Speaker 1: Welcome into NBA Pulster production of I Heart Radio in
Speaker 1: the NBA. I'm sarahcu Stock, NBA analyst for the S Network.
Speaker 1: Today is Friday, January six. I got a special guest
Speaker 1: here today with me friend colleague TikTok Sensation Hush TV
Speaker 1: star in seventeen year NBA vet Richard Jefferson. Rich thanks
Speaker 1: for joining. I know you've got a busy schedule, so
Speaker 1: thanks for taking a little time. Everybody. Let me just
Speaker 1: like set set the stage. Um, we're closed to be
Speaker 1: on about twenty minutes ago, and I decided, I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my my charge my laptops not art because that's
Speaker 1: the only thing I've ever used in the laptop four
Speaker 1: it's presumes and then it closes back up, it closes
Speaker 1: back up. I don't do word, I don't do excel.
Speaker 1: I've never like written an actual email that's not on
Speaker 1: my phone. So I apologize to the to the crew.
Speaker 1: I love you guys. Let's get started. You I called
Speaker 1: you a TV star, but you should know the best
Speaker 1: content is normally at the top of the show. And
Speaker 1: thanks thanks for kicking off kicking off our show with
Speaker 1: that context. Um in all sincerity. Yesterday the first fan
Speaker 1: returns of the voting for the NBA All Star came out,
Speaker 1: and it up the top a lot of the player
Speaker 1: you played against, a lot of players, you have been
Speaker 1: teammates of a lot of players. But no surprise, Lebron
Speaker 1: James was the top vote getter for the West. Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant in the East, the top Garden the West, Steph Curry,
Speaker 1: top guard in the East, Kyrie Irving. I want to
Speaker 1: start with Lebron James. Um a lot to look into
Speaker 1: with him. He is just under five points UM from
Speaker 1: passing Kareem Abdul Jabbar for the all time scoring record.
Speaker 1: When you think about Lebron this season, uh, it's now
Speaker 1: his twentieth season, thirty eight years old. Where the Lakers
Speaker 1: sit right now put in context your view of where
Speaker 1: things sit for Lebron. I think one of the biggest
Speaker 1: misconceptions is that Braun went to l A to like
Speaker 1: like go out to greener pastures and just like to
Speaker 1: kind of like ease into retirement and to oh, he
Speaker 1: won a championships. Like We've watched Lebron now for over
Speaker 1: twenty years, and one of the things that we watched
Speaker 1: is how competitive he is and consistently is like greatness
Speaker 1: is He's one of those people that are I truly
Speaker 1: believe are cursed with greatness. Like that's all he wants, right,
Speaker 1: It's that's what he's obsessed about. And so to see
Speaker 1: this season kind of go you understand one season. You
Speaker 1: understand one season like hey, injuries, this and that. But
Speaker 1: I think to see the the you know, we've talked
Speaker 1: about the lack of shooting, the lack of roster construction,
Speaker 1: but it was just like basically last year was watched.
Speaker 1: This year they've kind of gone into it. Uh, the
Speaker 1: Laker organization is like, hey, we're gonna wait and see, Well,
Speaker 1: Lebron James not want to wait and see kind of
Speaker 1: timetable and he showing that. He is showing that, Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go out here and go thirty every single night.
Speaker 1: No A d I got you. Of course he gets
Speaker 1: up mcbroject, I'm gonna do the best I can. And
Speaker 1: so watching Braun, there's a level of respect that I
Speaker 1: have that even when on one of probably the worst
Speaker 1: constructive teams that he's been on, he's still going out
Speaker 1: there and being great like not not good, not strong,
Speaker 1: not consistent, He's going out there being great games, gets
Speaker 1: three hawks and knocked it down. Uh, it's a compliment
Speaker 1: to him. And it's just it's just tough to watch
Speaker 1: this the construction of this team really dictating people, but
Speaker 1: old Bron has done. It's like, no, Bron just doesn't
Speaker 1: have the caliber of players that he's normally had on
Speaker 1: his team for the last like fifteen years. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: it's been extraordinary to watch the different iterations of teams
Speaker 1: he's been on his level of greatness. Um, you mentioned
Speaker 1: what he's doing this season, twenty nine points, seven and
Speaker 1: a half, free abound seven a half. Syste numbers are there.
Speaker 1: As I mentioned, he's probably I mean, if if you
Speaker 1: go by those averages fifteen sixteen, seventeen games away from
Speaker 1: passing uh passing Kareem, how do you view Lebron's at
Speaker 1: this point. There's still more to more to play, but
Speaker 1: his legacy in his place in NBA history, Well, look,
Speaker 1: he's been the most dominant player of this air. His
Speaker 1: stats will be the greatest that the NBA has ever seen.
Speaker 1: I think the one critique that you might have of them,
Speaker 1: if we're just going to take out what your personal
Speaker 1: feelings are about him, Uh, I think would be the
Speaker 1: critique would be like did he win enough championship to
Speaker 1: be considered the greatest of all time? And you know,
Speaker 1: my favorite thing is that as the league has grown,
Speaker 1: as the league has expanded, as the game has expanded,
Speaker 1: I think dominance is very very similar when you look
Speaker 1: at Bill Russell's eleven, when you look at Kareem. When
Speaker 1: I think Kareem has six championships, Magic's five championships, Jordan's six,
Speaker 1: and then Kobe had five, bron Steph have four. Like
Speaker 1: to me that that you know, it could go either
Speaker 1: way with with with the winning that these guys have done.
Speaker 1: So when I look at like where he stands, it's
Speaker 1: you can make an argument for one to three, four, whatever,
Speaker 1: whatever your favorite player are. Some people have Kobe as
Speaker 1: as their favorite player. I will say this, you know,
Speaker 1: just so it's not lost, Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the
Speaker 1: greatest basketball player or has had the greatest basketball career,
Speaker 1: didn't lose a game in high school, three national championships,
Speaker 1: all time leading scorer. You know, he's got all the things.
Speaker 1: I know, Braun didn't go to college, But I think
Speaker 1: if you look at current day modern basketball and the last,
Speaker 1: let's say for the nineties on. I don't think we've
Speaker 1: seen a player be as great for as long as
Speaker 1: we've seen Lebron James and so however you want to
Speaker 1: however people would like to to put that into their
Speaker 1: goat conversation. Um, you know, that's up to them, real,
Speaker 1: real quick, because I want to get to Kevin obviously.
Speaker 1: I want to get to steph Um. What was Lebron
Speaker 1: like as a teammate during the finals and during a
Speaker 1: post and not just I understand a teammate in the
Speaker 1: regular season, but you guys won a championship together. How
Speaker 1: would you describe what he was like as a teammate
Speaker 1: during that stretch. That's over. That's over. Clayland is a
Speaker 1: city of champions once again. The Cavaliers are NBA champions.
Speaker 1: Now there's there's I have never seen in my seventeen years.
Speaker 1: And I stand by this plan. With Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Um,
Speaker 1: your Kich I played with, uh, Tim duncan Tone, all
Speaker 1: the guys are dirt. I've never seen a single player
Speaker 1: take on more responsibility right never. As far as I'm
Speaker 1: gonna score, I'm gonna get tennissists, I'm gonna rebound. He's
Speaker 1: not the same defender he wants to was right, because
Speaker 1: obviously he's damn near forty. But I've never seen a
Speaker 1: player take on more mental emotional responsibility. I know there
Speaker 1: was that clip of him a few years ago. I
Speaker 1: think they were playing against Boston, Like what happened there
Speaker 1: in that third quarter when they went on the run
Speaker 1: and then he just dialed He's like, well, then this happened,
Speaker 1: Then this happened, then this happened, and then they did
Speaker 1: this blah blah blah, and it was like everyone was
Speaker 1: like this dude just reiterated back are are just kind
Speaker 1: of went back and gave us the last like eight
Speaker 1: plays of the third quarter that was an hour and
Speaker 1: a half ago. What happened, Um, We ran him the
Speaker 1: first possession, We ran him down all the way to
Speaker 1: two on the shot clock. Marcus Morris miss a jump shot,
Speaker 1: followed it up, he got it, They got a dunk.
Speaker 1: We came back down. We ran a step for Jordan Crawford,
Speaker 1: I mean Jordan Clarkson, and he came off and missed it.
Speaker 1: They rebounded it. Um, and we came back on the
Speaker 1: defensive end and we got to stop they took it
Speaker 1: on the sideline. Jayson Tatum took the ball out through
Speaker 1: the Marcus Smart in the short corner. He made it three.
Speaker 1: We come back down, miss another shot, and then Um
Speaker 1: Tatum came down and went did a your old step
Speaker 1: and made a right hand lay up. Time out there
Speaker 1: you go. And it's like no, no, no, His basketball,
Speaker 1: like Q was on some prodigy level. Right. We all
Speaker 1: are a little arrogant, we all stick out our chest
Speaker 1: about and so as a leader, you have full like
Speaker 1: you give up the reins. You're like, bro, just tell
Speaker 1: me what you need me to do. He's like, Richard,
Speaker 1: I need to make sure you're doing this, this, this,
Speaker 1: And I'm like, boom, got you because it's been clear
Speaker 1: and concise. Um. He is a very like he's an
Speaker 1: emotional leader. You know, he wears his emotions on the sleeve.
Speaker 1: But there's not many people that I've ever seen give
Speaker 1: the amount that he has given on a personal level,
Speaker 1: on a physical level, emotional and men to level to
Speaker 1: the game of basketball. And that's I didn't play with Kobe,
Speaker 1: I didn't play with m J. I can't compare those guys,
Speaker 1: but I've never seen anything like it. Beautiful beautiful. It's
Speaker 1: been a gift to be able to watch him and
Speaker 1: still watch him. Uh, player that you've spent a lot
Speaker 1: of time playing against Kevin Durant one of the greats
Speaker 1: this season. I mean we get to sit next to
Speaker 1: each other up close watching him just do masterful things. Um.
Speaker 1: First off, what was he like to guard? I'll never forget.
Speaker 1: And even I did an interview many many by three
Speaker 1: or four years ago. Uh, he walked Me and j
Speaker 1: Kid were kind of sitting there and then I think
Speaker 1: it was Kate Katie's rookie year and he says he
Speaker 1: remembers this. Uh he walked in and I'm six seven,
Speaker 1: you know, he walked into the court and I looked
Speaker 1: up and I go, oh, this is gonna be a problem,
Speaker 1: right because he was like even then we I was twenty.
Speaker 1: I want to say, I was like maybe when he
Speaker 1: came into the league, never seen anything like it. His
Speaker 1: skill set, it's just so unique. He's so special. Um.
Speaker 1: And what I like about superstars in the league, they're
Speaker 1: all so different. They all embodied the same the same
Speaker 1: like really terrible space where it's like their talent and
Speaker 1: their gift is a blessing, but like the responsibility that
Speaker 1: comes with that, and the attention and the pressure and
Speaker 1: the media scrutiny and all that stuff that parts a curse.
Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant, he has been just like Lebron James,
Speaker 1: just every single year delivering his scoring. He's efficient, there's
Speaker 1: no way to guard him. And we talked We've talked
Speaker 1: about it probably for the last like ten twelve years,
Speaker 1: but he just feels like he's getting better his knowledge
Speaker 1: of the game. He's still such a defensive force. Um.
Speaker 1: I just looking at the longevity of his prime and
Speaker 1: sometimes that gets that gets kind of drowned out because
Speaker 1: we're looking at Lebron uh and you know, they've been
Speaker 1: paired so many times. But Kevin Durant, I don't know
Speaker 1: if we're gonna see a player like him. And I've
Speaker 1: been really enjoying watching his growth and maturity. And I
Speaker 1: love even through all the chaos, because that's what great
Speaker 1: players can do. Great players can calm the chaos. Fifty
Speaker 1: one for Kevin Durant. Kail. Once they got their team back,
Speaker 1: once they started getting healthy, the nets just went on
Speaker 1: a run and everyone's like, why aren't they talking about
Speaker 1: It's like, well, damn, this is what they should be doing.
Speaker 1: They've got all the shooting, they've got all the talent,
Speaker 1: and and you know, the coaching change, I don't think
Speaker 1: you know, people talk about Boston and Jayson Tatum and
Speaker 1: and the the what they've done with their coaching change
Speaker 1: in the middle of the season, and they want to
Speaker 1: give them credit, and how, well, what what Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: and and Kyrie Irving what the Nets have done in
Speaker 1: the middle of a coaching change, and then get going.
Speaker 1: It's it's been special to watch. And so sometimes leaders
Speaker 1: leaders aren't always vocal. They do it by their approach,
Speaker 1: and he is definitely an approach leader that you just
Speaker 1: have to respect. Yeah, and and you mentioned it. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's wild to think he's coming off that Achilles tear
Speaker 1: from UM and at age thirty fifteenth year, the not
Speaker 1: only the numbers he's putting up this season, but the
Speaker 1: efficiency of which he's doing it. To the Nets at
Speaker 1: a twelve game win streak just snapped in their loss
Speaker 1: to Chicago. But when you I mean you played for
Speaker 1: the Nets, you spent how many seven years with the
Speaker 1: New Jersey Nets, something along those lines. In the draft, um,
Speaker 1: but to think about potentially this group, and you said,
Speaker 1: if the pieces are healthy and together, they have the
Speaker 1: potential to make a run to the finals. Um, what
Speaker 1: would that do for Kevin Durant in in just that group,
Speaker 1: this group, considering the way things began this season, Well,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't even you know, you'd probably go back a
Speaker 1: few years, you know, a few years this this stretch
Speaker 1: of nets basketball. So what would it mean for them?
Speaker 1: For this stretched at him and Kyrie have embarked on
Speaker 1: and you know, going to Brooklyn starting, you know that
Speaker 1: this momentum of trying to win a championship. Look, you're
Speaker 1: for nothing's like your first championship, nothing's like your first.
Speaker 1: But I will go and say that whatever championship Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant wins, if he is the finals MVP, if you
Speaker 1: know what, that would be the most important one of
Speaker 1: his career in my humble opinion. And it's not to
Speaker 1: demean the other two, but Steph won three championships and
Speaker 1: this is the one that they won this year is
Speaker 1: the one that everyone points to. And even Steph was like,
Speaker 1: what will they say now? Right? What are they gonna
Speaker 1: say now? Because He's like, oh, well, you had Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant and oh, you know, you guys won that one early.
Speaker 1: But the fact that he's persevered, he is stuck with
Speaker 1: it and won that championship. I think for Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: very similar to the Lebron in Cleveland. Like he went
Speaker 1: to Miami and everyone's like, yeah, you guys won some
Speaker 1: championships in Miami, but when he won that one in Cleveland,
Speaker 1: it was like, okay, right, you know what, we got
Speaker 1: nothing else to say. I think if Kevin Durant is
Speaker 1: able to win a championship in Brooklyn or in the
Speaker 1: next few years, I think that's the one you're gonna
Speaker 1: point to. You're gonna be like, Okay, that's the one
Speaker 1: that was a little bit different that we can like
Speaker 1: compare to other greats that you grinded, you went through
Speaker 1: all the things, and you were able to win a
Speaker 1: championship probably the most difficult way. And we already know
Speaker 1: he's a top ten player, top twelve player, whatever you
Speaker 1: want all time, but you know that next championship would
Speaker 1: be the one that would I think boost him up
Speaker 1: the most. We're taking a quick break. Coming up, we're
Speaker 1: gonna talk about the most recent recent finals. MVP Richard
Speaker 1: Richards got us Roland talking about Steph Let's welcome back
Speaker 1: to NBA paulse Saracustack joined by NBA Champion. I said
Speaker 1: it earlier, TikTok sensation. I feel like that's about that's
Speaker 1: about to be your calling card. I'm not on TikTok,
Speaker 1: but Richard Jefferson, Oh, Steph Curry, Yes, I want to
Speaker 1: talk about stuff because game changer, fascinating career, uh right
Speaker 1: now in his fourteenth year. And I almost I almost
Speaker 1: slightly forgot you were. I was thinking about asking you
Speaker 1: playing against him. Obviously you in the Cleveland Cavaliers, your
Speaker 1: teammates Lebron James, you know, a couple of Kyrie Irving,
Speaker 1: a couple of those guys helping along with that in
Speaker 1: but you were a teammate of steps and what his
Speaker 1: like third and fourth year in the league or Golden State,
Speaker 1: the year he first broke the three point record, the
Speaker 1: year he broke the single season record. That was my
Speaker 1: year with them. That was the year went to the playoffs,
Speaker 1: lost in the second round. But that's when Mark Jackson
Speaker 1: said they were the greatest shooting backcourt of all time.
Speaker 1: And literally because the world hadn't really seen in everyone
Speaker 1: was like, oh, you know, but there's and it was
Speaker 1: like anybody that was on that that that team, the
Speaker 1: Warriors team, like I sat back with at that year
Speaker 1: at time, I was like year twelve, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I've never seen two shooters do what these two can do.
Speaker 1: Like and again it continued to evolve because I was there.
Speaker 1: My first year was Clay's rookie year, and then the
Speaker 1: next year they brought in Harrison Barnes, Draymond camp Bay's more.
Speaker 1: So you could see them building, and Steph signed his
Speaker 1: extension and he broke that three point record, and Steph
Speaker 1: is amazing, like like everything that you guys see, like
Speaker 1: Steph is one of those just like too nice to
Speaker 1: be like, too nice to be true. Now people forget
Speaker 1: about his dark competitive side because he definitely has one.
Speaker 1: Like all the greats that I've ever seen, they have
Speaker 1: a darkness about their competitiveness because it's it just drives
Speaker 1: him and motivates them. But what he's able to do
Speaker 1: on a night in, night out, basis even his efficiency
Speaker 1: from deep and range. Here's Curry for the record. Step
Speaker 1: the old time. We're so blessed to see so many
Speaker 1: players doing things that we have never seen before, and
Speaker 1: Staff falls in that category completely. You watched him early
Speaker 1: in his career, but in particular this season in last year.
Speaker 1: Um what surprised you most about the level that he
Speaker 1: was able to reach and obviously helping that Golden State
Speaker 1: team get back to another championship. Most is just pouring out.
Speaker 1: It might be his fourth, but it means so much
Speaker 1: and that'll do it. It's over the Golden State, Oria's
Speaker 1: return to a familiar place. They're on top of the
Speaker 1: NBA world. The fourth title of eight years is still
Speaker 1: very much alive. Well, I think the hardest thing to
Speaker 1: do is retool your game and your ability based off
Speaker 1: of what your team needs. And great players can do that. Um,
Speaker 1: I know we talked about Lebron James winning a championship
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, in Miami, in l A. Well, his teammates
Speaker 1: were very different. There was was a construct there, but
Speaker 1: they're the teammates were for so for step to win
Speaker 1: a championship in fifteen sixteen with a very unique group
Speaker 1: of guys who were him and Clay and the team.
Speaker 1: Then they go to like a super team with Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant and and now it's like Clay and him are
Speaker 1: in their peak and prime. Now they have some time
Speaker 1: to break away and their team is not very good,
Speaker 1: so they retool the team again. Clay is probably eighty
Speaker 1: percent of himself. They help, He helps develop Jordan's pool
Speaker 1: and the work and so to see the evolution that
Speaker 1: step is able to do. Uh, it's just it's so special.
Speaker 1: It's like you say, like you put step on a team,
Speaker 1: you give him the right pieces, you can win a championship.
Speaker 1: That's what last year told me is that you can
Speaker 1: always build around step If Steph is at his peak
Speaker 1: and he still is. You mentioned peak, Lebron, Kevin Durant, Steph.
Speaker 1: You could pick one at their ultimate peak. Who are picking?
Speaker 1: Oh this this is no disrespect, but it's Lebron James
Speaker 1: just because of his size, his passing ability, right, his
Speaker 1: passing ability is key because he gives you twenty five
Speaker 1: and he'll give you ten assists, So that means like
Speaker 1: he's going to be responsible for you know, of the
Speaker 1: scoring that's going to go on um if not more.
Speaker 1: But you know that that's not to to take away
Speaker 1: from any of them. But I don't think we've ever
Speaker 1: seen a player and like be able to do all
Speaker 1: the things at the level that he's been able to do. Um,
Speaker 1: so yeah, I'd have to ride with him with Lebro
Speaker 1: Richard Jefferson, Thank you for your time. Join us again
Speaker 1: on Monday, when shall Sean Powell is with me to
Speaker 1: talk about all the big news of the weekend and
Speaker 1: be a pulse with Syracuse. Stock is a production of
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