Keeping Football Outside, Travis' Hoop Dreams & Jayson Tatum Goes From Duke to NBA Champion | EP 131
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Do you think an NFL player could play in the NBA? No. It does not work like that. Are there any NFL guys that could train for a year and go play in the NBA? So, listen, I have so many. Don't crush my dreams. I'm 35 and I still got hoop dreams, man.

Welcome back to New Heights, ladies and gentlemen. A wonder show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. We've partnered exclusively with Reese's Cups to bring you this episode with limited interruptions. That's right. This is all Reese's or Reese's, however you want to say it. Yeah, baby. Jason, I finally got my backpack. I'm back in Kansas City. Ha ha.

Nice! Isn't it cool? It's like it's got a bite out of it. I could use a little sugar rush here. Get through this. What do I want to do? What do I want to do? Ooh, I think you get some Reese's Sticks. I ain't had any Reese's Sticks in a minute. I forgot about Reese's Sticks. Get a nice little crunch going. God, those are good. They are good. Listen to this crunch. It's almost...

I forgot about the Reese's sticks. Gosh, I'm so... With a banger right there. A damn go. We're your hosts. I'm Travis Cousins. My big brother, Jason Kelsey, out of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Yeah, baby. Cincinnati Bearcats alum. Shout out to the cats. Subscribe on YouTube, One Tree Plus, wherever you get your podcasts, and follow the show on all social media at New...

Heights show with one S I always forget it and have to read it off to remind myself. That's right. New Heights show with one S don't put two in there. Jason, let the people know what we got coming up. We

We got another incredible episode for you guys. We're going to look at some of the latest NFL news as always. We're also got an update on our March madness brackets. Not going so well. My strategy did not turn out good. Neither did mine. We have an incredible conversation with NBA champion Jason Tatum. That's right. Oh yeah. Going to talk about his time at Duke winning an NBA title and

And he's going to answer some no-dumb questions from all you guys. I thought you were going to bring up his narrow hips, and you never did it. Not one time. I didn't. I was too much of a chicken shit. You always bring up someone's narrow hips, and you just didn't do it. I know. We got sidetracked because the conversation was so great. He was awesome. I got to remember to think about that stuff beforehand. Anyways, before we get to that, it's time for a little bit of that

That's right. NFL news first. Results of the Cap Expert poll. Travis, you said you weren't in on the Cap Expert poll. I said that maybe the fans would appreciate it. You said let's put it to a vote, and we did. That's right. New Heights has voted. 81.5% want the Cap Expert poll. Nice. All right. Well, get ready. Get ready to hear some numbers and...

Here's some nerds. Here we go, boys. Who doesn't love nerds? I mean, I'm in on nerds. I just didn't know everybody else was. That goes to show you, if you're in on it, usually most of the people are in on it.

Maybe not so much, but all right. Who should we have on? We have obviously the two big ones for both of us are Howie and Veach, the two general managers for our respective teams. I think that'd be fun, a Howie and Veach episode. We've already had Howie on, though. We have had Howie on. Well, yes, you didn't talk to him, but we did have him on at the Combine one year. We could go outside of the organizations and go to somebody who is just maybe

Maybe used to work in the NFL or works in the media. Nick Wright threw his hat in the ring on Twitter. Known Kansas City Chief Homer. Fucking love Nick Wright. There's also a guy that used to work with the Eagles that no longer works there that I feel very confident would be a very interesting interview. Nobody knows his name, but...

Yeah. All right. Let's do it. See how many of you guys can follow along with the... A full undergoing of the cap, its inner workings, what these numbers mean, contracts that are made to make it look like a guy's making something, but usually...

I hate to see that. Oh, they just wanted a press release. Got it. Okay. Yep. There we go. We've got a long offseason. Might be fun to do like an NFL Dirty Jobs, like NFL Staffers interviews. What other...

that work in the NFL would be interesting to talk to? I mean, I wouldn't say dirty jobs. We got some fucking, we got some top tier talent in terms of personalities in the Kansas City Chiefs organization. Yeah, my guy, Alan Wright, who's been around for, it feels like a hundred years. I'm pretty sure he was, he's been the equipment manager since like the sixties, I think. I think he was here when they moved to Kansas City. Um,

Yeah, I would love to hear how, especially dealing with sponsors. He's been through it through Reebok and Nike and all these different equipment and how he's seen the helmets progress. That's what I'm saying, dude. If somehow we could get equipment from when he first got into the NFL...

And like you could do it with each piece. You could do it with helmets when he first got in to where they're at now. Shoulder pads to now. I mean, even knee pads. Well, knee pads is probably the one thing that hasn't changed much. Thigh pads have changed a lot. People used to wear hip pads and butt pads. Bring those back. That was the hardest thing to get ready when you were a little kid. Used to annoy me so much. Keeping those hip pads and tail pads in, man. Yeah. Man, they used to be the fucking worst. You had to fucking take the...

rinky-dink belt that you have anyways didn't do a single freaking thing yeah got my guy pistol pete making sure making sure the place is spick and span and everybody's everybody's happy with the vibes pistol people oh he's a custodian janitor yeah what's the what's the jack of all trades jack of all trades he's doing everything keeping everything running smoothly there you go love it love it i think maybe even a trainer episode

I'm all in on the trainer episode. I think the trainers. Give some love to my trainers over there. My man Joe Appella has been winning quite the awards. Oh, yeah. Shout out to Joe. Glove Julie. Let's start off with what the 92 percenters want. And it looks like they want to talk numbers. I'm sure we'll be able to find a way to make it interesting, Trav.

We always do. Neck rolls. That's funny as hell. Yeah, bring back the neck rolls. There's still guys out here that are rocking them for sure. I used to wear a neck roll. Looks way different. Way more inconspicuous now. The badge used to be fucking the size of SUVs. Yeah. All right. Let's keep it moving. Brandon Graham retires on top of the world. There we go, BG.

Congrats on a hell of a fucking career, big guy. Obviously, he retired on Tuesday, and the press conference, very emotional. Listen, I've been talking to BG for a long time, and obviously, he made it known before the season it was going to be his final year. He was playing so good before his tricep injury. I was like, man, is he going to do it again? And he still could. He could definitely still play. He rushed it. He wanted to play in the Super Bowl really bad, ended up re-tearing his tricep in the Super Bowl.

And it just tells you the type of competitor and person he is and just what a pit bull he was for the Philadelphia Eagles for 15 years. And even though he announced before the season, he was going to retire. It's hard to make that announcement official. And I think that that's why you see such an emotional moment out of the guy. And as someone who's been there before, like, you know, you put so much into this game.

the finality of it happening, no matter how much you've thought about it or talked about it is, is intense. And I don't know that there's anybody in my tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles that put more into the game as a player, as a teammate, he loved football. He loved his teammates. You don't play it that long unless you love it, man. It's, it's going to be very, I mean, now Fletch, me, BG, Lane's the only one left. He had this tweet up there. Uh,

Over the weekend. It's a classic. Yeah. Classic lane. But, you know, I think it's just, I don't know that anybody represented what it is to be a Philadelphia Eagle more than Brandon. Like the genuine love to be on the field for your teammates, the energy he brought on a daily basis. Yeah. I was fortunate to see him Monday that week. And I saw him later that week after the announcement and just very happy for him. Very happy for,

for his family, and looking forward to what's next. So shout out to you, BG. Love you, man. I'm sure he'll stick around Philly just like you did, man. I think that's the plan. I think there's obviously some opportunities in media. Wouldn't be surprised if, you know, like Selick and some of the other guys and myself, he sticks around the team and tries to help out where he can. You know, it's just a guy that loves the game and the organization so much. So really happy for him.

Shout out to BG. They got the billboards out. Oh, yeah. You know, Philly's always going to make sure that they get those billboards out there. For the most iconic Brandon Graham. Make sure I snagged a picture of that. Nice. That's not working.

Nice. That's awesome. Philly does it right. They always support the most loyal to the city, and BG was one of them, baby. As he always will be. As he always will be. He ain't going nowhere anytime fast. We know that. Yeah, the Browns tweeted out a look at a proposed new indoor stadium. Okay. How about that, man? The Browns. Everyone's going indoor because of the... What is this thing?

Oh, it's something really stupid out in Brook Park that they're trying to get everybody excited about the stadium no longer being in downtown Cleveland. I just... I don't know why... What it is about me... I don't know what it is about us. We just... We...

I know, listen, I know Kansas City's stadium and everything is not in the city. I just feel like sports towns, it just feels better when it's downtown. It's way better. They just don't want to pay for it, Travis. Or they don't want to cooperate with the city. That's the only reason this is not in downtown Cleveland. And they can make it out, but like space, there's plenty of space and buildings that they can overtake. Like, I'm not trying to hear none of this. So, yeah, looks beautiful. Great rendering. It's going to be fun driving out there. It does look real nice. Yeah.

What about driving downtown? Good for Brook Park. You're driving downtown. Whether you like it or not, downtown is...

An economic driver, even though the city of Cleveland is not quite the economic driver you would like it to be. Listen, I like when stadiums and everything are downtown in the hearts of the cities. I think it's one of the beautiful things that Philly has, and hopefully it remains that way. Yeah, I'm not a fan. I don't know what you want me to say. I don't like it. Yeah. I'll tell you what, though. It doesn't matter how cool it is. I'm not going to like it. This thing looks sweet. I like the old stadium because it's downtown. I'd rather play in a dilapidated stadium than this.

This looks epic. It looks great. It looks like some shit out of Star Wars. It does look pretty cool. It looks like a spaceship. That thing looks awesome. Just do it downtown, Cleveland. We love being around. I think it's already official. It's not going to be downtown. It's unfortunate. It's a proposed $2.4 billion stadium in Brook Park.

Do you at least agree that an indoor stadium is kind of going against, you know, the nature of living up there on the lake? I don't like anything about this. I don't like that it's not downtown. I don't like that it's indoor. Like, I don't like anything about this. And I'm sorry if I'm in – maybe I'm so detached from Cleveland that I'm not in the majority here. I don't know what the majority of Clevelanders want, which is really what is most important. Yeah. All I know is I like –

when the elements play a role in the game. I like when snow is involved. We had an awesome playoff game here at the link this year in the snow against the Rams. That wouldn't have happened with an indoor stadium. I don't like indoor stadiums. I don't care. I'll put a jacket on and go watch football. Do you think that outdoor stadiums should get more looks for Superbowls?

Yeah, I do. I think elements... Do you think a Lambeau should get a Super Bowl, or like how they did it in New York? It'll never happen because it's not a big enough city to handle the business and everything else that happens that week. They did it in Minnesota. Minnesota is a much bigger city than Green Bay, Wisconsin, Travis. Very true. I'll give you that.

We had a Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Did it suck that it was in the cold all week? Yeah, but it's cool going to every city that's around. Now, that was an indoor. It was an experience, man. I liked it. It was a fun experience. You're walking through the tunnels or the catwalks that connect all the buildings.

It was fun. Listen, I'm on record. I like when the elements play a role. I like when the elements play a role in football. I like that that's one of the unique things about the game. I've heard a lot of arguments that it levels the playing field for worse teams. I don't care. I like that it's a different element that you have to deal with. Yeah, everybody. Guess what? If the other team is worse than you, but they're better that day, that's what football is. I don't know what you want. The best team...

that was going to win a series doesn't always happen. That's one of the great things about football. Whoever's better on that day and the elements matter. I don't like indoor stadiums unless you play in the South because the heat fucking sucks. I like snow. I fucking hate the heat. The heat is miserable. It's the worst. I don't like the indoor stadiums and I don't like that it's going to be in Brook Park. There's 0%.

That I like about what's happening in Cleveland right now. Just make it a retractable roof and keep the elements. And then when you want to fucking do a stadium for a live show in December, close the roof. I would be okay with that. If it's retractable, but it's open during games, no matter what. Yeah. And then you can still, because that's a big reason why they make these in like a big reason they do these, especially in quarter climates that you can do year round events in there.

Yeah. So the owners and the NFL make more money off the year round events, which I get. Listen, it's a business. We got to make money. All indoors, regardless, should have the situation that Vegas and Arizona have of the field going in and out. It just it has to be grass.

This turf stuff has to fucking kick rocks, man. I mean, I'm with you on that. All right. Well, at least we agreed on something. So you're a fan of the soap. Do you like the stadium? No. I mean, I think the stadium looks fucking beautiful. I think it is. I think it's very cool. We were kids when they got a new stadium. I don't think that the stadium that they have is outdated. Yeah.

I mean, I guess it's 20 years old? It is older than 20 years. It's almost 30. Yeah, it was built in 97, 98, and then the team came back in 99. Yeah. So it's close to 30 years old. I mean, it's not like, I mean, I don't know what the average age

of an NFL stadium is, but it ain't new. That's for sure. Not anymore. I don't know why I like it when they're downtown. I don't like when the teams play. I'm with you, man. I'm with you. I think it's something that's so cool. It's just something about taking the Rapids all the way downtown, and I'm sure they'll have some sort of way that you could take the Rapids out to Brook Park from everywhere in Cleveland. Yeah, I'm sure. But it's just such a unique feeling going downtown, feeling the excitement of everyone going down to the busiest part of the city.

and that atmosphere that it creates in Cleveland for sure. The entire metropolitan area is Cleveland, right? That's the way we're associated with, right? It's not Brook Park. So going out to play in Brook Park doesn't feel as cool to me. It doesn't feel like it's as much Cleveland. I'm pretty sure municipal. I'm not sure where municipal stadium was. It wasn't Cleveland. But I don't think it was downtown. Yes, it was. Municipal stadium? Yeah, it was downtown. Pretty sure.

All right. Well, you're better than me. I thought it was the NBA team used to play out in Richfield. That's what I'm thinking. The Cavs used to play out and then they moved that downtown. They created the Gateway Sports District in the 90s. And that brought both teams downtown. And that's when the baseball team was thriving. NBA was at its peak. I don't know. Yeah, the Cleveland Municipal Stadium was on the lake. Yeah, there you go. I think it was like right by where the...

First Energy or Huntington Bank is. All right. Well, let's keep it moving. Shout out to Cleveland on the new stadium. Well done, guys. Jason's DEXA scan. What are you over there talking about? What do you got going? Bo Allen reached out and he said, hey, do you want to do a competition on who can lose the most body fat percentage but still gain muscle? I don't know. Bo wants to have some competition. So we agreed to get DEXA scans.

So I got a DEXA scan for the first time. Ah, very fat, I see. It is a lot of fat in there. Yeah, it is. It's kind of embarrassing seeing your body broken down like this. I'm not going to lie. It's a good calf to hamstring ratio, I think. Trav, what do you think my total mass is? I'm not sure what you're even asking me. Weight. What do you think my weight is? Your weight? Your weight is 285.

Close, close. I'm 276.6 according to this scan. My lean mass. You've lost 30 pounds? That's crazy. I've lost 20 pounds. I was never heavier than 300. Well, I did maybe a couple times. I was tip 300 in the NFL. It's all the same. Go ahead. Lean mass, 207 pounds of muscle. I feel like it's pretty good. 276. It's a strong man. It's a strong man right there. 58.7 pounds of fat.

It's a lot of fat. We got to get that down. It's a lot of fat. We got to get that down. According to this metric, it is exactly 21% body fat. That's all I know. 21% of your body is fat. 21.2%.

All right. Yeah. I mean, 270 is your fucking hefty load, dude. Big man. So I get it. I get it. But that's a lot of muscle as well. All right. So what's the point of this? You and Bo just wanted to have a competition? Dude, this is why you're still playing. This is why you're still playing football. Because when you retire, you have to do stupid competitions like this to keep your sanity.

So Bo and I are going to try and lose as much body fat percentage as possible in three months. We have the Ocean Drive event that we do for the Eagles Autism Foundation every year. So what was, do we know Bo, what was Bo's DEXA scan? Where is he at? Bo's at 18 point something. So I'm actually slight advantage. Yeah. Slight advantage for the competition. Yeah. Huh.

He has more to cut. 18% body fat and I think 280 something. So Bo's, Honey Bobo's doing all right. 18 at fucking two. So he weighs more than you, but has less body fat. Well, have you ever seen Bo's ass? Bo's got a big old donk on him. I was about to say, I think he, that's the disadvantage right there. Yeah, Bo, I think his lean mass is like 220. So he's got like roughly 15 pounds of muscle more than me too. Okay, so this is how the competition works. For every percentage lost, we get two points.

Okay? So every percentage of body fat you lose, two points. For every lean mass pound gained, you get a point. So if you get...

muscle on you get a point and if you lose body fat percentage you get two points i don't know why we discern determine this point system if you heard this competition before listen bo was really specific in the way he wanted this judged uh and then he said the loser has to wear a speedo at the ocean drive of it is this just a competition that's what it feels like it feels like bo just wants to wear a speedo

That's what it feels like. He just wants to wear a Speedo at the Ocean Drive. He has less fat to give up. He wants to be like, oh, I have to wear a Speedo. Twist my arm. Oh, no. Jason won. That's hilarious. I feel like we can't let that be the...

that happens if you lose. I think it is. I think it's motivation for you. I think we should open this up. I think it's motivation for you. Oh, yeah, I definitely don't want to wear a Speedo. I'm definitely packing that thing if I have to. I'm packing it with a socks, anything I can fit in there.

If we do lose, I think we should leave it up to the fans on Twitter. Oh, my gosh. To throw out different recommendations about what we should have to do if we lose. And then we'll take it to a poll. And then we'll take it to a poll. All right. To the 92 percenters. If you're open to that, Bo. If you're open to that, Bo.

Well, I don't want to say 92% because Greenlight's involved too. We're going to have to find a way to involve... So the 92% is in Greenlight, yeah. We're going to have to find a way to involve both fan bases in choosing this. Nice. But I think that this could be a lot of fun. A lot of fun. There you go. The guy did say, apparently, you can see how dense your bones are with this thing. He said my head was one of the thickest heads he's ever...

You know, Dexascand. Yeah. I don't know if that's the years of hitting it or if that's just like genetic or both. I think it's all, I might have, I got a fucking dome, but I don't think I'm dense. Oh, I think it's dense. Not much up there. Well, that's because it's packed so tightly. It's hard to get stuff out.

All right. Biggest new news. 92%ers, we're officially launching our new Heights YouTube membership. Hey-oh! That's right. As a member, you'll get access to full episodes, video perks such as footage that never makes it to the feed, which is terrifying for me and Jason to have to hear, and all the bonus videos, badges, and other stuff that will make you...

you stand out that's right um this thursday we're dropping an exclusive combo with aspen.com's athlete of the week that's right jake chad's gee jake you're the athlete of the week what did you do jake that's right yeah he's on the front of sports illustrated here guts and glory hey yep as he's uh jake forgot to tell us that he played for the oakland a's back in the day

and was the guts of the Bay Area there. Jake, I didn't know you were a heavyweight when you were a kid. I was about to say. What's your DEXA scan? Do you get a DEXA scan lately, Jake? A lot of Andrew Gardner in that. Oh, Andrew Gardner, yeah. Chipmunks.

Unpack. Unpack. There it is. Check it out today on New Heights YouTube channel. Subscribe now, 92 Percenters. Unload. Chipmunks, unload. There it is, the unload. Unload Chipmunks on YouTube. Before we get to the Jason Tatum interview, we got some fan mentions we want to give a big shout out to. Thank you to all the 92 Percenters who tag us with all of this beautiful hobby horsing. That's right. Yeah.

Abby Rad Milovich, I believe is how you say it. Not sure how this ended up on my algorithm, but it seems. Check this out. Look at this. This chick is jumping. I mean, this is impressive, Travis. She is straight jumping over hurdles that are taller than her. Yeah. Makes you ask.

How much higher she could jump if she didn't have that fucking silly ass? She could fucking be... You ever just tried high jumping? You can go represent your country and... I think this might be more challenging than high jumping. If we're being honest, I mean... I'm over this, Jason. What? What?

This is more challenging. She's got to do like a whole gate. Look at the frolic. And then she's frolicking into a high jump. There's a lot more form and technique involved in this. I cannot agree to that. But I do think this is the most impressive hobby horsing thing I've seen. The bar is at her neck and she's jumping over it straight. Yeah. Did she invent that technique? Or is this something that's like common in hobby horsing? Yeah.

Gosh, we're going to need Judge Jake's sister to jump in on this one. Yep, we do. Should I try hobby horsing? I mean, only if like when you hit the bar, it doesn't just fall off the thing. If the bar is there for good, meaning if you hit it, you will fuck your shit up. You want me to get hurt? Yes. But if it's just, I'm not, no. I want to see a life or death situation. I don't want to see just...

I'm itching to do athletic things. I want to get into it. You know what? I want to play rugby. You just popped your cap. I want to play all this stuff. Yeah, I know. I got on the ice. I finally got on the ice, dude. Nice. How was it? Dude, I literally look like Happy Gilmore.

trying out for a hockey team like it is so bad it is a full send for me but it is i you could tell i am off balance you could tell every slap shot i end up on the ice but how'd you how'd it make you feel like a little kid i loved every fucking bit of it best dude it was fucking epic it was so much fucking fun i just want to go around different beer leagues and freaking like just play

I'm with you, dude. Doesn't that sound fun? Yeah. Is there a beer league that you could just – There's beer leagues everywhere. Every league in Philadelphia, just tell them, just have you like – Well, let's not say every. Sponsor the league and be like, I can join any team at any point. I've got a kid coming. I can't be doing every beer league. But I even want to do like stuff that's like obscure, like hobby horse or like darts or – I guess darts isn't – I shouldn't throw that in with hobby horse. Anyways.

Have you ever seen Gaelic football? There's a league around our block. A bunch of Irish people. There's a large contingency in Havertown. Okay. And a lot of them will play Gaelic football. It's this weird sport where you have to...

You have to touch the ball with your foot, but they carry it with their hands. So every two steps, they're kicking the ball back up to their hands. They're dribbling. And then there's a upright. Okay, I think I've seen this. And then there's also a goalie and a goal. So it's like soccer combined with rugby. It's very hard to explain. I'm here. I love backyard games. Those things are the fucking funnest. It's not a backyard game. This is like...

In Ireland, there's a full-on league, and it's kind of cool. You have to play for the county that you live in for Gaelic football. Like wherever you're from, you can't play for like another county, I don't think. I think you have to play for the county that you grew up in. But it's basketball.

You're just combining different games. It does sound, it does feel like that, but I think it's an older, I think it's been around for a minute. Maybe not. It's also hurling. I could try hurling. I guess I'm just naming Irish games. Yeah. That'd be fun though. The South sounds great. I'll probably get hurt. Jesus.

Not if you unfatten yourself, Jason. Nice. Well, shout out to the fan mention of the week there. I say we toss it to the old Jason Tatum interview. Hey! Get to what all the 92% have been waiting for. I'm with that. Alrighty, thank you to our partner Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Oh, yeah!

I mean, you know how I feed my fandom every March with Reese's peanut butter cups. Of course. A chocolate and buttery peanut butter delight. That peanut butter and chocolate fits perfectly with the madness. Yeah. I mean, this level of craziness deserves a snack that I'm crazy for. And Reese's cups are...

are the candy champ. I need the Reese's just to keep my sanity while my entire bracket gets completely demoralized. It's a big sanity for my mental happiness and my taste bud happiness. Thank God I have Reese's. What's your favorite right now? Ooh, I was smacking all those Reese's sticks. Whatever you do, feed me.

Feed your fandom with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The go-to snack of March, April, May, October, every single month, every single year. Buy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups now at a store near you. Found wherever you can get candy. I mean, it's pretty much the easiest to find candy. You go into a store, they're going to have Reese's. Enjoy. All right, Jason, you want to do the honors? Let's do it.

Are you ready? Who are you talking to? Are you talking to me or are you talking to Jason? God, this is going to be tough, man. Is it JT? I guess I got to go JT. Can I go JT? Nice. Nice. I heard you took that nickname over anyways from Jeff Teague back in the year. I heard that one. All right. So JT it is. That'll help me at least differentiate it. Go ahead, Jay Sean. All righty. Our guest today is former Mr. Show Me Basketball from St. Louis, Missouri. He

He's a McDonald's All-American, six-time NBA All-Star from the reigning NBA Boston Celtics, Jason Tatum, everyone! Yeah, baby! Jason!

Let's go! NBA champion JT. How we doing, brother? I'm doing good. Thanks for having me. Thanks for coming on. Yeah, we saw the ankle injury up there in Sacramento, man. Hopefully everything's good and you'll be back on the court ASAP, brother. But how's everything feeling? I'm feeling good, man. It's a...

It's a few benefits to being 27. You know, you recover a little bit. Let them know. Let them live. Man, what it was like. Oh, I can remember the day. I sprayed my calf jumping rope the other day. That's what I did. Yeah, that's awesome, man. Dude, the Celtics were just sold, right? Yeah, recently. $6.1 billion. What was your cut? I won't disclose that on this show. Well played. Smart man right there. He's a smart man.

I don't know nothing. That had to be like interesting news though, for you as a player. Like I've never had my like organization sold before. It's always been the same ownership since the sixties, essentially the same family. Is it like, do you expect to have like a different feel in the, in the building or. A different feel? I don't think so. I think the weirdest part was when I found out that it was, the process was going to start was like,

a few days after we won a championship. So that was a weird conversation. But, you know, after that, I used to start to understand the process and, you know, the candidates and things like that. And I actually got to meet Bill last night. He came to Sacramento, him and his wife. You know, seemed like great people, and we've had a few conversations,

So just looking to add to what we have. Obviously, we have a really good thing going and where our culture is at. Heck yeah. Well, Wikipedia's got you nicknamed the anomaly. Has anybody that is close to you ever actually called you the anomaly? Man, Twitter is not a real place, I'll say that. Ha, ha, ha, ha!

I concur. I would run with that one. I like it. The anomaly is a good one. I don't know who came up with that. It is a banger. You are the anomaly, dog. What's like one of the most random nicknames that you've gotten? Maybe not even on Twitter, just like growing up or like in the park or wherever. A lot of my close friends...

Uh, they call me taco. Taco? Taco. I wasn't expecting that one. Is this cause you like tacos? What is, what is the, why taco? What's the connection there? This, uh, that's my favorite. My mom, uh, my favorite thing that my mom used to make when I was growing up. Uh,

I used to eat tacos all the time. Shout out mom for making some banging tacos. We going corn tortilla, flour tortilla. What we going with? I'm a real simple guy. Hard shell, ground beef. Hard shell. That's what I'm talking about, man. I'm a hard shell guy too, man. And some sauce that I don't need much. Okay. All right. After one year at Duke, you were drafted just at 19 years old. I don't know what the fuck I would be doing next.

If I was a professional at 19, let alone a professional NBA player, what was, you got to tell us, what was the silliest thing you bought with your first like NBA check? Did you do anything crazy? Did you like go out and grab something insane, like a fucking human size hamster ball or some shit? To me, I would always tell people that the best part or the best part of, I guess,

experience and you know having money for the first time at such a young age I could go to the grocery store and just buy whatever I wanted everything I could go to CVS and I could get 10 bottles of soap you get a lot of tacos with that that's good shit right there that was like it wasn't anything crazy expensive it was just like I remember going to the grocery store with my mom and you know having a budget to get one of each yeah

And we go to the grocery store, we get what we want. The pantry's full. You know it, man. I remember when I was 19, Xbox was like the big thing and Halo and all them games were still popular, but you couldn't really play online. Like they had just started to do that.

So you have to do, they used to call it the land connection. Did you ever have to do the LAN connection where you would link them with an Ethernet cable? This might even be before. This is how old we are, Travis. People don't even know about the LAN connection anymore. Jason, you're insane. This is all people talk about is Ethernet cable. Go ahead, Jason. All right, whatever. Either way, we would ring them through the dorms up and through the ceilings so you could play with each other in different dorm rooms.

Anyways, that would have been what I would have done. I would have rigged up the most dope setup of Xboxes I could have figured out. Jason turned 19 and found out he was eligible to go and get a loan out so then he could then buy a TV to play video games on.

that was bigger than the TV he already had. So that's what we were doing when we were 19. But stuff in the pantry definitely does it, man. That had to be fucking crazy. Are you a fan of the one and done rule? Like the year at Duke, did you think it made you that much better and prepared for the NBA? Or do you think you might have been able to be one of those guys that just jumped straight to the NBA? Good question, Trav. Man, people ask me that all the time.

I would like to think I would have, you know, still figured it out. But I benefited so much from going to college in the sense of like, like when I got to college, I was my first time playing with, you know, other really good players. Right. I went to Duke. I was with a number one recruiting class and we had Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard. Like we had like seven pros on our team. So it was the first time learning to like play off the ball, play with other really good players. Yeah.

being in those environments, lift weights, condition, learn about nutrition. I would do it all over again. Like I would go back knowing what I know now. I learned a lot and it prepared me for when I got to the NBA. Yeah, for sure, man. It's cool to hear though that it kind of like, it gets your professionalism. It makes you understand how to be a pro, especially at a

Program like Duke, yeah, with Coach K and everybody. I'm sure you saw the, what is it, the prestige of it, and you were like, you bought in immediately. Let's talk a little March Madness. Jason, you want to hit it? Yeah, let's talk college. While we're on college, we'll stay where we're at. Right now, we're in the best time of college basketball that there is. March Madness in full effect. Did you fill out a bracket? Yeah, I mean, it was pretty easy for me. Ha ha ha!

You knew it was just a straight line for Duke all the way to the championship. You knew McNeese was going to beat Clemson. I knew it. The final of my bracket every year is the same. This is the best I've felt about my bracket in a very, very long,

Long time. I'm sure. Yeah, I don't know. What do you think so far? Who's in your final four? Outside of Duke. Obviously, we're pulling Duke. Who else did you think is going to get there? Just go all number ones or what? Two of my final fours are out. I'm screwed. I'm out of this thing. I think you're out of Houston, Florida, and Michigan State. I got Michigan State and Duke in there. Jason went Michigan State. It's all about physicality, toughness, good coaching. That's what it's about, Travis. You just hyped this man up more than you –

could ever imagine you just did. This is coming from a guy that literally just looks at what school would beat up the other school in a fight. And that's who he picks. That's what a basketball game is. To fight, to get the ball through the hoop. I'm in the lead team. I like them in a fight for sure. Right?

Detroit. I should have said the Met, not Detroit. Yeah, I got Duke going all the way, man. Cooper Flagg's been an unbelievable player. He's got a lot of hype. I know you were playing against him a little bit in the USA practices. The first time I saw him play live was two summers ago. I hosted my first JT Elite Camp, so I had the best

25 players in the country, you know, that were sophomores and juniors or whatever. Um, so it's been cool to see like hanging around those guys there for a weekend. And a lot of them are in a tournament now. Um, and you know, the first impression I had of, of Coop was just how hard he played, how he competed, you know, in high school is, it's rare to see a guy that wants to guard the other best player, um,

trying to block every shot, rebounding. And he just plays the right way. He has a great feel for the game. He knows how to set a screen. He knows when to cut. He likes to get his teammates involved.

And, you know, it's been on full display all season and a big reason why, you know, they have a chance to win a championship. Heck yeah. I love it. One of the things I love doing now that I'm an older player is watching young guys. Sometimes it's the way they move. Sometimes it's their mentality. But you pick up on things, and it's just fun seeing a young player that, man, I really think there's something in that kid. And then all of a sudden –

He's the best player in the country. And I'm sure that has to be awesome for you, especially playing for Duke. It's a brotherhood. It has to be, man. Yeah. Everybody who ever played for the program, whether it's

they 10 years older than me or 10 years younger like whenever we see each other it's always love i always go back and work out with the with the team and play pickup with them and stuff like that because that's what happened when i was there jabari parker came back jaleel okrafer um all these guys so it's just it's a part of the program is the pride that comes with it and you just you want to help push it forward um and you know i'm always rooting for him and

you know, I hope they cut the nest down this year. Not only is it a brotherhood, but it's also a sisterhood. You just donated shoes to the Duke's women's team. It's a whole family over there, man. Actually, I sent both the programs some shoes, but Kara Lawson,

She was an assistant coach with the Celtics my third year. The year the pandemic happened, we went to the bubble. Oh, nice. A week into the bubble, she got the, or it might have been like two days, she got the head coaching job at Duke. So we spent, I spent like six months with her. Unbelievable person, unbelievable coach. Love her to death. So anytime that I can.

Support them and help that program out. I try. Hell yeah. Nice, man. They gave a walk-on some minutes in the first two games. That's pretty good. When you're giving walk-ons minutes, Duke's playing pretty good basketball. Belt to ass. Belt to ass. I hear it. That's just got to be electric. Every time I used to go to the UC basketball games and the walk-ons we get in, the crowd knows which guys are in.

And it just gets fucking nuts in there. If they can get a shot off or get a, or at least make a bucket. Yeah. And it's probably the same, like with the guys on the practice squad, like you guys, they, Oh yeah. You know, this time, which was a, you know, in the practice squad and film and workouts every single day with you. And then, you know, they finally get opportunity, even if it's,

at the end of the game, right? You just, you're really happy for them because you understand, you know, they, they wish you every step of the way, but they might not always get the, the opportunity or the recognition. Um, but they're just as much as part of the team as, you know, the rest of the guys. For sure. Was it always Duke? Was Duke like the top team for you? Did you always like love them growing up and, and,

Did you always see yourself going there? Who was on JT's leaderboard growing up? What jerseys did you have on growing up?

I had an Evan Turner Ohio State jersey. Oh, my gosh. E. Turner, yeah. Wow. Okay. Okay. I mean, dude, grew up in St. Louis, so there's a little bit of Big Ten country, Midwest. A little bit. And Ohio State was at the top of the charts for quite a while around those years. For sure. And football as well. So, like, I played football for, like, seven, eight years when I was younger. Wow.

What position? What were you playing? You were playing wide out? What were you playing? Time out. We're not getting off of this yet. Yeah, we're not going off of it. I played quarterback for the first six years and then wide receiver my last two. So my last year I played was eighth grade. So I was going to play in high school. But then, you know, my parents was like, I think we're going to focus on that. You might be drafted in only four more years, which you probably –

Stick to this, yeah. But we went to Florida twice. I won a JFL National Championship in Florida. Lost one year. I'll never forget. We played this team called the Delray Rocks. They was like green and white. What made them unforgettable? Belt to hash. Yeah, yeah. 50 to 0. Yeah.

Look like they had grown men on the field. For sure. Dallas Carter and what is it, Friday Night Lights? All those guys. That's too funny, man. We all played against a team like that, especially in middle school, man. We used to play a team down the hill called Curt. Yep.

And they were right there in East Cleveland, man. It felt like they had kids that were 18 years old. I mean, I had never been ran the fuck over like that at that age ever in my life. I was always one of the biggest kids. Well, Shaw was the high school. Kirk was the middle school. Yeah. Kirk was bad, too, because a lot of the kids were held back.

I wrestled a kid with a beard in middle school. That was – talk about intimidating. You're an eighth grader. You just started to get pubes, and all of a sudden this guy's got a full beard across from you. I was like, what is going on right now? Right. I won. I got him. I got him. So if it wasn't Duke, who were you thinking about going to? Ohio State was on the list or – So I was a big Ohio State fan like growing up. Yeah. Even when they had Terrell Pryor, Ted Ginn Jr. Me. Me.

I used to love the football team. Those football teams were crazy. Basketball team. You know, when I got older and I got to high school, it really came down to... So I only took one official visit. Like, I only took one official visit to Duke. And I knew right away when I was there. I was a junior in high school, and I was like, this is where I want to be. A long shot, my second choice would have been St. Louis University just because...

I thought I might have been homesick if I left. So there was a part of me that like, man, I think I might want to stay close to my family. Yeah. You know, after I took my visit, it was really like, you know, this is, if I want to get to that next step, this is going to be the best place for me to go. Before we get out of this March Madness stuff, what's your first memory of March Madness? Like,

Can you take me back to being in St. Louis and having the love for basketball following the tournament, one of the biggest moments growing up? Honestly, I would have to say I vividly remember in 2010. Brad Stevens is probably not going to like this, but I remember Butler playing against Duke and Gordon Hayward shooting that half-court shot. Yeah.

And actually, ironically, I was cheering for Butler at that point. I didn't hate Duke, but I didn't, I never envisioned myself. Right. I never thought coach K would come to my house and, and recruit me. So Duke just seemed kind of like out of the realm or the possibility. So that was my earliest memory is just watching Butler and, and Duke play in the national championship and just envisioning myself like, man, one day, you know, I'm gonna play in March madness. And, uh,

You know, it came true. We can't talk about Duke without talking about Coach K. What was it like playing for Coach? It was quite the experience for sure. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you got to tell us, man. No, man, Coach, that's my guy. He's an unbelievable person, somebody that I still talk to, obviously, you know, pretty frequently to this day. He still always checks up on me. That's awesome. A leader amongst men, right? He just, his ability to...

motivate guys to get you to buy in, to get you to run through a wall. And you guys know, being in college, like, being coaching 18 to 21-year-olds and getting them to believe in something bigger than themselves, I think he was unbelievable at that. He was great at making you uncomfortable in ways that he knew that it would make you better. Nice. Being at Duke and playing for Coach K, it definitely prepared me for the next level. And

It wasn't always great moments. He cussed me out a lot and things like that, but it was well warranted in those moments. That's what I'm talking about. I love some good, tough love, man. Gotta have it sometimes. Made me criticize myself more, and that's how I ended up getting better, to start criticizing myself on everything. Whenever you have a coach who's really trying to push you, you're going to have those moments. I know I've had it with every great coach I've ever been with and every great teammate.

Like if you're always just comfortable around people, you're usually not testing those extremes to make each other better. That's just the reality of it. I've been cussed out by my dad in football. I mean, everybody's giving it to me. So it's part of the territory. For sure. Oh, man. That just reminded me one of dad's best, one of his best rules. He never was a basketball guy. And I ended up like gravitating towards basketball around like,

and middle school really took off for me. In high school, I took it serious. And he always told me, he said, if you're not getting at least three fouls a game, you're not being aggressive enough. You get five. You get five. That's solid advice. We're being honest. That's solid advice. For sure. Until you get three in the first quarter. Yeah, then it's bad. You're just like, fuck, all right, all right. I need to get it together. I'm going to go sit on the bench now. I'm going to go sit on the bench.

It really is. He's like, you're going to be an intimidator. Oh, I was going to ask you, John Shire, man. Coach Shire, was he there when you were there? Yes. John, he's the guy that actually recruited me. Is that right? What? He was going door to door trying to get guys to come to Duke? I joke with him all the time that, you know, he should thank me that he is the head coach now. Let him know. Let him know. But no, John, I talked to John.

Every single day. That's awesome, man. That is. That's my guy. He's done an unbelievable job. He was recruiting Luke Kennard out of Akron. We had a tournament. I think I was a soft. I might have been a freshman, freshman or sophomore. And we had a tournament in Milwaukee. Kennard was supposed to play on the court next to me.

But I don't think his game started yet. So I think John was waiting on his game to start. And he just happened to sit down and watch our game. And I tapped one of my teammates. I'm like, yo, he coached, he worked at Duke. And we had like 10 minutes left. And I was just like, I just got to it. Yeah. That just works. He's like one of the greatest shooters ever at Duke. Yes. He just came back to the next game and the next game and then

Eventually got a call that Duke had offered me a scholarship and never looked back. I remember Shire chucking threes during his times at Duke. In his prime and your prime, at Duke only, who was a better shooter? I mean, he going to see this. At Duke. He going to see this. I love the preface. I'll give it to John. When I was at Duke. I hear you. He was a better shooter at Duke. Yeah.

So you're in your eighth season. Do you finally feel like an NBA veteran? You know what I mean? Obviously you came in at 19. Now you've championships. You've been in for a while now. Like, I mean, how's it feel differently than your rookie year? What, what's, what have you learned most from your rookie season? Oh man, I could write a book. We'll be looking for it. Catch it on audible.

- Shut up. - Do I feel like a vet? No, I just turned 27. You guys probably know, I feel like I got drafted yesterday. I remember what it felt like. But year after year,

It's like when the rookies come in and you'll see their comments, their interviews at the draft and like, you know, who did you model your game after? And now I'm starting to be one of the guys that they looked up to or they watched more. And that transition is like, whoa. You're still in your 20s, man. I remember looking up to KD. I just got here. I guess I'm transitioning to it.

an NBA veteran just because, you know, I've been in playoffs every year. I've played over 100 playoff games. So basketball terms, yes, but

And I just turned 27, so I still feel just as young. Well, speaking of other guys looking up to you, who are the vets that you looked up to? Who did you model your game after? Oh, man. I mean, Kobe was my idol. That was my favorite player. You know, kind of like why I fell in love with the game. Guys that I really studied, KD would be at the top of that list, Melo, Paul George. Then I get to the league, and...

You guys probably understand this as good as anybody. Al Horford, from a professional standpoint, like somebody that came to work every day, had a routine, had a plan, whether it was a practice day, a game day, or an off day,

That was so beneficial to me of like, you know, when I was young, I just think I could show up, put my shoes on and get on the court. Of course. And Al really showed me, not even by telling me, just by like watching him go through his routine. And now he's in, I was in year 18 and still a vital part of a championship team. I learned so much from him of, you know, what it is like to have a routine and create your own and what works best for you.

I think that's so important for any young guy coming into the league. It's like you need a routine, you need a plan every day, and your plan is going to look different from other guys, but every single day you should know what you need to attack, what you need to do to get yourself ready for whatever it is to come up. I love what you just said because it's so true. Everybody has players you look to growing up, and that's the end product that's on the field or on the court. And, of course, you want to do things that they're doing out there

But once you get there, whether you start learning it really in college and then the NFL, you see guys that are getting an edge or preparing a way. And you're like, hey, I really like what he's doing there. I'm going to start doing that. Or, you know, this guy gets the most out of the meeting room because he's taking notes. Or, you know, how does he do that? And you're drawn from all these guys. So I think you're right, 100 percent, like.

That's really what ends up making the biggest difference is how you prepare for game day. Game day is a manifestation of all the preparation that went into it as well as all the God-given talent. I'm telling you, keep having those conversations with the guys that are out of the league that are later in their career because I'm still learning from guys. I'm taking shit that my brothers told me. I'm taking stuff from them. I've been telling you for – I told you last year, get out of them cleats, and you didn't do it one time.

You told me literally to wear the special gear. No, but he I still take notes from a guy like Tony Gonzalez or a guy like like Shannon Sharp. I'll hear what these guys, you know, say they did towards the end of their careers that helped them get the best out of their body week in week out. And it's like it's just a nonstop like.

of, like, trying to better yourself. And I can see it right now, the way Al Horford plays the game, his alertness, his attention to detail. He's always in the right spot, always ready for the moment. Like, I can see that definitely being somebody you could look up to, man, or at least take notes from like that. Your profile picture is actually you with Kobe Bryant. And we were talking about how he was the guy that kind of got you into, you know, loving the game of basketball a little bit, or at least, you know, you...

and we all idolize at some point in our lives. Is it weird playing for the Celtics against that guy who is literally at the top of the Lakers? Did you always kind of envision yourself maybe playing in a Laker uniform? Yeah. We don't got to answer it. They had the second pick. So there was a part of me that's just like, man, my –

My dream of being in the NBA is about to come true. And then like my real dream of playing for the team that, you know, I grew up a fan of, you know, I was it was so close. But yeah, it made me appreciate it a lot more. Just like I remember. I remember the first day I walked in the Staples Center, like the first time we played the Lakers. And I was in disbelief or just like, man, I watched so many of his games.

in this building and now like I'm on the same floor. In that moment, it bridged the gap with like me and my favorite player. Like I got to share the floor, you know, of the place that he helped build. That's pretty fucking epic. And man, that's what sports is about. Like you guys understand our responsibility is to motivate and inspire the next generation. Somebody inspired you guys. He inspired me and

You guys have inspired millions of kids to be the next Jason or Trav. And it's cool about what we do is, you know, somebody watching us that's going to grow up like, man, they really helped me, you know, motivate me, even if we never met them before. Right. They help motivate the next kid to chase their dream. And, you know, that's one of the coolest things about, you know, what we do, in my opinion, for sure. Hell yeah. Unbelievably well said. 100%.

I think everybody remembers when they were a kid looking up to somebody. When you see kids come up to you, that's one of the bright spots of being an athlete, right? You get to see that innocence and just like that genuine pleasure of like,

is just incredible. And Kobe even for, he came and talked to us. We were a full on NFL team in 2017. He was from Philly, but the year we won the strip boy came and talked to the team. And even then, like still motivating, there were guys that took more away from that conversation than they had taken away from anybody in the football world and how he prepared, how he got ready, how he,

his process in in getting better like it was it was phenomenal so I'll never forget that he was great probably one of the best people we've ever had talk in uh to the team since I was in the Eagles it was great what was your impression of uh Boston fans initially but or at least before you got to to Boston to be honest like before I got to Boston I didn't know much or really pay attention I grew up a Laker fan so I I didn't really like the Celtics and I wasn't

aware of, you know, the Boston sports culture. Uh-huh. For sure, yeah. Patriots beat the Rams. So just growing up from St. Louis, like, the Red Sox beat the Cardinals. Like, St. Louis, you just don't really like Boston. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Whether it's a TNT game, it's a preseason game, or a league pass game on Mondays, we always sell out. Majority of the time when we go on the road,

Like every game is road trip. It's been three straight games. We hear let's go Celtics chance throughout the arena. Like our fans has traveled so well. They show up early and often. It was a relief and it was a special moment to win a championship in front of them and then

You know, you guys have been on a parade. It was the best two hours of my life. And having two million people in green and white outside, you know, cheering you on and expressing their joy for, you know, what we accomplished. It was special for sure. Of course. What's it like playing for Joe? You enjoy that? Joe is crazy. He seems like quite the character. Yeah.

We actually talked about you. We played Portland the other day, and I got a tech. The game was basically over. I ended up getting a tech with like 30 seconds left. Yeah. I'm always here for a good fourth quarter tech. Right. So Joe, he comes up to me after the game. He's like, so if you get like 16 or 17 techs, you get suspended for a game. So Joe's like, yo, can you just get four more so you can get suspended? Ha ha ha!

I'm like, Joe, I think I'm done. He's like, I would much rather you just come punch me. I want to fight. He's like, you see, when Travis Kelsey ran into Andy Reid, do that to me. I love it. Keep it in-house, baby. Keep it in-house. Yeah, that's right. Shout out to Coach Reid for being the man, for not giving up.

Too riled up. But, no, that's too funny, man. You can tell Joe does it the right way, man. He seems like he has you guys enjoying what you're doing. And that's always, I think, the hardest part as a coach in any of these professional leagues is making it serious, intentional, but at the same time so loose that everybody feels comfortable being themselves and making it, you know, a fun thing or an enjoyable process. You know what I mean? He seems like he's got that all figured out, man.

I don't think coaches get enough credit for that because, I mean, you guys got 60 people on the team. I have no idea how you guys do that. You know, there's only 15 or so of us, but Joe does an unbelievable job of just managing all the personalities and the ups and downs throughout the season and getting us to buy in. That's really important. That's a mark of a great coach. I'll tell you what, man. You just mentioned there's like 60 guys on our team and you guys got just 12, but the

Do you know everybody on your team? Yeah, of course. I mean, there are obviously there are like the handful of guys like on the practice squads and everything that come in and out per week. Like we'll we'll have like a transition and like a switch in and out every single week of like just got development guys. But for the most part, I know everybody. If I don't know you, I'll go up to you and say what's up. Like you you want to be able to at least, you know, I mean, keep it and make everybody feel like they're a part of it. You know what I mean?

What's the – he's on the D-line. Tershawn? Yeah. He's a St. Louis guy. I played football with him. No way! Turk just got a big contract. I think Carolina. I think he went to Carolina. He just got a huge contract. We played on the same football team. We grew up in the same neighborhood for like five years. I just – Oh, man. Turk, he's a tough son of a gun too, man. That's one dude I am not fucking around with. Yeah.

And he's been like that too. He's a hell of a competitor, man. I've seen him actually hoop. At least he tries. I'm not going to say he's a bad hooper or a great hooper. He's like – he's just – he's going to compete his ass off though. He's playing good defense basically is what you're saying. You ain't lying. If he's guarding me, I'm uncomfortable. If he's guarding me, I'm uncomfortable.

He is the epitome of an NFL guy playing defensive basketball. Dude, we got to get on that. Do you think an NFL player could play in the NBA? Oh, my God. So... You know we had to ask. We got to ask all of... Come on. I would venture to say no from both standpoints. Like...

The guys that get on TV and be like, you could just take this guy from the NBA and throw him in a game this Sunday. It's like, no, it does not work like that. I mean, it might. No.

It does not. You mean to tell me Russell Westbrook can't go out there and give you some points? At least play special teams. Not on a week's notice, and I love Russell Westbrook. I hear you on that. I hear you on this. You're making a great point, and I hear what you're saying. I think there are a handful of guys that played in the NBA that if they had –

An entire like summer or a year to train and prepare. Could they make an impact? For sure. But like just drop a guy from the NBA and throw him in the game. No shot. Are there any NFL guys that could train for a year and go play in the NBA? So listen, I have so many. Don't crush my dreams. Don't crush my dreams. I'm 35 and I still got hoop dreams, man.

I got so much respect for you guys and what you guys do. It's so true. It's just a joke. We all know this. There's nothing funnier than watching football guys play basketball. Oh, man. And how funny is it when people are, like, impressed with something that an NFL guy does on Twitter? And as a basketball player, he's going to be like, come on, guys. Like, this is really what we're like. Oh.

wow, yeah, he can play in the NBA. He just dunked. Yeah, that's for sure. That's all it takes. That's hilarious. That's it. That is typically the idea. Yeah, it's like, damn. He just did a windmill. He can do it. He can play in the NBA. What are we talking about? There's always a video that comes up on Twitter of somebody in the NFL, their high school highlights, and when they just went back and stuff, and it's like, he could have been. And it's like, no, I think they chose him. Yeah.

No, I think it worked out all right. You were mentioning Terrell Pryor growing up. What I'm telling you right now, I think Terrell Pryor's best sport was basketball in high school. I played against him on the court, and I always looked at him and other guys that were in my grade, like all the camps that I went to and stuff. And I'm like, man, this dude, he's a different type of athlete, man. Yeah.

And he definitely had offers to go D1 in both sports and just decided he wanted to be a quarterback. It's an interesting name you brought up because Terrell was definitely athletically – he was ridiculous. Man, when I tell you with the ball in his hands too, he was fucking special. So I think at that point, like in high school, if you –

It's a different conversation. Yeah, like, where do you, like, in high school, you decide, like, all right, instead of football, I'm going to go give my all to basketball, then yes. Then I definitely believe in that. But just, like, oh, you've been focusing on football for the last 12 years, and now –

No. And vice versa. I just don't think it worked like that. I hear you on that. Well, glad we got that out the way. That was actually pretty good. I mean, you're right. I feel everything you're saying. Kind of got sidetracked there. I got one. Yeah, sure. Hit us. What do you got? So this is my first year playing fantasy football. Oh, gosh. Okay. All right. So I was in two leagues. Who was your tight end? Hmm.

Mark Andrews. Oh, Mark was a good one, though. Mark, he finished strong. He probably helped you out in the playoffs for sure. He finished strong with a bunch of touchdowns. I had two leagues. So in one league, I had Pat. I didn't understand all about fantasy football. I'm just like, oh, shit. You took a quarterback first? There you go, yeah. Got to go running back. Got to go running back. Yeah, I got to go running back and wide receiver. Should have gone Saquon. Should have gone Saquon. Yeah.

I'm like, let me go get the best player in the league. Let me go get Pat. And nothing but respect for you and Pat. It didn't work out. It didn't work out. It was a different year for us. Yeah, it was a different year for us. I won everything 18 to 12. You got to get the running quarterbacks or the – you got to get –

Jalen's a great one because he's going to get you like 15 tush pushes into the end zone. Lamar, Josh. Lamar's a great one. Lamar. I had Lamar in my other league. Lamar's unbelievable, obviously, in the real game, but in fantasy football, too. Yeah.

Yeah. He's perfect for fantasy. I mean, he's pretty perfect for regular football as well, but fantasy. He's got it all covered. One of the most insane things, we were in a joint practice with the Ravens, and I'm not going to say nobody's name, but he did a juke move and a tag off. Like, you're not even supposed to tackle, right? You know how hard it is to juke somebody? Who's just trying to tag you? You're playing tag, essentially. Yeah.

This dude just has to get within a seven-foot wingspan of touching this guy. Completely falls over. I mean, it was insane, the move he put on this. To the point that both teams, Eagles and Ravens, just erupted in the middle of this practice. It was so... It was right then and there. I was like, oh, this guy's way different. This guy's way different. He's not fucking around. Should he have won MVP, or do you think they got it right? Goddamn. They both had great...

cases for MVP. The only reason I tend to think they got it right with Josh is because I think Josh, a lot of the times the MVP comes down to expectations. And I think the Ravens expectations were high from the get-go. And I think Josh losing some of the guys that they lost, they didn't really have a lot of other star power. I think they overachieved and he had a season that was unexpected, which is why he got it. And I think that narrative a lot of the times ends up being the one that wins. But both of them had merits of winning. And that's

The reality is like most years, multiple people are up for it. So they both could have got it. But I do think that right there was the reason why I think Josh,

did end up getting it but if they would have given it to lamar i wouldn't have been like hey he deserved it too yeah there's no wrong answer i believe let's get to some no dumb questions all right now hey we always ask our fan base the 92 percenters to send us their questions and uh there's no dumb questions just two dummies answering it and then the anomaly so would you still want to be six foot eight if you were bad at sports oh uh it's a great question

It's a lot of inconveniences that come with that height. Like how bad? Like you're not even getting picked at the rec. Yeah. Last pick in dodgeball. Yeah. I love being 6'8". I ain't going to lie. Fair enough. I respect it. Not being able to find shoes that fit is an inconvenience I can deal with for being 6'8".

6'8". I love it. If you had to play an entire game wearing flip-flops, how many points are you realistically dropping? You still finding a way to get some space? Flip-flops? You can sit in the corner and catch, you know. I just threw my ankle last night wearing basketball. Yeah, that's a great question. Let's pass that one. Who's on your Mount Rushmore of basketball players? Mike, Bronn.

Kobe, this is where it gets tricky. Right? I would say Kareem. Kareem? You're going Kareem? The hook shot. Kareem, okay.

I respect it. I respect it. Listen, man, do you think his hook shot would still be as unstoppable in today's game? I mean, like the short answer would be no, but would he adapt and still be effective? Yes. The game is not played like that today, but he was so talented and skilled that he would have found other ways to score the basketball for sure. That thing was unstoppable. I love watching highlights of that thing. Just woo.

That was the last fist fight Travis and I got into. He just kept doing this dumbass hook shot in the backyard, and I couldn't stop it. I got a full-ass fight. I was – JT, I was nice in the paint. I was only 6'5", but I was nice in the paint. I believe it. I was utilizing all five of my fouls early. All right, what's –

Why is it called a field goal? In basketball, yeah. That's actually very interesting. It makes zero sense, right? I feel like back in the day, they might have called the basket a goal. That part makes sense. The field part is... Never really thought about that. It's on a court, and it's not a goal. But it's still called a field goal. This is why I think it's called a field goal. This is why I think it's called a field goal. Here we go. I think...

They used to only have scoreboards made with the FG, like field goals. So they just started calling them field goals because that's what the scoreboard had and they had to call it a field goal. No, it doesn't make any sense. I'm not buying into any of this. I'm surprised nobody asked growing up in St. Louis, was I a

a Kansas city fan. I was about to say, man, hold on, hold on. You were, you already mentioned the Rams once you already mentioned the Rams once. I'm trying to think of what eras those, those would have been for you to answer the Steven Jackson era. Like, yeah. Who was, who was your team? And Bradford, Steven Jackson. Yeah. So they won a Superbowl 2001. They lost in oh two or oh three. And then after that, they didn't make the playoffs again.

It was a little bit of a drought. For like 15 years. At least they didn't make themselves the rest of the time they were in St. Louis. So I was a Peyton Manning fan. That was my favorite player. You went north. You went north. Sheriff. Right down the street. But ironically, like when the Rams left, the older people in St. Louis just became Chiefs fans. They did. 100%. We gathered everybody in Missouri. Pretty much. When they left, I wasn't like, all right.

I'm a Chiefs fan now because, like, I don't know, St. Louis and Kansas City just kind of always had this, like, Cardinals. It's a bit of a rivalry. Royals. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was like a little rivalry. Cincinnati and Cleveland had a very similar thing, especially with the two being sports rivals and the—

in the AFC East or the AC North. I mean, no, I, I, we definitely completely agree with that. We ended up going to Cincinnati. So we ended up getting kind of love from both cities and having that love for both cities. But so when, when they moved to LA, did you go to LA with them? No. Yeah.

And this is why you play fantasy football. You're just a fan of the league now. I don't have a team. I appreciate players. I appreciate, like, not to bring it up, but, like, when you guys played the Eagles this past, you know, Super Bowl, it was like, you know, Eagles, great team, great story. But me just winning the championship and, like, damn, we trying to win our second one. You guys trying to make history and win your third. Like, I appreciate it, you know, superbly.

potentially watching history being made. I appreciate you jumping on and I'm sorry that you had to endure that. Nah, man. I respect it for sure. How do you guys feel like

It's been trying to defend that championship. Like how, how tough has it been throughout the year? And I mean, you guys are getting everybody's fucking best shot right now. And I'm sure it's a, it's a lot different playing 16 games than it is playing 82 regular season games, trying to, trying to like navigate week in week out different lineups, different, you know, you guys are going to have to probably play a few games without you in it. Like how difficult has it been? Joe talks about all the time. It's a,

He said, expect it to be tougher than you think, right? None of us have been in this position. Besides Drew, Drew won a championship with Milwaukee, but the rest of us, like, we don't know what it's like, you know, coming back after you just won a title. You know, you think it can go one way and, you know, there's good stretches. And then there was a stretch where, you know, there was a 12-game stretch where we won one, lost one, won one, lost one. And we playing against teams and, you know,

They have a guy that, you know, is a 30% three-point shooter, and that night he hit 11 threes. Yeah, everybody's getting hyped to play you guys. Everybody's excited to play you. You're getting everybody's best shot. And then, you know, dealing with injuries and certain guys being out, it was tough, and we had to, you know, come together and get closer. But I would say...

You know, we 22 and four in our last 26 games. Right. So we've definitely hidden our stride at the right time. And, you know, with 10 or so games left and getting ready for the playoffs, you know, this is when you want to feel your healthiest, want to feel your best, want to be the most confident, understanding that, you know, what's what's ahead and, you know, how,

Tough it was last year. Expected to be tougher this year. Yeah. Because what we're trying to do. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Well, nice, man. I think that does it for our No Dumb Questions. Get into our last segment, man. Get you out of here. We appreciate you having fun with us, JT, man. Yep, absolutely. This is our last segment. We close out all the convos with a segment called We Gotta Ask, but you don't have to answer. You can tell us to fuck off and kick rocks.

or you can have fun answering some of these silly questions, man. What was your welcome to the NBA moment? Ooh, my first two games. So, man, we get Kyrie. Our first game of the season was back in Cleveland. So Kyrie's first game back,

We playing LeBron. It's on TNT. I'm still 19 years old. And this atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever been a part of. I can't even fathom this for you right now. Oh, my God. I'm playing it cool, going through my routine. I go... Just play it cool, man. Just play it cool. I remember I go out for our individual warm-ups, and I just look down the court, and it's Dwayne Wade warming up. And it was just like, wow, I'm really...

I'm really here. - Oh yeah. - Then I get, I put my uniform on, we go out for layup lines and I'm cool. I'm laying the ball up. Cleveland hasn't ran out yet. After like two minutes they run out and I, and Brian runs out last. And I was like, oh shit. Like this is...

This is real. First shot attempt I got, he blocked that shit to like the fifth row. And I was like, yeah, this is what it's about. All right. Man, that's a great fucking story. Made it. I don't know if you saw this. You see George Yang talking a little bit of trash.

the other night with Quentin Grimes. Did you see that? Yo, I love, I love George and the A. Me and you both. Me and you both. That's my dog. Yeah. All right. And shot the three at home. Yeah. Yeah. Is the psych out still like, did you ever watch basketball growing up? I did. I haven't seen in a long while. So what about the psych out? What's the, what's the art of,

to trying to psych somebody out who's about to shoot a ball? Like, what's the best strategy? Like, whether you're playing horse with them, like, what's the best thing somebody said to you or something that you found that you can say to somebody else right away to get them off their game?

So, like, say something to him or just all the antics that guys do. I would say either or. Whichever one you want to go with. Are you an antics guy or are you a verbal? There's different. Yeah, there's different. Yeah. I don't really talk much when I play. Like, I really – like, we have to have a relationship. Like, Bam Adebayo, like, I've known Bam since eighth grade. Donovan Mitchell, like, guys in my draft class, like, if I know you, like, you know, we'll have friendly conversations.

trash talk or whatever but like i'm not just like i don't if i score on you like i'm not gonna say i'm just gonna run back on defense um but always having the other team's best defender guard you um throughout the years seeing the different things that guys like you know will do to try and get you off your game um as it's it's funny i remember i remember one time playing

playing against Patrick Beverly when he was with the Lakers. Oh, man. He is the king at this. Go ahead. I love Pat Bev. I love how he competes, talk trash with the best of them. But I don't say much. So I remember it was one game we was playing with the Lakers and they was waiting to take the ball out of bounds. And he, like, started, like, tickling me. What the hell? All right. Interesting strategy. I, like, smacked his hand. He was like.

You got stronger. You got stronger. But just like as a defender, any little thing that they can try to do, pull your sock down, untuck your jersey at the free throw line. I wear an armband. People pull my armband down to my hand all the time. Oh, man. These are all great moves. Yeah. Back to back of your neck. Just like all type of things that, you know, it's...

is, is part of. And, and I'm pretty sure there's things like that in, in, in football. No, I love it. I love all that little stuff. Anything you can do. Get real cheeky. Your childhood friends with a beaut as they call them in hockey, Matthew Kachuk. That's right. He's a beauty, man. Him and his brother were a recent guest of the show as they represented USA in the, in the four nations tournament. That was fun seeing them throw the hands and, and,

and fight for the USA in that regard. You guys recreated this old photo of you both after, because you guys grew up around each other, huh? In the St. Louis area. We went to school together from seventh grade to 10th grade. So yeah, two years of middle school, two years in high school. And then,

After our sophomore year, I think the rules are different for hockey. He ended up leaving and going off professional. Me and Matt, we had classes together. That picture that we took, I think we was going on a field trip to Chicago or something. Nice. Yeah, we had projects together. So it's just cool to see both of us

We won a championship in the same year. - That was wild. - That was fucking awesome, man. Great dude, man. - Unbelievable person. He's a hockey player. His brother's amazing too and comes from a great family as well. So couldn't be happier for him and his family.

Hell yeah, man. Did you ever get on the ice? No, no, no. No? Ever got on the ice? We would play hockey in gym class, but like in the gym. Yeah. I would try to be goalie because I was like the tallest kid, but that's what it is.

It's a good reach. Goalie? Fuck, man. Jason used to force me to be the fucking goalie. He'd be like, no, I'm taking shots on you. And he would just rip them from like 10 feet away. I'm like, come on, man. This is fucked up. We got two champions in their respective sports, but there's a third guy hanging out in the back of this picture right here.

I don't know if it's the same kid or is he the third? That's the homie? I was about to say, has he won any championships?

I don't think so. He's another kid in our class named Jacob. He wasn't a sports guy, but he was cool. Nice. The Cardinals end up flying him in. I think he lived in like San Diego or something. They end up flying him in so we could recreate the picture. That's so funny, man. Shout out to Jacob. Here we go, Jacob. Your seven-year-old son, Deuce, is always courtside. Are you going to be able to play in the NBA long enough to maybe play with your son?

get the celtics to draft him a lot of things got to go right for that yeah sounds cliche to say like i never like forced him to play basketball obviously he's always been around it and um even like at home i like i would just want him to naturally if he wanted to play basketball then we can so i was saying the last man like the last like six to ten months he's really like

fell in love with the game and been more attentive at the games. He asked questions. He plays basketball now every Saturday. And I can honestly say, like, I haven't ever had more fun in a gym than going to his peewee game Saturday morning. It's the most fun I've ever had in a basketball gym. That's awesome, man. You can see him going crazy. Is he chucking it? He shoots every time. Yeah.

That's what I'm talking about. Keep chucking it, Deuce. You're like, huh? No, I'm – Why would I do that? This is way more fun to shoot this thing. I'm watching you doing it. Yeah, exactly. For sure. Did you ever get a follow back from LeBron? Did he ever follow you back? Still waiting? We got the old tweet.

from back in April of 2012, man. King James follow back is Larry Hughes' nephew from St. Louis. Shout out to Larry Hughes, man. Cavalier for a while. I definitely was rocking with him for a while. But that's pretty cool, man. I wanted to have...

or someone like Larry in the league already. And, yeah, did you ever get the follow back? Yeah, Brian ended up following me back. It was funny because they brought this tweet up when we played him in the conference finals my rookie year. Oh, shit. So he finally...

He leaned in once you guys were in the Eastern Conference Finals together? Yeah, he followed me back out on Instagram after that. Nice. Many battles against each other and been on an Olympic team. And Bron is a great friend of mine and somebody that I got a really good relationship with. But I made that tweet. That was like when I first got Twitter. Oh, listen, you already know. Somebody like me, you bring out my 2012 tweets. Right. We're going to have a fucking field day. I can't even spell shit.

I would have spelled cousin with no O. There was no autocorrect back then. Nice, man. Glad you got the follow from Bron in that, man, you're chasing your second ring, big dog. And appreciate you coming on here and chopping it up with us in the 92 Percenters, man. Everybody, Jason Tate. Yeah, baby.

Appreciate you, dog. Thanks for all the time too, man. Much love. Get that ankle right. And yeah, I might have to catch you courtside at Eastern Conference Finals game, man. Catch you against Cleveland again, man. That was their last year too. Yeah, it was just the end. It was like the end of the season. That was last year. That was in the regular season. Yeah. Wishing you nothing but the best, man. Go and get you another one, big dog. Appreciate you, man. You know it.

All right now, well, that does it for our interview with Jason Tatum, man. I love talking to champions, man. The guy, you could tell why he is a champion. You know, the guy just has such a professionalism about him. It's a good time talking to highly successful people that have dedicated themselves to being the best in the world at something. Take a quick look at the leaderboard of the New Heights March Madness Challenge.

We have zero perfect brackets left after the first weekend in both our men's and women's brackets. Current New Heights men's bracket rankings. Brandon, did you guys put this in there just because you want us to say that you guys are ranked above me and Travis right now? Yeah. So Jason's ranking is higher than mine?

Yeah. How is that possible? In terms of points, yes. Jason's got you beat right now. I have two Final Four teams out. How is that possible? Sure. Your total score that you could end up with is much, much lower than Travis's, but currently right now you're in the lead. You got more in the first two rounds correct than he did. You just are dead in the water for the eight and the fours, basically. So I got to really hope, Trav, who's your Final Four? Duke? Yes. St. John's? Who's out of it? Michigan State? No. Auburn?

Auburn and Florida. So I got to hope Auburn and Florida...

Take some L's. Otherwise, I'm screwed. I'm not sure if that's how it works. But Jake and Brandon do. And Brandon and Jake are both at the... They're winning. They're doing well. In both brackets because they cheat and they just give themselves extra points, I'm sure. But what we do know is that Travis is in last place. Gosh, I just don't understand. Because he just doesn't know basketball. That's what I keep trying to tell him. I thought I did. You think it's about points and stuff. Dude, he comes down...

toughness yeah i also took uh akron over arizona i'm a dumbass i had so did i go mac i don't know why i put akron so high it was the dumbest thing in the world i just saw an ohio team in there i'm like yeah they're fucking doing it let's go akron they're tough rubber bull you shitting me i did the same thing oh man we're idiots you did call it with those silver spools stop it

Sorry, Yale. Sorry, Yale. That's not, that was uncalled for. Dude, I did input all of my women. So the way I did my women's bracket, I did UConn and South Carolina. I forgot about Dawn Staley. South Carolina is who I had winning it. Shout out to Dawn Staley, Philadelphia zone. I, but everybody else I just did based on roster, average roster height of the top five. It took me legit a full day to calculate the roster heights for

of every single women's team in the March Madness. Okay. All right. So this is proof. He's citing his sources that he did it. Apparently it has not panned out. I am in third place. Yeah, I'm glad you had it all documented to show us how bad you are at figuring shit out. I searched so long to try and find this information, and I just gave up.

I was like, you know what? I'm just going to do it myself. There you go. That was a good waste of time. Hopefully everybody's having some fun watching these games. I know I am. Jason, what's your favorite part of March Madness so far? My favorite part of March Madness is as much as it hurt,

watching St. John's lose because I had them going all the way to the championship. Well, I didn't. I had them losing to Michigan State, but I had them going all the way to the Final Four. I was happy for Calipari. I mean, listen, it's a matchup against two coaches that back when I used to watch college basketball a lot were two of the premier coaches in college basketball. Still premier. And obviously still are. So I think having that connection and watching those two guys go at it as well as those two teams and it was a great game. Yeah, that was probably the highlight. What do you got?

My highlight? Calling Drake? Yeah, Drake. Unfortunately, they lost to Texas Tech. Did you have them beat Texas Tech? I did. I had them beat Tech. And Pat made sure to let me know that I was an idiot for doing that. But they're obviously a fun team to watch. I have nothing but...

love for the tech group. And man, my favorite one so far, I don't know what it was, but I just love a buzzer beater, man, that Maryland game the other day and seeing, you know, Maryland, what I didn't realize is coming into it, they only have four losses and they were all at the buzzer. It was crazy how like they finally and their next close game and at March Madness, they went on a buzzer beater.

That team right now, their bigs are physical players.

You know, they control the game or they control the tempo of the game because they play inside out. And I just right now I love I love that team, man. They kind of just like grab me and they're like the Terps are they're fun to watch, man. I think everybody's kind of on that bandwagon right now. And that's where I really screwed up when trying to figure out this bracket. I should have leaned into one of my best resources. Don't even look at my bracket.

Scott Van Pelt really could have just let me know all this stuff. The McNeese game I called and was telling everybody I'm a fucking genius. You even hit me and asked me how the fuck I knew that one. Yeah, no, I don't know much, but if you pick enough upsets... This is how I know. Now I get it. If you pick enough upsets... Now I get it. This is how you play roulette. You just play enough numbers...

And then all of a sudden it hits. And you're like, see, I told you it was going to be Red 7. You also said it was going to be all those other numbers too. Look where I had most of my chips. It's brilliant. You just got to play the neighbors. Just play the neighbors. That is a funny way to pick out brackets is to just pick all the underdogs. I literally picked fucking every one of them. And I could just be like, knew it. Drake knew it. McNeese knew it.

What about Grand Canyon, Travis? I thought I knew it. They got fucking smoked by 40. Hopefully, you know, Duke finds a way to make it all the way and take the cake so I look at least somewhat intelligent. It's looking like they're going to, but I say we wrap this thing up, man. Shout out to Jason Tatum. Appreciate you, brother. Yeah, baby. That wraps up another episode of New Heights.

Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube to the New Heights channel. Follow New Heights on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Once again, New Heights, a Wondery show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. That's right. Fucking sweet-ass jacket. Reese's got me. You...

Yeah. That is dope. Yeah, all right now. Shout out to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. And follow the show on all social media for fun clips throughout the week at New Heights Show with 1S. And thanks to our production and crew for always making us look way better than what we are. 92%ers, we'll see you guys next week. Good luck in your brackets.