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During his first meeting with Miami Heat team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra, Kendrick Nunn was told that he would get an opportunity.

“That’s all that I needed to hear,” he says.

He responded by jumping out to one of the hottest starts for any rookie, earning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors in October, November and December, becoming the fastest rookie in team history to reach 500 points, and remaining in the thick of the Rookie of the Year conversation. His production is one of many reasons the Heat have been among the biggest surprises this season.

Perhaps the most impressive part about his play is how consistent, yet understated it’s been. “He always looks the same,” said Spoelstra, after Nunn dropped 21 points against the Bulls. “Whether he has 30 points or zero points, his facial expression and body language would look the same.”

While Nunn’s production has many teams questioning how they overlooked him—including the 29 teams that bypassed him in the 2018 Draft (Miami had no picks)—count Nunn as the least bit surprised at what he’s currently doing. It’s simply the result of preparation meeting opportunity.

That preparation can be traced back to his backyard on the South Side of Chicago.

Having one of the only hoops on the block meant Kendrick never had to go far for competition and that there weren’t many quiet evenings for his father Melvin. “If it was the summertime, basketball season, barbeques or just hanging out, they were definitely back there every day hooping,” says Melvin.

Even with his background, dad never pushed the game on his son. Melvin played a defensive role during his time at Simeon Career Academy and went on to play collegiately at Casper College and Wayne State before playing professionally in New Zealand. Kendrick initially took to baseball and played pitcher. He possessed a natural curveball and loved making batters look silly. When basketball started in the fall, it only took competing in his first officiated game for him to retire his glove. “I enjoy multitasking and basketball is a multitasking game,” Nunn says. “So I kind of fell in love with that.”

Melvin taught defense and team basketball first. He knew that those basics would help keep his son on the floor. It was in those backyard battles where Kendrick’s toughness was formed. Any of the older kids who thought they were going to punk him or run off some wins were sorely mistaken. Once he started to taste success and his offense began coming along, he only wanted more. “Starting from second grade, there was never a time where he didn’t feel like going to the gym,” Melvin says. “When practice was over, he would still be taking shots.”

It’s that work ethic that led him to be pulled up from JV to varsity as a freshman and that contributed to Simeon winning four straight state championships. Jabari Parker drew all the acclaim and headlines throughout that run, but he knew Nunn was just as special. “He never backed down from any moment,” Parker says. “We knew how good he was, and I know the teams we played knew. If they didn’t, he made sure they did.”

Nunn joined Parker and fellow alums Derrick Rose, Bobby Simmons and Ben Wilson as the only players to have their jerseys retired at Simeon.

After three solid years at the University of Illinois, Nunn transferred to Oakland, where he had to sit out one year. It’s that year where he would learn the most about himself and just what he wanted from the game. Golden Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe thought he knew what he was getting, but was taken aback within the first two weeks of seeing Nunn up close. “I told him, ‘You’re an NBA player,’”  he says. “I thought he was a first-round pick and we were going to lay out a pathway for him to get there.”

There wasn’t a day that he wasn’t in the gym, preparing himself for the role as the unquestioned number one option. “I took that year very seriously,” Nunn says. “It was pivotal because I sacrificed so much and my teammates and coaches saw what I brought, so once they put the ball in my hands, it was all on me.” When he became eligible, he only reaffirmed what his coaches believed, finishing his senior season second in the nation in scoring behind Trae Young and leading the NCAA with eleven 30-point games. “I’ve coached four guys that played in the NBA in the last 15 years and have coached about 67 [pros] overall,” Kampe says. “This kid was the best player I’ve ever coached.”

Despite those insane numbers and several impressive draft workouts (according to team sources around the League), Nunn went undrafted. “I was a little bit disappointed, because I felt I was better than a lot of those guys,” he says. “I told myself that I would have to prove myself all over again, and I knew I would see each and every one of those guys on the floor at some point. After the draft, you can’t hide.”

The Golden State Warriors signed him to a partially guaranteed deal on draft night but waived him in the preseason. He went on to sign with their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz and average 19.3 points on 47.3% shooting, waiting on a call-up that never came. He declined several lucrative deals to play overseas because he knew where he belonged. “I told him if you want to be great, you have to sacrifice something,” says former NBA player Will Bynum, who has remained a resource and mentor for hoopers in Chicago. “His work ethic got him to that point, so it only could carry him further.”

Mostly due to positional need and timing, the Warriors were never able to make a roster spot for Nunn, but the Heat had been tracking him for over a year. After they signed him, it became even more apparent that his approach to the game and commitment to improvement aligned perfectly with the team’s foundation. “You get the vibe that he’s just an assassin when he walks in the door,” says Tim Brennan, the co-founder of Chicago Basketball Club who’s trained Nunn and organizes pro-level runs in Chicago. “You give him a time to show up and he’s there an hour early.”

His ability to remain ready is why he wasn’t fazed when Spoelstra gave him the starting nod to open the season, and remained undaunted on his way to becoming the first rookie to score 100 total points in his first five outings since Kevin Durant in the 2007-08 season. Along with Nunn’s production, the Heat’s brand of ball movement, defense and playing for one another has made them a squad that no one wants to face come postseason time. “We have a lot of unselfish guys,” Nunn says. “It starts with Jimmy Butler and trickles down from there. When you have talent and guys are unselfish, that’s a scary group.”

While his hot shooting to begin the year has cooled, Nunn promises his mindset will remain just the same as it was when he was proving himself in the G-League: “When I get on that floor,” he says, “I’m going to show what I can do.”

There aren’t many opportunities to reflect during an NBA season, as the games keep coming and remaining in the moment is vital. Nunn’s journey up to this point hasn’t been how he would have scripted it, but he knows he wouldn’t fully appreciate it had it come any other way.

“That’s the beauty of it to me,” he says. “To be able to overcome obstacles and find success. An opportunity was given to me and I was fully prepared for it. I knew I was going to get a chance somewhere. I just didn’t know how long it would take. I just told myself that whenever that time came, I would be ready.”

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Christopher Cason is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @C4DUNK.

Photos via Getty.

The post HOMECOMING: Kendrick Nunn’s Journey from Chicago to the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

Bynum’s professional journey has taken him to places that were unfathomable to him as a youth. Now 34, with eight years of NBA experience and all the necessary attributes needed from a reliable floor general, he’s showcasing his value each time he takes the floor for the Chicago Bulls’ D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.

There were opportunities for Bynum to head overseas once again and earn a substantial payday. It would have been easy to take the money, but the Chicago native’s decision to go the D-League route was made in part to remain close to his family and to attempt to fulfill his desire to finish his career in the NBA. From the moment, he put on his uniform, he stepped right into a leadership role and easily became one of the team’s most dynamic playmakers.

As he flashed in the annual D-League showcase in January –where he dropped 43 points on 13-20 shooting, including 4-7 from 3 – there’s still lots of game left in his 6-0, 185 pound frame. While remaining hopeful for a call up from a team that could use his services, Bynum has kept his focus by looking at the positive of his situation, in being blessed to still play the game that’s given him so much at a high level.

We caught up with Bynum to discuss how he’s approached his second go-around in the D-League, 11 years after winning the D-League Rookie of the Year. We also talked about the frustration of watching NBA teams that could benefit from his services, how he’s staying prepared and just what life will be like after he calls it a career.

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SLAM: You could’ve gone overseas and made some good money, but you choose the D-League route. What was your reason for choosing that path?

WB: My main focus was to get back in the NBA and finish my career there. That was my focus. I’m still really good. I feel like I could help a team right away, when it comes to my experience, helping to tutor the young guys and just being ready to play at anytime. I see a lot of what I’m good at is needed for a lot of teams right now.

SLAM: When you see teams now in need of the things you offer, is it at all frustrating that you haven’t gotten a call because of the experience you have and what you’ve proven?

WB: You know, sometimes it is [frustrating] from a competitive standpoint and knowing that you’re really good and can help teams. You just have to continue to have faith, keep working and hopefully the chips will fall where they may. Things that I can’t control, I try not to harp on or think too much into. I just try to focus on things that I can control and that’s myself, my work habits, the things I do on a daily basis to improve and trying to stay prepared.

SLAM: You’ve always been a guy of strong faith and you’re still a guy that a lot of former and current players seek out for advice. With how frustrating this process can be, is there a person that you turn to to keep you motivated?

WB: It’s not a particular person, but it’s my upbringing. Me being from Chicago and me seeing the things that are going on now in the community. That’s motivation enough to do things the right way. It’s so easy for a lot of kids, especially now, to do the wrong things, that it makes it difficult to be that different person. I’m living proof that you can be different, have a different outlook on life and be successful and still get things done.

SLAM: Even though you’re not playing at the level you want to right now, has it been good to be playing back at home?

WB: It’s been great, but I’ve played all over. I’ve played in China, Israel and pretty much everywhere. As long as the rim is 10 feet, that’s fine with me. It doesn’t matter where I am.

SLAM: There’s this misconception amongst a lot of people that the D-League is lesser competition, but with guys fighting for a shot every night to be noticed, you could argue that there is a heightened level of competition. You’ve been through the D-League before, but now being more mature, is there any part of this experience that has been different for you?

WB: Nothing has been surprising. It’s a tough situation, though. In the D-League, teams send their guys down and it’s for them to develop. You have guys who are around all year [on the roster] and they really have no control over their opportunities when a guy gets sent down and needs to play that night. It’s just different playing the game that way. Normally, it’s like you’re all in and you’re trying to win, no matter what the scenario or the situation is. In the D-League, depending on the team, it’s more so about the development and not necessarily the wins. In that aspect, it’s different. To play the game that way, when you’re conditioned to doing things a certain way can be difficult sometimes.

SLAM: The Bulls have sent a lot of their younger players down to practice and get playing time. Have you had a chance to pull a guy like Jerian Grant or Denzel Valentine to the side and give them some of your knowledge on staying prepared?

WB: Most of the Chicago guys have either came down just for practice or the games, so I haven’t really ever gotten a chance to spend much time with them because they’re not traveling with us. The guy I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with and have gotten to know is Tim Quarterman from the Portland Trail Blazers. I’ve talked with him about the ins and outs of the League, having a consistent routine and just never getting too high or too low. That’s what it’s about. It’s about staying prepared and not taking anything that happens in this league too personal. What I do mean by that is what you do take personal is your improvement. Don’t have an emotional response to anything, but have more of a business approach and a professional approach to develop your game and get better.

SLAM: I always say there’s guys that like the game, love the game and live the game. In knowing you and how competitive you are, you’re obviously a guy that lives this. With knowing you can still compete on the NBA level, is watching games now anymore difficult than in years past?

WB: Not at all. The way that I watch a game is different. I’m looking at tendencies, footwork, play calls and sets. I don’t really look at the game from a fans standpoint. I look at it from a technical standpoint. I’m looking at what sets a team is running, what type of tendencies certain guards have and that’s because I’m looking at them as competition, or I could learn something from them. I do see a lot of teams that need experience and a spark off the bench, though.

SLAM: When that opportunity comes, is there a preferred situation for you?

WB: It doesn’t matter because I’m able to adjust. I’ve been in so many different situations and I’m able to adjust pretty easily because of the way I play. I’m going to come in and change the pace of the game, pick up full-court, talk to guys on offense and defense, be aggressive in the pick and roll and make plays. So my game is pretty simple and the NBA game is pretty much all pick and roll now. That’s pretty simple for me and I feel I could fit with any team and be a spark.

SLAM: What’s your typical schedule now, as opposed to how it was when you were in the league?

WB: Say if we had a game on a Friday and we’ve been in Chicago the entire week; Monday, we will practice in the morning and then at night, I’ll work out again on my on at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago.) I’m doing two separate workouts a day. The team stuff, I don’t really count that as a workout and that’s me, personally. I will do two-a-days through Wednesday and then do my work with the team, get my shots up and prepare for the game on Friday.

SLAM: So you’re still going hard?

WB: [Laughs]. That’s the only way to go.

SLAM: From my time in watching you at Crane, seeing you in Detroit and even the Chi-League, you’re constantly always pulling someone to the side or providing some type of guidance. Coaching seems like it would be an easy transition for you once you’ve decided that you’ve given the game all you can from a playing standpoint. What are your aspirations for when that time does come?

WB: To serve and to give back. I definitely have to give back with everything I’ve learned and where my experiences have taken me. With basketball, you can translate so many of the principles you learn into everything that you do. Me just giving that back to the younger generations who are trying to do the right things, no matter what field they’re in, is something that I’m very passionate about. With those principles you learn from basketball, it’s going to take the same hard work and you having to live it – whatever it is – to be the best you can. You’re going to have to live it 24-7 in order to be the best in it. If you’re aiming that high in the beginning, there’s no way you can fail.

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Christopher Cason is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him @C4DUNK. 

The post Will Bynum Talks Playing In The D-League As A Vet, Mentoring Younger Guys and More appeared first on SLAM.

Even through some of the most unforgiving pockets of Chicago, a consistent escape from the uncertainty of everyday life has been, and always will be, basketball. While the scars and scrapes attained from on-court battles give insight into the fearlessness needed to establish a rep, they often mask the internal wounds afflicted by life in a concrete jungle. On Chi-City courts, such as in life, nothing and no bucket is given. Everything is earned.

Defy City and Jabari Parker provides first-hand accounts into stories both told and untold from some of the most recognizable names in Chicago’s basketball community. It’s through these narratives that the historical and cultural impact of the game on the city is defined and its importance bared.

The post Jordan ‘Defy City’ Ft. Jabari Parker appeared first on SLAM.

The above affirmation has been pinned atop Atlanta Hawks’ rookie Taurean Prince‘s twitter timeline since before he became an NBA lottery pick earlier this summer. The statement is more than just a simple tweet for the San Antonio, TX, native; it’s a mindset. It’s also a testament to Prince’s hard work and perseverance of fulfilling his NBA dream after navigating a tough childhood and overcoming difficult odds.

Prior to a four-year collegiate career at Baylor which included a Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Award, a breakout senior season while also earning his degree, Prince endured bouts of instability as a kid growing up. At one point, he was forced to live at a Salvation Army shelter with his Dad who was homeless at the time.

Made it out the trenches and I'm never going back!

— TP (@taureanprince) October 28, 2016

Those early struggles forced Prince to mature a lot quicker than most kids his age. Prince never once questioned his tough times, or the cards that he was dealt in life—only using it as motivation to strengthen his resolve and focus. He now feels humbled immeasurably by everything that’s come his way since being drafted, as his life experiences have helped build his character.

Throughout summer league, training camp and preseason, Prince has already shown a tenacity and nose for the ball on defense. Offensively, he brings constant energy and versatility that should help earn him a spot in the regular rotation this season.

SLAM: Dwight’s famous for giving guys nicknames. Have you been given a nickname yet?

Taurean Prince: [Laughs] No, not yet. So far my name has been “rook” for the last three months. Not yet.

SLAM: Have you gotten to fully settle into Atlanta and how are you enjoying the city so far?

TP: Yeah, I’m actually 100 percent settled in now. I have my new place, my cars are here and I’m settled in. As far as the city, everyone is all for the sports teams here. They love their Falcons. They love their Hawks. Any time they see us, it’s all love. There’s no hating on us, no bashing, no provoking us to do anything that we don’t want to do. Atlanta’s been all love.

SLAM: You recently signed with adidas basketball. How does it feel joining the adidas brand and how many people have hit you up asking for Yeezys?

TP: A lot of people ask for Yeezys! [Laughs] What they fail to realize is that we don’t get them that easy either. Just because we’re signed to adidas, we still might have to purchase them in order to get them. As far as the signing goes, I’m excited. Adidas has definitely blessed me with more shoes than I ever thought I would own as a kid. Things like that just humble me even more and I just take it as a blessing. I’m just going to continue to work hard for everything because I don’t want to lose it.

SLAM: What would you say has been the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make to your individual game since leaving Baylor?

TP: I think the main thing has been slowing myself down. It’s not so much that the game is sped up or faster, or that anyone is doing anything that makes me play a certain way. It’s really been me slowing myself down and taking what the defense gives me. It’s not always about trying to go and get something on offense. It’s about being patient and allowing things to develop and not trying to force things.

SLAM: Most players selected as high as you (12th overall), go to young teams that are rebuilding. You joined a playoff team that’s mostly veteran. I’m sure Coach Bud has discussed what’s expected of you this season, but what are you looking to add and contribute?

TP: I definitely want to be that guy from Day 1 that can play defense and can compete 100 percent every single time I step out on the floor. I just want to let the offense come to me. I have a knack for scoring, but I also know that if you don’t play defense, you don’t win games. Just being a guy who can hit open shots. We have players here that can score and put the ball in the bucket. If [offense] comes to me, then it comes to me, but I’m more focused on getting steals, getting out in transition and making winning plays to help the team.

SLAM: A lot of people have compared you to DeMarre Carroll because of the “3 & D” role he played for the Hawks. There are some similarities, but is there another player that you have studied or pattered your game after?

TP: Kawhi Leonard is someone I definitely pattern my game after. He’s a great player. In time, I feel like I can take a similar path as him. I watch a lot of tape on him and I feel like if I can just fine tune myself and gain that experience. I want to enjoy the process so I won’t rush things, but I hope to become the type of player he is for the Hawks some day.

SLAM: You were a four-year college player and now it seems that there’s this perception that the best players are the one-and-done guys. In your opinion, how did staying at Baylor help you from a mental and physical standpoint to be ready for the next level?

TP: To be honest, it can be different for anybody. Someone younger can be just as mature as me. Staying those four years at Baylor made me realize what was most important in life. It wasn’t about girls, having fun, and going out all the time. As I got older, I stopped worrying about playing time and I started worrying about what I needed to do to help the team win games. Once I started doing that, I got a lot better my last two years and I became a better leader, a better person, and a better son and brother to my family. That has all translated because of basketball.

I feel like if you have a great outlook on life off the court, it just elevates your game that much more. I think that was definitely the case for me in college. Staying helped me become a better leader to the younger guys and I shared my wisdom with them to help them not make the same mistakes I did as a young guy. I didn’t take winning serious my first two years in college. I was just worrying about playing time and getting buckets. By staying in school, it prepared me for the position I’m in now.

SLAM: You’ve overcome a lot just to get to this point in your life. Since being drafted back in June, has there been a moment where everything has sunk in on just how far you’ve come, or do you have that feeling every day?

TP: It’s a daily feeling for sure. Just sitting back and reflecting. Even doing the rookie duties for the veterans; those types of things are something I don’t ever mind doing because I know that I’m here for a reason and I have to earn my stripes as a rookie. This has definitely been a humbling experience and a blessing all the way throughout, and I don’t ever take anything for granted. Every day I’m reminded about the things I’ve been through and how far I’ve come. It just makes me want to be that much better and work even harder for the people around me.

SLAM: What do you think kids can learn from your story because it’s easy to get sidetracked in life when facing difficult circumstances?

TP: My advice would be to not let the bad things that happens in life turn you into a bad person. Also don’t allow that to become an excuse to not be successful later in life. Some people would say, “I’m this way because I didn’t have a father in my life,” or “I’m this way because I wasn’t given everything in life.” I could have said the same things. I could have gotten involved in criminal activities because I didn’t have a home at times, or because I didn’t have anything to eat at times. But I didn’t. I switched it and turned it into a positive.

I just flipped all the negatives into a positive and it helped turn me into a respectful person. No matter what age I am, I’m probably saying ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’ to people. At times people tell me you don’t have to call me that, but it’s just in my vocabulary—that’s just how I’m built. I turned a tough situation into a positive because there’s no losing in that. Just because what you’re going through in life is really tough, it doesn’t mean you should discredit yourself or lower your standards and expectations in life. It should only help you want to do more.

 SLAM: Who in your life would you say is the most influential in shaping that mindset?

TP: Turning a negative into a positive would be from my father because that’s who I went through my situations with. Being able to overcome things and having a positive mindset, would probably be my mother. But I think it all comes from within myself.

SLAM: You’ve already shown some of what you can do, but what can Atlanta Hawk fans and the League expect from Taurean Prince?

TP: A player that’s going to play hard 100 percent of the time. I’m always going to bring energy and be fearless against any opponent. I’m going to work hard and knock down the open shots. Also if you see me, say Hello. I’m not afraid to interact with the fans or take pictures. Fans can follow me on Twitter (@TaureanPrince). I tweet and interact with all my fans and we even play Madden online. I’m extremely humbled and blessed to be able to do what I do.

The post Forever Humble appeared first on SLAM.

The last team in the Eastern Conference who stood as a true hindrance to James advancing to compete for a title was the Indiana Pacers, who James helped eliminate in back-to-back Eastern Conference finals during the tail end of the Miami Heat’s four-year run to the Finals.

Now entering his seventh season, Paul George stands as the longest tenured and only remaining member from that smash-mouth Pacers’ squad. The seasons following his last playoff clash with James brought change and adjustment for both the All-Star forward and the franchise. Just two years removed from a devastating leg injury, George has not only reclaimed his place among the game’s best, but has placed himself in the MVP conversation as well.

While the Pacers offeason transactions didn’t garner many headlines, additions such as Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young and Jeff Teague make for George’s deepest and most talented team. It’s the reason why his expectations are at their highest and why he feels that the Cavs ticket to the Finals shouldn’t be stamped so soon.

On a night where he sat out to rest, we caught up with George after the Pacers fell 121-105 to the Chicago Bulls.

SLAM: What were your thoughts when you learned of the moves the Pacers made this summer?

Paul George: I think with the moves made, the front office made it an emphasis on getting back to that caliber of talent that placed us in the [Eastern] Conference finals and bringing that level of play back to this organization that we’ve fell short of the last couple of seasons. We made the playoffs last year, but the year before that we fell short. Since I’ve been here, the one thing that we’ve lacked was bench play. With the depth that we have now; it’s one thing to have depth, but we have guys that can play multiple positions and can do multiple things. This team is pretty deep and can be very good.

SLAM: You’ve played against Jeff, Thaddeus and Al, so you’re aware of them as opponents and their strengths. Now being teammates, has any one of them surprised you?

PG: You know what makes them special from afar, but being their teammates gives you more insight. With Thad, he’s very underrated in just about everything he brings. Underrated ball handler, rebounder and I think one thing that makes him great here is his ability to rebound and push the ball. I think that’s a unique skill set for this team because we have a lot of shooters that can space the floor in transition that he’ll find. He’s wowed me in that aspect of his game so far.

SLAM: Do you take comfort in knowing that Larry Bird made moves to stay competitive rather than rebuild after missing the 2015 playoffs?

PG: It’s a luxury, really. The NBA season is very long. You don’t want to feel like you’re wasting years or you’re giving something that’s not going to go somewhere. I think that’s one of the worst things to go through in this league, so I’m thankful that they’re trying to keep this team and the organization competitive, in putting pieces around me to try and get us back in the playoffs and to try and take out LeBron and the Cavaliers.

SLAM: LeBron has been a personal hurdle for you, as well as a lot of teams in the East. How confident are you that you can get past that hurdle?

PG: I’m real confident. The only thing is that with any new talent on any team, it takes time. I think that’s really the only thing that’s an issue at this point right now. Who’s to say that this team can’t turn into something special right away this season? When they started the Big Three with LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh; they didn’t win the first year. So hopefully, with what we got here, this will be the group that can put us over the top.

SLAM: You were part of Team USA this summer and there’s a trend of guys who participate there following that up with strong seasons. In your opinion, what is it about going through that experience that’s beneficial for you going into the next season?

PG: You get to compete against the best of the best when you would just usually be doing individual workouts. I think it simply comes down to that. When you’re competitive and you’re competing against the best players, it elevates you and makes you play at another level. With the Team USA practices, those practices are going to be better than your team practices simply because the players are better as a whole. You have to play with your A-game at all times.

There’s this level that you’ve discovered that you can get to, and you bring it to your team. It forces their play to elevate because those guys are competitive as well. I think that’s what the experience does. It raises the level you may already be at because you’re forced to play at a high level on a daily basis.

SLAM: What are some of the areas you set out to improve upon this summer?

PG: Just more midrange things. I think as I continue to develop and progress throughout my career, the midrange game is that area [of focus] for me. I worked a lot on footwork, mid-post and elbow action. This was a different summer for me, in terms of training because I was training to play with Team USA during the summer and not training to prepare for this season. But I’m excited about getting started.

Photos via Getty Images

The post Something Special appeared first on SLAM.

But the Pels struggled out the gate in ’15-16, losing 11 of their first 12 games and dealt with one of the worst bouts of the injury bug in recent memory—they led the League in games missed due to injury or illness with 351.

Davis himself would miss 21 games before being shutdown in March due to a bothersome left knee that required surgery. The procedure was expected to keep him from basketball activities for three-to-four months, which eliminated his chance to represent his country for at this summer’s Olympic games in Brazil.

With all the changes during a busy offseason around the League, the Pelicans retooled their roster by adding young talent while saying goodbye to veterans Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson.

Davis sat down with SLAM at the third annual Red Bull Reign Tournament in Chicago where he gave his insight on this past season, the offseason moves made by New Orleans and how he’s been spending his time while rehabbing his injury.

SLAM: This is the third year of the Red Bull Reign Tournament here in Chicago. What’s it been like to not only bring this to Chicago, but to watch it grow each year?

Anthony Davis: It’s a great event and I love coming here and doing it. Chicago has great talent. I’m glad Solid Gold from Chicago has won the tournament the past two years. [Solid Gold won for the third straight time on Saturday—Ed.] We have a couple of guys here from New Orleans and I told them that Chicago is taking it again. [Laughs]

SLAM: With your focus on getting healthy, you haven’t had as busy a summer compared to last summer—how are you feeling physically?

AD: I feel great. My summer has been going well. I’m just trying to get back out on the court when I’m able to.

SLAM: You underwent a procedure in March and basketball activities were ruled out for up to four months. What have you done to help ease the desire to rush back into things?

AD: I really have never watched Summer League that closely, but I’ve been watching a lot of it now for some reason. I can’t get on the floor just yet, so I look at old tape of myself from last season, and the season before last to try and figure out what I can do to be better. I have a lot of tape from the team to figure out what we can do to be better as a team, offensively and defensively. That’s really been it. Just relax. I play a lot of 2K and end up picking the Pelicans. I just love the game of basketball, so I love to stay involved in it.

SLAM: You guys battled through injuries last season and didn’t repeat 2015’s playoff appearance. Can you summarize your thoughts on the past year?

AD: You can’t! [Laughs] You can’t summarize it. All you could do was try and battle through adversity. Guys were getting hurt left and right. We’re bringing in guys every day to try and fill our roster out, but there was nothing we could do about it. We just had to go out there and use what we had. I liked the way we ended the season, though. Guys came in, played hard, competed and that’s all you can ask for with the situation we were in. Now our guys are getting back on the right track. We’re going to try and do better next year.

SLAM: I know you were looking forward to representing the USA in this summer’s Olympics. Just how disappointing was it realizing that you were going to have to miss that opportunity?

AD: It’s tough, but [surgery] was something I had to do. Hopefully this won’t be the last Olympic opportunity for me. I’m already fortunate to have won two Gold medals; one for the World Cup and one at the 2012 Olympics. I thought this summer was going to be a big one for me, trying to lead that team. But everything happens for a reason.

I hope they go out there and win the Gold and the guys told me that I was still a part of USA Basketball because we’re like a family. I’m just happy that the guys who are playing get a chance to go out there and represent our country as best as they can. [Surgery] was a tough decision for me. But at the end of the day, I had to do what was in the best interest of myself and the team.

SLAM: It’s been a hectic and surprising summer in the NBA. What do you think of of the free agent moves that were made? 

AD: I try not to get into what the other guys did. What they do is on them. At the end of the day, I just focus on myself and my team and what we’re going to do to go out there and compete every night. I’m pretty sure guys had great reasons for moving to new situations. I’m sure Chicago is proud to have DWade back in the city. I’m happy for those guys, but at the end of the day, I can’t focus too much on them. I have to figure out what we can do to get better.

SLAM: You were obviously aware when Tim Duncan announced he was retiring—I saw you put your own #ThankYouTD post on Instagram. Considering’s he’s a guy you grew up watching, played against and have a lot of respect for, what do you think of his decision to step away from the game for good?

AD: The best power forward to lace them up, in my opinion. He’s a guy that I idolize with all the things he’s accomplished. Him not being in the League anymore is going to be weird—same with Kobe. They were mentors, as well as idols for me for so long. Now that they’ve walked away, it’s going to be weird playing the Lakers and not seeing Kobe. It’s going to be weird playing the Spurs and Tim not being there. Tim put his time in. Kobe put his time in, so I’m happy for the both of them. I’m still going to try and pick their brains from time to time even with them being away from the game.

SLAM: Kevin Durant received a lot of criticism for signing with the Warriors. The decision was based on putting himself in the best position to compete for titles. Are you of the belief that you need to win titles to validate what you do in this game and do you see that perspective as fair?

AD: Winning gives you an edge, of course, but I don’t think it puts a stamp on greatness. I think Charles Barkley and Karl Malone were great power forwards. You’re going to tell me they aren’t great because they don’t have a ring? That’s how I look at it. I don’t think jewelry defines your overall career, but it gives you an edge as far as greatness. If you’re a great player and you have a ring, that sort of makes your greatness more definite in a way. But as far as not having a ring and not being great, I don’t think it takes away from you as a player and what you do. That’s just my opinion on that.

SLAM: You guys got younger this offseason, but also added guys who’ve had success and can complement the system well. What are your thoughts on the moves the Pelicans made?

AD: I feel that we did pretty well in the draft by picking an exceptional talent in Buddy Hield. We picked up a lot of good pieces: Terrence Jones, Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore. So I think we’re going to be very good this year. We have to come in and work and play hard.

SLAM: By getting younger, you guys did lose two pieces of your core in Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. They got offers they couldn’t turn down from Houston, but was it tough to see them go with them being here since you entered the League?

AD: It was their decisions. They were free agents and they tested the market. I didn’t talk to them or have any idea what their thinking was. Both of those guys are exceptional talents. I have nothing against them. When I see them, we’re still going to kick it like we’re on the same team. Those guys are great players. Both of them can score the ball, can shoot and I’m happy that they’re back on the same team again. I just can’t wait to play them. Those are our first two preseason games—against Houston in China. It’s going to be fun playing against them guys. They’re going to know what we run. We’re going to know what they like to do, so it’s going to be fun and I’m excited about playing them.

SLAM: You’ll obviously be easing your way back into the swing of things as the training camp nears. What’s your mindset going into next season?

AD: I’m coming in to win. That’s my mindset going into every season. With getting younger, we don’t have much room for error. We have a lot of new guys who have to get acclimated quickly, but it’s my job to help those guys and do what I need to do to help us win. I’m just looking forward to getting back on the floor and getting started.

SLAM: Being from here and with the love you have for Chicago, what do you think needs to happen so the senseless violence stops becoming common?

AD: I think it starts with the athletes. Just like with what LeBron, Carmelo, Chris and Dwyane said[at the ESPY’s], it starts with us. Like you just said, a lot of athletes might not have power, but all of us have influence. We’re all influential. From that standpoint, we have to look in the mirror at ourselves and see what we can do to help our communities. It doesn’t have to be this crazy change, where you go and give this crazy amount of money, but it’s the little things. For example, holding camps, or even something like the Red Bull Reign Tournament. Everybody uses sports as a safe haven when they’re growing up. I was just talking about this quote earlier, but I think when Notorious B.I.G. said, “We can’t change the world unless we change ourselves.” That’s huge. You can’t expect the world to change if you’re not changing.

—

Photos via Ryan Taylor/Red Bull Content Pool

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SLAM caught up with Lawson before he took the court last week for an off-season pick up run against fellow pro and college players in Los Angeles.

The 28-year-old spoke openly about his preparation for next season, difficulty in adjusting in Houston, working past his alcohol rehabilitation and more.

SLAM: What have you been working on to get yourself ready and prepared for next season?

Ty Lawson: My trainers Chris Gaston and Ivorie Manning are actually out in L.A., so I’ve been out in L.A. just working out with them two times a day; shooting, ball handling and an occasional five-on-five run just to keep my competitive edge.

SLAM: Can you just summarize what last season was like for you?

TL: It was tough. Going into the season with Houston, we thought we were going to be one of the top teams and a title contender. I guess it just wasn’t a good fit on all ends. From not having the ball in my hands to everything that was going down in Houston, it just wasn’t a good fit. It was tough going from starting and playing well to coming off the bench, then not playing and going through every process that there is in the NBA in one season. Being waived, to going to another team and then having to go out there and get used to everyone so quickly. It was a tough situation but this season I’m just ready to come in, go to work, remain focused and go hard.

SLAM: With a tough year and season behind you, what’s your main focus now?

TL: This summer has been all about basketball. Like you said, last year, I was dealing with a lot of different things. Now, it’s just strictly basketball and getting better as a person. I feel like I’m more there mentally now, more mature, and just ready to go and help a team win.

SLAM: Are you open to any new system or do you want to get back to one that best utilizes your strengths and skill sets?

TL: I would definitely prefer an uptempo style of offense, fast paced, but just learning from my situation last year has been key for me. I’ve been working hard on my spot-up jumpers, creating my shots off one-on-ones plus in the half court offense; coming off pick and rolls and just things like that. An uptempo style is what I’m more comfortable with, but this summer is all about working on different half-court sets as well and playing more off the ball because I guess that’s where the NBA is going now. The NBA is not just one person handling the ball the majority of the time now, so I’ve just been working on a lot of game-type situations where I’m off the ball, but an uptempo style would suit me great.

SLAM: Given what you went through over the last year and a half, what kept you so focused and were there any periods where you doubted yourself?

TL: I just know how good I am. I talked to my family, friends and old high school coaches. The only thing that I can say that went down was probably my confidence a little. I didn’t get depressed, but my confidence took a hit last season with not playing like I was accustomed to. I had to go back and look at my old YouTube videos and had to remind myself that I was really that guy who averaged 21 points and 8 assists against Golden State in the Playoffs [laughs]. So I just had to go back and revamp my thinking. I talked to Dwight Howard about it a lot and he said he did the same thing. The situation (in Houston) last year really made me question, Were you really that good of a player?

This summer I’m back working out hard and my confidence is back to where it needs to be. I’m ready and I know that I’m a proven player that can put up big-time numbers in this league, so my confidence is the only thing that was really affected last season. This season is a big one for me and I’m just ready to do whatever it takes to help my new team win.

SLAM: Did any of the negativity affect you or did it only strengthen your resolve?

TL: I’ve been called worse things. I didn’t grow up in the best neighborhoods, so I’ve been called way worse. I’m pretty smart about the media. It’s their job to do what they do, so I don’t put too much weight into it. It’s different once the fans start believing in what the media says; but I know what type of person I am, so that really didn’t get to me.

SLAM: Last year, you were pulling for Cleveland to beat Golden State because you didn’t want fellow ’09 draft mate, Stephen Curry, to get at title before you did. Were you pulling for Cleveland again in the Finals?

TL: Steph already won a chip, so I was hoping that he won another one. I didn’t want Kyrie to win one before me [laughs]. Kyrie is one of my closest friends in the NBA, so I was like, Go ahead and win another one, Steph [laughs]. Congratulations to the both of them because they both have chips now and well deserved. Kyrie had an unbelievable season and he had an unbelievable Playoffs and averaged 30 in the Finals. I watched every game. I congratulate both of them, but I didn’t want either of them winning a chip before me.

SLAM: Would it be tough for you to accept another reserve role and one where you’re not the primary ball handler?

TL: Obviously as a competitor I definitely want a starting opportunity, but I feel like I can play in any style. I’ve watched film over and over with my trainer, and whenever I didn’t have the ball in my hands, I would just stand there. I wouldn’t get any easy baskets last year. When I’m playing pickup now, that’s one of the main things I’m trying to do: create more opportunities off the ball. There is no more just standing around, it’s dive throughs, cut back, relocate to the three-point line and just keep on moving because that’s the way the game is going now. Now there’s your big man at the top, like Andrew Bogut, making the decisions, seeing who is cutting off of screens and then when you do get the ball, it’s pick and roll, quick decisions, get it off quick or get it back. I feel like I can thrive in those situations. I just have to keep moving and make the reads.

SLAM: It’s easy to write a guy off when there is a personal issue or production slips. What needs to happen for the League to see that Ty Lawson we came to know and love in Denver?

TL: Man, I just need an opportunity. That’s all. I just need a team to believe in me and see my strengths because I do feel like people have written me off some. To see everyone talking about Mike Conley is the only top point guard of this free agency…I don’t know, but it feels like a slap in the face and is motivating me. I just need the opportunity to get back to playing my style. I feel like I will show anyone that I’m still that same player who played so well in Denver. You can forget what you knew and everything that you read about me last year because this year, it’s a new Ty Lawson.

The post Q+A: Ty Lawson appeared first on SLAM.

In his only season for the Golden Eagles,Ellenson led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.0 points and 9.7 boards per game, which earned him first-team All-Big East honors. The last two and a half months for the 6-11, smooth-shooting big man have been filled with training and team workouts.

Fresh off of being selected 18th overall by the Pistons, Ellenson wants to know what comes next. Who better to ask than someone who’s seen it all from an organizational standpoint during his rookie year?

Kings’ forward Willie Cauley-Stein earned All-Rookie Second-Team honors last season and remained trill amidst organizational and team unrest.

With an honesty and outlook well beyond his veteran status, Cauley-Stein was a perfect fit to school Ellenson on some of what he can expect now that the draft festivities have concluded.

The two Roc Nation Sports athletes caught up before the Draft and allowed SLAM to listen in on some of their conversation.

Henry Ellenson: What was your mindset going into the Draft?

Willie Cauley-Stein: I just tried to keep an open mind and there’s nothing really to be nervous about. You’re going to get drafted. I knew that. Eventually, your name is going to get called and that’s where you’re supposed to be. I feel like a lot of guys get caught up in what spot they think they should go in with all the mock drafts that are out. You really have no control over it, so you just have to let God play his hand and whatever team takes you, that’s where you’re supposed to start your journey.

There were no nerves for me on the day of the Draft. I was sleeping on the bus ride to the Barclays Center. Everyone else was so amped, and I was just ready to get everything over with and get to my city. I know you’re traveling and working out everywhere. You’re basically living out of a suitcase for the summer. You just want a home, so you can get grounded and start working out and getting on a routine.

Ellenson: You didn’t have any specific team or location you wanted to go to, or were you just open to any situation?

WCS: I feel like you really can’t get attached to a team because the chances of you going to that team are so up in the air. I literally was so wide open, it didn’t’ matter where I was going to go. You still have to put in the same work and have the same mentality when you get there.

Ellenson: How did you handle going to a new city and what’s that process like?

WCS: So right when you get drafted, you have that night to live it up. You have your draft party and literally the next day, you’re out to your new city. For me, I was out that morning (after the Draft). I got to Sacramento and had a press conference and the next day, two community service events. Everyone wants to see the new rookie. I went to a golf outing and we were there meeting the owners of the team.

We had another community event where I went to these parks that they built courts at and there were a bunch of kids there from the community that I got to interact with. So basically, you do a lot of community service events right off the jump. Your face is everywhere, on the team’s Twitter, Instagram, newspapers. Everyone is showing you love because you’re the new person. It’s cool, though. You just embrace the opportunity and the situation because you have a chance to make it yours.

Ellenson: That’s cool. Did you guys start working out right away for Summer League?

WCS: Yeah, man. Right when you get there, you might have a day to get settled, but there’s literally like a week-long training camp for Summer League. Almost right when you get there, you’ll start working out with the team, the coaches and the summer league roster.  When I first got there, I was like, Where are our veterans? But, it’s just guys trying to make the team, the League. You may have one to two other guys that will be on the actual roster. You go through that week and then you’re out in Vegas for about 10 days if you make the playoffs.

Ellenson: What do you do with all of the free time?

WCS: Man, it varies. I’m kind of artistic, so I dabble with some music. I do some art stuff, play a lot of 2K. It’s really your time to venture out and do something outside of basketball. It’s kind of crazy because in college, it’s all basketball all the time. When you get in the League, it’s really your job now. You work your 9 to 5 and then you get to go do whatever you want. Maybe you have an interest you want to explore, or another job you want to do. It’s your time to pursue it. You really just want to try and build your brand and start trying to make money. You can work on business plans for down the line. It’s all up to you.

Ellenson: What was the first thing that you bought with your first check?

WCS: First thing I got was a car and then a house. Then came furniture and stuff to sauce out your crib and make it as cool as you want it to be. I bought a bunch of clothes, but the most important was a place to stay.

Ellenson: You bought a house and not a condo?

WCS: Nah, I got a nice little pad out here. Five bedrooms, a pool.

Ellenson: Sounds like a pretty good setup.

WCS: Yeah, it’s pretty nice.

Ellenson: Did you move out there by yourself or do you have someone staying with you?

WCS: I have my manager, my best friend and my girl lives with me now. She was in college last year, but she’s with me now.  I have two pit bulls also.

Ellenson: Did you have any rookie duties?

WCS: I ain’t really mess with the rookie duties. I thought it was a bunch of bull. I didn’t do it. They were on me hard too because I wouldn’t do a lot of the stuff. My mindset was I’m putting in the same hours as y’all. I just have a different mentality than most. Also, I wasn’t in a program that’s very traditional. A lot of us are young, so it wasn’t like I had a bunch of vets over me that could force me to do some stuff.

I would carry [Rajon] Rondo’s bag, but it’s really like one vet will get ahold of you and that’s your guy. So I would carry Rondo’s bag, but they’ll take care of you. They may have you run errands if they need something if you’re in a city. You go grab and give it to them, but they break you off from their per diem, so it’s not all bad. Once I started getting paid for running errands, I was like, Ya’ll need something?

I feel like I might have gotten $300 to go get Caron Butler a Coke and some straws one time.

Ellenson: [Laughs] That’s good to know.

WCS: It just depends on where you go. You may go somewhere where you’re all around the same age, so there won’t be any rookie duties. You could end somewhere where there is lots of tradition like Miami, San Antonio, Boston, New York; Melo might have you doing some stuff. Organizations where you have teammates that are high-profiled, you may have some rookie duties. If you go to a team that’s up and coming or rebuilding, you’re not going to have to do anything.

Ellenson: No one ever popcorn your car or any other pranks.

WCS: Hell nah! I don’t play that. Lock your car and hide your keys. You can’t get too relaxed as a rookie. I always lock my car up and hide my keys in a pair of shoes no one knew about. You just have to be on your P’s and Q’s about it. That shit is just dumb and annoying. But I’m the type of dude that’s going to do it right back to you. If my car gets popcorn in it, then I’m Vaseline-ing a car. I’m doing some foul shit. I’m not playing that.

The post Willie Cauley-Stein Gives Henry Ellenson Advice About the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

But the team, currently the 6-seed in the Western playoff standings with a 40-36 record, have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season. GM Neil Olshey quickly re-tooled the Blazers into a younger, more versatile roster of emerging players centered around franchise PG Damian Lillard.

Many of the new additions such as Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee have fit in nicely, carving out significant roles as the Blazers have surpassed the low expectations set for them entering this season.

Another one of the newcomers who has impressed is fourth-year wing Maurice Harkless, who after adjusting to a new system and new position (PF), is now a starter late into his first season in Portland.

With his high energy and versatility on both ends of the floor, Harkless has seen his minutes, scoring opportunities and overall impact increase of late.

Drafted 15th overall by the 76ers in the 2012 Draft, Harkless was initially selected to be groomed under Andre Iguodala, but instead both were a part of the massive four-team-12-player Dwight Howard trade, which landed Harkless in Orlando.

Harkless showed flashes and promising potential during his first two seasons with the Magic, but saw his minutes dwindle before falling out of the rotation completely in his final season there.

The Magic traded Harkless to Portland last summer for a future second-round pick; adding even more motivation to the 22-year-old NYC native, who just wanted the chance to prove himself and showcase his game with the right opportunity.

SLAM caught up with Harkless on a recent off-day to discuss the lessons he learned in Orlando and how he’s taking full advantage of every opportunity he receives in Portland.

SLAM: How would you define your first three years in Orlando? Was there any frustration with all of the losing while also seeing your playing time severely reduced your last year there?

Maurice Harkless: Overall, I think it was a good experience. We were a young team, we went through a lot of ups and downs. It was really frustrating with the losing. No player wants to be on a team where you’re in the lottery every year. That part was tough, and last year with the playing time (being reduced), that was pretty frustrating as well, especially because I couldn’t figure it out. I was just trying to do whatever I could to get on the court, but I just couldn’t crack the rotation. I just used that frustration, and all of the losses and me not playing to drive me to work harder.

SLAM: For as quickly as the League can change and with players having to be able to adapt, how important is having consistency in knowing when you’re going to play, what your role is, and how many minutes that you’re going to play?

MH: One thing that I’ve figured out is, no matter how many minutes you play or think you’re going to play, you should just prepare the same way every game and at every practice. You got to prepare the same way and just be ready. Like you said, the League changes so quickly. One night you’re playing 10 minutes and the next night you’re playing 35. You have to just stay ready and be prepared for whatever situation comes your way and that’s what I’ve done.

SLAM: How do you keep your frustrations in check and not disrupt what the team is trying to accomplish?

MH: I can’t take all the credit on this one. Sometimes I did get frustrated and I talked to people just to calm me down and I just remained positive. Whether it was my agent or one of my closest friends; I feel like I have a pretty good circle of support. They kept me grounded and level-headed when things weren’t going so well, and also now, when things are going good. Usually they would call me up when they sense I’m frustrated and that helps a lot because sometimes it’s real rough, but success isn’t handed to you.

SLAM: When you were informed that you were traded last summer, how did you react to the news and what were your impressions of Portland before arriving there?

MH: I didn’t really have an impression of Portland, honestly. I didn’t know anything about it other than I hated playing here as an opponent because the fans are really loud and very passionate about the Trail Blazers. I was excited to hear the news (of the trade). I was looking forward to the opportunity to come here and I saw an opportunity for me to hopefully play a lot. We have a nice group of young guys who all work hard. I knew CJ [McCollum] since I played against him in college. I was drafted in the same class with Dame and Meyers [Leonard], so just coming here with a great group of young guys, I was really excited and looking forward to getting started.

SLAM: Somehow you guys have came together quicker than anyone could have predicted and are now battling for the fifth seed. What do you attribute the team’s success to this season?

MH: I think the main thing is everyone on the team works hard and we all want to win. Everyone on the team knows what it takes to win and we all make the necessary sacrifices to go out there and do that on a nightly basis. We heard all of the talk at the beginning of the season about how we would do this year. I can tell you that after going through some of the open gyms with these guys, I knew that we were going to win more games than anyone expected. We have a good group and I knew we could make some things happen this year. I was telling everyone before the season started that we would definitely be in the Playoffs. I guess it is surprising that we’re in sixth and we could finish fifth, but I knew we were going to make the Playoffs.

SLAM: You spent some time last summer with the Puerto Rican national team, which is coached by Rick Pitino. How was that experience?

MH: It was a pretty good experience overall. It was definitely a different style of play; very physical. I didn’t get a chance to play in the actual tournament because I hurt my ankle and I had to come back to Portland. But practicing with those guys and scrimmaging against them, it was a lot of fun. I took a lot from it. Those guys are all professionals and they’re all grown men. It wasn’t like the young team we have here in Portland or the teams I was on in Orlando. It was a team full of grown men. Being out there and watching how they work and how physical they were, that was a good experience for me.

SLAM: Your mom’s side of the family hails from PR, but why did you decide you wanted to join the team, even with them trying to recruit you to play ever since your St. Johns’ days?

MH: I felt like I just needed to play. I wanted to play because I didn’t get a chance to play a lot my last year in Orlando. I just felt like playing for the national team would be a great opportunity to just hoop and play. I feel like that’s the most important part of any young player’s development is to just play. It was a great experience. Playing for Coach Pitino—obviously he’s a great coach—he dropped a lot of knowledge on me and he pushes guys to work really hard, so it was a great experience and I learned from that.

SLAM: How do you feel you’ve adjusted so far to being in a new system and in a new role, as you now play a lot of 4 in coach Stotts’ small-ball lineups?

MH: I think I’ve adjusted pretty well. It was kind of new at first since I never really played the 4 at this level before and guys are a lot bigger and stronger. I’m pretty much cool with playing wherever I’m needed; whatever I can do to help the team win, especially if that’s playing as the stretch-4 now. Offensively with our system, positions are interchangeable. One position I can be playing the 4 and the next possession I can be playing the 2. With our team, we have guys with similar size and skill sets and when we’re out there we can just pretty much figure things out on the fly. We can switch positions on both ends of the floor, so it’s pretty cool.

SLAM: You’re rebounding the ball well and taking advantage of increased opportunities to score more now. Is there anything that you’re doing differently now or has this been a new focus for you?

MH: The main thing is I just try and be aggressive on both ends. I’m going to do whatever the team needs me to do for us to win. Whether I need to lock somebody up defensively, or if it’s rebounding, scoring; whatever I need to do to help the team win, that’s what I’m going to do.

SLAM: One thing NBA observers knew coming into this season was that Damian Lillard was a proven All-Star-type player. Even though he was snubbed this season, what were your impressions of him coming in and your impression of him now after being his teammate?

MH: Coming here, I knew he was a good player. After being with him for pretty much a year now, I’ve gained a lot more respect for him. Not that I didn’t have a good deal of respect for him before but I just didn’t really know him. Just seeing how much of a leader he is, how tough he is. He really wants to win at all costs. He’s a tough kid and he’s played through some injuries this year and by just watching games, fans probably don’t see stuff like that. But being around him and playing with him you learn a lot from him and the type of person he is.

SLAM: Dame is one of only a handful of players that I believe can go off at any moment and there’s nothing you can do with his range and shooting stroke. As a teammate what’s it like to watch a guy like that go off, especially the 51-point game against Golden State?

MH: You can get caught up in watching, especially that game against Golden State. That night it was just try and get him open and see what he does. I think the whole team got caught up in watching that game because he was really in the zone. A lot of times, he goes into that mode where he just takes the game over for a period of time. You try to still play, obviously, but we all get caught up in it.

SLAM: I saw an Instagram post from you with you behind the camera lens that you captioned “Young Ansel Adams.” Just with a reference like that, it means you’ve done some studying of photography. Is this a passion of yours?

MH: It’s something that I’ve always liked to do for fun. I just really like taking pictures. Once I saw the cameras that the courtside photographers are working with and how they can create and edit it’s cool. It might be something I further explore this summer, because it is a lot of fun for me.

SLAM: You guys are still taking things one game at a time, but how does it personally feel knowing that you’ll be making your first trip to the postseason?

MH: It feels pretty good. This is what we play for; a chance to win a Championship. Being in the Playoffs and having that opportunity, anything can happen once you’re there. You just have to take things game by game and just try and do the little things to keep winning and I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position to do that. It’s really exciting.

Photos courtesy of Justin Tucker.

The post Q+A: Maurice Harkless appeared first on SLAM.

As teams who severely miscalculated by taking the likes of Jordan Adams, Nik Stauskas, James Young and Tyler Ennis over Hood are finding out now; Hood is an impact player on the rise who is currently in the midst of playing the best basketball of his career. Averaging 19 ppg on 46 percent shooting and 43 percent from three since the beginning of January, the Jazz are now thriving as a team with the emergence of Hood, and are right in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase.

Last season Hood dealt with a foot injury during his rookie campaign that limited him to just 50 games, but once he was inserted into the starting lineup and his role expanded toward the end of last season, he hasn’t looked back. With being fully healthy this season and on one of the top defensive teams in the League, Hood is rightfully receiving the recognition his game demands.

But he isn’t content with the success he’s having this season.

SLAM caught up with Hood over the weekend during a road trip in Portland to discuss being a part of All-Star Weekend as a Rising Star, adjusting to life in Utah, and the Jazz’s continuing improvement as a team.

SLAM: What did it mean to you to be selected for the Rising Stars Challenge after missing last year’s game due to injury?

Rodney Hood: Just going back to last year, I was real motivated just watching that game and seeing my peers playing. It was one of my goals this year to make that game and I put in a lot of hard work; early mornings, getting shots up and just getting better. To be selected and to be in a position to play in that game, it was a real honor.

SLAM: How was it also playing alongside two of your Jazz teammates; Raul Neto and Trey Lyles and with your former Blue Devil teammate, Jabari Parker?

RH: That made it real special. Two of my current teammates, who are very deserving as well because they’re having really good seasons and as far as playing with Jabari, even though we weren’t out there together at times, it was just fun being on the sidelines and being in the locker room with him again. Also having Jahlil Okafor out there, you kind of think of what it would have been like had me and Jabari stayed another year (at Duke). It was just fun being around that atmosphere with those guys.

SLAM: What’s it like to be around that atmosphere of having most of the game’s greatest players, former and current, all in one city for various events and gatherings and to know that you’re a part of that?

RH: It’s very motivating. Just to see some of the legendary players. Magic was there, Shaq, and I can go on for days. I saw a lot of guys that I watched as a little kid. Just seeing the guys in the All-Star Game—guys that you play against all the time—to see them in that atmosphere, it was great and motivating as well. Someday, hopefully, the guys in that Rising Stars Game will get to play in that Sunday game as well. It was just a fun atmosphere. You just soak it up because you just never know if you’ll get that chance again.

SLAM: During a weekend filled with memorable moments, what was your favorite moment?

RH: That’s a tough one. There were a lot of moments, but I would say just interacting with the fans was my favorite. I had a couple of appearances where I got to interact with the fans. They really love basketball. They understand the game so well, and just being around that was amazing. Just like it was a celebration for all the players, it was also a celebration for the fans also.

SLAM: I saw that one of those appearances was at an event for the Special Olympics. How was that experience?

RH: It was fun, getting a chance to work with AC Green and Lindsay Whalen. I’m a big fan of women’s basketball and she’s one of the best players in the WNBA. Jeremy Lamb was there as well. It was fun being able to see the kids because they’re really talented and smart kids. Getting a chance to work with them really puts things in perspective. It just gives you further appreciation for what you’re blessed to do.

SLAM: There’s always this outside perception of Utah until you talk to some of the former and current players there. Can you tell me a little bit about the culture and how you’ve adjusted to living there?

RH: Coming to Utah, there was a little bit of an adjustment, just because I’m from the South (Mississippi), and I went to a college in the South at Duke. Coming out here to Utah, it was a little bit different, but it’s still the same—real good people, great fans and off to itself a little bit, as far as the map. But it’s a great place to be. A lot of tourists come in to go skiing. It’s a great place for me and I’ve gotten used to it as time has went on. It’s been fun. It’s a blue-collar city. They love the Jazz, regardless if we’re doing good or not. They come out and support us every single game. It’s been fun.

SLAM: Even with you guys having such a young core, every rookie has that one veteran that he leans on. Who was that vet for you last season?

RH: When I first came in, it was Steve Novak. He was with us last year. I came in as a shooter and he’s a guy I leaned on. He gave me a routine to keep sharp and he just told me to keep shooting, even when you don’t feel like it. That’s something I really took in and took to heart because he’s someone that’s done it for so long, and his days in New York were amazing.

SLAM: Being in Utah, it’s almost like you guys are outta sight at times. There’s not that many Jazz games on national TV, so how does it feel to be receiving the recognition that you are this season after slipping down to 23rd in the Draft and dealing with injuries last season?

RH: It feels great. To be honest, I feel like in Utah, we do have to do more, win more, and do more individually to be recognized in this League. It’s been fun, though. A lot of hard work for me has paid off. My thing is just do your work and everything will come to light. Whatever you do during the summer, in the early mornings, everything will come to light. We’re in the mix now, trying to make the Playoffs. Hopefully we can do that and shine even more light on Utah.

SLAM: Just talking to people around the League, everyone has nothing but positive things to say about Coach Quinn Snyder. Just how much has he helped your development?

RH: He’s been amazing! He’s rare, as far as head coaching goes, as he still works with us as if he’s an assistant coach. Meaning he’s very hands-on. He comes on the court with you, works with you on different things to help your game. Even during the game, you may be in a little funk and he’ll see something there and he’ll talk to you in a way to get you going. He’s a great friend to all of us as well. Even though he’s tough on us at times, he makes sure all of us are good off the court as well, and that’s rare on the NBA level.

SLAM: You became a father last month, so congrats, first of all.

RH: Thanks man.

SLAM: How has your son changed your overall outlook on things and how is it juggling being a professional athlete and a new parent?

RH: I love it. It’s been fun. Since the day he’s been born, it just changed everything about my outlook and how I look at life now. It kind of puts things into perspective more. After basketball and after practice are over, I transition to being a father and make sure he’s all right. That added responsibility has really helped me a lot with being more focused on my job because I’m feeding a family now. It’s different. It just gives you more push and ambition. It’s been fun, though. I’m still learning how to change diapers [laughs]. But overall it’s been fun.

SLAM: With the team’s improvement over the last two seasons, have you seen a shift in the ways opposing teams now prepare for you and play you guys?

RH: I think we’ve felt that all season. Coming into this season, people were expecting us to do big things. We’ve had some injuries, but teams are playing really hard against us because they expect that from us now. We’re going to come out every single possession and play hard. Defensively, we’re one of the better teams in the League. Teams are being more physical with us. They come into Utah now and they know it’s going to be tough and that’s fun. Last season, we were just trying to get better as a team. This season, we’re in games, having heated battles with good teams and it’s been fun learning how to win games in those type of situations.

SLAM: Is the team’s primary goal to make the Playoffs?

RH: To be honest, not really. We just want to do well as a team and to keep improving. We want to be a playoff team this season yes, but I don’t look at it as Playoffs-or-bust because we’re still the second youngest team in the League. But at the same time, that would propel our rebuilding process even further, even faster heading into next season and for seasons to come. For me personally, I just want to play well, help this team as much as I can and to continue to score the ball, play defense. Whatever I can to do to help this team get to where we need to be, that’s what I’m about, and want to do.

The post Q+A: Rodney Hood appeared first on SLAM.

While those joyous sideline outbursts are a part of Bazemore’s NBA journey, they’re now in his rearview mirror, as the attention he receives now is rightfully for his time on the floor. Now starting in his second year for the Atlanta Hawks, the fourth-year wing is putting up career numbers across the board, averaging a solid (12.5 ppg) and (4.8 rpg) in the Hawks’ balanced system.

With Bazemore set to hit free agency this summer, he is expected to be one of the top wing players available, as many teams will be vying for his services. This is a complete contrast from when he entered the League going undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2012 and emerging from the D-league.

SLAM recently caught up with Bazemore to discuss the season he’s having, the Hawks best basketball being ahead of them, his former team the Golden State Warriors, and his pick to win the Super Bowl.

SLAM: With you going undrafted and how hard you had to work to get to where you’re at now, in starting and helping the Hawks battle for home court in the East; have you had time to really sit back and appreciate your play so far?

KB: Everything is happening so fast, man. Game after game, back-to-backs; big nights and not-so-good nights—it’s a lot being thrown at you. You don’t really have the time to catch your breath. You just have to go with the flow. You get into such a routine, you don’t really have time to sit back and appreciate what you’re doing. The All-Star break is really the first time I will actually be able sit back and recollect on what I’m doing now.

SLAM: You knew coming into this season you would have more opportunities with DeMarre Carroll signing with Toronto and Kyle Korver having off-season surgery. Did you do anything different in terms of your preparation or workouts leading into the season?

KB: No, not really. Me, being with the same team for a second year, it was about learning more about the offense and my game, just getting smarter in the weight room, working out more efficiently to kind of come into my own. It’s one thing to go in the gym and do all this stuff, but you have to go in there and have your strengths, and you keep them sharp and then you try to work on the things that can make you a better player. For me, that was my jump shot. I did a ton of shooting, and I stayed in the weight room a bit more. Last year, I was coming off an injury and surgery. So I was dealing with that, but this past summer, I was healthy and being 100 percent healthy over the summer is key in trying to improve.

SLAM: With the work you put into your jump shot, you’re currently shooting around 40 percent from three. I’m sure you’ve noticed defenses don’t play you the same now. How have you had to adjust your game from how you were used to playing to now having defenses respect your range a lot more?

KB: Last year, it was just catch and shoot. I knew that guys were going to close out short. Now, I have people running out at me, guys aren’t really shifting off of me anymore. Bigs are more aggressive in jumping out at me in the pick and roll. It’s definitely a different game now with a different challenge. I’ve kind of been up and down this year with handling it, but that’s just part of my growth. Honestly, this is only like my second year being in a rotation, so I’m still learning the game, learning the ins and outs and the little nuances that give you an advantage on both ends of the floor. It’s a new challenge for me, but I’m handling it well and consistently. It’s just something that will come with time.

SLAM: Last season, the Hawks were the surprise team of the season before injuries hampered you guys at the wrong time. Looking back to last season, you’re obviously missing critical pieces, such as Pero Antic (signed deal with Fenerbahce), and DeMarre, but is there any singular reason you see that you guys haven’t been able to string games together like last year, or do you see your best basketball having still yet to be played?

KB: Our best basketball is definitely ahead of us. We haven’t been able to put together the type of run we’re capable of yet. Last year, I think we kind of snuck up on a lot of teams, but now a lot of teams have the Atlanta Hawks circled on their calendar. I think a bunch of those wins last season was us just sneaking up on teams. Now, when you’re getting every team’s best shot and you aren’t hitting on all cylinders, it’s tough to win games. We’re still a very optimistic group. We still have a very talented group—Paul Millsap being an All-Star; also Jeff Teague, Al Horford and the list goes on. We’re on our way. We show up every day feeling good, watching film, coming to practice, enjoying each other as teammates.

SLAM: Can you also attribute what you guys are going through in not being able to go on that extended run just to the overall stronger play in the East this year? There are only a handful of games separating several teams this season, when it used to be like three or four top teams then a huge drop off.

KB: Definitely. When you look at Toronto with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry; those two guys are playing out of their minds right now. The overall play is just something you have to give credit to all these front offices around the League. Those guys are doing their research. It’s just a matter of time and the league is starting to become flat, even in the Western Conference, where you have San Antonio, Golden State and Oklahoma City and after that there’s no other teams that you really fear. The Eastern Conference is the same thing. It’s the top two teams and the rest is just wide open. It’s all about being healthy and the healthiest team at the end of the year is going to win it.

SLAM: I’ve read that you’re an avid golfer. Most young players aren’t really thinking about the game of golf until they’re well into their careers or done playing altogether. How did you get involved with the game?

KB: Golf is my happy place. It’s just good to be out in fresh air, with good music. Go hangout, talk a little trash and be out of your element a little bit. Growing up, I always felt like golf is where relationships and business deals are made. Instead of waiting and trying to get good when I’m retired, why not pick it up now? It’s funny that you mention golf because I’m watching the Golf Channel right now. I got the bug. It’s a great game and it teaches me about change of pace because basketball is go, go, go and golf is played at slower pace. It teaches your brain how to think differently.

SLAM: The Hawks recently tweeted out that you helped your girlfriend lead a yoga class in Atlanta. Is yoga something you picked up recently with how important recovery is now in the League, or have you always been into yoga?

KB: My girlfriend just started teaching last year and she’s definitely into the fitness stuff. She’s a certified nutritionist, so I kind of have the cheat code at home when it comes to what to eat and when to eat [laughs]. She’s amazing and I started taking her classes. It’s a tough workout. It’s an hour long. Unlike basketball, it’s very low impact and it’s working those muscles that you don’t normally work when you’re playing. Everything is small movements and breathing to work those muscles to help strengthen them. You can feel a difference in the way you move on a night-to-night basis because you aren’t overusing the same muscles.

SLAM: Recently you guys had a long road trip out West. With younger teams, everyone can kind of branch out and do their own thing, but you guys are a real close-knit group and a lot of the guys are veterans. Explain that dynamic and how it plays out when you guys are on one of those extended road trips?

KB: It’s a lot of hanging out. We have a lot of married guys on this team, guys with kids, so it’s a totally different dynamic. For us guys that are seriously dating and looking to take that next step, it’s perfect to hang around these guys. They give you all of their insight on how they’re dealing with being away from home and it’s just so much different information than you can learn because the dynamics are so different in each way. We spend a lot of time talking about stuff like that, playing UNO, and learning more about each other and just hanging out.

SLAM: I also read that you created an organization called the ARMS Foundation. What’s the mission of your foundation?

KB: I created the ARMS Foundation to be the bridge from myself to the community. One of my lifelong goals is to get into philanthropy and I always wanted to do that, even throughout college. Eventually I want to build a K-12 academy. I’m trying to gear and shape My ARMS foundation into that. I had my first golf tournament last year. There also was a basketball camp for kids. Now we’re about to start raising money for the Boys and Girls Club. I’m going to start working with them and different youth charter schools in Atlanta. Education is so important. I got two degrees in college and you see a lot of guys in the League now who go back to college to finish. For me, looking back, one of the best things I’ve ever done was to finish school. Being a student-athlete is real, it’s important. Some people look at a student-athlete as a person who misses school, gets to travel and do all this other stuff, but it’s real life. I’ve been a student-athlete my entire life, so I want to help kids who don’t get these opportunities or the information on how to prepare yourself. This is key because that jump from high school to college is a culture shock.

SLAM: Your career begin with Golden State and you gained your initial reputation for your bench celebrations. Knowing the Warriors core group there pretty well, has anything about what they’ve been able to do this past year and a half surprised you at all, including what they’re doing this season?

KB: Not one bit. Not at all! That organization is first class. I will always speak highly of them because they gave me my first opportunity to chase this dream. I have nothing but the utmost respect for those guys and that class that I came in with—me, Draymond, Festus and Harrison—we came in the same. We all worked hard and it just so happened that they had a guy who was going to become one of the best players in the world in Steph Curry. I remember I was playing like four minutes a night and he was playing 35-40 minutes a night. I would be in the gym getting up shots after practice and Steph would be doing the same thing. During the summer, all the guys showed up, got in early and went to work. It’s just about having 13, 14 guys who all continue to put in the work. It’s definitely showing right now with their success.

SLAM: Your home state Carolina Panthers will play the Denver Broncos this Sunday for a chance at a Super Bowl title. I don’t have to ask you who you’re riding with, but just how amazing has it been to watch the tear the Panthers have been on this season?

KB: I’ve been in the locker room since the summer trying to tell guys that they’re for real. Those guys are playing lights out and they’re the real deal. No one wanted to listen. They thought the Seahawks were going to give us a run and we smashed them. Then we smashed the Cardinals [laughs]. It’s just a testament of a team working hard. Cam Newton is a winner. He won at Auburn. When he beat Alabama, I knew he was special because no one was beating Alabama those days. He just keeps checking off all those boxes on the checklist to greatness. As far as my prediction, it’s two great defenses, but Cam Newton’s speed is the X-factor. I don’t think Peyton can move his feet that well with the way our defense puts pressure on the pocket. So I’m going to say—and this is bold—the competitor in me wants the blowout, but I’m going to go 31-17, Panthers. Denver’s defense is very good and that’s the only thing that’s a real concern for me. But we faced two pretty stout defenses in Seattle and Arizona and we had our way with them. I think the pace that Carolina plays with is unreal on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be a good game. I can’t wait.

SLAM: All season long, there has been criticism by some of Cam Newton and, in my opinion, the overall joy and emotion that he plays the game with. He’s addressed it numerous times, but for someone who made his initial mark with his expressions of joy with the play of his teammates, what is your opinion on the criticism Cam’s faced?

KB: I think some guys get judged by the passion in which they play the game or how they choose to express themselves. To me, he’s just a guy that’s having a great time. He’s a very energetic guy, always smiling, always having a good time and he’s winning. You really can’t knock a guy for acting the way he is when he’s out there getting it done. It’s not like he’s a distraction for the team. It’s good for him to transcend the game because sports are supposed to be fun. It’s very competitive but at the end of the day, if everyone is out there having fun, that’s what it’s all about. He’s just a leader and the team’s success really reflects that.

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Those spots aired five years ago at the height of Howard’s popularity, his statistical peak—from a scoring standpoint—and his unofficial ownership of the title of the League’s most dominant big man. His personality made him easy to love and his combination of strength, agility and athleticism made it hell for any center to match up with him.

Just like the theme of those commercials, a lot has changed rather quickly for Howard since then. He’s changed teams (twice), injuries to his back, labrum and knee over the past four seasons that have limited the overall explosiveness. Not even his partnership with adidas remains after he signed with China-based PEAK this summer.

After only missing a total of seven regular-season games in his first seven seasons, in the four seasons since his departure from Orlando, Howard has missed a total of 70, including 41 last season with a right knee injury.

These injuries, along with James Harden’s MVP-level emergence have caused Howard’s role in Houston’s offense to be reduced and his efforts focused more heavily on freeing teammates up on screens, cleaning up the boards and being an enforcer on the defensive end, where he is still one of the best in the business. If fully healthy, he’s always a candidate for his fourth-career Defensive Player of the Year award.

Make no mistake; this is no epitaph. You won’t see any opponent clamoring on how Howard has lost a step, as it’s a workout in itself having to try and keep him from powering his way to where he wants to go.

If he chooses to opt-out next summer and test the free-agent waters, there will be a handful of teams ready to offer the max, as he’s still at an elite level big man that commands double-teams and full attention at all times.

While Harden took the reigns of the team in Howard’s absence last season and more importantly, kept the Rockets in the top half of a stacked Western Conference, Howard had to humble himself immeasurably.

As hard as it was not to be on the floor for a player who has played through several ailments that would sideline many for weeks; it had to be even more difficult to watch a team he made the choice to join, in hopes of winning a title, succeeding with him in a suit.

As great as Harden is, the Rockets won’t go far without a healthy Howard commandeering the paint. That same sentiment is true if Howard isn’t forced to sit out those two months of last season, and having to come to grips with the reality of accepting deferring on offense and fully embracing a role he publicly resented and questioned during his only season in Los Angeles.

In any team sport, to collectively win, individuals must often sacrifice in some capacity to succeed. In sacrificing trying to shoulder the load, things should be a lot easier for Howard and the Rockets should only improve on last season’s Western Conference finals berth.

Rankings are based on expected contribution in 2015-16—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

The post SLAM Top 50: Dwight Howard, no. 19 appeared first on SLAM.

After knee surgery last summer to remove cartilage, Noah didn’t begin the season in the shape he would have preferred to. With having a game that’s built on hustle and activity, not having the full mobility to do so made for a rollercoaster-like season for Chicago’s high-energy big man.

Along with having to adjust to the knee issue and a minute restriction, the addition of Pau Gasol meant Noah moving away from the basket on defense to chase around more versatile forwards.

Add Jimmy Butler’s emergence on offense and Derrick Rose acclimating himself back into the swing of things and it’s not surprising, that most of Noah’s numbers were the lowest they had been in almost five seasons.

Throughout all of the personal adversity and sacrifices that needed to be made for the betterment of the team, Noah never made any excuses for his struggles during what was an uphill battle for him.

“Injuries suck,” said Noah last month at an event where kids from his Noah’s Arc Foundation were outfitted with adidas apparel for back to school. “If you’re an athlete, when you’re out there you want to feel good. Sometimes you take your health for granted. It definitely put a lot of things into perspective for me. Now, I’m a lot more focused and very excited.

“The biggest change is I’m feeling a lot better. I’m feeling strong and I’m just ready to rumble. Last year was a tough year for us. Sometimes humbling is good.”

Humbling is putting it lightly after the Bulls’ lethargic exit to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This, with the Cavs’ All-Star guard playing on one knee, All-Star power forward out for the Playoffs and enigmatic sixth man suspended for the first two games.

Perhaps the silver lining for Noah and the Bulls coming into this season is the fact that the expectations around them won’t ever reach the highs they were last season.

There’s a new voice at the helm in Fred Hoiberg. His offensive system is sure to revitalize all the players as there will be more pushing the pace in transition and lots of early offense. Noah’s passing should be a key component in most of the sets ran.

While the expectations might not be high, there will be a lot at stake this season.

This could very possibly be Noah’s final season in Chicago, as he’s entering the final season of a fifth-year deal. The Bulls’ Championship window only appears to be ever slowly coming to a close with LeBron James and a retooled Cavs team remaining an imminent roadblock in an improved Eastern Conference.

Never one lacking for motivation, Noah will enter this season as he’s done the previous eight: hungry.

“I haven’t felt healthy in a long time,” he said. I’m really just excited to come in and prove myself again.”

Rankings are based on expected contribution in 2015-16—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

The post SLAM Top 50: Joakim Noah, no. 41 appeared first on SLAM.

The crowd at Chicago’s Seward Park was larger, there were more teams, including several regional qualifiers—Houston, Oklahoma, Memphis, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Detroit—all vying for the chance to be crowned national champs and garner a spot in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour in September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

There were even dual hosts as Chicago’s own Hustle Simmons and Young Wayne provided the play-by-play, jumping from one game to the next and roasting everyone they saw fit. While the focus was rightfully on the action on the court, both Simmons and Wayne need to be commended for their day-long verbal endurance.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis arrived to host the finals looking noticeably fuller after adding over 10 pounds of muscle in the summer.

There wasn’t a shortage of action once the games kicked off. For nearly 10 hours, teams battled through temperatures that neared 90 degrees and refs who allowed physical play, which only added to the intensity of each game. The competition was also beefed up from last year, as many players had played some form of pro basketball, a few even having some D-League experience.

Indiana native Kenny Edward, who was dubbed “Angry Man” by Young Wayne, took home the dunk contest in easy fashion with an array of dunks that exhibited sheer power and athleticism, capping off his performance with a windmill while jumping over the head of one of his Indy teammates.

Coming off of the confidence of last year’s win and having the hometown crowd on their side, Solid Gold—consisting of Emmanuel Little, JaMarcus Ellis, Al Stewart and Chris Singletary—was all business, even with missing a huge part of their team in 6-8, 285-pound forward De’Andre Thomas, who was forced to watch and cheer his team on from the sidelines because of surgery to repair a left patellar tendon. Singletary stepped right into Thomas’ role as the team’s dominant inside force and the team didn’t miss a beat in getting back to the championship game.

Their opponent would be team All Work No Play, who made the trek all the way from Minnesota the night before and gave everyone fits with their quick-hitting offensive strategy.

While Solid Gold would be tested throughout the tilt, their inside-out attack would prove too overwhelming and they managed to stave off All Work No Play by one basket to remain reigning champs.

“This year the competition was great—it was hot,” said Little. “Adding teams from other cities stepped up the level of play, but we had this!”

Next year’s tournament should be even bigger and just as competitive, as there are sure to be different regions added with players anxious to prove themselves and rep their city.

“Who doesn’t love basketball? I think that’s the easiest ways to get guys closer together,” Davis said. “Whether they’re enemies, basketball can bring everyone together, and this tournament proves that. That’s why I wanted to do this. Last year, it was a great turnout. This year, it was even better with more players. It was a great atmosphere.”

The post Swish appeared first on SLAM.

And that power of self-belief is the exact reason that by the time you’re reading this, the ink of Jimmy Butler’s signature will be dry and affixed to a new, huge contract.

From an early age, the Tomball, TX, native learned to trust and rely on himself due in large part to spending some of his teenage years without a place to call home. Those experiences from those tough times, along with a Texas-sized work ethic, became pillars of his character. Those pillars are why it wasn’t that difficult for him to turn down an estimated four-year, $44 million offer from the Chicago Bulls prior to the beginning of the regular season.

“He had a number in his head,” Steve McCaskill, Butler’s co-agent at Relativity Sports, tells SLAM, explaining Butler’s thought process during last October’s negotiations. “Ultimately, if they would have offered that number, I’m not sure Jimmy would have signed it, because I think he wanted to play it out. Jimmy’s a guy that likes having a chip on his shoulder.”

Essentially, Butler wanted to prove to himself and to his teammates what kind of player he felt he could become. Former Bulls’ coach Tom Thibodeau—already a firm believer in Butler’s defense and competitiveness—knew that the work Butler put in before training camp began would translate, so he installed new plays designed to give him more room to flourish and expand his game on the offensive end.

No one could foresee Butler leading the Bulls in scoring, his first All-Star berth and the NBA’s Most Improved Player award—which he essentially wrapped up in December. Combined with his second straight All-Defensive Second-Team selection, Butler will openly admit that he didn’t play his best defense this year with all of the new added offensive responsibilities bestowed upon him.

“I’m not surprised he’s improved,” Thibodeau said during the season. “But the amount he’s improved? I wouldn’t be honest if I said I saw that coming.”

Even after digesting this past season’s accomplishments—20.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.3 apg in 38.7 mpg and upping those numbers during the Bulls’ Playoff run—it’s still hard to believe that a player selected 30th overall in the 2011 Draft could make such a drastic leap so quickly, and in only his second season as a full-time starter.

“Since the moment he arrived [in Chicago], he was always a hard worker,” recalls former Bulls teammate and current Miami Heat forward Luol Deng. “He was always coming in early for extra work,” Deng continues. “We knew he was a great defender, but he really worked on his offense to get to where he is now.”

As recently as the ’13-14 season, the scouting report on Butler focused mainly on him playing the passing lanes and crashing the offensive glass. On offense, defenses often played off him, as he struggled through a turf toe injury throughout most of last season while shooting just 39.7 percent from the field and only 28.3 from three.

Those percentages and his overall production skyrocketed this season to 46.2 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three on 14 FGA per game, third-most on the Bulls behind Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol. For the first time in his pro career, Butler had to deal with defenses double-teaming him in hopes of preventing him from abusing smaller guards in the low post.

Let’s just say the scouting report on him is a bit more extensive now, to say the least.

“His confidence,” Rose says when we asked what his backcourt mate’s biggest adjustment was this season. “It was just him going out there and translating what he had worked on and adding it to his game. He was huge.”

The work that fueled that new confidence and the expanding of his game began as soon as the final buzzer sounded on the team’s 2013-14 first-round exit to the Washington Wizards.

Butler didn’t retreat to a tropical island for rest and recovery. Instead, he linked up with personal trainer Chris Johnson, who has trained other NBA players like Tobias Harris, Gerald Green and DJ Augustin.

Johnson had wanted to work with Butler the previous summer but their schedules never aligned. This time around, the two would have all summer to train, and Johnson knew that with the physical tools, eagerness and willingness to learn, his new client could turn into an All-Star.

Johnson had long been an admirer of the footwork of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He felt that with Butler’s size, strength and athleticism, focusing on that facet of his game at 25 would not only give him an advantage, but would also help him play on different areas of the floor.

The training regimen would be thorough, consistent and constant.

“Jimmy and I started with two workouts a day,” Johnson says. “We would do two-a-days all summer, working on his footwork, body balance, shooting and ballhandling. We had a strict routine that we put together that applied to on-court, NBA game type situations.

“Wherever he went, I was there. If we were out of state, we were still working out. Jimmy rarely took a day off. If we took a day off, that means we still worked out at least once that day. If Jimmy was on vacation we worked out twice, if not three times a day. I can recall us sometimes working out five times a day at Marquette.”

As Butler’s confidence grew, the results were immediate: Butler often dominated the open runs against Johnson’s other pro and overseas clients.

“I think [building confidence] was my main thing,” Butler says. “Yeah, I put up a lot of jump shots, worked on my ballhandling, but this game is 99.9 percent confidence. If you think you can do something, you can do it. My confidence is up now. Chris Johnson helped put that confidence in me. He did a lot for me.”

“Jimmy just wants to win,” says McCaskill. “If you outwork everyone, you’re going to have a chance to win. Every time he worked out, we never talked about his contract. It was always about becoming a better player and helping the team win. Every time he was asked to do something, he did it, and he was prepared for this growth in his career. Obviously, I don’t think anyone could predict he would be an All-Star this year, but when you have the talent and you put in the hard work, anything can happen.”

Once the accolades and recognition began to come, no one was happier for Butler than the Bulls teammates that had watched him wait for his chance and then take full advantage to seize his opportunity.

“It’s a great story all around,” says teammate Kirk Hinrich. “The fact that Jimmy did it the hard way, earned his playing time and now he’s got the respect of everyone in the League—I don’t know where we would have been without Jimmy.”

Even with Butler’s emergence as an offensive focal point, the Bulls could never establish any true consistency, as injuries quelled the chemistry of the starting lineup. Then, with a disappointing second-round loss to an undermanned Cleveland Cavs squad, Thibodeau’s firing and impending free agency, all eyes turned toward the coming offseason.

Besides his base in Chicago, Butler has already spent some of this offseason in Los Angeles and overseas on a promotional tour for the movie Entourage with his good friend Mark Wahlberg. While it’s a definite change from last summer’s intense grind, his commitment to the gym and improving his game has never waivered.

The Bulls have said they will be proactive with Butler’s contract situation, and with his status as a restricted free agent, they can match all offers and keep him in Chicago.

At this point, he’s proved his worth. The next goal is an obvious one.

“I want to win a Championship,” Butler says. “That’s the ultimate goal. The better the team does, the better everyone looks. Individual things come from team success and it’s all about my teammates having the confidence in me. You’re remembered in this League for winning Championships. That’s what I’m working toward.”

images via Getty

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There is another name, however, with a much deeper pipeline: Grant.

Philadelphia 76ers’ Jerami Grant is the son of former pro Harvey Grant, twin brother of four-time Champion Horace Grant. Just this past June, Jerami’s older brother, Jerian, was drafted 19th overall by the Washington Wizards, before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks and finally landing with the New York Knicks.

With older brother Jerai playing overseas and youngest brother Jaelin following in their footsteps, you can imagine that the Grant household is a competitive one.

Jerami put the League on notice last year with his fierce rim assaults. While Philadelphia’s record was poor, which could be expected from a team in full-on rebuilding mode, it wasn’t a testament to how hard the team competed under coach Brett Brown, nor how exciting they could be at times.

Going into his second year and with a core of equally young and hungry talent, Grant wants to not only honor the Grant name by continuing to improve, but he also wants to exceed the production of both his father and uncle.

SLAM caught up with Jerami to discuss what he’s worked on this offseason, his NBA upbringing and his expectations on the upcoming season.

SLAM: What are some of the things you wanted to improve on this summer?

Jerami Grant: Getting stronger was a big one, and I think I accomplished that, shooting consistency and being able to knock down open shots and also ball handling.

SLAM: You were able to start the final 10 games of last season. What did that do for you from a confidence standpoint headed into the offseason?

JG: It definitely boosted my confidence. Being on the court and being able to make mistakes and continue to play through them, I think throughout the season in being on the Sixers as a whole—a team that’s building for the future—I think it’s definitely good for us young guys in being able to make mistakes and being able to play through them. I think that has helped me going forward.

SLAM: With getting the experience and knowing what the team is looking for in terms of your production, what do you see your role as?

JG: I think I’m more of a leader on this team. I know we’re all young and I’m one of the youngest, at the same time, I’m always trying to coach guys up, whether it’s on or off the court, getting guys together and just trying to make it more home-like for everybody because I know everyone has come from different areas and different places. I think we have to grow together to be successful and I’m the key guy to bring everyone together.

SLAM: How pleased were you with your production in Summer League?

JG: I was pleased with Summer League. I didn’t get a chance to play as much as I would have wanted. At the same time, [the Sixers] wanted to hold me out a little bit. They didn’t want me to play too much. They wanted me to get a little bit of rest because after the season, I might have taken a week and a half off before I went back to Philly and started working out, so I think they wanted to make sure I got some rest. I was pleased with how I played, though.

SLAM: What are your impressions of Jahlil Okafor so far, and how excited are you to play with him?

JG: I’m extremely excited because he’s a great player and he’s also a great person off the court. It’s extremely rare to have a back-to-the-basket big to play with. I think he’s going to demand a lot of attention, whether it’s this year or next year. I definitely think it’s something rare for us and we’ll definitely utilize that to our advantage.

SLAM: With Joel Embiid expected to miss a second straight year and you guys being as close as you are, how hurt were you to hear that he has to sit out another season?

JG: It’s extremely sad because me and him are extremely close. We’re always talking about the season and things like that. I know when he found out that he wouldn’t be playing this season, it hurt him, but at the same time, we know what he can do. He was playing with us all summer. He’s an extremely talented player, skill-wise, strength-wise and athleticism-wise. I know that when he’s able to play, we have something that people won’t expect. I’m looking forward to being able to see him play with us on the court. It’s sad to see him miss two straight seasons, but at the same time, when he is able to play, I think he’ll surprise a lot of people.

SLAM: With your father and uncle being in the NBA, how is growing up in that environment and how do you think that everything you experienced as a youth because of that helped prepare you for where you’re at now?

JG: I think growing up with a dad and an uncle in the NBA made you want to be where they were. I think me and my brothers, all of our goals was to get to the NBA. Not only get there, but excel in the NBA and be on top. I think that’s what pushed me and my older brother, Jerian, to get to the NBA. Growing up, you always seen players and you kind of take it for granted because they were just people in the NBA to us. They were where we wanted to be, but at the same time, you didn’t really get the affect that you get now when you’re in the NBA and there’s people looking up to you. I definitely think it is a big part in why I’m here today.

SLAM: In growing up in an NBA household, was there any pressure to hoop or were you just naturally drawn to it?

JG: I think it was natural. It was always on TV, it was always everywhere. When you see something so much when you’re growing up, you naturally just gravitate toward it. We always wanted to be better than our dad and my uncle, so I think it was kind of like a test that me and Jerian just took on and it just happened. We picked up the game at an early age and it just never stopped.

SLAM: How competitive is that household growing up with having all four brothers hooping? You’re all athletic and trying to be better than your father and uncle?

JG: It’s extremely competitive. My brothers are definitely the most competitive people, whether it’s basketball or anything. We’re competitive in mostly any aspect of life. That definitely helps in basketball. Growing up with people that want to be the best in everything that they do, it just rubs off on you. I thank my brothers for being like that because it definitely rubbed off on me.

SLAM: Do you have a favorite NBA childhood moment?

JG: I remember, and it didn’t have anything to do with playing basketball, but I used to go to the Wizards facility with my dad and brother and we used to play 2K with Gilbert Arenas all the time and he would just kill me and let me know about it also.

SLAM: How did it feel to see your brother drafted this year?

JG: When he got drafted, it was amazing because I know how hard he worked. To honestly see it happen… I’m speechless. It’s definitely emotional. I know me and him have been talking about making the NBA since before high school. To see it happen, it was amazing. It was just an emotional moment and even now, we’re talking about what we’re going to do. We’re not satisfied with where we’re at. I’m a second-year player and he’s a rookie, but we’re definitely not satisfied with just getting here. We always talk about what we’re going to do and what we’re going to accomplish. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re going to be more successful than a lot of people envisioned when we were growing up.

SLAM: What do you think it’s going to feel like when you two face off for the first time as pros?

JG: I think it’s going to be emotional. It’s going to be emotional seeing him on the other end of the court, knowing I’m going to play against him. At the same time, we’re going to go hard at one another. It’s not going to be any letting up just because he’s my brother. It’s going to be competitive just as it has since we were born. I definitely think it’s going to be a little trash talk. We always trash talk to one another, but at the same time, it’s going to be competitive. That’s just how we are.

SLAM: Who wins in a dunk contest between you and Jerian?

JG: Definitely me! He got a little bounce but I’m going to have to go home with that one.

SLAM: What can we expect from the Sixers this season?

JG: You can expect us not to quit. Even though we’re not the most talented team, at the moment, or we might be extremely talented, but just extremely young at the same time; I definitely think everyone can expect us to come out and play every last minute of all 48 hard. I think that our fans appreciate. Even though we’re not winning that many games, as they would like, every night we’re coming out and giving it our all. Going forward, I think that’s something that you can’t really teach older teams. Going forward and as we get older, I definitely think that’s going to give us an edge.

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Just 22 years old, Davis is arguably the best all-around big man in the game and his hunger to maximize his God-given abilities while being fully committed to the Pelicans’ franchise is a blessing to New Orleans.

After finally getting his first taste of the Playoffs this past season, Davis is only hungry for more. With new coach Alvin Gentry, the Pelicans will look to push the pace more on offense as well as set the tone on defense.

SLAM caught up with Davis—who was in Chicago on August 22 to host the second annual Red Bull Reign 3×3 Tournament—to discuss what’s been a busy offseason for him.

SLAM: How does it feel to have your contract settled and the security of knowing where you’re going to be?

AD: It feels real good. I knew I was going back to New Orleans. I love the city, love what the team is doing and I have faith in the coaching staff and my teammates. It was an easy decision for me.

SLAM: Have you been in talks with Alvin Gentry yet about the various ways you’ll be utilized?

AD: A little bit, but we haven’t really gone into full detail about what we want to do with the team or myself. We are going to be running a lot, getting up and down and trying to play faster, so that’s definitely exciting. We got a defensive coach to try and move up on defense and we’re just going to try and have fun.

SLAM: There was a video out a few weeks ago with you working on your three-point shot. Can we expect you to step out and take more going forward?

AD: I’m going to mix it up. I love playing down low, but at the same time, if the opportunity is there; I’m definitely going to take them. That’s one thing for sure that coach Gentry has told me—“Shoot the ball,” “Let it go.” I’ve been working on it and I’m very confident in my game.

I’ve shot three’s all my life. I didn’t really need to shoot them over the past few years as much, but I’m never going to turn down shooting threes, especially if the coach tells me he wants me to shoot them. It’s something that I’ve definitely been working on. I definitely plan on utilizing it this year.

SLAM: Just sitting here next to you, the obvious difference is the muscle you’ve put on your frame. You’re obviously preparing to handle more of a load down low going into the season.

AD: It’s probably like 10-12 pounds. I’ve just been really working, man, and staying in the gym; weights. That’s the first thing that everybody says when they see me: “Oh, you’re getting bigger!” When you’re going against Dwight Howard and Big Cuz, you gotta put on some weight.

SLAM: You guys did fall to the eventual champs in the first round of the Playoffs, but how was it finally making it to the second season and as a young team, getting that experience?

AD: It was fun. I definitely learned a lot about myself, the team and about the Playoffs. The physicality really is different, the environment is different, the pace of play is different. Everything is different from the regular season. Guys actually step up their games in the Playoffs.

You hear about it all the time, but it really happens. Guys really lock in. It’s tough when you’re playing a team a minimum of four times straight. They know what you’re going to do, you know what they’re going to do and it comes down to who can hoop? That’s what I found out and it definitely motivates me to get back next year and pursue more.

SLAM: With being a two-time All-Star, a Gold-medal winner, MVP candidate and the face of the franchise, how much more comfortable are you with leading? Toward the end of this year, I saw you become more vocal on getting on guys.

AD: I’m very comfortable. They know I have the best interest for them and I’m going to try and do whatever it takes to win. If you have to get on a guy and curse him out to get him going than that’s what you have to do to win. The same goes for me. If someone sees me slacking, they should do the same thing to me to get me going. We kind of have that mutual respect. As long as you respect a man, you can tell him whatever you want to tell him in order to help him get better.

SLAM: I know you love coming back home to Chicago. Just with being one of the marquee names in the League, how is it coming back now?

AD: It’s wonderful. To come back and see everyone come out to an event like this to support, have fun. Me being able to come back and do this event, it’s surrounding yourself with basketball. Who doesn’t love basketball? I think that’s the easiest ways to get guys closer together. Whether they’re enemies, basketball can bring everyone together and this tournament proves that.

That’s why I wanted to do this. Last year, it was a great turnout. This year, it was even better with more players. It’s a great atmosphere. There are a lot more people here at this time than it was last year. I’m definitely excited for it.

SLAM: Just how have you been able to relax this summer, because you didn’t really take too much time off from what I hear.

AD: I’ve just been chilling, really. Chilling at home, going to see my family. I went on a little vacation earlier in the summer. That’s really it. It’s now grind time for me. I’m trying to be one of the best that ever played the game. That’s how I approach things and go about my summer.

SLAM: Training camp is just a few weeks away. Just how excited are you to get started?

AD: I’m definitely excited. I was excited about our little mini-camp we had earlier in the week in L.A. I was excited just to get back around basketball and for it to start back up. Most people are excited for the season and all these TV games, I’m excited for training camp to get back in the flow and get this thing started.

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At the head of the company sits founder and designer David Raysse and creative director Billy Dill.

The name plays on the power associated with the color black, along with product listed as black being of a higher tier. The simple and subtle jet logo is the side elevation of a Lockheed SR 71 Blackbird.

Raysse, who was raised in NYC and Paris, always had a connect to basketball—playing in high school and college—and fashion, as his father was a founding member of Kenzo and his mother a model. He’s served stints at Fila—crafting the Grant Hill II and Stackhouse II while in college—adidas and Skechers.

Dill has worked in the footwear industry for 10 years, in areas ranging from footwear, apparel and brand building to design management experience.

While the knowledge they gained over the years was valuable, there were also frustrations from trying to push past the boundaries of the safety nets of their employers.

“I look back at all the various shoes that I really loved at the companies I worked at that didn’t make it,” Raysse says. “They were always leaning too far to the fashion side for the comfort level of the brands. I think that in one way or another I was trying to build a Brandblack shoe.”

When Raysse approached Dill in 2012 about starting a brand that fused premium fashion with sportswear, it didn’t take much talking for Dill to see the opening in the industry to establish themselves, as players and consumers had grown more conscious and selective in what they wear.

While the names in the industry were the same, the business side had grown exponentially.

“Everything has changed,” says Dill. “There’s a new consumer, a new way to do things and it’s a younger, fresher, faster-moving target than it used to be.”

There was some trepidation when things got moving forward that proceeded up until the production of their initial collection. After seeing how other brands had come and gone by trying to replicate what established brands were doing, Raysse says the company looked forward to being the “black sheep” of the industry.

The first shoe featured studs that resembled a model from the Louis Vuitton line; pretty out there for a performance brand, but still sleek enough to draw the attention of those looking for something new.

“We were, like, either people are going to have interest in the shoe, there’s going to be a core following, or it’s just going to alienate everybody,” Raysse says. “On some levels, we were kind of OK with the idea of it being a little bit niche and out there. We felt like, if we’re going to fail, let’s at least fail epically. Let’s go Evel Knievel style. Either I’m going to clear this jump over the mountain, or end up in the hospital. But it’s going to be exciting.”

In order to legitimize their product and the brand as a true competitor, Brandblack needed an athlete willing to take a chance on them and help spearhead their movement.

Not being the biggest fan of marketing (just ask him) and how it’s currently utilized in the industry, Raysse didn’t want any athlete; he wanted one who had a natural appeal and who shared the attitude and direction of the brand.

“When we started looking at players who we thought would be a good fit for us,” Raysee says, “it had to be someone that had some flash, that had on- and off-the-court presence, whose game had way more swag than a regular guy. Jamal Crawford kind of jumped to the top and he was in our market, so we could work with him closely.”

For Crawford, it was perfect timing as his deal with Nike had expired in the summer of 2013.

Having already established himself as the most dynamic sixth man in the League, when Brandblack made their pitch, the guard said the decision to turn down the “safe choices” was a “no-brainer.”

“I could have been one of 200 players at another brand, but I wanted to be different,” Crawford says. “When I saw Brandblack, it was fresh and it was unique. I remember Reebok with Allen Iverson. I wasn’t really a Reebok guy, so to speak, until Allen Iverson went there and did the things he did. I hope I can have that AI effect on the new generation.”

With his input now highly valued, Crawford fully voiced what he always wanted and needed in terms of performance, insisting on a lightweight model that offered ultimate comfort with the sturdiness to keep his feet locked down whenever he broke into one of his patented mixtape forays.

While Crawford would begin establishing the legacy of his signature line on the court, Brandblack had to be sure consumers would be getting a product that performed, as well. They turned to wear testers, including one of the most notable in Chris Chase, owner/publisher of weartesters.com and more aptly known as Nightwing2303 on Twitter and Instagram.

If you’re familiar with Chase, he’s as honest and unbiased in his reviews as you would expect from someone spending their own dime on the product. Dill was a fan of Chase and took the risk of reaching out to him about reviewing the J. Crossover 1, knowing full well that it could backfire on the brand, if the performance was poor.

But Dill believed in the product, and after a thorough assessment, so did Chase.

“I played in the shoe and I wasn’t expecting anything because it’s a new brand,” Chase says. “After some wears, I was like, These shoes are actually legit. They’re light, super comfortable.”

Nightwing gave the model a 7.25 out of 10 and was dead-on with some of the issues he noted. Raysse connected with Chase and wanted to make sure he was involved in the wear-testing process for the brand going forward. From not even knowing anything about them until fans started begging him to review Brandblack, Chase says the JC 2 is one of his current favorite models to play in.

“For them being so new, it’s strange to see them take such big leaps and risks,” Chase says. “They went from fairly modern with the JC 1, with the synthetic fuse and jumped straight into a woven, which is really risky because your woven can be a cheap thread, or just not done right. These guys take the extra time to find the best material possible.”

Adds Dill, “I think first and foremost you have to love what you do and love the product. We’re not marketing guys, we’re not bullshit artists, we’re not pushing that ‘business side.’ We genuinely get excited to come look at design, think and create new ideas. To have the opportunity to work in an environment that we love, in a field that we love, making products that we love—that’s the beauty of it.”

While Crawford is at the forefront, Brandblack is also heavily involved in grassroots initiatives, sponsoring the Venice Basketball League, being involved with high school basketball players and even supplying the uniforms for the Seattle Pro-Am.

Most important for Raysse is that the attention the brand received has been organic and not due to any marketing ploys or fancy new technology.

“You can always tell when someone respects the culture and is a part of it and you can also tell if someone is just trying to cash in on it,” Raysse says. “I feel like basketball is the same as hip-hop in that there’s inauthenticity from brands that are sort of trying to dial into that. That’s why basketball fails for a lot of brands because it requires a real respect level of the culture and we really do respect it.

“I feel like the industry is kind of conning people with a lot of these products,” he continues. “They’re made out of crappy materials and they just spin it with some marketing nonsense that’s just not true. Half the time, it’s cheap and they tell you a good story and people buy it. I’ve kind of rejected that and want to just go back to using nice material and letting that tell the story.”

Crawford’s game already commands a lot of attention, but in just over a year of playing in his signature shoes, he’s noticed a difference in the awareness from his opponents.

“I always catch other players looking at my feet to see the shoe and what model I have on,” he says. “With just how different the shoe is, I had players from other brands really take to the shoe. They love the shoe, even some of the biggest names in the League. That makes you feel good because it shows that we’re doing the right things and it’s been received well from the public.”

While the limited quantities that were sold in stores and online did sell out, Raysse assures the driving force behind the brand will continue to be putting out the best quality product, and there’s no slowing down for them anytime soon. With the release of the JC 3 in August, new athlete signings, plans of going into running, making a hard push into men’s training and the release of their “super-advanced” apparel line, the movement is beginning to gain more steam.

“To use basketball as a metaphor, we’re a really strong rookie, but LeBron and Kevin Durant are still in the League,” Raysse says. “We’re not exactly taking the throne yet, so we have to tighten our game up and keep moving forward.”

Images by TJ Regan

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Never in any two-on-two or three-on-three tournament that I’ve watched, have I ever seen a coach.

Just imagine how disciplined Sidney Dean and Billy Hoyle would have been had they had some instruction. Not nearly as fun, but dammit, who’s stopping their streetball smarts coupled with the guidance of great coaching? Maybe Billy never losses Gloria.

I digress, though.

The Houston winners of the Red Bull qualifier, Team Glory, are coached by John Cherry, who has known most of his players for most of his life.

Team Glory, which comes from the saying “To God be the Glory,” has been competing in pro-am leagues and whatever tournament they can throughout Houston since the team’s inception in 1998 and have won their fair share of tournaments, all with Cherry calling the shots.

With an emphasis on aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, along with their experience of playing together, Glory is definitely a team to look out for once the Red Bull Reign finals begin on August 22.

SLAM caught up with Cherry to discuss his coaching, the qualifying tournament and learning to adjust to the tournament rules.

SLAM: You rarely see actual coaching in these tournaments. How did you go about becoming the coach for these guys?

Coach John Cherry: I’ve been coaching Team Glory for 17 years. My friends that I grew up with were all on teams. I can hoop, but I’m a big dude, so I could never get out there like that. I kept me and my friends together and we’ve played in midnight leagues, pro-ams and we win everything because we’ve stayed together and I’ve been the coach throughout.

I’ve had a bunch of different players on my team because they will come up to me and say, “I want to play for you!” Teams in pro-ams will have a team without a coach and they have a hard time playing with each other because of the subbing and they end up not getting along. When they see us, they see that we don’t argue about nothing. We sub, play together and play defense. When the Red Bull Tournament came, someone told me about it and I said I would put some players in and I told him then, We’re going to win. [Laughs]

SLAM: Coaching at any level is difficult because of the managing of egos, playing times and keeping those who aren’t involved engaged. How do you manage that on the pro-am level, where guys just want to show what they can do and there’s very little defense played normally?

CC: You’re right; there’s very little defense usually, but these are all people that I know. They’re not about to trip or go off on me because if you aren’t playing defense, you’re going to be on the sidelines. Even though we’re all the same age, you’re going to respect me as you would any other coach. My thing is defense. We can score easily, but defense is the key.

SLAM: How do you go about selecting a roster in a three-on-three setting because you never know what kind of team you can be up against in these tournaments?

CC: It’s almost the same as the positions you would have when it’s five guys, it’s all about the position. You have to have a point guard, a big man and a small forward. The one sub, he can either be a guard or a forward. The big man is going to stay out there, unless he is in foul trouble. That’s the way you’re supposed to look at. We had a strategy. Every team that played against us were shooting nothing but threes. Take the ball to the hole and score. If they foul you, go to the free-throw line. I like my team to be aggressive. Don’t be scared to get fouled. Go to the hole and get that foul.

SLAM: With the rules being what they are, was it hard to adjust at first?

CC: It was hard the first two games because we were confused at first. My big man, he would get the rebound and take it out and they would call traveling. I was like, What’s going on? You have to get the rebound and pass it out and then you have to go behind the three-point line. Once we got adjusted to all of that, it was easy because we were watching the other teams not take the ball all the way back, they go in for their layup and the referees would reward us possession. Then, once we found out it’s about how many points you score and not your wins and losses – it was one team that lost all of their games and almost made it to the championship—it was even easier. We only lost one game and that was by default because I think the table messed up the points and gave the opposing team out points. We would have went undefeated.

SLAM: How did the overall qualifier go for you guys? It seems like the experience your guys have in playing with each other was a big advantage.

CC: That morning of that day, two of my players backed out, but I have so many people on my roster that I called two players that quick and they came up there. They were like, “Let’s win this thing.” One of them stayed right across the street. It was hard at first because we’re deciding who to call and we call Michael and Darmarcus. We had to plug in two new players that morning. I had two other players, who I knew we were guaranteed to win with, but once the change was made, I knew we would win with the new two also.

SLAM: I heard that the team wanted to give a portion of their winnings to charity, which is almost unheard of with these kind of tournaments. Is this something you guys had planned on or something that came on later due to whatever circumstance?

CC: My players are the ones who decided they wanted to donate to charity. I was like, I’m the charity, give it to me [laughs]. I was just being funny, but I was surprised they said that too because how many hoopers are thinking that. They’re church going, but you don’t need the money?

SLAM: Looking ahead to Chicago on August 22, are you just as confident about your chances against the field you’ll be seeing?

CC: In Houston, it was 24 teams. Some teams were bigger than us, taller than us, but that didn’t mean anything. All you have to do is just play basketball. No arguing, play together and we’ll win this thing.

The post Glory Advances to Red Bull Reign Finals in Chicago appeared first on SLAM.

Thanks to the Red Bull Reign Tournament, Team Ball Hawgs, winner of the Oklahoma City qualifier, is hoping to help put everyone on notice come August 22 in Chicago.

While this is the first time the quartet has played together, they know one another through OKC’s basketball community and all share the common goal of wanting nothing but to win.

OKC baller Michael Malone is no stranger to Red Bull’s tournaments and he might have more motivation than anyone competing.

SLAM caught up with Malone to talk about his team, experience and motivation heading into the Reign Tournament.

SLAM: With this being your first time playing together, how did you meet to assemble the roster?

Michael Malone: We kind of all knew each other from basketball. Oklahoma City has a huge basketball community; if you play basketball, you know each other. The team that won the qualifier is a little different from the team I have now. I had to pick up two other people. I knew the guys from playing in basketball leagues, college and other different places. We all know each other pretty well. This is just the first time we’re playing in something together.

SLAM: Just how was it playing in the qualifying tournament, trying to not only see what your teammates like to do and where they like the ball, but also, you have these rules you have to adjust to?

MM: It was definitely an experience. I watched the videos of the tournament beforehand, so I could kind of understand the rules and had a good grasp of things coming in. It took us a while to realize we didn’t have to take quick shots, it’s more about scoring, it’s a quicker pace. It took a while to get some good chemistry going, but our goal in every game was to score 21 points, which was the max. So we would score that and the rest would take care of itself.

SLAM: What were your thoughts on the format because for a lot of guys, it’s their first time playing in a three-on-three tournament?

MM: The format was different, but it’s high pace, so you get a lot of games in with the pool play. We had two rounds of pool play, which was, I think, seven games in the first round, four in the second and then we went to the final four, so you get a lot of games in. That’s one part I liked about it; it wasn’t just single or double elimination. Everybody got to play everybody. It’s definitely different than any tournament I’ve ever played in.

SLAM: You have a long resume and are no stranger to Red Bull tournaments. Can you just tell me a little bit about your background?

MM: I played in high school and I was All-State. I went to the University of New Mexico and went there until I was a sophomore and transferred to the University of West Georgia, which is where I graduated from. I played in the ABA, CBA, USBL an a couple of places overseas; Morocco, Chile and went on a couple of tours here and there. I haven’t really played anywhere in the last five years, but I’ve been playing in Red Bull tournaments in that time. They had the King of the Rock Tournament, so I’ve won the qualifier in Oklahoma City three times, went over to Alcatraz twice and Taiwan once with Red Bull. I made it to the Final Four in Taiwan last year and lost by one point. Four years ago, I lost in the Finals in Alcatraz and I’ve lost in the Sweet 16 in the tournament.

SLAM: Most people outside of OKC wouldn’t view it as a basketball hotbed, but you guys have your culture just like anywhere else.

MM: Basketball is big time in Oklahoma City. Football is the biggest sport here but basketball is big time. There are tons of NBA players from Oklahoma City. We have great AAU teams, so let it be known that basketball is big here.

SLAM: What was your motive for entering the tournament with the guys you selected for the team?

MM: Oh, I’m playing to win. Chip on our shoulder or not, I’m going to win. I think we have a great chance. My motivation is last year, I made it to the Final Four of the King of the Rock Tournament and I got a little tired toward the end and I lost by one. I hate losing and I couldn’t stand losing that tournament last year. They didn’t have one this year, so the only option was the three-on-three. I’ve been to the Final Four twice now and have been right there and I haven’t been able to get over that hump. The losing is my motivation. I want to win it. My mind is set on winning this tournament, going to Brazil and representing.

SLAM: How ready are you to come to Chicago and trying to get over that hump?

MM: I’m excited about it, I think about it every day. It motivates me and gets me up for my runs every morning and my lift sessions. I got a little more information on the run down in Chicago. I thought it was going to be six or seven teams and I found out that it’s going to be 32 teams in Chicago, which is different than the King of the Rock, where the winner from each city goes to the Finals and we all play each other. This year, it’s the winners from different cities go to Chicago and we all play in a big pool there.

SLAM: What was your strategy during the tournament?

MM: In pool play, the strategy is to score 21 every time because that’s the max you can score and once you get out of pool play, it’s time to play real basketball; lockdown on defense, offense takes care of itself.

SLAM: You’re going to be playing against the best of the best, which you’re used to, but why do you think this time could be different for you in getting over the hump?

MM: I feel like we have a very strong team with a group of guys that really know how to play basketball. We’re going to go out there and just do what we’re good at, simple as that. I’m going to post up, take open shots. We have shooters and just overall smart players.

The post Ball Hawgs Advance to Red Bull Reign Finals in Chicago appeared first on SLAM.

Grit and Grind is more than just a marketing ploy playing on the Memphis Grizzlies’ blue collar style. For most of the city’s population, it’s a way of life.

Sergio Kerusch, who hails from the heart of North Memphis, knows this from experience and happens to be one of the lucky view to find a way out.

When he and his teammates take the court on Chicago’s Seward Park on August 22, they’ll be playing for more than the right to be crowned national champions. They’ll be playing for those back home who work hard so that they’re not confined to their surroundings.

SLAM: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Sergio Kerusch: I grew up in the heart of North Memphis, which is a low-income area; lots of people don’t make it out of there. My father kind of forced me to be around the game when I was young. I was the only kid that could play on the adult courts when I was about 15, playing against 25- to 30-year-olds, so my game has a street influence. I just fell in love with it from early on because it was all I knew. It was my way out. I had other friends who were selling drugs and I was dribbling a ball up and down the street.

Even now, I’m blessed to be a pro, going into my sixth year. Growing up, it was hard. It was the typical African American young male story; single mother struggling to pay bills and we had to find a way. Basketball was my outlet. Instead of coming home every day worrying and having to deal with things, I turned to basketball and I focused all of my energy into it. It paid off in the end.

SLAM: Talk about how hard it is to not get caught up in what your friends are doing and believing that the game could offer you something?

SK: I’m going to be honest with you; it’s tough, even today and the reason is because every time I come home from overseas, I see the guys that grew up with me and they’re like “Sergio, we’re proud of you!” It’s kind of tough hearing that because that’s my friend and I can’t hang out with him the same way because of what he’s involved in because it’s going to endanger me and my career. It’s always a struggle because you’re always going to love the people who were by your side when you were young and who were your best friends. At the same time, when you go to the next level, you have to make a decision on can they help you on your journey or will they drag you down?

I had so many good high school basketball players in my class and they just went down a different path. That’s why I’m so thankful for the Red Bull Tournament because I got a chance to see some of those guys and they got a chance to go back out there and re-live their dream. The tournament wasn’t limited to pro players, it was everyone. We had high school players that used to be superstars in that tournament. It’s always tough to see someone you used to ride or die with and just looking at the two different paths. That could have easily been me with one wrong decision, or one wrong move.

SLAM: With seeing all those former friends and rivals, did it give you an even greater appreciation on how you’ve been able to overcome your circumstances and use that outlet?

SK: I couldn’t have made it without God. That’s the most honest answer. Yeah, you sit back and reflect. You go to your mother and grandmother’s house in the old neighborhood and you’re like, ‘I made it out of this.’ You look at your old house and it’s boarded up and it’s a crack house now. It’s like ‘I made it from this to where I’m driving this and I’m living this life.’ That’s why I’m giving back, giving back to charity. Who would have thought the same kid that was outside scraping his knees on the ground, while people sold drugs behind the house, is a kid that’s now trying to help people the right way?

It’s a humbling experience every time I go to my old hood and I go to the corner street and I see all the same people on the street and they’re like “Sergio, we’re proud of you.” It makes you feel some type of way. It’s a humbling feeling and it’s refreshing. Like I said, I couldn’t have made it out without God. I was blessed. I’m not surprised how far basketball has taken me because I wanted a way out.

I had one of those mothers, and when you’re growing up in a single-parent home, you know what I’m talking about, where she would push the hell out of you. She was like ‘you’re going to do something different. You’re not going to fall victim to your surroundings.’ She was my driving force. She supported everything I did. Basketball wasn’t my only sport because she wanted me to do something different. But when I did get set on basketball, people would always give me the numbers of people who make it to the League, who make it to play pro and the odds. I would always say the same thing: I’m going to be a professional. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

SLAM: What’s the basketball scene like where you’re from?

SK: Grind city, man! The streets influence the basketball culture. You gotta grind to get by, you got to hustle to make a living, to make rent. That’s the same thing with basketball here. We’re very tough-nosed. You look at a guy like Tony Allen from the Grizzlies; we’re like that in that we do what it takes to survive. We scrap games out, we dive on concrete for loose balls and that’s the culture. We get it done by any means necessary. Make it happen! Grind City! We want to be tougher than you. We’re going to fight you for every loose ball. Do you want it as much as we want it because we’re going to grind it out?

SLAM: How did you go about picking your teammates?

SK: Maurice was Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year, went to Georgia Tech, 12 in assists, fifth in steals there. I played pro against him my first year and knew him since high school. We were both candidates for Player of the Year in Memphis. I knew him, but I didn’t know him like that. Now, he’s trying to give back to the community. He’s coaching and now he’s my personal trainer.

Eric played for Valpo, won Horizon Sun Player of the Year. He’s a Memphis kid too. I know him because he’s been my workout buddy for like five years. He’s playing in Chile this year.

We might have bonded as well outside of basketball, but because of the bond we share on the court, we know we got each other’s back. If you put us three in the same room, we can talk for days, best of friends. But on the court, we’re the most competitive against each other. We’re not really playing against the other team, we’re playing against each other because we know what each other’s capable of.

Even when we were playing in the qualifier, it was one game, where I told Eric I was tired and Mo said, ‘You better shut the hell up! We about to get that money!’ We have that type of commitment to one another and that pushing mentality to be better.

I put two guys around me that complement me well because in a one-on-one, I was always second for both years. So I wanted two guys that could compliment me well, which is two point guards.

I added my father because he grew up in Memphis, played streetball, German and very hard-nosed. He’s dove on concrete before, had to go get stitches, and busted his eye open. It was just pickup game, too! I wanted him for his toughness and experience. He’s a big body and he’s my dad. I wanted him to see what my life has become and how it is.

SLAM: How would you describe your game?

SK: I guess you can go to Google [laughs]. I’ve been blessed. My first year pro, I was one of the top players in Europe. I’m tough. I’m a 240 pounds, 2-4. I can shoot. If a get a smaller guard on me, I can post him and anything in between, it can go either way. I’m a big-body guard, basically.

SLAM: Where did the name Rocket Power come from?

SK: Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a big 6-5 kid. I love cartoons and when I was little, it was a cartoon called Rocket Power on Nickelodeon. Those kids were extremely gifted at sports. Just having fun with the name and the fact that we were all blessed to be gifted at sports from a young age. At the end of the day.

SLAM: Why will Team Rocket Power be the winner on August 22?

SK: All of these teams are great. I’m going to give you the political answer. I don’t think we’re the team to beat. I think we’re just happy to be in the same category as the other teams that will be playing. As a competitor, we’re going to have a chip on our shoulder because I know people will get to talking. It’s a lot of talking that goes on in these games. It makes you get real serious, like, Look dog; I do this for a living. Don’t come at me like that. [Laughs]

With that being said, we’re just going to go out there and have fun. We made our first goal, and now it’s about getting out there and representing Memphis’ culture, showing how tough we are and that we have some of the best doing this out here. We’re representing our city. It’s so much evil out here that’s going on. People are getting shot and it’s a lot of things with crime, poverty in my city. We just want to bring a positive light to our culture and just show the kids and other people that if you push hard, no matter what, you’re still going to have a chance to do something great. That’s what our team represents.

We’re not just doing this for us. We’re blessed. We’ve played pro, we have jobs. We’re doing this for the kids that are looking up to us and who want to see something good come out of Memphis. This is the chip on our shoulder. The Memphis community is that chip.

The post Rocket Power Advances to Red Bull Reign Finals in Chicago appeared first on SLAM.

The Red Bull Reign 3×3 Tournament is a battle of endurance and rewards buckets over everything.

Participants competing in seven qualifiers throughout the United States—Houston Oklahoma City, Memphis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago—braved the harsh outdoor elements for the second inaugural year of the tournament, all for a chance to at the finals in Chicago on August 22 to be crowned national champions and being given a spot in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.

With the field almost finalized, the winning teams boost a collection of local talent, pros and semi-pros, each with their own unique individual story and the collective want to be the last team left standing on August 22 in Chicago’s Seward Park.

Today’s spotlight is shined on the winners of the Indianapolis qualifier, Team Only 4 Family.

Given their name, it’s easy to assume the bond between the teammates, Chris Henderson (ABA, BDL), Greg Foster (D-League), Cory Wickware (BDL) and Kenny Edwards (ABA), is extremely tight. The name is also appropriate, as family is what they ball for.

SLAM caught up with Henderson to discuss his background, his teammates and how he feels they have a slight advantage over their competitors.

SLAM: To start, what’s a brief background on yourself?

Chris Henderson: I’m from Indianapolis, IN, and that’s pretty much a basketball state. My mom gave me my first basketball when I was 5 and ever since then I just loved playing. I played all four years of varsity in high school, all four years at college and then I played semi-pro basketball in the ABA and the BDL.

SLAM: Just how did you and your teammates for this tournament meet?

CH: We’re all from the same area, basically. In high school, we all played against each other. After that, we just became cool. Ever since we came home from school, we just stuck together and the chemistry was great, so we kept playing with each other in every league we could get in, every little tournament we could get in. We just wanted to keep building.

SLAM: How did you all decide on Only 4 Family for your team name?

CH: We chose Only 4 Family because what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do with basketball is positive and all for our families. If we win some money in whatever tournament we’re in, we always know we’re going to do what it takes to win and give that bread back to our family to help take care of home. That’s the most important thing to know with what we play for.

SLAM: How good it is to be able to use the game you love to help take care of your family?

CH: Everything that basketball has done for me has been a blessing. From just being able to really play, it got me a full scholarship to go to school and earn my degree. After that, just to be able to go to the ABA and the BDL; it means a lot because it’s cats everywhere out here chasing a dream and they might not ever get to be able to see it. I can at least be able to say that basketball has been able to open up some doors for me and I got to travel and see a lot of things and places I wouldn’t have been able to see without basketball.

SLAM: You really can’t grow up anywhere in Indy without picking up a basketball. What was growing up like for you?

CH: Growing up here is hard, depending on which part you’re coming from. We all came from the inner city, so we dealt with a lot of gang violence and everything that comes with that. So just staying out the way of that was so critical and basketball was that outlet for us. It kept us all away from the streets and having us in things we weren’t supposed to be into.

SLAM: Just how many tournaments have you guys competed in together?

CH: Three tournaments that have been worth some money. We did the Ball Up Tournament, the Red Bull qualifier and the Indy Top Four Tournament. Unfortunately, we came up short in the Ball Up Tournament, but we were blessed with the opportunity to get in the three-on-three qualifier, and we were glad to win that one.

SLAM: How does going through those battles and knowing your teammates games help in tournaments such as this one, where the rules are about putting the most points on the board as you can?

CH: It helps a lot because once we understood the rules and understood how they did the pool play, and that it was about scoring more points, we were able to put in a lineup that was just going to score points. Knowing each other’s games helps us out as we look at Greg as our leader. He distributes the ball, gets everyone where they need to be. Me and Corey, we’ll run around, be the shooters, do the scoring and knock down shots. Kenny, we know he’s going to defend the glass, rebound and get dunks. It’s tough to guard because we already know each other’s game. Other teams have just been put together, but we already know each other.

The post Only 4 Family Advances to Red Bull Reign Finals in Chicago appeared first on SLAM.

The camp featured over 150 children who walk the same hallways as Shumpert did at nearby Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park, IL.

“I never had it done for me,” says Shumpert on the importance of his camp. “It was one of the things that I thought would be cool. To see somebody from where you’re from have a camp, to sit down, hangout and ask him whatever questions you were thinking about in science class; I never had that when I was young. So I figured that now that I’m in a position where I can come back and do something as simple as sitting down at lunch with these guys, let them ask me whatever they want to ask, I think it helps a lot.

“These kids look forward to coming back to the camp and showing you that they’re way bigger now,” Shumpert continued. “Some of the kids that are too old for the camp now still come back and hang around and they’re like, ‘I think I can dunk on you now.’ They’re like, ‘Whenever y’all play pickup, I’m trying to play.’ We’re trying to build that excitement up, so that kids want to keep coming back every year and [keep] getting better. A lot of these kids really take these drills to heart. They take them home and they work on them all year so that when this camp comes back around, they can put on a show.”

Aside from getting to talk NBA with Shumpert, the kids took part in drills and received instructions from coaches. Shumpert’s family and friends have assisted with everything since the camp’s start, from signup to cleaning the gym at the end of each day.

Shumpert was all smiles at his camp, despite some campers getting on him for the Cavs failing to win the title.

While the heckling was all in good fun, Shumpert came to the camp with a newfound sense of security, as he had agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract, which he signed last Thursday.

“I’m glad that wasn’t a headache for me,” Shumpert said. “I think the Cavs handled that extremely well. I’m happy about everything that has happened so far in the offseason, and I’m about to start getting ready to get geared up for next year.

“The security and commitment means the world to me. Just to know that we can build off of what we already had and we’re going to add some new additions that are really going to help us. I’m happy with everything.”

After being traded from New York in January, Shumpert quickly engrained himself within the dynamic of the team, and the Cavaliers are banking on him improving his D-and-three role.

The team should only be better next season, as even though there are still dominoes that need to fall—in terms of getting deals done with Tristan Thompson, JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova—the Cavs’ chemistry and experience should help the team deliver Cleveland a title it so desperately covets.

Image courtesy of justxfred.

The post 4 The Future appeared first on SLAM.

Former Phoenix Suns first-round draft pick and University of Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer Alando Tucker is doing just that with his company, Arcitec Basketball, in bringing his summer basketball camp to his alma mater, Lockport Township High School in his hometown of Lockport, IL.

Fresh off wrapping up his professional season overseas, Tucker’s week-long camp started on Monday, and children ages 8-17 not only have gotten the benefit of elite-level training, but have also received the mentorship from someone who walked the same streets as they do now, and who has seen a lot of the world, all thanks to the game of basketball.

We caught up with Tucker recently to discuss his plans with Arcitec and giving back to his hometown.

SLAM: What’s been the reception from the kids so far?

Alando Tucker: It’s been a great reception. The most important part is that the word is spreading. It was difficult because I only had a month to promote. After the season ended in France, I had to come here ad set some things up, so I was kind of worried because I didn’t have enough time to start promoting. But the reception has been great because after the first day, I had about five kids come and sign up for the second day to finish the camp. I’m getting great responses from the parents about the things that we’re teaching the kid and it’s great.

SLAM: Where did the concept behind Arcitec Basketball come from?

AT: The idea behind Arcitec Basketball is, I always felt like in my career and with my life, I tried to design it to a certain matter. The only thing I could control was my talents and how hard I work, so I designed that. How far I can make it from there, I couldn’t control that. But I knew if I worked as hard as possible, I could design my own frame, my own structure. The basis behind Arcitec started with that idea of building. I have a son that’s five years old and I’ve trained him since he could walk. Everyone who sees him, all my friends, they’re amazed because he’s doing things that we couldn’t do at 15 and 16, and these are some of the things I’ve learned. I understood how to work with kids, teach them certain principles and characteristics through basketball and using that to teach life skills on a of different things. I always had great network of guys in the NBA, front offices and collegiate coaches. I have a huge network, so I wanted to build something that’s not only local and in my hometown but we also ran a clinic in London this past May, so things are spreading.

SLAM: What’s it like to not only be offering a clinic like this to youth, but to also be bringing this to the place where it all started for you?

AT: It’s very special. For one, when I look back at high school basketball, our area is down in athletics and it’s been a lot of different violent activities and things of that nature in the Chicagoland area. So I look at what I’m doing and it’s special because it’s giving these kids hope. I’m surrounding them with positivity, giving them something to do and keeping them out the street. When I was growing up, I didn’t have someone that made it to the NBA, played professional ball, that come back and showed me the proper things and the right paths to make it to that next level. I was going off watching television and other things. So it’s special that I’ve also structured a staff of guys that have played collegiately. One of the instructors was under Tim Grover for two years. So I put together a staff of guys that really know how to train elite athletes and we’re bringing that here in an area where kids have never seen this. I had the opportunity to go back to Wisconsin and other things, but I turned those down because I wanted to touch home first. From home, it will extend to Wisconsin, and my second home, Phoenix, where I had the opportunity to be drafted to. I already have that planned and it’s starting to get put in place, but the important part is being able to give back to a community that needs it.

SLAM: For the children participating, what do you feel are the benefits of this camp?

AT: It’s very beneficial. I come from an era, where I’m listening to guys like Kobe Bryant talking about how he learned his footwork, when he learned it and comparing that to AAU. I’m not going to bash any AAU basketball, I’m just saying on my end, if I understood footwork at an early age and how to beat a guy—I was just going off of straight talent. Once I got to college, I kind of understood like “this is how you use your hands,” or “this is how you’re supposed to come off a screen.” The earlier you can obtain any knowledge of a sport, it’s only better and that’s what we’re trying to provide, along with the mentorship. Some of these guys need that and to understand that if you work hard enough and you can build your own vision and own path through your hard work, you can give yourself a chance to get a higher education that’s paid for. My mother couldn’t afford that and most of these kids, their parents can’t afford for them to go to college, so they have to find other outlets, whether it be basketball, football, and baseball. It would have been great if I had this when I was coming up.

SLAM: What’s your overall goal with Arcitec?

AT: Without giving away too much information and what we actually have in play, it’s going to be a global brand. I’m working on merchandise. I have international manufacturers already structuring ideas, so my coaches are around wearing fashionable gear. I want to be an international brand that takes the idea of being an architect, given independence to each and every athlete, understanding that they’re a brand and that they can build their own brand. I want them to understand that at an early age. My end game is to take this idea and go into all aspects of the world, especially where basketball is growing at high rates. Me being in London and having the opportunity to next year do London and Paris. I’ve been asked to come to Croatia and different places. These are the goals that I want to be able to put into communities that need this hope, this structure. I want to teach kids how to work at an early age and train like professionals. If I can do this all throughout the U.S. and internationally, that’s when I’ll be satisfied. I have things in play already that I’m very encouraged about how we’ve been able to move so quickly.

SLAM: Do you ever sit back and just smile at some of the places the game of basketball has taken you?

AT: Yes! And I’m always humbled and blessed. That’s what pushes and drives me to keep doing what I’m doing. For me to come from a small town outside of the Chicago area, and look up one day and realize that I’m in Russia, Paris, or Italy, and I’m walking through these cities and I know them like I know my neighborhood. When I think of that, it’s just like, Wow! I have friends back home and I can show them and they can live vicariously through me through pictures and stories. I want to provide that to kids to be humbled by those kind of situations because they were able to play the game of basketball and they were able to dedicate themselves to their craft so well that it can take them to places that they would have never seen.

The post Alando Tucker: Pay It Forward appeared first on SLAM.

The dream he’s living is perfect considering the advice the fast-rising point guard received when he declared for the Draft, following a stellar sophomore campaign.

Don’t wake up.

“I’m dreaming and I can’t wake up,” he says, laughing during a recent phone interview. “I’m just sleeping really good right now, everything has been a dream.”

After being overlooked as a legitimate hoop prospect since his early childhood days in Memphis, TN, you can excuse his prolonged slumber. You can also forgive him for obsessing over the latest mock drafts, and the various online media reports that have Payne’s stock skyrocketing into the lottery conversation leading up to this month’s Draft.

“You know why I look at all of the mock drafts? It’s because I wasn’t on any of them up until right now,” Payne says. “Now that I’m on them and my name is on them, I’m definitely going to follow them [laughs].”

The once non-existent chatter around Payne is now full-blown hoopla, as his current Draft trajectory is suddenly being compared to the sudden rise of other note-worthy mid-major point guards Damian Lillard and Elfrid Payton.

“The fact that people are talking about me so much right now must mean that I’m doing something right,” he says with a sudden excitement to his voice. “I definitely want people and the NBA teams to be comfortable with me. That’s very important. When people really get the opportunity to meet with me, and talk with me, a lot of good is going to come out of it.”

That much has been true, as Payne has already worked out for the Indiana Pacers—who hold the 11th overall pick. Payne also has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Los Angeles Lakers (2nd pick), the New York Knicks (4th) and the Sacramento Kings (6th). The gap seems to be closing fast between Payne and D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mundiay in the battle of this Draft’s best point guard.

There have been national media reports and several mock drafts suggesting that the Oklahoma City Thunder are eyeing Payne at No. 14, but with the way things are trending right now, Payne could be gone by the time Commissioner Adam Silver announces that the Thunder are on the clock.

So just how did things turn so drastically in such a short amount of time?

You can partly attribute that to the gaudy numbers Payne put up this season for the Racers: 20.2 ppg, 6.0 apg and a PER of 30—ranking him in the top 15 in the NCAA in all three categories. He helped lead his team through the Ohio Valley regular season undefeated, including a 25-game winning streak—the eighth-longest winning streak in college basketball since 2002, a trip to the NIT, and topped it off by being named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.

You can fully attribute his growth and ascension as a big-time player to the enormous chip on his shoulder that he’s played with since he started getting serious about basketball. This comes from not being heavily recruited during his peak high school years or while at the AAU level. Payne also notes that there were some previous and lingering doubts about his still developing slight frame and the level of mid-major competition.

Those who watched him closely and carefully, though, saw a sweet-shooting, crafty, left-handed point guard from the Memphis suburb of Bartlett, who willed and worked his way into becoming a team leader who is on the verge of playing professionally.

“Obviously, he’s from my hometown of Memphis, so I’ve been closely watching him develop as a player since he was a kid,” says Payne’s agent, Travis King, of Relativity Sports.

King also helped prep Utah Jazz’s 2014 first-round pick, Rodney Hood, for the same pre-draft process.

“I really thought he had a good chance since about the 11th grade,” King says of Payne. “I didn’t know it would happen this fast for him, but he had a great season this year, and now he’s really working hard with his training and improving his game. I really believe that over time Cam will be the best pure PG in this Draft class, and that he can become a special player at the NBA level.”

Before coming to Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine in May, Payne added nine pounds of muscle to his body, as most draft analysts had questioned his strength and ability to get into the paint. At the Combine, Payne recalls how he was hanging out with all of the more heralded names, from the bigger programs who were seen frequently on national TV all season long. The players that didn’t elicit a “who? ” after their names were being mentioned like Payne before now.

“It was definitely a big difference,” Payne says of the Draft Combine. “I’ve played against some of them guys, but the players I had on my (AAU) team, they all went to those big Top-100 type camps. I didn’t go. Honestly, the Combine is something that you really have to go through yourself, because it’s a great atmosphere and it’s a one-time thing. So you know you just have to do the best you can. It was a great time.”

Since finishing his sophomore year and declaring for the Draft, Payne has been working out and training daily at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. Other NBA Draft prospects like UNC’s JP Tokoto, IMG’s Satnam Singh and Florida’s Chris Walker have also been participating in the intense pre-Draft training and nutrition program.

Current NBA players such as Hood, Orlando Magic forward Moe Harkless and Dallas Mavs forward Dwight Powell also regularly workout at IMG during the offseason. Payne’s focus has mostly been on increasing his strength and conditioning and extending his three-point range to the NBA distance while fine-tuning other aspects of his game, like his ball handling and footwork. Payne also spends time studying current NBA players such as Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo.

“Honestly, everything has been moving pretty slow to me,” Payne said. “I’m so anxious for the Draft and to just get started. Everything isn’t moving as fast as I would want it to be, but everything has been great. I couldn’t be any happier.”

In between his team workouts and keeping up with the latest buzz surrounding the Draft, Payne has been content to just relax while spending some of his downtime playing the only video game that he plays, NBA 2K15.

“I’ve being a big fan of the game and franchise for so long,” he says. He can’t wait to play as himself once the 2K16 edition rolls around—of course with some modification for a player that’s been overlooked for so long.

“I’m going to make sure that I am starting in the game,” Payne laughs. “I’m going to give myself my real attributes, what I feel I should be and I’m going to start off my Franchise Mode with myself [laughs]. We’re going to get it rocking. I’m definitely going to put myself at an 83 or an 85, but I’m not going to overdo it and give myself a 99. I’m just going to have fun with it and give myself a good solid rating.”

Giving how fast everything is happening to a player that’s never been handed anything, Payne doesn’t ever hesitate to remind himself of the fire that has fueled him up until this point. It’s the same motivation that he says won’t be diminished with the riches of a new NBA contract and from playing at the highest level.

“The chip on my shoulder is going to stay there forever,” he says. “Me being overlooked, it helps me. When people have criticized me, it just makes me go harder. It’s just my knack for being so competitive, being a leader and not wanting to lose and to all the people that didn’t think I was very good. That chip is not going anywhere because when I make it to the NBA, I’m back at the bottom as a rookie, so I have to keep that chip on my shoulder. I’ll be the low guy on the totem pole again next year and I’ll have to work my way back up in the league. I haven’t done anything yet.”

Payne will travel to New York in a few weeks for Draft night and will be sitting in the same Green Room as the other big-name, highly recruited players that are now his peers.

He won’t be hard to notice.

Bright smile, clean new suit, his family nearby, and finally waking up to his dream come true.

The post Dream Come True appeared first on SLAM.

St. John’s senior guard Phil Greene IV’s dreams are no different. Like most kids from Chicago, the South Side native had to grow up quickly on unforgiving streets, where life can change within a bounce of Spalding to pavement.

Greene has already undergone workouts with the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers, while the Brooklyn Nets and others are working to bring him in for a look.

His road up to this point is long on perseverance and belief. What better person to tell you about that journey than Greene himself…

by Phil Greene IV

 

I come to work every day and grind. I don’t cause any problems and I feel I can bring a lot to a team. Defensively, I normally guard the best guards. On the offensive end, I can score, as well as create, so my teammates can get their looks.

 

I’m a scrapper, shooter and basically an all-around ball player who would do anything that it takes to win. I’m a team player, a leader and someone who goes out there each and every night and gives it his all.

 

I’m from the South Side of Chicago, raised on 116th and Vincennes. That is a real rough neighborhood, lots of violence everywhere and every day. They actually call it “The Jungle.” It was like either you play ball or you join a gang. I was actually good enough where the neighborhood would keep you away from that. It’s like, “Oh no. You play ball. This is not what you’re supposed to be doing. You need to stick to ball so you can get out and help the neighborhood out.”

 

I lost of a couple of friends. I lost my best friend my sophomore year of high school. Michael Haynes, he used to play ball. He was going to play at the University of Iona before he got shot and killed right across the street from my house. That one hurt me a lot because he was like my big brother. We did everything together. He was just in the neighborhood and trying to help someone out.

 

That’s why I work hard every day, just to get my mom and family out of that.

 

Every single day, I think about that all the time and it pushes me. Just making something better of my life. Every time I go back, everyone is doing the same thing. Somebody has to help change that and I want to be the one to help change that.

 

When I was younger, my mom used to make me come in when the streetlights came on. I had to keep a close circle to stay away from getting in trouble. Basketball was my getaway. I used to go to the park all the time and play from sun up to sun down, even when there was snow on the ground. As a little boy, my pops helped me out a lot by getting me into the sport. I used to watch ESPN Classics all the time and I learned a lot from watching the old-timers play.

 

I went to four different high schools: George Washington my freshmen year, Christian Fenger Academy my sophomore year. My third year I went to Percy L. Julian and my senior year, I went to IMG Academy in Florida.

 

I transferred from George Washington because there were race riots in the school. It wasn’t a safe environment for me. The reason I transferred from Fenger was Julian was a better learning environment from Fenger. I went to IMG because Coach Loren Jackson got the job and I knew the experience there would better prepare me for college with just being in the best facilities with some of the best trainers. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

 

Coach Jackson helped me out with everything. He saw talent in me when no one else did. He always told me that I had something special. He had a track record of sending players to college and he was a great person to learn under because he would teach you the game.

 

Those experience made me tougher and I met a lot of new friends in each spot that I went to. Even with me not staying long, I was able to build relationships with a lot of different people from a lot of areas. It just helped broaden my horizons.

 

I choose St. John’s University because I wanted to be in a big city, play in Madison Square Garden and it was a loaded recruiting class. I think we had the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation that year. It was a lot of things that factored into me picking St. John’s. I think it was a great decision.

 

We had to rebuild a program that wasn’t winning before we got here. We built the program each and every year. My senior year, we were ranked 15th in the nation and we were on a roll. We made the NCAA Tournament and I had a great career in my four years: 1,000-point scorer, fifth all-time in three-pointers made.

 

I think it was a great decision to learn from Coach Steve Lavin. He helped me out a lot and was like a father figure to me. I would do anything for him because I know he would do the same for me. I love the school. Now I’m getting my degree, and getting ready to close this chapter and getting ready for the next one.

 

One of the most memorable games in my career came this year against Georgetown at the Garden. It was Senior Night and the game was on CBS. It was a big-time game. A rivalry game. We hate Georgetown and with it being our last game at Madison Square Garden, having family there and the atmosphere, it was one we had to win. We wanted to go out as seniors on top and I wanted to play very well, just because we don’t like Georgetown and they had just beat us earlier in the year.

 

That was a big game for me. I think I had 26 points and 7 rebounds. My whole family was watching and I just felt so good getting the satisfaction from the fans and knowing that we beat Georgetown in our last game in Madison Square Garden.

 

What makes me feel I’m ready for the next level is having played against a lot of players who play professionally. Even players that I played with that went to the league and then they come back during the summer and play; I’m right there with them. When you play against the best in the sport and you can hold your own, you think that you can do exactly what they’re doing, or you can do it even better.

 

I think I can play any style of basketball. Here, at St. John’s, we played a lot of up-tempo, up and down, try and get a lot of turnovers, push it in transition because we were really fast. We played three guards. So it was basically like three point guards at one time. We all complimented one another and Coach Lavin let us play basketball. He let us play free and play our game. As long as we made the right decisions, he didn’t have a problem with it.

 

I like to watch Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry and Jarrett Jack. I watch all those crafty guys. I take a lot of moves from Jamal Crawford also. I love the way he plays because he plays off of reaction. He just reads the defender and makes his move.

 

I think I can fit in any system. Whatever is needed and asked of me as a player, I know I can do it.

 

#DontSleepOnMe

 

The post Phil Greene IV: My Journey appeared first on SLAM.

Not only have they been the League’s best and most consistent team on both ends of the floor, but they are also, arguably, the most entertaining, with their backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson capable of catching fire as quick as a flick of the wrist.

While the offensive exploits of the Splash Brothers receive all the YouTube hits and storylines, the Warriors’ defense is more than deserving of acclaim, as they lead the League in point differential at 10.2 per game during the regular season.

Ten-year veteran, Andrew Bogut, is the enforcer of that defense. Like most of the players on the roster, Bogut has sacrificed for the betterment of the team and has fully embraced his role as rim protector, screen setter and takes his offensive opportunities as they present themselves.

SLAM caught up with Bogut before the postseason began to discuss how less for him has meant more for the Warriors.

SLAM: You guys are obviously having fun out on the floor. But have you really been able to enjoy what you guys are doing, or is the focus solely on the ultimate goal?

Andrew Bogut: It’s been all about the one goal. We know we still have a lot of work to do. Even with having the best record in the League and all that stuff, it doesn’t mean much going into a seven-game Playoff series. We’re still kind of on edge a little bit and we know that we have to keep pushing to get to our ultimate goal, which is to win a Championship.

SLAM: What would you say has been the difference with how you guys have been able to take it to another level this year?

AB: I think it’s a culmination of things. Obviously when you can keep a core group of guys together for three or four years, I think teams have success. You see that with the Thunder and the Spurs out here in the West. In saying that, I think the new coaching staff has been a big reason in pushing us to the next level. I think Coach Kerr has been. Our assistant coaches are great. The franchise is just being really positive with what’s going on. I think it’s a mix of things but as long as we keep working, we can keep winning.

SLAM: There’s an obvious difference from last season’s system to this one, and that has seemed to cater to all your strengths in the roles that you have.

AB: Coach Kerr is huge on ball-movement. He wants a lot of ball movement, wants everyone to get touches. He wants everyone to be a threat, be an offensive weapon. Coach (Mark) Jackson was more of an old school, isolation kind of guy. He was about getting Steph, Klay and our best scorers as many touches as he could.

I think at times it worked and other times it hurt other guys to not touch the ball. I think the ball movement we have now is the best in the League.

SLAM: How have you guys all been able to buy in?

AB: When I was a franchise guy in Milwaukee, it was really frustrating when you had guys who didn’t want to buy in or play their role. That would hurt the team and you end up wasting a whole year. I came to Golden State with the mindset of no longer being the cornerstone of the franchise.

At the same time, you can have a huge effect on helping your best players and making sure that they’re successful and our team is successful. I’ve kind of been at both ends of the spectrum and I understand what it takes for a team to be successful. And I’m happy—especially in the late years of my career—to fulfill a role of setting screens, rebounding and being an unselfish guy.

SLAM: Was the adjustment hard going from a focal point of a team to now being a guy who is content on making things easier for other guys like Steph and Klay?

AB: No doubt! Your ego prides yourself about it. But if you’re a smart professional sportsman and you realize what you’re doing is helping your team win games, you would be absolutely stupid to try and stop that. Would I like more touches? Yeah. But I don’t need more touches because we’re winning games. If I get more touches, it’s taking away from Steph or Klay.

I’ve come to the understand that if I’m trying to win a Championship and be on a successful team that’s winning games, you have to find a role and you have to give something up to give something back Myself, Andre [Iguodala], Marreese [Speights], [Leandro] Barbosa; we got a lot of guys on our team that have giving things up for the benefit of the team. I’ve been part of [situations] where, it can definitely go the other way. If guys started bitching and complaining about touches and all of that, usually all hell breaks loose and you have a losing season.

SLAM: As a teammate, how has it been to watch a guy like Stephen Curry go to work like he can?

AB: He’s the MVP. He’s our best player. What he does for us offensively, he creates a lot of space for guys like me, Klay, Draymond. We get a lot of easy, cheap baskets just because defenses are predicated on stopping him.

We get way too many cheap baskets because of him. He scores a lot of points for us , but a lot of times people don’t see how that helps guys like me, Draymond, Klay, Harrison because of the attention he draws.

SLAM: Why do you think you guys don’t get many people talking about your defense?

AB: Scoring has been Warriors’ staple for a while. People forget that we’re playing really good on defense right now, No. 1 in the League. That’s a huge reason for why we’re successful. With the Warriors teams in the past, they would score 120 a game, but give up 130. I think everyone bought into the defensive side of things and we understand that if you want to actually win, we have to play at that end of the floor.

SLAM: With most veterans, you don’t see them as active on social media as you are. Why have you embraced it so much?

AB: I’ve been on Twitter, pretty much since it came out. I’m very opinionated, which is a good thing and a bad thing, gets me into some trouble. I’m not scared to give an opinion. I’m not politically correct like a lot of people want me to be. So I guess people respect that in a kind of way. I just enjoy putting my thoughts out there.

SLAM: You seem to love the benefit of quickly voicing yourself than blogging.

AB: I just didn’t have a whole lot to do early on in my NBA career. I just started blogging a little bit. I don’t really do it anymore. It was just something that I wanted to try and just really reach out to the fans. Once Twitter started to really take off, it’s much easier to do that by Twitter. The blog I do with the NBA Australia, it’s something I do every couple of weeks. It’s just deeper than a Twitter post and it gives fans some access other than what the general media would put out there.

SLAM: What does Andrew Bogut do in his downtime?

AB: I like to relax. I try to stay off my feet as much as possible. To be honest, I probably do stuff the average person does. I manage my own finances. So I pay all my bills and take care of all that. That takes up quite a bit of time. I have properties all over the world, along with the ones in the States. I oversee all of my banking and investments. As we all know, it takes a couple of hours a day sometimes just to get through emails. I do that and I just like to chill out. Go out to eat, watch a movie. The offseason, I get out more, but in season, I don’t like to get out of the house too much.

SLAM: Really? That’s impressive.

AB: The only reason I didn’t do it earlier is because I had no idea about it. I was 19-year-old who just signed a multi-million dollar contract. So I wouldn’t have known what to do with a dollar of it. About three to four years ago, I took a finance course online for a year and I just didn’t want to pay advisors the amount of money when I could do that stuff myself.

SLAM: You’ve been in the Bay Area for a few years now. Do you have a favorite spot to eat?

AB: To be honest, there’s a bunch of places. There’s not just one spot. California has so many healthy, organic places. I just keep finding new places every other week. I try and get to new places to try and new things. It would be hard to pick just one.

SLAM: I’ve seen that you’ve given advice to Ben Simmons. I imagine the basketball community in Australia is small, but how did you guys connect and what was some of the early pointers that you have given to him?

AB: You’re right; the elite basketball community in Australia is very small. So, I had an open gym one day in my facility in Australia, where we have some five-on-five in the offseason, and he came by. I ended up having lunch with him and the kid has really worked his butt off. He did a great job over here (in the States) and I really didn’t have to give him too much advice, to be honest.

Just keep doing what you’re doing. Hopefully, he has a great year at LSU and once he can put everything together, he’s going to be sensational.

SLAM: Do you ever reflect on how the college game has changed since you were at Utah, and what do you think about age minimums and keeping kids in school?

AB: A little bit, but the thing about the NCAA, how many players should risk their health to play four years? If a kid can get drafted, 10 times out of 10, I would tell him to (leave school), just because you see kids get hurt in college and then what? They’ve lost their chance to be in the NBA or be a professional. It’s just not right, in my opinion.

I think the NCAA has a lot of cleaning up to do, as far as that goes. But that’s a topic I can probably talk all day about.

The post Q+A: Andrew Bogut appeared first on SLAM.

One of this season’s beneficiaries of the Sixers’ continued rebuilding efforts was second-year forward Robert Covington.

After going undrafted in 2013 after four years at Tennessee State, the Bellwood, IL native signed with the Houston Rockets. Covington spent much of that season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, where he won D-League Rookie of the Year.

After a Summer League stint with Houston, the Rockets waived Covington before the start of the season. He would be selected with the first overall pick in the D-League draft by the Grand Rapids Drive but would never see a minute for the team, as Philadelphia signed him the day after.

With the Sixers searching for promise from anyone who suited up for them, Covington led the team’s active players in scoring (13.5 points)—Tony Wroten scored 16.9 ppg but only played in 30 games—and shot 37.4 percent from 3-point range. Covington’s 167 made three-pointers this season ranked No. 10 in the NBA.

In Covington, the Sixers have an improving wing with an outside touch that should benefit Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel. We caught up with him recently to discuss his ’14-15 season.

SLAM: The Rockets waived you, then you were the No. 1 pick in the D-League draft, then the Sixers signed you—all before this season started. How hectic was all that?

Robert Covington: In the beginning, it was [hectic] because I was in Houston for two-and-a-half weeks before I ended up knowing what was going to happen. I got released on October 9th. They told me they were releasing me on the 9th and they didn’t officially release me until the 27th. So that kind of set me back. My agent had teams that wanted to work on something with me but they couldn’t do anything because officially I wasn’t released from the Houston Rockets. I had to wait around, so I just worked out, stayed in shape because you never know what could happen. You always have to be ready. And then it came around to a day before the season begins and that’s when it officially came out that they were releasing me. So my agent didn’t have that much time to work on anything for me. That whole two and a half weeks, we had contemplated about what we wanted to do, how we would do things and which route would be the best for me. That’s how we came to the conclusion of just going to the D-League and then going from there. That’s how that all panned out.

SLAM: With being the D-League Rookie of the Year last season, how much does that actually prepare you for the NBA?

RC: It definitely does prepare you. It’s just a matter how you go about preparing. Some people will BS around, but if you really take it serious and treat it like an NBA season, you’re auditioning each and every night. You have to be at your tip-top, no matter what. That’s where a lot of guys—they think that just because they’re in the D-League that no one is going to notice. I tell guys all the time “You never know what can happen.” Any day, you give your best. Opportunity is going to come from that, whether it’s the NBA, overseas, or anything. Opportunities will come because there is always someone watching.

SLAM: You would think with the losses, a coach could get burned out quick, but coach Brett Brown always seems to stay positive. How does that help guys that are fighting not only for wins but their livelihoods?

RC: It helped out a lot because we had a rough season. Typically, that would be frustrating for a lot of people. But coach Brown did a great job in keeping our heads held high, keeping us going in each day and working hard no matter what. His enthusiasm was contagious. No matter what was going on, whether we were down—we were there as a unit. That comes from what coach instilled in us. All the positivity. All the hard work that we had done. All the player development. Everything. His enthusiasm just trickled down into everything that we did and it showed with everyone on our team. He’s a great coach. He’s been through a lot of things and he’s had success. So he knows what it takes and he tries to bring that same enthusiasm, same persona to the Sixers.

SLAM: From the outside looking in, we can say that the season for you guys isn’t about wins and losses but about development. But as a player and competitor, how do you curb the frustrations that comes with all the losses?

RC: Just by holding each other accountable and keeping each other level-headed. We were so tight as a group, no matter what we were going through. We were always together, always kept each other’s [spirits] high. We never bashed anybody or let anyone get down on themselves. In certain cases, guys were dealing with something but we were always there for one another. We treated it like a real family because of we knew what we were going through. Guys were doing a great job with that and throughout the whole season that’s what kept us on the up end when things were tough. We had an environment where there was so much enthusiasm. It was so much praise about strides we made and we paid attention to all the good things. We went over smaller things that we did wrong. But we also paid attention to a lot of good things that we had done and we built off of that. That helps give you confidence. It helps build your reputation. That’s what was good about it. Even though it was rough, we still had composure and each and every night, we went out and fought because we knew that as long as we did our best, that’s what matters the most.

SLAM: You got to play in the Rising Stars game during All-Star Weekend. What was that like?

RC: That was an amazing blessing. I actually didn’t believe it at first. My mom had called me and I was actually asleep when I got the call. I was in Chicago with my family and I was at my hotel sleeping. My mom called my phone and my agent was calling my phone all morning. When I woke up, my mom was telling me, “You need to call your agent ASAP!” I’m like “What’s going on?” She’s like “I don’t know. Call your agent.” I called him and he praised me; “You know you’ve done a great job this season. You’ve been recognized for what you’ve done so far and your on your way to New York to play in the Rising Stars Challenge.” It didn’t hit me at first until I really woke up and I said, “Repeat that!” He said “Yeah. You’re on your way to New York to play in the Rising Stars Challenge. You’re replacing Michael [Carter-Williams].” It shocked me at first. I thought that I would make it before that, considering the type of season I was having. But, I knew I wasn’t there the full season. So maybe that played a part in it. Going through what I’ve gone through, to be able to go in and play in that game with so many up-and-coming stars, it just shows that no matter what, all the hard work that you put in, it won’t go unnoticed. That experience was just crazy. I went last year, in New Orleans, for the D-League All-Star Game, but it’s nothing like experiencing it on the big stage.

SLAM: What about playing at the United Center this year in front of what seemed like an entire section of your friends and family as a pro?

RC: That was an amazing experience because not a lot of my family and friends have been able to see me play in person. Nobody has been able to really see me play besides my mom, my AAU coach and my little brother. Coming back home and playing in my hometown, and doing well, and almost winning the game, just meant a lot. I had a big section and they all were cheering for me. It was amazing. It really meant a lot to see that many people there to support me. It made [playing] that much easier. My teammates played well, but we just came up short at the end. That feeling to play in front of them, though, was amazing.

SLAM: You were one of the League’s best outside shooters this season, as far as percentages. Even with being from Bellwood, there’s still that Chicago-style game of attacking and getting to the basket. How did you refine your shooting?

RC: Actually, just [hooping] in the alley, playing in the backyard really helped. Whenever I’m in the gym, just staying after and shooting and playing around. It wasn’t really no set thing that I worked on like that. It was just playing around. As I got older, teams started to noticed that I could really shoot. So I focused on that and kept developing that to my game. My shot just was naturally there. Everyone always thought that I had a shooting coach, but it really just came from playing in the backyard and playing around in the gym. It’s just a matter of doing it, just having the confidence in it. That’s one thing about it; I’ve always been confident in my shot.

SLAM: What do you expect from Joel Embiid next season?

RC: I’m very excited. Joel brings a lot to the table. He’s a big body that can do a lot of things. He hasn’t even been playing the game long. So you can see that he has so much potential. Just seeing him work out and all the things that he is capable of doing—it’s going to be great having him and the other bigs. His presence, added to what we have, is going to be tremendous for us because it’s going to open up the floor for us. It’s a great thing to add Joel to the pieces that we do have and seeing what else comes into play next season. It’s going to be a good year for us because we’re going to start early and build that chemistry to know where certain guys want the ball and where to make those reads. Once you build that chemistry, it just helps you throughout the season.

SLAM: For the first time since your days at Tennessee State, you know where you will be playing next fall. What does having that stability do for you?

RC: It’s a great feeling because you don’t have to really worry about too much like where you’re going to be and a lot of what-ifs. It gives you a piece of mind to know where you’re going to be. That takes so much stress off of some of the pressure of not knowing.

Image via Getty

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Fifth-year big man, Ed Davis, hopes to be part of the team’s turnaround and has shown consistency under coach Bryon Scott when given consistent playing time.

Davis’ minutes have taken a hit as the season draws to a close and at a time where he could be showcasing himself to potential suitors in free agency this summer. While there has to be some frustration, he has remained professional in just being ready when his name is called.

He plans to decline his $1 million player option for next season for a more secure deal that should see him net a nice pay raise. He has publicly expressed his desire to remain in purple and gold, but with the Lakers hoping to lure top talent, as Kobe Bryant prepares for his swan song, Davis could be doing the dirty work for another team next season.

SLAM caught up with Davis to discuss what’s been a hectic year, but also one where he’s continued to learn and progress.

SLAM: When the Lakers signed you before the start of the season, you had to look at the roster and think that you guys could make a little bit of noise. What were your expectations?

ED: I knew it was going to be an old team with some veteran leadership. At the time, when I signed, we didn’t have a coach. I knew once we got a coach in here and set up that I would have an opportunity to be able to play, help contribute and just try and pick up from where I left off before I was traded from Toronto. I just wanted to show teams that I could play and I’m not a guy that’s going to be at the end of the bench his whole career.

SLAM: Toronto drafted you 13th in 2010. They traded you at a time when it seemed like you guys were just on the cusp of establishing who you were as players and you were a tight-knit group. What was that transition like to be traded as you’re starting to have things figured out?

ED: It was tough. I developed a lot of relationships in Toronto. I was there for two and a half years and they were the team that drafted me. At that time, I was probably playing the best basketball since I entered the League. So I was enjoying that. We had started to win some games, we started thinking alike and then out the blue, I get traded.

I woke up and went to shootaround and everything that day. So I had no clue until they told me I was traded. Knowing I was going to Memphis and playing behind Marc (Gasol) and Z-Bo (Zach Randolph), I knew it was going to be tough. But I was all for going to the Playoffs and winning. But it just wasn’t a good situation to develop and just grow as a player. It was tough on me, coming into that circumstance, where their lineup was pretty much set and it’s hard for me to break the rotation.

SLAM: Even with the opportunities being limited in Memphis, you went to a veteran team with two All-Star big men. What were some of the things you picked up in your short time there?

ED: I learned a lot. Tayshaun Prince showed me the ropes on just being professional and just thinking the game through. If I was going through something, I could always call him or shoot him a text. I had a good relationship with T.A. (Tony Allen). We stayed right behind each other. He just always kept my spirits high and made sure I was just always focused.

With Marc and Z, I just learned form just watching them everyday in practice with the things that they do best. Watching Z-Bo in the games and how he’s so efficient around the basket without jumping. I really studied Marc a lot on the defensive end, just how he’s always in the right place at the right time, how he reads things and sees the game.

SLAM: Were there any serious adjustments you had to make off the court in coming to such a big market?

ED: I’m pretty much a low-key guy. So I didn’t have to adjust to preventing myself from trying to go out or staying out and partying and things like that. The only thing I had to adjust to is the traffic, man. Honestly, it’s all basketball with me and wherever I’m at, whether it’s a big or small market, the basketball is my thing.

SLAM: Even with the injuries this season, you still had a chance to be around guys like Kobe, Steve Nash, Carlos Boozer. That’s a lot of experience and longevity between those three alone. Has there been anything you taken from anyone of them that you can use going forward for the remainder of your career?

ED: Once I signed—maybe a week or two after that—we started to work out with Kobe in Orange County. You hear the stories, but to see it up close with how hard he works out being 19 years in., getting in early. This is late July, early August with how hard he’s going and putting his body through these tough workouts.

He was beating me up and down the floor in sprints. I’m in my fifth year and he’s in his 19th. His mentality and drive is something that really woke me up.

SLAM: It’s the final two weeks of the season and your playing time has been cut at a time where I’m sure you would like to be out proving your worth headed into free agency. How have you remained positive with what could be at stake for you?

ED: Just from early in the season, I got the opportunity. From all the ups and downs, us trying different things out; I was just like, I’m going to stay professional, be ready whenever my number is called and however it goes, it goes. I’ve been in worse situations than this. I look back at my past and I’m thankful that I went through those things because it made situations like this that much easier.

You want to be on the court, but at the same time, we’re going through a developmental stage. So we have to get certain guys playing time and experience. If I wouldn’t have gone through what I’ve been through, I don’t know how I would have reacted.

SLAM: Even with the losses, injuries and the scrutiny of being a Laker, what positives can you take from a year like this?

ED: I definitely made a lot of relationships with a lot of guys on the team. I reconnected with Wayne (Ellington). Sometimes you have to take the good from the bad. Even though we’ve gone through a struggling year, guys on this team got better, grew as players and gave Coach Scott a look into the future with how we’re going to play. Even though it didn’t go as we planned, we dealt with a lot of adversity. From Day One, with Steve going down, Julis (Randle), Kobe, Wayne—J-Hill missed some time. So we dealt with a lot this year.

SLAM: Speaking of positivity, I have to ask you is there a favorite Nick Young moment for you?

ED: Favorite Nick Young story… [Laughs] That’s a good one right there. Let me think about that. Give me a second…. I don’t have one off the top, but he’s a different dude. He’s a funny dude, but he’s a different dude, man.

That’s one thing that I can say about him is he’s always positive. Even with everything that’s going on around him, he always came to practice everyday with a smile on his face, upbeat and never was down, no matter what. Whether he was playing good or struggling, he’s always the same.

SLAM: Off topic here, but I heard you’re something like a car aficionado. A lot of guys buy nice cars, but I hear you know your vehicles. Where did that love come from?

ED: My dad was into cars when he played in the league and I guess that’s what made me get into them. I just always had a love for cars, all different types. I would never buy like a two-door sports car, but I like them. I’m more of a four-door luxury guy. That’s always been one of my hobbies, looking at cars and test driving cars.

SLAM: Dope. What are you currently driving?

ED: I have the Bentley Flying Spur. That’s what I’m driving right now and I have an Escalade.

SLAM: What would be the ultimate car for you?

ED: It would probably be the Phantom Drophead Coupe and I would leave it as is. White on white.

I also heard you’re a big restaurant guy. L.A. has a lot of great places, but what would you say is your favorite so far?

ED: It’s a burrito place inside the farmer’s market at The Grove. That’s the best place I’ve had in L.A. It’s something that you would never know to go there. It’s not a fancy spot. It’s like a little whole in the wall, but if I can have one meal in L.A., it would definitely be from there.

SLAM: It’s going to be a busy summer for you, in terms of the business side of the game. As far as your game is concerned, what do you plan on working on to add to your game?

ED: My jumpshot. I’m going to take two weeks off and then I’m back at it. I still want my game to be the same, but just adding that to give me other options. I want to be able to pick and pop and knock down that 15-17 footer on a consistent basis.

Images via Getty

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With all the other-worldly skills of those athletes, there was previously no connection to the city that will always know Jordan as its own: Chicago.

That all changed on June 26, just hours before the NBA Draft, when Jordan Brand announced the signing of Jabari Parker, who would go on to be selected by the Milwaukee Bucks, a team just 90 minutes down the road from his hometown of Chicago.

Along with his on-court pedigree—Parker was a four-time state champion at Simeon, two-time Mr. Basketball of Illinois, and averaged 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds while shooting 47.3 percent from the field in his one lone season at Duke—Parker brings a humble and selfless personality the Jordan Brand has had on its radar for quite some time.

Even with his quiet demeanor, Parker has the attitude and hunger to be one of the game’s next household names.

“It’s been a lot of second-pick busts and I’m just trying not to be that [next] bust,” Parker said. “So everyday that I step on the court, just remind myself that I have a long way to go. I want to be one of those guys on the front tier in the NBA, like LeBron, KD and Blake. I just have to have that mentality from the [start].”

The folks at Jordan Brand have also kept a vested eye on the violence amongst the youth of Chicago. Jordan Brand President Larry Miller said Parker’s signing comes at a good time because he can give insight as Jordan plans to find ways to get involved, address the issues and help be part of a solution. Parker would no doubt be one of the central figures if any Jordan strategy towards a solution in his hometown comes to fruition.

SLAM caught up with Miller recently to discuss what made Parker such a good fit for Jordan.

SLAM: What were some of the things you guys saw in Jabari that made you want him representing the brand?

Larry Miller: It’s what he was able to do on the basketball court. We know he has great basketball skills and has the talent to be able to be a great player in the NBA. But also, we like to look at who a player is off the court. Jabari clearly fits what we’re looking for, in terms of his character, his family life, his connection to his community. All of those things kind of came together, and Jabari is what we feel is a perfect fit for the Jordan Brand. And it just so happens that he’s from Chicago, which is a focus for us. It really kind of came together.

He got a chance to meet with Michael, and he was instantly, “This is a kid that should be a part of us.” When we sat down and talked about the (NBA) Draft and what players were coming into the Draft, Jabari was at the top of all of our lists, including Michael’s.

SLAM: What’s that brainstorming process like, in scouting what players you’re going to go after?

LM: We sit, talk about it and look at all the players—again, who they are on the court, but who they are off the court. MJ was really excited about Jabari from the beginning, and he was like, “That’s who we have to go after.” And we all agreed.

SLAM: With that process, you get a feel for the player and a bit of an understanding of their makeup. Did meeting with Jabari in Portland do anything to further strengthen all of your beliefs in who you were getting to represent the brand?

LM: It did. He and his family came to Portland to meet with us, and we were all just blown away. Not just by him, but his family and how they work together and support each other. We had an idea of who he was. When he came out and spent time with us, it just confirmed for us who we thought he was.

SLAM: It’s still early and there’s a lot of basketball to be played, but is there any sort of strategy with him as far as playing in Milwaukee, but having the Chicago connection and wanting to remain visible here?

LM: We’re going to let him develop and play his game. We’ll be there to support him, provide him with the best product we can possibly provide him with and just let his game evolve. We don’t want to put pressure on him. We want him to not feel like he’s pressured to do a whole bunch. Go out there and play and do what you need to do on the basketball court, and let us take care of the rest.

Photo via Getty Images

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While Bulls’ fans, along with everyone else, waited on The Return that never came, Robinson gave those in the city a reason to keep coming to games and tuning in. You never knew what he was going to do, but you could be sure no matter what it was, he was going to go all out in doing so, and the energy he brought was contagious for a time that otherwise had little to no spark.

His best game for the team he grew up watching was easily the historic 34-point performance in a triple-overtime Game 4 win over the Brooklyn Nets during the first round of the 2013 Playoffs. Robinson’s 23 points in the fourth quarter were second only to Michael Jordan in a Bulls’ playoff game, and his 34 set a franchise post-season record for a reserve. Oh yeah, he did all of this in 29 minutes.

With the way the city embraced him on and off the court, and his play proving he could be an integral part on a team with championship hopes, Robinson was hopeful that Chicago would be a place he would be for a long time. But it wasn’t to be, as the Bulls never made him an offer that summer, and he had to wait a long time before the Denver Nuggets signed him to a two-year deal.

In checking into Monday night’s pre-season game between the Nuggets and Bulls in Chicago, Robinson received a loud and meaningful ovation. He saluted the crowd and said it was hard not to notice all the “We miss you Nate” signs inside of the United Center. On just the next play after checking in, he nailed a 35-foot, desperation fallaway as the shot clock was expiring—the ball finding nothing but net and drawing a joyful WTF reaction from everyone in attendance.

Robinson is still playing his way back into shape, recovering from knee surgery in to repair a torn left ACL he suffered in late January.

SLAM caught up with Robinson—aka Uncle Lights, which is his character from the Pepsi Uncle Drew series and the name tag displayed on top of his locker—to talk the love from Chicago, his rehab and Nate’s Wings and Waffles.

SLAM: Reception from United Center fans when you checked in?

Nate Robinson: It [gave] me chills, man, just a flashback of that season I had here—it was awesome. The fans still show a lot of love. That’s just how Chicago does. They know how to treat their players. I really appreciated it and I’m honored. I have a special place in my heart for Chicago. I don’t know what it is about it. [That 2012-13 season] was probably the best season I’ve had in my career. It was very memorable.

SLAM: The torn left ACL (suffered on January 29) was your first significant injury of your career. How has the rehab process been for you?

NR: I still gotta lot of work to do. I haven’t played in seven months—a lot of rust, coverages that I missed, boxing out and all the little things. I have to go back to the drawing board and get that swagger back. But I’m right around the corner. I’m real excited. I’m happy with how my surgery went, how my rehab turned out, and I’m just looking forward to playing and getting better and better every day.

SLAM: With how much you love the game and hate being idle, how was not being able to play and re-learning basic things to be able to get back to this point?

NR: I know exactly what D-Rose felt like. It was tough, just the mental part, knowing that you have to do the same thing every day to strengthen your knee during the rehab process. You can’t really run, you’re getting shots up but after awhile—to keep it 100—it gets boring. But you can never get bored with success, being successful and getting your knee back to where you feel comfortable with playing. I really just took my time and just attacked it in a way where—now that I’m back, and I can still play at a high level—it just feels great.

SLAM: For Derrick, the time off did allow him to spend a lot of time with his son. You have three children, who are older and more aware of what’s going on with what you do. How did having them around help with those tedious days of rehab?

NR: I didn’t start running until…I want to say August. That’s when I really started to do my running and being active with my kids, taking them to the park, chasing them. My daughter would say, “Daddy, you’re slow. I can beat you now.” She’s my princess, so she gets away with that. It was just a challenge [at first], knowing that my kids are there supporting me, being patient in knowing that dad can’t jump on the trampoline, can’t really get out and run and do things like that. But they were patient and really helped me get through the process with them just being kids and me supporting them—taking them to my workouts and letting them see how hard daddy has to work to get back in shape. They took a liking to that, my sons wake up every morning, they give me pushups, situps and do their squats and all of that. So, I kind of trained them to do exactly what I do every day, and it’s showing off because in football, they do their thing. So that’s pretty cool—me being pops and being there for my children, that’s definitely a blessing, and it helped me out a lot with my knee.

SLAM: You opened Nate’s Wings and Waffles last month in your hometown. Where did the interest come from to open a restaurant?

NR: I’ve been a fan of Roscoe’s for so long. I just really wanted to bring something to Seattle that nobody had, and I wanted to do my own thing. So I came up with Nate’s Wings and Waffles, and it’s a pretty big success right now with the way it’s moving. It’s just something I wanted to keep there for my friends and family back home. They really show a lot of love, people go in all the time. It’s right by my high school, and down the street from where I grew up. It just makes me feel right at home by doing that and making people happy in a whole other way besides just playing basketball. It’s just great. A lot of my fans in Chicago say they want one here, so that might be coming up next.

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Upon his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, Gasol helped improve the fortunes of the Lake Show immediately. He was critical in helping deliver two Championships to the franchise, as his prolific post and passing skills were finally on full display for a national audience.

Those accomplishments, along with teaming up with one of the game’s greatest warriors in Kobe Bryant, and being coached by arguably the greatest coach the League has seen in Phil Jackson, should be the memories Gasol holds onto when he thinks back to his time in L.A.

It’s those memories that will hopefully shine brighter than when he recalls the frustrations of his final seasons in purple and gold.

The frustrations were many. There were the ever-present trade rumors, the trade that former NBA commissioner David Stern voided that would have sent Gasol to Houston and Chris Paul to the Lakers. There was the unsuccessful pairing with Dwight Howard in former Lakers’ coach Mike D’Antoni’s perimeter-orientated offense, as well as the public struggles with fitting into that system, which did little to take advantage of Gasol’s skills in the post.

During this time, Gasol put on some additional weight, which probably only aided in the several injuries he suffered the past few seasons. The excess weight and injuries hindered the fluidness of his footwork on the low-block and the grace in which his game was built on.

Those watching the Spaniard the past few seasons could see a player trying to make the most out of a situation he had grown extremely uncomfortable in. Despite his apparent unhappiness, injuries, and time in D’Antoni’s system, he still managed to average 17.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 31.4 minutes last season.

When he became a free agent this summer, although he loved L.A., he wanted to play for a team that could contend for a title, and valued his game. Gasol’s instincts led him to turn down more lucrative offers on the table and sign with the Chicago Bulls.

Even with both the Lakers and Bulls focusing much of their time in free agency on Carmelo Anthony, Chicago and Gasol had been linked together numerous times over the years in trade rumors. A meeting between the two sides, along with Joakim Noah, and a phone conversation with Derrick Rose; was enough to make Gasol feel wanted and see that he could be a key piece in the Bulls realizing their title aspirations.

His presence adds depth and makes for one of the most formidable frontlines in the League, in joining Noah and Taj Gibson.

Fully healthy, some pounds lighter, Gasol served reminder of why he’s still one of the game’s best power forwards during the FIBA World Cup of Basketball. He averaged 20 points in 26.6 minutes on 63.5 percent shooting and added 5.9 rebounds for Spain.

More importantly than those numbers was the way he collected them.

It was the way he moved and ran the floor, how active he was on the defensive end. In dominating both inside and out, he looked more like the player that helped the Lakers win those back-to-back titles in ’09 and 2010, rather then the player that seemed to be worn down by circumstances the last two seasons.

Even with leading Team USA to Gold, Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose couldn’t help but to take notice of Gasol’s play.

“I think he’s proving a lot of people wrong,” Rose said. “His touch around the rim is crazy. He should be able to get eight to 10 points from me just driving and dishing him the ball. I think that I’m going to get a lot more assists this year because of that.”

“His defense, his rebounding, his passing, his scoring—all those things have been very, very good,” Thibodeau said. “I love the way he is moving. He looks like he’s completely healthy. He’s rejuvenated.”

If Rose returns to form, along with the new dimension that Gasol gives the Bulls on offense; with their coaching, depth, collective experience, tenacity and will, it’s not a stretch to consider them definite favorites over the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference—health permitting, of course.

Besides the cold weather, Gasol will still enjoy many of the off-the-court hobbies that he did in Los Angeles. With a profound interest in medicine, during his introductory Bulls press conference, he said he planned on integrating himself with doctors and hospitals in the medical district around the United Center.

One of Gasol’s fondest memories as a youth was watching Michael Jordan and Dream Team from his home in Spain. He now gets to fortify the remainder of professional career in the house that Mike built.

The frustrations he endured during the end of his time in Los Angeles are now in the rearview. It’s on Pau to help construct how the newest chapter in his career will be remembered.

Rankings are based on expected contribution in ’14-15—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

The post #SLAMTop50: Pau Gasol, no. 41 appeared first on SLAM.

Vince Carter and Nike Shox. Nike Shox and Vince Carter. You can’t mention one without immediately thinking of the other.

Shox technology in Nike Basketball footwear—specifically the Shox BB4—and Vince Carter will forever be linked in history as their convergence culminated in what’s still known to this day as the greatest dunk ever.

In 2000, before a head-full-of-hair VC interrupted what was to be a transition opportunity for the French national team and forever shamed Frederic Weis, Shox technology was already a 20-year-old concept that used a revolutionary cushioning system to return energy upon the impact of the foot.

Like any basketball shoe featuring a space-aged advancement, the BB4 needed that player capable of taking it to the heights its rocket and booster-like appearance were created to explore.

Enter Vincent Carter.

“At that point, the Jordan era was over and here comes Carter dunking, abusing and embarrassing people every night with a variety of dunks,” says Chuck Swirsky, who now does play-by-play on the radio for the Chicago Bulls but was the TV p-b-p voice of the Toronto Raptors during VC’s prime. “It was every night, not every fourth night, to the point where he put basketball on the map [in] not only Toronto but Canada.”

Even though he played up in the then-basketball barren Great North and was only 23, the decision to send Carter to the Sydney Olympics was an easy one. After all, in ’99 he was named Rookie of the Year, and in February of 2000, VC put on a brilliant performance in the Dunk Contest. It made sense then that, in March of that year, when an injured Tom Gugliotta had to pull out of the Olympics, the fan-favorite Carter became the final member of Team USA.

Before departing to Sydney for the Games, after spending the NBA season as a sneaker free-agent because of a disagreement with previous sponsor Puma, Carter signed a multi-year deal with Nike. The timing would work out well for both parties, as Nike used VC to introduce the world to the brand’s Shox technology and VC used the Olympics to springboard to iconic status.

Aside from Carter, numerous other members of Team USA—namely Allan Houston, Antonio McDyess, Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim—rocked the BB4 throughout the Game. Let’s be honest, though: While it benefitted the BB4 to be on the feet of multiple players on the international stage, it was VC who helped make it so popular.

In the Games, Carter (inducted into this same HOF back in 2012) led the USA in scoring—and in highlights. Despite winning the Gold as a team, the defining moment of the US’ voyage was Carter’s elevation over Weis.

Le dunk de la mort, as the French termed it, isn’t just one of the best displays of insane verticality and blatant disregard for a 7-footer. It’s the lightning-in-a-bottle moment, where a budding performer executed an iconic feat at the right time on an international stage—while wearing the right shoe.

On the heels of the 2000 Olympics, the minds at Nike and Wieden+Kennedy quickly launched the “Boing” campaigns. That series of commercials featured Carter launching over a trash-talking Gary Payton and a jumbo-helmet-wearing football player, all while the sound of the spring-like Shox warned of Carter’s imminent acceleration and elevation toward the basket.

Truth is, after the Olympic showout, there probably wasn’t even a need for a commercial spot. The memorable ads only aided the buzz, though, as hoopers everywhere rushed to their nearest mall to grab a pair. They might not have gone to buy the BB4s, but minimally they went to see if you really boinged around in them. And for those truly caught up in the craze, you tried creating your own dunk-of-death moment at an open run.

Over the course of the next couple of years, Shox would continue to be a Nike/Carter fixture, both on the hardwood and on the commercial airwaves, as a total of five signatures were launched.

When it comes to the current Carter, both the Shox and nightly appearances on ESPN are long gone. Every now and then, though, the 37-year-old will serve notice to anyone who dares get in between him and the rim, just to remind us all that there’s still something left in the tank.

Still, there will never be another moment like the one in Sydney, where things came together so perfectly for all involved, minus Weis.

For that reason alone, the BB4 is an obvious choice for the HOF.

Catch up on the entire KICKS Hall of Fame here.

The post Boing Dynasty appeared first on SLAM.

It’s not just a story that warrants its own documentary, but one that keeps the 21-year-old forever humbled and grounded; no matter how high the trajectory of his career climbs.

With those attributes, a deep love for his hometown of Chicago, giving back and doing his part to promote positivity—for a city that can use as much as necessary—is as easy for Davis as a help-side rejection.

In what’s been, and will continue to be, a busy summer for Davis, he was in Chicago this past weekend for Red Bull’s first ever Red Bull Reign Three-on-Three Tournament.

The tournament took place at Chicago’s Seward Park and featured 32 teams and 128 players; most with collegiate and professional experience on their resumes, and each competing for a first-class trip to Las Vegas for a chance to watch the USA Basketball Men’s National Team, in addition to qualification for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Masters in Chicago this August.

The tournament brought out nearly 2,500 spectators, some staying throughout the duration of the 10-hour day to get their hoops fix and cheer on local ballers.

Davis sat down with SLAM to discuss hoops, why giving back comes easy and competing for a spot on the US National Team that will be traveling to Spain next month for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

SLAM: If you had to construct your three-on-three squad, with one sub, to go to battle with, who would you select? Also, to make it interesting, you only can select players from Chicago.

Anthony Davis: Hmmmmm. Me, Isiah Thomas, D-Wade and I got to go with the young fella, Jabari [Parker].

SLAM: I know you followed Jabari some while he was at Duke. What are your thoughts on what you saw from him in Summer League play?

AD: He’s great. He can score the ball, going to be great in Milwaukee. He’ll help get some more wins there and I’m just happy for him. He’s another Chicago guy that made it to the NBA. So it’s all love for the Chicago guys.

SLAM: Do you still follow your hometown Chicago Bulls?

AD: No. Nah.

SLAM: What? So there’s no opinion on the moves they made this offseason?

AD: Not really.

SLAM: As far as what the Pelicans have done in adding Omer Asik, another rim protector and a guy that will allow you to play more power forward. Your thoughts on that move.

AD: That was a good pickup for us. Gives us another big and I can get away from the rim and work on my game at the 4 and we still have that rim-protector. It will allow me to get out [on the break] and run more and do a lot more stuff that I’ve been working on. That was a good move and I think it was a good pickup for us to take that next step.

SLAM: You have a pretty versatile all-around game that you don’t even have to display on a nightly basis with the pieces you have in New Orleans. What are some of the aspects of your game you went into this summer saying you wanted to work on?

AD: Ball-handling and three-pointers. I just wanted to work on everything really. There’s never one thing that I don’t want to work on. I just want to be a better all-around player, so whatever that requires me to do and whatever the team needs, that’s what I want to try to work on.

SLAM: In just talking to people close to you and that have played with you, they always talk about how we’re only just seeing half of what you’re capable of, which is scary for the rest of the League.

AD: I know there’s a lot more stuff that I can do, but sometimes there’s no need to do it. I don’t need to bring the ball up, or shoot threes. There are just some things I don’t need to do. But, just in case I have to do it one time, I’m going to make sure that aspect of my game is right.

SLAM: You were second in the running for the NBA Community Assist Award (Golden State’s Steph Curry won), you’re at the forefront of the Red Bull Reign Tournament and also the World Basketball Festival next month, which is also in your hometown. Just what does that mean to you and how important do you take that?

AD: Just not [at the forefront] of just those two events, but everything. I want to make sure that I’m that guy because I love giving back, especially with [the Red Bull Reign Tournament] and the WBF. It’s in Chicago, my hometown. I definitely wanted to be the guy for the two events and it’s just good to give back. When you have great things, I think you have that responsibility and that’s giving back to guys who essentially can’t do the things that you can do, and that’s what I try to do.

SLAM: Was that mentality instilled in you because a lot of times, it’s definitely tougher to have a consistent impact, even with you being from Chicago, you’re still away for a long time and there’s a lot of guys who want to do the right things. They just aren’t around.

AD: It’s not that hard. That’s what you have friends and family for, to host and set things up; let your family run things. Coat drives, back-to-school giveaways. You don’t necessarily have to be there, but by them knowing you donated things to help put them on a better path, it’s always good. So it’s never hard.

SLAM: The Team USA minicamp is begins Monday. How excited are you for that?

AD: I can’t wait to get down there and start working. It’s a lot of great basketball players and we’re going to be doing a lot of great things this summer. I’m excited.

SLAM: You left out one Chicago guy on your three-on-three roster, but I can never argue against Isiah. Even though you two have never played against one another, are you looking forward to competing against Derrick Rose?

AD: I never played against him because of the injuries, but I’m excited to play alongside him and against him. It’s going to be fun. He can score the ball and he’s a great piece for [Team USA] and him being a Chicago guy is also good. Most guys, when they get hurt, they get real down. But he has that toughness to come back and be the same. That’s big and I’m just excited to play alongside him.

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The three-on-three format is sure to test player’s mental and physical limit as they battle the outdoor elements as well as each other for a chance at competing in the championship game.

Hailing from the Southside of Chicago, Billy Rush’s career has been characterized by battling and staying the course, which should only aide in his pursuit to add to his growing reputation in the city.

After finishing high school at Thornridge (Dolton, IL), Rush would go on to transfer from two junior colleges before averaging 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds as a senior at Robert Morris (Chicago) in 2010, while shooting 40.1 percent from three-point range.

After going undrafted, he had the opportunity to work out for his hometown Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks liked what they saw enough to invite him to training camp. After not being picked up, he was allocated to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, where he would be waived just a few days later.

The Tulsa 66ers claimed Rush from the player pool in April of 2011 and even started 13 of the 14 games he played in, but was waived in January of 2012.

Rush would see the next season’s D-League draft go by without his name being called, despite a promise from his agent that two teams were interested in selecting him. He would receive a call in December from a team in Pro A Germany. He would play last year for a different club in the same league and while he was a long ways away from home, he relished the opportunity to be playing the game he love for a living.

While he is waiting on the next phone call that will embark he and his family on their next journey, Rush’s participation in Saturday’s tournament is simply another chance to compete and continue proving himself.

SLAM caught up with Rush to discuss his career and what he expects in Saturday’s tournament.

Team: No Days Off
– Billy Rush
– Geremie Allison
– Brandon Dagans

SLAM: Coming up on the Southside, where were some of the places you played growing up and that you play at currently?

Billy Rush: As a kid, I didn’t go too far. It was two outdoor parks and one indoor park. We had the Dolton Recreational Center, (John W.) Needles Park, where I did the other Red Bull tournament, and there’s the Greenwood Court. I would always play out there as a kid. I just pretty much stayed local. Even when I got a car, I didn’t really start knowing a lot of people in the basketball world, in the city of Chicago until I got in college. Besides the pro-ams, I would always do the Summer League. Right now, we have the Chi-League going on. Once I pretty much made a name for myself, I was able to get in that and I’ve been doing that every summer since. If you can get in that, that’s big throughout the city.

SLAM: How was your experience playing abroad?

BR: It’s an adjustment. I can definitely say it’s not for everybody. Over there, in a different country for so long, there’s so many things you have to adjust to, but that’s one of the things that I did enjoy about it. Learning new things about how other people live and it was some things I took from Germany that I wish we could have in the US, as far as the cleanliness and little ways of how they live.

They have no crime. I’m from Chicago and I’m sure everyone hears what people say about Chicago nowadays. People can’t even have guns out there. It’s almost like no worries out there. It’s just people living their lives, they’re healthy out there. There’s a big difference in the food. It’s so many things I took from it and that’s some of the things I enjoyed about playing over there.

The other thing is just how into the game the fans are. It’s something that you’ll probably never see. You see it in the US, as far as the college atmosphere but I don’t even think that can compare. Fans are chanting, beating on drums and all kind of things. They’re so into the game it’s unbelievable.

SLAM: With all the waiting you’ve done in your professional career, what are some of the things that have kept you motivated to keep at it when most would have given up?

BR: First off, my faith in God. It’s been told to me before and I’ve instilled it within myself that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Just my faith, my family. They’ve always believed in me, kept me going because there were times where I wanted to give up, with just the constant waiting and being patient. My wife has always been here supporting me. I have a little guy who’s 5 and I know I can’t let him down. My mother and my whole family. They’ve always believed in me and always been praying for me. They’ve kept me grounded and my head on straight and that’s the biggest part of my career.

SLAM: How would you describe your game?

BR: I would say I’m an all-around player. I bring everything to the table. I always say, Don’t be one dimensional. Back in high school, I was just labeled as a shooter. I used to stand in the corner and shoot. That’s what the coach brought me up to do because I went from a sophomore to being on varsity and I was a little nervous. I didn’t know too much and didn’t want to do too much to go back down a level. Over my career, I’ve learned to just balance my game, be more of a defender, rebounding, being a hustle guy, a motivator, lifting up guys when they are down. I just try to do a little bit of everything.

SLAM: Experience with Red Bull?

BR: It’s been great. Just competing with guys that I haven’t even seen in the city and seeing other guys’ games, and just competing. It’s always fun to compete. To be a part of Red Bull, as big as it is. They’ve always done events with every sport that’s out there. To just be a part of that has been an amazing experience.

SLAM: Some will see your resume and ask why you are competing in the Reign tournament. What would you tell those people?

BR: It’s another opportunity to compete. I love the game and any opportunity to do something big, I’m going to be there. So regardless of what’s on my resume, on someone else’s resume—it can be NBA guys or guys that’s never played—we out there competing and it’s definitely going to be a competition with the rules and how we have to play and win. It’s conditioning and I feel like I got the upper hand there because I’m constantly working out and just ready to compete.

SLAM: How did you go about selecting teammates for the tournament?

BR: I had some guys in mind. They’re a little bit older, so now they’re thing is, if there’s not money, they didn’t want to do it. I had to go searching for guys and one dropped on me (on Monday) because he thought the tournament was on August 1. I know I have three for sure. So if we have to push it through the whole day, that’s what we have to do. We’ll be drinking a lot of Red Bull, I guess [laughs].

SLAM: What do you think helps give your team an advantage in a three-on-three setting?

BR: I thought about if we should go with a guard, a wing and a big and just how we could go about matchups. But with me being like a small forward, I would play the big and having two guards. You can help [on defense], but I feel like I can guard a big one-on-one, so I wouldn’t need much help depending on how big the guy is. Just having the quickness, I feel that’s going to be to our advantage. I felt like the quickness would help more so than size because I feel bigs would get tired after a while, with the layout of the tournament and how many games you have to play. I decided to go with me as the big and two other guards.

Previously:
Red Bull Reign Team Spotlight: Heart Squad

The post Red Bull Reign Team Spotlight: No Days Off appeared first on SLAM.

While each participant will bring his own individual talent to the three-on-three showcase, it’s the stories of these players that are just as compelling and deserving of attention as what they will show on the court.

Brian Centella is no stranger to the game of basketball, three-on-three competition or Red Bull tournaments, having competed twice in the Midnight Run and once in the King of the Rock.

Centella will man the Heart Squad, teaming up with players he’s won several three-on-three tournaments with. Their familiarity with each other and the competitive spirit of an underdog makes the Heart Squad a tough matchup for any team hoping to advance to the championship game.

SLAM caught up with Centella to learn more about his hoops journey and his expectations for the Red Bull Reign Tournament.

Team: Heart Squad
– Brian Centella
– Rick Kolve
– Mike Ernst
– Jimmy Ernst

SLAM: Tell us a little bit about your background and your relationship with the game.

Brian Centella: I grew up in Grayslake, IL. I went to Grayslake High School, had a real nice high school playing career. I ended up playing at Loras College (IA). It’s a Division III school. I had a real nice career there, basically started all four years. Multiple all-conference, all-region, scored over a thousand points, like eighth all-time in school history in assists. We were two-time conference champs while I was there, played in the Division III NCAA tournament twice.

After college, I basically kept playing. I had to go back for my fifth year to do my student teaching. I was coaching there and I just kept playing. I’ve been working and everything, but basketball has just stayed a really important part of my life. I played in a bunch of really good leagues in and around Chicago. I’ve played on some semi-pro teams in the IBA and BBL. I played on a couple of teams sponsored by Red Bull, the Midnight Run, individual tournaments like the Red Bull King of the Rock—I won the Chicago Red Bull King of the Rock Tournament a couple of years ago.

I still coach basketball. I still obviously play a lot. It’s been a huge part of my life and kind of helps define who I am as a person.

SLAM: How was your experience in the Midnight Run and how did you start hearing about the Red Bull-sponsored tournaments?

BC: I participated in it twice; this past year and two years ago when they first had it. I kind of heard about it just through people. I had participated in another Red Bull event, the Red Bull King of the Rock. I won the Chicago one, so I got reached out to by people and got asked about my interest in the Midnight Run. It was a huge tryout. They had like 100 guys from the city. I tried out, made the first cut when they cut it down to 35 guys. I came back, made the second cut and made the team.

We went out to Brooklyn and my first year playing, we won the tournament out there. This year, the same thing. I tried out and made the team. The tryout is usually in the summer and the tournament is in the winter at the Barclays Center. In between that time period, I fractured my foot. So when I went out there this winter, I wasn’t ready yet. It had been seven weeks since I had fractured it. I was just cleared to start running around. I kind of pushed it and I probably wasn’t ready. Since then, I had to get surgery on my ankle. I’m just coming back, just gaining strength in it and getting it 100 percent. So I’m really excited about this Red Bull tournament. It’s going to be my first big event since I had surgery on my ankle. So I couldn’t be more excited to play in it.

SLAM: Where are some of the places you currently hoop at?

BC: Right this second, I’m in a league at Gordon Tech High School at what’s called Broadway Armory. It’s a really competitive men’s league, a lot of former college players. I’ve been playing in that as a way to get back in shape, get my legs under me. I’ve also been doing a lot of workouts at the high school that I teach at, just individual workouts, getting shots up with some of my players and other guys that like to play. There’s a couple of college kids that come in and work out with us and we just try to get better. Prior to the ankle surgery, I played a season for the Lake County Stars of the IBA. I just try to play wherever, anywhere the best pickup was. Any leagues where I know there’s good competition is typically where you’re going to find me at.

SLAM: Talk a little about the teammates you’ll be competing with.

BC: It’s a group of guys that I’ve played a ton of three-on-three tournaments with. I think one advantage my team will have is that we play a lot of three-on-three tournaments. The format and the style of play, it’s outside—it’s not going to be new to us, where I feel there may be some teams that aren’t used to that style of play. I’ve probably played in and won 20 [three-on-three] tournaments with these guys.

SLAM: Challenges of three-on-three?

BC: It’s still basketball, but there are a lot of differences. The halfcourt game changes things. The physicality increases, being outside changes things. One thing that always kind of helps my team is we’re all similar size. We have a lot of power guards that allow us to switch almost every screen, which is an advantage. What you’ll see in three-on-three is trying to create mismatches. If a small guard is guarding me, I’m going to try and find my way by the basket, get the ball and score. We do that by causing the team to switch, either by screen and roll, back screen to try and create that mismatch.

Teams struggle to do that against us because we’re all so similar as far as our size and how we defend. Also, the three-on-three style, individually, plays into my hands and compliments my game perfectly. I’m kind of a power guard, 6-3, I’m strong. If you’re a smaller guy trying to guard me, I’m going to post you up. If you’re a bigger guard trying to guard me, I’m going to take you outside, shoot or shake you up off the dribble and get by you. I’m a tough guard in that setting because there’s limited help in the three-on-three game.

SLAM: Expectations for Red Bull Reign?

BC: I think something that gets my team excited is we typically go into these tournaments as not being seen as the favorites. We were Division III players, we’re from the suburbs. So people may see us and not give us the same amount of credit as they would other teams. We’ve been playing enough where most people know us, but there’s still people that may know us, but haven’t played against us and they think, “Oh, maybe they’re overrated.”

Personally, any time I get a chance to play in a tournament like this where you just get to prove yourself, it doesn’t really matter what the prize is to me. It’s just that thrill and excitement of going in there and trying to win the tournament. More often than not, you’re going to find us in the mix at the end of the night. You’re still going to see us; that’s just how it is. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success at all different types of tournaments.

The post Red Bull Reign Team Spotlight: Heart Squad appeared first on SLAM.

The competition will be hosted by Chicago’s very own and Red Bull athlete, New Orleans Pelicans’ power forward Anthony Davis, and will take place at Chicago’s Seward Park.

Seward Park is located in the Near North Community area of Chicago and spans more than seven acres as a place for basketball lovers and all types of active individuals to train for greatness.

Tip off begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 7:30 p.m. A slam dunk contest will take place before the championship game on the main court.

Rules for the tournament are simple: Teams that score the most overall points in the first round will advance and play again later in the day. Davis will present the championship team with its prize at the end of the tournament.

The winning team will also receive a once-in-a-lifetime basketball experience courtesy of Red Bull in Las Vegas in addition to qualification for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Masters in Chicago this August. The winning team from that tournament advances to the World Tour Final in Tokyo, Japan.

Competition is open to the public for those 18 and over and free of admission. There will be 48 teams selected to participate. Those applying will be notified by July 15.

Teams can sign up at redbull.com/reign and you can stay connected to all the news and updates by following @redbullchi and using the hashtag #RBReign.

The post Red Bull Launches ‘Red Bull Reign’ Basketball Tournament in Chicago appeared first on SLAM.