Paul Pierce on beef with Dray, LeBron's greatness, Celtics Big 3 stories | Draymond Green Show

What's up everybody? Welcome to the Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Make sure you like the post that you love, but you can get everything the Draymond Green Show right on our YouTube channel. So make sure you subscribe, check that out. Thank you. What's up everybody? Welcome back to this Draymond Green Show. We got another legend, basketball royalty here today. Another one of the greats. 10th pick in '98 NBA draft, 2008 NBA champion and Finals MVP, 10-time All-Star, 1-time All-NBA Second Team, 3-time All-NBA Third Team, a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. His number 34 is retired by, we don't really wanna talk about this team because they just beat us really bad, but retired by none other than the Boston Celtics, a man with the nickname, The Truth, Paul Pierce. Welcome to the Draymond Green Show.

What's up, what's up, Dray? Hey, hold on, before we get started, I gotta address your viral shit talking first off. 'Cause you just said your side of it and I ain't had a chance to say my side of it yet. And so I'mma start off with that first of all, the shit where you was like, you don't want no farewell tour, you thought you was Kobe. All right, so let me go to my side of the story.

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Yes, sir.

Now, the Golden State Warriors were starting the beginning of the height of their superpowers, and Draymond Green had the height of his superpowers. He was one of the more intimidating players, and top defensive guy in the league, and I'm on the Clippers. You know, I feel like I'm on a team that got a chance to maybe challenge y'all. So I just feel like it just looked like Clippers was kind of intimidated by you, Steph, and all of that. And so I wanted to bring a little edge to the table, and I wasn't really playing much then, so it was hard. So we going to the game and I'm just seeing how you guarding Blake, and I'm like, damn, he be hella physical and he pushing on him. I'm like, You know, what the fuck going on, man? Hold on, Blake, bust his ass, man. Hell no, you can't let him do that because everybody know you the head of the snake. And if you go at the head of the snake, you got a shot. And I didn't want y'all to think we was intimidated. So I'm yelling, I'm whooping at you. We at the free throw line, I think. I forget who at the free throw line. And I'm whooping at you like, no, fuck that, man. Fuck him. Go at him, Blake. You better than him, whatever. And so I'm like, all right. I'm shooting, I want everybody to know this is what we on this year. You know, damn, come on, this is the class of the league right now. And you said what you said, right? And everybody, the camera on me. So when I, and to be honest, I didn't hear what you said. People don't know this, but the microphone underneath the basket pick up everything. And so when you're in arena, it's hard to hear. I'm on the sideline, I'm on the bench. And it's hard to hear, so it make it look like you shot something to me. But honestly, I didn't even hear what you said until after the game. I'm looking at my Twitter like, "Oh damn." You know, he went back at me, 'cause I couldn't really see you. I'm on the bench, you're on the other side. But I do love your banner, and I will tell you this. I love the fact that you stayed true to who you are, because even before you won, you was like that. 'Cause I remember when you came in there in Boston, when you was talking shit to KG, and I'm like, "Who is this dude right here?" Like really looking at him. Y'all ain't won yet, but you was already you. You had that. You remember that? We carried to go to state. You was talking shit to KG. I'm like, "Who is this little nigga right here, man? Who is?" He was, I was like, "Damn." And so it all makes sense now. Like you always been like that. You know, some people they start winning or they get some money and they turn into something else. You know what I'm talking about? But you came in true to yourself and I appreciate that, man. And you know, "I love what you've been doing to the game, and I just want everybody to know between me and you, it ain't never been no beef. Good banner. I respect your game and what you brought to the game, man." Nah, I appreciate that.

I definitely remember that. 'Cause I remember coming in, you know how KG, KG, KG would stand next to you. I've actually told this story before. KG will stand next to you and he will call you every B in the book.

Yeah, yeah.

He will call you every, 304 in the book. He gonna call you soft, all of that. And he just gonna stand at the free throw line next to you and say all of these things about you. And I'm standing there and I'm like, first I'm like, this nigga's crazy. Like I'm just standing there listening to him like, who is he talking to, man?

Like, he gonna come back down the court. And talking to you though. And you know he talking to you.

And I'm like, "All right." We go back down the court, another foul happened, we at the free throw line. He's like, "Yeah, this little nigga can't fuck with me. Little soft ass nigga." And I'm just sitting there like, "Hey yo, I ain't gonna be no more, I ain't gonna be too many more of your soft ass. You ain't gonna keep talking to me like that." And he like, "Yeah, whatever little nigga. I ain't getting into that with you today." I'm like, "No, you gonna get into it with me today. You keep talking to me like that." I remember that. That's just, you know, it's funny because I've just always been taught by my mom, by my neighborhood, like the foot that you start off on.

Yeah.

That's where it's going. You know, so like Coach Izzo, when I first got to campus, and I won't say what he called me publicly, but when I first got to campus, my first text was Coach Izzo. He called me a very specific name and I went crazy. And I'm like, and now mind you, I'm a fat pudgy, Freshman. Like when I say fat pudgy, I was real fat and pudgy. And I'm not like the highest recruit. Like we got 2 recruits of my 3-person class. I'm the lowest recruit. And he called, and I lost it. And I start like cussing him out. Like, don't ever call me that. Yeah. And he never called me that again. It was, but he only never called me that again because I stopped it then.

You stood up. You know what I'm saying?

Right. Absolutely. And so that's just kind of how I always been. So when that happened with KG, you know, for me, you growing up, you know, and especially for me, I'm growing up and watching KG in particular with his emotion, you know what I'm saying? And how he wears emotions on his sleeve and he loud and he communicate. So I felt like I could relate to that. You know what I'm saying? Like I play with my emotions on my sleeve. Like I'm gonna talk to the next guy. I'm gonna scream on you when I do something. Something to you, you know? And like watching KG do that, I'm like, "Oh man, that's dope." But then you come into the league and now it's like, I can't really be that fan. You know what I'm saying? Like I gotta come in here and stand on business or they gonna treat you like that fan. And so when I came in and I noticed him doing that, I'm like, "Hold on, man. Like this KG, but you can't just sit and talk to me like that, bro." Right. But even getting into the moment that you just got into, I had no idea The microphone picked that up either. Like I got to my phone and I was so upset. I was so upset because, you know, at that time, and you had just came into the rivalry, right?

Like you—

Yeah.

You know, it's us, the Clippers, who's the next young team out? You know what I'm saying? And we had just won, but you know, it's still kind of right there. Like Doc had just said that year, like, oh, they only won because such and such was hurt and this person was hurt. And so it's still kind of right fresh in those moments. And I'm like, you know, at that time Blake was, Blake, LaMarcus Aldridge, like them was the dogs at the Z-Bo, them was the dogs at the 4 spot. You know what I'm saying? Z-Bo, my big bro, Spartan dog. And so for me, when I see these dudes, I just wanna kill them. Like y'all saying, these is the dudes at the 4. I wanna kill these dudes.

Right.

And so you had just came in, me and Blake had already had our thing for a few years leading up to this.

Mm-hmm.

And you like, "Cook him, Blake, he too little." And that trigger for me. I hate when people say he too little because the reality is I probably really am too little. And so it's kind of one of those pet peeves of like, don't fucking tell me I'm too little. And so you yelling, "He too little, he too little, man. Cook him, Blake." And because you're yelling that, I jump on a Blake Griffin pump fake. And I'm like, "What are you doing, bro?" Like, why are you jumping? I love it. On a Blake Griffin pump fake. Like if Blake Griffin wanna shoot a 19-footer, by all means, you let Blake Griffin shoot that. I done jumped on the pump fake, I foul, and you just over there talking. So now I'm even more mad. Like this dude just made me jump at a Blake Griffin pump fake. He talking, he don't know how much I really don't like Blake in this instance because he in my way. Like I'm trying to be, I wanna be an All-Star. Like, you know what I'm saying? So I'm like, he in my way. Yeah, I'm just saying. And then I got back to the phone and I'm like, my phone, I got a million text messages.

Right.

And I'm like, why the hell I got all these text messages? I ain't did nothing crazy.

Right, right.

And I see that, I'm like, oh, they picked that up.

Right, right. Oh.

And that was a crazy moment.

I still get that on my Twitter feed every single day. So like, I'm like, damn. So I just wanted to address that, but like, I always enjoy, you know, a little banter here and there. If I'd have heard that, I probably would've snapped something back. But, you know, it's all good. It's always love. You know, you a competitive person just like myself. I wish we could've saw each other when I was in my prime, but you know, you doing your thing, dawg. And I appreciate that because of the passion. You could've played in any era. 'Cause I feel like today, the passion ain't the same. You know, I think, you know, a lot of guys, get too complacent with their brands, the money they making, and it just feels like I don't see that passion no more. Yeah, you playing hard, but someone playing hard, you see it only in a certain few people. Like, and I named this before, it's like you, Giannis, Westbrook, Pat Beverley, and you know, maybe a few more. But just like that, just you let it out. You don't hold it in.

Mm-hmm.

And I appreciate, you know, still seeing that while it's still in the game.

Absolutely, nah, I appreciate it. And we gonna talk more about that, but before we get into all that, I wanna like, take me back. You're born in Oakland and then moved to Inglewood, California. Take me back to that journey. It's very interesting to me. Obviously I became who I've become in Oakland. Oakland is near and dear to my heart. And so I'm very interested in just hearing that story.

Yeah.

And then I live in LA now, you know? So both of those places mean a lot to me. To me.

Yeah, so I grew up in Oakland. I got two older brothers who played Division I. Single parent, lived with my mom. Never knew my dad, but you know, my mom moved around from Chicago. But once my brothers got old enough for college, about 9 years old, I moved to LA, to the east side of LA, right? We just went from one hood to the next. You know, mom was a survivor. She was a nurse just trying to get food on the table, man. Shout out to my mom. I lost my mom last year, but man, she taught me so many life lessons. I'm sorry to hear that. And I, you know, she did everything she could. She left everything that, man. And so I'm saying that, so we moved to LA, stayed a year in LA, then moved to Inglewood. And you like, damn, you know, we moving a lot. We ain't really got no stable place. What people don't know, when I was in 7th or 8th grade, my brother got drafted to play Major League Baseball.

Okay.

He got drafted 10th pick to play with San Francisco Giants. Steve Hosey, you know, he never really stuck in the big leagues, but he made like a signing bonus. I think he made like $50,000 at the time or $75,000. And that was enough to get us out them apartments and got us a cool house in Inglewood to where it was a little safer environment. But I think, you know, moving to Inglewood really molded me. You know, growing up around gangs and drugs and prostitution and, you know, going to an inner city school is not easy when you gotta catch the bus. And it kind of shaped me. You know, when your environment shapes you who you are, you can make a decision. Do you wanna go one way or the other? And so that's why when people see me on the basketball court and off the court, it's two different people. And I'm sure you can relate to this. It's like, we carry so many different personalities. Like, this is who I am right here, you know, and because of my upbringing. So people think I was unapproachable or always was mad and all of that, but In reality, I love my family, I love people, I'm nice, I'm social and all of that. But it is definitely a journey, you know, to get to where you want to go. And you can see it in certain players. They come from something that was difficult and you can see it in they play. And I see that in you, you know, Allen Iverson, you see it in KG, you see it when these guys, you know, play with that type of emotion.

Yeah, nah, 100%. Because I always say like, I am the way I am, I play the way I play because that's how I grew up playing at Saginaw. That's how I had to be. Like if you were gonna get on the court, you had to be that way. If you weren't that way, you was getting ran off the court quick.

Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. And same way, same way, man. Growing up in the parks, you better stand on your foul or you gonna get beat up or ran out the park. Absolutely. And don't come back. And don't come back. So you always gotta stand on that.

But talk to me about like moving around LA, 'cause that's a little dangerous. You know, like LA is very like this side, this, it can get to streets. Like that street is this gang. This street is that gang. You go over, you know, a little bit over the way is now Bloods. You go a little bit that way is Crips. Like talk to me about navigating that, you know, being new to LA and then Inglewood and kind of having to navigate that. Yeah, that's a nice question.

You was a little kid. So check this out. You know Oakland, you've been out in Oakland all these years, but you know the talk in Oakland is a little different. Like they say blood, like what's up blood in Oakland, right?

Yeah.

So I grew up saying, you know, and blood was like, you know, what's up my boy? So I moved to LA and I moved in a Crip neighborhood. So my first thing is my friends, I'm like, yeah blood, yeah blood. They like, "Hey, you can't say that over here." You know what I'm saying? As a matter of fact, you— and I had like some red shoestrings. I was like, "You can't wear that over here." And I was just matching my shoes.

Mm-hmm.

So basketball culture and gang culture, especially when you start becoming good, it kind of go hand in hand. And when you live in these type of neighborhoods. And so I had to learn that when I first got to LA. Then I moved to Inglewood. So now I know what's up. You know, Inglewood is mostly predominantly Blood. But that's a good thing you asked, Draymond. And what the people, the story ain't told enough is how gang culture and basketball culture kind of go hand in hand, especially in the hood. So when you start becoming good, you know, you grow up in certain neighborhoods, they look out for you now, you know?

So fact.

They look out for you now. So now like when you see guys in the NBA do certain signs, they might not be gangbangers, but they might be tied to 'em 'cause they grew up around. And so that's how it was for me. You know, they get you some shoes, they make sure you go to the park, ain't nobody messing with you, you got a future, they looking out. You know what I'm saying? So that's the story in all itself. You know, just being around them and like, man, this is who I grew up around. You know, this is where I live. You know, and they like, look, you don't need to get involved with all this smoking and drinking on the corner, doing what we do, but we gonna make sure if any of us can make it out the hood, it's gonna be you. So we gonna look out for you. You know, and I'm thankful for the guys that looked out for me growing up, not knowing that I couldn't be in certain places, telling me where not to go or making sure I didn't show up here. And that's definitely a difficult thing to navigate, you know? And I always say you definitely gotta surround yourself around the right people. And I didn't find myself hanging with 'em, but I lived in the neighborhood. And so I think it's important to really surround yourself around people who gonna have positive influence on you. But also you gotta keep a distance on what to do and what not to do. 'Cause then we make it to the NBA, Draymond, and you still have some of these ties, but you gotta like grow up at some point. You know what I'm saying? And sometimes I might be referencing to guys that I play in the league with today. You know, maybe some things happen with Ja. I don't know the complete story with that, but maybe that has something to do with, you know, your surroundings and the people you around. So the one message I will say is just be able to navigate that. If you got a bright future, if you think you can make yourself, get yourself out the hood and make a better life for yourself, then you need to do that.

Yeah, nah, and I always, you know, I agree with you 100% because, you know, guys in my neighborhood, if I, you know, if I went the wrong way, they like, nah, you know, or you come over there, you like, yo, I wanna shoot dice or—

Right.

You know what I'm saying? You go, you reach for the J, they like, "Man, I slap the shit outta you." If you don't, you don't like—

Right.

You not doing this. You gotta make it.

Right.

You gotta be the one to make it outta here. You not doing this. And the sense of, I wouldn't even necessarily say protection, but just like them looking out, like the way guys in the hood looked out for you, it is actually total opposite of what people outside of the hood think. People outside of the hood think you grow up in the hood and it's the guys in the hood in the hood pulling you in. Like, "Hey man, we wanna draw you in." And it's actually the total opposite. The guys in the hood like, "Yo, don't do this." Don't do this. Like, "I'm already over here doing this. This ain't it, bruh." Like, "It may look cool." And like, "Don't get me wrong, I got respect. Like, I got this, I'm a little clout, but this ain't the clout and respect you want. Like, get away from over here." And so that's one thing I've always respected. Like, from, you know, the OGs in the hood that I grew up in, the OGs from hoods you grew up in, and different OGs you know around, like, They like, nah, bro, this ain't it. Like, you go that way. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, that's a story that need to be told more. You know, and I think there's a story in all that. And I've been talking to people about that though, straight up.

Yeah, 100%. 100%. You then leave Inglewood, you go to Kansas, you win 3 Big 12 Players of the Year. And you know, in 3 years of playing at Kansas, which is unheard of, people don't do that. Talk to me about why did you stay so long? Like you knew you were dominating, you Big 12 Player of the Year as a freshman, then you win it again as a sophomore. Why did you end up staying at Kansas for 3 years as opposed to going to the NBA even earlier?

Yeah, to be honest with that, I could have left my sophomore year, but that, I wasn't ready. I told myself I wasn't ready, just mentally and physically. 'Cause I came in as a young freshman, I stepped on campus at 17.

Okay.

And played 3 years, left at 20. But I wasn't ready, Draymond, to be honest, because '95, KG left straight to the league. That's the first time that ever happened. We left McDonald's, everybody like, "What college you going to?" All the top players. KG was the only one that didn't commit. He was like, "I'm going to the league." So everybody was like, "Damn, you could do that?" So I'm like, "Oh, okay." So then the next year I'm a freshman. Next thing you know, Stephon Marbury and Shreeb Abdul-Rahim was one and out. So that was the first year of guys going one and out in college. So KG started the high school and then the one and done was started. So I think my class was responsible for a lot of that, you know, moving forward with the high school guys coming out. Because if it wasn't, we wouldn't have guys like Kobe, LeBron, T-Mac, Dwight. You know, KG really kicked the door in for that. And then after that, but the norm, Draymond, was 3 years and out. That was the norm in the '90s, '80s, you know, you matured, you played 3 years and after your 3rd year, that was leaving early.

Mm-hmm.

You know, and so Steph and Sharif and KG did that. You know, nobody was, that was like taking the leap early. Until now, everybody freshman, freshman, sophomores, high school players until they cut that from the NBA. So, but that was the culture. Leaving early was the 3rd year. You did 3 and then you left early. So that's why I stayed.

Okay. All right. 'Cause I've looked at that a million times. Like, yo, he destroying everybody. Why did he stay here? Like, I stayed 4. I had to stay 4 years in school. Like, I ain't had no choice.

Because they just— KG was the first year they started drafting for potential. Before, you got drafted on if you was ready or not. Because before that, the number 1 pick was coming in damn near averaging 18, 19 a game. Damn near second, third year, you an All-Star from the number one pick because they were a little more mature. Then after that, KG come in, they start drafting on potential.

Okay. Nah, that's, that's, that's—

So that's a little history lesson right there.

I appreciate that. 'Cause I was tripping on that. But then you go to the Celtics and you balling. But from a team standpoint, it don't start off great.

I mean, y'all— Nah, we garbage.

We garbage. Celtics tradition, excuse me, tradition, all the championships, the Burrs, Robert Parish, Bill Russell, you know, the list goes on and on. How was it dealing with that? Because Boston ain't the nicest town. Like these fans, they ain't just like, oh, we cool, we happy to have you here.

Nah, they might boo you.

They expecting titles. Yeah, they might boo you, man. It was rough coming in.

Coming in there early. And I remember I got drafted 10, and I remember taking the ball out as a rookie. They like, who is this? Y'all draft this motherfucker? I was like, damn. It's like one of my first few games. Like, damn. You gotta have thick skin to play in certain organizations or you'll get ran out by not only the fans or the media. But luckily, you know, I came in like, look, I'm gonna be me, uh-huh. I don't really hear crowd noise. I'm gonna make my mark right away. And I was able to establish a friendship with Tuan. And it was rough at first, you know, 'cause I came from Inglewood where we won. I came with the Kansas, we won a lot of games. And to get on a team to where it's like no playoffs, under .500, going home early, it was like culture shock. It was not only a culture shock moving from LA to Boston, culture shock just basketball-wise. And then you in the stands, you looking at Bill Russell, you like, Red all back, you putting your head down. But I know we young and we gotta learn and you know, you take your growing pains, but you know, it's a part of the game. It's, you know, some situations is different than others. Mine's, you know, we have our growing pains, but I feel like it worked out in the long run.

And there was another side of that that most people won't even think about. But going from LA to Boston, you grew up a Laker fan.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

I hated Boston. That hatred.

Yeah, I hate Boston. Everybody know that, well documented. I think even today, Boston is one of the more hated franchises in all of the world. I mean, not maybe in America, 'cause you got some brand that's good outside, but like in America, and they always, Boston's always been like one of them black hat teams. And I don't know why I hated 'em. And even when I played, we got, people hated me. I mean, I got booed in a lot of arenas. And I don't know, it's just something about the black hat the Boston Celtics franchise wears. Because when you're so good and a storied franchise, maybe people looked at that. And you know, when they compare with the Lakers, people are gonna choose the Lakers over Boston any day. You know, 'cause that's the comparable when you talk about great franchises. So I've been, I learned to get comfortable being, wearing a black hat. I learned to get comfortable. I learned to just understand like, look, if this is gonna be what it is, then I'm gonna accept that. But it's not gonna move me or shake me either way. And it's something I had to live with. And that's been my identity. And I'm fine with that.

Mm-hmm. No doubt, I respect that. And during your time there, you then established yourself as one of the better wings in the league. Making All-NBA, All-Stars over and over again, earning the nickname, The Truth. Then y'all reach a point where it's not going great. Doc's essentially about to be on his way out.

About to get fired. They was calling for him.

Doc's about to be on his way out. And from what I've heard, you're possibly gonna get outta there soon too. Just for your own career.

Yeah.

Y'all, you then find out that y'all about to get Ray Allen, y'all about to get KG. What was your thoughts? Were you worried about sacrificing shots? Because for so long now you've been here, you've been the man, you do what you wanna do. Or was that for you like, this is my chance to win and become a Boston Celtics legend. How did you accept that as that starts to happen?

Man, it was just like, yeah, I wanted to say, I just, all I ever wanted to do was win in Boston, man. And I was just like, all I ever wanted, Draymond, was just a shot. Just a shot. You know, I'm envious of all these other great wing players. I'm watching Cole win it all. I'm watching guys like Manu Ginobili win it all. Guys in my position, you know, having success in the playoffs. And I just said, man, I'm looking at these other players play with other great players. I had to, I got a chance to play with Antoine Walker. We went to the Eastern Conference Finals and we trade him. We this close. So I'm like, damn, we trade, we running backwards. All I ever want is a shot. As a competitor, that's all you ever want. Just gimme a shot with another great player and let me see if we can pull something off. And so when that happened, dog, Ray came and I was like, oh, okay, I'm not getting traded. I'm in this for the long run. Then we get KG. That's all I asked for. I mean, over here during the good years, the bad years, just gimme a shot. You know what I'm saying? You got D-Wade, get to play with Bron and Shaq and all these other great players, get the team up because you can't win by yourself in this league. You need other great players. We all know. Can't do it. And I don't care how great you are, you need another great player. Player, and that's all I asked for. So once I got them, even though we only won one title, we was hurt the next year. And then the following year we went back to the finals, played the Lakers again, 2010. We were 12 minutes away with the lead. I'm happy I got a shot. I could have won two. If KG don't get hurt, we was on pace to win 70 games the next year.

Yeah.

And so I'm just thankful that I even got a shot later in my career. 'Cause if we had got together when we was young, Boy, we would've looked like y'all Warriors, man.

I'm telling you.

I'm telling you, we would've looked like y'all. We was together at 26, 27. Oh, it would've been a problem.

Yes, sir. Man, let me ask you though. No, do you feel like—

Go ahead. Do you feel like we started that big super team thing?

For sure.

For sure?

100%.

So we was the influence on Bron and then KD and all of that and everybody coming together?

Well, I think also a thing that it did was it allowed you to see that it was possible. So we had like, before that we didn't know this was possible. Like all of a sudden it's now you, Ray Allen, and KG. Like this, no one ever even thought of these things before. Like how is this even possible? And so I think that opened up the world of possibilities. Now you like, ah, okay, I can do this now.

I can do this now.

Yeah, like, oh, we can put this together now, you know? And so I think when that happened, everybody's just like, okay, now you can put these pieces into place because I've seen it happen. You know what I'm saying? And I think another thing, see, everybody always talk about you, Ray, and KG, which by the way, should be talked about, but nobody ever talk about y'all had a great young point guard in Rondo.

Woo, boy.

Like how important was Rondo to what y'all was doing?

Man, Rondo was so big to everything because he was the youngest and they wasn't sure at first if Rondo can be the point guard with us. 'Cause he was only in like his second or third year. Second, you know, he was in his second year. So it was a lot of talks about maybe trading Rondo. Do we need an older point guard? I was like, nah, this— I saw his rookie year. I was like, this dude gonna be nice. He showed me flashes his rookie year and I was like, oh, he actually the perfect guard for us because he's a pass-first guard.

Yeah.

So I was rocking with him. He was picking up full court, he played D and he always made the right decisions. IQ was off the charts. And see, that's the thing about Rondo, more than his skill is IQ. And you saw that. And just to have that pass-first point guard who was mature for his age, that was the perfect storm for us.

Yeah. As far as demeanor, like you're an alpha, KG's an alpha. Oh man, I don't know Ray that well, but—

He like, I would say he like more of a sniper.

Yeah, like quiet, like I'll get you. But I'm gonna go under the radar with mine a little bit more.

Yeah, but he a sniper.

How did a young Rondo handle that? Because Rondo is like, Rondo tough as shit.

He an alpha, he a 100% alpha. Mm-hmm.

How did he adjust to that where he's an alpha and he's the point guard running the show, but like you got these OGs in here. Like how was that adjustment for Rondo?

You know what Rondo did was probably the best thing he did. You know, as a young player, when you come in, and I always say this to young players, you know, find a vet that you can come up under, you know, that can show you, get a good vet though, that you can come up under, listen to what he gotta say, and he gonna show you the way. First thing he did, he went to Ticket University. He checked into Ticket University, got up under his wing, and that's where he started developing that mentality. He went right to Ticket. Tiki took him under his wing every day, and Rondo here, every day in the locker room, on the court. And that's why you see the— he had it in him, but it just started growing. It started growing. And it was hard on him because as a scorer, as a guy with the ball, you know, I'm on him, like, you know, bring it this way.

Mm-hmm.

But he was so smart. And the point guard is the hardest position. You gotta distribute to, guys who need the ball, but he handled it good though. He went under Ticket, developed the mentality, even it was nice, me and him might argue. He stood on his business and I'm like, "All right, I respect it, you saw something different." All right, cool. And we moved on from it. And it was just the perfect for him to just be under that. And now as Rondo grew and you saw his mentality, he quiet too, but don't push his button. Don't push his button, you know? So he— Mm-hmm. He a Alpatudo, but we had a lot of 'em though. Perk, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Posey, Big Baby. I mean, if we got into a team fight, I'm not sure anybody wanted to see us. We had so many big dogs. Tony Allen, damn, I forgot about T.A., damn.

T.A. Yeah.

Damn. But like, yeah, that was the funnest time. We all kicked it. We all kicked it, we all went out together, we all ate together, we just did everything together, you know? So it made it fun and I appreciate them dudes and Rondo and all them.

No doubt. And speaking of appreciation, y'all win the Finals, hurt the next season, go back to the Finals, Ray then joins the Miami Heat. I wanna hear your side of that story. Talk to me about that. I need to hear your side to Ray doing that.

Man, so, you know, Ray came in as we a brotherhood. Our families hang out with each other. His kids, my kids, we go to his house for, you know, Halloween parties and Super Bowl and vice versa. So when it hit that he was, we just lost to Miami by the way. And I'm like, all right, you know, we just need to regroup, get a couple more young dudes. Then we gonna re-sign Raymond Green, we gonna stay aligned up our contracts and finish this thing out together. And by the way, I hope y'all bring Klay back. Y'all need to finish together. You know, hope that's an example of how we went and y'all don't do that. You know, give him what he want, you know, right? And I think, you know, I didn't know he had issues with the contract or starting. But the thing is, I wanted you to holler. Like, if you gonna leave us, like, gimme a call. Like, look, P, it ain't working out. You know, they not gonna gimme the contract I want. They not giving me the role I want. So I'm gonna go this route. Okay, man, I respect that. You make a business decision for you and your family. Cool. But when you never get that call and you leave and go to the team who we pretty much, this is our rival. We just, we playing these cats to see who going to the finals the next few years. Like, come on, man. I just didn't feel like there was a respect thing there. And I don't run into Ray after that until retirement. So I don't talk to him and he don't talk to me. You know, even when you play each other, there's no words really. And I felt a certain kind of way about that. So I had a chance to, I was playing this exhibition game in China in retirement, my first year retired. And I didn't even know Ray was gonna be there. So next thing you know, he's like, "Oh, by the way, Ray is here." Draymond Green. In the locker room next to you. And I'm like, all right, you know what, let me go holler at him. So I was, I went over there like, look, this, I told him how I felt about the situation. He was like, man, you know what, after I broke it down to him like that, he was like, you right, I should have did it different. After that, I was like, it's all good, we spoke on it, we shook, and it's been love, and it's been love since there.

So why, At the 75th, did you and KG do that when Ray walked past? 'Cause I didn't know it was love now.

Wait, when?

Y'all was like laughing. You and, at 75th anniversary, you and KG was laughing when Ray walked through and I thought it was still some beef. Nah, nah, nah. I was gonna ask you.

Oh, hell nah.

Okay, so y'all good now?

Yeah, we good now. Yeah, we good. It wasn't no beef by the time, 'cause the 75 was last year. We was good before that. Because remember, if you notice, when KG got his jersey retired, we all hugged at half court, which was like a couple years ago. And so yeah, he was like, shout out to Ray. Plus, Tickets, I was good, but Ticket wasn't good until his retirement. You don't even know, we didn't know Ray was coming to his retirement. That was the big thing surrounding KG retirement.

Yeah.

When he was getting his jersey retired, we like, is Ray coming? You know, you think Ray gonna show up? Nobody had the idea, I didn't. So when he showed up, I think that was a sign like, you know what, it's time to squash that. KG, Rondo, let's bring it in. And I think from that point we all squashed it. I already had squashed mine with him. But at KG jersey retirement, I think it was just like, all right, they spoke, it was cool. Now everybody good now.

I love that, man. 'Cause you know, you go through these like, And like you said, y'all won one, but it's hard winning a championship.

Yeah, for sure.

You know, people don't understand how hard it is, how many things have to go right.

Yeah.

You gotta be really good, but you also have to be really lucky.

Yeah.

You gotta be really lucky.

Really lucky.

You start talking about health.

I tell people that all the time.

You don't win championships without luck, I'm sorry.

Without luck at all.

People don't know that part. You look at the amount of teams, fact, you look at the amount of teams that you thought was gonna win a championship, they were unlucky.

Yep, yep, absolutely. Absolutely. Like Houston, they got y'all, they got y'all. Chris Paul pull a hamstring. Like, hey, I'm telling you, you need it in every championship. Toronto beat y'all because they got lucky KD got hurt.

Exactly.

No, I see it every year. Yeah, I see it every year, bro. You gotta be lucky in all of this. And that's the part, that's the part people don't get. No matter how good, you gotta be lucky.

We playing against Houston. They missed 27 threes in a row. This is what they do, they shoot threes.

They never done that.

They missed 27 threes in a row. You have to be a little lucky.

Right.

It's just the reality. It's just the reality.

Yeah, that's crazy. That is crazy, man.

But in saying that, and I mentioned it earlier, You know, Doc was kind of on his way out. Then y'all, Ray come in, KG come in, y'all get it rolling. Y'all get Doc his first and only championship. Hasn't quite been able to get over the hump since. Now, as we all know, Doc is now with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Mm-hmm.

Trying to number one, salvage their season. But number two, go on to win a championship. They made the trade for Dame. They obviously got Giannis. Chris Middleton, Jay Crowder, Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, Pat Beverley now.

Mm-hmm.

What do you think Doc brings to that team and can he help them get over the hump to win a championship this season or next?

I will tell you one thing, Doc is a great motivator, man. I'm telling you, he knows each individual and how to coach each individual. You know, he coaches 'em all different. You know, he not gonna coach Giannis how he coach Bobby Portis. And old school coaches, they gonna coach one way. It's they way or the highway. And that's one thing that Doc has been great at because he's been a player. He understands, you know, what they need and when they need it. And I think he's the right guy to help them get over the hump, actually. You know, your players gotta respect your coach. I think they respect Doc. You know, I'm not sure how much they respected Adrian Griffin or why would they get him outta there? Doc is gonna come with some respect. Yeah, he hasn't won as many as people probably thought he should, but he's been there and they gonna respect that.

Yes.

And so in saying that, I think he's gonna bring some leadership and another voice because like when you look at Milwaukee, you like, who's the like, vocal leader. I really don't know. I'm not in the locker room. Maybe it's Giannis, maybe it's Dame, but Doc is gonna be another vocal leader in the locker room and he's gonna, he gonna tell you like it is. And I respect that. Like whether you like it or not, he gonna keep it true to you. So hopefully, you know, he can get them far, but I don't think they gonna beat the Celtics in the East. You know, it's, it's bad timing right now.

Yeah.

But he got a championship. It's bad timing, but I think he got a championship caliber team. And I think they gonna see the Celtics in the conference finals.

I respect that. I respect that. Man, it's the year 2000 and you get stabbed 11 times. Number one, how do you still manage to play 82 games? It's beyond me.

Yeah.

And I know you've talked about this story before, but like, What's something from that story that people don't know? And like I said, I also wanna know how did you manage to play 82 games?

I know, right? I don't even know how I'm alive, truthfully, when I look back at it. You know, I think just the, I thank God, you know, I'm a true believer in God. You know, I think, you know, he knows when your time is and it wasn't my time. And I think the only thing— let me tell you something, Draymond, people don't know, but I haven't spoke on— I talked about the incident and being in the club and, you know, being stabbed by, like, multiple men and 3 different knives. And what people don't know, I played because I played through pain. But that was the only thing that my— being on the court was the only thing that gave me peace. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm traumatized. I'm— Mm-hmm. I'm in my house, I'm scared, but at the same time I'm paranoid. I'm like, I can't sleep. Like, I had to wear like a vest. And this is what people don't know. I had to wear a vest, underwear, and leave my uniform. So like a lot of times if I take a charge or I go into the paint, I felt that. It wasn't all the way healed. And I had to just mentally play through that because I know I wanted to be on the court 'cause that's the only peace I got. From not thinking about what happened. But for that 3 hours, that 3, 4 hours, that gave me peace. And you know, when you go through a whole day when you can't sleep at night and you sitting around not leaving the house, not going nowhere, you know, wondering if it's really somebody out here trying to kill you, you know, that's not a good, that's not a good mental to be in, you know?

Yeah.

So, but for that 3, 4 hours I'm in the gym, I'm gonna be on the court. So I disobeyed doctor's orders. I practiced before I was supposed to practice. I wore this like damn near bulletproof vest or whatever kind of vest that he got for me. And I just played through it until I healed. And I really didn't heal until after the season.

That's crazy, man. And how did you manage to stay in Boston another 10 years after that? Like how long did it take you to start leaving again, to go out again, to live a normal life again in the city where you just got stabbed up by 3, 4 dudes?

Yeah.

Like how were you able to get back to some sense of normalcy in that city?

You know, it took a while, but I surrounded myself with some family and friends 'cause immediately I moved out, 2 of my cousins who are the same age as me, 2 of my best friends, who I grew up with, and I moved into Boston with me. So I had family around me at all times, you know, people watching out for me. I kept it family and I kept it close. But it took some years, man. It took some years. Even going to the restaurant, dude, I was just— I had security. I'm over here like, "Sienna, who know my car?" I got them standing outside, went inside. And it took some years for me to really start getting back to normal because it got to the point I'd get I get real anxious when I got in the crowd, you know. You know, I couldn't do the season tickets holder stuff with the crowd of people. Appearances I wasn't doing. So, but the thing that helped me the most was started when I started talking about it to other people, you know, 'cause I held it in for a few years, but then I started talking to more people about it and it helped me get comfortable with like just letting it free, letting it out, loosening up.

Yeah.

And that's the biggest thing that helped me. 'Cause at first I had a psychiatrist or psychologist, whoever you talk to after. And I had 2 sessions with him and I was like, "Man, I don't wanna talk about this no more." And from that point in, I held it in. But I think talking to people and surrounding myself with love really helped me get through those times. And, you know, I appreciate the people who I was close to and the people I was able to talk to about it. And yeah, it was difficult. And I used the game of basketball to rededicate myself. And I think, you know, for me to take that next step to where I got to, something like that maybe had to happen. Maybe God was sending a message to where like, look, you need to refocus, get back in the gym. And I really think from that point on, it elevated my game from that point on.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, some traumatic like that, it does one of two things to people. It's seen you this way.

Yeah, absolutely.

Or it's seen you that way.

Absolutely.

And it's very, like, you're very sure which way that guy went.

Yeah. 'Cause it's drastic. It can go either way. Hell yeah, it can go either way, man. But I was raised by some strong, by a strong mom. Taught me always to just be strong and you gonna get through whatever situation you gonna get through. And so that's just the cloth I was built on. And that's why I was able to get through it.

No doubt, man. And switching gears a little bit, not really, but, in the same light of you playing 82 games that year. You play 80+ games 7 times in your career. What is your perspective on this current debate? Load management, guys resting, the 65-game award. You know, you gotta play 65 games in order to be All-NBA, MVP, all those things. What's your, like, how do you view that as someone who played 80+ games 7 times?

I mean, I really don't see the science at the load management because it don't prevent injuries. I played 80+ games. I played 17+ seasons without any major injuries. I was lucky. But it's no science to like, if you rest, you're gonna be less likely to get injured. And so I just say this, if you love the game, ain't nobody telling me I can't play tonight. That's just me. And I see that with just only certain people in the league, you know? And then I never seen Bron—

Bron—

Like, Bron don't sit down. Like, I done seen Bron come into the Garden, I'm talking about he rolled his ankle like this, and I'm looking like, "Oh yeah, he for sure done for the night." 2 minutes later, he come back out there, catch a lob, and I'm like, "Damn, that's crazy." Mm-hmm. Like, today, kids roll they ankle, I get it, sit out, or, you know, I play with a dislocated thumb, But it's just different now. I don't know what it is. I think it has a lot to do with the people around in the organization, the medical staff or these doctors here. They convince us like, "No, this is the right thing to do." And we created more jobs for these people to come into the NBA. And so they got a job to do. And when you got all this big medical team, the medical team wasn't like that when I was in the league, Dray. Now you got more, physical therapist in the back room where it was only like 1 or 2. You got a one that can treat every player and then you got ones that's like, look, you know, no long run, you know, not only this year but your career. But no science is proving that you're not gonna get hurt ever when we do this. So I'm not, again, I'm not with it, but it's the way of the NBA. And I like the 65-game rule actually, you know, because if a guy plays, 60 games, how is he better than this guy who plays 72 games and his team is doing well? You know, give it to the guy who's been out there the whole time, you know, these awards. And so I, I mean, I just think that's the way it should be, man. You know, hold these players accountable.

Yeah.

If you, if you pressing yourself to play 65 and you got an injury, that's on you. Don't be pressed to make All-NBA. Don't be pressed to do all this stuff. Get yourself right first and then play. You know, if guys is playing hurt, that's on them.

Yeah, no, no doubt. I respect that. Speaking of Bron, you've made a few comments about Bron. You said you made him join the Heat. You said that he wasn't a top 5 player in the NBA. A lot of people has called your takes on Bron as you hate it. Where do you stand? Like, do you still think Bron ain't a top 5 player in NBA history?

First of all, I'm gonna clear that up. I've never, I did say that, but it was based on when they was playing the Portland Trail Blazers in the bubble. And I think Portland went up 2-0 or they won the first one or maybe they didn't even start the series. But I was like, "All right, they got AD, they got this." And I was like, "If they lose to the Blazers in the playoffs first round, I don't wanna hear about Bron being top 5." Because I felt like they had a championship team, which they went on to win the championship in the bubble that year. And so do I think Bron is a top 5 player? Absolutely, man. Absolutely. I mean, I've went on record saying this. Yeah. After they won that chip, I said LeBron has cemented himself as the number 2, to me, player all time now. Little did I know he was gonna go for 40,000. Little did I know he's gonna break all these other records. This is like 4 years ago. Bron is in that GOAT argument to where you could just say he might be the GOAT, you know, his longevity, the records he's had. I mean, yeah, it's who you like, whatever era you played in, whatever. But Bron has a serious argument. And I will say this about Bron, I wouldn't be who I am today without Bron. And I will say that for the simple fact that I got to match up with him, for the simple fact that I get to have these epic games against him. I wouldn't be who I am without him. So I'm taking my hat off to him in retirement. Did I ever hate Bron? I never hated Bron. I always respected him. It's just that me, in the heat of the battle on the court, I'm no friends, bro. That's just who I was. Listen, you do what you do with your team over there, I'm gonna do with my team, and I ain't no love. And they always came like I was a Bron hater, but nah, I appreciate what he done to this game. He's reset the bar, the standard now. And he's pushed the bar so high now that I don't know if in our lifetime there's gonna be anybody close to him. And I respect what he's done for the game, not only on the court but off the court. So I'm happy that I come on your platform and let everybody know this. Yeah, I've said some things about Bron, but look, real recognize real at the end of the day. And he's just been unbelievable. And, and our, we appreciate that. Yeah.

No doubt, no doubt. No, I respect that. Another one that went crazy, and I asked this question more so not even about that moment, but just kind of your take because number one, like I said at the start, you don't get a nickname, The Truth, without being one of them ones. Like that's no debate. Big Ticket, The Truth, The Glove, like you, King James, like you look at, you don't get those nicknames if you not one of them ones. And so I say Flash, like Shaq Diesel, you look at the nicknames guys got, like you gotta be one of them dudes. And if you not one of them dudes, you don't get nicknames.

Nah, you know what? That's not true. Like this era, where's the nicknames? Joker. Oh, the nickname. Okay, Joker. I mean, like—

Steph don't really have a nickname. He got a couple things people try to throw out there.

Like, you know what I'm saying?

Babyface Assassin. We've heard the Steph nicknames.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

That's true.

I feel like this era don't, like, where the nicknames like, And they going away, I think. That's true.

But you had to be one of them ones then to get one.

Yeah, absolutely.

In saying that, you, and I can agree, you've spoken about being underrated in NBA history for what you've done, the things that you accomplished. You also said you were better than Dwyane Wade. Where should you be ranked as far as that NBA history go when you're talking about great two guards? Like where would you put yourself in that?

It's tough, man. And the thing about Wade, and I will say this, Wade is one of the greatest players. I loved watching him when I didn't play. But in all of this, I never brought Wade name up without it being brought to me. That's true. I never like came out and be like, "Oh," you know, that's when it's hate. That's true. That's when I feel like when it ain't brought to you and you just bring it up, I feel like that's hate. But I was like, "But I'm gonna tell you this, that's who made me who I am." 'Cause I felt like every time I stepped on the court, I was the best player. Like whether it was Kobe, Bron, I felt for like one night I could be the best player that night. And for me having that mentality, that's who made me who I am. So I said it on national TV and yeah, I don't have the accolades Wade had. You know, he played on better teams, but I'm not trying to discredit Wade. Wade is an all-time great. In my eyes, he's probably 3, 2, 3, 4 best 2 guards at all time. And so, you know, some stuff is for TV, but I feel like I'm right there. I'm right there. Mm-hmm. Like, it might be like, Yeah, I'm right, like some of these other guys like, yeah, Cole, Bron, I think Wade, I'm right there.

I respect that. I respect that. I 100% respect that. And so in saying that, like you right there, do you think, you know, like, I don't know the full story of you being let go at ESPN. I know what I've heard. What I think.

It wasn't all rumors, it was what you saw.

Yeah, what I saw. But do you think those things like that thing for instance, and then being let go from ESPN and so on and so forth, do you think those things in retirement kind of hindered your name a little bit as a player? Like in the way people view you as a player, how great you were? Because one thing I do know is, and even my journey, When you give people one little thing to latch on. Yeah. They try to latch on that and minimize everything else that you've done. Do you think those things hurt you in a sense of who you are, how people speak about Paul Pierce, the basketball player, because they intertwine the poker thing, Instagram Live, and what some, a few things that you said when you were on ESPN. Do you think that hindered your name as a hooper?

I think it's hindered my name amongst the young generation. But real hoopers know, and people of my generation know. And so you gonna get little comments of like, "He wasn't shit, he didn't play," but whatever. But that's not true. You go to YouTube, you can attack my character, you can attack me as a person, but don't tell me I wasn't shit on a basketball court. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So I can live with that. And as a person who's always wore the black hat, I'm fine with that, Dray. I lived a great life. I traveled the world because of basketball. I got 4 beautiful kids. And if I'm gonna hang on to what other people say about me and how they hinder my name, oh well. You know what? I'm still living my life. I'm still living the dream. And I didn't give a damn what these people say or think, period.

Nah, yeah, I respect that, man. 'Cause I've kind of seen that in a different sense. Like people attack my character as a man because of how I play basketball. You know what I'm saying? Even with like the stuff that I just went through, you know, a couple months ago or whatnot.

Right.

It's like, that was one of the things that kind of had me like, man, I don't really know if I wanna do this no more. Like y'all, Y'all talking about, like, I got kids. You know what I'm saying? My kids will go on YouTube. My kids, you know, my kids go to school. They got friends who are Warriors fans. And y'all attacking my character as a man. My kids gotta listen to that. You know what I'm saying? Like, 'cause one thing I know is you can feel how you wanna feel about me as a basketball player. You could say I suck. It's probably not true, but that's how you feel. Say what you want. Right. You could say I rode Steph's coattail. Cool, say all of those things.

Right.

But when you start talking about the man that I am.

Right.

You know, like, because of something I did in the lines of battle, like in between these lines, that to me kind of like, that took me down a little bit. You know what I'm saying? Like, hold on, man. Like, I'm not this guy y'all saying I am.

No, no, no.

You said that about the basketball player. 'Cause like you just said, I actually did a story with Howard Beck when we was just at the Garden a few days ago. And you said earlier, you said, "I'm not the same person. Like when I'm playing and me the person, that's two different people." Funny enough, I was doing this story with Howard Beck and he was, you know, we're talking about the things that's happened, where I am today, how I'm playing and blah, blah. Mentioned some Ron Artest stuff in there. And I was talking to him and I kept like flipping back to these two people, like talking to him in the mind of like me in basketball.

Right.

And then talking to him like in my normal mind. And I told him literally as we're doing the interview, I said, "Howard, I'm trusting you to not make me look as stupid as I sound right now." Yeah. 'Cause I may sound like I'm totally outta my mind right now. I keep telling you like, well, this guy, "Who's the basketball player thinks this, and this guy who's not the basketball player goes X, Y, and Z." And so I really, like, I can sympathize with that, you know, and understand that from a different point of view because I've gone through that. You know what I'm saying?

And like— Right.

Obviously I still get the opportunity to play. And when you get the opportunity to play, I always say you get an opportunity to right the ship because winning cures all. Playing well cures all. But when you're not playing, people don't kind of give you that same grace no more. You know, they wanna— Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's almost like, it's almost like, okay, I couldn't shit on you when you were playing because you was the truth. But now here's my chance to shit on you.

Right.

Because you're not playing no more. And now all you gonna like, okay, so they're gonna listen to your word? Well then people look at it like, well, it's my word against yours, you know?

Right. Right. Let me ask you this though. Like you, all right, we going, I'm going off right here. You, let's do it. How many years are you in right now?

I'm in year 12.

How many years do you think you wanna play?

2, 3 more.

All right. And your last year, are you gonna announce this is your last year?

Nah.

Oh, you don't want no farewell tour?

I can't, because somebody gonna do me like I said to you, and then I'm fucked.

I'm coming to them games, and I'm gonna yell the same thing you yelled to me.

Hey, hey.

Please announce your last year.

It's not right. The only chance, the only chance My last year is announced that I'm having the last year. If that last year happens to coincide with Steph's last year.

Yeah.

Klay's last year. And if that's my last year, that's the only chance that it gets announced because then I could ride Steph Coutel on his farewell tour and act like it's mine.

And by the way, I never asked for a farewell tour. And my farewell tour was in Boston, 'cause I know that's the only place they appreciate me, so that's why I gave the wave. That was my farewell tour. Everywhere else I got booed.

That's funny. Nah, I get that. I get booed all the time, man. I get it. Hey, but before we get outta here, two more things. Number one, I just wanna let you know, I call game. That's one of my favorite interviews of all time. Like, because you could tell in that moment, and you tell me if I'm lying, but in that moment when I'm watching you talk, you like—

Like, for real?

I call game. Like, what do you mean I call bank?

Like, I call game.

Like, in that moment right there, that just came off the top of the dome.

Right off the top of the dome. 'Cause I'm like, Chris Broussard over here, Like I ain't hit no game winners before. Like I looked at him, I was about to be like, nigga, like, he lucky it didn't come out my mouth. It's all just like, call Gay, and I walked off. That was the end of the interview. I was like, he wanted to ask me another question. If you look at it, I walked off on him like, man, get outta here. I don't wanna hear that shit. I don't wanna hear that.

That was epic.

That was epic.

That's one of my favorite interviews to watch. Two more questions. You and KG, y'all always, y'all talk about, and shout out to y'all, Unplugged, All the Smoke Productions. Y'all, I love y'all doing y'all thing over there. Watch a lot of the stuff. Super dope what y'all got going. And I also think it's super dope to see you and KG's bond. Like, you know, even on times during that show, it looked like y'all looking out for each other. You know what I'm saying? And I think that's— Like that's super dope because we go through these runs and people don't understand, man, through these runs, you can sometimes build resentment. You around each other every day. Like you around each other every day. You see the good in people, you see the bad in people, you see they rough day, you see they great day, you see the drastic difference in between the two. Stuff come up and to see that bond, you know, and what I've been able to build with Steph and Klay, like to see that bond still like that. Man, that's special. You know what I'm saying? So number one.

You gonna understand that because you won with this group. Now a lot of groups have bonds and they split and these teams, they don't have a forever bond. When you won, you know that bond is forever. You know what I'm saying? So not everybody gets to experience that. You know, you be friends in the league, then the league is over with, or y'all go to another team, you don't wanna talk to nobody. You don't even talk to your teammate. But when you win, that shit is forever. But for the simple fact, we live by each other. Our kids is going to the same school. So we always gonna have that.

Nah, that's special. But y'all talk a lot about the NBA and how different it is in the league. What's the biggest difference to you in the league today than when y'all played?

I mean, obviously the obvious off the top is just the defense and physicality of the game. You know, they don't allow as much holding and bumping and stuff, and they allow a lot of player movement. That's why you see the scoring is up, not only individual-wise, but team-wise. I mean, you talk about, I think when I was in the league, the team that led the league in score was like 103, 104 points. Now you get teams average, on average it's 115, 120 to the leaders. Just the physicality. It's like, Players can't play defense no more. You can't use your hands as much, bump as much, be— and it's allowing the offensive player to always have that advantage. And for the fact that players are getting more skilled, you know, players at all positions can handle the ball, can shoot the ball extremely well, more athletic. But that's just how the game evolves. It evolves every decade, every— Year. Generation evolves. And it's, it's good to see, man. I'm actually, I actually enjoy it. Uh, I didn't like the All-Star Game, you know, I wish it was a little more competitive, but on the overall, I think the game is in a good place. Uh, the European players are really stepping up, showing they, they've got what it takes. And, but I think the game is in a good place. I'm not sure if we'll ever see another dynasty again.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. The way the player movement is, you know, before, you know, you had so much loyalty to one franchise and you guys will probably be the last to stay with one franchise forever. But with the player movement, it'll be hard to see another dynasty, which is great. You know, I think it's great because you'll have some newness to it every year. You ain't gonna have a team just overly dominating. Maybe it's good, maybe it's not. I like, I like to see kind of like some, some dynasty. I liked, enjoyed y'all run. And you know, I think y'all still can have another run. Y'all still are dangerous in the playoffs. And so, you know, that's the biggest difference I see.

Most definitely. You just mentioned the All-Star Game. I remember watching All-Star Games that you was in. How can we get that back? I lied to you, I said too much.

No, but look, I think it start at the top, Draymond Green. I think it gotta come from LeBron and KD. 'Cause I remember, Bron and Kobe like, "Look, we gotta get this," in the huddle. And then you look over at Kobe, he picking up full court. You like, "Oh, he's serious." So now everybody else like, "Oh, we can't be bullshitting now. Come on now, Kobe ain't playing." AI, let's go, man. Let's get this money. You know, I think it come from the guys at the top, you know? And so if they come in there and you got Bron and Steph, like, and KD and Giannis like, "Let's play, let's go." Maybe y'all, you know, for 3 quarters we, but 4th quarter, you knew it was gonna be on.

Absolutely.

And I at least wanna see that.

Absolutely, absolutely. And last but not least, man, I can't help but notice these retired numbers behind you and your number being on there.

Real.

And just being a part of, you get your jerseys retired with the Boston Celtics. That ain't no small feat. Like that's not a small feat.

No.

Your number being retired up there amongst those other greats, man. Just talk to me about that feeling the day when it happened. But also, you know, every time you walk in that gym, those greats, being one of those greats, just talk to me about that.

You know, I'm happy that all the hard work and the dedication I put to this game and the hours, the blood, sweat, and tears I was able to put in that people didn't really get to see, they just saw the finished product on the court. That's what that is. You know, when nights when I'm waking up at 3, 4 in the morning and going for a run or going to the gym, that's what turned into that. You know, just sacrifice from not being around friends and family on special days, Christmases, holidays, and birthdays where you don't get to see people that you love is because of my grind and being in the league. And that's the stuff that people don't see, the sacrifices that we make as athletes and the dealing with this person need money or your best friend just got shot or I just lost my close homie. They don't understand, like, it's more than what you see on the court. For you to still keep your mind in the same frame to really still—

Mm-hmm.

Keep going, whereas days you really wanna stop, but you keep going. And that's what that equal, you know, me being able to walk into the Garden and my number be there forever. Now that I was able to leave my legacy and left my mark, not only with the Celtics, but the game of basketball. And so, you know, being around, having a check when he was there, when he was alive, rest in peace, Bill Russell, and just doing it in front of them.

Mm-hmm.

It was just, I wanted to be as great as I could and push myself to the limit. And you know, that's a product of me getting my jersey retired, which I'm heavily thankful for. 'Cause I gave the game my life.

Mm-hmm.

And for that, I missed out on a lot of things in life. So Draymond, when you retire, it's more to life than hoops, man. Travel the world, enjoy your family, man. So much more for us to see, man. And I'm enjoying retirement.

That's incredible to hear. That means a lot because it's the inevitable for all of us, right? Like we all gonna one day be outta this league. And to hear, you know, we always hear the shit stories, you know what I'm saying? You always hear like, "Hey man, it ain't great over here. Like enjoy that while." And like, yeah, we wanna enjoy it. But I actually am one, like I look forward to retiring. You know what I'm saying? Like, I ain't, I appreciate the NBA. The NBA has allowed me to live an incredible life, to provide a great life for my family. But I'm excited for what's on the other side.

You know what I'm saying? What's next?

You know what I'm saying? Like this, to your point, this job, like if there's a wedding, you miss it. If there's a childbirth, you can possibly miss it. If there's a birthday, you miss it. You know what I'm saying? If there's a school assembly, you miss it. If there's a fellas trip in the month of March, you miss it. You know what I'm saying? If they're like, you miss so much.

You miss your kids' first steps. Like, you know what I'm saying?

Absolutely.

It's like, damn.

Absolutely.

You know?

So I don't take it for granted, man. And I appreciate you hearing you say that. I appreciate you coming on the show. Means a lot. Says a lot about you.

Yeah, for sure. God number one. I'm glad I got to share my side of the story finally.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm happy you led out with it. Before we go, Jackson, turn your video on. I just want y'all to see Jackson fan out. You know, this Celtics shit they got going on over here. All our listeners know Jackson is a huge Celtics fan.

What's up, Jack?

So this is a moment for Jackson. And Jackson, have your moment. Go ahead and fucking fan out, goddamn Celtics.

Hey, thanks, man. Thanks, DJ.

Paul, I was 12 when the Celtics won in 2008.

So I was really right when I was coming into my true basketball fandom and basketball obsession.

So I just wanna say—

Oh, that's awesome. Thank you for coming on the show. This is a really full circle moment for me. You were my favorite player back then. So thank you for coming on the show and I appreciate everything you did for the Celtics. All right. Hey man, ask Draymond, was the game plan not to guard Jaylen Brown the other day?

It was, it was the game plan. It was in Jose. He was gonna shoot a bunch of shots, hijack the offense so that Jason T— and by the way, just so you know, it actually was working. You looked at the score sheet at one point, it was, he was 3 for 7. JT had not taken the shot. Drew had not taken the shot. And then all of a sudden we on offense, we were awful and we weren't moving the ball or passing and they started getting out in transition.

JT hit the 3.

Draymond Green, Drew hit the 3, and then it looked like the game plan made no sense, but it actually made sense.

And I think it could have worked. Nah, nah, nah.

52 points later, it didn't work.

Nah, if y'all beat in the finals this year, y'all need to scrap that game plan.

I don't think we gonna go with it in the finals. I don't think it's gonna, I don't think, I don't think it's gonna go in the finals, but I'll tell you what, for both of you two Celtics, Celtics ledger, Celtics fan. I'll tell you what, walking in there the other day, them boos ain't as loud as they was, fellas. They are not as loud as they are.

They not as loud no more. Truth.

I appreciate you, brother. Thank you for coming on the show, man.

All love, dawg. All love.

Yes, sir. Love, bro.

No doubt.