Jayson Tatum and A’ja Wilson: A Championship Conversation with Sue Bird

Jayson Tatum and A’ja Wilson: A Championship Conversation with Sue Bird

[Music] welcome to a very special 342 NBA 2K massive collab to my right is Jason Gallagher the guy uh started this channel was been with JJ and I from the jump uh hops in the comments sometimes is basically just The Mastermind behind everything that we do I would say what’s up Jason hey what’s up uh I’m sorry you have to look at me but uh I wanted to take just a brief second to introduce myself as the person who you know does sort of run this channel I’ve seen the comments that are like who is Jason that’s a fair lot of people ask that it’s a fair question um you won’t be seeing much of me I don’t think give a little bio yeah yeah I’m a producer director um and Jason helped start the ringer I would say yeah I would say you were very instrumental and like like everybody from Bill on down would T to that I think everybody in the industry would attest to that you uh are a jack of all trades um I mean JJ JJ and I JJ especially would be the first to say none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Jason I think that everyone who’s followed us closely knows that um and I know you wanted to you know address some of the stuff that we’re working on right now yeah yeah uh because we’re going to be obviously going through a transition which um JJ sort of talked about um and this episode you’re watching right now is a great example of the type of thing we’re talking about um we want to make this channel a very holistic like Forward Thinking basketball YouTube channel um with all the intelligence that JJ brings along with uh you know getting to know some of the players and we’ve been talking with a lot lately and I think we have like some really fun and exciting things and the reason why I wanted to be here is simply just to say like hi we are going to be very open about the future of this Channel and so this is just uh us being an open book and saying like we’re excited we’re excited to bring you guys a lot of cool stuff yeah I you I mean as we’re planning everything now you know we’re in the process just sort of full transparency we’re reworking some of the deals all of our partners sort of on all ends from business to League to everything like that are on board um to sort of stick around with us and so we have a thing we’re going to talk about in a second that we’re laun in this week but we have a lot of stuff coming for the fall but what I would just say in general as we’re thinking about you know we’d love your guys advice and suggestions on this as well we want this to be a collective obviously we have a great relationship with um players and coaches and teams and everyone around the league and so there’s going to be a lot of player Centric content that you guys will see but we also want to try stuff I think now as we’re reworking some of the sort of creative especially with some of the younger guys that we want to start stuff with um I think that our goal is to like how do we I mean the way that that JJ and Jason and I have talked about this is when JJ and I started doing this when JJ started in 2015 he was the first player to do this but you know as we were growing and we started to see there’s there’s so many you know player shows out there and so they’re great and we we we’re friends with most of them we talked to a lot of them we’re involved in some of them um but we want to try to figure out you know what’s next and how do we figure out what’s next so I think that that is uh what Jason you know I think of us try to do that with Jason is sort of proven at being one of the best in the business at doing and so um he hates it but he’s going to be on here more it really sucks actually um yeah yeah so uh you know what’s important for me in this channel uh is to is to maintain the Integrity of what it is we built um through basketball like smart basketball analysis but then also you know uh growing the game involves a lot of things and and showcasing these players personalities stuff like that that’s something that we’re really invested in and the players we’ve spoken to so far have some like really great ideas and I’m excited to help bring them to life here on this channel with you and with Richie shout out Richie Yeah Richie’s lurking in the back Richie’s the next one to pop up yeah yeah I think I mean that’s it we kind of just wanted to give you guys a quick update after after JJ’s video yesterday um but I think we should talk a little bit about we’re putting out this week yeah um and basically the context of it is we we’ve had a relationship with with NBA 2K they’re amazing Partners we had a relationship with them since we started the company and the show um they reached out to us a few months ago about uh partnering with them that you know a bunch of things some things you’ll see in the fall but one of them is to help them announce their cover stars for 25 um Jason Tatum and Asia Wilson which I can say now because this video is out but it’s been a secret for a little bit and and so JJ and I were originally going to do this and then um you know when the Lakers stuff happened it became untenable but the but the 2K folks were great and they were just like you know we still want we still want your community to be a part of this announcement and so we called uh our old friend Sue mean Tommy called our old friend Su bird who was hanging in Seattle um and you know we we may or may not have some stuff we’re working on with her at the moment and Sue has known you know Jason in Asia for a minute she’s been been on the cover of 2K before a couple years ago with Diana terasi she’s obviously um you know a USA Ambassador a goat she’s going to be in in Paris with the teams in a couple weeks Sue popped down she uh she graciously helped us out with this conversation um and I think you guys are going to enjoy it yeah Sue is tremendous and uh a lot of lot of championships on that stage yeah not not so much from you it’s fine I was gonna say that was the thing it was like I was like I I said when Sue and I were talking about the prep originally I was like I need to just acknowledge that from the jump where we have uh seven uh Championship Seven Rings seven gold medals 24 All-Star appearances I not even getting into the all NBA and all W and everything like that which is like in the dozens at this point and then you got me yeah was pretty awesome you know what it’s just like just got to say it just like as long as you address it it’s I feel like I feel like it doesn’t make it doesn’t mean that it’s not weird but as long as you address it at least it’s out there hey you know we’re all human beings it’s great um no it’s an awesome interview I mean both of both of them Jason and Asia were both like open books and and Jason I mean just so happy for him still I’m a Mavericks fan still happy for he’s extremely he’s extremely um and he gets into this a little bit in the conversation he is he’s at peace yeah you know he’s at peace and it’s so funny we mentioned this with him he’s been on the show a couple times he our third guest ever on om3 um he mentioned you know just what specifically an NBA championship means compared to anything else and I don’t want to you know jump on his answer right now but I think that it’s I think that it is something that when you when you even if you were to go back and watch some of our previous episodes you can see that shift in him personality wise and Asian’s just the best I mean she’s just she’s a super she’s literally a superstar in every yeah like we were talking about with her afterwards you know she just decided to write a book and it’s a massive bestseller and like an awesome book yeah you know in in in between everything else that she’s working on yeah it’s a great it’s a great interview I think youall are going to really enjoy it so shall we uh here is subd Jason Tatum as what was your guys first thought you saw this cover um wow at first I was like look at our leg sleeves I feel like it’s pretty unique that we actually have them on the opposite legs but it’s pretty dope I mean just this is a big deal for me uh I’m pretty sure the same for JT but yeah it’s been pretty cool yeah uh I mean 2K is a big deal and um to be like the first dual cover uh from NBA to WNBA and somebody that I’ve known for a very very long time um super happy for her and myself and uh you know like she said this is a special moment that uh you know we should be proud of wait when did you guys meet oh my gosh 201 yeah 15 14 where were you yeah uh Colorado Springs for Junior Olympics USA Basketball yeah that is that started USA Basketball what was what was the meeting do you remember where you were like what was the what was the vibe like when you guys met we were just kicking it I guess yeah we you stay like these little dorms dorm situations oh gos yeah where you have to like yeah it was crazy and uh yeah we were just kind of kids I don’t even know what was it you six it one of those big training camps like maybe like October yeah and there was a bunch of bunch of us there had a lot of downtime after we was in the gym yeah well we’re here with Asia Wilson Jason and Tatum are celebrating your guys’s cover which is super special we’ll get into the ratings a little bit later I think Ronnie 2K is in here so if you have any issues we can pull him up um but Jason you’re fresh off a championship so can you just tell us what the last month has been like for you uh nothing short of amazing uh winning the championship however I thought that moment um would be like it’s been a hundred times better um you know you guys know it getting there or falling short um and you know getting over that hump um it was well wor it and you know still doesn’t seem real at times um but you know I still don’t like Cloud Nine of uh being a champion I was going to ask there’s on on this me aside there’s seven championships there’s seven Olympic gold medals there’s 24 All-Star appearances in this quartet right now we decided Tommy’s just somewhere somewhere in the corner there’s a lot of winning that is happening in this Trio at what point you’ve won a lot but this is your first championship at what point are you processing this in real time and just being like this feels different than the gold than any of the other you know you know dozens and dozens of awards that you’ve gotten over the years uh and and I mean it has like accomplished a lot but winning a championship it did feel like the breath of fresh air like the weight of expect expectations were lifted um and you’ve accomplished something that only a few people have in history and it’s like you can be in the room with Champions and like they know what that moment is like they know what the high that you’re on is like they know what it took to get to that moment is like so um being in a space in that room with you know people that you looked up to and and and wanted to be like and now you can say like um I won a championship like they did yeah something similar between you two is getting to the finals not having success right and then ultimately getting back and winning so Asia like what those in between years granted for you it was just one but that in between season right I guess two years those two years yeah talk about like what it felt like because actually if you could both of you Define greatness even right like do you have to win a title to be great let’s start with that actually how do you feel about that um yes I think you do whoa I think you do I don’t know with some exception with some exceptions there’s a lot of great players that didn’t win that’s very true to be in the rare air how about that yes for sure it puts you in rare air yes okay yes so knowing that you had success early back to those two years before you win a ring like what were those two years like those in between years man uh I mean we got Sweat by y’all I mean I wasn’t gonna bring it up you know she storm in the bubble um but it like I don’t know it was just like a different feel because we were already we weren’t supposed to make it that far anyways so making it there was kind of like a okay like we could do this like this is doable but then getting swept it kind of broke me cuz I was like whoa like we couldn’t get one game like dang like one game uh and that’s when it broke me really really down it’s crazy I was actually like crying my eyes out leaving the bubble I was happy to leave but I was like very upset at the fact that’s like you’re so close and like you’re just right there but you just couldn’t get it done and I felt like those next years coming back into the swing of things I was like I never want to feel that way again like what do I have to do to not feel that way because I was so used and I said it I was so used to the confetti falling on me and I could celebrate and it was this big moment but when that confetti falls on you and it’s not for you it’s like it stings I’m like oh my God this is awful like I want to rip it up um but I think every athlete needs to go through that I feel like everyone has to go through that in order to be great to have those lows to where you’re like I don’t like this feeling and so I use those years to really like fuel me to be like I never want I don’t care if we lose in the S I’m I cannot get there and do that again so like that’s when it kind of just fueled me in a way that I’m like hey I don’t want me I don’t want to feel it I don’t want my teammates to feel it so how do we get over that hump and then you just work your ass off I mean but if you if you think about it excuse me since it took two years M 2021 you guys lost correct me if I’m wrong like a little bit of a heartbreaker against Phoenix so it’s not like you know that motivation just kicks in so is there something that happened for your team in those two years for you I hear what you’re saying you’re like motivate motivate motivate what about like collectively losing in the finals losing the next year in the semis and then ultimately yeah I think that was losing in the semis was one where we were just like oh no that that one was supposed to be ours like you just felt like it the script was script it was there we were supposed to be the hoting that Trophy and I just remember cuz that was the Candace one and I was like dang that maybe the script was for her cuz she went home and she wins it but like I think as a collective like us as the aces we were just like no that was supposed to be us like that is our year and as a whole we all came back to the gym and then obviously we get Becky and then it shifts culture and everything but I think as a whole going into the locker room we were like no we got to make some changes like we if we want our culture to be winning if we want to stand on something we as the whole 1 through 12 have to say this is what we’re going to buy into yeah I was going to ask your perception after the first one and the parallels to your situation now where it’s like you now you’ve now you’ve now done it and so how do you how do you continue the chip how do you keep the edge after you’ve already done the thing that you’ve worked your whole life to do I mean everyone I don’t think people like us so I think that was our chip was like okay another reason for people to hate us more like let’s just keep doing it let’s make them continue to hate us uh but let’s also be let’s do right by it like let’s give the game back cuz the game pays you back in a lot of different ways so you want that Karma to be good karma so we just continue to be us and just stick to the system but you’re like you got to win yours at home I want wi in my Mohan son that’s tough like nothing we were there we were there for for the in Brooklyn last year even that celebrating on their practice like oh I would have preferred to win on the road honestly really just cuz I know what it felt like for somebody to win a Championship on my home court okay I wanted to that get back like I wanted to win in Dallas cuz I know I’ve seen the Warriors celebrate on our home court and that was devastating yeah no I feel that that’s true you when when you came out with JJ and I a couple years ago it was before you guys um played the Warriors in the finals and we talked about some of the some of the downsides of early success and basically you come into the NBA and you have like a huge amount of success right from the jump and just the you know the the pressures that that leads to of people expecting a lot from you right away when you guys are still figuring everything out as you are sort of like processing everything over the last couple of months do you feel any differently about that do you feel like it prepared you better do you feel like that is something that like being in the Conference Finals when no one’s expecting you to be there in your first year has like put you in a position to basically have a you know a smooth playoff run like this uh absolutely and for me it was like being in the Conference Finals five out of seven years and yeah we got to the finals once and lost lost and the other four times we lost in the Conference Finals it always you know people would have that narrative they’re knocking on the door or they’re too young they can’t figure it out for me that’s like Su sustained success and it was like it’s a matter of time until we do it um and that’s the way that we looked at it as a unit and you know when you have success early they just think you’re so much older than you are and there was so much talk of like our window has closed it was like I just turned 26 and Jaylen Brown is 27 like they say you don’t hit your Prime to year 28 but we were just held to a different standard cuz my rookie year we played LeBron in a game seven to go to the finals um but for me the most satisfying thing about winning is like in the social media age that we live in and turn on the TV there’s so many things that they can debate right is he the best player is he top five or whatever they can’t debate that I won a championship that’s something that they never can take from me and it’s like I just I sleep so much better at night cuz it did it would keep me mon you’re already sleeping so much better and it’s like I don’t care I honestly don’t care what they say anymore it’s like yo I did it the thing that they said I couldn’t do I did it and they can’t take that away I literally say the exact same thing or I have said the exact same thing towards the end of my career especially like at some point someone’s going to break whatever record you have they’re gonna whatever it is but you you cannot argue the winning can’t you can’t argue the winning and something another similarity and you kind of brought it up that I wanted to ask you guys about is your teams have strong cultures you can’t win without it right how do you keep all that noise all the narratives all the things that people saying whether it’s about you and Jaylen whether it’s your team last year there was a like a laundry list of things that people were bringing up how do you how do you keep that locker room tight Asia like how do you keep that how do you let the culture take care of that I mean we have a saying that’s like stay pois to the noise and that’s something that we just stand by no matter what like we got hit with a lot of stuff last year little stuff this year um and our biggest thing was some we make jokes out of it sometimes we just keep being us CU like I said we know the game’s going to pay us back we know that the talk is going to be silenced once we Hoist the trophy like that’s just what you have to get to that’s all you have to do and it’s very very hard because a lot of people want to dive into it’s always a story to tell everybody wants to figure out conspiracies it’s all these different things that they’re like oh my gosh what’s going on with the aces I mean investigations the whole night like because a lot lot it’s something always going on with the aces but with us I think that’s when we really lean on each other the most like that’s when we really check on each other’s mental we kind of have days where we just kind of put the basketball aside and we stay within because that culture there it runs a lot deeper than just on the court it translates it goes hand in hand so for us we just kind of hype each other up and just always just be there for each other knowing that we have each other’s back through it all because when it’s in this in between those lines it’s a dog fight and nobody cares about the aces they want to beat you every game that they play against us is a championship game so if we’re rattled then it’s like they win right before we play so we just really just stay close-knit we don’t let a lot of noise seep into it what about you JT uh I mean yeah to pigy back off that it you have to have like High character people in your organization and it’s not just the people in the lock room or the coaches it’s like everyone in the building has to be on the same page and has to contribute to winning and whatever their role is from the chefs to the janitors like everybody is on the same page for what we’re trying to accomplish and I give the team our team a lot of credit this year like everybody was in a perfect stage of their career of like they’ve had individual success theyve made money to take care of their families and now we were literally brought together to for one goal and everybody in One Way or Another sacrificed or did other things that would uplift the group um and winning solves everything right winning solves everything the best bandaid of all time cuz you could have like teams that are so successful all the things but if you lose it’ll be like oh this that the other but when you win it’s like yeah all those things happen but Band-Aid I have a question the second you saw you got the text that Drew holiday is coming to Boston where you in the back of your mind you know a lot of things have to happen you know how tough it is to get through in the back of your mind are you like we’re winning this at first I was like I can’t believe Milwaukee let this happen so thanks to the bucks um but yeah kind of I knew we had had a really good chance um to win a championship a lot of things have to go right you have to stay healthy have to be on the same page people have to get along it’s a little bit of luck that’s involved um but knowing that Drew had Championship DNA and I want to Gold Medal with him I knew you know what kind of player and person that he was uh I knew it was going to make our team better and we already got KP and we already had a really good team so um yeah when we got Drew I was pretty confident about what we could accomplish is there someone for you for you guys where you feel like oh when we got Candace oh okay I think going say Chelsea shout out Chelsea to I’m Jing but even then like hon so you have like you can pick from all of them but when we got Candace I was like uh oh like our our roster’s looking pretty nice like okay uh so yeah it was just one of those things that I was like it can look great on paper and I’ve been on teens where it looks so good on paper and then when it’s on court it’s like a show um so when we got Canon and I finally got to like play alongside I was like okay this could be something well to that point we talk a lot about Alicia and her impact we were talking about during the finals last year but su’s former teammate and just what she brings you have a lot of teammates like this you know Derek is one but there’s a bunch going up and down the list what do you guys think makes uh just broadly what makes a good role player like what makes somebody who is like when this person is on your team whether it’s your team or an opponent you like you know they are going to provide something that uh is just intangible the little things like like you said the intangibles just the 50-50 balls like just anything they just things that don’t show up on the stat sheet I feel like are so key when it comes to role players and you honestly can’t win without them uh they are some of the biggest ones that make the biggest plays at the right moment because I mean Superstars goingon to be Superstars at the end of the day you’re gonna get what you goingon get out of them but it’s like who’s doing the little things that Superstars can’t always do and that’s the separation Factor right there yeah uh and it’s like role players on a championship team would be uh you know one or two on a different team like the fact that Drew holiday and D white are considered our role players um we’re extremely lucky not cool and like she said like the superstars like you’re going to have off nights especially in the playoffs it’s just how it goes um and in those moments when role players of guys off the bench can buy you a three minute stretch or or whatever it is that where they make plays and hit shots and then you come back into the game and now everybody’s rolling um it really is a collective effort you never know when a role player can win you a playoff game and that’s so Valu yeah it’s like a stress reliever when you’re sitting on the bench and you see them even if they just keep the score where it was when you came out it gives you a little bit more um I always find what I find interesting about role players is in a lot of ways we talk about the superstars and their egos do they have one do they not how do they Embrace their teammates to me the role players ego is was so interesting because like you said they could be number one number two on another team and yet they choose to be God I was going to say lesser that does not do it justice it’s not lesser I got I got get a new vocabulary here but they’re choosing a lesser role right they have to be efficient in that role and yet their ego can never comes in and I always find that fasting because we always talk about egos of superstars but never about the role players and they’re the ones that have to probably take even a bigger hit in aot ways and continue to show up continue to be efficient that’s how I feel about AC about Alicia Clark like she just comes in she’s going to guard the best player she’s going to hit the corner three she’s going to Yap at the ref a little bit when they call a foul on her um but players like that are so important you guys both play on incredibly talented teams and we just mentioned some of the players that are considered quote unquote role players but you’re also topheavy in a sense you’re really talented at the top so what’s it like meshing that like Asia you’ve got four Olympians on your team so what’s it like putting that together as well I mean it’s sacrifice that’s what it is like we’ve all taken the pay cuts we’ve all sacrificed because I mean a lot of us can go to other teams I mean KP Chelsea Jackie they can go to other teams and be that number one option but they choose to stay here and be like no we want to continue to grow off of this culture and yeah we have our times where it’s like all right you can go ahead and get 30 you can get 20 but in no way I w’t you talk about before the game all right KP Plum I see that look right like we know any given time people can go off but we know where our bread and butter is we know what really wins in the long run cuz these games are cool they’re nice regular season games are kind of chill but it’s like when we hit September October like what is going to win us a championship what is your bread and butter give her the ball oh my God no that’s not the even though Chelsea and Nina pick a roll I would say that is chef’s kiss so that may be our bread and butter but any guards uh I feel like I just try to side oh yeah for sure come on now think that’s our better and we just go there what about you fitting just fitting in all the talent uh it’s like what I said alluded to earlier was like we were just at the perfect time in our career um and I say like for the guys that were on that 22 team when we went to the finals and lost to the Warriors like the Sam Howers the pton pritch myself JB D white like we knew we know what it feels like to get there and lose and you know we add k who had never been past the second round so he’s just so excited to be on a team that can content for a championship and Drew who’s been there but you know the year the next few years in Milwaukee weren’t so great um so just everybody being on the same page and like putting individual accolades to the side and when you win those things will still come right whatever you achieve they will still be there but knowing that the most important thing for us to do is to win a championship and like having those heart-to-heart talks before the season even without the coach like yo this is what I need from UD D white this is what I need from such and such and I think for everybody to have that certain level of respect for each other that the top guy can call out the 15th guy and the 15th guy can call out the top guy and and you see that in the everyday work that you put in and that trust factor of like yo I know he has the best interest in his team so whatever he says I’m not going to take it to heart and you know we move on and go to the next play you just made me think of something did did losing in the finals maybe take away some of the the fear right like the I don’t mean literal fear necessarily because I know as athletes we don’t talk about that but just that idea of like oh God did it did it did it actually like take because you felt it you’re like okay if this is the worst so I’m just curious if it if it maybe numbed it a little bit or did it add pressure uh o for me it was it was it was like the lowest moment I guess in my career cuz getting to the championship is hard enough right at that moment it was the hardest thing I ever did and to feel like I didn’t have enough to win was like depressing and you start to H have a little bit of Doubt of like man you never guaranteed another shot so that was the The Fear Part of like not like I know what it like losing it’s just like damn will I ever get back there so so taking that opportunity of like man when we beat Indiana and we had 10 days off and we were figuring out who we were going to play like my mind was so made up like I will do whatever it takes we’re not going to lose this series and we were all on the same page did you like that the take away the fear yeah I always felt like I’m not trying to say this to me I didn’t lose in the finals but I got knocked out of the first round a lot that’s like pretty much the story of my career we either won or I got knocked out of the first round and what I found was and getting knocked out in the first round is not the same as losing in the finals but when you do it consecutively people start to question and doubt and all the things and what I found was um experiencing the worst feeling made me less scared of it I was like okay I lived I survived I I woke up the next day you know I you know and then you’re on other teams so on USA Basketball which I definitely want to talk to you guys about I played overseas so I had other successes that gave me like a of it so I wasn’t just totally you know in the dumps all the time he total loser I wasn’t a big loser um but yeah I think as I got older it’s just was like all right I’ve literally experienced it all and it’s not that scary one thing we were talking about in the way over here um how do you guys think your Scout has changed in terms of like just growth in your career in terms of how how teams are approaching you oh it’s a good one that is a good one I feel like I can go write more now that’s what I said he goes what would you say for can go right now I can go right now and I think in the I was not yeah that that is very true by year two you were doing that that is true that happened quick but sorry um my mid’s nice mid’s nice always like play me for the drive and now I can shoot a little bit literally exactly what I said I wish we recorded it just play the facts exactly what’s up with the threes how we feeling oh yeah the thre’s kind of good she can take give her some time she can knock it down okay getting consistent what are you most proud of in that in that Scout report like meaning the thing you’ve worked on what are you most proud of oh definitely my three ball okay yeah and also I think playing in small spaces like with not a lot of dribbles like with one dribble I can get into my move I can get to my spots versus early in my career I would literally like shut down if I felt like I couldn’t get to my spots because I’m like oh my God why can’t I do it uh so now I feel like I’m most proud of like no matter what no matter where I am I can still manage to get to my spots uh I would say for me earlier in my career I was so defined or wanted to be defined by scoring and like if I would have off shooting nights it would affect other things that I was doing on the court um and you know I had my first practice today at USA basketball and won’t say his name but one of the coaches came up to me and said that you know him and a lot of other coaches watched throughout the playoffs and was so impressed by my willingness to I guess dominate in all areas in the nights that I wouldn’t have great shooting nights could I get 14 rebounds could I get eight assists could I guard the big man and to see my you know talk about the growth from you know early in my career when I would for lack of better words maybe shut down or be frustrated about that instead of trying to figure out other ways to win um and so to hear him you know come and tell me that uh you know it meant a lot well I think the Indie the indie game three and four in particular were probably good examples of that did you feel that in real time were you like this is a because you just do you dominated every as like every aspect of that game besides probably like the score sheet were you like just feeling good the whole time all was happening yeah and I was really at like a place of Peace coming into the playoffs of like man I don’t care how it looks I’m going to win a championship this year and you know I was consumed earlier in career of like I want to win but I wanted to look a certain way right I was young I wanted to you know I wanted to look a certain way and you know coming up short so many times this year I was like I’m not going to be defined by one thing I’m going to hold that Trophy up when it comes June by any means necessary so you both are going to your second Olympics I feel like it’s really your first though yes because Tokyo was a little different did not count the experience not Tokyo the experience it was not the best I love Tokyo um God there’s so many questions I want to ask so basically I want to know about what you’re looking forward to experiencing like off the court yeah so I’m gonna ask you both that but then of course we got to get into the basketball too so very quickly is there something off the court that you didn’t get to do last time that you’re really looking forward to doing I didn’t get to do the ceremony walk oh yeah you didn’t well you missed us in our hot ass outfit didn’t miss much I got sick on like the car Rod over there I had to go back to the hotel yeah I remember that uh I want to go to different sporting events I want to go see like track and swimming and all that different stuff basketball wise um again it is your second Olympics but but again it’s it’s it’s kind of your first because now that you have that one year under your belt yeah you’re not rookies anymore and when you’re when you’re a rookie at the Olympics ignorance can be Bliss a little bit you don’t really know what to expect you kind of get to be free in that way so how do you think and Jason I’ll start with you how do you think your role is going to be different this time around what are you going to take from the first experience-wise and use as you enter I mean you guys are obviously I mean it’s Dream Team part two for sure so if you want to add in a little bit of what that’s going to be like too I’m super excited I think one thing that I learned from the first experience was I took it I took our talent for granted meaning like I just I look to my right it was Kevin Durant it was Damen Lillard it was bam it was all these guys I was like yeah we just going to roll the ball out there we going to win and we lost like two friendly games and we lost the first game in Tokyo against France and it was just like a wild moment of like no we really have to play the right way we have to compete we have to do all the little things because we can lose I was ignorant I didn’t think that we could lose and that was a that moment we needed that moment as a team and we went on to win the gold medal um and that’s something that I’ve carried into this Camp um and everybody has that mindset of like you have to have an appropriate level of fear of like respect your opponent because you can lose it’s some of it also we talked about this a lot Manila in the fall some of it’s also just respecting feba and just the difference in you know it’s not even just the opponent but the rules just that approach Asia do you have a perspective on that I mean we’re going for eight straight so the nerves are kind of there cuz you just don’t want to be that team uh but I tell people that all the time like oh you guys go over there and just kill everybody I’m like you’re not trying to be the team do not want to be the team even like close games anything you just don’t want to be the team we talk about it but it’s there it’s there it’s like just glooming over and you’re just like all right we just don’t want to be the team on three go so that’s the biggest thing that I think is just and obviously it’s just the pressure but for us I mean our Locker Room’s going to be great so I’m not really worried on that standpoint but we’re going for eight and you just don’t want to be that team I will not be that t no um you both have literally accomplished basically all of it um but now you’re on the cover which is pretty dope so what was your first thoughts when when uh they called you let you know uh I had a unique experience it was on my birthday um I was at my mom’s house and Deuce ran downstairs is he more excited than you he had he had like a bag um and he was like Daddy happy birthday and uh I opened it and it was you know congrats you’re under the cover of 2K blah blah blah and uh I actually like got terot I kind of cried a little bit um just because I feel like I’m very blessed and fortunate that when I was younger I had so many dreams and goals and things I wanted to check off and it’s like I’m experiencing those things in real time and I grew up at my mom’s house playing 2K with my best friends and my cousin and dreaming about being in the game one day and then being on the cover and it’s like for that moment moment to come true um I got a little I kind of cried a little bit um I was just so overwhelmed and happy um that you know something I dreamed about came true that’s awesome yeah for me my my agent called and she was like hey you’re going to be on the cover and I was like oh wait no like about time Ronnie damn it poor Ronnie she’s taking all the hits but no it was a big moment I mean you see yourself you you dream of like JT was saying like as a kid you just dream yourself seeing your your face in these spaces and then for it to actually be real and happen I mean I see my face on a potato chip bag and it’s like oh my gosh now I’m in a video game and now I’m on the cover like granted I don’t play video games and I might start now because my face is on the cover but like it’s just one of those moments where you’re like wow like this is something I would dream of doing like having a shoe like all those different things and now you’re starting to like check off your goal list it’s been huge so I I’m blessed yeah I want to ask you guys we were talking about this before your advice for kids in Columbia your advice for kids in St Louis obviously around the world but those places in particular you know a lot of kids watching this thing play this game and they look up to you guys now bestselling author you know as well are there things that this this game signifies in terms of like it’s interesting hearing you talk about your experience just growing up playing the game like what do you tell the kids when you see them what do you say this is a this is you know maybe not you’re maybe not going to be a professional basketball player but this is where you’re going to go yeah I always say is like you can never dream too big you stole my that’s exactly what I to say like you can never dream too big and with like and I I tell people like you don’t always have to be an NBA player like you can be whatever you aspire to be I just every time I go home and if I have a camp or an event for my Foundation um I like going back because it’s like I want the kids to see like yo I grew up here I walked these same streets I was at the same parks that you guys are and coming from St l Louis like I didn’t have that many Role Models or seeing things on TV kind of felt Out Of Reach so I think it’s very important to always go back home and and show the little girls and boys that whatever you want is is achievable like you can do whatever you set out to do with the right support system right nobody’s ever been successful by their your s I’m very fortunate for my parents and my family but I just feel like with the right love and support and if you truly go chase whatever you want to do it’s possible for sure yeah just the same exact thing like don’t ever think dreams are just Untouchable like you can do it and just being that tangible role model like JT was saying like I didn’t have that like my Candace spker was mine I’m like I can’t a little girl from Columbia can’t go to La Buy Herself the seats so like just being that tangible role model and telling young people like no if you really want to do this write it down and go after it because you want to check that you want to check it off your list just like we did and so just telling them never dream don’t be Little Dream Big no one likes little dreams well I I don’t want to end this on a low note I mean Asia already called me a loser so I don’t know if we can get any lower but um we are going to talk about your ratings real fast just just for more motivation don’t piss me especially for you don’t piss me off for me do you know where you were last year I know I ended off the season out of 96 okay do you know what you were last year 90 do you know oh that more 9 z Oh I thought you’re going 90 oh no 90 wait hold on no 98 oh wait okay Ronnie let me Che the Google machine you finished 98 that’s what it says according to my research on my phone 5 minutes ago we don’t need a fact check yeah sounds right break it to you NBA 2K 25 you can pre-order now and it’s available September 6th Asia Wilson Jason Tatum thank you guys so much you and congratulations on just life at this point a

Welcome to a very special collaboration between ThreeFourTwo Productions and NBA2K. We are excited to help announce their cover athletes, Jayson Tatum and A’ja Wilson and to celebrate, they sat down for a full podcast to talk with special guest host Sue Bird (the literal GOAT). In this interview, Jayson talks through his long journey to an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics and what it feels like to be called NBA Champion. And A’ja Wilson discusses the lessons that come with playing as the hunted NBA Champions with the Las Vegas Aces. This is an excited episode and we’re thrilled to share. Enjoy!

00:00 – Start of Show / Intro
07:36 – Jayson Tatum & A’ja Wilson
09:15 – Tatum on finally winning a chip
18:03 – A’ja on blocking out the noise while the Aces are trying to win
22:22 – Importance of role players
29:45 – How Jayson and A’ja’s scouting report has changed
32:51 – Thoughts on olympics
36:10 – 2K25 cover reactions and comparing 2K ratings

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.

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