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All I know is I've never been so invested in a game.
What was your parlay? Bengals Moneyline?
You said you parlayed.
You said I had a parlay.
I'm like parlaying the conversation. Sorry.
Oh, I thought you bet the game.
No, I didn't bet on the game.
That's a way too advanced a word for me.
What's up, you guys? I'm Rachel Demita, and welcome to the Courtside Club.
Today, I am joined by an NBA and NFL insider.
We're hoping to get a story dropping right now in this interview.
Jordan Schultz, welcome to the Courtside Club.
Great to be here. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you.
Can you actually, because I don't think we were rolling at the time,
but you asked me before we even started.
You're like, so I have to leave my ringer on my phone
because there's a couple stories I'm waiting on.
Okay, so, I mean, this is like for the NFL.
I've really kind of shifted my ethos.
to becoming an NFL insider.
And the last year has been really good in that respect.
So it's been great, and as I focused on it,
I've gotten a lot more stories because I'm not having to call
twice as many executives and agents and players.
I'm just focusing on football, really.
But some NBA, you know, sprinkled in here and there.
So with football, it's like training camp,
and you don't think that guys are going to get signed,
but there's still all these really good veterans.
Jason Pierre, Paul, we saw Anthony Barr get signed.
Jason Peters is going to the Hall of Fame.
We just had him on my show a couple days ago.
He still wants to play.
So there's all these guys that are still waiting
to get that call and find that team.
So even though it's August now,
and free agency is long over in theory,
my phone is still with me 24 hours a day.
I keep it on at night because I'm not going to miss a story.
And I actually have missed because, like,
I was with my kids horseback riding a couple weeks ago,
and a pretty prominent player or something happened,
and I didn't have the story because I ate nine minutes,
no service, and that sucks.
But for the most part,
I'm going to have my phone with me all the time.
I wouldn't even know where to begin to become an insider.
How does one get into this?
How do you get those connections?
How do you break the stories when you do?
You know when you're getting recruited for basketball?
Because I know about your game,
and you're a shooter like me,
so we always automatically relate.
Well, I was also an unathletic high school basketball player,
big-time shooter, big-time scorer.
So, you know, I got recruited by a fair amount of teams.
When you start getting one,
and then, like, more come in.
You know, it's like,
I heard that this coach is recruiting you at this school.
You must be decent.
You know, you must be worth at least a call.
So it's very much the same with NFL,
or I guess NBA, becoming an insider.
It's all word of mouth, trust.
You do right by a player, by an agent, by a team.
They know they can trust you.
And it's also not transactional.
You know, if you are trying to get a story,
well, you're not going to talk about that story
for a year or two years.
With that player, or that team, or that coach,
whatever it is, agent,
because you want to make sure
that it's a genuine friendship relationship first.
And it's also two-way.
That's the last thing I would say.
It's like, if you want information,
you have to give information.
So that's why you have to be on the phone so much,
for better or worse.
My wife hates me.
So the last story that you broke,
what happened kind of leading up to that?
Well, it was Debo and DK, or the last two.
I guess we could focus on DK.
Because we have a really good relationship.
And the key, too, is like,
I don't want to reach out to guys
when they're already a star.
Like, I want to get to know you
when you're in high school or in college,
before everyone knows who you are,
and before your phone's blown up
with eight other guys asking for stories.
So for me, with DK, it was,
let's build a relationship while he's at Ole Miss,
and when he's drafted.
And, oh, he's in Seattle.
I'm from Seattle.
Let me set you up with some really good people.
You need a real estate person.
So there's like that actual human,
And a friendship.
And we really vibed.
And sure enough, like,
you know, when it comes down to it,
you never know if you're going to get that breaking story.
But you always hope.
That's not my text.
Sorry, that's something else.
Now I'm like on the edge of my seat ready for it.
The bottom line is you just really want to become an ally.
And I always feel like,
because I played four years in college and unsuccessful,
professionally that I grew up immersed in basketball and I relate to
I think I relate to players really well because I saw the struggle and I
know what it takes in theory to get to that point,
even though I never did.
I think that is something and a lot of actually pro athletes have come out
recently and they don't love when there are commentators or people in the
media who didn't play talk about them.
And they never played the score.
And so for me it goes both ways,
but you and I are the same.
I obviously did not play at the highest level in going professionally,
but I do understand what that struggle is like and those,
those little elements that you might not understand if you weren't there.
You know what I mean?
So you might be able to build that trust a little bit better with players.
When I interview athletes,
I feel like they trust me cause I just like,
I get it a little bit,
I'm not playing in that.
I'm not even close,
Like I also had a you tournaments,
I also was a day.
Three people in a hotel room,
In North Carolina.
In North Carolina,
that's where we used to go.
My AU team had two lottery picks on it.
We had Martel Webster and Brandon Roy.
they were in our program.
And Brandon was a year younger.
Martel was two years or Brandon was a year older,
but Martel was two below me.
And so I saw how they went from like unknown 14 year olds to a thousand coaches.
It felt like at every game coach K loot Olson.
And it was like all of a sudden their lives changed.
It felt like overnight.
And I remember feeling,
how can you not be so overwhelmed?
And in Brandon's case,
he had this great career until he got hurt,
but I just always sympathize for that.
So did you always want to get into media after your basketball career?
I wasn't exactly the greatest student,
but I learned how to read from reading the New York times sports section as a kid.
I just devoured it and I became like a voracious consumer of all things,
mostly basketball and football.
So I always knew this is what I wanted to do.
all the internships I did,
everything was focused on getting into media once I was done.
And specifically sports.
A hundred percent.
Cause I feel like that's,
that's maybe where we differ.
We talked a little bit before we went on air,
how our playing style was very similar.
our basketball playing career.
Both love to shoot,
but I was somebody who actually played basketball and then went home and did
everything that wasn't sports.
I was just into like watching movies and hanging out with my friends and
I didn't start watching college basketball until I was getting recruited and I
didn't know if these teams were good or not.
so if a team reached out,
you didn't even typically know if they were good.
And then it was the same thing after I quit basketball.
I actually didn't watch basketball for like three and a half years.
It was a clean break and I went into entertainment hosting.
So where I'm at now is I like bringing the entertainment and the sports
And that's kind of what I'm doing.
you went straight into stats like hardcore.
This is what I'm obsessed with.
I viewed it as an extension of my basketball career.
it took the same thing I love,
which was sports and relationships and just allowed me to do it at the next
Is there anybody who was in media who mentored you or you looked up to where
you got to meet kind of early on that helped you?
when I was a kid,
not when I was a kid,
cause I think when you're a kid,
you look up to Africa,
it's not like not,
although you know,
like sports center,
So sports center was like my day and age.
That's where Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott,
I didn't meet them necessarily,
I like idolize them.
I sh I guess that's fair.
when I was like 26,
so like 10 years ago,
my agent at the time connected me with Adam Schefter who had just kind of started
a pop and he spent like an hour and a half with me over a coffee and just went
here are the do's and don'ts and that was really cool at the time.
And I didn't know then that I wanted to be an insider or even in the NFL,
but I knew I wanted to be in sports and so that was,
that was helpful.
And we've maintained a really good friendship.
He's definitely helped,
helped me along the way in that regard.
I'd say Adam probably the most.
And now you've crossed over your,
you're doing stuff with the boardroom and then also you were doing the podcast
with CJ for awhile.
So you've kind of tapped into this,
this new media space as players are right.
I fell into youtube,
that's how I'm in this space because I've just always been here.
I was on youtube,
then I was in a video game.
Now I'm just like the digital world is my world and I'm cool with it.
how did you link up with CJ and you guys start that?
Cause that's an amazing show.
You guys won awards for it.
CJ is one of the smartest athletes in the NBA journalism major.
So he's from Ohio.
He's from Kenton.
He's from Kenton.
I was getting recruited by Lehigh also.
Ken's not like a hotbed.
I don't think for sports,
it's close to Akron.
It's like an actor and you know,
LeBron and Steph Curry from Akron.
that's the trifecta.
So this is a perfect example of how relationships in this business come full
So I go way back,
way back with Earl,
He was like a 12 year NBA point guard backup starter,
completely total overachiever.
Like six feet was great at UCLA and we became really,
really close over the years.
And he was actually CJ's vet and then assistant coach in Portland.
And so CJ is like rookie year.
you got to meet this kid.
He's like amazing.
I think he's going to be a really good player.
but at the very least you guys are going to,
really hit it off.
So we got connected and just really hit it off.
Him being just like this journalism major who also was kind of a little bit of
him also just being,
he's a super genuine dude.
we shared a lot of laughs over food.
He's a big foodie like me,
So we had a lot in common.
And then him being in the Northwest where I'm from Seattle just vibed really,
And we became really close over a short period of time.
who decided on the idea for the podcast?
So the podcast relationships,
the podcast came about a pull up pod shout out.
my first job in radio was NBC sports radio.
It was a Sunday morning radio show from I think eight to noon that nobody listened to.
but it was a great experience.
It was four hours of reps every Sunday for sure.
my boss there who was a great guy,
we kept in touch and always kept in touch.
Even though I never,
never knew if anything would come of it,
but I liked him and you know,
you want to stay on people's radars.
So I would bother him every two months,
And then he said,
he reached out to me and says,
we just hired CJ to do this new pod on kind of like culture,
I think he'd be a great fit.
do you want the job?
that was like a great example of not only the relationship with CJ,
but also keeping that relationship that at the time felt like there wasn't anything for me to quote gain from it.
but we just stayed friends.
in this industry as well,
you know better than me,
people move around so often too.
So I'll work with somebody at one company and I'll love working with them.
One of us will leave,
But then later on,
they're somewhere else.
They're at YouTube.
And then they want to hire me to work with them again at YouTube.
If you keep those good relationships,
then that's the biggest thing in media in general.
You started off in YouTube.
How old were you when you really got it going?
I think 2k hired me when I was,
And did you have a say in how you,
how you were represented in the game?
I love how you just flipped the interview on me.
I'm just super curious.
We started out with that show.
There were three people on episode one.
and two shooters.
And that also worked as editors.
So we kind of built that thing from the ground.
A lot of the interviews in the first few years I was booking,
reaching out to agents and like through,
through relationships.
And then one agent was like,
we love this interview you did with this player.
I also have this player who would love to come on.
So that's how it works.
That's just kind of how it happened.
That's how it works.
And also like the booking and the agent saying like,
you took care of my guy.
You made him look good.
He had a good time.
He doesn't like doing that.
you always say that he doesn't like doing media.
just come to my show.
I promise it'll be good.
I think that's one thing too,
in the media you can pick,
you can pick what route you want to take because there are people in media who are ruthless
and really don't give a damn and we'll say whatever they want and we'll have anybody
across the seat from them and talk about stuff that maybe,
this person does not want to talk about and that's fine and that works for them,
but you might never get that interview again or you might never get like somebody at that
for me it's like,
it's just not even my personality and I feel like that's,
that's with you as well.
It's not really my personality to just dig into some negative clickbait stuff,
I think the short term gain of that is so outweighed by the long term gain of that relationship.
And if you're going to,
here's the thing,
if there's something really negative or a story,
what I try to do is to give the person who you're going to write it about the opportunity to speak on it,
and give them a chance to comment.
a live interview,
unless you both know what direction it's going,
unless you're very clear before you,
you never want to blindside someone,
especially if it's something really hard to talk about.
Unless you had the relationship with that person and they know you're going there,
So now you're with the boardroom as well.
I'm assuming also came from your relationships with different people.
That's all it is.
This whole thing is related like a,
it's like a carousel.
You put the corner and it goes around and around.
I had gotten really close.
Close with Rich Kleiman,
who's Kevin's like agent.
I'm not his agent.
he doesn't even want to refer to that,
but his agent manager,
best friend does all the things.
We got really close playing tennis together and hoops just in the summers.
He helped move the conversation with ESPN who ultimately hired me for three years.
So Rich and I got really close.
got to spend some,
have gotten a chance to get to know Kevin who,
he's a wonderful guy and pretty misunderstood person.
I think in general,
a lot of the media maybe doesn't have the best relationship with him because he is one
athlete who isn't afraid to say something back.
If you say something about him,
love it or hate it.
Are you guys cooking up anything over there that we should be on the lookout for?
There's a couple of things happening right now.
the whole league is in like this waiting period for him to make a decision here and
ultimately decide what he wants.
And I didn't even mean on the,
on the basketball side,
the boardroom side,
are you guys kind of on,
on hold until I think everything's on hold until,
really the whole NBA is on hold.
but the NBA career comes first for the boardroom to continue to be successful.
I mean like a lot of athletes have had tremendous success with off the court
platforms like Steph.
he has the underrated golf tour.
He has production company,
obviously Spring Hill,
35 ventures with Kevin.
it's like a athletes are taking their story and they're starting to control
which is a great thing.
Some fans weren't happy with Draymond kind of doing his podcast during the
I don't know either.
and it created a lot of buzz to even like,
we're talking about it right now,
it's a testament to players taking the narrative into their own hands and
doing things aside from basketball that maybe is just new to people.
Because in the past,
if you look back to,
to the Allen Iverson days and Tracy McGrady days,
everybody was doing something other than basketball,
rapping and movies,
But now you do a podcast and you talk after a game and now people are upset
You know what I mean?
in Draymond's case,
he gets hired by the volume with cowherd,
which is pretty cool when you think about like what that means.
And he's starting to,
he's trying to do what CJ is doing,
which is setting yourself up for a career,
after while you're still playing and while you're still relevant.
It makes perfect sense to me.
And why not capitalize and try to get subscribers during the finals?
That's never going to have a hotter time.
I actually have a fun game for you.
So I have some sports myths and conspiracies.
I want to see what you think.
Professional athletes are overpaid.
Cap because they're generating millions of dollars for the league,
You're worth what you can get.
What about baseball players?
I don't really with baseball,
of course they're not overpaid.
they're still professional athletes.
I guess is the one sport that I was like,
these salaries are insane.
good for anybody who's getting a checklist.
I'm not trying to take checks from anybody.
I don't fully understand it.
I don't get how NFL contracts are not guaranteed out of all the sports.
That's the one that needs to be guaranteed,
but that's another story.
the Madden cover athlete curse facts are kept.
I think it's a fact it's happened too many times.
I go back to the Peyton and Peyton Hillis was probably the worst.
He like never played football again.
Who else has been on the cover?
It's more injuries.
Guys have gotten hurt so many times.
That's what I'm saying.
So I'll say fact.
Defense wins championships.
That's like the old Bill Parcells.
Defense wins championships.
that's cap because the Celtics had the best defense in like 40 years and they didn't
when the Chiefs won it,
they didn't have a top five defense.
I guess they had a good defense.
There's too many great offenses.
We haven't seen a truly dominant defense win a Super Bowl since Seattle,
but then they had Russ.
it was Baltimore.
So in this day and age,
That's like saying you have to run the ball to win games.
It's great to have a great running back,
but you don't need it.
Did you watch the Super Bowl or were you at the Super Bowl?
I watched this one.
What did you think about the last few minutes?
I picked Cincinnati.
I'm just parlaying because I was upset.
You're parlaying during the game.
I'm just saying the defense wins championships because somehow,
somehow the Rams got the ball in the one yard line.
Are you inferring that the NFL's officials are not always motivated by the,
by honesty of the game?
All I know is I've never been so invested in the game and I've never paid
attention as much as I did.
What was your parlay?
Bengals money line?
You said you parlayed.
You said I had a parlay.
I'm like parlaying the conversation.
I thought you bet the game.
I didn't bet on the game.
You said I had a parlay.
I thought you had like Bengals in the over.
Like parlaying from defense wins championships to the Super Bowl to where there was.
That's a way too advanced a word for me.
I just think betting once I hear parlay.
This was one game that I did not bet on.
Everybody bets Super Bowl.
I don't know because I think I was too invested emotionally.
I was already upset and I thought we had it.
But you did have it.
They got a great young team and great referees in LA.
I'm just kidding.
NFL is the worst for us.
We know that NBA second,
Muhammad Ali's phantom punch.
The Sunday listen fight that listen took a dive because he needed the money.
That's kind of the conspiracy.
He owed money to the mob.
I'm going to say cap because that disrespects Muhammad Ali.
He was the greatest.
I'm not too invested.
I was like considered the biggest upset of all time.
I guess we're just like reviewing the punch and it just didn't seem like it landed the
way it needed to.
there wasn't HD cameras in 1969 or whatever it was.
So there's no way to like really look at it.
I'm going to say cap because it disrespects Muhammad Ali and I love Muhammad Ali.
this is something that,
we talked about a little bit earlier,
but former athletes and coaches are better commentators than someone who didn't play
the sport at a high level.
It's not a prerequisite,
but I think it helps.
if I'm going to say one or the other.
So do you know who's one person that like diminishes this argument for me is Ernie Johnson.
Like literally the best.
But that is somebody that's,
so that's always what I go back to,
but he's also somebody who's,
he spends hours upon hours upon hours.
He's a true grinder.
I'm really good friend of mine.
He does the Thursday nights like a TNT show inside the NBA.
Ernie Johnson's the hardest worker I've ever seen in my life.
This guy never stops.
you've seen the video.
Ernie's a good example,
have you read his book by chance?
I had not read his book.
I can drink Ernie Johnson promo right now.
Also met the guy.
Kindest man on the planet.
Has a full family.
It's just what he's done is crazy.
And every time he's prepared.
And then at the same time,
he has superstars next to him and just make sure that they stay in line.
That's a skill in itself.
That is no a hundred percent.
He is the ultimate.
He is the Steph Curry or magic Johnson of announcers.
Someone poisoned Michael Jordan's pizza before the flu game.
I'm going to say a hundred percent.
I didn't know about that until say the last,
And I have to believe it based on the fact that like four guys who were
obviously jazz fans delivered the pizza.
It was two in the morning.
He's sick as a guy.
It wasn't the flu game.
but it was always known as that flu game.
I don't know if this was for you to like growing up.
If I was sick now,
nobody does anything if they're sick because of COVID.
But when you were growing up and you were sick,
you would just like muscle through it.
And I would play any game or go to work or whatever.
And I'd have a fever.
But my parents and coaches always referenced back to like,
remember Michael Jordan's flu game.
He had 103 temperature and he played.
And he played the greatest game.
I think that's a,
I think it's a total fact and it only adds to his mystique.
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I want to go back to somebody that you mentioned magic Johnson.
I know that you have a relationship with him.
How'd you know that?
I think I heard it in one of your interviews that you were talking about.
magic Johnson has a coached me and a celebrity basketball game.
Talk to my parents.
I like to take my parents to things cause they never meet celebrities or basketball players.
So for him to like take time out of his day,
he didn't talk to my parents.
So how'd you guys meet?
We met when I was a kid.
I'm going to go back to how we met,
I do want to tell a story because,
I'm pretty low profile when it comes to this stuff,
but he was at my wedding that,
we know him a long time and he shows up to the wedding and you know,
you can imagine that it's just all these people just leave the guy alone.
and I tell my crazy aunt,
don't ask him for his picture or at least not his autograph.
Even my like friends who,
you just make sure you give him some space.
he doesn't want to be bothered by like you idiots at this wedding.
And if you're all just like looking,
what if we just like offer him a shot and then we could like hang out with him.
he'll drink if he wants to drink.
You don't need to like get him a shot at the free bar,
So your family's getting magic Johnson wasted.
I'm just like leave the guy alone,
we get there and at the ceremony,
it's just like a herd,
going toward him.
You can't miss him.
So I see there's this herd of people.
Like this poor guy is just,
you just gotta let it be like,
this is our wedding.
I go over to him and I'm like,
gives a lot of love to ask me off.
I just want to apologize.
what do you mean?
I seen that there's probably a hundred people that have come up to you in the last hour.
these people that never,
never met them before.
I want them to have a great experience meeting me.
I want to say that because he's such a people person.
And we used to work out all the time together and play hoops.
I love that he coached you because I know what he's like as a coach.
Very inspirational.
Like you got this,
And people would come up to him all the time.
and I was just like,
here we go again.
I never once seen him say no to an autograph,
a picture conversation.
It's always that.
So to go take it all the way back,
I've known him since I was a kid and,
How does one meet magic Johnson?
that's a good question.
I also have a good shack story.
I don't know if we have a time cause I,
we love Shaq on the courtside club.
He has a courtside club hat.
We just need to get him on.
You gotta get him on,
but he's a busy man.
You're going to need about,
I'm sure he'll come on.
this is your show.
So you're asking me,
this is not something that I talk about a lot,
but for those who don't know,
founder of Starbucks.
he actually just went back to the company in March,
CEO for the third time.
it's not a congrats.
it's like just retire.
So I grew up immersed,
obviously Seattle.
and magic was the first and only person that ever owned a Starbucks,
So when I was like maybe 10,
my dad went to magic and said,
we'd love for you to be our partner and build,
a series of Starbucks and low income areas in South central Los Angeles,
So I think he did like eight,
something like that.
And they're to this day,
like some of the most successful Starbucks.
Cause basically no companies would go into these neighborhoods,
no retail stores.
And when Starbucks went in,
it set the table and all of them went,
especially cause magic endorsed it.
they've been enormously successful.
And so I got to know magic as a kid,
very organically.
He'd come over to the house.
obviously he was done playing.
over a lot and he stayed with us.
it was a very personal relationship and that's why I was so protective.
All these people like bothering the guy,
but he obviously didn't mind.
And actually that's,
that's a shack story too.
Did you ever hear that one?
we started there.
Then we backtracked.
This is your pod.
I'm taking over here.
At least I'm not being interviewed.
before magic or simultaneously,
my pop went to shack and ask him the exact same question.
And he was prime shack.
Cause this is like,
this is like a Mr.
Three Pete and he's in LA and he wanted to do the same thing in South
And shack was like,
black people don't drink coffee because where he was from,
he had never seen it.
And that's literally what he told my dad.
I never seen anybody of color drink coffee.
the answer is no.
And so every time he sees me now,
Like I could have been one of the greats,
like shack Howard.
and he's always like,
cause he's such a businessman shack.
he didn't buy into it.
So he couldn't support it.
He is a businessman.
So I'm saying now he's kicking himself because he's like,
it would have been substantial.
It would have been massive.
Whenever I'm drinking a Starbucks around him,
What could have been?
so have you worked with magic or shack kind of in your media landscape?
A little with shack,
but I'm so respectful of like that relationship.
those relationships.
I think I did one small thing with shack,
like when he was promoting a video game a couple of years,
So other than that,
I will say that when I was a kid,
whenever the Lakers were in town,
shack would come over for dinner the night before.
And he would literally come and sit on my bed and be like,
we'd like hang out.
Cause he's a big kid.
And he would take up the whole bed and he would eat so much food.
He would eat a massive cake,
like a whole cake.
And he'd be like,
look what I can do.
I just love shack.
He was like a big brother,
but also like older and way bigger.
He was just the coolest guy.
And he's just like that today.
I feel like it's crazy for you because you see people who grew up,
obviously your family's very fortunate,
I heard in another interview,
just talk about the work ethic that you all have.
And for someone like you,
I feel like that could go one of two ways.
you're doing a ton for yourself.
You said you even went so far as wanting to change your name.
The Hebrew name because you want to have your own path.
You know what I mean?
But there are some kids who probably just been like,
go work at Starbucks also,
or just help my dad or whatever.
So what kind of fuel do you,
to take your own path and create this lane?
I listened to your interview with Drew Hanlon and he talked a lot about,
it's a little later,
but I listened to it and I loved what he,
when you both said about how,
like you would great,
the great ones in his case,
like he talks about in B,
like just find a way throughout the day to be working on their game,
even when they're not like in the gym.
It's just always a way to get better.
So for me as a kid,
I originally parlayed it into basketball.
It was all basketball.
I was a good athlete,
not a great athlete.
I was really hard worker and I had a very good high school career as a result.
But I always knew that Starbucks wasn't even like,
it wasn't even an option.
if there was a window,
it was just closed.
I never even considered it because for me it was never going to be,
I was never going to like have made it on my own.
I was always going to be Howard's son.
And not that like I'm never in Howard,
I'm not Howard's son,
but in that company with that shadow,
it would have been,
it would have probably been catastrophic for me.
I just like couldn't deal with it.
It got really bad at like away games,
like the Frappuccino chance and the Starbucks sucks.
so when you would get the ball,
people would chant.
more of the free throw line.
Or like when I get the ball,
I actually liked it.
I got knee pads cause I was the only girl on my team who wore knee pads.
I like basketball.
I've never even heard of that.
Wearing knee pads in basketball.
It's not soccer or volleyball.
I never got injured and I was scrappy and I was going after loose balls when other girls weren't.
So you were always on the ground and you felt like this is protecting me.
I just always wore them.
I wasn't always like,
I wasn't falling on the ground.
They called you knee pads.
They would chant.
you have to pick something,
if you're even good,
So I always got knee pads,
You got Starbucks.
I might take Starbucks.
It's kind of cooler than it wasn't cool.
I've gone back and like watch tapes and like,
I was so immature.
I would like egg them on.
if you hit a few threes,
And usually that happened.
you'd have your off games and they just,
my parents were super supportive when I was like 16,
maybe sophomore year high school.
We sat down and they were like,
do you have any idea what you want to do?
I know I want to do sports media in some,
in some capacity.
So they were really supportive and that made a massive difference.
That's cool that,
that you had that backing too.
And you were able to find your own drive because like I said,
some people will just chill.
But I think also growing up in that space,
it wasn't like uncommon to have famous people like at the house,
that would happen a lot or at dinners.
It was always just,
I was around it so much.
I think that's really helped me with athletes because,
I just feel so comfortable around them.
I see what their plight is.
Like I know how hard it is.
But you also just see the human element to the athletes also.
Has there been anybody that you've been starstruck around?
That's a good one.
let me think about that.
Cause I'm sure probably like not an athlete necessarily,
maybe more like an actor or a singer or something when I,
it was just so many times when I was a kid where I was like,
Bono would like come over,
Shaq and I just was,
I was so immersed in it.
it's super seldom,
but I'm sure it's happened.
So there's been one for me and it was Allen Iverson.
Because that was my favorite player growing up.
And that's somebody who's also like not really on social media.
He's not in the scene very much or doing events here.
And he's not that many places,
you know what I mean?
He's not as accessible as some of these other guys are.
So I remember when I saw him,
I met him briefly and I was just like,
you were my favorite player growing up.
Thank you for all that you did for the game of basketball.
And like shook my hand,
but I was probably just like,
You're also like,
you're only like five 11.
thank you so much.
One of my favorite players ever.
I know that you said you're focusing on the NFL right now,
but what NBA storylines you've been following?
I think the young talent is incredible.
But the French kid who I recommend you just go on YouTube.
His name is Victor women Yana.
he looks like a combination.
Of Janice and like Morant.
He's a perimeter player.
He's like what we thought Porzingis was.
He's super athletic.
This guy went Victor women Yana is just utterly ridiculous.
And he he's like surefire.
Number one pick everyone's obsessed with them.
It just seems like every couple years.
We get one of these.
So where is he now?
He's in the French League.
probably 190 pounds.
did you see hustle?
I need to watch it.
I know Rob Weiss said he loved it on your show.
And I was like Rachel saw.
I do need to watch it.
But I'm one of those people who has like four shows going at a time.
I have to finish them.
That's a great movie.
it's kind of like it almost feels a little bit like that where these guys come out of nowhere a European and he's like a unicorn.
so I'm really excited about that.
Any bold predictions on teams teams.
You think are going to surprise us?
Are the Lakers going to do what they say?
I said before last season,
the Lakers will not make the playoffs.
I got obliterated for it.
They will not make the playoffs or they'll be a low seat that the team is just not.
I like the Darwin ham hire,
but they're so hamstrung.
I really think this narrative that like Phoenix's window is closed is ludicrous.
and then they they're bringing back Cam Johnson.
Obviously eight and they matched on I mean Booker CP.
The team they won 64 games.
They were in the finals two years ago,
a game and a half away from losing it from winning it.
I don't know how the I guess they lost to Dallas.
this script has been flipped that they're not a good team anymore or that they can't contend.
But do you think it's more so it's not even their abilities,
but it's just their like inability to close.
I think people I mean like the mindset around that team Phoenix was really cool two years ago.
they were they beat the Lakers.
And then people were like,
oh Booker's a star.
Chris Paul's back.
Then they flame out against Dallas and everyone's disappointed and they're no longer a cool story.
It's like why everyone loves Memphis now or Minnesota these up-and-coming teams,
but Phoenix is still built with a great coach and money Williams to win the championship.
And I have no doubt.
They'll get there.
I called the Warriors and people thought I was crazy too.
so you call it before clay got before he came back when he was coming back.
Yeah before play.
I said that they were going to win it all and everybody thought I was crazy.
let me let me rewind the clock a little bit for you.
about a month left in the regular season.
I go to San Francisco and they play the Suns they lose.
Steph was not playing then he was still hurt.
They lose to the Suns and it felt like the entire city was like we're finished.
this team stinks clay had like a terrible game and I spoke with Steph after the game and it's been a little time with them.
you almost could feel the you can almost feel the wheels turning like I'm coming back.
Clay's just coming back Draymond is going to be fine.
Like everyone can keep doubting us,
but there's no question like we're going to surprise people.
and I remember thinking like just don't know if I can get there.
I love this team,
but the injuries and sure enough and that's why he's Steph Curry.
Let me ask you as much as I love magic.
I put Steph ahead of magic.
Where are you on?
I didn't watch magic enough to make to make that evaluation.
magic to just because you're like,
I just didn't I don't watch enough of his games,
but I've been to so many Warriors games.
Like I've seen stuff in person and what he's doing for the NBA now is insane.
Like he's changed the entire game.
He's changed the game.
There's 11 year olds like shooting from we were ahead of the volleyball line shooters.
I would have I would have how many coaches sold in this in today's game?
how many coaches would tell you Rachel like get to the hoop?
Get the free throw.
You know how many times I got in trouble because I would step over half court take two steps
But that was actually a play of ours off.
The tip was to me a couple.
a couple dribbles to a shot because nobody's guarding it.
Definitely right.
No one's guarding you.
So but like you would have a wide open layup.
Don't take it like take the three.
They wanted to start off on that.
That was our play.
My coach didn't give me that freedom.
I think I I think I shot,
I wasn't shooting.
I was on the bench.
Like if I was passing up shots,
they're like we have you in for one reason.
What did you average shoot the ball high school of high school?
That's that's good.
And and do you know like what percentage you shot from three roughly?
I don't actually I could look it up.
What's your career high?
You got to be kidding me.
I'm 42 and I could pull up the article 42.
I had like six that game.
you mean threes ever in a game?
Seven is only seven.
And can I ask you your all your all-time Mount Rushmore basketball?
So it's for it's for yeah.
it's so hard not to do five.
give me your five.
I just want to know.
I just like knowing because I always throw Iverson in there because that was my favorite player.
So it's it's Iverson.
Kobe Jordan LeBron and check.
it's very new school.
Jordan Kobe Kareem LeBron.
And I think the fifth is I always say Larry Bird and he's probably not there,
but I just love Larry Bird highlights.
So that's like your Larry Bird is my Iverson.
I loved Iverson and he was a completely different player than I was.
it's like make any sense at all percentage,
but I also watched JJ Redick when he was at Duke and like I was,
looking up to him.
Are we gonna do like the video thing?
Like the star bench cut thing?
I don't get that.
that was just specific for Rob ways.
You didn't even see the movies.
Yours was the facts are kept.
I just want to go on the record.
I just want to record that.
Remember the Titans for me is the best football movie.
the basketball movie is as much as I love.
I'm still going with love and basketball basketball and take it and you have coach Carter.
I have coach Carter still.
I need to watch hustle to hustle is definitely legit.
I do though have some buzzer beaters for you.
I love buzzer beaters.
I wasn't good at them,
but I like I like answering.
Ideal food and drink combo while sitting courtside.
Probably like a really good cold beer.
and like fish and chips.
I don't I don't eat meat.
Do they sell that at basketball?
So I haven't eaten.
I don't eat meat.
I haven't eaten since I was a kid.
So are you being excellent?
I haven't eaten meat since I was 18.
But we do drink Starbucks.
I'll get you a gift card.
It'll get you like two drinks.
What's the best game that you've ever been courtside for 96 finals?
I think it was a game for Seattle Beach,
So that would have been that yeah,
or or the 96 Western Conference finals when the when Seattle beat the Jazz either way.
I mean that whole season.
That was Gary Payton Sean camp in their prime.
That was that was great.
Oh also one more.
I think it was a 2009 finals.
It was Lakers Celtics.
And it was the game when they were the Lakers were down like 24 and they came all the way back in one was like game two or something.
So that was I was on the floor.
That was that was that might be all that I was like I was going to say that might be the best one.
So who was one person dead or alive that you would love to sit courtside with?
I heard I heard you asked Rob that I guess I would keep it in.
The sports realm and really want to know like what dr.
James Naismith would figure out like today's game.
what the **** is this?
what is this thing that I created?
Where's the peach room?
It's like where is my where's my royalty?
where's my royalty?
What is this game?
So and last but not least,
what is one event in history sports or otherwise that you'd love to be court side for?
What are the guys Rob say assassination and JFK?
That was my first guest who got angry about that question.
what do you mean history?
That's a great question.
There's so many bad things in history.
I don't want to so many good things,
but I guess that's where his mind went.
it would be unbelievable to know how he actually like what actually happened.
Speaking of my dad and just ridiculously interested in this topic.
So I've been hearing millions of theories since I was a kid on how he actually died.
He's like down the conspiracy rabbit big time.
I think it would be unbelievably cool to see.
I guess it's not in the one event,
but it's it's basic when Lincoln free the slaves.
I don't know if I rewatched the movie recently and never read a couple books.
It what what this man went through and the backlash he got.
It was unbelievable.
Yeah, and when he free the slaves,
it completely changed the landscape of the country for sure.
I would just love to ask just understand like how he did it.
How did you do this?
And what was the biggest struggle to get?
Yeah, I feel like I'm having a history lesson today.
Because this is not the first time Lincoln has been brought up really in the podcast.
I was like I hope I didn't know.
It's not not in this some another one of my guests has actually,
you might know him Buster Buster the Buster show share.
He was familiar with you,
He he has like collectibles and he has something from Abraham Lincoln.
That's so that is a signature in a stamp.
So that is I'm that is unbelievable.
Yeah, I'm not like the biggest history buff,
but I agree that wow.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah, I was just thinking about you asked me earlier.
You asked for relationships and how you break these stories.
So when I broke the Gronkowski news of him retiring,
there's a little bit of a good backstory there.
I don't know if you want me to tell it.
Okay, I'll tell it really quick.
Okay, met him a couple years ago became friendly and he loves animals.
And so we connected on that because that's that's I love animals.
That's what she does.
And so he goes to like Petco and buys everybody animal supplies
and he's like an animal of that.
Yeah, totally obsessed and he loves his dogs.
And so we started connecting on that and I said to him six months ago.
Is it possible when you do announce your decision to give me a heads up?
So I could help you break the news and he was like,
of course and I I didn't want to push back in terms of like the next six months.
Like is there a decision coming?
I just let it be he calls me up 20 minutes before and he says I'm retiring
and I want you to announce it and I was like wait you first of all,
I definitely that he's coming back and I was like a sure and yeah,
I'm sure and he says you can announce it and I said he said,
but you don't need to wait 15 minutes and I said, okay.
It's probably gonna get leaked before and he was like, I don't care.
He was like I want you to get the story.
That's how much it and for him to be thinking about that right during his moment.
Yeah about me above and beyond truly guys one of a kind.
So wait, well, why did you think it was going to get leaked because a lot of times
when it's especially when it's a story of that magnitude of that player,
right? It's just the chances of somebody getting a hold of it.
Telling someone else.
Yeah, not the Rob, right?
He's got to tell the team.
Hey, I'm not coming back.
Right the chances of it getting leaked and anybody's going to take that information immediately.
That's cool about Gronk though.
I love rock is the coolest.
You got to get him on the show.
He is the coolest guy.
Let him know to come.
I will I will I'll be with him in a week.
So I definitely will bring Camille to she's awesome.
Rob is the coolest guy that you're going to be like, wow, what a great guy.
Like how did you ever play football?
We can talk about animals the whole time.
I'll easily pivot.
Yeah, we have a lot of animals.
You ever want to come visit?
We over a hundred over a hundred animals cool rescue.
Really all all of them every single one.
What kind of animals any farm animal you can think of we have sheep goat horse mini horse donkey duck cat bird pigs.
We have four pigs ever.
Have you been to the sanctuary in Utah?
The best friends sanctuary.
No, but we are affiliated with it.
And they are one of the best amazing.
So I I volunteer you post something about this.
I volunteered with them when I was living in LA.
I volunteered with best friends.
That's where I have gotten my cats from.
I'm a crazy cat lady.
Yeah, weird connection to them.
Yeah, so and then I took a volunteer trip to Utah and I volunteered with the special needs cats at the sanctuary in Utah.
So they have all these different houses and there's just one house.
That's like special needs cats.
So they're all like two legs three legs blind.
Deaf cancer all like literally all the things you can think of but it was you know,
I cleaned litter boxes and played with them and fed them and gave them love and a lot of them come from like hoarding situations,
but it was like the best trip.
So I would love to see what your family has.
We'll definitely connect on that because I'm animal freak.
Cool before I actually let you go.
Where can people find you?
What should we be looking out for?
Well, I just got on tik-tok.
You have a great day.
You've been doing NBA.
Commentaries just to get some consistency somewhere.
So I'm on tik-tok Instagram Twitter.
I mean, it's you know, it's all the same.
I mean, I have different profiles, but you can just probably find me on there.
So I would love to understand your tik-tok world and like how you do.
I'm actually saving some stuff from today.
I'm not going to do like a day in the life thing.
I'll take like a video of this.
Maybe you can like say hi.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Make sure that you like
and subscribe and we'll see you next time.