Speaker 1: The volume.
Speaker 2: Hi, I'm slow and I know basketball. Today's guest is
Speaker 2: a five time NBA champion, a Lakers legend, and owns
Speaker 2: one of the most iconic moments in NBA playoff history.
Speaker 2: His journey from Arkansas Little Rock to being drafted by
Speaker 2: the Lakers to being part of a three peet with
Speaker 2: Kobe and Shack is a story you won't want to miss.
Speaker 2: Today's guest is Derek Fisher. Okay, Derek, So I'm sixteen
Speaker 2: years old, Okay, and I know it's okay. That may
Speaker 2: have been a while ago for you. So you may
Speaker 2: need to like get the wheels turning in your head.
Speaker 3: Wow. Yes, Okay, that's how we're starting.
Speaker 2: That is how we're starting. But I want to know, Derek,
Speaker 2: what were you like when you were sixteen years old.
Speaker 1: I was not as smart as you and didn't have
Speaker 1: all of this going on in my.
Speaker 3: Life at sixteen, but I was a very.
Speaker 1: Yeah, determined, Like sixteen is was a transitional age for
Speaker 1: me in terms of basketball. I was always a hard
Speaker 1: working kid, you know, and but I was really shy,
Speaker 1: really reserved, didn't you know, didn't speak up for myself,
Speaker 1: trying to let my work and my play kind of
Speaker 1: speak for me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and.
Speaker 1: I played club team basketball and the summer of nineteen ninety,
Speaker 1: which sounds so so long ago, I was sixteen years
Speaker 1: old and we're playing in the national championship game for
Speaker 1: the entire country. Like at that time, they weren't just
Speaker 1: like club team events every weekend, and it didn't all
Speaker 1: lead to like one national champion. At that time, AAU
Speaker 1: led to one national champion, so all the states would
Speaker 1: send two teams from their state to one place, and
Speaker 1: we all battled it out. So we had come in
Speaker 1: second place, third place, fourth place. This year we're playing
Speaker 1: the title game. My dad's an assistant coach. My best
Speaker 1: friend's dad is the head coach. I played zero minutes. Wow,
Speaker 1: And at sixteen years old, I had to make a
Speaker 1: decision and have a conversation with myself. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: decided that I would never let that happen again. I
Speaker 1: didn't blame my dad or my best friend's dad. I
Speaker 1: was pissed, naturally, but that changed my life. So at sixteen,
Speaker 1: I basically was like, no other coach will ever feel
Speaker 1: that the team is better yet without yeah, when we
Speaker 1: need to win games. And from sixteen to now, I
Speaker 1: don't think that ever happened.
Speaker 2: Again, I think you have the best sixteen year old
Speaker 2: answer so far. I feel like people are like I
Speaker 2: think when I was sixteen, I was playing basketball. I
Speaker 2: was like, yeah, I figured you were playing basketball. So
Speaker 2: I like that a lot. Considering you grew up in Arkansas,
Speaker 2: which doesn't have an NBA team, what was your team
Speaker 2: growing up?
Speaker 1: I was a Lakers fan. Okay, like Magic Johnson was
Speaker 1: my guy still is in terms of just the way
Speaker 1: I always respected and admired not just like the winning
Speaker 1: and the legacy on the court, but he smiled a lot. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I always thought that that was a really intriguing
Speaker 1: aspect of a guy that clearly was one of the
Speaker 1: greatest and as driven in as competitive as anybody else.
Speaker 1: But he looked like he was having fun doing his job. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And so just growing up watching him and how he
Speaker 1: made other people better, that is something that I kind
Speaker 1: of internalized as a young player in person. And so
Speaker 1: I love the Lakers and what they stood for represented
Speaker 1: in the eighties, That's where I started appreciating winning more
Speaker 1: than anything else in team sports. And so, yeah, you
Speaker 1: know that was I never thought I would be playing
Speaker 1: for the Lakers. Yeah, but I loved watching him as
Speaker 1: a kid.
Speaker 2: Did you ever get to meet him as a teenager?
Speaker 2: Did you when was your first interaction with like an NBA.
Speaker 1: Player, Well, with an NBA player. I had a few
Speaker 1: interactions prior to making it to the NBA. Sidney Montcreef
Speaker 1: is also from Arkansas.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 1: You'd have to google Dad especially for you, or talk
Speaker 1: to Syria or whoever that you'll talk to about, like, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: talk to talk to he or she about about Sidney
Speaker 1: montcreep Uh. And then my older brother is a half brother.
Speaker 1: He's about ten years older. He was actually drafted in
Speaker 1: the second round in the NBA in nineteen eighty seven.
Speaker 1: So I, you know, met some guys, But when I
Speaker 1: first met Magic, it was actually in the summer.
Speaker 3: A lot of.
Speaker 1: Guys in the NBA go up to UCLA and there's
Speaker 1: great like pick up runs and five on five going
Speaker 1: on up there. So the summer of my rookie year,
Speaker 1: I show up to LA moving out to LA, I
Speaker 1: go up here to the gym and all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: I'm like looking around all these guys that are in
Speaker 1: the NBA.
Speaker 2: You know, how old are you at this point, and so.
Speaker 1: We're playing five on five and Nick Van Exell, who
Speaker 1: was the current guard on the Lakers, my team is
Speaker 1: playing against his team in this five on five match,
Speaker 1: and he's out here killing me, you know, and Magic
Speaker 1: Johnson is like ten feet away enjoying me being destroyed
Speaker 1: by And that was my first interaction with Magic Johnson.
Speaker 3: But I internalized the like, yeah, at least you.
Speaker 2: Were bringing him joy, Like at least he enjoyed much.
Speaker 3: Joy though, yeah, too much? Yeah that time, No, the
Speaker 3: starstruck was off because he was laughing at me.
Speaker 2: Okay, so you were never mind them.
Speaker 1: So I was starstruck later and kind of still am
Speaker 1: whenever I see Magic is just a different level of
Speaker 1: respect and appreciation totally.
Speaker 2: If you hadn't have become a basketball what do you
Speaker 2: think your sixteen year old self would have wanted to
Speaker 2: do as.
Speaker 3: A job.
Speaker 1: At sixteen? Man, I was you know, when you're from Arkansas,
Speaker 1: you don't envision these type of lives that I've been
Speaker 1: able to live and experience. And so at sixteen, I mean,
Speaker 1: most guys that I had grown up wanting to be like,
Speaker 1: in a sense, we're great leaders, you know, they were
Speaker 1: guys that I had read about that ran companies always,
Speaker 1: you know, you read about guys that had real estate companies,
Speaker 1: or you know, the men that were leaders of CEOs organizations,
Speaker 1: and so I, you know, most likely I would have
Speaker 1: gotten into something very simple and basic in Little Rock.
Speaker 1: When you grew up in Little Rock, you basically you
Speaker 1: graduated high school, you go to college, you get a degree,
Speaker 1: You go to church on Sunday. You marry a nice
Speaker 1: Southern girl that also goes to church on Sunday.
Speaker 3: You start a.
Speaker 1: Family, and it's not even like what type of career like,
Speaker 1: you just just life. You just hold down a job,
Speaker 1: take care of your family, take care of responsibilities. So
Speaker 1: I wasn't really thinking about this big world that I've
Speaker 1: seen since I was sixteen.
Speaker 3: When I was.
Speaker 2: Sixteen, yeah, totally. And on that note, what do you
Speaker 2: think the biggest difference you've seen between high school basketball
Speaker 2: when you played in high school basketball now is a
Speaker 2: coach of Crasby.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, when I was sixteen playing in
Speaker 1: high school, I do believe there was more of a
Speaker 1: a willingness to go along the journey and understand that
Speaker 1: there's a process to becoming great. Yeah, and that your
Speaker 1: high school experience wouldn't necessarily define your greatness, and so
Speaker 1: there was a patience that you could have in high
Speaker 1: school because you didn't feel like, well, if I don't
Speaker 1: do this in the tenth grade, then that means I'm
Speaker 1: not going to be this. And so I think now
Speaker 1: more young players and families feel that it has to
Speaker 1: be now in order for it to be later. Yes,
Speaker 1: And that was just different for us growing up. And
Speaker 1: it's not a right or wrong thing, you know. If
Speaker 1: I'm raising kids in this generation now, I want the
Speaker 1: best for them, but I I just try to make
Speaker 1: sure that they remember life on and off the basketball
Speaker 1: court is really a journey in the process and you
Speaker 1: don't have to be in a hurry to be the
Speaker 1: greatest thing in the world, like it'll be there for
Speaker 1: you at the right time. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And seeing how nil works firsthand, do you think that
Speaker 2: that's positively or negatively affected your players?
Speaker 3: It depends on the day of the week.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, because I think you can't be naive, right,
Speaker 1: and even as the coach of these kids, like, you
Speaker 1: can't be naive in the way of ten grand changes
Speaker 1: somebody's life instantly, whether it or change their life forever.
Speaker 1: You know, yeah, that's for another day. But you know,
Speaker 1: we can't feel that nil itself is the reason why
Speaker 1: some of these things are happening. I think young people
Speaker 1: have every right to make a life for themselves, even
Speaker 1: doing this, Like I'm sure at some point you want
Speaker 1: to get paid if you're not already getting paid. So
Speaker 1: it's the same thing as a young basketball player, like
Speaker 1: if you have a way to create income for you
Speaker 1: or your family to do it. But there are other
Speaker 1: days where I think the money has become a substitute
Speaker 1: for accomplishment or achievement, and there's a belief that if
Speaker 1: you are being paid in terms of nil, that it
Speaker 1: means that you are something.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and in reality you aren't.
Speaker 1: It's just representative of a transaction between you and a
Speaker 1: company that is trying to accomplish your goal today.
Speaker 3: But it doesn't.
Speaker 1: Guarantee you the run in the long run. And so
Speaker 1: I think you just have to keep that in mind.
Speaker 1: Do it for the right reasons, but don't let it
Speaker 1: distract you from the main thing. Like if being an
Speaker 1: amazing creator and starting a media company and building whatever
Speaker 1: you're trying to build is the main thing, you can't
Speaker 1: let the nil deals or the other stuff distract you
Speaker 1: from that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, now I want to move on to your
Speaker 2: career at Arkansas Little Rock. Obviously you're from Little Rock,
Speaker 2: so that was you staying home. Can you take us
Speaker 2: through the process of how you chose to go there
Speaker 2: and if it had always been your goal to play
Speaker 2: college at home.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I really I didn't know exactly, you know, what
Speaker 1: the plan would look like. I knew I wanted to
Speaker 1: play in college.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I started going to competitive camps and things like between
Speaker 1: my sophomore and junior year and high school.
Speaker 2: And so after you had that talk with yourself, yes.
Speaker 1: After I had that talk with myself, Okay that from
Speaker 1: sixteen to seventeen, I was a completely different dude.
Speaker 2: And so it will be interesting. We got to get
Speaker 2: you back on when I'm seventeen, and then we'll have
Speaker 2: a whole another.
Speaker 1: Conversation, right, And so, you know, I started to be
Speaker 1: recruited by some colleges, mostly in the region, right Rice University, Texas,
Speaker 1: A and M. There were some other schools in the
Speaker 1: Alabama area, Samford, Sam Houston. There were a number of
Speaker 1: like regional schools, but I Little Rock wasn't necessarily at
Speaker 1: the top of that list until they moved to the
Speaker 1: Sun Belt Conference and so kind of you know, with
Speaker 1: all the conference realignment and everything going on, like when
Speaker 1: the school goes from maybe a low major mid major
Speaker 1: to a.
Speaker 2: Higher everything, it changes everything.
Speaker 1: And I saw it as an opportunity to compete in
Speaker 1: a really competitive conference. And so that was the perks
Speaker 1: have been at home. One of the assistant coaches was
Speaker 1: my best friend's dad. I trusted that he would not
Speaker 1: guarantee me or promise me anything, but I trusted that
Speaker 1: he would be there to hold me account the bull
Speaker 1: and helped me understand the right thing. So that's that
Speaker 1: was a big part of why I went in that duration.
Speaker 2: Okay, now let's move on to you. Now we've talked
Speaker 2: about you at sixteen. I want to know who has
Speaker 2: been the most impactful coach in your life.
Speaker 1: Man, I don't want to do the most Yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't want to do a disservice or not. You know
Speaker 1: my high school coaches. You know a lot of the
Speaker 1: things that I started to learn and understand about how
Speaker 1: hard you have to work.
Speaker 3: You know, we're in high school. But I.
Speaker 1: Feel Jackson obviously is the most recent of those coaches.
Speaker 1: So you know, I have to kind of probably start there.
Speaker 1: And the reason why we would say feel from an
Speaker 1: impact standpoint is, men, we have a like and you'll
Speaker 1: understand this when you get a little older. You know,
Speaker 1: we we have a way of like our egos are
Speaker 1: just brutal, and it creates, Yeah, it creates these narratives
Speaker 1: and things in our mind about what we are and
Speaker 1: what we aren't and what we should be and who's
Speaker 1: who owes us? And you know, man, I'm better than
Speaker 1: this guy? Why am I not getting this?
Speaker 3: And this?
Speaker 1: We just want everything from everybody to like respect us
Speaker 1: and show us what's up. And Feel was the first
Speaker 1: coach that I thought took a more balanced approach to
Speaker 1: coaching players and really helping us understand kind of how
Speaker 1: the brain works in terms of how we respond to things.
Speaker 1: How you know that that gap between stimulus or the
Speaker 1: action or something taking place and then what happened is
Speaker 1: not really what's controlling your anger frustration is your attitude
Speaker 1: and your response to it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and like.
Speaker 1: He helped me unlock a level of performance that I
Speaker 1: hadn't been able to access prior to because I always
Speaker 1: played on edge. Like I was the type of guy
Speaker 1: that like, if you scored on me, I was going
Speaker 1: to try to come back and score on you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because I had to prove to you that I'm just
Speaker 1: as good as you are.
Speaker 3: And he helped me kind of disconnect from that.
Speaker 2: And do you think the lessons that Phil taught you
Speaker 2: have now helped you mold yourself as a coach?
Speaker 1: Now, yes, by far. Like I think if a player
Speaker 1: does not understand he or she is one hundred percent
Speaker 1: not ninety ninety eight percent, one hundred percent respond and
Speaker 1: one hundred percent ownership and one hundred percent accountable for
Speaker 1: everything that's happening, they're going to struggle. Yeah, and you're
Speaker 1: going to struggle anyway. But so many of us as athletes,
Speaker 1: we're so quick to push it off on everything else
Speaker 1: and everybody else as to why we're not performing well.
Speaker 1: Coach didn't start me, or they're not running the right
Speaker 1: offense around my game. Oh they told me this, it's
Speaker 1: not this. Oh, but you know if I would have
Speaker 1: gone back, and there are so many reasons why other
Speaker 1: than you just need to be better, period, and you're
Speaker 1: in complete control of being better. And even sometimes when
Speaker 1: you're better, the world is not conspiring against you. For
Speaker 1: you to not be what you think you are. It's
Speaker 1: just that's how it works sometimes, and so that that's
Speaker 1: how I try to help the players I coach now
Speaker 1: is like take myself out of it. I'm not trying
Speaker 1: to make it seem like I'm so smart that I
Speaker 1: made you into who you are. Yeah, you're you do that.
Speaker 1: I'm here to help and support you and guide you.
Speaker 1: But it's ultimately your job.
Speaker 2: That's so deep everything. Wow, oh my gosh, if you
Speaker 2: were my coach, like that's crazy. Okay, what was your
Speaker 2: welcome to the league moments?
Speaker 3: So?
Speaker 1: Yeah, in training camp, I mean I had a bunch
Speaker 1: of them because I played against a lot of always won. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I played against a lot of great, great players, you know,
Speaker 1: in the mid to late nineties. But I mean kind
Speaker 1: of almost right away in training camp, like you know,
Speaker 1: at Arkansas, a little rock in the conference we played in,
Speaker 1: the big men were like six seven.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a big difference from.
Speaker 1: Ye And so all of a sudden, I get the
Speaker 1: training camp with the Lakers and I'm driving to the
Speaker 1: basket and every time I drive to the basket, Shock
Speaker 1: is blocking the shot. You know, Eldon Campbell's rotating over
Speaker 1: from the backside blocking the shot, and after a couple
Speaker 1: of days, Dale Harris, who was the head coach at
Speaker 1: the time, he's like, Fish, you might want to think
Speaker 1: about a different approach to trying to drive to the
Speaker 1: basket because you're not going to get that off. And
Speaker 1: Shack was pretty much blocking the shot with his underarm
Speaker 1: pit because that's how low I was and how he was,
Speaker 1: and that right away helped me adjust to playing in
Speaker 1: the NBA and what they was going to be.
Speaker 3: Like.
Speaker 2: On the topic of Shock, what's the craziest thing you've
Speaker 2: ever seen Shock do on the court? And then if
Speaker 2: it's PG, you can tell me what's the craziest thing
Speaker 2: you've ever seen him do?
Speaker 3: Off? Yeah, that was my first question was what platforms.
Speaker 2: Or for the sixteen year old mind, what's the craziest
Speaker 2: thing you've seen.
Speaker 3: Him do the craziest thing you've seen Shack do?
Speaker 1: For the sixteen year old mind, I'll say, like you,
Speaker 1: I'm sure for teenagers, like, well, I don't know about
Speaker 1: teenagers today. When we were teenagers, mooning people was like
Speaker 1: a thing. Yeah, sounds super weird that people would like
Speaker 1: moon people as a way of It's kind of like
Speaker 1: a way of saying few to people sometimes anymore. So
Speaker 1: We're playing the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference Finals
Speaker 1: in two thousand and two, and this is after a
Speaker 1: couple of years of you know what people call a rivalry,
Speaker 1: even though the Kings never won a series. But that's
Speaker 1: for another episode. And so in two thousand and two,
Speaker 1: they have home court advantage, so brutal seven game series.
Speaker 1: They literally had us on the ropes, could have knocked
Speaker 1: us out, they didn't. Sacramento is, like still today, loves
Speaker 1: the Kings as passionate as a fan base as you
Speaker 1: could ever find. Phil Jackson basically pissed them off, and
Speaker 1: they were bringing cow bells into the arena. It was
Speaker 1: loud and a lot of anger in the building. So anyway,
Speaker 1: we show up for game seven, and people, you know,
Speaker 1: for playoff games, it's not like the regular season where
Speaker 1: people are like rolling up right after work and trying
Speaker 1: to get to the game. Playoff games just like it's
Speaker 1: afternoon game. People are like outside tailgating like football. So
Speaker 1: the bus is we're pulling up to Arco Arena and
Speaker 1: there's a group of people that were at early to
Speaker 1: the game almost every time, and they would moon us
Speaker 1: as we drove by on the bus. What are we
Speaker 1: supposed to do about that? Like we're on their way
Speaker 1: to the game.
Speaker 2: All right, you don't even have to look, you can
Speaker 2: look for it.
Speaker 3: It's just there, like there's nowhere, it's nowhere you can go.
Speaker 1: So so we show up, you know, for game seven.
Speaker 1: Of course they moon us again, oblige. And then so
Speaker 1: you know, we walk into Arco Arena, we put our
Speaker 1: uniforms on. We win game seven and Sacramento and as
Speaker 1: champions do, and we get on the bus. We're leaving
Speaker 1: our Co arena and Shack kindly returns the favor to
Speaker 1: the fans that had been sharing uh their assets.
Speaker 2: With us, this entirely to get off the bus to
Speaker 2: do this. No, no, no.
Speaker 1: No, didn't get off the bus just uh, I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't remember the name of the bus company. But
Speaker 1: their window needed to be I see, wiped off a
Speaker 1: little bit, you know, after the experience.
Speaker 3: But that's for the sixteen year old.
Speaker 2: Imagine if that happened, like we're social.
Speaker 1: Media, like, yeah, so many things that existed. Yeah no,
Speaker 1: some people would not be as accomplished as they are.
Speaker 1: Well no, you know what, I take that, bet, I.
Speaker 2: Think you think viral.
Speaker 1: I appreciate about the younger generation. I do think that
Speaker 1: today people are more accepting, and maybe always have been,
Speaker 1: but more accepting of the fact that we're all imperfect. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and it's okay if you made some mistakes before or
Speaker 1: you did something that I wouldn't do, But that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean I'm still not gonna laugh at your jokes.
Speaker 3: I'm still not gonna watch your show.
Speaker 1: I'm still not gonna you know, I'm still not gonna
Speaker 1: come to the game and cheer for you because you
Speaker 1: did something stupid that I wouldn't do. It wasn't like
Speaker 1: that when I was your age, Like people would just
Speaker 1: decide that you were a bad person because you made
Speaker 1: a bad choice, and then they would just be done.
Speaker 1: You couldn't sell them anything else, ever, And it's not
Speaker 1: like that anymore, And I kind of kind of like that.
Speaker 2: Cool, all right, So you've played on five differn NBA
Speaker 2: teams with some pretty incredible players.
Speaker 1: I had a couple of coffee you on like one
Speaker 1: of those in.
Speaker 2: A quarter, but you technically were one in a couple
Speaker 2: off with some pretty incredible teammates. Can you give us
Speaker 2: your starting five of your best ever teammates. Okay, you
Speaker 2: don't have to count.
Speaker 1: I've been asked this question before, but like I always
Speaker 1: have to clarify teammates meaning greatness in basketball or like
Speaker 1: teammates like you know what I mean, like we could
Speaker 1: have a best test time ever at a party and.
Speaker 2: Thank you for the clarification. Like actually in like basketball talents.
Speaker 3: Because I don't want people to like feel.
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, I'm not making you like rank people and
Speaker 2: like how good of a person they are?
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, you know, because I've had some great
Speaker 1: teammates on the court and then some guys were amazing teammates.
Speaker 2: And personally, I mean, you know, it didn't suck, but.
Speaker 3: No, they didn't suck. Just they weren't as good as.
Speaker 2: Cold Okay, I see, yes, which nobody else in the world.
Speaker 1: Basically it was as good as Kobe. I'll start with Kobe.
Speaker 1: I'd say he would definitely be on the list. Shaq
Speaker 1: would be on the list, Kevin Durant would be on
Speaker 1: the list. Uh Russell Westbrook probably would be on the list.
Speaker 1: I mean, man, it's probably a I have more years
Speaker 1: playing with Palgosol than I did James Harden, but those
Speaker 1: got as would probably be neck and neck is in
Speaker 1: terms of like that fifth spot.
Speaker 2: Got you got you? So clutch Player of the Year
Speaker 2: is the newest NBA award. If you had to add
Speaker 2: an award to the NBA Awards, what do you think
Speaker 2: it would be?
Speaker 1: M m.
Speaker 3: Hm, And they are I mean they have so many yeah, player.
Speaker 2: Ye six man, coach, coach year yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, coaching yeah yeah, good question. If we were going
Speaker 1: to add an award, I think we need an MVP
Speaker 1: of the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Now, you don't think finals MVP covers that, No.
Speaker 1: Okay, finals MVP covers the finals. Yeah, because a guy
Speaker 1: could have a terrible first three, but in the finals,
Speaker 1: if he averages thirty five a game, he's gonna be
Speaker 1: the finals MVP, you know, and vice versas, like a
Speaker 1: guy could have a great first three rounds and suck
Speaker 1: in the finals and he won't win finals MVP. But
Speaker 1: I do think there's a case for like, the best
Speaker 1: player in the playoffs win or lose. Luca would have
Speaker 1: had a chance even though the Mavericks lost. And you know,
Speaker 1: you have to put the contingencies in place, right or
Speaker 1: the criteria of like you have to at least make
Speaker 1: it to the conference finals. Like the run that Nicola
Speaker 1: Jokic has been on in the postseason at certain points
Speaker 1: where it's like, but if the Nuggets didn't win the title, yeah,
Speaker 1: he clearly was still the best player in all of
Speaker 1: the NBA playoffs. I just think it would be interesting.
Speaker 1: And what made me think of it was in the
Speaker 1: NHL they have the trophy where there was a lot
Speaker 1: of debate over whether a player on the losing team yes,
Speaker 1: deserve to win it yeah, which sparks.
Speaker 2: A lot of debate, like debate so totally. So, you
Speaker 2: were in many great playoff battles. Which one stands out
Speaker 2: the most to you? And why? Mmmm?
Speaker 3: It's a good question. I would say, thank you.
Speaker 2: I'm full of those.
Speaker 3: I would say, ooh.
Speaker 1: Personally, Game three of the twenty ten NBA Finals team
Speaker 1: collectively Game seven of the twenty ten NBA Finals, That
Speaker 1: series I think required me, individually and I think collectively
Speaker 1: our team to go to deeper levels of grit and
Speaker 1: physical and mental toughness than probably any series that I
Speaker 1: had played in. Like the Celtics were that hard to
Speaker 1: play again and stayed so physical, so hard to score
Speaker 1: against them. Yes, But Game three of the twenty ten
Speaker 1: NBA finals for me individually, probably stands out the most.
Speaker 3: Like I Paul Pierce. You know, the CELF just beat
Speaker 3: us in the finals in O eight.
Speaker 1: You know, they enjoyed it and they still celebrated as
Speaker 1: though they won so many more, but only one.
Speaker 3: And I get it.
Speaker 1: It's hard to win one, So I don't It's not
Speaker 1: I'm not taking anything away from their one. But so
Speaker 1: you know, they beat us in No. Eight, deserve to win,
Speaker 1: no no hate. And so then in twenty ten, we
Speaker 1: had home court advantage. We won Game one, we lost
Speaker 1: Game two. Series is tied at one one. At that time,
Speaker 1: all three middle games were for the road team, so
Speaker 1: we were about to go to Boston for three road
Speaker 1: game games and Paul Pierce says to the media after
Speaker 1: game two series is over, we're not coming back to La.
Speaker 3: Okay. Yeah, Paul Pierce a bold guy.
Speaker 1: Like it wasn't like, oh my god, like I'm surprised
Speaker 1: that he said it, but it got to me and
Speaker 1: I was asked about it by the media the next
Speaker 1: day before practice, and it was a lesson in you
Speaker 1: don't always have to respond when people try to bait
Speaker 1: you into something or get you to engage in a
Speaker 1: conversation you don't want to have. So I got asked
Speaker 1: a very direct question like you you're asking me here,
Speaker 1: and I just stared at the reporter that asked me.
Speaker 1: The question was Jim Hill, and just stared at him.
Speaker 2: That's awkward.
Speaker 1: I would have definitely been it, bro And in my mind,
Speaker 1: I'm like, and I'm sure in my face it's like,
Speaker 1: I'm not even going to dignify that question with an answer.
Speaker 1: But I channeled that energy into Game three in Boston,
Speaker 1: and the fourth quarter of Game three was one of
Speaker 1: my best playoff quarters that I could speak to ever.
Speaker 3: And I.
Speaker 1: Think it came from that place of like carrying that
Speaker 1: energy of like, I'm not gonna let Paul Piers be right.
Speaker 3: They're not beating us again this year.
Speaker 1: And I went to a different place, and I remember
Speaker 1: getting emotional after the game because it was just it
Speaker 1: was that much invested in us trying to win that game,
Speaker 1: and I, individually, like I said, it just went to
Speaker 1: places that I hadn't gone to before.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I want to go back and touch on something
Speaker 2: you said earlier, sort of about like your work, ethic
Speaker 2: and grit and having played eighteen seasons in the NBA,
Speaker 2: how did you keep that up for eighteen plus years
Speaker 2: and stay in shape?
Speaker 3: Also, No, that was all I knew it was.
Speaker 1: That was my superpower, my work ethic, uh, my my discipline,
Speaker 1: my attention to detail, understanding the game plan, you know,
Speaker 1: not being emotional with wins and losses and getting too
Speaker 1: high too low. Like my superpower was consistency and sustainability.
Speaker 1: Way more guys talented than me, taller, more athletic. I
Speaker 1: don't know about its handsome, But that's for another that
Speaker 1: I'll let my wife, you know, talk about. You know,
Speaker 1: we'll see how she feels about that. But and so,
Speaker 1: because it was what I used to get there, then
Speaker 1: I felt like I can't lose that.
Speaker 3: Because the only reason I'm here is because of my
Speaker 3: work ethic.
Speaker 2: So it just stuck with you.
Speaker 1: It just stuck with me the whole time. Like I'm
Speaker 1: never gonna wake up and come to practice and not
Speaker 1: bring that. I might, I might miss some shots today,
Speaker 1: but it's not gonna be too many dudes that's gonna
Speaker 1: work harder than me, day in and day out for
Speaker 1: eighteen years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's how that you stick for eight years.
Speaker 2: People use that. So moving on, this has already been
Speaker 2: a pretty crazy offseason and we're only like three days,
Speaker 2: two days into free agency. If you were Rob Linka,
Speaker 2: what are three things you would do to fix the
Speaker 2: Lakers this offseason?
Speaker 1: If I was rapping Linka, you would have had to
Speaker 1: talk to a few more people to get me to
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, to be here.
Speaker 3: But you know it was easy to get me here today.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: No, I mean fix the Lakers, you know. I think
Speaker 1: it's we asked those questions in that way we all do, right.
Speaker 1: We feel like there's something that we can do. And
Speaker 1: I don't know if we can fix teams like team
Speaker 1: is still team. It's like a it's like a recipe,
Speaker 1: Like you don't just fix that, yeah, you know, like
Speaker 1: it takes time to make the decisions and the adjustment.
Speaker 3: So the three things.
Speaker 2: Maybe a better way a word it would be, how
Speaker 2: do you think you could improve that recipe that team?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, right now, they don't have a
Speaker 1: lot of levers to pull in order to kind of
Speaker 1: start down that path. The first thing they you know,
Speaker 1: they did do right is is there was.
Speaker 3: A coaching change that.
Speaker 1: Brings JJ Redik in and although he doesn't have coaching
Speaker 1: experience in the NBA. But I do think great coaches
Speaker 1: and we'll we'll still see if he ends up being that.
Speaker 1: They're they're amazing communicators, Like they are effective at communicating
Speaker 1: a message and being clear about the standards and the expectations,
Speaker 1: et cetera. And it's something for me even that I'm
Speaker 1: I'm still learning myself. Yeah, but it's clear that JJ
Speaker 1: kind of has that feel already, which is great. And
Speaker 1: then the relationships with people that you're going to be
Speaker 1: doing this with they have to also buy into that vision.
Speaker 1: So that's the first thing that you always have to
Speaker 1: do to improve things, is like get someone in there
Speaker 1: that can share the message, execute on the message, keep
Speaker 1: people bought into the message. If you lose that, it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter if you have Lebron, Ad, etc. So that's first. Second,
Speaker 1: I think they continue to invest in whatever levels of
Speaker 1: like in terms of their performance team and what will
Speaker 1: allow them to be like the healthiest team in the NBA.
Speaker 1: And if that's managing the amount of games that Lebron
Speaker 1: and AD play or their minutes or whatever it is
Speaker 1: that keeps those guys healthy is as important of a
Speaker 1: decision as they can make as well. And then I
Speaker 1: think the third thing, which I think is also interesting
Speaker 1: that JJ Reddick is the head coach, is shooting has
Speaker 1: to become the number one priority, not necessarily because defense
Speaker 1: won't be still a top priority. But I'm wondering if
Speaker 1: like JJ will have an ability to help guys connect
Speaker 1: to like just shooting the ball better total, because if
Speaker 1: they can shoot the ball better and not even percentage wise,
Speaker 1: like they have to shoot more threes. They have not
Speaker 1: shot enough threes in recent years. And so these are
Speaker 1: all things that again, even though JJ hasn't coached before,
Speaker 1: the things that I think he's gonna lean towards are
Speaker 1: the things that can help improve the situation. Yeah, we'll
Speaker 1: have to wait and see. But you know, doing the
Speaker 1: same thing over is the definition of insanity. So they
Speaker 1: made a change.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like you're gonna give Rob Blinker run
Speaker 2: first money because that was a good answer. I feel
Speaker 2: like you thought that went through. Okay, Now we're doing
Speaker 2: some rapid fire, so we gotta go fast sort.
Speaker 3: Of one word thank you for saying that.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, of course, God, I love it. You're giving
Speaker 2: such detailed answers, but this is a rapid fire section. Yeah, Okay,
Speaker 2: In the next five years. Who's going to be the
Speaker 2: face of the league, Victor Weber. Who is an underrated
Speaker 2: player in the league that you want to show love to?
Speaker 1: That is an unbelievable question. I gotta sing f one
Speaker 1: guy too underrated, rapid fire that it's not your forte.
Speaker 1: I have no idea, honestly, Like, I can't think of
Speaker 1: one guy that jumps out to me personally. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that's a that's a pass right there for now, we'll
Speaker 1: come back here.
Speaker 2: You have one past, so now you have to answer
Speaker 2: literally everything. Who is your favorite w NBA player to.
Speaker 3: Watch Chelsea Gray good one?
Speaker 2: Who is next up in women's basketball Caitlyn Clark during
Speaker 2: your eighteen seasons? Who was the hardest player that you
Speaker 2: had to guard?
Speaker 1: I got a list of those guys, But John Stockton
Speaker 1: gave me my first master's degree.
Speaker 2: So John Stockton, what did you buy with your first
Speaker 2: NBA check?
Speaker 3: A condo in the Marina? Love it?
Speaker 2: What's a fashion trend you've seen with your high school
Speaker 2: players that you just do not understand?
Speaker 3: Wearing pajamas to everything?
Speaker 2: I agree, like I think that they think girls like
Speaker 2: it because I don't. Okay, I don't that's my message,
Speaker 2: all right. So we're gonna play a game and let's
Speaker 2: see how you do. This is also sort of rapid fire.
Speaker 2: So okay, sorry, if this is a yeah, it is,
Speaker 2: I'm going to give you a word and you're gonna
Speaker 2: have to tell me the first current NBA player that
Speaker 2: comes to your mind when.
Speaker 3: I say that.
Speaker 2: Okay, are you ready?
Speaker 3: Yes? Okay? Defense Jade McDaniels, i Q, i Q true holiday.
Speaker 1: Clutch, look at Dancic, selflessness, Mike Conley, Aura.
Speaker 3: Shake, Gil Jess Alexander.
Speaker 2: Perfect answer, veteran Lebron vision, Lebron instincts.
Speaker 3: Oh, Kyrie Irving, you did so well.
Speaker 2: That was so fast. Look at that when you really
Speaker 2: walk in I.
Speaker 1: Feel yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay that the first one.
Speaker 1: Just yeah that that blew my brain completely off.
Speaker 2: Okay, So the last thing we're gonna do is trivia.
Speaker 2: But it's not just any trivia. This is trivia about yourself,
Speaker 2: which might sound easy, right, but most get like one.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: So let's see how well Derek Fisher knows Derek Fisher,
Speaker 2: who were the other four players on the court with
Speaker 2: you when you hit your famous zero point four second shot?
Speaker 1: Okay, Gary Payton and bounded the ball to me. Shaq
Speaker 1: Kobe karmelone.
Speaker 2: Great, okay, good start. So you have one point?
Speaker 3: Wait, it tolt me a easy one.
Speaker 2: That was my lot. Uh huh. In nineteen ninety six,
Speaker 2: you were picked twenty fourth by the Lakers. Who was
Speaker 2: the twenty third pick and who was the twenty fifth pick?
Speaker 3: I have no idea.
Speaker 2: I feel like I have to say. I asked this
Speaker 2: question to almost everyone. Your answers are very random, like
Speaker 2: usually people, I'm like, oh, like, I think you should
Speaker 2: know that, Like, yours are from Here's might hint you.
Speaker 2: Yours are from Greece and Estonia.
Speaker 3: See one one of my answers I was going to
Speaker 3: say is Dreni Silgascas.
Speaker 1: No, but he was higher. Yeah, Greece in Estonia. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm clueless. Twenty three and twenty five okay, I was
Speaker 1: already listening to twenty I would twenty twenty five has
Speaker 1: no just like anyone.
Speaker 3: The amount of tears that were rolling down my face.
Speaker 1: Yeah, twenty three I probably should remember because you were
Speaker 1: so there was one more person and I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: it wasn't me.
Speaker 2: I don't even know how to pronounce these names, but
Speaker 2: I'm going to try, okay, f the mumious Rencias seriously,
Speaker 2: m hm was that a really bad pronunciation?
Speaker 3: I don't know, but I don't even know who to okay.
Speaker 2: And then twenty fifth was Martin Moore, sap more more sep.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no distruct Okay.
Speaker 2: Now I don't remember no, okay, but like I wonder
Speaker 2: if I them, if they ever want to come on,
Speaker 2: would they remember that Derek Fisher got drafted before. Okay,
Speaker 2: so you have one point? You were on season twenty
Speaker 2: five of Dancing went to Stars. Who were the two
Speaker 2: other pro athletes on the show that season?
Speaker 3: Well, there was two other pros owner pro athletes. Tara Owens, yes,
Speaker 3: who is the other is a female?
Speaker 2: Yes? M I wanted to tell you the sport. Sure, okay,
Speaker 2: but then you get like zero point one five points
Speaker 2: off if you got it. I feel like that doesn't
Speaker 2: really count. Wrestling wrestling.
Speaker 3: It was a female wrestler own it.
Speaker 2: I think, so, I'm pretty sure that's what Google said.
Speaker 3: I mean, Rander Rosey's a boxer or like may, it
Speaker 3: wasn't random Rassey wrestling, I think Okay.
Speaker 2: Nikki Bellah, yeah, yeah, okay on that one for a second,
Speaker 2: I was like, but like, okay, yeah, wrestling don't make
Speaker 2: the wrestling community matter.
Speaker 3: No, wrestling is a sport.
Speaker 2: Okay, we're just clarifying it is a sport. Yes, but
Speaker 2: I feel like there's me a butt.
Speaker 1: I think there's a difference between wrestling and WWE. Sure
Speaker 1: like wrestling is like the old school, Like.
Speaker 2: Oh, you're saying, oh, you're like.
Speaker 1: Olympic Olympic wrestling. Yes, that's like what comes to mind
Speaker 1: when you say wrestling.
Speaker 2: Oh I see, I see. No, that's fair, that's fair. Okay,
Speaker 2: I still.
Speaker 3: Should have got it.
Speaker 2: You're still yeah, great, people, I should I should lacking. Okay, whatever,
Speaker 2: But that was like half a point because you got
Speaker 2: so you're like at like one point five points terrible. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2: You with the most free throws made in Arkansas Little
Speaker 2: Rock history. How many free throws did you make over
Speaker 2: your college career?
Speaker 3: Let me say four years.
Speaker 2: I think the numbers also going to stress you out
Speaker 2: because it's very close to like a milestone thirty games.
Speaker 1: I feel like it was like two fifty two or
Speaker 1: two one seventy nine.
Speaker 2: I don't know which one of those is your final one.
Speaker 1: I'd say closer to two fifty two because thirty games
Speaker 1: a year times four, that's one twenty. There were definitely
Speaker 1: games I shot more than two free throws, but I
Speaker 1: wasn't like Shack. I didn't go to the free throw
Speaker 1: line ten times a game. So two oh nine.
Speaker 2: Okay, like you're reasoning, but it's wrong. It's three ninety nine,
Speaker 2: which I feel like is also annoying because you probably
Speaker 2: wanted that like extra one, like four hundred that would
Speaker 2: have been like sick.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but three ninety nine that's pretty said, nice to
Speaker 3: get to the lot.
Speaker 2: Nice. Okay, you're still you don't know myself though. Okay,
Speaker 2: so this is your last question and you can get
Speaker 2: two points from it. But I'm you're really smart guy,
Speaker 2: and I feel like you're lacking in your trivia.
Speaker 1: Well, no, you know, it's really interesting because I think
Speaker 1: I'm inspired to learn more about myself.
Speaker 2: I'm so glad. I'm so glad I've been able to.
Speaker 3: Know so many things about everything else.
Speaker 2: But no, yourself. Wow, look at that. Okay, how many
Speaker 2: Arkans hell little rock players have ever played in the
Speaker 2: NBA other than yourself or including yourself?
Speaker 1: Okay, Pete Myers, Yeah, I mean technically my brother went
Speaker 1: there for one year before he went to Juco and
Speaker 1: then went to Middle Tennessee State.
Speaker 3: I don't know if he counts.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm not telling you. I'm just gonna let you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, no, Pete Myers is the other one for
Speaker 1: that's a definite.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is a definite. That was actually a question,
Speaker 2: which is who's gonna be the who is the most notable?
Speaker 2: So you can get like half point on that.
Speaker 1: I feel like, I mean, I feel like there's one
Speaker 1: more guy, so three, it's nine, yes, nine, okay.
Speaker 2: I mean they didn't have to play in the NBA
Speaker 2: for eighteen years like you, but like days eighteen, that counts.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Nine. Look at that?
Speaker 3: Did you have the names?
Speaker 2: I don't, but we can get that. I'm at it now.
Speaker 2: You look at that. Yeah, it's you finished the trivia
Speaker 2: with like two points out of I sort of my
Speaker 2: grading is a little iffy, but I would say like
Speaker 2: five or six seven. Yeah, either way, spad pretty bad.
Speaker 2: But it's okay, you got this.
Speaker 3: Yeah, don't you know, I'm not.
Speaker 2: A trivia got your best? No, but I'm not a
Speaker 2: I don't overly focus, Okay on yourself. Okay, that's what
Speaker 2: they all say once you don't get the points right, Okay, okay,
Speaker 2: Well anyways, Derek, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2: I had so much fun, lot of fun. Thanks for
Speaker 2: listening to this episode of Sloan Notes. You can get
Speaker 2: links to my socials and see behind the scenes fun
Speaker 2: from Derek and I in the Shadows, or just search
Speaker 2: at Sloan Nose on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Remember that
Speaker 2: slow with me sa