Video of My Interview with Magic Johnson
What’s good everybody? I hope you all got a chance to see my interview with Magic Johnson. It’s an honor to be interviewed by one of the all-time greats, and means a lot to me that ABC/ESPN would even consider me for one of them. In case you didn’t see it, here’s a clip of the interview. Let me know what you think of it.
My Trip to WWE Monday Night Raw
What’s going on everyone? I just wanted to give you the run down on my WWE experience. Me, a few teammates, friends and my brother went to see Monday Night Raw at the Ford Center the other day…I’ve practically been living at the Ford Center the last few days.
This was my first time to see WWE, although I used to watch it a lot when I was young. I was very intrigued by it. To get the opportunity to go watch it in person was a lot of fun. You could tell it’s changed a lot since a couple years back when I was younger.
It’s intense, man. It’s a rush. Me and the guys got into it so that made it even better.
Some of my favorite moments were seeing Triple H and Shawn Michaels, the D-generation X when I was young. That was fun to see. Most of the guys that were there when I was young are still there – Undertaker, Triple H, Brett Hart, The Big Show, Mark Henry, Vince McMahon. Everyone was still there. I wanna go to Wrestlemania now!
Obviously, it’s way different seeing it in person than on TV. First off, it’s loud. They’ve got a lot of stuff going on and it was sold out. When they throw each other against the mats, that’s loud. When they’re slapping each other, that’s loud. Everything was just loud.
I know some of the stuff is predetermined or practiced, but the allure for me was just the moves the wrestlers can execute. Those aren’t easy. Moves like the figure four and the pedigree and the choke slams that you play on video games when you’re younger, to see them come out of nowhere and do their signature moves was way cool and I can’t tell you how glad I am to have had the opportunity to watch it. I wasn’t going to go at first but I’m glad I did.
And no lie, I was thinking about going onstage if the Undertaker came out. He showed up on the big screen, and you know when the Undertaker comes out everything goes black for a while. I was right by the ring so I was going to jump over the rail and jump in the ring and by the time they put the lights on I was going to be up there right beside the Undertaker. I was just going to do it spur of the moment! I was going to have fun with it. But he didn’t come out, so it never happened.
So did you guys watch Monday Night Raw? Ever been to a WWE event? I just want to know if you all had a similar experience like mine. Let me know!
My Thoughts on the Movie “The Crazies”
What’s good everyone? Just checking in to tell you about my trip to the movies on Saturday night. Some of my teammates and I went to check out the new horror movie, “The Crazies,” and I just wanted to give you my two cents on it.
It was kind of like a new-age zombie movie about a disease taking over a town and taking over most of the people. Only a couple of people got out alive, and I think an army quarantined the whole city and shut off the highways. It was intense – a lot of blood. It was cool how it ended, but I won’t spoil it for you.
I usually don’t watch scary movies by myself. I usually watch them with a friend or a teammate or someone. I saw this one with James, Jeff and Eric. We just went to the theater at a local mall and since it was a Saturday night it was real crowded. Obviously, we were some of the tallest people there so they were asking if we played ball. We just sat in the middle back row so we could see everything. But as far as scary movies go, sometimes you just want to see something intense, and I get that feeling watching scary movies. That’s how I felt yesterday. It was definitely something I would recommend for people to go see.
If you saw it, or if you have any other good movies to recommend, let me know.
My Trip to the Harlem House of Hoops
What’s up everyone? We’re back at home after a 2-0 road trip. Great to keep this winning going. While we were in NYC, I had a little event at the House of Hoops in Harlem, right on 125th Street across the street from the Apollo Theater.
Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden came with me, so it was pretty nice to have some company.
I’ve been in a few House of Hoops before and I’ve been to the one in Harlem before to look around but this was my first time making an appearance. It was a cool time. There were a lot of kids who came out and supported us. There were a lot of people who like watching us play. It felt good because not too many people know who we are and to come up here in one of the biggest cities in the world, representing the Oklahoma City Thunder, that was awesome.
It was just a question and answer session, I signed some autographs, held a raffle for sneakers and played video games with kids. It was very exciting to do and I had fun. And just being in Harlem, which has so much basketball history in Harlem was pretty neat, too.
As a kid, you know what Rucker Park is and you know about New York basketball and you’ve seen the And-1 tapes and it’s something you wanted to be a part of and followed as a kid. So to come up here and have people know who you are, that’s something that meant a lot to us and hopefully we’ll continue to make them proud as a team and hopefully we come back and have more appearances there.
Alright y’all. That’s it for now. Any of you pick up the KD II’s yet? What do you think of them?
Me and T-Mac
What’s good everyone? I’m sure you know by now that we extended our winning streak to eight games with a win over the Knicks on Saturday.
On a personal note, I also had the chance to go up against one of my favorite players as a kid, Tracy McGrady, who the Knicks got in a trade last Thursday.
It was T-Mac’s first game as a Knick, so I’m sure that had to be special for him. McGrady is a guy I really look up to. He’s been through a lot these last couple of years with getting hurt and he finally got his chance to comeback and show what he can do. Unfortunately, it was against us.
As a fan of the game, though, you just like to see him back on the floor in another team’s jersey. I’m happy for him. He’s a guy who I patterned my game after when I was young. The guy who taught me how to play basketball told me every game to play like Tracy McGrady. I had to get a certain amount of stats and I had to play with a certain demeanor on the floor. I tried to play like Tracy McGrady every game from when I was 10 years old till I was 16. If I didn’t play like him I had to do extra sprints. I would get in trouble. So that was a guy who I always watched.
How about you guys? Is there a player who you try to pattern your game after? Let me know in the comments section.
Come see me at the Harlem House of Hoops this Friday!
What’s good y’all? Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be making an appearance at the Footlocker House of Hoops in Harlem this Friday. There’s going to be chances to win an autographed pair of my KD II’s and autographed basketballs. You might also be lucky enough to get smacked by me in a game of NBA Live on the XBox (Ask Deron Williams about that lol). Here’s the information on the event:
Date: Friday, February 19.
Time: After school.
Location: House of Hoops Harlem. 268 West 125th Street.
For more information on the event and a chance to get on the VIP guest list follow @nikebasketball on twitter.
Looking back at my all-star debut
What’s going on everyone? Well, I’m finally back in Oklahoma City after a long weekend in Dallas. And man, it’s good to be back with my teammates. We went through a practice on Monday night and are getting right back into the swing of things tomorrow against the Dallas Mavericks.
I thought I’d just talk about what it was like playing in my first All-Star Game before we play Tuesday night. Really, it all sank in once I put my jersey on and warm-ups. Running out of that tunnel, it happened so quickly, first off. It felt like a dream to me. There were so many people there to watch the game and also so many people who gave me a great ovation.
That was something I really didn’t realize until somebody told me. I was caught up in the moment. But I’m glad all the fans supported me. Plus, it was a good game. It was a fun game and I had a blast running up and down the court with these guys and hopefully I can play in more All-Star Games.
Playing alongside all these stars was a little different for me. I was playing with a lot of guys who were the main options on their teams and it was kind of different for me to come off the bench, too. It was a new experience and like I said hopefully I come back.
And as far as that record crowd at the Cowboys Stadium, I’m just happy I was a part of some history. Again, the crowd was unbelievable. It was a lot to watch a basketball game and over 100,000 is something you wouldn’t even think about. I thought it would be around 80,000. But the crowd just showed how much our game has grown and how much the players have changed the look of the All-Star Game because it was a good game. It was like a real game. They don’t come out here and play around. They were serious trying to win.
Someone asked me if any player had left a lasting impression on me, and I really couldn’t come up with just one. Just being around these guys and seeing how they act and everyone was cool, just welcoming me in like I’ve been here for the last 10 years. I felt right at home, like I belonged.
And just as important to me was seeing some of my Thunder teammates throughout the weekend. That support system is always there from our players. They supported me and congratulated me and I just want to thank them so much.
Well, hopefully you all will continue to support us down the stretch of this season. I also want to know what you thought of the All-Star Game, so hit me up in my comments section. Talk to you soon!
Another H-O-R-S-E Title
What’s good everyone? Only one more day left for me at All-Star Weekend, and Saturday night was pretty special.
I successfully defended my H-O-R-S-E title against Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics and Omri Casspi from the Sacramento Kings. And this time, they gave me a real trophy!
Just like last year, I needed some long distance shooting to help me get the win because Rajon was knocking those shots down. He was having me sweating a little bit, but it was all fun. I’m glad I was given an opportunity to come back and defend my title and I’m glad I won it again, so we’ll see next year what I do.
I wanted to try more trick shots this year but that wasn’t working for me. Rondo, he missed a couple of shots he should have made, like the one he spun on his finger. I know I couldn’t have made that shot, so I was fortunate enough to catch him when he was missing some shots and I made some.
Someone told me that I hit eight straight three-pointers down the stretch. Once the ball left my hand it felt good. I left my release up there and it felt like I was just practicing again. Not sure if you were watching it on TNT, but Charles Barkley said over the air that he thought Rajon would come out on top. It was all good, though, because Kenny Smith went with me, and we ended up getting the dub.
As far as the new trophy I got, I’m going to put it with the one I won last year. It’s a sweet trophy, and it capped another busy day for me. I started things off at the Jam Session, where I got to wear my All-Star practice jersey, which was an awesome feeling. I had another media session, where I was asked some of the same questions over and over. Then I made some appearances for Gatorade and Nike and ended the night at the arena to watch All-Star Saturday Night and cheer on my teammate Russell in the Skills Challenge.
I can’t believe that Sunday is already here! Tonight is going to be a night to remember. I can’t wait to put on my All-Star jersey and run through that tunnel.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back with another post later.
Friday was crazy!
What’s going y’all? Man, yesterday was so crazy, I was going non-stop from talking to the media to going to photo shoots and team meetings.
Let me tell you, that media session was something else. I saw seen a lot more media this year than I saw last year at the Sophomore-Rookie practice.
But overall, this has really been a dream come true. I had a meeting earlier Friday with all the other All Stars and it felt good. Everyone’s coming to me and saying I deserve to be here. It shows the hard work is starting to pay off. I’m going to make it a point to go to everything – three-point contest, dunk contest – and just enjoy everything. It’s awesome. I’m looking forward to it.
And really, I’ve just got to stay humble, something I get from my mom. I remember when I was maybe nine or 10 and I was just coming off a really good game and I was boasting. My mom didn’t like that. She told me, ‘always act like you’ve been there before; always try to get better and never take this for granted and never put yourself on that pedestal.’ So I always took that to heart and always made sure I was humble and know that at anytime this can be taken away from me. And I just want to continue to let everybody know that I want to get better and that this is not the end for me.
That’s one of the stories I told to the media yesterday. A few reporters asked me if I can get to the same level as Kobe and LeBron, and I had to remind everyone that I’m not striving to be like those guys.
Those guys are way above me. I’m just getting into this league and trying to establish myself. I don’t really like when people compare me to those guys. They’re way above me. They’re more experienced and they’ve won more. That’s not only unfair to them but to me. I don’t want to be like LeBron, Kobe or ‘Melo. I just want to be Kevin Durant, and hopefully that’s at an All-Star level each year.
Another reporter asked me how much going back to my natural position of small forward has helped my game, and I thought that was a good question. It’s helped me out a lot, especially on our team. It’s tough playing shooting guard. That led to a lot of turnovers because smaller players could get under me. I think as the year went on, my rookie year, I learned how to play that position and that’s helping me out now so I can play multiple positions on the floor. From the 2 to the 4, where Scott Brooks is playing me a lot, I think that’s helped me out.
Another good question I had was about whether I get booed in opposing arenas.
Man, me and my teammates get booed a lot! I’ve heard some crazy things, these last couple of weeks especially – ‘you’re the worst player in the league, you’re too skinny, eat a sandwich, you’re not going to score tonight.’ I hear a lot of crazy things. It’s all fun and games.
Two of the hardest questions I had yesterday came from two Chinese journalists. One guy asked me to say Happy New Year in Chinese. I did my best, so hopefully it turned out well. And a female reporter from China told me we were streaming live to China and that she wanted me to say ‘I’m on fire’ in Chinese. That was another tough one.
But overall, the day went pretty well. And it’s something I really wouldn’t mind doing again, especially if it means I’d get to be an All-Star.
I’ve just got to continue to do the things I’m doing right now. I’ve just got to do them a little better – passing the basketball, playing defense, ball handling, being more of a facilitator within our offense. I think I’m doing a decent job but I can do a lot better. But like I said, I’ve got to continue to work and stay humble and bring that focus everyday.
Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully that gave you some insight into what’s been a memorable and hectic weekend for me. I’ll keep you posted on how my Saturday goes. As you know, I’ll be defending my H-O-R-S-E title in a little bit. Make sure to check that out.
Recent Comments