Imported (2025) Movie Script

1
Kobe, you've been pretty
critical of the AAU system
and the way American
players are brought up.
Not pretty critical, I'm
extremely critical. I hate it.
Because?
Well, because it doesn't
teach our players
how to play the right way.
Or how to think the game, how to
play in combinations of threes.
I think everything is, uh, you
know, it's a reward system.
I think, uh, the
coaches who are...
who aren't teaching the
game and getting rewarded
in one fashion or another,
and, uh, it's just a showcase.
-Do you feel like that...
-It's absolutely horrible for the game.
So, as an American, when
you're good at basketball...
...that's the only thing you want
to envision from the time you're 12.
When you come up in America,
your goal is the NBA.
That's all you see.
That's all you want
to be a part of.
There's only 450
players in NBA.
With the first pick
in the 2025 NBA draft,
the Dallas Mavericks
select Cooper Flagg.
And there's only 60 players
that are eligible to be drafted.
It's way more than 60 players
going for those spots.
So it's really, like, you
know, a lottery in a sense.
On the women's side,
it's a little different.
So you only have one
opportunity to get drafted,
and then once that's
over, that's over.
Playing overseas is
honestly where the money is.
I gotta go overseas
and then possibly try and
make my way back over.
Everybody that
plays ball overseas
has an interesting story, because
nobody set out to play overseas.
You put all your efforts
and everything you can
into making the NBA.
I got waived, like, right before
the season was about to start.
And then I went undrafted.
My agent told me, instead,
"You've got a offer in Italy."
Detroit says, "We want to pick you.
I think a 33rd pick, a 36th pick?
But we want you to
do a year overseas."
Hell no.
That shit says, "Siberia."
Like, where we at? Where
did I... What the...
What did I get myself into, man?
So, off the lines,
you wait for me!
Off the line! And
all of you! Okay?!
This is the reality of life
is you gotta figure shit out.
We're stepping outside
of our comfort zone
to pursue a lifelong dream.
All I've ever wanted
to do since I was seven
was be a professional
basketball player.
I had a lot of success early.
You know, I was always
a really good shooter.
So, I knew I had a lot
of confidence early.
Now he have Michael Creppy...
There's a huge misconception
about international basketball.
I've literally heard people
say that it's semi-pro,
and that couldn't be
further from the truth.
You hear Luca, you hear Giannis,
and a lot of these
NBA players say that
the EuroLeague is much
harder than the NBA.
They're... they're
very vocal about that.
Kobe Bryant, he made a
statement a few years ago
that said international
basketball is
a better brand of basketball
than here in the States.
And he got a lot
backlash for that.
You know, and I... I got lucky
'cause I grew up in Europe.
-Right.
-And you know,
everything there was
still fundamental.
So I learned all the basics.
And I think we're doing
a tremendous disservice
to our young basketball
players right now.
That's something that
definitely needs to be fixed,
and it's going to be one of
things I definitely focus on.
I think my dream has
become my family's dream.
My mother, she didn't know
anything about basketball,
and now you can talk to
her, she can tell you
about who she thinks is a
good player and a bad player.
She can talk to you about a pick and
roll and about who doesn't play defense.
My college recruitment,
it was short.
My sophomore year,
I jumped out there,
and I said I want to go to
Louisville and play for Rick Pitino.
So, Coach Pitino was
one of the first coaches
to come visit me
during my recruitment.
So he came to my school,
he kind of spoke,
and he spoke to my family, spoke
to my high school head coach,
and that night I committed.
So, um, it... it was short
because I called out, you know,
where I wanted to go, and
it ended up happening.
The amount of
opportunities there are
to get paid to play basketball
outside of the States,
if you could think of a country
or you think of a continent,
they have basketball there.
Basketball in China probably
is the best basketball
market in the world.
Even in the States.
Somebody told me a stat,
and I believe it after
living there for two years,
there are more people that
play basketball in China
than there are in
the United States.
I lived in Shanghai,
and I lived in Nanjing.
Like, those courts are packed.
Every... every day after three
o'clock when people get off work,
on the weekends,
during the mornings,
like, it's an insane
basketball market.
They really love
the game out there.
I didn't know anything
about the Italian League.
I didn't know about...
anything about the tradition.
I just knew that, you know, Italians,
they love pasta and things like that.
I ended up signing a contract
to go play in Turkey.
I go to Iran. So I go to the
Middle East for the first time.
Then I come back to
Italy, to Lebanon.
From Lebanon, I
go to New Zealand.
I never really
looked at basketball
as one of those things I
was just really good at.
From New Zealand, I go to Italy.
From Italy, I go to France.
I did it 'cause it was
fun. Kept me outta trouble.
From France, I go to Germany.
From Germany to Egypt.
I played in Greece, Israel,
Switzerland, Turkey, and Australia.
Egypt to Iraq. And now
I'm going to Saudi Arabia.
Y'all come off the
pick tentative,
then it's gonna be hard...
Players that are coming up
that don't have the right
resources in terms of agents
and mentors in this
space get scammed a lot.
I had a contract one year where
I played in Czech Republic
where I got a bonus for
every basket that I scored.
I didn't even know
you could get that.
You know, my agent at
the time got that for me,
and that opened my
mind up to, like,
you can ask for anything.
You know, you ask for a horse
if you want one, you know,
and if the team agrees
to it, they agree to it.
If we don't do this together,
I'm talking about all of us,
then we all lose.
Let's go get it, man.
Let's get working.
Come on, man.
Vindicated Sports is my
company that I founded in 2017.
I started the company literally
to educate and advise players
on the business of
international basketball.
In this industry, if you
have a gap in your profile,
which means if you have a year
or more away from the game,
you're basically damaged
goods to the industry.
They don't care
what I went through.
"Are you able to play now
and can you produce the way
we want you to produce?"
And it sounds heartless,
it sounds inhumane,
but that's the reality
of this industry.
I essentially became
what I needed.
I'm giving more direction
to players coming up,
and I can kind of help
them navigate this,
this... this interesting
world that they're in.
So I'm Garric Young.
If you're in the DMV, you
probably know me as Ross.
I play forward, small
forward, power forward.
If you need a shooting
guard or center, who knows.
Wherever you need me.
One day, I was working out
with one of my close friends,
and some guy walks into the gym.
He talked to me about
what he was doing.
His name is, uh, Mike Creppy.
Takes players on tours and
does consulting for them.
I felt like I... I tried out
just to get my career started.
I wasn't hearing from any
NBA teams or G League teams.
I tried the tour.
I believe it was about a week
in Denmark, um, in
Copenhagen or Copen-ha-gen.
Don't know how you pronounce it.
I felt like I did pretty well
at the tour. I had a good time.
Showed my skillset, at
least a good part of it.
Then afterwards, just
stayed in contact with Mike,
and then an agent reached out to me
after the tour from the player agency.
The best opportunity that came
up for me was to play in Germany.
It was called Oberliga, or more...
more specifically Bayernliga,
which is, uh, in South Germany.
-Uh, can I get a caf latte?
-Mm-hmm.
With caramel?
Caramel syrup, okay.
I've known Lindsey
and her family
since she was maybe
nine or 10 years old.
She's from my area in
Silver Spring, Maryland.
She used to always come up to the
same gym that we would train at,
and her dad would ask,
"Hey, can Lindsey jump
in the drills with you?"
And she played a lot
better than boys.
They call her Pull-Up Pulliam, because
her mid-range game is so polished.
And, uh, and she had that ever since
she was AAU in high school age.
How'd you find this restaurant,
or this coffee shop?
-Mm.
-It's pretty cool.
Honestly, I was just looking
on, like, Bolt Food one day.
Uh-huh.
And I saw it, and I
saw the acai bowl.
-And that was it for you?
-Over. Mm-hmm.
And it's funny 'cause,
like, when I'm overseas,
I find myself... Like, I'll
go to McDonald's sometimes.
More... Like, I
don't go at home.
-You would never go back home. Yeah.
-I would never go at home.
But I don't know, it's just different
here 'cause you want to get a taste
of, like, being at home in
the States and stuff, so...
The last time I
saw Garric play
was literally at our
showcase in Denmark in 2023.
-You good?
-Boy!
Long time, no see.
Since then, I've been
seeing his Instagram posts
and different highlights,
but I've never seen
him play in person.
So the role I play with
Garric now is just advisor,
somebody that's like a
big brother, big homie,
somebody that has lived in
what he's trying to go into,
different places overseas.
I've seen a lot of contracts.
I know how to negotiate.
I know what the
teams are thinking.
So, just giving him perspective
and just being what I
needed when I was his age.
And so, as we're interviewing
the different players,
they're telling the camera
about their journey.
It's amazing what basketball
has been able to do
for so many players.
It's opened up the door
to... to the world,
and, you know, that's
something that, you know,
is a blessing from God because
so many people want to travel
and they don't
know how to travel.
Do you know how to pronounce
the city that you're in?
Um, I sure could try.
I don't know if it
would be spot on.
Bonska... B...
Alright. Banska? Bonska?
-Bansk.
-Bansk Bystrica?
Bystrika?
Bystrica. Yeah.
-That'll be good.
-Still learning.
-Once I do my back, it's done for.
-It's almost like...
Oh.
Okay, see, for tomorrow, it's
gonna be practice at 9:30.
It's just a shooting session,
okay, to warm up a little bit,
and game is at 6:00,
so please be ready.
Lot of fans will come. So...
Clearing you up?
Every time that we
have a home game,
we... we all come down
here, have team dinner.
Mandatory, no phones, none of
that. Or you're getting fined.
You didn't sit with me today.
-What?
-You're mad at me?
Um, that's my coach's
daughter. Yeah.
-That's her best friend.
-That's my little best friend.
Coach didn't speak English.
Um, my assistant coach
didn't speak English,
but there was a... there was
a couple guys on my team,
uh, that spoke English and...
and could translate to them
or could translate to me,
so that helped me out a lot.
But it was for the
first time in my career
that I played for a coach
who didn't speak English.
So, me and him couldn't
communicate, uh, verbally.
But, you know, just with
both loving the game
and just seeing what's
going in the game
just through gestures
and pointing and stuff.
The way international
basketball is broken down,
you have the EuroLeague, right?
The EuroLeague is right under
the NBA, it's the top of the top.
Then you have EuroCup,
then you have Basketball
Champions League.
And all of those teams that
play in international play
also play in the
domestic league.
So, in South America, like, some
of the more notable countries
are Uruguay, Brazil,
Mexico, Puerto Rico.
Than you have in Asia,
Australia, the Middle East.
Then, a new league
that just started,
which the NBA has sponsored,
is called the Basketball
Africa League.
The leagues that I personally
think are respected the most
and are looked at as the
best leagues are Spain,
Turkey, Russia.
There might be Italy after that.
-You know what I'm saying?
-Oh! He reaches.
This is why the Turkish
Airlines EuroLeague
is the best basketball league
in the world, bar none.
Each league has a different
style of play, too.
Like, the Spanish play a different
way than the Turkish play.
The Italians play
a different way.
Spain, you gonna play 20
minutes because it's 10, 11 guys
that's on ice.
Turkey, you going...
It's a lot of big dudes.
Strong, physical. They real
physic... Let... let you play more.
Italian league is more
of a guard league.
So, you going out
there, you get busy.
France is a super
athletic league.
Russia's a dope league,
you know, the VTB
is a big time...
That's another type of league
VTB is another type of league
So, you got a lot of
different leagues,
and it's different style
based off of where you at.
Just like, you know, you from the
DMV, you... you play a certain way,
as opposed to somebody
from New York City,
as opposed to someone
from the South.
You know, we... we all
have our different styles,
and these countries
are the same way.
No, it drops for Mike James.
I met Marcus Williams when
he was a teammate with James
in Unicaja Mlaga in Spain.
Marcus was also himself a
first round NBA draft pick.
And he also had a prolific
EuroLeague career as well.
So I played summer
league with Memphis,
and I signed with
Memphis for the season.
But on that team, it was a
few guys who played in Europe,
and they were just talking
about the teams they were on,
the cities they were partying
in, and just different thing.
And I'm like, "This is so...
I don't know what they
talking about, man."
Like, I... not my first year playing
in... in Europe, but my second year,
I started to hear
about EuroLeague.
So I told my agent, like, I was
just like, "I just want to play."
Like, my first year I was just like,
"I just want to play somewhere."
And he was like,
"Alright, like, whatever."
Like, "Alright, cool."
So he found me a team
in Russia, right?
We was there for like two
or three weeks practicing.
So they was like, "Alright,
we about to go home.
Like, get you a apartment
and everything."
So they was like, "Yeah,
we flying to Moscow."
And I was like, "Alright, and then
what? Like... Like what's our next?"
They was like, "Yeah, the next
flight is like six hours."
I'm like, "What?
Like, what you mean?"
They like, "Yeah. Like, we stay,
like, six hours from Moscow."
And I look at that shit
on my map, I'm like,
"Wait, that shit says
Siberia in the back."
And I'm looking at this,
and I'm like, "Wait,
that's the same Siberia, like
the husky and like the...?"
I go to list...
like, read about it,
that shit say,
"minus 30, minus 40."
And that was just
different, man.
It was... it was cold,
it was bad travels.
The basketball wasn't
hard to adjust at all.
I kind of went with the
mindset of like, "Man",
like, I should be in the NBA,"
like kind of feeling like
I was better than that.
So, the approach I took is like,
"I'm just gonna try to come
here and kill every day."
But then, you do get
humbled playing overseas,
because like I said,
those guys are talented.
Playing in the first
division as a rookie,
you playing against some of
the great talents of Europe.
So, I was humbled,
but I'm thankful that I was
able to hold my own as well.
There's so many players,
there's so much talent...
...and a team will put
the money out there
and they'll say like, "Well,
if you won't accept it,
someone else will."
You know what I mean?
And that's kind of like
the game that they play.
Um, but yeah, that... that's...
that's just one of the other things
you have to go through
being an overseas player.
Like, you know, in
the NBA, you know,
who you are is who you are,
but overseas it's kind of like
you have to prove it every year.
You can't understand what
everybody's talking about
on the street or in the locker
room with your teammates
when they're speaking their...
their native language.
You kind of have to be aware.
You gotta be aware of your
surroundings, you gotta be, you know,
street smart, I guess
people would call it.
Understand, you know,
what's going on around you.
-How are you?
-Good. And you?
-Doing well.
-Thank you.
Yes, sir.
I'm okay, man. Thank you.
You learn very quick.
You learn very quick.
I mean, I've done
enough traveling, too,
you know, in general
around the world where
everybody's trying to make a deal,
everybody's trying to sell something.
And it's a hustle. I mean, it
is what it is. I respect it.
You just gotta learn
how to get yourself in
and get... get yourself out.
The hardest part is getting
out once you get in,
they're not gonna let you leave.
As soon as the season ended
in Germany in April, I just,
I took a week to rest.
I packed my stuff, and I
headed straight to Canada.
And then, I ended up
in Australia by 2024.
All I knew about was, um,
EuroLeague and the CBA in China.
Um, that's pretty much...
I just thought, like,
old NBA veterans
go overseas to play
in the EuroLeague or... or China
when they're kind of towards
the end of their career,
or if they kinda
fall out of the NBA
and they want to still
continue their career.
I didn't know how vast it was.
Like, how many opportunities,
how many teams, countries
have leagues until I
started talking to Mike.
Yeah, yeah, it's
supposed to be crazy.
I didn't even know there was a
league in Denmark before the tour.
Like, that... that
was a shock to me.
Just finding out,
there's so many,
so many places to play
and leagues to play in.
When I was younger, all I...
...all I... all I knew
was the NBA and G League.
That's all I watched. That's...
That's all that kind of mattered to
me growing up playing basketball.
That's all I considered
for my career.
I thought it was NBA-slash-
G League or bust for me.
Um, call me delusional
if you will.
I thought... I thought I
was... I was gonna go, so,
I felt... I felt like I was gonna
figure out some way into it.
It's hard to get
into the WNBA.
It's, uh... like I said,
draft 36. Thirty-six picks.
If it's a good draft year, maybe
eight people will make the team.
Once you get drafted,
like, nobody's guaranteed
because spots are so limited.
You kind of have to go into
that mindset of like, "Okay",
"this is training camp,
it's a tryout for me,
and I gotta do whatever I can to
fight for however many spots it is."
Probably a bench player
that never touches the...
touches the court in the NBA
is making more than any of us.
-Shout.
-Oh my...
-Right in your face.
-How we doing? How we doing?
-We're doing good, how are you?
-Y'all got enough space?
-Yeah.
-We take coach's spot.
You know she's gonna park
right beside you, though.
Yeah, I know she will.
-She's not gonna care.
-I know.
But still, figure I'd just...
go ahead and mess
with her a little bit.
I think we'll
both be gone soon.
I can't wait to sleep
in my bed at home, home.
Oh, home, home.
It's, like, unmatched,
'cause I... I can't... Like, I
can't do it with my bed anymore.
Now just the shooting, okay?
It's the return of the
Mack, I'm back hunny
I just hit the kill
switch feel it in ya tummy
Ooh, I got the spice,
I know it right...
Just... Just to
think about it, okay?
You know what it is,
I'm a beast alright
My name is Ruth Sherrill. I'm
from Alexandria, Virginia.
And I was the starting
center here at Slavia.
In the semi-finals
game, I was posting up,
fucked... messed my knee up.
Uh, so yeah,
I found out it was
a partial ACL tear.
But I do believe that
my impact with the team
just being a leader,
being super communicative,
being very supportive, you
know, on and off the court
is the reason why
I'm still here.
So, there's different ways that
athletes can support their teams
even when they can't play.
I was told on graduation day
that I couldn't play anymore.
So, I had like a
really bad left foot,
and, like, the
X-ray... MRI came back,
and it was like 75% black,
which it should not be.
It should be more white on
that... on the, uh, MRI.
So he's like, "Yeah we're
going to try and fuse",
"like, the Achilles and,
like, your tibia, like...
You definitely won't
be able to play."
And I was like, "Okay,
that's not an option."
And I just remember going home and
just being like, "What am I gonna do?"
I mean, my best friend is Tina Charles,
she's the number one pick in the draft.
And my mom-mom just said,
"Hey, reach out to coach,
ask him about an agent."
He got me an
opportunity in Greece,
and that's kinda how
everything took off.
The biggest thing with people,
especially Americans when we come
overseas is that we get lonely.
We by ourselves.
My first job was in Italy, a
team called Angelico Biella.
It was an experience, you know,
knowing that I'm not
about to be in the States,
and I'm by myself at the time.
So, I'm going over to
Italy by myself, you know,
I'm about to live in a
whole another country.
No family, no
friends, no nothing.
Um... interesting.
And as you can see,
I'm Mr. Everything.
I'm the manager, I'm the
agent, I'm the coach.
I'm the laundromat,
I'm the financier.
It's extremely hard because
a lot of people view it
as you on vacation, one.
Like, they don't understand
you're really working.
Like, it's work.
And so, they think that, "Oh,
you're in Athens, Greece,
"or you're in these beautiful...
Madrid, Spain, and all of these places,
why can't you answer the
phone when I'm calling you?"
You know, "Why are you taking
so long to answer back?"
And, like, you're working.
There's a time difference, there's
all of these things, right?
And obviously, if you
want to make it happen,
you can make it happen.
But it takes two people
that want to make it happen
in terms of your spouse
and whoever that is.
And then, obviously, once
you have kids involved,
they do have
international schools.
But these are all things that
you can talk to your team about,
and they'll help
you set that up.
Most FIBA, um,
teams are reputable,
and they want you
to be comfortable,
because if you're
comfortable off the court,
you'll perform
better on the court.
When I first landed
in Australia,
I landed in Sydney,
New South Wales.
What hit me first was...
was the plane ride.
That was the longest
plane ride of my life.
That was... That was
a tough one for me.
Traveling to Tamworth, like,
there's a lot of greenery.
You go through some bushland,
but it, for the most part,
it's pretty... it's
pretty beautiful.
Like, you go through mountains,
it's just, it was cool to see
how different the terrain
is in the country.
Like, how... how vast the
ecosystem is out here.
I saw my kangaroo on
the side of the road.
That was a big moment for me.
Yesterday, I went to go pick
up my mom from the airport.
That is my mom.
-That's your mom?
-Yeah. Yee-hee.
-Hi, Mom.
-Good to see you.
I'm eating good. I'm
eating good this time.
Good.
-Mm. How are you?
-Oh!
-Auntie Alba. How are you?
-Hi, sweetie.
I'm good, thanks.
Smooth flying?
-You look so handsome.
-You really do.
I had to look good when
you guys came, you know.
Okay, I'm stop... I got
it together. You know.
You guys look a little tan.
Oh, we look a little tan?
It's always a really emotional
moment when I pick her up.
We always miss
each other a bunch.
If she can, wherever
I am in the world,
she... she, like...
she loves traveling.
She misses me 'cause I... I go
long stints without seeing her.
And I'm kind of a mama's
boy, not gonna lie.
So, she just came to
see me, to be honest.
She wanted to see a
game while she was here.
I feel like that just made
the most sense, you know,
to see the reason why I'm out
here pursuing this career.
So, when you came,
was the water warm?
Yeah, it was a little
warmer, like...
-But it is the Pacific...
-It was just, it was a lot warmer outside.
- Yeah, so it was refreshing - It's
not as warm as it was back home.
Yeah, it was nice.
It felt good.
I mean the Pacific is
always gonna be the Pacific.
Just like the Atlantic is
always gonna be the Atlantic.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
It's calm though, it's nice.
High school was like
very cultural for you.
-Because you had so many...
-True.
It was very diverse...
-Yes, it was.
-...in terms of cultures.
But also, in some of
the places you've been,
you've just been able to travel.
So, Europe, right? So
when you were in Germany,
it was a small town,
but, like, we went to Salzburg,
-I mean everything...
-Yeah, Munich.
Munich, everything
was just so close.
So you can experience so
many different things.
Even being centrally
located in one area.
That's true. And it's...
It's a lot different living
somewhere than, like,
visiting for vacation.
I think that was the
biggest difference.
It is crazy though.
I hope, like, the career
I can just show you
more and more places.
Whoever... Wherever I play next,
we'll see, somewhere crazy.
Maybe a dream destination.
I mean, it doesn't
matter really.
-That's true.
-You know this, again...
As long as you guys
are there. Yeah.
-...you go, I travel.
-Yeah.
I told you, wherever you go
in the world, I will be there.
That's true.
Hook or crook.
As a mom, you're always excited
to get the FaceTime call,
but there was a rough patch
there where I'd be like,
"Oh, my God, she's
calling again!
"She's gonna be...
She's gonna be crying.
She's gonna want to come
home. Call your father!"
Like, can you talk to her
-'cause I can't hear it again.
-I tell her, "Suck it up."
Well, I can tell, definitely,
like, haven't seen
anyone love the
game as much as her.
Um, literally puts all of
her dedication into it.
Her p... I can tell
it's her passion.
Um, been at, like,
most of her games.
Always, like, running around
with whoever had younger
siblings at her games.
I'm happy to see her living
out her dream right now
going overseas.
Rivals with a chance here
to win it at the death.
You can restart... Sosa
in the corner for the win!
He drains it!
dgar Sosa comes up
with the enormous play!
You can't get time back.
And sometimes I feel... not
that I feel a little guilty,
but sometimes I do,
because it's kind of like
I'm leaving my... my family,
my loved ones every
year to go do my job
and do something I love.
But, you know, the nine-and-a-half,
ten months that I'm not with them,
like that's... I
can't get that back.
So it's kind of like... am I
putting my dream before my family
or my job before my family?
So, sometimes I
battle with that,
um, but I have
conversations with them
and they let me... they let
me know that they know that
I'm doing the right thing by
following my dream and doing my job.
So, I try to stay as close
as I can with my family
as far as FaceTime and
text and stuff like that.
The first time I heard the
word "import" was in Germany.
It was interesting to hear it.
It's like, "What do
you mean 'import'?"
'Cause when people describe
you to somebody else,
they'll say, "This is like,
this is our American import."
I've started to understand
what it means more
'cause we're kind
of imported goods.
You know, um, these leagues have
their... their local players.
There's really no limit
on how many players
in the country can
play on that team.
If they want somebody
for a specific task
or to really elevate the team,
um, Americans are pretty much
considered the gold standard still
for basketball, I'd say.
So they kinda import us to
help elevate their team,
bring us from another
country, fly us out,
put us on a plane, and
then we get to work.
A lot of NBA
players can't play
the style of play that
they play in Europe.
They go over there, and it's
just not what they think about,
what they thought it was.
And it might not
just be on the court.
Like, 'cause you can't deny
their talent on the court,
but can you survive
off the court?
Can you adjust to the
culture, the lack of amenities
that you're used to
getting in the NBA?
A lot of teams don't have
five trainers, cryo machines,
and game-ready machines.
Sometimes, you have to
tape your own ankles.
Sometimes, you have to
go to the grocery store
and get frozen vegetables
to ice your knees.
Aaron Brooks was...
was a very good player.
I believe he got Sixth Man of the Year,
most improved, one of those awards.
So he was a really good player
in the NBA, and he went to China.
He's a multimillionaire, and
he's getting paid millions.
But his apartment that he was
staying in didn't even have a stove.
He was using a hot plate
to heat up his food.
And so, these are just
some of the examples
that if you come play overseas,
you have to love basketball.
If you don't love basketball,
you're going to be miserable
because basketball will be
the highlight of your day.
Don't listen to the cap, bro.
I'm a little superstitious.
Um, as soon as I wake up on
game day, I have to meditate.
I used to just look
it up on YouTube,
now I have this app called Calm.
Um, I saw LeBron James
use it, so I was like,
"Yeah, I might as well use it."
Before games, I definitely
need to listen to music.
Like, I'm listening to,
like, some calming music.
I like older music. Like,
I listen to Roy Ayers,
like Everybody Loves
the Sunshine or...
Searching or Isley Brothers.
I like Sade before the game.
Just smoother, chill vibes.
It helps me stay calm, not
get too antsy before the game.
Just vibing out, singing,
listening to the tunes.
It just kinda... It gets me in,
like, a... a serene head space.
Like, I... I feel
good before the game.
Will you keep on loving me
You give me, you're
giving me the
Sweetest taboo
Too good for me
There's a quiet storm
And it never felt
like this before
There's a quiet
storm that is you
There's a quiet storm and it
never felt this hot before
Giving me something...
Nobody has us
winning this game.
Nobody outside of this gym or
outside of this locker room
thinks we can win this thing.
Alright? The odds, the
payrolls, whatever...
whatever metric
you want to go to,
they're the favorites.
"James Gist, um, he's
a 6'9" power forward
with a 40-plus
vertical, um, leap.
He went to University of
Maryland, um, all ACC there.
Uh, he was drafted in the second
round by the San Antonio Spurs.
And not only is
he my best friend,
but he's somebody that
has had a great career,
a legendary career
internationally.
Now that cast is off...
Got a lot of respect for James
and everything he's done.
We've been knowing each
other for a long time,
and, um, we actually
played against each other
the first time in high school
when he was the biggest
name in the area
and was about to go to Maryland.
He's had a storied career.
He's one of those guys that
understood what he was great at
and stayed in that role
and rode that wave.
Yeah, we stayed
on the 35th floor.
So we like... There's 40
floors in that building.
We five from the top.
It took me a while to kind
of get outside that box
of trying something new.
But now, yeah, I like
to go to the more, like,
the... the
hole-in-the-wall spots.
So, you know, the
international food spots,
or you know, whatever this
place, the state I'm in,
the country I'm in right now,
whatever they specialize in.
Like, out here, they got the
kebabs and stuff like that.
I'm smashing them joints. Fire.
Yo, I was standing outside,
I seen them wild dogs.
Oh, yeah.
They out here, bro.
They out here for sure.
They out here for sure.
That's the one thing
about Boss, man,
because he's, you know, I
mean he a rottweiler, he,
you know, he commands whatever.
Like, he a alpha and stuff.
At least we got a dog park
in our apartment space,
and I don't have to
walk him on the streets
'cause you walk
him on the streets,
you mess around and go across one
of the corners where it's like
-five, six dogs...
-Oh.
...and you gonna have a problem.
They definitely will
gang up on you, man.
And these dogs... these stray
dogs out here ain't small.
You know, they big.
Yeah, they got, you
know them Kangals,
they got them Turkish Kangals,
their back is this high.
They be on the street
just walking around.
And it be hell a
cats out here, too.
That's the other crazy part.
Like, I hate that 'cause
I'm allergic to cats.
Just think that joint was
called a Dudu restaurant, bro.
Doo doo?
So I'd say we're probably
one of the smaller budget
teams in our league.
Sutherland, very
high respected team.
They've won the NBL1 before already. So
they have that championship pedigree.
They have a good coach.
Like, their coach is
the assistant coach
of the Sydney Kings,
They have high level
pro-professionals on their team.
Um, in the standings,
they're far above us.
Um, I'm sure every
other team is assuming
they kind of just
blow us out the water.
So, we know like this... this
would be a huge win for us.
Beating a team we're
supposed to lose to
and... and it'll push us... push
us up in the standings pretty well.
If we lose the game, we move
even further from playoffs.
So we'll probably go from ninth to
tenth to, like, eleventh or twelfth
because the... the standings
are so close right now.
The entire game
was a close game.
I'd say it was a
battle the whole time.
We knew they were... they
came to play, we came to play.
Um, it was going back and forth.
A lot of energy,
some trash talk...
...but it's just a very
back-and-forth game.
A very close game. It was for
sure a battle between both teams.
They want to make sure they
stay high in the standings.
We want to make sure
we get in the playoffs,
kind of a do-or-die game for us.
And the final
score was 90 to 88.
We won it in the
last 0.5 seconds.
So there was... there was
a real adjustment period
that I had to... to get
once going overseas.
I mean, it's... it's less time.
An NBA game is 48 minutes.
International game is 40,
you know, 10 minute quarters.
You got 12 minute quarters in the
NBA. Every possession in Europe,
you know is valuable.
We were up one, we had the lead,
and it was like last possession.
Other team had it.
Coach called a time out. He's
like, "We're gonna foul."
I'm like "Foul for what?
Why we gonna foul?"
He was like, "We want to foul, you
know, this is a European strategy."
"We gonna foul. They get two
free throws, make or miss.
At least we get the last shot.
We get to hold our own destiny."
They scored two free throws.
We come down, we don't even
get a shot. Lose the game.
I remember calling my
agent after that like,
"Yo, you gotta get me outta
here. This shit is crazy."
I was like, "I can't...
nah, I'm not doing this."
"We're not just about to
be losing games like this
off of some stupid stuff."
He's like, "Man, alright.
You know, I'll figure it out.
You know, give me some time."
Three, four days go
by, agent's like,
"You know, I'm making some
calls, some teams are interested,
I let you know what
I come up with."
We got, uh, my... my first
actual EuroLeague game now.
We play against
Maccabi Tel Aviv,
and they come to Belgrade,
they come to our arena.
This is my first
home game there.
I go into the arena two
hours before the game,
I got my headphones on, you
know, about to go out and shoot,
get some warm-ups in,
and the stands are
full, like full.
It was so loud in there I can't even
hear the music in my headphones.
So, now boom, we start the
game, the crowd's going crazy.
Maccabi beat us
by 30. It was bad.
We lost a big game in
front of them by 30 points,
you know, that's crazy.
We go in the locker room,
coach is cussing us out
and he's like, "The fans want
you to come back outside."
I'm like, "For what?" So now everybody's
like, alright, we get our stuff,
you know, put the shoes back on,
we're going back outside on the court.
Nobody's left the gym. This is
like 30 minutes after the game.
I'm talking about, it's
still a full arena.
And the fans are chanting,
they're cheering,
and they just basically...
I'm asking the players, like,
"to translate what they're saying, and
they're like, you know, "We love you.
"We understand that you play with
your heart, you play with everything.
You know, we still gonna
support you to the end."
All that stuff. That's what they
singing to us and everything like this.
So everybody's
clapping, you know.
Mind you, we lost by 30,
and everybody's like,
it's like a party.
And I'm like, "Damn,
like this is crazy."
And I ended up going
out, went out to a club,
and that was the first time I got to
experience the Belgrade nightlife.
Once I saw the
Belgrade nightlife,
and after realizing the
game that we just had
and the fan base we had,
I hit my agent immediately
like, "Yo, I'm good.
I don't gotta leave."
I said, "I'll figure this out."
Nah, I'll figure this out.
This is a cool situation."
One of the best parts about
playing overseas basketball
is giving your family an
opportunity to see things
that they probably wouldn't see.
So like my kids, like, they
went to school in Russia.
My kids go to school in Italy.
Like, they have friends
from all different cultures,
all different races,
all different languages.
Like, they've got a chance to, like,
experience so many different things.
Like, you know, I... Up
until I was 21, 22 years old,
I never even rode an airplane,
never even left the East Coast
except if it wasn't for,
like, college basketball.
You know, my daughter
is six years old,
and she's been to
all over the world.
My son's first language
is Hebrew, you know.
So, just being able to experience
all the different things
that they've been able to experience,
I think is only gonna work
in a positive for them.
So, I got three kids.
...the floor. Put those...
Put the cars back.
Come on, man.
My oldest is my
daughter Maliyah.
Hi.
These boys getting big, man.
She's been
traveling with me...
a good portion of my career,
a good portion of my career.
She's been through Greece,
she's traveled through Serbia,
she traveled to
France, to Istanbul.
She came out to Germany with
me. She's a... she's a traveler.
She got more stamps in her passport
than a lot of regular people, you know.
She enjoys traveling
the world, you know.
She gets to see... She
knows that, you know,
the things that she's
getting to experience,
not a lot of people
get to experience that.
Um, so she's enjoying
it in that aspect.
Okay, okay. Slow down.
Slow down.
You ready for lunch?
Yeah, we'll sit over here,
we'll sit over here. Um...
Bash, come sit down.
Okay, you go eat and then
you gonna go go play?
I got you.
My first fear I got is when
I played in Iran in 2016,
I went out there, and
I was just scared,
like, you know, 'cause you see
all these things in the news.
You see the bombings and
all... and all that stuff.
And when you get there,
you kind of feel like
that's what their
everyday life is about.
And it... and it's really not.
Like, Middle Eastern
people for me
have been some of the
nicest, most sensitive people
that I've met, you
know, in my life.
You could find yourself in
a really good situation.
You could find yourself
in a great country.
You could find yourself
being an icon of that country.
They treat you like family.
Oh, no wind. Nothing but net.
We gotta stay safe, man.
Another day y'all hear
the sirens. Here we go.
My name's Jared Armstrong.
I'm a Jewish American
professional basketball player
that plays in Israel.
I got a offer to
play for Hapoel Haifa
in the Winners League in Israel.
I got a call, 6:30
that morning...
...rockets and missiles
with the attack in Israel.
"That was from my coach. And
I'm just like, "Come on, Coach.
It's 6:30 in the morning."
So I didn't really,
you know, take the call as
seriously as I should have.
Dozens of Hamas terrorists
infiltrating into Israel this morning
taking citizens hostage,
roaming around the
streets of Israeli towns
shooting all over.
There are still, as
we speak, shootouts
between security forces and
terrorists in Israeli territory.
And around 7:30, I
started hearing booms.
So, I'm, like, "Oh, shit."
And then the next
boom that I got,
it almost was like a hundred
feet from my apartment.
So I'm like, "Oh, shit,
I gotta get outta here."
So I remember going downstairs
to my teammate's place,
and I knocked on his
door and he was asleep.
I'm like, "Yo, wake up.
What the fuck you doing?
It's bombs and rockets outside."
I had a friend from Chicago
that called me and he like,
"Yo, man, that shit look crazy.
What y'all doing? Like,
come to Michael spot."
So we drive about 45 minutes,
into the city called
Ramat HaSharon.
It's about 20 minutes
from Tel Aviv.
And we just crashed at his place,
you know, for the time being
until we figured
out our next move.
I've had a few moments...
I don't want to say close calls,
but like, you know, where
you kinda gotta understand
that you're not in America.
I remember we had a game
when I played in Greece.
We had a game in Israel, Tel Aviv,
Israel, and during that time,
uh, you know, the Gaza strip is
maybe an hour away
from Tel Aviv.
They lighting off missiles over
there, you know, left and right.
You can see 'em in the sky.
You know, we got a game that
night. We got a game that night.
And they're saying that, you
know, if... if the alarm goes off
because there's a missile
coming in, you know,
everybody has to go underneath
the floor, which is...
they have, like, a set
bunker under the floor
of where the arena is.
You know, the referees,
officials, game players,
everybody goes under the floor.
And I'm like, "What
about the fans?"
They're like, "You
know, the fans,
they'll figure it out."
"That's their everyday life."
So I'm sitting here like, "Yo,
there's a whole war going on,
"you know, 50 miles away
and we still got a
basketball game to play."
I've never actually
been in... in Iraq.
And when I saw the contract,
I was a bit hesitant.
I didn't know.
Uh, but then I said, you know,
I've been so many other
places in the world,
I know what I'm there to do.
I'm there to... to do my job and
pretty much stay... stay out the way.
So I was like, as long as I
stick to just playing basketball
and doing what I do and in
my free time just being,
you know, at home, then...
then I should be fine.
Oh, I know, look-it.
Personally, I didn't do, um,
a lot of research on Iraq
as a... as a... as a
country as a whole.
I did more research on the
team I was going to play for
and my teammates and
coaches like that.
What's up?
-Hey, you good?
-How are you?
I had this pre-judgment
of what I thought
the people out there were like or what
it was going to be, and then, uh...
What was that?
That was just that, uh, like,
that there's no regard for...
for... for humans out there.
Like, you know, um, they have
this hatred towards Americans.
And... That's what I
thought before I got there.
And when... when I... when I got there,
I noticed that it wasn't like that.
You definitely
should do research
on wherever you're gonna
play anywhere in the world
because, you know,
you might go somewhere
thinking that what you're
doing is normal or it's okay
and it might not be to the... to
the people of those countries.
Yo.
Personally, my team
went kind of AWOL.
Like, other...
outside of my coach,
none of us heard from
the general manager.
None of us heard
from the president.
Everybody was just
kind of on they own.
I mean, I understood
the situation,
but it kind of was fucked up 'cause
it left us in a tricky situation.
You know, we 5,000
miles away from home,
and you know, we never been
in this situation before.
We ended up finding out our
GM, he had lost family members,
you know, in the war.
And I understood
it was a, you know,
un-circumstantial situation.
But for us, it was
kind of just fucked up.
When you're overseas,
you have a lot of people
that are just die-hard fans
and will come to every...
every single game.
Be there screaming at
the top of their lungs
and... and cheering for you.
When I first
signed my contract,
and let's say the... the
club would post like,
"Welcome, Lindsey" or
whatever to the team,
you'll start getting DMs and
things like that on Instagram.
"Like, " Welcome to
wherever you're coming.
We're so excited to have
you." And things like that.
There's just people that are really
invested in the... in the teams
because sometimes if you're in a
small city, that's all they have.
You know, that's...
that's what really is
at the center of
the... of the city.
And people are invested in that.
And that's something that they
look forward to every week
to go to a game.
The intimacy between you
and the fans becomes more
because they build a
relationship with you.
So they go crazy, they passionate,
they jumping up and down.
Their families have
the same history
in terms of the teams
that they're rooting on.
So, you get a different
kind of appreciation.
The NBA is entertainment, man,
it's a family environment.
You just going to
have a good time.
You know, it's like a party.
That shit is like a lifestyle.
I got stories for days
when it comes to how rowdy
and hostile fans can get
when you're on the road.
They love basketball
more than we do.
They just can't play it. You know?
So they want you to play it for 'em.
They want you to play it
with the same emotion,
the same passion, the same
everything that they feel for it.
They want that.
It's a game to us.
To them, it's life.
To them, it's life. And in some instances,
I've been in the arenas that, yeah,
you really had to worry
about your well-being.
You had... had to
run off the floor
to get to the locker room
before the fans got to us.
I had to wait in the locker
room for two, three hours
so that they can evacuate the gym
and the parking lot so we can leave.
I've been on buses
where we got...
police escorts on both
sides, you know, this high,
so that nobody can throw
anything in the bus
or anything like that, you know?
And it's a sport
to us, to them...
they... it's more
than just a sport.
Go to one of them Greek games,
you know what I'm saying?
Go to the Panathinaikos
and Olympiacos game.
That's like a real,
true experience.
Like, you know. Here, it's
more of an entertainment,
which is cool, both
sides are cool,
but it's more of an entertainment,
it's more of a party.
You got the kiss cam, you got this,
you got this going on, you got...
They shooting things in the
air. They got all type of stuff.
Overseas, it's just
straight up chants.
You got the fire going,
they got all types.
They booing every
team, you know.
So it's a whole different...
it's two totally different vibes,
two totally different energies.
Its Olympiacos versus Panathinaikos,
they're playing in the Greek Cup.
So, you have on one end
zone is the Olympiacos fans.
The other side of the basket
is Panathinaikos fans.
And in between are
police officers.
Like not just, like, one or two. I'm
talking about the whole police force.
So I'm just out there
casually not paying attention,
trying to like... you know, trying to like,
you know, be in the game and be focused.
So all my teammates leave.
I don't notice they
leave, you know,
I'm just out there shooting
and doing my normal routine.
So, I'm on the free
throw line, shooting,
all of sudden something
goes, "pew, boom!"
A flare knocks me in the
head, knocks me down.
My pants is on fire.
So I'm over here
brushing my pants up.
Two security guards
come take me in.
I'm, you know, looked like I
just got knocked in the head,
I'm half conscious or whatever.
My teammates, they just knock
it off like nothing happened.
They're like, "Ah, Malaka,
that's... that's nothing.
That just... that's
just normal basketball."
The coach looks at me,
keeps drawing on the board.
I'm thinking in my head, I was like,
"Yo, I just almost lost my life,
"and we just gonna continue
to play the basketball game
like... like nothing
is happening."
When somebody thinks
about Kyle Hines,
they need to think about
somebody that has persevered,
that has known how to be a
consummate professional, right?
He knows how to play the
game inside the game,
being a good teammate,
sacrificing individual
statistics for team goals.
And he's been rewarded
handsomely, you know,
through opportunities
and intangibly
through... through achievements
and awards for that sacrifice.
And he's somebody that
every young player
that's considering playing
basketball overseas should study.
This, this right here
carries a lot of weight.
It carries a lot of
pressure when you wear it,
but it's something
that you want,
um, you know, all
players want it.
The first American to win
four EuroLeague titles,
Hines' place in history
is already secure.
What's a misconception
that people have about
overseas basketball?
A misconception that
they have is that,
that there's bad players
and there's bad basketball.
That's just on the
basketball standpoint.
I feel like people
who don't follow it,
don't know the talent
that's out there.
And I would say
another misconception
is outside of
basketball, you know,
because maybe people think
just because you're
a basketball player,
you're getting it easy or
you don't have it as hard
as... as someone who
works nine to five.
And that's totally
false because, you know,
for a lot of us, we have
to move to... to countries
we've never been to,
adapt to cultures that
we've never been a part of.
Maybe something that's done
in our country as a norm
is not a norm in
another country.
So, that's stuff that you
definitely have to adjust to.
I don't know if many
people seen The Godfather,
but the town where,
you know, Michael,
when he's... when he's leaving
and he's kind of on exile,
that's what Veroli looked like.
Literally, people
were walking goats
and chickens and horses and...
And people were... you know,
when they wanted to do laundry,
they would all go down to,
like, the big watering hole,
and they're filling up their water
to take it back to their house.
Like, that's
literally what it was.
It was like, you know, coming
from South Jersey, Philadelphia,
to kind of going back into time.
So, for that first, like,
month, I was homesick.
And then I go to, you know,
Russia, Moscow, where it's like,
you don't see the
sun for 10 months.
Like, you get there,
nobody's talking to you
'cause, you know,
everybody's very, you know,
in Russia, everybody's
very stoic.
I was like, "Man, what...
What decisions did I make?
Why did I come here?"
But then, I kind of
flipped my mentality,
and I started
realizing, I was like,
"Man, this city is beautiful."
Like, the Red Square is
one of the most, you know,
beautiful things that
you can ever see in life.
Like, you know, the way
that the architecture,
the different things that
they have there in Russia.
Like, the... the
culture, the history,
the subway.
Every subway station
is a... is a museum.
You go there, and they have
these beautiful tapestries,
this beautiful artwork.
The players who have had
the most success overseas
are the players that
really embrace the culture
and really embrace the lifestyle
and really embrace what it is.
I'm on a team, I
think... They quit. No...
These are my brothers, right?
This is my younger brother,
Abbas. We call him Kobe.
That's Kobe.
Jassim, say hello to the camera.
-Yes! My brother.
-This is Nico, the captain.
-Hold on, don't go nowhere.
-Okay.
This is Latif. Young Latif.
Don't be a killer...
This is Young Turkey right
here, this is the family.
This is the masked
man right there.
-What's up?
-Hey!
-This is Khalid, my brother.
-What's up, fam?
And this is Wes. My
boy and my brother.
This is the best trainer
in the Middle East.
These are my brothers.
That's my family, man.
These are my family...
As Americans, when we
go over to these places
and go over to these countries
and start learning these
people's customs and cultures,
you have to be aware of what's
offensive and what's not offensive,
and what can force someone to
dislike you or try to harm you
or try to push you and
jam you up, you know?
'Cause sometimes, we
can dap each other up.
If I dap you up,
it's a cultural thing
on how we shake hands.
It's a cultural thing
on how people shake
or... or greet each
other in Italy,
they kiss on both
sides of the cheek.
Now, if you're not
familiar with that,
that shit can throw you off.
It's a cultural thing,
you go to Turkey,
that if you with your son
and you with your child,
someone will walk past, say
"inshallah," and take your baby
and just walk off and
just be... and hold them,
and-and-and just walk
around like it's nothing.
They'll take him to sit with...
at their table with them
and... and feed them food.
Now, for us, that shit is wild.
But for them, that's a normal
because of their
appreciation for children.
So with... with... The same
thing goes with basketball.
You have to understand
the natural customs
and the cultures
of whatever country
or whatever gym you going into.
You know, you can't... even
if you here on the street,
you can't just walk
up in somebody's house
and go in they refrigerator
and just act like it's yours.
Nah, you gotta ask, "Can... May I
do... What can I do? Da, da, da."
It's a certain type
of courtesy and, um...
and rules that go along with it.
So, my first year, we
was playing in Varese,
a team, uh, out in Italy,
and I hit a game winner.
We beating them all... all game.
They make a run, they, uh,
make a shot, I get the ball,
eight seconds left, I
go down, I hit a pull up
and I take my jersey off.
You know, in college, you
know the thing you do,
you pop your jersey, you show
yourself to the... to the stands.
So, I took my jersey off and I
pointed my jersey at the opposing...
the home team's fans,
we was on the road.
And I just see a mob
of people coming towards me
like they wanted to kill me.
Like, I had to be escorted
out by police that day.
Like, I had to be brought out
and put onto the
bus just myself.
And the whole time, I'm like,
"Man, what did I do that's so bad?"
But it's just like, that's
something you don't do over there.
There've been a lot of times where
I've gone to different countries,
whether it's travel for
vacation or for playing,
where I'm asking, "Do
you speak English?"
And then I had to catch myself.
I'm like, "I'm asking them if
they speak English in France"
"or in Greece, you know,
"I should be making the effort
to speak their language.
And if I see that they speak
English, then I adjust."
But, uh, you know,
that's not how we think.
We think because we're the
greatest country in the world
that everybody just
abides by how we think
and how we operate.
Obviously, you guys have
been in Europe before,
but in a smaller town like this where
there's not a lot of diversity...
-Yeah.
-...like, do you guys feel that like as...
-You know, the stares?
-The stares?
-The stares is crazy. Like, and...
-Uh-huh.
And... and people will
stare and not say anything,
and it will just be like 100%...
We can go over to... Uh...
will just continue to
stare and not look away.
I'm like, "Wow, this is
like... this is bold."
-But...
-So do you feel like it's...
Is it, like, malicious
or are they just curious?
No, I think it's like,
it's like curiosity
and it's kind of just like,
"Wh... Like, what are
you guys doing here?"
Because it's such a,
like, a random city.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
-But now we're getting
the stares of people
recognizing...
-Right. True.
-...because we're in the finals.
-Yeah.
-So now it's kind of different.
It's... They're kind of
afraid to approach us.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Like, "Oh, you play basketball?"
-Yeah.
-And... 'Cause, like,
after you guys left,
uh, in the restaurant,
-someone noticed us like, hey...
-Mm-hmm.
He's like, "Finals tomorrow."
I said, "Yeah, are you coming?"
He's like, "Yeah,
yeah, I'm coming."
You go to places
and you gotta...
you can't walk around with
certain... certain body parts showing
and you know, things
of that nature.
So, you don't want to go
there and get caught up
'cause rules are different over
there than they are over here.
We might say, "Hey, this is
more lenient so you'll be okay",
or it's just a slap on the
wrist," but you go over there?
You're American, you not... you don't
have anybody fighting for you like that.
So you gotta make sure, like,
you know what each country
kinda wants and
expects from you.
And then you gotta...
you gotta carry it out.
When I'm having
discussions with my agent
about where I'm going and
I'm talking with my parents,
it's like, "Okay, what's the
situation in the country?
Like, what's going on?
Is it a safe area?"
Things like that.
My parents, they will
always have those questions,
and I think they'll always be
concerned and worried about me
no matter where I go.
One of the things we... I
said to Lindsey, you know,
my pet peeve, don't get
involved in politics over there.
You're there to focus
on basketball, enjoy,
learn about the culture,
but don't... don't get into
protests or whatever it is.
Because the political environment
is very sensitive right now.
And seeing what happened
to Brittney Griner
was a huge concern.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist
and WNBA star Brittney Griner
has been detained in Russia.
Under Russian law, Griner
could face 10 years in jail.
People were wondering why
Brittney Griner is going to Russia
being the star that she
is here in the states.
It's because she's
getting paid millions.
Now some people might
think $100,000, $200,000
is good money, um, for...
for a normal citizen
working a conventional job.
But, if you put it in the
context of professional sports,
it's well below what most
people are getting paid
for being a high level talent.
You know, people
always think, "Okay,"
"when Americans come overseas
"that they're automatically
going to dominate
and carry the team."
But that's not always the case.
So that definitely could
be a... a misconception.
If they sit on the, uh, side...
She really brings
a lot of energy.
She's able to score
in all position
and, uh, you know, I like her
game and I like her personality.
Uh, you... She can, uh, she
can make a lot of joke with me.
So... so I'm really
good with her.
Now she's able to score,
uh, uh, 20, 25 points.
So, she needs just to continue
in these, uh, in these things.
Uh, what she is doing now
and we can be successful.
You think by myself?
You said you had it at home.
I'm gonna get annoyed
with you. What is that?
What happened?
'Cause she said she still didn't eat
hers. She got it at home. She said...
Oh, so you were gonna
get another piece?
-Yeah.
-So you're gonna eat two tonight?
-Worth it though.
-No, I'm just going to have one tonight.
-You're just gonna save them, like...
-I respect it.
I rather, you know... I
keep that thang on me.
Little bit of cheesecake.
So you're going to put it...
-It's the princess.
-Right?
Okay, but if I'm
walking first...
But you gotta walk through,
like, the narrowest...
I mean, honestly, like, for me,
I... when I first get there,
I'm thinking, like, about my first break
where I can go home like in November.
No, like, real talk, I'm
thinking about that like, "Okay,
I just gotta make it to then."
Then, by then, I kind of just,
like, try and break it up
like, "Okay, we're in the
middle of the season."
Like, okay, just
trying to break up like
how many games we got
or things like that.
Using basketball instead
of letting basketball
just use you or use your
body, like it's better.
I think... I'ma say it. I
think it's different in Canada
compared to the States.
One, just because there's
so many schools out there.
-Yeah.
-There are so many athletes graduating,
-trying to get to WNBA obviously.
-Yeah.
But, like, in Canada, like,
-we don't have that same opportunity.
-Mm.
Like, if you're good
enough in Canada,
-yeah, you'll go D1 in the States, fine.
-Yeah.
But other than that, like,
the goal is overseas.
-Okay. Mm-hmm.
-Like, that is the goal.
Like, I want to play
professional basketball.
There's no professional
league in Canada.
-Or women's at least.
-Okay.
And then, men's, it's
only in the summertime.
Mm.
Um, and that's only for
like a couple months.
And then, yeah, other than
that, like, it's like,
"Okay, let me just
try to get something."
-Yeah, where...
-People...
Like, I know a couple people
that were pretty good in college
that are making like
less than $1,000.
-I believe it.
-Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, uh...
-You... What can you do with that?
-Yeah.
Like, you really have
to, like, love...
-Less than $1,000?
-Love the game.
-You have to love it.
-You have to love the game.
And that's... that's so many
factors. That's your agent.
That's who your agent
knows. That's the team.
Like, a team is gonna
low-ball you for real, like...
-For sure.
-If you worth a certain amount of money,
they're not gonna give
it to you from jump.
Your agent has to
work for that. Yeah.
-Exactly.
-But people are taking it so it's like...
Because they don't
know though, like...
Diana Taurasi, she played
in Russia to the point
where her team one
season in Russia,
paid her not to
play in the WNBA.
Like, that's how important they
are to these teams in Europe.
They have to go play overseas to give
themselves the lifestyle afforded
to a professional
basketball player
simply because the
WNBA doesn't pay them
the amount of money
that Europe does.
I was getting major attention from
a lot of high level teams in Europe,
and I was getting a lot of
attention from NBA clubs,
then I got diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis.
Now, to a story of
commitment and persistence.
Chris Wright was playing
professional basketball overseas
when he noticed an unusual
tingling in his right foot.
After the sensation started to
spread, Chris went to the doctor
where he was diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis.
But rather than marking the
end of his playing career,
it actually marked a
new beginning for him.
A year after his diagnosis, he
became the first person with MS
to play in the NBA.
Chris Wright and his
neurologist Dr. Heidi Crayton
join us now to discuss the
condition and Chris's treatment.
MS is a condition that affects
the central nervous system,
which is any part of the brain,
any part of the spinal cord.
And how people experience MS really
depends on where they're affected.
So, people can have visual
issues, they can have sensation
or balance issues, weakness.
I told the head coach,
I was like, "Yo, coach,
I don't know what's going on."
And you know that whenever
a rookie say something,
they looking at you
like, "Whatever."
I'm like, "Nah, for real. I'm
not... I can't feel nothing."
So they told me to
take the day off.
I went to the doctor,
and when I went to the doctor,
they did all the little testing,
"Can you feel this?"
"No, I can't feel this."
"Alright, well,
take the day off."
Drink some water is what
they told me. Mm... Alright.
Um, so I went home and
kind of forgot about it.
You know, I'm walking around and
stuff, but it just feels weird.
Then I go to sleep. The
next morning, I wake up,
go to get out... get out of the bed,
I fall and collapse to the floor.
No feeling, I can't lift my legs, I
can't lift my arms, nothing like that.
I had to crawl to text my
teammate to come help me
in the... in the apartment
and all that stuff.
And then I went back,
this time in a wheelchair
because I couldn't move.
Again, they told me nothing was wrong
even though I came in a wheelchair.
So, I had some choice words,
you know what I'm saying?
It got a little...
Got my point across
and they sent me to a
specialist in Istanbul.
And that's when I was diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis.
And at the time, I ain't gonna
lie, I wasn't even tripping.
I wasn't even like... like
devastated, nothing. I just... It...
'Cause everything
happened so fast.
I was like, "What you
mean?" Like, what... what...
"I can't play no more? I was just
running and dunking and jumping,
"and flying around yesterday...
"...and now you gonna tell me
because of something
that just happened..."
I don't even know what it is.
I didn't... had no clue
what multiple sclerosis was.
"...that I could never
play basketball again?
Nah, you got that wrong."
Chris Wright
fancies his chances,
and why not?
I don't think people truly
understand, you know,
how significant it's
for Chris Wright
to be playing professional
basketball in general,
let alone the NBA with
multiple sclerosis.
He not only battled
through that in Turkey
but subsequently ended
up making it to the NBA
with the Dallas Mavericks
and playing in a NBA game
with this same disease.
The league is made up of around 400
players every year, give or take.
And there are tens of thousands
of American basketball players
that are trying to play
professional basketball.
So, for him to get one
of those coveted spots
while being diagnosed with
that debilitating disease,
it's nothing short of a miracle.
Seven doctors said, "No, you
can never do this again."
And I kept saying, "Alright,
well, I'ma go find somebody else."
Yeah.
I had to teach myself how
to do everything again:
walk, I had to teach myself how to
run and teach myself how to shoot,
had to teach myself how to jump.
Now, fast-forward eight months,
nine months later, I was in NBA.
I had an opportunity
to go... go to the NBA,
um, specifically when I
was leaving Olympiacos.
Um, it was either go to CSKA or go to...
at the time it was the Atlanta Hawks,
and I chose to stay overseas and not
even like... throughout my career,
not even necessarily explore
those NBA opportunities
because I really enjoyed
playing basketball overseas.
Kyle said something
that was very profound.
He said that American
basketball players
are signed overseas
but set up to fail.
And I never thought about it
like that, but it's very true,
because when you play overseas,
you know that there's
a cloud over you,
and you have a very short
leash to make mistakes
because you will always be the scapegoat
and the first person they look at,
because they're paying the
most money for you to be there.
It costs a lot to
bring an American
to a team, internationally.
You have to pay for visas, you
have to pay for the housing,
you have to pay for
round trip flights,
you have to pay for cars,
you have to obviously
pay a salary, insurance.
There are a lot of
things that come
with signing an American
in these countries
because they're not... you're not just
signing them as a basketball player,
you're signing them as a
working citizen in the country.
The NBA is the NBA. Like, that...
There's no substitute for that.
But for me, like, you
know, I found my niche,
and I was like, you know, I'm just
gonna stick with it and stay with it.
And-and-and like I said,
I think it's... it's worked
out for me just a little bit.
In terms of what the...
the negatives are overseas,
not getting paid on time,
not getting paid at all.
Um, and that's a
big issue overseas.
So, I would say that,
because you can't really
have a union over there.
It's tough 'cause it's so
many different countries,
so many different rules.
So there's no... And FIBA's
going to side more with the clubs
because that's where they
getting their money from.
You know, so it just
makes more sense
that we will have some...
we don't have as much
leverage as we want.
"2007." Yeah, 2007 Pan
American Games, USA jersey.
That was a dope experience.
I consider FIBA, which
is the governing body
of international basketball,
it's organized chaos.
And so, obviously
everybody has contracts,
and there's, you
know, stanzas in place
where if things go left,
then you go to
arbitration in Switzerland
because Switzerland is neutral,
and all of these
things are in place.
A lot of times, the teams
know how to work around that.
So, for instance, like a country...
like a market like Greece,
they're infamous for not
paying their players.
They have outstanding debts
throughout the league.
Teams have that,
and myself included.
That was the first and only place
that I didn't get all of my money.
I went through a economic
crisis when I was in Greece.
You know, it got to a point,
uh, where you could only
take out 400 Euros a week,
you know, out of the bank.
You could swipe your
card as much as you want
but only 400 Euros a week.
My thing was, I get that the
Greek citizens, you know,
they can't take their money out
the bank and stuff like this
but for the players
that are over here,
like, between basketball,
football, all the sports
that aren't Greek citizens, we
should be able to take our money out
and send it back home.
And Greeks no... uh,
voted against it.
So, everybody kinda had to
leave their money in the banks.
You couldn't take it out.
Uh, and this went on for
probably like two years.
So. when you go to
arbitration, one, as a player,
you have to pay for
that out of your pocket.
That whole process. That
meeting, it's expensive, right?
And it... They can
draw it out, too.
The team can draw it out
and things like that.
And that's... In that same breath,
you're looking for your next contract.
So, what they bank on is the
players saying, "Hey, well..."
"Yeah, I know I'm owed this money,
but I have my next contract coming up
and they still might
not rule in my favor."
You know, that's...
that's the risk,
and that's the reality
for a lot of players.
So teams know that. And
there's really little recourse
that you have to get your money.
I've been in games where I've
been three for five from three...
...and I'm thinking to myself,
in the middle of a game,
"Alright, if I shoot
above 50% this season,
I'll get more money next
year on my next contract,"
in the middle of the game. So
I'll turn down wide open shots.
I'm no longer
playing basketball,
I'm making business
decisions on the court.
Thank you.
Just kind of like packing up,
trying to get myself
organized, um, to pack up
as the, like, the season's
kinda coming to an end,
trying to figure out
how I'm gonna get all
this stuff back home,
and what I can kind of leave and
maybe give... give away here,
uh, and what I can
take back home.
It's kind of like a
bittersweet feeling
of knowing the season is ending
and I get to go home,
see my family, um...
but also knowing
that, like, basketball
is... is kinda coming
to an end for this year
is a little bit...
is a little bit sad,
but also very exciting
for me to go home.
'Cause you're... you're here
for majority of the year
and it gets tough.
Like, you... you spend a
lot of time by yourself
without seeing people that you
see on a day-to-day basis at home.
So this... it's kinda
exciting for me,
besides the stressful part of, uh,
just trying to pack and everything.
For my career, I
definitely have...
I definitely have some huge
decisions to make very soon.
The season ends, the regular
season ends in three weeks.
If we have playoffs, the season
ends in five to six weeks.
So, I'm pretty much getting to
the near... near the end of it,
and it's time to figure
out what my next steps are.
I don't really want
to stay idle too long.
I'm just gonna have to
talk to... to my agent,
gonna have to talk to
Mike, and see what...
see what the market is saying,
or what my... my new value
in the market would be
as a basketball player.
Will I come back to Australia
and play for the same team?
Will I play for a different
team in the same league?
Will I go to one of the
different NBL1 leagues,
like the south and
north in Australia?
Will I go to Europe,
South America?
I'm not sure if there's a country
that I can think of right now
that I definitely
wouldn't play in.
Um, I'd be open to...
to plenty of markets.
Um, I'm very adventurous.
So even if it's a... a
country that seems weird,
I feel like I'd end up
going to the country
just to see what it's like.
As I've gone
through this career,
getting to know some players
that played in the EuroLeague.
When I was, uh, training
earlier this year, for example,
I got... I got to train with
somebody named James Gist,
who's... who I heard played in
EuroLeague, which was pretty cool.
He was telling me
about his experiences,
and it's... it's just amazing to see
people live their life, you know?
I'm first generation in my
family doing something like this.
I never had somebody lay
out the blueprint for me.
Now I have the blueprint.
I feel like it would be a sin
to... waste the gift
that God blessed me with,
to not give back to the next
generation that's coming up.
To not teach the game, to
not help them understand,
you know, what this game
can really do for you.
And not just the game of basketball,
but how it correlates to life, you know?
Overseas basketball
is a grind,
but what he went through
to get to where he is now
in the NBL1 in Australia,
is beyond a grind.
Like, he was subjected to things
that most people
couldn't handle.
When people think of
professional basketball,
you don't equate it to struggle.
He truly had to
struggle and adjust
and... and change
his life, literally.
You know, when you see
him sitting here today
playing in the NBL1, what
he truly had to sacrifice
and go through just
to get to this point.
That's one of the biggest things I
want people to get from his story.
Even when... if I
retire from basketball,
I'm still gonna play, you know, you
still gonna see me playing everywhere.
That's just... I mean,
that shit, it's in me.
I don't... I don't have to get paid
necessarily to play basketball.
I ain't get paid
for a long time,
and I was playing that shit,
you know what I'm saying?
So, when I stop playing, uh,
professionally, who knows?
What I've learned
from my career
is that you don't know
what tomorrow's gonna bring
as far as a
professional athlete.
You don't know if
next season is when
you're gonna get your big...
big break and make the league.
You don't know if you're
gonna get a raise.
You don't know if you're
gonna get injured.
About Saudi Arabia, I'm
excited about the team
that I'm gonna be playing on,
but for me, I'm just thankful
overall that, you know,
I'll be turning 36 this year.
I'll be going into
my 13th season,
and I'm still able to do this.
So, that's how
I'm looking at it.
I'm just thankful that at 35
I can still do what I love
and still get signed and
play to do what I love.
So, I'm thankful.
I know a lot of guys get
discouraged off that,
like they need the
nice apartment,
they need the... the... the
nice car to drive, or whatever.
I'm just there to get the job
done, you know what I'm saying?
I'm there to get the job done,
be the best player I can be,
be the best teammate I can
be, the best person I can be.
And with the understanding
that... that that's not my home,
that my home is
here with my family.
I want to squeeze every bit of
juice I can out of my career.
So when I'm done, I
will never be like,
I could have done this,
I could have went harder.
Like, I'm real... I'm... I'm
trying to go as hard as I can
and live with whatever happens,
live with however my career played
out knowing that I did all I could.
That's why I go hard.
To go places and... and... and
shake hands and meet people
and then people are
like, "Yo, who are you?"
Like, "'Cause why is everybody
coming up to shaking your hand?"
And I'm like, I'm just, you know, just
a... just a overseas basketball player.
I've won four EuroLeague titles,
which I'm the only American in the
history of EuroLeague to do so.
People would say that
I'm the most decorated
or the most
accomplished American
in all of overseas basketball.
I still pinch myself, you
know, every single day.
To get respect from
your peers, you know,
means more than any accolade
or any individual accomplish...
or any, you know, team
accomplishment I can ever have.
If I need to go clear my
head, I'm going to the gym.
If, um, I'm upset,
I'm going to the gym.
If I'm happy... Like,
it doesn't matter.
That's just something
that... that just...
It's like my... my safe
space and my happy place.
So, um, I don't see myself
stopping anytime soon,
even though it is a
grind and it is tough.
I didn't know how
good she was gonna be,
but being able to be there
every step of the way
-and watch her evolve...
- Here we go!
...with the type of
basketball player she is now,
and even a sister, like, how
much growth I've seen in her,
it's amazing, really.
She can still go way
higher than she already is.
I'm like, "Hold up, overseas
ain't that bad" for one,
and two, like, you could
really come over here
and live like Kemba.
I'm sure he just got off the
plane the other day in Monaco,
and was he just like, "Damn, man,
I'm... it's better than Charlotte."
I mean, if you in the NBA, yes,
you are, but you in Monaco.
You talking about James Bond,
007, like you Formula One.
This is the dream.
We get paid to play basketball,
we get to travel the world.
I feel like chasing
this dream is worth it.
I remind myself
of that every day,
how far I've come in
a... a short time,
the experiences I've
gotten to travel the world,
experience cultures,
still playing competitive
basketball, it's worth it to me.
I went to Greece, and I
played there for seven years.
I played in an arena
that at one point had
30,000 people in there,
you know, for one of our
playoff games, 30,000,
and, you know, they're
all screaming my name.
"Gist, Gist, Gist, Gist, Gist."
Why would I give that
up... to go play in the NBA
and not be the main guy?
Why'd you think that
I bruck this weight?
Tagging it into
different shapes
Supply and demand,
I got deals all day
Really take trips
pulling up on estates
But I ain't seeing
not one familiar face
Feds in the rear,
fully gas, no brakes
I'm in a blacked-out
ding dong with no plates
I'm tryna see how
much bread I can make
Why'd you think that
I bruck this weight?
Tagging it into
different shapes
Supply and demand,
I got deals all day
Really take trips
pulling up on estates
But I ain't seeing
not one familiar face
Feds in the rear,
fully gas, no brakes
I'm in a blacked-out
ding dong with no plates
Dots came long,
chopped it shorter
Numb to the fact death's
around the corner
Masked up, creeping
around like a stalker
Tryna put somebody's
son on my bora
Six shot spin parked off
and it's greased down
Weak in the knees now
he's seen this, yeah
Slap more than one, I
ain't inna no beat down
This ain't tables,
ladders and chairs
I'm tryna better
my circumst...
Uh, playing with the
Maryland Flames, um, my team.
And then, this is also another
poster with just our team.
So, it's cool to just look
back at stuff like this
when I come home,
um, and just, like,
just take it in
and realize like
how... where I started
and where I'm at now is crazy.