WEBVTT - Sean Elliott 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:05.880 Welcome to the Sports Bubble, a production of I Heart 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:14.120 Radio Entree Fork Media. My name is Jensen Carp and 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:16.800 I'm a sports fan, and yes we've hit some roadbumps, 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:18.919 but here we are in August with MLB, n h 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:22.480 L and NBA games on TV, MLS set with their semifinals, 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:25.720 UFC events, NASCAR races, p g A, and Pro wrestling 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.320 all moving along. This is hands down the busiest August 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:31.760 in sports history. Sure we thought Yo n s A 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.479 Spatus was dead for about twenty minutes, and Terrence Davis 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.400 is walking around the Disney World bubble with a hole 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:38.960 in his mask as a political statement. But for now 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.560 we're k I T keeping it together with Scotch tape 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.199 and some Elmer's glue. And I know this because I'm 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.280 still interviewing athletes and sports industry professionals to find out 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:51.240 how they're doing during this very weird time, because someone 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.320 has to. This is the Sports Bubble with Jensen Carp. 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.560 Sean Elliott is the perfect athlete to talk to in 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.160 twenty twenty. He knows firsthand what it's like to do 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.600 two very relevant things. One win a championship during a 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.800 short and somewhat criticized season and to play the game 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.240 of basketball while juggling the extreme fear of getting sick 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:13.800 and dying. So I couldn't be happier about having this 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:16.000 chat with the former member of the San Antonio Spurs 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:18.559 and one of the greatest modern day college basketball players 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:20.720 to step on the court. He was a two time 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:23.080 All American and would an award winner at the University 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.920 of Arizona, where he broke llewell Senders all time pack 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.960 ten career scoring record and still holds the school's record 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.040 for most points. He was the number three pick in 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.240 the NBA Draft, where he was a two time All 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.800 Star and was an essential member of the NBA championship 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:39.360 Spurs in a season that got a late start thanks 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.119 to a players strike. Go ahead and google Memorial Day 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.840 Miracle to see his truly insane buzzer beater against the 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.840 Portland Trailblazers, and keep in mind he did all this 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:51.000 while battling a crippling kidney disease, something that got worse 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:54.000 every year, while somehow his stats got better. It wasn't 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.320 until late in his twelve year NBA career that he 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:58.560 finally slowed down and his ailment caught up with him, 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:01.680 and that's only because he needed a kidney transplant, something 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.520 he miraculously recovered from fast enough to join the Spurs 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:06.800 for two more seasons, one where they had the best 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:09.799 record in the league. The dude knows hardship and he's 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.119 an inspiration. During these times. We talked about his health struggles, 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.600 the difficulties with announcing from home, and his terrifying experiences 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.720 with racism growing up and playing in Arizona. Today, it's 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.360 a candid talk with Sean Elliott in the sports book 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:36.240 from Sean Elliott to accept Press one. Well, I wanted 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.200 to start off by saying, you know, because people obviously 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:42.119 are at like varying degrees of going outside these days, 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:43.799 so I want to know where you've been laying low 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.120 and staying safe these last few months. For me, I've 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:51.040 been laying low at the house. Honestly, I've been really 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:55.080 careful about who I've come in contact with for the 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.600 first four months or so of quarantine. I mean, I 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:00.640 know we're around the four months five month period, I 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:04.400 went into maybe one or two other buildings besides my 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.040 my house. Uh, and I wore a mask when I 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.880 was going in, so most I've done is walk the 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.440 dogs around the neighborhood. I'm not trying to go into 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:18.200 any type of public places. I'm considered a high high 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:20.880 risk because of my kidney transplant that I had ninety nine, 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:26.320 So I take immuneal uh suppressing drugs every day, and 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.120 so my doctor's basically it told me just to you know, 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:31.320 keep my distance and be smart and be aware of 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:33.639 my surroundings. Yeah, I mean I was going to get 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.600 into that obviously, with quarantining in a high risk situation, 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:41.000 like for you, you don't listen to sort of what 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:43.400 other people are suggesting. You have to go at it 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.080 with a completely different set of protections. I mean, my 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.760 wife and I uh don't have any pre existing conditions 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:51.520 and still find ourselves like, why do I need to 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.040 go sit in a restaurant? For you, it's a completely 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.640 different fear. Yeah. No, I haven't sat in a restaurant 0:03:56.680 --> 0:04:00.760 since March eleventh, And that was the day that the 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.480 NBA season was suspended, And so we were actually sitting 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.200 down at dinner and it started, you know, the tweets 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.920 or Twitter started going crazy, and we saw that the 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:12.880 NBA season was canceled. You know, we go home and 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:14.760 a few days later. We're kind of in lockdown. So 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.679 I haven't been in a restaurant again, I mean since 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:23.359 since that day. So I can't afford the risk to 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.839 put myself in a situation where, you know, people are 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:27.640 three or four feet away from me and I end 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.440 up being sick. Yeah. Absolutely, I did want to talk 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:32.599 to you a little bit about your battle with kidney disease, 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.440 which I know you celebrated recently. Congratulations a twenty year 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.000 anniversary of the procedure last year. I believe, while doing research, 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:41.200 it was insane for me to think about the pain 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:45.039 and discomfort you had during your basketball career, especially in 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.840 the nine season with the Memorial Day miracle. I mean, 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.280 how were you able to play with this stuff going on? 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.000 I mean that's such a basic question, but you were 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:55.520 an All Star and a champion and you were kind 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:57.719 of weeks away from needing surgery. Did did you not 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.839 feel that kind of horrific you know, kidney pain? Yeah? Well, 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:07.159 you know, my whole sauga started way back in season 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:11.000 where I had an injury and my back was really 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.919 hurting and bothering me for the second half of that season, 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.599 and I was taking a lot of nonsteroidal anti inflammatory. 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.159 At the time, I was taking everything under the sun, 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.840 even taking a drug. Now that's outlawed. You can't even 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.719 give it to people anymore. And so, uh, you know, 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.000 I was doing whatever I could to play during that season. 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:32.480 And it was after that season that my kidney disease 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:36.120 was discovered. But I did have at that point, I 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:39.479 did have a lot of pain my mid section. Everybody 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.120 thought it was back spasms and that's how it was treated. 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.240 Then later on that summer was you know, again my 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.479 kidney disease was discovered. But you know, I played with 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:53.239 elevated creatning, which is uh indication of your kidney function. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.520 I played with elevated crattening for the rest of my career, 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.839 so the last seven years. And so there were time 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:04.400 many times, especially when I was in Detroit, I had 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:08.680 just come off of two months of high doses of 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:12.120 prestic zone therapy, which really weeks havoc on your body. 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:14.640 And many times when I come up that like when 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.280 I was going to walk into half court to start 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.680 the game, I would feel like my legs were water balloons. 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.880 I had so much watery tension in my body and 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:25.880 in my hands, and as the game progressed that a 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.480 little bit of that would go away. But you can 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:32.040 see after Jensen, like, you know, everybody gets taked up 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.080 before the game around your ankles, and so when I 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:38.279 would cut the tape off at the bottom where my 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.440 ankles were, it looked like I used to call it 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:44.360 a pirate's leg my calf, you know, my eyes and 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.400 my calf would be swollen. And then where my ankles 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.920 were taped, it was incredibly skinny, like it stopped the fluid. 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.279 So I'm running down into my ankle and my feet. 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:57.800 So it was something that I played with four pretty 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.160 much over a twelve year career. I played with any 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.760 disease for seven or so for a majority of my career. 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.400 Unbelievable the statistics you were able to put up with that. 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:07.400 I mean, did your did your teammates know that you 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.200 were battling this stuff. I think people started to find 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:13.400 out after I had sailed my physical when I tried 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.280 to get traded from Detroit to Houston. When I failed 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.480 that physical, h then you know, it became pretty public 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.720 knowledge that there was something going on with me, and 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:26.480 players didn't quite know that. They thought, well, I had 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:28.480 something going on with my kidneys. But you know, no 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.800 one really knew to what extent, and even at that point, Jensen, 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.280 I didn't know because my diagnosis early on was something 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:39.000 called minimal change disease, and that meant they went in 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.000 I had a kidney biopsy. They went in and they 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:43.560 take out a piece of your kidney and then looking 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:45.720 at it under a microscope, and they had minimal change. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.880 But later on the disease was actually it was early 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.640 signs of vocal scurosis. And so later on when the 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:56.840 disease started to really ramp up and really start to 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:00.760 damage my kidneys, then it became apparent what was really 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.240 wrong with me. Well, I'm so happy to talk to 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:04.960 you because no one knows what it's like to play 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.280 through adversity more than you. So let's talk about the 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.160 NBA bubble. We have a few games under our belt now. 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.560 The process seems to be working against coronavirus. What are 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:16.600 your thoughts about what you've seen so far? Oh? Wait, man, 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.480 there's been a lot of positive signs. I gotta tell 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.800 you a lot of things that really made me feel 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:24.640 proud to be an NBA long of obviously a former 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.720 player and the member of the Spurs, organization. First off, 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.320 I mean the fact that the NBA is leading the 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.440 way when it comes to all sports leagues. They've been 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:38.520 extremely conscious of the players, of the fans, of personnel. 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:43.000 They've done a first class job of presenting the games, 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:47.240 protecting everybody involved. I wasn't sure how they'd be able 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:49.880 to pull it off. One of my main concerns was, 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:54.120 how do you actually play games without fans? Fans matter. 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.319 Fans to me are there everything, and you can put 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.920 the fans in the stands. They provide the environment to 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.559 give players adrenaline and a huge boost for the home team. 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.080 You know, three fans mean everything, and so how are 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.240 you going to pull off you know, the same type 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.560 of excitement without those people in the stands. And they 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.439 the way they stage the games, the way they're they're shot. 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.560 I think they've done a treminute job. Even you know, 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.840 piping in fake crowd noise, it actually actually works. You know, 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.599 we've called three games so far and they've been a 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.920 lot of fun. We've you know, the games have been exciting. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:28.360 I think the fans are enjoying the product, and so 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.520 in that regard, I think the NBA has a huge 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:33.560 feather in the cap especially if they can get all 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.520 the way to the finals and actually pull this thing off. 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.880 And and the other part that I'm just extremely proud 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.400 of is the way that they've helped push along the 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:45.400 social justice issues. They didn't censor their players. In a 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:49.360 matter of fact, they encourage their freedom of speech. They 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.320 enhanced the guy's platforms, and and and the and the 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:56.440 players have been to me, they've been very responsible with 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.320 their message, and they've been tolerant. I mean I said 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.040 last night or telecast the players right now that they 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:07.200 said of a great example for society. You know, they 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:11.080 have guys that stand for the national anthem, and you 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.920 have guys that neil for national anthem. No one's being 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:18.280 pressured to neil. No one's being pressured to stand Myers. 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.400 Leonard stood the other day and after the nation anthem, 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:22.920 you on his house when he gives him a fist 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.199 bump and says, hey, you know you're you're still our brother, 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.280 We're still we stand with you too, you know. And 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:32.640 the guys are extremely tolerant of each other's stands and 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.800 they understand each other. And so to me, that's a 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.360 great lesson for society. And these guys are just been 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.520 great examples. Yeah, and you you brought it up a 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.880 little bit. How has announcing from home been for you? 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.000 I mean, I know that everyone's used to being there 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:48.880 on the core, being able to see what's going on. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:50.880 Is it different for you? I mean, I've seen some 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.760 of the clips of you know, local broadcasts where the 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:56.480 kind of zoom vibe of the boxes on top of 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.920 the screen. I mean, well, is it difficult? Is this tricky? 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.600 It's a little trickier. It's harder to even call the game. 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.600 You know, some of these arenas nowadays, they're taking away 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.439 announcers from the first couple of rows and they're putting 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.840 up high in the arena. And I don't like that 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.280 because if you take away the nuances of the game, 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.320 you don't get to see interactions between the coaches and 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:20.800 the players, or the players on the court. You miss 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.239 a lot of that and to me kind of sterilizes 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:26.199 the game. And so if you want to get the 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.160 best kind of seal across to the viewers, and so 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.200 it is a little bit more difficult. There was even 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:35.440 times last night where I know, misidentified a player because 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.400 I'm watching it off the screen, you know, fifteen feet away, 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.839 and so you know, sometimes that's going to happen, and 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.440 that's okay. I mean, we we understand what it is now, 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.640 and sometimes those mistakes are gonna be made. But that's 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.439 not a big deal. As long as you can still 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.240 get your point across, get your message across, I think 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:56.440 we'll be just fine. But yeah, I mean, it still 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.560 is a little tricky because we can't see exactly what 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.920 Pop is gesturing or what what's he's saying to some 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:04.280 of the players out there in the court of the 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.040 interaction between the players. If the past and missed or 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.800 decase of Simon is blown, you can see the communication 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.640 between the players a lot clearer when you're on the 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:18.320 first or second run, you're actually there. This past week 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.880 we saw games like the Rockets Mavericks where the final 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:26.160 score was a hundred and fifty three. It went into 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.080 O T. But the truth is this game would have 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:30.520 been I don't know, ten points less if they didn't 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:32.520 go into OT. Are are we to believe these games 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:34.800 are part of the cannon of NBA we know and love. 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.280 Are they playing defenses? I mean, it just seems there 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.959 was another high score this past weekend as well. I mean, 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:42.840 is this normal basketball? Should I Should I be watching 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.200 it with the same I. Well, that's a that's a 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:50.480 tricky question there because, uh, you know I've been saying, oh, 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.320 you're a long with the fenders in this league. Now 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:56.680 are handcuffed? I mean you're you're defenseless. You're absolutely defenseless 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.080 as a defender. When I first got in the league 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:02.400 in eighty nine, you know, the veterans would always talk 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.840 about using the arm bar on defense. And you know, 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:07.959 the kiss of death as a defender was if an 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:11.440 offensive player was able to get his body into your body, 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:15.440 if it was torso, the torso he got you, and 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.960 so you could use that arm bar to keep his 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:21.080 body from getting into you. Because if you know as 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:22.880 an offensive player, if you know how to use your 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.520 body and pull your arms through, you can get physical 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:28.679 with the defender and there's nothing you can do with 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.480 you if you get body to body with him. Well, 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:33.559 nowadays that's the only way that you can guard anybody, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.480 and you can't put up that arm bar. You see 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.079 guys that are moving and sliding their feet with their 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.760 hands in the air like a splaye kind of chicken. 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:44.240 If you will, your hands are up there and their 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.679 backs and you show the official and you're not touching 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:50.320 the player, and the fact that everybody's shooting three balls. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.400 So when you look at the court and I made this, uh, 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.440 I told my producer other day when I was watching 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.160 the Rockets game. Actually watching the Rockets game, to me, 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.040 because everybody is so spread on the court, it almost 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.560 looked like there weren't ten guys out there, right because 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:10.479 everybody's guarding the three point line. If James Harden beats 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.360 initial defender, he may have one health of fender that 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:15.559 rotates over and if he can sides at tilm, it's 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:17.920 it's an easy lay up. It's almost like a drill 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.520 right now. On the offensive end of the flour. I mean, 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:24.280 if you're an offensive player, you're gonna score the ball, uh, 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.480 because the defender is just gonna have a nightmares time 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.640 trying to stop you. So it's kind of twofold as 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.760 to why everybody's scoring so many points. Yeah, I mean 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.480 I've been like you said, I guess the three point game. 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:41.280 It's so NBA involved now, like when we you know, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.000 when I watched you coming up, and when you know, 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:44.600 in the eighties and nineties, it was such like a 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.280 slam dunk game. You know, it was like we we 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:50.240 gravitated towards Shack and Barkley and David Robinson obviously with you, 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.360 like guys who were big men who were driving underneath. 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:56.240 And now I assume every kid coming up wants to 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.400 be Steph Curry. Every kid coming up wants to be hard, 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.440 and so they're almost shooting from the half court line 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:02.520 at times. Yeah, it's insane. I mean you get to 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:04.400 guard a lot of people right when they come over 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.200 half court. I mean the one that comes to minds 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.400 Damian Lillard, and he's got in the gym range, and 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.040 as soon as he comes across the half court line, 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:14.040 you have to guard him. And so it's just it's 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.520 spreads everybody out. And if you watch an old eighties 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.840 or nineties game, or even early two thousands, the court 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.200 looks condensed. Every everybody is within the three point line. 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:27.200 If you penetrate, it's not beating just your defender. You 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.360 might have to beat two or three other other guys 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:32.200 back there because there's so many people in the paint. 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:35.520 Now it's just the wide open freefall, and three point 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.840 ball is largely responsible for that. You have a rare 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:40.680 perspective on this whole thing because you were part of 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.880 the championship spurs a season cut short by the labor strike, 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.640 and you faced all the asterisks. Talk back, then, what's 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.800 your answer to that criticism? Then? And now I guess 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.960 you know, obviously you guys had that, and now whoever 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.440 wins this championship is gonna hear the same thing. Can 0:15:56.520 --> 0:16:00.440 can this be defended as a serious championship? Yeah? Can be, 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.720 It can be for sure. And you know, we won 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:04.880 a ninety nine. We heard the talk after, and to 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:08.000 me it was puzzling because the people that were criticizing 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.440 were the same people that we went through and the 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.200 fact that if they had one, they wouldn't have asked 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.280 for an asterisk next to the championship. And it's not 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:21.040 like we played a shortened playoff schedule. The season was. 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.000 The season was shortened, but the playoffs were exactly the 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:25.520 same amount of games. If you said, oh, you only 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.280 got to win eight games winning championship, that's completely different. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.360 But we had to win the required amount of games 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.440 that everybody else had played previous years so previously, so 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.040 I don't get the asteric talk. I mean, if you 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:40.800 have to play the same playoff format, and so it's 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.640 going to be the same thing here. You're you're still 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.200 taking the best teams. The only thing is that you're 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.800 you're not gonna have really, to me, any kind of 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.240 home court advantage because you're not gonna have the fans 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:53.640 behind you. So I almost think it's gonna be tougher. 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.400 I almost think it's gonna be tougher for a team. 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:59.400 You know, the Lakers have a home court advantage of 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.200 the Bucks have home court I'm putting home court advantage 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.600 in quotation fingers. If they have that, you don't really 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:07.800 have it. You know, Milwaukee is not going to have 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.200 their fans behind them, so it's gonna be much more 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.600 difficult for them that they're facing the Lakers in a 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.480 seven game series on really which is essentially a neutral court, 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:20.040 as opposed to facing them at the arena where they 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.560 have the fans getting behind them and ducing them up. Yeah. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.399 I I'll tell you, the season did give me a 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:26.280 lot of hope this last weekend when the Raptors did 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.520 beat the Lakers, because it does seem okay, you know, 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:31.840 with the level playing field, feels feels much better now. Yeah, 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.480 I mean it's really interesting. Uh, you know, there's a 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:36.560 lot to talk about there because you know, for me, 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:39.040 and I joked about it on our air, I wasn't 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.720 the best practice player. You know. I played well in practice, 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.119 well enough in practice, But for me, when the lights 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:47.720 were on and people were there, it brought a heightened 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.439 sense of focus for me, and so I felt like 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:53.880 I performed much better when people are in the stands 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:57.760 than just a practice or a script situation. And I'm 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.359 sure that might that might hold true for some of 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.119 the players that are playing. But again, the NBA has 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:04.760 done such a great job kind of stage in the 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:08.760 games that maybe it doesn't impact guys. Yeah. Well, as 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.399 you said above and beyond your historic run with the Spurs, 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.520 you're also now broadcaster for for the team, and Popovich 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.120 has said that his main focus in Orlando as player 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:20.480 development guys like Heldon Johnson, You Banks, Luca, Lonnie Walker. 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.639 I when I heard that, I'm a god, I'm a 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:27.000 Popovitch stand. I love the dude. I just am always 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.639 nervous with him putting his health on the line, you know, 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:32.679 because he's obviously in a heightened age group for just 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.160 to get young guys reps. I mean, I bummed me out. 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:36.440 I mean, do you think it's still worth it to 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:38.760 hear they're not going for the championship, they're just trying 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.520 to get guys into the game. Well they see riding 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.520 on the wall. I mean there's no LaMarcus Aldred he's 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.280 out with the shoulder injury, no trade Lyles, So you're 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:52.960 missing arguably your best player and LaMarcus. And yeah, I'm 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.880 sure you know you look at it on the situation 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:57.360 where you have to win a certain amount of games 0:18:57.359 --> 0:18:59.679 just to get in the playoffs situation and then you're 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.119 probably are most likely to play the Lakers in the 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.560 first round. You kind of have to understand and be 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:08.840 realistic about your chances. And so, you know, I like 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.200 what they're doing right now, playing the young guys and 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:14.399 kind of seeing what you have going forward. And as 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:16.399 a matter of fact, it's paid off so far. I 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:18.919 mean we've won the first couple of games. Uh, the 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:21.960 young guys look good, and they're they're playing, you know, 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:25.000 loose out there, and they're playing with no pressure. Uh, 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:27.800 they know that they're gonna play thirty minutes tonight, that 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:29.560 they know that they're going to be able to make 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.679 mistakes and and Pop's not gonna pull them, And so 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:34.960 you have guys right now they are just letting it flow. 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:38.760 They've gotta sets the freedom out there, and it's paying 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:41.119 off before us and we're getting a chance to see 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:45.680 our young guys shine and see what you have going forward, Sharon, 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:47.679 and you're one of the most storied college players of 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:51.119 all time, University of Arizona's leading scorer still at this time, Uh, 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:53.600 the n C double a season up in the air. Really, 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:55.679 do you think there's any way they can make it 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.280 work safely to have these kids in college and playing. 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.600 I'm not sure. I I think right now, when I 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.639