＂Nike Said I DIDN'T Have A Personality＂ - Dwight Howard REJECTED By Jordan Brand In SHOCKING Snub
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
181.01598
Summary
In this episode, I sit down with Kobe Bryant to discuss his career and how he became the greatest basketball player of all time. We talk about how he broke into the NBA, how he got to where he is today, and what it takes to be a champion.
Transcript
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I think that we have had so many great players and greatness come through this league.
00:00:08.440
We start to compare by using rings, and I think it takes away from a lot of the greatness
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that a lot of these players had because they wasn't as fortunate enough to win championships
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like a Jordan or LeBron did and have a brand push them to a whole other level.
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And so Larry Bird or, let's say, Clyde Drexler, even Scottie Pippen,
00:00:37.640
these guys have the engine of Nike behind them or how Steph Curry has Under Armour
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So when you don't have that boost behind you, sometimes you may not get the credit from the world
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because the eyes are not on you as much as it would be if you were with these companies.
00:01:05.560
Is there in the league a certain – are people frowned upon if you're with Adidas
00:01:15.500
I don't think there's any clicks, but, you know, usually like the Nike players
00:01:22.760
So it's like I was with Adidas when I was in high school,
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And that's how usually guys stick with their – whoever they were with, you know,
00:01:40.500
Did you ever meet – like have you ever seen a movie Air?
00:01:42.820
Or is that how they explain the whole Nike situation?
00:02:00.360
There's only three movies I watched three times in the first week.
00:02:09.160
I took these guys, myself, three times in the first week.
00:02:14.060
But there's a scene where Matt Damon is playing Sonny –
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And he's telling Michael Jordan's mother on what to ask from Converse,
00:02:28.960
And then before you do anything, come with us Nike.
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was there any stories that you met with Nike, you met with everybody else?
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Or was it straight up you just went to Adidas, didn't meet with anybody else?
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And at the time, Nike said I didn't have a personality, which was crazy.
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Nike literally told your dad and your agent you don't have a personality.
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I don't even think they made an offer at that point.
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Later on, did they ever try to poach you from Adidas or no?
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But it's a Chinese company, so, like, you can't really – like, if something happens in the States and you have to try to fight it in China, you're not going to do that battle.
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I stayed there for eight months and played in Taiwan.
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By the time I left Taiwan, we were talking about making my own basketball league.
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And now I have a league that plays in Taiwan, plays in Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong, a couple places in Philippines.
00:04:10.660
And I was just so happy that I got a chance to play in Taiwan.
00:04:23.560
The way they treated you, like gratitude, excitement, enthusiasm, or?
00:04:29.560
But I would just say, like, playing in the NBA for a very long time could – you know, you could get mentally –
00:04:42.540
You could kind of feel real, you know, depressed or sad about some things sometimes because in the NBA,
00:05:00.940
You know, so a lot of times when players get out of that whirlwind or that fast-paced life and everything starts to slow down,
00:05:07.380
you know, a lot of things look and feel and seem different.
00:05:11.180
You know, a lot of guys go through problems and issues during those stages.
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And, you know, a lot of players in different sports as well, three to five years after they're done,
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They don't know what to do when they finish playing.
00:05:25.460
So, you know, from my time in Taiwan, it was like – it was like Red Bull.
00:05:32.760
You know, I feel so much peace, you know, being in the city, you know, just living life
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and learning so much about the culture, you know, which was amazing.
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I was like, man, I want my kids to come over here.
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I ended up getting my gold card over there for business so my kids can come now.
00:05:51.000
Mom and dad, family can come at any time and start business over there and do things like that.
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And when I was 18, all the way up until about, I would say, 34, 35, I would go to Asia and do a tour every summer.
00:06:16.620
This your boy, Dwight Howard, a.k.a. the Hall of Fame Superman in the building.
00:06:21.280
If y'all want to connect with me, ask me any questions, just go to Manect and I got all the answers for y'all.
00:06:28.960
Yeah, I can tell you how many women, Wilt Chamberlain, no, that was just fake.
00:06:36.440
If you want to learn how to do Snapchat, if you want to learn to get that jump shot silky smooth like me,
00:06:41.660
if you want the fresh fade with the nice hair, come check your boy out.
00:06:48.100
Remember Manect and Connect, I'll see y'all there.
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