (26:38)

Rotini.

Craig Melvin (26:39)

Maybe we should say.

Anthony Davis (26:40)

Yeah, I stayed.

Craig Melvin (26:40)

You served rotini? I wasn't expecting that answer. Okay, what's one hobby that you have that would surprise most people?

Anthony Davis (26:48)

Like, I love to build Legos.

Craig Melvin (26:50)

You're. You're just layered. What kind?

Anthony Davis (26:53)

Just funny, because my agent called me my last two extensions, and I wasn't answering the phone, and he was like, man, you just got paid the highest extension in NBA history, and I can't get a hold of you. Sorry. I was building Legos, Right.

Craig Melvin (27:11)

I'm sorry. I took some of the 128,000 million to buy some Legos that I'm working.

Anthony Davis (27:18)

I build Legos. Like, I have an entire collection of Legos. I love to build Legos.

Craig Melvin (27:21)

Favorite sneaker of all time.

Anthony Davis (27:22)

Ooh, favorite sneaker for basketball or off court?

Craig Melvin (27:27)

Give me both.

Anthony Davis (27:27)

Both. Basketball. I will have to say the LeBron PS8s where you was at. Those came out when I was in high school.

Craig Melvin (27:37)

I was gonna say that's.

Anthony Davis (27:38)

Yeah, you took it back. That was my favorite.

Craig Melvin (27:40)

The LeBron.

Anthony Davis (27:41)

That was my favorite shoe. Off court right now. I love the Nike Vomeros. They're so comfortable and light. That's my favorite shoe now. But all time. It would have to be Jordan once.

Craig Melvin (27:53)

Yes. Classic.

Anthony Davis (27:55)

Yeah.

Craig Melvin (27:56)

NBA 2K or Call of Duty right now.

Anthony Davis (27:59)

Call of Duty, but when I was on the COVID it was 2k.

Craig Melvin (28:04)

Of course it was. And do you. I've always wondered about guys who do you play with yourself all the time?

Anthony Davis (28:09)

Hey, who else you gonna play with? I mean, because you gotta see, like, oh, man, this ain't true. I shoot better from the free throw line.

Craig Melvin (28:15)

So that's why you play the game. This game sucks.

Anthony Davis (28:17)

Yeah, exactly. And then if someone is doing something that they don't do.

Craig Melvin (28:20)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (28:21)

Like this game is fake. And then it pisses you off, and then you just stop playing.

Craig Melvin (28:25)

Favorite podcast right now.

Anthony Davis (28:26)

Favorite podcast.

Craig Melvin (28:27)

Are you a podcast guy?

Anthony Davis (28:28)

Not really.

Craig Melvin (28:29)

Glass Half Full. It's a good one.

Anthony Davis (28:31)

There we go. Glass half full.

Craig Melvin (28:32)

Glass half full. Funniest teammate you've shared a locker room with.

Anthony Davis (28:36)

Funniest teammate. I just got asked this the other day, and I've had so many funny teammates, man, as of recent, that I can think of Najee Marshall.

Craig Melvin (28:45)

Okay? Najee Marshall, the funniest NBA player I've ever interviewed. Before the Olympics were out in Vegas and we did this car wash. The whole team came through one by one. I spent some time with your namesake, the other Anthony Ant Man. And.

Anthony Davis (29:01)

Oh, you Know what? Him. He had my Olympic teammate.

Craig Melvin (29:06)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (29:06)

Anthony Edwards. By far. It's not even close, dude. Yes.

Craig Melvin (29:11)

And I had my son with me. And my son. He was. He was waiting on LeBron. He was excited. Then all of a sudden, Ant man comes in, and he's just wanting. And he doesn't even try to be funny.

Anthony Davis (29:20)

And that's what makes it even more funny, right? He doesn't even try to be funny. He's being himself.

Craig Melvin (29:24)

I asked him, I was like, if you couldn't. If you didn't play basketball, what Olympic sport would you compete in?

Anthony Davis (29:28)

Everything.

Craig Melvin (29:29)

And he was like, swimming. I was like, oh, wow, you swim. He's like, no, I don't even know how. I was like, well, how would you compete in swimming? And then he starts naming each teammate and explaining why they would suck at swimming and why he would beat them. And by the end, I'm like, maybe he could win. Maybe he could win.

Anthony Davis (29:47)

He's going around challenging other sports and say, I'll beat you. And. Yeah.

Craig Melvin (29:52)

Two questions for the road before we let you get out of here. What is one moment that Anthony's still chasing?

Anthony Davis (29:59)

One moment on the court, off the court, just in case.

Craig Melvin (30:02)

You know what? Give me off the court. Because you've already said on the court you want more championships.

Anthony Davis (30:06)

How to be the perfect father.

Craig Melvin (30:09)

Oh, it's not possible.

Anthony Davis (30:12)

I know. That's why I'm continuing to chase it. Like, I feel like at times, and we. Me and my wife, we, like, have arguments, you know, and I think I'll be not saying that I'm a great father. I love my kids and my kids love me, and I think I'm doing a damn good job.

Craig Melvin (30:29)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (30:31)

Work, basketball.

Craig Melvin (30:32)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (30:33)

So a lot of times I get. I miss things, or it's like, man, we got three and four, you know, three games and four nights. It's like, tired.

Craig Melvin (30:45)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (30:45)

Gotta rest. They're like, oh, Daddy, come play. It's like, not right now. Later on, you're like, man, maybe I should have did that. You start thinking back, you know, you start missing moments, you know? So, you know, obviously, when I retire, I'll be a lot more, you know, more available to be able to. Whatever. And I don't even want to say, like, be available because of my kid. I shouldn't be. Have to be available, like. But as I always had this in my head, like, am I being a good father? You know, does my kids, you know, see me as a. You know, just because I'm gone so much? Like, even now, I Mean, I haven't seen him in a month, you know, just because of the situation. So it's like, you know, that's the biggest thing that I think about a lot. Like, man, you know, am I. I hear you.

Craig Melvin (31:28)

And I used to struggle with this, too. My son's 12. My daughter's 9. I used to travel a lot more than I do now. But I think that guys like you especially, give yourself some grace. Because, I mean, the reality is my dad worked third shift, post office. Mom was in school. You know, they were. They were always working, too. Your kids, can they. They know what you're doing. They could turn on the TV or turn. Like. It's not like dad is just hanging out down at the corner bar, like. Like, dad. And sometimes I also tell my kids, like, every now and then, they might say something about me missing an orchestra concert or basketball game. I'm like, you like those shoes? You like these lights? There's a pool in the backyard. I think you were in the pool this weekend. You know, they get older, you remind them that it's the work that provides. Last question. What's one moment that you hope people remember you for?

Anthony Davis (32:19)

That's one of the best pranksters ever.

Craig Melvin (32:21)

If the show is any indication, you may be well on your way.

Anthony Davis (32:24)

One of the best jokesters ever.

Craig Melvin (32:26)

You know, the problem with the show, though, is, like, as you continue doing it, you're gonna have to up the pranks.

Anthony Davis (32:30)

I know, I know. Well, you know, that's why we're here now, so I can get season two and up the budget a little bit.

Craig Melvin (32:38)

I think you're gonna get it. I think. But you're also gonna get people who, when they see you coming, their head's gonna be on a swivel. Heads are on a swivel.

Anthony Davis (32:45)

You already know. I mean, so many guys are, like, reaching out now. Like, hey, man, can I be on season two? Season two?

Craig Melvin (32:50)

That's a good sign.

Anthony Davis (32:51)

Yeah. So, I mean, it's been great. I mean, you know, I just want everybody to watch, you know, and enjoy Mondays, every Monday, 9pm Eastern, you can watch TBS.

Craig Melvin (33:03)

We'll plug it for it.

Anthony Davis (33:04)

Make sure. Make sure you guys, like, tune in. It's. This is probably one of the most, like, epic things I've ever done in my life.

Craig Melvin (33:12)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (33:13)

Because it's something I love to do, and when you love to do something, you put more energy into it, have more fun with it. And so this is one of these things for me where I just can't. I can't wait. I'M I get nervous watching it.

Craig Melvin (33:26)

Yeah.

Anthony Davis (33:26)

Because I'm like, man, what are the reactions going to be? You know? But this is. This is it. I feel like this is it.

Craig Melvin (33:31)

Anthony Davis. Cheers. So there you have it. Anthony Davis wants to be remembered for few things. I mean, foul play on TBS on Monday nights, of course wants to be remembered for being a pretty good prankster, but also wants to be remembered for being a a really solid father as well. And also sounds like professionally he wants to be remembered for another championship or two. So I always enjoy these conversations with athletes because you discover that there is a lot more to them than what we see on the court. So anyway, hope you enjoyed this conversation. This edition of Glass Half Full. My glass is half full. I'll see you back here next time. Until then, though, the corporate overlords want me to encourage you to do five things. I almost have them committed to memory like subscribe, Share, Comment, Download Boom. Got it. The check will clear. Until next time. Glass Half Full this episode of Glass Half Full is produced by Tyree Nobles and Jarrett Crawford, along with Brooke Glatz. Video production is by Michael Simon and Kalan Griffiths. Audio production is by Doug Hamilton. Our editor is Ali Strom, and Juliana Masterilli is our audio engineer. Ashley Domagola is our production manager. Sadie Bass is our supervising producer. Our head of audio production is Jessica Finton. Ariana Davis Santana is our executive editor. Hello, I'm Craig Melvin, and this has been Glass Half Full, a production of the Today Show. See you next week.

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