Speaker 1: The volume.
Speaker 2: Get in on the action with the Draftking sports Book
Speaker 2: and official sports betting partner of the NBA. New customers
Speaker 2: who deposit five dollars or more can get a no
Speaker 2: sweat bet up to one thousand dollars back in bonus bets.
Speaker 2: How cool of a deal is that. All you have
Speaker 2: to do is download the Draft King sports Book app
Speaker 2: now takes ninety seconds, and use the code colin cli
Speaker 2: n This is the best deal you're going to find.
Speaker 2: New customers. It's a no sweat bet up to one
Speaker 2: thousand dollars if your first bet loses. How cool is
Speaker 2: that only at Draftking sports Book code is Colin. The
Speaker 2: crown is yours?
Speaker 3: Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler or visit www
Speaker 3: dot one eight hundred gambler dot net. In New York
Speaker 3: call eight seven seven eight hope and Y, or text
Speaker 3: hope and Y four six seven three six NINEY. In Connecticut,
Speaker 3: help is available for problem gamb called eighty eight seventy
Speaker 3: nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org.
Speaker 3: Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort
Speaker 3: KS licensee partner Golden Nugget Lake Charles twenty one plus
Speaker 3: age varies by jurisdiction Voyden, Ontario. Bonus bets expire one
Speaker 3: hundred and sixty eight hours after issuing c Sportsbook dot
Speaker 3: DraftKings dot com, slash Basketball Terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions,
Speaker 3: terms and responsible gaming resources.
Speaker 4: What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymondgreens Show. Honor
Speaker 4: to have this next guest. We'll be listing off accolades
Speaker 4: for a while, but as you know, must get a
Speaker 4: proper introduction when you come to the Draymondgreen Show.
Speaker 5: So here we go.
Speaker 4: Two time w NBA Champion, two time Finals MVP, three
Speaker 4: times w NBA MVP, eight time w NBA All Star,
Speaker 4: eight time r AT w NBA First Team, four time
Speaker 4: a WNBA Second Team. My favorite part of the of
Speaker 4: the accolade list. Two time w NBA Defensive Player of
Speaker 4: the Year, two times, two time WNBA All Defensive First Team,
Speaker 4: two time second Team, has the number nine retired by
Speaker 4: the Los Angeles Sparks and the number thirty three retired
Speaker 4: by USC. I'd like to welcome our next guest, the
Speaker 4: Great Lisa Leslie.
Speaker 5: How are you.
Speaker 1: I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 5: Absolutely no thank you for coming on. This is such
Speaker 5: an honor.
Speaker 4: I always crack jokes about you gotta be a legend
Speaker 4: to have accolades to come on this show, and you
Speaker 4: blow it out the water.
Speaker 5: So we really appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 1: Thank you a lot of hard work. But you know
Speaker 1: about that. I love defense. So when you said that,
Speaker 1: I'm like, every time I didn't make it or get like,
Speaker 1: you know, all defensive anything like, I really love playing defense,
Speaker 1: and which is why I am are your game so much.
Speaker 1: I really love the way you play basketball.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 4: I appreciate that, you know. And that'll leave me right
Speaker 4: into my first question. Ask someone you know who did
Speaker 4: it both on the defensive end and offensive and you
Speaker 4: start looking at these WNBA first teams, MVP Finals, MVP,
Speaker 4: I can tell you're not getting those awards by only
Speaker 4: playing defense. So I just want to talk to you initially.
Speaker 4: What is your feeling on the defensive side and the
Speaker 4: offensive side. One thing I always say is, just like defense,
Speaker 4: you have to have chemistry.
Speaker 5: Just I mean offense, you have to have chemistry.
Speaker 4: Just like off the offensive end, you essentially kind of
Speaker 4: have to have sets on the defensive end of different things.
Speaker 5: What is your take on the difference in how.
Speaker 4: It's viewed on the offensive end and the defensive end
Speaker 4: as far as our sport goes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I don't want to speak for like
Speaker 1: what's in the mind of these players now, but I
Speaker 1: feel like speaking for myself. I just always feel like
Speaker 1: I'm that last line of defense, and I have to
Speaker 1: be reliable and it comes down to trust, you know,
Speaker 1: it comes down to trust and reliability. I think of
Speaker 1: defense like a relationship, you know. I think you have
Speaker 1: to be accountable and you can't just talk about it,
Speaker 1: even though communication is key, right, So to that first
Speaker 1: line is that communication in the back the same thing
Speaker 1: that you do. You know, you're back there directing traffic.
Speaker 1: But we also, because we have high IQ for basketball,
Speaker 1: that anticipation of what's coming next, and that starts with
Speaker 1: our scouting reports, right we understand what's going to be happening,
Speaker 1: understanding what their offenses and what they're looking for, and
Speaker 1: then anticipating what they want to do and trying to
Speaker 1: take that away. But at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: when I was at the five or at the four,
Speaker 1: that rotation and coming across blocking somebody shot, like I
Speaker 1: live for that, where my guards know that they can
Speaker 1: play up and you know that I'm going to be there.
Speaker 1: Like if we do it ten times, ten times, I'm
Speaker 1: rotating and I'm there, And I think that is the
Speaker 1: selflessness of defense. It's really a part of it is
Speaker 1: pride because you have to take it upon yourself that
Speaker 1: I'm coming with this effort every single time. It doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what the results are. I'm coming back. Like you're
Speaker 1: gonna know when you played me, you was in a battle,
Speaker 1: whether you won or lost. I want a whole lot.
Speaker 1: But the battle is like like damn, I just you
Speaker 1: might circle me on your calendar because you played against me,
Speaker 1: but you also are like dam him, you better be
Speaker 1: thinking about that shot you're trying to get off, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. And I feel like the consistency
Speaker 1: of that is just what I look like. I feel
Speaker 1: like the pressure is on the person with the ball,
Speaker 1: right like when we talked of offense, like I felt
Speaker 1: like my offense was amazing, but my defense is like
Speaker 1: I don't have the pressure with the ball. You have
Speaker 1: the ball. You got to try to figure out how
Speaker 1: to get in this basket. And as low as far
Speaker 1: as I'm there, like I'm really gonna be reliable, and
Speaker 1: I think that's the relationship right.
Speaker 5: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: It's funny because I was flying back with Steph last night,
Speaker 4: I mean yesterday, we were coming back from Mexico for
Speaker 4: practice and there was a few other people on the
Speaker 4: plane and we were talking about the growth of Jonathan
Speaker 4: Kaminga and I was telling stuff. Actually, I was like,
Speaker 4: man's our number and we were just in there talking
Speaker 4: to him, like he's a number two option now and
Speaker 4: that comes with a totally different thing. And I said
Speaker 4: to those guys and they start laughing. I never yearned
Speaker 4: for that, Like I never yearned to be the guy
Speaker 4: in the NBA that has to go score every night,
Speaker 4: that has to do I think that comes with a
Speaker 4: totally different mindset, but also a totally different pressure.
Speaker 5: Like when it's when, when you're when, whether you have
Speaker 5: a good.
Speaker 4: Game, it's based on if I make a shot or
Speaker 4: if I miss a shot.
Speaker 5: Like that's a totally different pressure.
Speaker 4: And so I agree with you one hundred percent as
Speaker 4: far as who that pressure falls on. And just going back,
Speaker 4: Uh born in Compton, California. Uh, talk to me about
Speaker 4: growing up in Compton. I've been told that there are
Speaker 4: people in Compton that's actually.
Speaker 5: Never been to Los Angeles. Talk to me about growing
Speaker 5: up in.
Speaker 1: Well, I think, first off, let me just say, when
Speaker 1: you are a kid born in an inner city, we
Speaker 1: know nothing. All we know is our surroundings. We don't
Speaker 1: understand what we don't know. We don't understand what we
Speaker 1: have and what we don't have. So I feel like
Speaker 1: being in Compton, I thought we had a great Like
Speaker 1: we had our own house. You know, we had our
Speaker 1: own house. Like we lived in a house. My mom
Speaker 1: was a single she was a single mom. I have
Speaker 1: two I had well, I have three sisters, but at
Speaker 1: that time, it was just my older sister and I
Speaker 1: and we both had our own room. Like I'm like, bro,
Speaker 1: we got our own room. We live in a three
Speaker 1: bedroom house. Now that I understand, square foot now big.
Speaker 1: It was probably not, but that's saying a lot. So
Speaker 1: I felt like in the situation I was in, I
Speaker 1: felt very blessed. Like my mom was a very hard worker,
Speaker 1: and that is probably what I saw most Like my
Speaker 1: mom would at that time. First, when I was young,
Speaker 1: she would carry mail, so she was a mail carrier.
Speaker 1: She'd get up at five thirty, she would get dressed
Speaker 1: in her uniform, and then she would leave me who
Speaker 1: was I probably was kindergarten. My older sisters five years
Speaker 1: older than me, so she would go to element school
Speaker 1: on her own and I stayed in the house like dreamine.
Speaker 1: I was like four years old in the house with
Speaker 1: the key around my neck. I was a latchky kid,
Speaker 1: and my mom would turn on the TV. She leave
Speaker 1: me like food out and she was like when this
Speaker 1: show comes on, and she had to take one day
Speaker 1: off to show me when this show comes on. Then
Speaker 1: you turn the TV off, you go out, you lock
Speaker 1: the door, knocked on a neighbor's door across the street,
Speaker 1: and then you walk to school at eleven o'clock. Eleven
Speaker 1: o'clock because school started at eleven thirty. For a kid
Speaker 1: who went half day, that was it. So it was
Speaker 1: kind of like I've been having I've had to be responsible,
Speaker 1: like from day one. That's all I know. Is like
Speaker 1: so it's discipline, it's focused. It's like, don't turn the channel. Now,
Speaker 1: imagine if I was not a good listener and I
Speaker 1: turned the channel, BRO probably would have never made it
Speaker 1: to school because I wouldn't have known what channel. So
Speaker 1: I never changed the channel. I had to wait for
Speaker 1: the show, you know, turn the TV off, lock the door.
Speaker 1: And I felt like just from day one and Compton,
Speaker 1: it was just kind of is it was survival, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean? And sometimes I feel like just
Speaker 1: those survival skills and yes it was a kid and
Speaker 1: it was the streets, but it's still an opportunity to survive, live,
Speaker 1: figure out what we're gonna eat. Then my mom became
Speaker 1: a truck driver, which then with my mom leaving, there's
Speaker 1: three girls now, so my older sister, I'm the middle
Speaker 1: now and I have a younger sister. We got to
Speaker 1: figure it out, like what are we eating. We did
Speaker 1: have an opair or a housekeeper. Someone was there, but
Speaker 1: it wasn't that great. You know, it wasn't my mom,
Speaker 1: So who's going to look out for us?
Speaker 5: Us?
Speaker 1: And so I just think by me being sort of
Speaker 1: that child that was just focused early on trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how to survive, I had a mindset of
Speaker 1: like I'm competitive, I can do this. I can I
Speaker 1: can figure it out, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 1: I'm going to survive. So I think Compton taught me
Speaker 1: survival skills. I can be anywhere. We might go to
Speaker 1: the hood, we can play ball in the hood. We
Speaker 1: can go stop by some people who don't have and
Speaker 1: I can go to your house and eat and help
Speaker 1: cook and clean up. Or we can head out to Cabo,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. We can go to Paris,
Speaker 1: we can go to the best of the best. But
Speaker 1: either way from me, Compton just taught me that you know,
Speaker 1: you love people. I love people. I meet people where
Speaker 1: they are. I have very low expectations, you know, so
Speaker 1: I don't disappoint myself with how people show up. But
Speaker 1: I try to show up and just be a consistent
Speaker 1: person that I just love people and meet where they are.
Speaker 1: And everybody's not the same. We're not all the same.
Speaker 1: We have different backgrounds, so therefore our personalities are different
Speaker 1: how we buy. But I find myself that I can
Speaker 1: adapt in any situation. And that's really I think what
Speaker 1: Compton taught me.
Speaker 4: Well, your mom having to leave for work all those
Speaker 4: years early, and then becoming a truck driver where that
Speaker 4: takes you on the road, did at any point that
Speaker 4: build some type of resentment within you? Knowing that, like
Speaker 4: you said, there was an old pair, but it's not
Speaker 4: quite my mom, Like my mom isn't there. And I
Speaker 4: asked that question, because that's always one of my biggest fears. Obviously,
Speaker 4: you know how we travel when we're on you know,
Speaker 4: when we're doing this job, and how much time you miss,
Speaker 4: and that's always one of my biggest fears.
Speaker 5: So I just wanted to ask you that.
Speaker 1: No, I didn't. And this is where my mom was
Speaker 1: really smart. She set my sister's and eye down and
Speaker 1: she said, girls, I need you guys to give me
Speaker 1: five years to give us a better life. And I think,
Speaker 1: being eight years old taking care of a I was
Speaker 1: taking care of my younger sister. I kind of didn't
Speaker 1: know what that meant, you know, but I understood that
Speaker 1: my mom was trying to say, I got to do
Speaker 1: what I got to do in order for us to
Speaker 1: be able to survive, in order for us to be
Speaker 1: able to pay these bills, which means I need for
Speaker 1: you girls to step up and help me and help
Speaker 1: each other. And so it was pretty much that conversation
Speaker 1: I never really forget because I knew that my mom
Speaker 1: was trying to ask us to be a village, to
Speaker 1: be a support group to one another. And from that
Speaker 1: moment on, I just stepped into a different role, which
Speaker 1: was a motherhood I ended up raising my younger sister,
Speaker 1: who's eight years younger than me. I ended up I
Speaker 1: mean from that day on, I mean from changing diapers
Speaker 1: to walking her to school first and then me going
Speaker 1: to school and then picking her up from school. Just
Speaker 1: every game I had, I have to leave school go
Speaker 1: get my sisters. She was in the stands while I
Speaker 1: was playing and I'd be like it'd be a time out,
Speaker 1: and I'm like sit down, you know, I'm like, you know,
Speaker 1: just mothering her. She was always on the bus when
Speaker 1: our team went to away games, Like I really had
Speaker 1: a child, you know, from eight years on, eight years
Speaker 1: old up until I actually sent her to college. You know.
Speaker 1: So I think that level of responsibility again, it's hard work,
Speaker 1: it's discipline. It's when I got to go play basketball.
Speaker 1: That was like my relief, you know, from real life
Speaker 1: of being a mom. Really at twelve thirteen, fourteen thirteen,
Speaker 1: I'm taking care of a kid, you know, that type
Speaker 1: of mindset for me. Basketball was the outlet for me
Speaker 1: to just say, bro, I get to go play, Like
Speaker 1: what are we doing out here? You know, like let's go.
Speaker 1: And so I really focused on basketball and put like
Speaker 1: my heart. I was like married to ball. I always
Speaker 1: say I was married to basketball because that was just
Speaker 1: my outlet from like real life, you know, ups and downs,
Speaker 1: like we have we got three dollars. I got to
Speaker 1: feed my sister, you know, like I'm gonna get her
Speaker 1: some French fries, and you know, the fish market was
Speaker 1: up the street to the corner, Like we got French
Speaker 1: fries and she got some ketchup and I just sit
Speaker 1: there and it's a piece of fish and watch her eat.
Speaker 1: And if she didn't, you know, she got full, there
Speaker 1: was something left. I would eat the recks, you know.
Speaker 1: So it was like sacrifice in a way that I
Speaker 1: was just always a really perful kid. That's what I
Speaker 1: could just tell you that really saved me is just
Speaker 1: I was just always praying, like Lord, just I just
Speaker 1: know that you got something, something more than this situation
Speaker 1: where we are, And if my working hard can help
Speaker 1: get us to anything better, then that's what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 1: I'm the one. I'm the chosen one who's gonna work
Speaker 1: double time. And my older my younger sister, which is
Speaker 1: kind of funny because she would always say, you seem
Speaker 1: like you were just so serious, and I'm like, girl,
Speaker 1: you have no idea, the amount of pressure I'm under
Speaker 1: trying to figure out what you're gonna eat, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, or when you gotta go to bed,
Speaker 1: or giving you a bath, like I was really being
Speaker 1: a mom, you know at fourteen. It's really crazy, but
Speaker 1: all work a sacrifice.
Speaker 5: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: I've read and we've actually spoke about this before, but
Speaker 4: where you said when you retire from basketball, that you
Speaker 4: were retiring because being a mom, a wife.
Speaker 5: A basketball player, it was all just too much.
Speaker 4: And when I look back on that, because I actually
Speaker 4: had those days sometimes where I sit and you know,
Speaker 4: I have a wife and we like the role that
Speaker 4: she plays is incredible. But I always try to be
Speaker 4: conscious and aware of that I'm not ages depending on
Speaker 4: her to raise the kids by herself or be depending
Speaker 4: on we got a nanny. I don't have to do this.
Speaker 4: I always try to throw myself into that fire. And
Speaker 4: throwing myself into that fire, there's days where I'm like,
Speaker 4: it's too much, Like all of these things come together,
Speaker 4: it's way too much when you ultimately made that decision.
Speaker 4: Because I as someone who's kind of building another career
Speaker 4: for after basketball while playing basketball, not playing basketball as
Speaker 4: scary as hell, and to make that decision when you
Speaker 4: didn't have to make that decision but solely based on
Speaker 4: I want to be great at these things also, and
Speaker 4: this isn't allowing me to do that. What was it
Speaker 4: like transitioning to the other side of saying, you know what,
Speaker 4: I am wrapping it up, I am done and I'm
Speaker 4: moving on. Like, did you face that fear of what
Speaker 4: was on the other side of basketball like a lot
Speaker 4: of us do.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. I think, well, here's two things. I think being
Speaker 1: in women's basketball before the launch of the WNBA had
Speaker 1: already programmed most of us. But again, I can only
Speaker 1: speak for myself. The idea that basketball is not going
Speaker 1: to last forever, and so I had always had these other.
Speaker 5: Goals.
Speaker 1: Broadcasting, you know, was one I ended my undergrad degrees
Speaker 1: in communication because I wanted to do broadcasting. Modeling was
Speaker 1: something that I always wanted to do. So I had
Speaker 1: a chance after the Olympics to sign a contract with
Speaker 1: Wilhelmina moved to New York, and I was like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll just be you know, I'll just model and then
Speaker 1: and then public speaking was something that I had always
Speaker 1: done because I felt like that was like my spiritual
Speaker 1: gift my ability to go out and speak and hopefully inspire. Right,
Speaker 1: So I think I always had these other things that
Speaker 1: I was prepared to do in preparing to do, whereas
Speaker 1: I always looked at you know, in men's basketball, I
Speaker 1: feel like you guys have the freedom to just like
Speaker 1: focus on ball, like day in day out, that's what
Speaker 1: you're going to do because the compensation level can you
Speaker 1: can you can retire and you can you don't have
Speaker 1: to work. Obviously, it's hard to just stop and not
Speaker 1: do anything and not have that fire fulfilled. So I
Speaker 1: think that's important to do something else like this broadcasting,
Speaker 1: having to show all the many things that you're doing.
Speaker 1: You know, when you do retire, it's important. But you
Speaker 1: didn't have to necessarily think about those things until like now,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, because you know, like, hey,
Speaker 1: how many more years are you going to play? I
Speaker 1: don't know, but I'm saying you know that you're closer
Speaker 1: to that. For us as women, we are like always like,
Speaker 1: just in case this doesn't work out, this is what
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do. And you got to think I'm from
Speaker 1: the error now where the WNBA did not exist. So
Speaker 1: most of the women and went overseas. Every year I
Speaker 1: went overseas, I played in Italy for a season, and
Speaker 1: then when I came back, I was working for ESPN,
Speaker 1: I was doing the Women's tournament. I was just working, working, working, working,
Speaker 1: Murking then, like I said, I was modeling, So I
Speaker 1: had already created the idea that I had other careers
Speaker 1: and outlets. So I just feel like basketball for me
Speaker 1: was that one tool that was going to give me
Speaker 1: the freedom but also the opportunity to reach these other
Speaker 1: goals that I have. And I think it's important for
Speaker 1: all athletes to think about those things. And now that
Speaker 1: we have so much more access right than the social
Speaker 1: media brings us together with the world with our ideas
Speaker 1: as entrepreneurs. Times have changed, but I always had that
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs spirit from the time I was at USC because
Speaker 1: I'm like, I don't even know that I'm going to
Speaker 1: play basketball, Like I really thought I was done with
Speaker 1: basketball after the Olympics, Like I was. I thought, you
Speaker 1: played one Olympics, tiring, you know, then I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: do I mean, I really thought I was retired. So
Speaker 1: then they said they're gonna start the WNBA, and I'm like, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: that's like a summer league. Okay, that's cool. I'll just
Speaker 1: I can come back to the LA and play in
Speaker 1: the summer. I thought we were gonna wear like reversible
Speaker 1: jerseys playing like Long Beach State or something like. I
Speaker 1: didn't understand the impact of what the WNBA was gonna be.
Speaker 1: So I love it for these young girls now, young women,
Speaker 1: it's amazing, Like I'm so in love with you know,
Speaker 1: Angel Rees and Kaitlyn Clark and just all of these
Speaker 1: women do are having the opportunity to have a platform
Speaker 1: that's being watched, to have the nil deals. Like, I'm
Speaker 1: just I'm so happy for them because we always have
Speaker 1: had the personalities, you know, whether it's you know, obviously
Speaker 1: our looks were different. We didn't really have, you know,
Speaker 1: all the lashes and everything because we didn't have access
Speaker 1: to those things. But I just love where the game
Speaker 1: has gone and the opportunities that these young women are getting.
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 4: That's interesting to hear kind of your first experience with
Speaker 4: the WNBA, because I remember my first experience with the
Speaker 4: WNBA came man. I was six or seven years old
Speaker 4: and my aunt who was playing overseas as well.
Speaker 5: My aunt and net Babers.
Speaker 4: She was playing overseas and she came back and she
Speaker 4: tried out for the Detroit shot.
Speaker 5: And this was when the WNBA was.
Speaker 4: First kicking off, and I'll never forget she was the
Speaker 4: very last cut for the Detroit Shock. And I remember
Speaker 4: standing outside in the middle of the street, all of
Speaker 4: us waiting to kind of get the news. We knew
Speaker 4: the day was the day that we found out if
Speaker 4: she made the shock or not. And like I said,
Speaker 4: she ended up being the last cutting, did not make it.
Speaker 4: Just to see where it's grown too since then, I
Speaker 4: think it's very interesting. But something you just said brings
Speaker 4: me to my next question, which is you said, all right,
Speaker 4: this is summer league, and I actually had.
Speaker 5: Just written down to speak with you about.
Speaker 4: But you said, women always go overseas, and we all
Speaker 4: know they go overseas make a ton more money than
Speaker 4: you're making a WNBA, And I think in order for
Speaker 4: women not to have to go overseas, ultimately you're going
Speaker 4: to have to extend the season. You know, you have
Speaker 4: a three month season and because you know, you got
Speaker 4: to be able to pay the bills.
Speaker 5: What is your take on the WNBA extending the season.
Speaker 4: But then how it also competes with either the NBA
Speaker 4: being on the same schedule as the NBA or the NFL.
Speaker 4: Kind Of what's your take on that and can the
Speaker 4: WNBA move into that or do you think it'll be
Speaker 4: tough for it to compete with those other leagues.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think dreamind is a great question because I
Speaker 1: think it's something that the w's really tried to think
Speaker 1: about it, like where's our space? And remember they've actually
Speaker 1: moved it up because we used to start June fifteenth,
Speaker 1: So now I think we're kind of and I'm not
Speaker 1: saying we, but they play. I think they start May.
Speaker 4: Definitely we It's definitely were pioneering that, all right.
Speaker 1: I know, it's like you're always a part of it.
Speaker 1: Everywhere I go. I'm still a WNBA players, I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: but it definitely started, like they moved it up, you know,
Speaker 1: to start in May. But what happens is is there's
Speaker 1: players and foreign players that also still come and play
Speaker 1: in our league that they're not quite done yet. So
Speaker 1: it's always going to pose that problem because some of
Speaker 1: the you know, the team's rosters at one time was
Speaker 1: down to eleven sometimes they have thirteen. Then it was
Speaker 1: back down to eleven. So when you have eleven, but
Speaker 1: you're holding the spot for three or four players that
Speaker 1: are still overseas, even if it's not Americans, it could
Speaker 1: be foreign players that you've drafted, you're kind of you're
Speaker 1: you're you're kind of in a tough there. So that's
Speaker 1: the first part, and then how long the season can go.
Speaker 1: There's always going to be that tough competition, whether it's
Speaker 1: the NFL getting started, television time is really important. But
Speaker 1: I think I don't know that I have the answers,
Speaker 1: but I do think that that need to be something
Speaker 1: they could consider, is to continue to try to stretch
Speaker 1: it out on both ends. Start a little bit earlier
Speaker 1: if you can get those players back from overseas, and
Speaker 1: then maybe trying to extend it a little bit. But
Speaker 1: it comes down to as we know, money, TV time,
Speaker 1: those spots you start getting up against, you know, Baseball
Speaker 1: World Series, and then at the beginning of the NFL,
Speaker 1: which is tough. You know, we watch preseason football. I
Speaker 1: think those are the areas that really again depending on
Speaker 1: where people get their their game from. But I believe
Speaker 1: it was this wasn't that you and I actually talked
Speaker 1: about with Lebron, Like the finals fell on on Big
Speaker 1: Sports Day.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the finals like a Sunday. Yeah, it was like
Speaker 4: game it was the NFL Sunday and the finals were
Speaker 4: being played at one pm on an NFL Sunday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was something that was like, see, bro, that's
Speaker 1: not like, that's not a good comp We don't want
Speaker 1: to do those things. So I'm sure that people that are,
Speaker 1: you know, really focused on the business are probably trying
Speaker 1: to figure out ways to make that work, even if
Speaker 1: it's like a Friday final, you know, but there should
Speaker 1: be ways that they can continue to extend it and
Speaker 1: hopefully continue to increase revenue. But I think overall, the
Speaker 1: WNBA and the Players Association have worked so closely together
Speaker 1: and they're building. They're building, and they're getting better, and
Speaker 1: they're further along than where we were when we started
Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety seven.
Speaker 4: We've all had a frustrating experience buying tickets, even me.
Speaker 4: You all know I love to go to concerts, shows,
Speaker 4: and it can be hard to find last minute tickets.
Speaker 4: You shouldn't have to worry when you buy tickets to
Speaker 4: your next big event. Game time is the fast and
Speaker 4: easy way to buy tickets to all the sports, music, comedy,
Speaker 4: and theater shows near you. I'm looking through the game
Speaker 4: Time app right now, and it's really easy to find
Speaker 4: tickets at different price points. I know it isn't cheap
Speaker 4: to see the Doves play anymore, but we got some
Speaker 4: matchups coming up versus the Lakers, the Mavericks and more.
Speaker 4: Game Time is the only ticket and app that gives
Speaker 4: you complete peace of mind with your purchase. They have
Speaker 4: all in pricing so you know exactly how much you're
Speaker 4: going to pay, plus the game Time guarantee means you'll
Speaker 4: always get the best price. Take the guestwork out of
Speaker 4: buying tickets with game Time. Download the game Time app,
Speaker 4: creat an account and use the code word green for
Speaker 4: twenty dollars off your first purchase.
Speaker 5: Terms apply.
Speaker 4: Create an account and use the code word green gr
Speaker 4: ee n for twenty dollars off. Download game Time Today,
Speaker 4: Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
Speaker 5: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: You know what I think will be interesting for the WNBA,
Speaker 4: and it'll be a bit of necessarily call it a
Speaker 4: case study. But what will be interesting is to see
Speaker 4: where this next TV deal goes for the for the NBA.
Speaker 4: And here's why I think so you start to talk
Speaker 4: about the big networks, you know, the TNTs, Turner Sports, ESPN,
Speaker 4: the big deals.
Speaker 5: You know, the big TV deals that the NBA has.
Speaker 4: And the reason I say it'll be interesting with this
Speaker 4: next TV deal because all of a sudden, wrestling, for instance,
Speaker 4: the WWE just signed a ten billion dollar deal or
Speaker 4: eight billion dollar deal or something of that nature with Netflix,
Speaker 4: and so now you'll start to get Netflix, who's streaming,
Speaker 4: we know, Hulu, You got all these streaming platforms that
Speaker 4: I think can also create another avenue to extend the season, right,
Speaker 4: So like maybe it's not just built on TV time, right,
Speaker 4: Like if it's just built on TV time with ESPN,
Speaker 4: tn T, obviously things get a little tougher. But if
Speaker 4: you can now get some of these streaming platforms and
Speaker 4: make that a part of the deal, which I personally
Speaker 4: think that that's going to happen with the NBA deal,
Speaker 4: Like I think you'll probably see some different packages or whatnot,
Speaker 4: and like maybe Netflix has something, maybe Apple TV has
Speaker 4: some of it. But I think that will be possibly
Speaker 4: an avenue depending on what happens with the NBA deal,
Speaker 4: that the WNBA can explore because the problem that you
Speaker 4: run into with a lot of these these streaming platforms,
Speaker 4: is or do they have the capabilities of having a
Speaker 4: million people watching the same live event at the same time.
Speaker 4: And I think that's starting to be created with WWE
Speaker 4: and n NBA, So I think that may.
Speaker 5: Be a route.
Speaker 1: And you know what, I think you're right in terms
Speaker 1: of the change it's going to come with streaming. I
Speaker 1: just think the biggest key is knowing where to find
Speaker 1: the w consistently. There was a time where we had
Speaker 1: I believe if the for back could say the negative
Speaker 1: that I'd say is that we've over promoted the WNBA
Speaker 1: in a way that people don't know, like it's not
Speaker 1: consistent on where to find it. It's not consistent like
Speaker 1: we used to. We had and I don't even remember
Speaker 1: if it was like Lifetime or something, but it was
Speaker 1: like catch a WNBA every Tuesday and Thursday on Lifetime.
Speaker 1: Let's just say that's what the advertise. Whatever it was,
Speaker 1: it was very consistent, so people knew, oh, we got
Speaker 1: to get a lifetime we got to catch them. The
Speaker 1: thing that I think we've over promoted, like we used
Speaker 1: to say we got next that was that was huge.
Speaker 1: We should have said what we got next for twenty
Speaker 1: five years, because we come after the NBA. That's catchy.
Speaker 1: I couldn't tell you what the WNBAS catchphrase is. Now
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is, and so I feel
Speaker 1: like the importance of being consistent. Consistency is really important
Speaker 1: because NBA, I love this game. We heard for fifty years.
Speaker 1: We understood that that's a part of it. I think
Speaker 1: the consistency is important of where you can find the WNBA.
Speaker 1: I believe that the followers of the WNBA and through
Speaker 1: social media, people will find them if it was consistent,
Speaker 1: not just I got to search it up and say,
Speaker 1: oh today they are on Hulu. Oh, but now I
Speaker 1: got to have Apple Plus and then I also over
Speaker 1: here got to have Hulu. That's a lot, and especially
Speaker 1: on some of our devices where you may have a
Speaker 1: subscription to one, but you may not have a subscription
Speaker 1: to all three. So I think finding the consistency in
Speaker 1: that is just as important as having that opportunity to
Speaker 1: have the WNBA streaming life somewhere wherever that is.
Speaker 5: I definitely agree, because consistent is everything. I know.
Speaker 4: On Tuesday nights, the NBA is on T and T
Speaker 4: right Thursday nights, I know it's on TNT, like and
Speaker 4: so you start to get that cadence.
Speaker 5: You just know where to go for the games. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's what we need, we kind of and
Speaker 1: again that's maybe not to the fault of the WNBA,
Speaker 1: but maybe it's just working with networks and trying to
Speaker 1: fit in where they can. Again, I'm not trying to
Speaker 1: be like the powers of being. You know, I'm not
Speaker 1: running for president people, because I always you should be
Speaker 1: the president. I'm not trying to do any of those things.
Speaker 1: But I'm just for suggestions. It's important for marketing for
Speaker 1: us to find something that we really are passionate about
Speaker 1: and then stay with it. It's okay to repeat the
Speaker 1: same marketing for a few years so that people get
Speaker 1: the habits of it. You know, we just changed so quick.
Speaker 1: Every year somebody's got a new marketing job for the WBA.
Speaker 1: It's like last year. We don't have that consistency. So
Speaker 1: I think that's something I would suggest for them.
Speaker 5: Absolutely. You coaching the Big three to one championship.
Speaker 4: We just saw Becky Hammond a few years ago leader
Speaker 4: San Antonio Spurs go coach the Las Vegas As Systems.
Speaker 4: She's been dominating the last two years, winning a championship
Speaker 4: in both years, If I'm now mistaken coaching in the
Speaker 4: w NBA never never, never quite wanted to do that,
Speaker 4: never a thing for you kind of Well.
Speaker 1: First off, I never say never about jobs. You know,
Speaker 1: I love to work. That's not a problem. I think
Speaker 1: the hard part was that I'm still so I was
Speaker 1: still so familiar with all the players there, and I
Speaker 1: think you need a break of like, you know, I
Speaker 1: could come in and maybe the new generation have that
Speaker 1: offer tunity, But I feel like, you know, I can't
Speaker 1: go back to the Sparks and coach Candace, who was
Speaker 1: my teammate, you know what I mean, Like that's my girl,
Speaker 1: but it's like she would just we're too close for
Speaker 1: it to really be I think a coach player relationship.
Speaker 1: So I think over time it would be better to
Speaker 1: coach team players, Like like now, I think we're kind
Speaker 1: of finally at the you know, Candace may be finishing
Speaker 1: up in a year or two, you know, Neked like
Speaker 1: all the girls at Cheney, people that I'm like really
Speaker 1: close with and have relationships with. I think it would
Speaker 1: be better when you have groups that you don't have
Speaker 1: those types of relationship with so you can just have
Speaker 1: a clean slate. But I've never really been approached about
Speaker 1: coaching a WNBA team, to be really honest with you,
Speaker 1: not that I've even thought of it, thought about it,
Speaker 1: or applied for it. But I really enjoy coaching the men.
Speaker 1: I have a good time. And I don't know that
Speaker 1: it is just because they're men, but I enjoy coaching
Speaker 1: in the victory. I guess I should say the hard
Speaker 1: parts about coaching though. Coaching is a lot. Man, it's
Speaker 1: a lot. I mean, you take it home. I mean
Speaker 1: I can't stand losing, and I don't like when you're
Speaker 1: at a professional level and you need to be motivated
Speaker 1: to do your job. Like that's probably the biggest part
Speaker 1: that I didn't really understand, And I think when I
Speaker 1: looked at my teammates, I kind of was like, as
Speaker 1: a leader, like y'all, let's go, like we're gonna run
Speaker 1: the lines, like don't cut the line, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Touch the line, Like I've always been that
Speaker 1: kind of player, Like don't cut corners because if you
Speaker 1: cut corners now, we're not going to deserve to win
Speaker 1: in the end, you know what I'm saying. Like whether
Speaker 1: we're on the track, we're on the weight room, don't
Speaker 1: be a player who's late, like be fifteen minutes early.
Speaker 1: Like I'm just that kind of person where the efficiency
Speaker 1: of how we train affects everything to me. So I'm like,
Speaker 1: we it's already hard, let's not add to it. Let's
Speaker 1: not cut corners and then expect the best, you know,
Speaker 1: and so being that you know, you know, you're a champion.
Speaker 1: It's just it's just the it's the nature of it.
Speaker 1: And so I have a really hard time trying to
Speaker 1: motivate people to do something that you should be passionate about,
Speaker 1: you should love, you should be seeing that it is
Speaker 1: an honor to be able to play this sport because
Speaker 1: you could get hurt at any time and not be
Speaker 1: able to play. So to me, it's like respect the game.
Speaker 1: And I have a hard time with like babysitting people
Speaker 1: and just trying to I don't know, I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: not built like that. So it's that's the difficult part
Speaker 1: for me, you know. I think it's one thing where
Speaker 1: you talk about like high school kids, everybody you know,
Speaker 1: some people sign up. You got to pick the best
Speaker 1: people you have at the school, every kid's not that,
Speaker 1: like that's not their dream. But they may be athletic
Speaker 1: enough to make a team. Okay, but you're talking about
Speaker 1: top tier, you're talking about a professional.
Speaker 2: Bro.
Speaker 1: I don't have time for all the excuses. I don't
Speaker 1: have time for all of Like I was out last night, like,
Speaker 1: don't don't waste my time, you know. Kobe and I
Speaker 1: used to talk about that, which is so funny because
Speaker 1: I always think about our conversations about just being ready
Speaker 1: and how you show up, you know, and the fact
Speaker 1: that you have to tell your teammates like we got
Speaker 1: a big we got a game tomorrow, so you might
Speaker 1: not want to go out tonight. Like I shouldn't have
Speaker 1: to explain those things to you because my hard work
Speaker 1: is a part of what we're trying to build here,
Speaker 1: and I need everybody. We need everybody to win, you know.
Speaker 1: That's the that's the hard part. So coaching for me,
Speaker 1: I'm like, I cannot motivate you to want to win,
Speaker 1: Like that's all that I know. I'm so bad, Like
Speaker 1: it's space I'm just way with everything though, space Bag
Speaker 1: and whatever we're playing. Bro Domino's like you don't want
Speaker 1: to see me in nothing tongue whatever it is, like,
Speaker 1: I am playing to win. Don't sit down at the
Speaker 1: table with me if you try to, like, what are
Speaker 1: we doing? I don't like people who just want to
Speaker 1: play for fun. Don't come to my table.
Speaker 5: I agree with that, just just so you know.
Speaker 4: You never want to see me and dominoes, so you
Speaker 4: should never sit at that table.
Speaker 1: Man, Come on, I'm slapping both.
Speaker 4: Oh I would love this opportunity.
Speaker 5: We'll make sure we make that happen.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, don't forget you own me tickets too, No way, no,
Speaker 1: not for for when you guys come to Miami next month.
Speaker 5: Next month. I got you son to the game.
Speaker 4: No problem, no problem at all. So I always say
Speaker 4: the same thing about coaching. People say to me like, oh,
Speaker 4: you should coach well before number one. I think is
Speaker 4: absolutely insane that you've never been approached about coaching w
Speaker 4: NBA team.
Speaker 5: Those things to me doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4: Like you know, I I have a I have a
Speaker 4: strong appreciation for the WNBA because of the talent, Like
Speaker 4: I think the women in the WNBA are extremely talented.
Speaker 4: What I love the most is how fundamentally sound the
Speaker 4: WNBA is. I watched college basketball some NBA basketball, and
Speaker 4: it baffles me. The guys do not have basic fundamentals
Speaker 4: and you just don't have that problem in the WNBA,
Speaker 4: at least we can't see it, you know, Like I'm
Speaker 4: sure if you're in a practice, you're like, man, this
Speaker 4: girl got no fundamentals. But for the most part, like
Speaker 4: fundamentally sound. But I think and me and you have
Speaker 4: actually spoke about this a little bit before. I think
Speaker 4: some things that the WNBA do they shoot themselves in
Speaker 4: the foot, this being one of them. Like why have
Speaker 4: you not been approached the pioneer that you are in
Speaker 4: the WNBA. I think you're you. I mean, I don't
Speaker 4: think you are the first real star of the w
Speaker 4: n b A. And yet your first real star you
Speaker 4: never go back and say, hey, like do you want
Speaker 4: to come back and coach? Like, so we can have
Speaker 4: you so close to this league because of what you know,
Speaker 4: you've seen it from the very beginning. You know all
Speaker 4: of these things, we can have you so close to
Speaker 4: this league. It's things like that that when it comes
Speaker 4: to the WNBA, I don't understand those things, like you're
Speaker 4: not helping yourself in all the ways that you can
Speaker 4: help yourself.
Speaker 5: That to me is badly.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm gonna be really honest with you because I
Speaker 1: don't think I've ever really articulated this publicly, but I
Speaker 1: do believe that we get it wrong when it comes
Speaker 1: to the veterans of the WNBA, all of us, not
Speaker 1: just me, you know, Swoops Cooper. You know, we can
Speaker 1: make a whole list, because there's obviously a laundry list
Speaker 1: of us, but we don't get it right. And for
Speaker 1: whatever reason, and I don't know if it's a women's thing,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure, but we get pushed out because they're like, well,
Speaker 1: if you're here taking up the spotlight, people can't see
Speaker 1: the next one's coming. However, I'm like, well, the NBA
Speaker 1: have like seventy five one hundred like great players that
Speaker 1: come and support and it's like a it's a fraternity,
Speaker 1: right absolutely, And we don't create a sorority. And I'll
Speaker 1: tell you that from the sparks that behind the scenes
Speaker 1: conversations the WNBA. I have tried, trust me. So it's
Speaker 1: not like it's not like I haven't tried. It's not
Speaker 1: like I haven't reached out. It's not like even when
Speaker 1: I was in LA, I'm like, there's anything that I
Speaker 1: can do. I wasn't even trying to be paid to help.
Speaker 1: But it was just one of those things where I
Speaker 1: was like, you know what, this is my last time.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna like really put myself out there to try
Speaker 1: to help and then I'm done. And that's when I
Speaker 1: was like, I'm done. I'll go coach. I can coach
Speaker 1: in the Big Three. But I wasn't even trying to
Speaker 1: do it, like it wasn't even like a money thing,
Speaker 1: really just trying to help and lend my services, like
Speaker 1: you're saying, like to think about growing the game to
Speaker 1: be able to give back. I saw that the tenants
Speaker 1: was dropping off, you know, things like that, and so
Speaker 1: it's not that I didn't think of it or try,
Speaker 1: but I'm sure a lot of the women who are
Speaker 1: veterans of the league feel that way. And we could
Speaker 1: do a much better job as a whole of finding
Speaker 1: ways to support veteran women players bringing them back. And
Speaker 1: I'll kid you know. I'll tell you one story. I
Speaker 1: went to go watch a practice and I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: and you can let them know if they want me
Speaker 1: to talk to the players, right, I will go after
Speaker 1: the practice and I'll talk to the players if they
Speaker 1: want drama. When I tell you, I mean, I was like,
Speaker 1: oh okay, I mean I don't know. I'm just saying
Speaker 1: of service. I'm not saying to be there to like,
Speaker 1: oh you know, I'm so it's like this is what
Speaker 1: I did, Like that's not even my personality. But if
Speaker 1: there's some words that I can give you to motivate
Speaker 1: you to come out work hard, like man the paint,
Speaker 1: like you guys need to crash the boards. Whatever it is,
Speaker 1: Like whatever was in that moment, I would have given
Speaker 1: it to that team, just because I'm a spark for life,
Speaker 1: like I'm not just visiting y'all, Like i really care
Speaker 1: about what happens with the Purple and Gold. And they
Speaker 1: were like, no, that's okay. No he or she didn't
Speaker 1: want you the same thing. I'm like, not a problem.
Speaker 1: And I leave it at that like that's it. So
Speaker 1: I just say that to you, not to be like
Speaker 1: a hater on the outside, but I but to confirm
Speaker 1: with you we need to do a better job as
Speaker 1: not just the league but also individual teams of how
Speaker 1: they support their veterans and bringing them back to be
Speaker 1: a part of it. And I'll tell you two programs
Speaker 1: that do an excellent job of it. Dawn Staley does
Speaker 1: an excellent job with South Carolina and connecting her players
Speaker 1: to her other players and just creating a community that
Speaker 1: supports one another. And Gino Ariama does a very good
Speaker 1: job at Yukon that you see their returning players coming
Speaker 1: back thirty forty players. That is how you build that
Speaker 1: type of chemistry. It's a culture and I tried to
Speaker 1: even I'm glad that we're starting to see that back
Speaker 1: with USC because we had those problems before in the past.
Speaker 1: We have a new coach and Juju is doing so amazing.
Speaker 1: I'm so proud of her, and you're starting to see
Speaker 1: other Trojans come back and support and that's what it's about. Like,
Speaker 1: if we're not building community and no, we're not pouring
Speaker 1: into one another, like a, what are we really doing?
Speaker 1: I don't know. So it's bigger in basketball to me,
Speaker 1: but we haven't completely figured that out. And I hope
Speaker 1: that we can do a better job of that in
Speaker 1: the future because I love our sparks. I love our
Speaker 1: Sparks fans, Like every time I'm there, the people are
Speaker 1: so amazing. The ushers like got hug and you know,
Speaker 1: I just see people that you really care about, and
Speaker 1: it's just unfortunate that I didn't have that opportunity to
Speaker 1: do that because that would have.
Speaker 4: Absolutely now by the way, and saying that, and that's why,
Speaker 4: I know surprised that down is having a success that
Speaker 4: she's having year after year at South Carolina and that
Speaker 4: Gino has having the success that he's had over the
Speaker 4: thirty years or whatever it's been that he's been at Yukon.
Speaker 4: I think that was one of the reasons I actually
Speaker 4: went to Michigan State is because tom Izzo creates a brotherhood,
Speaker 4: he creates a family, and I'm like, oh, I get
Speaker 4: to be a part of this family. Like I was,
Speaker 4: it was kind of down to them in Michigan, and
Speaker 4: I didn't feel like Michigan basketball was a family.
Speaker 5: But when you look back at it, they weren't.
Speaker 4: You see how they did Chris Weber, you know, you
Speaker 4: see how they kind of outcast the five five, like, yeah,
Speaker 4: they had their issues whatever, But what they did for
Speaker 4: that program to not honor them, I mean, we're it's
Speaker 4: twenty twenty four, twenty twenty three, and it takes Jim
Speaker 4: Harball to bring Chris Webber back like it doesn't make
Speaker 4: sense to me, you know, And so it's no surprise
Speaker 4: that those teams have that type of essentially the pedigree
Speaker 4: that they have in the history because they're doing it
Speaker 4: that way. But speak to me, Juju Watkins. I had
Speaker 4: the opportunity to actually work out with Juju. Well, she
Speaker 4: came to my workout maybe when she was like in
Speaker 4: the tenth grade, and like you could see the skill
Speaker 4: was there. Shoot the lights out the ball I work out.
Speaker 4: I still work out Mike who trains me. His name's
Speaker 4: Travis Walton.
Speaker 5: He was my senior leader when I was a freshman
Speaker 5: at Michigan State.
Speaker 4: He's trained me my entire career. We still go hard
Speaker 4: like we're in college. Like it's not your typical NBA workout.
Speaker 4: You go shoot some spots and go to the next
Speaker 4: like we go. And she came to our workout and
Speaker 4: the first day, like you could tell her skill was there,
Speaker 4: and like all the things, she was struggling to get
Speaker 4: through the workout a bit, and and like you know,
Speaker 4: I'm pushing her, like, hey, come on, ju you got it,
Speaker 4: come on, like pushing her through the workout, pushing She
Speaker 4: came back next day and.
Speaker 5: When she came back the next day.
Speaker 4: It said a lot to me because it's like, oh,
Speaker 4: she wants to get better, like she enjoyed being pushed.
Speaker 4: You know a lot of people. I've seen people come
Speaker 4: to my workhouse. I've had NBA players come to my
Speaker 4: workhouse throw up, not come back. You know, I've had
Speaker 4: I've seen all different types. And she came back the
Speaker 4: next day and I was like that, that young lady
Speaker 4: has a future in this game. She has the skill,
Speaker 4: you know, she has the demeanor, she carries herself like
Speaker 4: she knows, she's nice. She came back to this workout
Speaker 4: again the next day. Now every day, you know, every
Speaker 4: now you look up, Juju has a game and she
Speaker 4: breaks this record. She breaking that record, She's I think
Speaker 4: she broke mind already. Like which number one says so
Speaker 4: much about you that you know, here we are thirty
Speaker 4: years later since since you left USC and she's just
Speaker 4: now breaking those records.
Speaker 5: But just talk to me.
Speaker 4: About Juju and what she's doing for the program, for
Speaker 4: USC as a whole, for women's basketball and just moving
Speaker 4: things forward.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I'm so proud of her. I think the
Speaker 1: thing is is that when I heard about Juju, which
Speaker 1: was her high scho when she was in high school,
Speaker 1: and then some of the coaches that were recruiting her
Speaker 1: that she was a top recruit. And I was like, so,
Speaker 1: what do you know, what do you think is Juju
Speaker 1: for real? They were like, yeah, Juju, Juju's for real,
Speaker 1: but they weren't sure if she would be able to
Speaker 1: keep this level of consistency right in college. You know,
Speaker 1: but you know how because everybody is to talk about
Speaker 1: like Caitlin, like what's going Everybody looks at the next level. Okay,
Speaker 1: she's balling here, but what is she going to do
Speaker 1: at the next level? And it's like when you have
Speaker 1: that freshman year when you come out. I had the
Speaker 1: same thing happened after I scored one hundred one points
Speaker 1: in high school. I went to USC which was like
Speaker 1: in eleventh, tenth, eleventh place in the pack ten back then.
Speaker 1: But I was like, I want to do something different.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to just go to Tennessee where everybody
Speaker 1: was winning championships. I wanted to start something new. And
Speaker 1: I feel like Juju had that same mindset of like
Speaker 1: I want to bring it back here to La sc
Speaker 1: was okay, she made s C like you take it
Speaker 1: back up to the top. And I feel like that
Speaker 1: is a big deal in itself when you talk about
Speaker 1: that challenge, when you take on the challenge to turn
Speaker 1: around a program. That's what Juju Wakers is basically doing
Speaker 1: for LA, like putting SC back on the map. And
Speaker 1: we've had some great players out of SC like for real.
Speaker 1: So you know, I love that her handle is like
Speaker 1: Juju b balling if you want to hit her on
Speaker 1: Instagram because every time I'm like Juju be balling, like
Speaker 1: she really is a baller, and it's like she's so LA,
Speaker 1: which is also a lot of people go to LA,
Speaker 1: but a lot of people are not from LA, but
Speaker 1: those of us is like from LA. It's a certain
Speaker 1: kind of dog in us. It's just like she really
Speaker 1: from LA, Like you know, like Tina Thompson is really
Speaker 1: from LA. Cynthia Cooper is like really from LA, like
Speaker 1: we are. It's something about like our motor and the
Speaker 1: way we think, like you're just not gonna outwork us
Speaker 1: and outplay us. We may lose some stuff, but you
Speaker 1: gonna know you was in a battle. And I see
Speaker 1: that in Juju, like she's just when she needs to
Speaker 1: put the team on her back. The team is on
Speaker 1: her back, but watching her play like she's not selfish
Speaker 1: with it, you know, she's not like over dribbling and
Speaker 1: keeping it like she's very unselfish. She's a great passer, rebounder,
Speaker 1: but her ability to shoot the ball is just it's
Speaker 1: next level. And I feel like that is like the
Speaker 1: effect of what your teammate Steph Curry has done for
Speaker 1: the game has just been It was almost one of
Speaker 1: those things when I played in the post, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: if I didn't have an outlet, I'm gonna take the
Speaker 1: ball up, Like I can bring the ball up, I
Speaker 1: can push it up. I'm a five, but I can
Speaker 1: play four. I used to tell my team, is I
Speaker 1: only play this position because y'all need me to play
Speaker 1: this position. I can play any position, right, So that's
Speaker 1: how I used to think. But I feel like the
Speaker 1: coach would be like make the outlet pass and get
Speaker 1: on the rock. Like you know, coaches used to coaches
Speaker 1: in a way like you had a certain spot to
Speaker 1: be in or position, But now we're moving to more
Speaker 1: of a European style where it's positionless. Right, your four
Speaker 1: can pull it up. The four can bring it up
Speaker 1: and actually run the play, call the play, get you
Speaker 1: into your motion, the same thing that you do. They
Speaker 1: do in the World Women's Game, where it was very
Speaker 1: seldom was I allowed to do that. I did it
Speaker 1: at sc sum, but as a pro, very seldom did
Speaker 1: I do that. Like fall a play. It was like
Speaker 1: pass it and get you know, get down to the
Speaker 1: block or get to your spot. I love that Staph
Speaker 1: has changed the game where people never really thought that
Speaker 1: you were even in shooting range when you crossed the
Speaker 1: half court, like we had a few players like in
Speaker 1: Nate Ruthie Bolton, which people probably wouldn't remember to shoot
Speaker 1: shoot Ruthi across half court and be in that range
Speaker 1: like Steph, but she didn't get the publicity and didn't
Speaker 1: have this stage like we have. But Ruthie could shoot
Speaker 1: long range consistently. Where we were like Ruthie, we used
Speaker 1: to laugh, like where is your range? She's like, Hey,
Speaker 1: as long as I see the basket, I'm in range.
Speaker 1: You know she would say that. But I'm like, now
Speaker 1: we see these players that he's opened the game in
Speaker 1: a way that you are not out of your range shooting.
Speaker 1: I don't even what is the fee forty four feet
Speaker 1: like forty five. Like, Bro, they are so far out,
Speaker 1: and I love that Juju has that long range shot.
Speaker 1: Just to get back to me saying she has that
Speaker 1: long range, she's in her range wherever she is getting
Speaker 1: to the basket to pull up like. They are true
Speaker 1: students of the game, and we can see that in
Speaker 1: their game. Like the way that they play, you can
Speaker 1: tell that they've studied the game. And that's what I love.
Speaker 1: I'm passionate about people who are like Bro. If I
Speaker 1: was in this era, I would be even better than
Speaker 1: what I was in my era because I can see
Speaker 1: the game differently.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 1: You know, I limited myself. Three point line came out,
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, come to the three point lie,
Speaker 1: work on my three point shoot. I was never thinking
Speaker 1: cross course she won from that never you know, But Bro,
Speaker 1: if I was in this era, you best believe my
Speaker 1: show would be ready for half. I just love the game.
Speaker 1: I love the fact that it keeps evolving and getting better.
Speaker 1: So you can tell I get so excited. But I'm
Speaker 1: amazed at Juju and what she's been able to do,
Speaker 1: and the talents continue to get better. So bight on,
Speaker 1: I got my burnery on.
Speaker 5: I love it. I love it.
Speaker 4: And Juju has to stay in college for at least
Speaker 4: three year years.
Speaker 5: Kind of what's your take on that?
Speaker 4: Like, obviously the goal for all of us is to
Speaker 4: get to the NBAS, to get to the WNBA, but
Speaker 4: she has to stay there for two more years once
Speaker 4: this season concludes. What's your take on the age requirement
Speaker 4: in the WNBA as far as I think if Juju
Speaker 4: could leave this year, she'd definitely be the number one
Speaker 4: and number two pick, you know, and so like, kind
Speaker 4: of how do you view that as far as the
Speaker 4: women's game go.
Speaker 1: That's good, that's good. I don't think we originally had
Speaker 1: seen a player or players now that really could make
Speaker 1: that jump. And here's why I say that. We played
Speaker 1: both college ball, but we also played on the USA team,
Speaker 1: and playing on the USA team brought like myself. I
Speaker 1: was sixteen, a high schooler versus college women, and I
Speaker 1: held my own. But was I ready to be an Olympian? No?
Speaker 1: It was good, but I was a tenth grader. You know,
Speaker 1: with college players now you cut too and you say, well,
Speaker 1: she's a freshman in college. I think the biggest test
Speaker 1: first would be the USA team because how she would
Speaker 1: manage with those pros would then tell you if she
Speaker 1: could truly play in the w NBA. I think it's
Speaker 1: I think we're getting to that point now. I don't
Speaker 1: think that Juju could get out there and not be effected.
Speaker 1: But also it's kind of that same thing, the body,
Speaker 1: the the the physicality of it. It changes a lot defense.
Speaker 1: You know, you may be strong offensively, but how's your
Speaker 1: defense because you got you know, you got some ballers
Speaker 1: to guard in the WNBA. Also, so a lot of
Speaker 1: times the rookie year for guards is actually harder than
Speaker 1: it is for the post. I find that all of
Speaker 1: the guards, if we like went back in time and
Speaker 1: you look at like number one pick guards their first
Speaker 1: years in the it's not like all star years. They
Speaker 1: really struggle because you be indeed up in a way
Speaker 1: like I got you and I don't need to go
Speaker 1: help nobody else, you know what I mean. Whereas college
Speaker 1: college is saw of that system. You know, you got
Speaker 1: that rotation. Sometimes the coaches just like stay on her,
Speaker 1: like she's not getting off today. That's that's the decision
Speaker 1: of the coach, which means, I'm on you. How you
Speaker 1: gonna get the buckets that you're used to getting when
Speaker 1: I'm staying with you, and we have defenders like that
Speaker 1: and coaches that make those types of decisions. So I
Speaker 1: think that for the guards, they struggle a little bit.
Speaker 1: But could Juju go into the WNBA and just be
Speaker 1: like solid? I think so, I really do. I think
Speaker 1: she could. Should they change the rooms? I don't know
Speaker 1: about that, but I think she. I think she'd have success.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, No, I agree, I think, you know, and like
Speaker 4: there's levels to the success, right like you come in
Speaker 4: the likelihood of anyone coming from college and being a
Speaker 4: superstar right.
Speaker 5: Away, it has happens. It happens facts to be and
Speaker 5: as true.
Speaker 4: But like Aliah Boston is probably going to be along
Speaker 4: the lines of Kandas Parker one of the all time
Speaker 4: greats too. So you know, the people always would talk
Speaker 4: about when you know, when they had the high school rule,
Speaker 4: when you could come out of high school in the NBA.
Speaker 4: For every Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, there's there was also uh,
Speaker 4: I'm Melvin Eally or I'm under Butcher this name, but
Speaker 4: e b NB or his name was something that like
Speaker 4: you also have some of those guys as well, more
Speaker 4: of those guys than you necessarily do the Kobe Bryant
Speaker 4: and Kevin Garnett who's actually able to figure it out.
Speaker 1: And to your point, their rookie year though, is not
Speaker 1: stellar exactly, you know. And so that's my point too,
Speaker 1: is that you can come out, but that rookie year
Speaker 1: sometimes it's a lot one. They're coming out of their
Speaker 1: college season. So you're and fatigue because we're starting, like
Speaker 1: you said, early May. If you went to a championship,
Speaker 1: you just finished April eighth, seventh, somewhere around there. Now
Speaker 1: you got to come into a training camp and you
Speaker 1: got to play at full yason a lot of times
Speaker 1: you had that dip happens there. The other thing is
Speaker 1: just the overall sheer heart of these veterans that have
Speaker 1: that defensive mindset to like, oh, you not about to
Speaker 1: come in here and bus be up, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. That's how we used to be, like, oh,
Speaker 1: it's a rookie, not on my wives, like not today,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. You might have a good
Speaker 1: game somewhere else, but you're not about to have it.
Speaker 1: So I don't know how many dogs we have like
Speaker 1: that in the w BA. I don't know about the defense,
Speaker 1: but I know when we played like if I told Swoops,
Speaker 1: if you saw any guard that was coming in like
Speaker 1: our USA team, I could speak to probably more, but
Speaker 1: I'm like Swoops was like Swoops the defense there, Nickie McCrae,
Speaker 1: the defense like you not gonna see the light of
Speaker 1: day because we had certain people that was just defense
Speaker 1: on guards. You're not gonna have a chance, Ruthie Bolden,
Speaker 1: You're not gonna have a chance to get what you've
Speaker 1: ever gotten in college. You know we had that post.
Speaker 1: Same thing with me. It's like, no, today's is I'm
Speaker 1: about to take a whole It's a full clinic. You
Speaker 1: know my footwork, let's right underneath spind move, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: Fade away, like you can't stop all of this. So
Speaker 1: I feel like it depends on how the players in
Speaker 1: a WNBA take on that grit and that idea that
Speaker 1: you are Orkie coming in here and today you're not
Speaker 1: gonna have the kind of game that you're used to.
Speaker 1: That's going to be the biggest decision on how and
Speaker 1: if I think Kayln Clark will have major success in
Speaker 1: the WNBA. I think she will because her range is
Speaker 1: one of those things. It's just like Steph you can
Speaker 1: get on him, but the fact that his range is limitless.
Speaker 1: Not everybody can play defense starting at half court and
Speaker 1: really maintain the movement that they have and still guard
Speaker 1: them and their range. And there's the six seconds that
Speaker 1: it takes for them to get the show up late.
Speaker 1: It's not even six seconds. What is it a point?
Speaker 5: Six points? Yeah, like six tenths of a second.
Speaker 1: Second something like absolutely, you know, so, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I love it though, I'm a fan of all of this.
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see it unfold and uh yeah,
Speaker 1: so it's unfortunate Juju has stayed probably three more years.
Speaker 4: Thought, great, great for the Trojans.
Speaker 5: Yes, you just mentioned her.
Speaker 4: Kredice Parker won MVP her rookie year, which was your
Speaker 4: second to last year in the league. Seeing a young
Speaker 4: player come in and dominate on your team, on the
Speaker 4: team with you like that, What was your take on her?
Speaker 4: And like having an opportunity to play with her mentor
Speaker 4: her initially coming in, Like what was that opportunity like
Speaker 4: for you?
Speaker 1: You know what? It was so interesting because Kenneth and
Speaker 1: I have always gotten along from day one, and people
Speaker 1: always we would not get along or implied that we
Speaker 1: wouldn't get along or all these things, and I was
Speaker 1: very I was happy. I was you know, I'm motherly,
Speaker 1: so I was just trying to I think the small
Speaker 1: things that I would try to help Candis with was
Speaker 1: just her like weights. I'm like Cannis. We heard we
Speaker 1: gotta like we live waits every day. I lived waits
Speaker 1: before her pretty much every day and after games because
Speaker 1: your body is like our season is too short. It's
Speaker 1: a game, you know, it's a game every other day.
Speaker 1: You have to stay in the weight room. And then
Speaker 1: her food, you know. I used to make her oatmeal
Speaker 1: and make her stuff and like she lived. I don't
Speaker 1: know if we lived in the same building for a
Speaker 1: little while, yeah we did, so I would like make
Speaker 1: her oatmeal and just trying to, you know, be a mentor.
Speaker 1: I think more than anything else, of just to be
Speaker 1: a pro is different from college because everything is not
Speaker 1: given to you. It's like you have to start to
Speaker 1: make choices. So I think the biggest impact that I
Speaker 1: had on Candids and I guess you probably have to
Speaker 1: ask care about just trying to be more of a
Speaker 1: mentor of like this process as a rookie, you got
Speaker 1: to learn to respect everybody you know, and she's like,
Speaker 1: KENNI is hilarious. Though She's like, who's that other girl.
Speaker 1: I'm like, that's one of our teammates. And she's like,
Speaker 1: I don't understand why she's trying to tell me what
Speaker 1: to do, Like she don't even play, and I'm like, Cann,
Speaker 1: this is no baby, no you can't. It doesn't work
Speaker 1: like that. It's like she's watching us play. So she
Speaker 1: has valuable information that can be helpful to us, you know.
Speaker 1: So it's like be open to everybody. You can learn
Speaker 1: from anybody. And she's an amazing veteran and a person
Speaker 1: that I trust, Like you could you could like when
Speaker 1: I get subbed out, I would go sit, you know,
Speaker 1: and I'm asking different teamates what y'all see? Like what
Speaker 1: could I do?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 1: They like leaves you fading on your jumper or you
Speaker 1: laid on your rotation or whatever. Anything. I can't learn
Speaker 1: from anybody here, And so I think it's so important
Speaker 1: to that camaraderie is just not about the five who
Speaker 1: get to play or the starters. It's about everybody. She's
Speaker 1: an amazing leader. She's grown so much. She became so
Speaker 1: much like healthier with her eating in the weight room,
Speaker 1: staying strong and we always laughed about it. Now she
Speaker 1: was like, girl, I was a mess. I was like,
Speaker 1: I just couldn't believe her mindset of like her the teammates.
Speaker 1: But I get it that you see them here and
Speaker 1: they don't play a lot, you don't recognize that to
Speaker 1: respect their voice and that is still important. And so
Speaker 1: those are probably our early, you know, our few years.
Speaker 1: I feel like I wish we had more time together,
Speaker 1: but I had already had my daughter, and I was
Speaker 1: just the pull of motherhood was just bigger than me
Speaker 1: really trying to stay and figure out how we could
Speaker 1: just like win championships together. I had to go, you know,
Speaker 1: But I loved it. I loved it, and I love
Speaker 1: Candice absolutely.
Speaker 5: Before we get out of here, a couple more questions.
Speaker 4: Can you name the five other players UH to win
Speaker 4: the w obviously or six you're one of them? The
Speaker 4: five other players that won the w n B A
Speaker 4: m v P and the finals MVP in the same season, in.
Speaker 1: The same season, in the same season. Okay, so definitely
Speaker 1: swoops and I you for sure finals MVP and regular
Speaker 1: season m v P. Oh in regular season, did Asian
Speaker 1: Wilson win it once?
Speaker 5: Yep, you got lying. Asia is not a part of
Speaker 5: the list.
Speaker 1: That is so, what's the question? M v P and
Speaker 1: the regular season and the final.
Speaker 4: M VP in the finals, same season. Six mm hmm,
Speaker 4: you're one of the six. There's five others.
Speaker 1: Wait, there's nothing, okay, Lauren.
Speaker 5: Jackson Laurence Jackson is one m VP.
Speaker 1: Of the season and the finals. I don't think Cynthia Cooper.
Speaker 5: Did that either. Cynthia Cooper did? He did?
Speaker 1: Okay? I think Citia Cooper did. That's three. I need
Speaker 1: three more? You said not mine more?
Speaker 5: Uh, Silvia Fowles, Sylvia Files is four?
Speaker 1: How many more? I need two?
Speaker 5: Two more? Oh? Brianna Stewart, Brianna Stewart, Sylvia Files.
Speaker 1: I'm missing one? H okay, m v PC of the
Speaker 1: regular season and the Oh no, dang okay, I need
Speaker 1: to wait.
Speaker 5: Who's left Yukon as well? Another Yukon Husky? Oh no?
Speaker 5: Do absolutely? Mm hmm. I thought so.
Speaker 1: She won MVP of the regular season in the finals.
Speaker 1: I don't know how I love the I should have
Speaker 1: started with Diana. My goodness, what am I doing? It's
Speaker 1: hard to gather all the names of the.
Speaker 5: I love you.
Speaker 4: This is an interesting list, because Lauren Jackson surprised me
Speaker 4: until I took a step back and was like, I
Speaker 4: thought about how nice she was, like how she.
Speaker 1: She surprised me. Clearly that's about better with them both.
Speaker 1: So Lauren, Lauren is you know who surprised me? Wait,
Speaker 1: you said Cynthia Cooper won, she's an MVP. Okay, that's
Speaker 1: not a surprise. Sylvia foul So, Sylvia Fowls surprised me
Speaker 1: because it could have been Simon Augustine. I mean Maya Moore.
Speaker 1: That's that's what threw me off.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Lauren Jackson Manamore did not.
Speaker 4: I thought just for Lauren Jackson, like she's not she's
Speaker 4: not really spoke about in the same lane as with
Speaker 4: with with all of you greats.
Speaker 5: And you know, I actually think she was. She's incredible.
Speaker 4: But that's why it was a surprise to me, because
Speaker 4: you never hear her name come up anymore.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she should be there. She was, she was the
Speaker 1: fourth Recormence like she was nine. I should say she
Speaker 1: was a great player.
Speaker 5: Where do you rank yourself as far as the all
Speaker 5: time WMB A great skoll?
Speaker 1: You know, I never really think about those types of things.
Speaker 1: It's tough because I feel like we all did great
Speaker 1: things to contribute, you know what I mean, Like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, I look at it like we all have
Speaker 1: our errors in our time. And there was some times
Speaker 1: where I mean I was hot for you know, there's
Speaker 1: a space where I was like killing it. You know,
Speaker 1: you get like MVP of the All Star Game, and
Speaker 1: then the regular season and then the finals, and then
Speaker 1: you win the championship and do you do to get
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? Like, there was a time
Speaker 1: where I was like, you don't want to see me,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? But then it's like there's
Speaker 1: lows to it. Then I had like a hamstring injury.
Speaker 1: Then there's a year where I think Swoops and I
Speaker 1: were you know, we were battling back and forth. She
Speaker 1: won and I won. We'd win every other year, and
Speaker 1: you know, so I think it's just we we gave
Speaker 1: it our all. That's really what I could say. I
Speaker 1: gave it my all. I did the best that I
Speaker 1: could do with the resources that we had. And it's
Speaker 1: just I never think about ranking this because there's so
Speaker 1: I mean, Diana to Rosie is an amazing player. I
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to leave the country, you know without Swoop
Speaker 1: Swoops is an amazing player. I feel like I feel
Speaker 1: like they wouldn't want to leave without me, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, like to like get it done, like
Speaker 1: the level of like heart and fight that it takes
Speaker 1: and just showing up every day, whether it was practice
Speaker 1: or a game. Like there's there's not that many players,
Speaker 1: but you know what Maya Moore was was amazing and
Speaker 1: I never played with her. I don't think I've ever
Speaker 1: played on the team with Mayamore, you know, And I
Speaker 1: thought she was an outstanding player. So sometimes she gets
Speaker 1: left out of the conversation. And she left the game early,
Speaker 1: yes she did, so, I mean she was. And then
Speaker 1: Breonna Stewart in Asia Asia Wilson, I mean she on
Speaker 1: fire like she's that lefty is no joke but step
Speaker 1: back like and her motor also her defense and blocking
Speaker 1: shots like she's getting better and better, and she's I
Speaker 1: mean so naka gumaka. Like there's so many players, I
Speaker 1: feel like it's just almost disrespectful. Cynthia Cooper was unstoppable,
Speaker 1: and she was at the end of her career and unstoppable.
Speaker 1: Nobody could stop Coop, not any guards that we had
Speaker 1: out there, Like she was just a scoring machine. So
Speaker 1: I think it's kind of a I didn't even try
Speaker 1: to disrespect the players and just name you know, like
Speaker 1: my Mount Rushmore. I did that before, and I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: I don't like that.
Speaker 5: I did that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, could you leave somebody off? Everybody was really good.
Speaker 4: I respect that. Two more questions. What was it like
Speaker 4: being a star in LA at the same time. It's
Speaker 4: shocking Kobe like, y'all were kind of both teams were
Speaker 4: on those runs at the same time. You was out
Speaker 4: of this world as a star. They were out of
Speaker 4: this well, this is star.
Speaker 5: What was that like?
Speaker 1: It was great? I think maybe because one people were
Speaker 1: respecting the Lakers and the Sparks and we were like
Speaker 1: a package thing. And you know, we practiced at the
Speaker 1: same facilities, we played our games at the same facilities.
Speaker 1: The men supported us, which was you know, I was
Speaker 1: telling the WNBA when we had these conversations that our
Speaker 1: number one fan are the NBA players, And I was
Speaker 1: telling them way back then, like bro, they're come out
Speaker 1: and they support us, And we never really promote that,
Speaker 1: but the fact that they supported us so much, you
Speaker 1: know that they would like play ball. I would shoot
Speaker 1: before them. There could come in like Kobe. Obviously, we
Speaker 1: we just had so much like connection. And I think
Speaker 1: the biggest thing about being in LA is that it's
Speaker 1: about winning. And every season that we didn't win, it
Speaker 1: felt like a bust.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: Yes, that's hard to say when we only had one
Speaker 1: two championships, but I just couldn't stand it. But obviously
Speaker 1: winning MVP and other individual accolades, you know, it's great,
Speaker 1: but it was about championships in LA and just that
Speaker 1: was a highlight because we all won, especially doctor Buss
Speaker 1: was still alive.
Speaker 5: You know, we all won.
Speaker 1: Doctor Buss took the Sparks to Hawaii when it was
Speaker 1: like the Lakers preseason games, and you know, he took
Speaker 1: care of us and like celebrated. So again that goes
Speaker 1: back to that culture. You know, it's a championship culture,
Speaker 1: and so I really appreciated that. That's why I always
Speaker 1: will be there for anything that the Lakers have and
Speaker 1: supporting Jenie Bus because I appreciated how her father really
Speaker 1: created a winning culture and made us feel welcomed and
Speaker 1: supported us. And I know you guys are getting ready
Speaker 1: to get a women's team there, you know, in Golden State,
Speaker 1: and that's important that means a lot, and it doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be, you know, anything big, but it is
Speaker 1: that support is it goes a long way, and we
Speaker 1: see that and I'll never forget that. And I always
Speaker 1: loved the way the Doctor Bus made the Sparks feel
Speaker 1: and Johnny Buss and the Bus family in general just
Speaker 1: not giving us. You know, it wasn't it didn't feel
Speaker 1: like it was like this this little team that they're
Speaker 1: just investing in or a tax write off. Like he
Speaker 1: was serious, like they wanted to win championships.
Speaker 5: And I love that absolutely.
Speaker 4: And just you know, as you are as an advocate
Speaker 4: for the for the women's game, last one, what was
Speaker 4: it like seeing Steph and Sabrina with to shoot out
Speaker 4: this past weekend at All Star Weekend?
Speaker 1: I really love that, Draymond, Like I've always loved that
Speaker 1: we participated with the NBA All Star Weekend because we
Speaker 1: would come out and do the shooting. I forgot what
Speaker 1: it was called shooting stars or something. And again, Kobe
Speaker 1: and myself in Magic was we were serious. We came
Speaker 1: out there, we won a few years and we had
Speaker 1: some huge trophy like so I think again it's the
Speaker 1: opportunity for the fans to recognize the WNBA and see
Speaker 1: that hey we're here. You know, we're a part of this.
Speaker 1: You know, we were trying to make our way. But
Speaker 1: what happened with Stephan Sabrina was like that was like
Speaker 1: the stamp of like bro, the fact that she came
Speaker 1: out first of all they were sitting around forever. I
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, this could either go really
Speaker 1: well or this can go bad, just because you know
Speaker 1: how hard it is, just like shooting, not get a
Speaker 1: full warm up, like, bro, you got fifteen seconds, Like
Speaker 1: it's impossible. It's impossible. She came out and shot the
Speaker 1: heck out of that ball from the NBA line, like
Speaker 1: and she it was smooth too. It's not forced. You know,
Speaker 1: she don't have like a hitchy shot, like a shot
Speaker 1: look beautiful. And I was just like she was like,
Speaker 1: go in you. I wanted her to make every shot.
Speaker 1: So the fact that she got the twenty six I
Speaker 1: was telling my husband, I said, you know what's crazy.
Speaker 1: She's not just shooting against stuff. She's really shooting against
Speaker 1: the whole three point contest because no matter what her
Speaker 1: number is, you're gonna compare it to all of those men,
Speaker 1: not just.
Speaker 5: Step exactly exactly what happened.
Speaker 1: She hit twenty six. I'm like, OK, I was just
Speaker 1: you know how you kind of like low key praying,
Speaker 1: like girl, are you just I'm pulling for her because
Speaker 1: she's representing us all and the fact that she hit
Speaker 1: twenty six, I'm like, that's solid, bro. She put a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure on Step one, but she just tied
Speaker 1: the dame who just won with twenty six. Like that
Speaker 1: meant a lot. It really meant a lot. I was
Speaker 1: so proud and I love that you guys, And I
Speaker 1: say you Steph like just affected you, you know code
Speaker 1: just affected. You guys are like verbally so supportive of us.
Speaker 1: It really means the world. I don't know if the
Speaker 1: players that are like these young players now if they
Speaker 1: recognize the importance of it. Maybe they do, maybe they don't,
Speaker 1: but I certainly do. It doesn't go unnoticed because it's
Speaker 1: validation for our hard work, you know, in the same
Speaker 1: hours of just the grind of getting up, shooting balls,
Speaker 1: running on the track, lifting weights, the blood, sweat, tears,
Speaker 1: that it takes, the sacrifice from your family, missing holidays,
Speaker 1: Like it's all the same. The game is not that
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to say our game is all the
Speaker 1: same all that, but I'm just saying it's the same
Speaker 1: level of sacrifice in terms of your time as an individual,
Speaker 1: just trying to give everything you can to this sport,
Speaker 1: to hone your craft. And so with that, to have
Speaker 1: you guys like really be so supportive, to see Sabrina
Speaker 1: out there and to score twenty six points, it was
Speaker 1: like so solid, so amazing. And then I thought it
Speaker 1: was also great that Steph won, though, because he really
Speaker 1: is the greatest shooter that we've ever seen, like ever,
Speaker 1: And I don't like the fact that people like just
Speaker 1: can't say that, like Bro, nobody ever has shot the
Speaker 1: ball as great as that man shoots the ball consistently
Speaker 1: across this game for years, nobody, And I just I
Speaker 1: don't like that we don't give people they flowers, like
Speaker 1: the way that they deserve sometime. And I actually was
Speaker 1: happy that he was able to win because it's like
Speaker 1: Bro's he's the key, but she shot that ball.
Speaker 5: I was great.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I'm so long with it, but I
Speaker 1: was so excited. I was very very happy. I'm so proud.
Speaker 1: I feel like that that mom is just like looking
Speaker 1: and watching the game grow and I'm like, yes, represent,
Speaker 1: I'm supportive.
Speaker 5: I love it. No, it was huge.
Speaker 4: I had the opportunity to be there and watch it
Speaker 4: happen live. It's incredible. The reception from everybody was great.
Speaker 4: To your point, I thought it was great for Stuff
Speaker 4: to win. I thought it was great for her to
Speaker 4: have the performance that she had, and it's really just
Speaker 4: showing the growth. And then speaking of Flowers, we are
Speaker 4: honored to have you on the show. All time great.
Speaker 4: You get your flowers here anytime.
Speaker 5: We love you.
Speaker 4: We thank you for what you've meant to the game
Speaker 4: of basketball, not to the WNBA, what you've meant to
Speaker 4: the game of basketball. I don't think people just talk
Speaker 4: about you when they talk about the WNBA. You are
Speaker 4: all time great in the game of basketball. I thank
Speaker 4: you for coming on The Draymond Green Show. You are
Speaker 4: welcome anytime anytime you want to come here. You got
Speaker 4: something you need to get off your chest, you come
Speaker 4: on and I will see you and your family at
Speaker 4: the game when we play in Miami.
Speaker 1: Okay, it sounds good. Thank you, Draymond, and I really
Speaker 1: do appreciate you taking the time to talk with me,
Speaker 1: and I really appreciate your support of the women's game,
Speaker 1: and are you a girl dad too?
Speaker 5: I have three girls, three girls, one boy.
Speaker 1: So when that commercial, is that your real daughter or no?
Speaker 5: Yes it is.
Speaker 1: It is beautiful.
Speaker 5: Absolutely, she is amazing. She's the oldest. She's nine.
Speaker 4: My son is seven. And I have a three year
Speaker 4: old daughter and a three month old and my nine
Speaker 4: year old. And I'll say this because I think it
Speaker 4: needs to be more and more normalized. So my nine
Speaker 4: year old ist is my wife's daughter from a past relationship. However,
Speaker 4: that couldn't be more of my daughter. Her dad is
Speaker 4: in her life. Her dad is incredible. We have a
Speaker 4: great relationship, which I can appreciate because that's not always
Speaker 4: the case. And I think that needs to be more.
Speaker 4: Like I talk to him just as much as as
Speaker 4: my wife and him talk, you know, And it's like,
Speaker 4: I think that needs to be more normal. I think
Speaker 4: like it's lost so often when like relationships fail and
Speaker 4: then it comes in between the kids and the relationship
Speaker 4: and the parents.
Speaker 5: It's not that at all. So like that's my baby,
Speaker 5: like as if as the other three are.
Speaker 1: And now I appreciate that I have a blended family too.
Speaker 1: So my husband has to have two bonus daughters that
Speaker 1: are older now. I think we got married there like
Speaker 1: nine and eleven, So I appreciate that because it's the
Speaker 1: thing is that they're gaining a parent. You know, you're
Speaker 1: not losing anything. And then that communication, and again it
Speaker 1: goes comes down to maturity. You know, you're being mature
Speaker 1: enough to say, hey, this child is here and we
Speaker 1: all love her, so how can we all be the
Speaker 1: best you know, co parent And that's awesome. Dremn. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's awesome. Thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 4: Absolutely absolutely no, thank you for coming on the show.
Speaker 4: I appreciate you as always