TDS Time Machine | NBA Basketball
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is the anchor. For NBC Nightly News, I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC. You're listening to Comedy Central. High school senior becomes top pick in NBA draft. Now the hard part. Breaking the news to Oxford University's undergraduate department of medieval French literature. They'll miss him.

The NBA held its annual prom last night at Madison Square Garden with this year's theme, Giant Teenagers. Three of the top four draft picks came straight out of high school, including number one pick Kwame Brown. As always, the moments leading up to the number one selection were fraught with tension and excitement. With the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select...

Kwame Brown from Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Georgia. Yes. I was very upset that I didn't get that. Kwame Brown, the top draft pick, is a 6'11 high school senior from Georgia's Glynn Academy. He was welcomed to the league by tiny Jewish NBA commissioner David Stern. Perhaps I can give you a hint of what their conversation was like. You're big. You're big.

That was their conversation. The first player selected with college experience was Michigan State's 20-year-old sophomore Jason Richardson, or as he was known at yesterday's draft. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers, flushed with confidence after dominating their way to a second straight NBA title, didn't even bother selecting a player. Instead, they used their first-round pick to draft 5'4", Uta Hagen, a drama teacher that they hope will bring a long-needed semblance of craft to Shaq's acting. Now, Uta Hagen...

Now, with the unusually high number of high school seniors applying for the draft this year, a controversy has arisen over age requirements for the NBA. I'm joined now by our senior NBA analyst, Stephen Colbert. Stephen, thank you very much for joining us. Now, let's talk NBA. Let's talk smack. All right.

Commissioner Stern has himself proposed a minimum age requirement of 20 years to be in the NBA, to get drafted. Do you agree with that? Can't say I do, John. There's a fundamental hypocrisy at work here. Our society says if you're 18, you're old enough to vote or to die for your country. If you're old enough to do those things, you're certainly old enough to toss a ball through a basket for enough money to forever skew your view of reality.

In your mind, Stephen, then, 18 years should be the cutoff age. That's right, John. If you're old enough to get into a PG-13 movie, you should be allowed to play the hoops. Uh, PG-13, I think you only have to be 13. All right, different example. If the elders of your synagogue pronounce you a man, you're certainly mature enough to play the ball. That's, uh, that's 13, too. John, what do you have against 13-year-olds?

I was old enough to be tried as an adult at 13, so don't tell me an 18 or a 19-year-old isn't mature enough for the NBA. You were in a prison at 13? No, no, no, John. I was tried at 13. They never found the weapon, man. It's amazing how far a little cash-a-roo will go in the criminal justice system. Corruption.

Here's the point, John. We need to get these kids in the NBA, because if they're anything like me at that age, they're going to need a lot of cash. Go, Wizards! I got tonight an NBA legend, now an analyst for TNT's Inside the NBA, also currently spokesperson for the Dove Men Journey to Comfort campaign. Nope, for real. Please welcome Shaquille O'Neal. ♪♪

Can I tell you something? Yes, tell me. That was exhilarating. Now I know how my son feels. I do that to him, and then he tries to do that to me, and I think like, oh, I feel young again. Is this now, did that tire you out at all? Because now I feel like this is not enough refreshment for you. Does this seem like, how big is your mug at home? It's actually about that high. About that thick. So this is more like, like,

Like the thing you rinse your mouth out with after brushing your teeth? No, this would be like a shot glass. Even though I don't drink in public, it's more like a shot glass. And I can barely lift mine. So you can see there's differences with you. How are you doing, by the way? Is this, is it hard for you right now? You look still like you could play. Actually, I'm living fabulous. I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm staying out of trouble. I'm working on my PhD. I graduated May 5th.

I'm still sexy. I still have some firmness in my ass when I touch it. And other than that-- I actually was not going to mention that earlier, but-- But I can attest to the firmness. What is the PhD that you're getting in May? What is this? It's an HRD, Organizational Leadership at Barry University. Now, when you were in school,

Is it impossible for you to blend in as a student? Where can-- if you sit up front, basically, people don't even realize there's a class going on. What is-- what is the feeling of you in class? How do your other classmates deal with you? Well, they look to see if I really am doing the work. They look to see if I really know what's going on. So I like to do my homework. I like to be the first one to answer the questions. So, like, you know, when a teacher's asking a question, I go, "Ooh, ooh!"

I know that one. I know that one. Now, when you do that, does she see you? Yes, he does. He does. He sees you. Yes, he sees me. Now, why would they think you wouldn't do the work? Because the truth of the matter is, at your status as an icon, as a legend, why would you go back to school to screw around? It makes no sense. You're right.

I am right. You know, it's just the world we live in. And, like, you know, when I'm in class, they look at me like, you know, they give me that look, like, what is he doing here? But, you know, I think I've proved myself. You know what would take care of that? Yes. Wedgie. Wedgie? I don't know. Again, I don't know what the college policy is on that. But just one of those real quick and the whole thing's over. Are you able to fit it in? You got your job as an analyst. Are you enjoying? Is it difficult? You're so close to having been a player. You still look like you could get out there and play. And I bet you could.

Is it hard now to sit and watch the games and analyze it and not let the competitive juices start to flow and want to dive out there and play? It's fun. You know, I try to make people laugh. You know, I'm trying to be like you when I'm on TV. I try to... I've always felt that I've been a role model for you. Yes. No, you have. You have. I try to... Do you have any idea? If I could dunk once, I would give it all up.

Seriously? My son-- because my son now, he very much-- first of all, he's a huge fan of yours. He loves basketball. And he's saying to me, you know, I would love to be a professional basketball player. I would love to do that. And I don't know at what age do I break to him that he's Jewish. Like, I don't know-- like, what do you-- how do you even say that? Well, when you see him-- when you see him tonight, tell him Uncle Shaq says, "Barak Hashem." Tell him that. Tell him that.

And then tell him Lashana Tova. And then tell him Mazel Tov. And then tell him that he can make it. He can make it. You know what? I am going to tell him that. And I'm going to encourage him. And it's always great to see you. You're a good man. Thank you, Father. Good luck. Can I have a kiss? One quick thing before you go. Knicks, Bucks, who's making the final eighth spot in the East? I'm going to have to go with the Knicks.

Shaquille O'Neal, everybody.

Continuing in the world of sports, last night millions of NBA fans across the country tuned in to watch the highly anticipated debut of 18-year-old phenom LeBron James. And man, he was spectacular. Check this. That guy looked like a 10-year soda-selling veteran. He was awesome!

The way he drove the drink to the... By the way, I also heard he played his first basketball game. And though his Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Sacramento Kings, James defied even the loftiest expectations with impressive statistics for a newcomer. 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 85 posse members, 15 pairs of thrown panties, 1 bejeweled goblet.

ESPN actually pointed out LeBron's debut was the best statistically ever for a pro athlete straight out of high school, which sends a clear message to kids everywhere. Education is for losers. Seriously, though, stay in school. So far, James appears unfazed by the media spotlight, even embracing it by wearing the vaunted number 23.

which of course only invites comparison with that other famous number 23, New York Knick legend, Sid Tannenbaum. You know, in the 40s, kids were always saying they wanted to be like Sid. This game I love!

LeBron's performance also came as a relief to NBA executives, as it drew attention away from a public spat between two of its biggest stars. LA Laker teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal have been embroiled in a war of words over leadership of their team. During a telephone interview with ESPN, Kobe questioned Shaq's leadership skills, accused him of being childlike and selfish, and derided his unprofessionalism. Shaq responded, quote,

Kobe's the one on the rape trial thing, right? Is that... Am I wrong about that? Is that... Fortunately, it appears the rift between the two stars may soon be over. The two men are rumored to have talked things over, and in a truly hopeful sign, this afternoon, Kobe gave Shaq an eight-carat purple diamond ring worth $4 million. $4 million.

My guest tonight is a four-time NBA champion and a four-time NBA all-star who plays for the Golden State Warriors. He's here to talk about his latest championship win, his hit podcast, and so much more. Please welcome Draymond Green. Mr. Draymond Green, welcome to The Daily Show. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Are you kidding? I'm shocked that you have time to do anything after winning your fourth NBA championship. Does it ever get old?

You know, this one feels different than any other one. In what way? It's like the ultimate...

It's the best. Let's talk about it. Let's jump straight into it. This is what I love about you, you know? There was an era in sports where, you know, people would sort of say what they mean on the court, but then when they would come off the court, they'd interview, what do you think about this? It'd be like, oh, it was a good game. Oh, it was a fun game. Draymond Green says what he feels. Draymond Green says what he means. The fans love you because of this. I love watching the post-game interviews because of you.

So let's talk about that aspect of the game. You've been honest about it from the beginning. People wrote your team off. People said Golden State was done for. Does this feel like vindication in the biggest way? It does. I felt like people doubted us more this time than they did prior to 2015 when we had never won anything. And I think that's ultimately, you know, everybody's like, oh, why in the parade are y'all saying F everybody and shut up?

And that's because the reality is they disrespected the work we've already done. You know, to disrespect us as if we aren't champions and just write us off like we hadn't done it before. That's why I said...

So... Can I tell you what I also like? This is what I like. There's an element of danger that's been infused into the team. Because I think you know this. The Golden State Warriors are an amazing team. But you guys have, like, a bit of a... Like a Christian youth group vibe about you. Do you know what I mean? No, I mean...

I mean, especially like Clay and Steph, like you're the bad boy of the group, but like Clay and Steph is very much like, I'll see you guys on Sunday. It's like a nice thing. And I think there was this attitude in the league where people were like, man, they're the nice guys. You can say anything about them. They won't do anything. I saw you in one of the post-match interviews where you said, they said, what do you think happened? You said, I thought I was too soft in that game. You changed everything after that.

How do you maintain being good players, being good people, but still bringing enough hardness to the game while still playing clean? - Well, I think ultimately you follow your leader. And so when you call us a youth church group, that's Steph Curry to the T. That's who he is. He may as well go run the ministry. Now, Clay, I think everybody kind of has Clay misunderstood. - Yeah, in what way?

Clay's a little wild. Like, Clay go off the rails a little bit. Is this pre-injury Clay or post-injury? Has he changed his injury? He's a little more tame after the injury. Oh, wow. He was wilder before the injury. Okay. But I think, you know...

There's kind of this misconception of, don't take this as disrespect. Yeah, yeah, no. It's like light-skinned guys. Oh, that's funny that you said that to me. No, don't disrespect. Don't disrespect. You're like, don't get hurt, son. You're like, light-skinned guys are really something like, I won't quit. No, but there's like this misconception of light-skinned guys being soft. Huh.

And I always... But, like, you just... I am soft, by the way, but, yeah. Like you just said, I was the soft one. Like, we saw game one. Steph Curry was great. Like, I was the soft one. So I think, you know, it may be time to change the misconception. Okay, okay. You've got four championships, you know. It feels like each championship has a story. You know, the first time is, who is this team? What are they doing? Steve Kerr, this whole mix...

I would argue that your team has almost reshaped basketball. You know, the way teams play, the way you move the ball, where people shoot from, how you defend. All of that has changed because of Golden State. Absolutely. Like, when you look at your fourth championship, how do you motivate yourself to do even more now? Because most would go, I've won. What else do I have to push myself on? Well, LeBron has four, and if I get five, I'm the greatest ever, right? What? Oh! Oh! No, but honestly...

Like, that's the challenge. Like, can you do it again? Like, the moment we finished, I'm standing up on a podium, and I'm like, this is crazy. Like, it's wild. How do we get back here? I like that. It's feeling, like, my biggest fear when we won the first one was that this feeling is so great, I'll never feel this again in my life. Wow. And so you're just chasing that feeling again. And quite frankly, like I said before the season, nobody has proven that they can beat us. It still happens.

Mm. So you're going into another season. The team is looking good. The spirit in... Just in the city, like, if you were in Oakland, you know, even around San Francisco, you can feel there's a pride in and around the team. I-I feel a change in you as well, in that...

You know, there were some moments where it felt like Draymond Green was angry. You know, people weren't giving you the respect that you deserved. Now it seems like you play with the anger, but you have, like, a different swag to you as a person now. You laugh at people's doubts. You know, you enjoy those moments. On your podcast, for instance, you put it all out there. What do you think changed in your life? I think, A, having a fiancée that I have, she's incredible. She's changed me. And... I love that.

Thank you. And also, my children. They've changed me. And my mom constantly reminds me, hey, them babies watching you, make sure you're on your best behavior. The babies are watching you. And so I think that's changed me, and it's helped me channel a lot. Now, another thing that's helped me is when you have that fire and that chip as a second round pick, everybody loves it. It's great.

But when you carry that same chip as a four-time All-Star, as a four-time champion, it's then distasteful because you're not the underdog anymore. That's interesting. And so what I realized was that I was carrying that same chip that allowed me to remember the 34 guys that was drafted before me in the year five and six. And people are starting to look at it like, man, that's nasty. That's distasteful. And I knew that I wanted to change that. I don't want the perception of me changing.

to be a bad taste in someone's mind. - I hear what you're saying. You weren't trying to be the villain, you were just trying to be somebody who's driven and it changes with your position of power. I hear you. Before I let you go, there's one thing I've always wanted to know about that element of the game with the players and the teams and the fans and all of that is you have this camaraderie. You guys have this drive. You have this world that we don't know about as the fans

And when the fans are cussing you guys out from the sides, on the one hand, fans are there to throw you off your game. They want to say whatever to get at you, and that's part of being there live. On the other hand, you're human beings. You have families. You have emotions. How do you think we find that balance between what fans can say at a game and what you should or shouldn't respond to as an athlete? Well, I used to feel like fans should be stopped from saying some of the things.

that they say. Then Commissioner Silver comes out and says, "Hey man, those Boston fans are great." I was there saying, " you, Draymond." So I'm like, "All right." Commissioner's the best commissioner. Like I said on my tweet, he's probably one of the best CEOs in America, let alone commissioner of a sports league. But he's like, "Oh, that's great."

So my response to that is great, cool. Can I turn and yell, them? Because if I can, then no problem. Let them yell what they want to yell. I yell what I want to yell, and I continue down the court. And so I think the thing for me is like, at some point,

you're kind of allowing them to do this and encouraging it in a way because they know if I yelled that to Draymond and he says that back to me, he's getting fined $25,000. He's getting fined $50,000. So what I'll say to commissions, no problem. That was fun. Let them do their thing. But let me do my thing and don't hit my pocketbook. Yo, man, I could talk to you forever, but that's what the podcast is for. Be sure to check out

Check out his podcast, The Draymond Green Show and The Sessions. Draymond Green is now available on Prime Video. We're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back. The NBA. 29 of the world's best basketball teams and also the Knicks. The regular season hasn't even kicked off yet, but there's already been a ton of drama. Now, if you haven't been keeping up, last week, the general manager of the Houston Rockets posted a tweet in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

And the NBA quickly put out a statement distancing themselves from that tweet. What was funny about this, though, was that the English version of the statement was very different from what it was being translated to for the Chinese Internet. So, like, in English, the statement was basically like, "Hey, China, we're sorry you're offended." But then the Mandarin one was like, "Rest assured, China, we will feed this man to the wolves." But then, here in America, people were pissed that the NBA was kowtowing to China, right? So, yesterday,

they went into damage control mode. And things have only escalated from there. There's new fallout this evening in the NBA's firestorm with China. The NBA tonight fighting back after being blasted for caving to China's communist government. Commissioner Adam Silver defending Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey. We are not apologizing for...

Darrell exercising his freedom of expression. Shortly after Adam Silver voiced the league's support for free speech, fresh backlash from the communist regime in Beijing. China's government tonight digging in, canceling a Brooklyn Nets event at a Shanghai school. In the last few hours, China has started pulling down Lakers and Nets signage. At least two major Chinese retailers have

pulled Houston Rockets merchandise from their websites. China's state TV said it won't broadcast or stream NBA preseason games in China. Oh, no. No. Not the preseason. No. Nobody cares about the preseason games. Fans in America are like, can you ban them here as well? Can you, uh...

Yeah, the preseason is just, like, the boring stuff we're forced to sit through before the main event. Like, China banning preseason is like Disney getting rid of its lines. Just like, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go straight to the rides from now on. I wish it didn't come to this. Oh, no."

Still, though, China is seriously pissed off about the tweets, right? And they're also pissed off about the response from the NBA. And they aren't just taking preseason games off the air. They're also canceling NBA events. They're ripping down NBA signs everywhere. In fact, like, everything NBA-related is basically banned. Yeah, no basketball, no LeBron. In fact, no jumping. You see a puddle, you just walk right through that shit. And you can have doughnuts, but no Dunkin'.

And all office workers in China, if you need to throw something in the trash, none of this, no buzzer beaters. You get out and you just place it gently in the bin. So China is basically going to war with the NBA, all because of a single tweet. And as surprising as that may seem to some people, the truth is this kind of thing has been happening between China and American companies a lot.

Apple took the Taiwan emoji off its keyboard if you are in Hong Kong or Macau.

Marriott apologized to the Chinese government. Versace, Givenchy, and Coach issued apologies. Mercedes-Benz is offering an apology. The Gap issued a sincere apology. Delta saying we apologize deeply for the mistake. Damn, China gets offended by a lot of shit. They're like that one guy at work who takes everything personally. Just like, hey man, I like your shoes. I go, wow, so you don't like looking at my feet?

"Uh, no, I-I do like your feet." "Gross. You're a pervert." Now, here's the thing. The truth is, these companies don't have to take orders from China about what to say or how to act, but they do it because nobody wants to lose access to a billion Chinese customers. It's a powerful incentive. So powerful, in fact, that China's influence is affecting how Americans can act on American soil.

Tonight's game between the 76ers and China's team, the Guangzhou Long Lions, went on as planned as an international firestorm hangs over the Wells Fargo Center. And on the sidelines, Sam Wachs and his wife held Free Hong Kong and Free HK signs that were confiscated by security in the first quarter. Then in the second quarter, both got kicked out of the game when Wachs started yelling Free Hong Kong. As someone who used to live there, he supports the movement.

That's right, fans in Philadelphia got kicked out of a basketball game last night for chanting "Free Hong Kong." And I didn't realize that yelling shit at a basketball game was against the rules. I mean, that must have been so confusing for all the other fans, you know, 'cause this guy's there like, "Free Hong Kong!" And then the guy next to him was probably like, "Hey, Ben Simmons, suck a Kardashian ." And the security's like, "You, get out! No, not you, no, the Free Hong Kong guy. You keep going. That stuff about the Kardashian , that was hilarious. Carry on."

Next week, billions of people will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. But this week, in the NBA, one of the holiday celebrations did not go as planned. On the Sacramento Kings on Monday, the team canceled a planned Lunar New Year promotional giveaway celebrating this, the Year of the Monkey. The monkey shirts were part of

the NBA's recognition of the Chinese New Year. - This decision was made after DeMarcus Cousins raised some concerns. - Cousins apparently said it's insensitive to give out those shirts on the same day as the start of Black History Month. - For more on this story, we turn to senior basketball correspondent Ronnie Chang, everybody.

Thank you. Thank you, Trevor. Thank you. So, Ronnie, I guess, uh, the big question-- was it okay for the Sacramento Kings to hand out Year of the Monkey T-shirts on the first day of Black History Month? Look, Trevor, I understand how hundreds of years of institutionalized racism might make black people a little sensitive to this kind of thing, right?

Obviously, this was just an unfortunate coincidence, okay? Chinese people have no beef with black people, right? Look, I know Black History Month is really important to you guys, but we started naming years after animals like 5,000 years ago, right? It's a set pattern, okay? Every year is a different animal. Like I'm an ox, you're an ugly rat, the cameraman's a fat pig, okay? We can't change that, okay? It's just science.

Like, do you really think back in ancient China when they were like drawing up the lunar calendar, some old Chinese guy with a long white beard was like, "Oh, oh, ha ha ha, oh, ha ha ha, oh, oh, you know what would be funnier? If someday there was a sports league of mostly black people and we get our monkey t-shirts." No, that never happened. And by the way, not every Chinese person talks like that, okay? That's racist.

- Yeah, but you were the one doing the-- - Think about it, Trevor. Who was actually offended by this? Like, one guy. One guy, DeMarcus Cousins. We're really gonna listen to DeMarcus Cousins? Really? That's the guy? That's the guy. This guy, he's been a leader in technical fouls for like five seasons in a row now. Yeah, he's the biggest crybaby in the NBA.

That guy followed me. I hate my coach. That t-shirt hurts my feelings. You know what should hurt your feelings, DeMarcus? Your team being in 10th place in their conference, all right? Now look, if Steph Curry complains about a monkey t-shirt, look, that's a conversation. - Wow, wow, Ronnie. I'm shocked right now.

You know a lot about basketball, man. What are you talking about? Of course we know about basketball. Chinese people love basketball. That's like a million Chinese basketball fans, and not to mention countless NBA players of Chinese descent. Well, not countless. Isn't it just Jeremy Lin? Countless players, Trevor. Okay, look, the Year of the Monkey happens every 12 years, okay? So we need to fix this right now, or this is just gonna keep on offending people, okay? And we can't move Chinese New Year because it's based on the moon, okay? There's nothing we can do about it. So...

I suggest you guys just move Black History Month. What? No, no, no. Whoa, Ronnie. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No. No, we can't just move Black History Month. Sure you can. Why do you want February anyway? It's like the coldest and shortest month. Yeah, sometimes it's missing a day. It's like a bad month. Look, I can't believe you guys were suckered into taking February in the first place, all right? Yeah.

Why don't you take something like May? It's got 31 days and there's no monkey-based holidays, all right? It's beautiful. - You know, Ronnie, I see your suggestion, but I wouldn't count on that happening. - Look, Trevor, all I'm saying is, black people, listen, we're all on the same team here, okay? We're not your enemy. We've already proved we can work well together in rush hour, remember? That's right!

Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan kicked ass, conformed to racial stereotypes, and respected each other's holidays. - Ronnie, don't you ever touch a black man's holiday. - Trevor, we're not trying to touch your holiday, okay? Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? - Oh, nice, nice. That's rush hour. That's, we did, it was rush hour. - Oh, oh yeah, that's right. It is from rush hour. I didn't even realize. See, it's bringing us together already. - Oh, it really is. That feels good. Thank you so much. Ronnie Chang, everyone.

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