Knuckleheads Season 5

C Webb is in the building! He’s the man who’s always been at the center of the culture – from his star-studded AAU team to the legendary Fab Five years to his 15-year run in the league. The Midwest legend begins by breaking down his insanely stacked AAU teams and explaining the wild Midwest basketball culture he thrived in while growing up. Then it’s all about Michigan and the Fab Five. The boys who defined college basketball at the time. He gets into the baggy shorts and the buzz cuts, what that ride to fame as a group of college friends was like, and how painful it was experiencing losses in back-to-back championship games. Then he chats post-college, how his mother creatively helped him get over The Timeout, and how the draft process saw him through some hard times. From there, the guys take turns imagining what a C Webb-Shaq duo would’ve done to the basketball world, and Chris gives the backstory of why Shaq pushed for Penny Hardaway. It all worked out, as C Webb linked up with part of Run TMC in Golden State and snatched Rookie of the Year. He goes on to explain his Godfather-like contract, which allowed him to be a free agent after his first season, and what sent him to the East to reunite with Juwan Howard in D.C. The guys then get into C Webb’s finding out that he’d been traded to Sacramento ... while in a grocery store, and why he was so adamant about not wanting to play there. Things changed fast, though, as teammates made him love it there and his arrival led to the Kings’ most successful stretch. C Webb then touches on the final years of his career, what it was like to play with AI in Philly, and what he’s been doing since he retired, including growing his collection of African-American artifacts and teaching a master’s class at Wake Forest. We see you, Professor! C Webb has truly done it ALL. From the game of basketball to the game of life, Chris Webber is a hands-down inspiration. Tune IN!

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CITYYYYYYY!!!!!! Our man, The Franchise, Steve Francis drops by Knuckleheads this week. We hear about his life and times growing up in Takoma Park, Md. The real backstory to all the high schools he attended. The school he almost went to and the one he did go to — where he became a star: Maryland. You’ll hear how Steve developed into one of the best dunkers of all time — and we’re talking NBA All Time. (Q can speak from experience on that.) You’ll hear how Cynthia Cooper gave him wisdom on leadership. What it was like playing with legends as a rookie. And then about that one time he took Yao Ming to the club. Yes. You read that right. There’s stories of his NBA shoe, tales of his handle, how he became The Franchise in Houston. And then all about his time in The City. CITYYY! We’re talking about a legend. Stories upon stories upon stories stacked in this episode. Y’all settle in. Steve Francis. In the building. #knuckleup.

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Money Mone. Walking legend. WNBA champion and LSU royalty Seimone Augustus drops by Knuckleheads this week. We give you the inside scoop on her early days hooping down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She tells about how she grew up with Big Baby, Glen Davis, and even includes her side of the infamous sleeper sofa incident. We learn what it’s like being compared to MJ in high school, on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Seimone opens up about picking the wrong pair of shoes for running workouts in college. The special runs her college teams went on. And the very, very special and momentous feeling of seeing her jersey retired by LSU. From college we head to the WNBA and learn how the Lynx became The Lynx. It wasn’t overnight. There are stories about moves and shots and players and passing. All told with a smooth Louisiana swagger. And a new Start. Bench. Cut. Jordan edition for all those sneakerheads out there. It’s a momentous episode with one of the best to ever do it. And still do it. Money Mone ain’t done yet. Listen in y’all. Seimone Augustus. Respect. 

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Oh, what’s up, Shump!? NBA Champion, rapper, and fashion king Iman Shumpert joins Knuckleheads this week! We get going on Chicago basketball, of course, and Shump explains where he learned to talk his talk, playing all over the city, and why that Chicago streetball intensity is like nothing else. He talks balling out in high school — getting paid by his brother to dunk it and wanting to face off against the best city schools because of … the girls? He gets into his decision to go to Georgia Tech over UNC and discusses how his injury delayed his ascent to the league. Post-school, Iman’s draft process was pretty unique, specifically when he got into a fight during his workout for the Bulls and why that attitude actually attracted NBA teams. Then it’s to the mecca, and Shump explains what it was like playing in NYC as a rookie, his Knickstape, learning to understand the NY media and why his loyalty to Melo will never leave. He talks how he was unsure about getting traded to Cleveland, what it was like to win a championship and why he had to reset himself after winning. Then Iman bounces around the league — how he loved Sacramento but Houston not so much, and what his short experience with the Nets last season was like. He ain’t done there, though! Teyana Taylor. Delivering their kids. And where he’s taking his rap career. Shump brings everything! Don’t miss out! 

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He don’t need no introduction. The one and only Alonzooooooo Mourning punched in with the Knuckleheads for this week’s episode! You know it’s gonna be a special one when the OG decides to pull up. The guys ask Zo to take it back to his high school days, playing ball as the No. 1 recruit in the country. Zo remembers the parade of college coaches coming to his house, and how John Thompson asked to be the last coach to visit. Zo says it was Thompson who made the best offer — which was no promise of a starting position, but the chance to work hard, be part of greatness and get an excellent education. Zo talks about the special bond he had with Big John, and all the things that made the Georgetown coach a legend to everyone who knew him. He also speaks on watching Dikembe Mutombo grow into himself as a basketball player — and the hilarious nicknames Thomson bestowed on Dikembe and Zo: Africa and Motherf*****!  Zo looks back on getting drafted and what it meant to shake David Stern’s hand. He goes deep on the notorious Heat/Knicks beef, and how it’s all Pat Riley’s fault for implementing the same fierce DNA in both franchises. Zo literally marked X’s on the calendar for all those matchups. Darius asks why Zo’s 1,000th block had to be on him! Zo even sent D Miles a framed picture of it afterward, as a memento. They tell some stories from the famous Zo’s Summer Groove. Then Zo looks back on his championship season, and gets real about just how tough he was on his teammates in order to win. How he really never knew they respected his toughness until Shaq asked Zo to present at his Hall of Fame induction. That meant a lot. Game respects game. And everybody’s got respect for the OG, Alonzo Mourning. Tune in to hear everything from the Miami legend himself.  

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This week’s Knuckleheads is cold — cold as Ice! The legend, George Gervin aka Iceman, blesses the show with his presence! We’ve got to ask who was the first in BOTH leagues (the ABA and the NBA) to bust his ass. He admits it was Doctor J in the ABA … but he never had that problem once he got to the NBA. He lets the guys know it was his old teammate Fatty Taylor who gave him the famous nickname, Iceman, because of that inimitable swag he stunted on a daily basis. Q remembers being starstruck by that swag as Gervin walked in at a college basketball game wearing a floor-length fur coat. C’mon now! They dissect the famous finger roll, and Ice reminds the guys that everybody can dunk, but not so many can finger roll. That takes some skill and finesse. They get into one of Gervin’s under-appreciated stats – that he was the PG with the most blocks upon his retirement. He did it on BOTH ends of the court, don’t forget it, y’all. George says it’s KD who reminds him most of himself in the league right now. He looks back on being named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time, and on his years playing overseas. He gets into his son’s international career as well, and the time George Jr. spent as a Harlem Globetrotter. The guys ask about the iconic ice throne photoshoot – fun fact, that was a real ice block they carved out for him. The guys talk about the differences in the league now, and the influence that the old heads had on young ballers. Because for the Iceman … that’s what it’s all about, man. You’re not gonna want to miss this one. The Iceman showed UP. And everything he do is colddddd. This is one for the books. Give it up for the Icemannnnnnnnnn!

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D. Will. Utah Jazz royalty and one of the smoothest to ever grace the point guard position joins Knuckleheads this week. Deron gets into his early days, growing up in West Virginia and then Texas, being a standout wrestler and why he had an underdog chip from the get-go. Then it was on to Illinois for D Will. He explains how he almost transferred after his freshman year but says now that staying was one of the best decisions he’s ever made. S***, then he just went out and balled, including that historic run to the NCAA championship his junior year — Illinois’s best season ever. All of which, of course, helped his draft stock skyrocket in the spring. Then Deron gets into his rookie year in Utah, why Jerry Sloan was so damn hard on him, and why he was pissed off that he wasn’t in the starting rotation. Things would change, though, in his second year, and from there D Will took the best-point-guard-in-the-league debate and made sure he was in that conversation, as he and Carlos Boozer forged a Stockton-Malone-type offense that led the Jazz to the conference finals. He talks about D Will vs. CP3, what it was like playing in Turkey, and explains the challenges that came with his move from Utah to Brooklyn. Deron also talks about his two gold medals, shares stories from those teams and credits Kobe with stopping him from ever winning a ship. Don’t sleep on D Will, the man has things to say!  

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Reign Man is in the building! The Seattle LEGEND, Shawn Kemp, joins Knuckleheads this week. Darius kicks off the show presenting the worn-out Shawn Kemp VCR tape that he watched every day as a kid. Then Shawn takes it back to his high school dominance in Indiana and explains why he chose Kentucky over the hometown school, IU … and why that choice lost him Indiana’s Mr. Basketball title. Kemp details his unique rise to the league — how the Lakers were trying to keep him hidden away in L.A. during draft workouts with an eye to making him Magic Johnson’s future running mate. Had it not been for a last-minute tryout that landed him in Seattle come draft day, he might actually have been a Laker. Can you imagine? From there it was straight to stardom with the Sonics, as Kemp took the league by storm with his high-flying dunks and crazy athleticism. He gets into what it was like to team up with Gary Payton and how he and GP are still close today. Reign Man also kicks it with the guys about his Kamikaze Reeboks, playing in the Finals against Jordan, and the Dream Team I vs. Dream Team II debate. He reveals the reason that he eventually decided to leave Seattle, but makes it very clear that the NBA needs to bring a team back to the Emerald City. The legend gets into it all on this episode of Knuckleheads. Don't miss this one from the Reign Man himself. Tune IN.

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We got Cynthia “Raise the Roof” Cooper in the building ladies and gents! Question: Who was the first person to bust her ass in the WNBA? Answer: NOBODY. Coop takes us back to her childhood, and how Lynette Woodard – the first female Harlem Globetrotter – was the female basketball player she looked up to. She talks about the dynamic duo she and Cheryl Miller formed at USC, the decade she spent dominating the basketball scene in Italy, and how she spoiled herself with some fine Italian leather goods while she was there. Luckily, she came back to represent the USA and win some gold, and then stuck around to play in the first ever WNBA season. She speaks about her elite Houston Comets team — you know, that one with Coop, Tina Thompson AND Sheryl Swoopes. Yeesh. How they won four — that’s back to back to back to back! — championships. Coop breaks down why she is absolutely made to be a coach in the NBA, and there’s just no disagreeing. Straight facts. Settle in and get ready for this episode. The first woman to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, Cynthia Cooper is a legend of the game. Period.

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It's season 5 and we poppin’ off with one of the stars from the Bubble: Mr. Jamal Murray. The pride of Kitchener, Canada, joins Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles to go over everything, including his jump to stardom. They start off with Canada, what it was like playing ball there, how hard it was to get attention from the big-time schools and why Jamal is so proud that Canadian players are finally getting respect. Then he talks about going to Kentucky and what it was like playing under Coach Cal for a year. It was one and done and on to the draft. Jamal reveals that he didn’t even work out for Denver and explains why he thought he could’ve been teamed up with Devin Booker in Phoenix. He then talks about his quiet-yet-effective start in the NBA, and what changed when he entered the Bubble this past summer. Then it’s to the moon — Jamal discusses dropping 50 points again and again and again, what it was like going back and forth against Donovan Mitchell, and why the Nuggets felt confident even when they were down 3–1 … twice! Lastly, you won’t want to miss Jamal ranking his greatest Canadian players and explaining why he still doesn’t own a car despite being in his fifth year in the league. A young superstar on the rise, Jamal Murray starts off Season 5 with a bang.

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