How NBA Champion Udonis Haslem Is Building a Relentless Business Empire

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0:49Bring a date, your team, or even your mom. Book direct at choicehotels.com. See you on the roof Lace is out That phrase sounds familiar, it should It's from the comedy movie Ace Ventura Pet Detective And being from Miami, it's also a favorite of a three-time NBA champion In a minute, we'll be talking business and basketball with Udonis Haslam You're in the Enterprise Zone at the NASDAQ

1:23Hello, everyone. This is Jabari Young, senior writer at Forbes and Union Enterprise Zone at the NASDAQ market site. And I have a special guest, Ace Ventura. No, Udonis Haslund, three time NBA champion, played 20 years with one franchise, that being the Miami Heat. And again, man, I mean, listen, made over 70 million in his career and now a Amazon Prime NBA analyst now, TV star now. NBA guy turned TV star, Donald, thank you so much for the time, man. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jabari. Thanks for having me. Yeah, man, it's your first time at the NASDAQ. I appreciate that introduction. Yeah, man, listen, I'm a Pet Detective fan as well, right?

1:57I got to ask you when the last time you watched that movie, but your first time here at the NASDAQ? Man, it's my first time here. Wow, wow. Man, all these years you've been coming to New York and beating the hell out of the Knicks sometimes, man. And so you've been in the NASDAQ? Because of that, I stay in my hotel room. They're not very nice out here. Yeah, they're not even

2:17I know you was in town for the Amazon event in New York, a phenomenal event that they put on. We were talking off camera about getting home late, right? And making sure that you call it quits early. But before we talk business and basketball, man, how's the family? How's your son's? Family's great, man. I have three boys. My oldest son just had a daughter a year ago, so I'm a grandfather now. Oh, wow. You're too young to be a grandfather. I like to say my son has a daughter. I don't call myself a grandfather yet. I just say my son got a daughter. I don't say grandfather yet. You haven't accepted it.

2:45Yeah, kind of hard. But I mean, she's a joy. Just gives me more reason to keep pushing forward. And then my middle son is a baseball player. He's in Juco right now, but he's visiting other colleges as well to take that transition. And then my youngest son is 15 years old. He's the only one that loves basketball. Literally picked up the basketball, you know, fresh out of the hospital. So that's my joy. That's my pride. That's what pushed me. Yeah. Well, now you're kind of a girl dad, a girl granddad in a way, man. Like how does that girl, I have a girl 13 years old, man. They just like, they steal your heart.

3:18Girls, they are different. And I don't have any daughters, but I have a lot of God daughters. My brother, Dwayne Wade, Kavya James is my God daughter. So I have a lot of God daughters and they just steal your heart. I can't say no, whatever you need, whatever you want. If Dwayne Wade say no, God daddy going to say yeah. And they know that. So it's just different with girls. And also girls stick by you. All my buddies that have girls tell me when you get older, those daughters are going to take care of you. That's why I try to give her everything you want. Like, remember this now, right? So that way when I get older, you make sure, just give me a room in the back, put good times on, and I'm straight, right?

3:51All those football games and basketball games ain't gonna matter when I get older. 100%, 100%, man. Well, listen, man, when's the last time you watched Ace Ventura with your family? Did your boys like it at all? They don't know the movie. Me and my wife, we are huge movie people. The generation now watches a lot of, like, YouTube and different things. They don't really get into the shows and movies like we do. But my wife and I, we love that movie. and Dan Marino, obviously being a Miami kid, Dan Marino is like a legend to me. So everything about that movie is just Miami, and I love it. Yeah, listen, I like part two as well, When Nature Call.

4:22My daughter loves that one, right? I turned that one on for one day, and she was cracking up. She loves it. When he goes to Africa, right? I mean, I don't know where that falls on your movie scale. Nothing is better than Finkel is in Einstein. He's in the shower crying. I'm putting it out. Tone Loke was in that movie too, man. God bless his life, man. Tone Loke, man. I mean, that was a classic. So to find out that was one of your favorites, I'm like, man, we already got something. Everything in Miami is my favorite. I love it. I love the city. I love it. You follow the stock market at all? So Andre Iguodala, who I had a chance to play with and spend some time in the NBA bubble.

4:54And when I took my time in the NBA bubble, it was a lot of time. And a lot of guys thought that that was a time to just be away. And a lot of guys looked at it as negative time. I looked at it as time to focus on things that I always wanted to have the time to focus on. So when I was in that bubble, I actually took the time. And I met Andre Iguodala every morning. And we sat down, ate breakfast, and we talked stocks. Wow. And he would teach me and we would go over and we were watching, you know, everything we could. And that's actually when I took to stocks and started to learn stocks where it was in the bubble.

5:18Wow. You remember your first one you bought, like, after talking to him, like, I'm going with this one. Yeah, it was NVIDIA. NVIDIA? You got a little NVIDIA. Got a little NVIDIA. You got a little NVIDIA. Everybody loves NVIDIA, especially nowadays, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got in early. Yeah, you got in early. So that means your pocket is growing a little bit. You already told everybody how much I made. That's public information. That's just public information, right? All the contract numbers come up on ESPN. But what type of investor would you say Udonis Haslam is? Like, I mean, on the court, you have that reputation of being one of the OGs, right?

5:48Just a guy that just did the little things. And I love those types. What type of investor would you say you are? A smart one. A smart one. A very smart one. I think on the basketball court, I'm aggressive. I react sometimes without thinking. And that's just who I am. But in business, I think before I react. Yeah. And that's something that I've learned sometimes the hard way. But for me, I'm a very smart investor. And I want to invest in things that I care about. I don't do things just for money. I do things that I care about. And for me, that allows me to give it my best version. And if I give it my best version, I think that I'll get good results in the end.

6:19I love it, man. Well, listen, 2026, fall, you know, I was walking in a dollar store the other day. I saw Christmas decorations up. And I'm like, man, we didn't even get past Thanksgiving, Halloween. And they already got Christmas decorations up. So it's coming up, man. But if you had to look back on your 2026 as we are rounding out the year and you said, hey, you know what, this music kept me motivated, kept me inspired. What's been your soundtrack to 2026? Oh man, Summer Breeze by Osley Brothers. It's my father's favorite song, and that's something I like to sit back, because everything is so hectic in my life.

6:48I'm always flying, I'm always traveling, I'm always moving. It's always something that's next. When I'm sitting in the car, when I'm driving home, or when I'm on a plane, I'm throwing on that Osley Brothers. That's Summer Breeze, and just the way it starts, with the violin and the guitar, and then Ronald Osney come in and that thing just hit. It just calms me down. So 2026, I've been looking to calm myself down a little bit because everything's just been so hectic. Yeah, yeah. You can't go wrong with the Ozzy Brothers. No, you can never go wrong. Ron is still doing it. Yeah, I mean, I saw him at Essence Fest a few years ago and I'm like, man, he can still hold the crowd.

7:21He was sitting down, but he can still hold the crowd, man. Yeah, and the crazy thing about it is my father's favorite group. And when I was younger, I did not understand it. And now as I get older, I would listen to the Ozzy Brothers all day. Yeah, man, you can't go wrong. You can't go wrong with Summer Breeze, man. You walk into a third grade class, Udonis, and some of these kids may remember you and your playing days and some of them may not. But a third grade class, man, and they say, well, what is it that you do, Udonis? What do you tell these group of third graders that you do for a living now?

7:47I talk about basketball last. I talk about the impact that I have in the city of Miami. I do affordable housing. We provide jobs. I have so many different things that I'm touching. We connect with grandparents that raise grandkids. So many things are the things that I talk about first. and then I go to basketball. My Amazon Prime family, you know, that's who I am now. I'm no longer the basketball player. That is in the past. I am now a TV analyst. And the great thing about being a TV analyst is when I was a basketball player, I didn't like TV analysts. So what I wanted to do when I became an analyst is make sure that I can do both.

8:19I still want to be liked by my peers and the guys that I'm talking about and the guys that I'm critiquing. But I also want to be a respected and an honest and an authentic analyst. And I wanted to be able to combine both of those worlds. Yeah. Well, that's the perfect segue, man. And in that very seat, John Wall sat there, and I asked him about that same thing. And, you know, John said he don't care. Like, I'm not trying to make friends. This is how I feed my family now. So if y 'all don't like what I say, we ain't got to be cool. You have a different approach, right? But still, retired from the league in 2023.

8:46He retired your, you know, number 40 jersey in 2024. I know that was very emotional. Not everybody gets their jersey retired, right? And so that was, I'm sure, special. But how's the transition been from being a media or being an NBA guy to being a media guy? Because I called up one of our very mutual friends in Shandell Richardson down in Miami. And I said, hey man, you're done. It's like, what was it like covering him? He says, he was really quiet. I'm surprised he turned into this media star, right? So how was that transition? That was a trick. It was a trick? Yeah, I didn't let everybody see the real me.

9:14Okay. Yeah, you only got to see what I wanted you to see as a basketball player. Now I'm on this side of the world and I get to show you everything. Okay. I didn't want to show you everything as a basketball player. I was a very private person. I came to work. I worked hard and I spent time with the people that I care about. I spent time with the people in that organization. I spent time with the people in that locker room. I was very focused on the goal. The goal was to win. I was not trying to make friends outside of the Miami Heat organization. Now in this position, it's different. You get to see 100 % of who eudonitism is, what he is, and what matters to him, and what he's capable of.

9:44I think there are people who are surprised just because when I was a basketball player, I wasn't trying to be liked. I wasn't trying to be your friend. I was here to win. Why would I want to be friends with somebody who's trying to take something from me? This is my dream. This is my goal, and I work hard for it. I don't want to be your friend right now. So, I got a little misunderstood, but I'm actually a nice guy. Yeah. Well, he said that. He said it was great covering him, but he was so quiet. But now I know it was all like, it was a strategy that you did that way. Yeah, it was a strategy. Yeah.

10:09You didn't want to let anything out. Yeah, but I'm not a nice guy. Yeah. Well, I mean, it depends what day to catch you on, right? Yeah, it depends on what day to catch you on. It might be like you in a car listening to Summer Breeze, you're not going to be mean, right? Nice guy. That's the nice guy. But when I stepped across those lines, it was a different guy and I was able to flick that switch. But for me, that's what I wanted people to see. And that's what I gave them. Rob Markman - Anything that you still miss a lot of playing in the game? I mean, you talked about it. Rob Markman - The preparation.

10:33Rob Markman - The preparation. Rob Markman - The preparation, man. I mean, as much as I work out now, I'll never be in that kind of shape again. I'll never train my mind the way I trained my mind then. And that's why I approach this the way I approach it. There's never a day you're going to catch me on Amazon Prime, on set, not prepared. I'm prepared for every day at work like it's the playoffs. Rob Markman - Yeah. Rob Markman - Because that's what I know. And I know that's what wins. So the preparation is what I miss. And I take that and I apply it to the new role in the job that I have now. I prepare every single day like it's a playoff game.

11:04Well, you also have a different hat, right? Because you are Vice President of Player Development at Miami Heat. So when you're analyst, you're dynast, do you have to take that hat off? Because, you know, your Heat might be playing bad and you've got to be critical of it. And this is where I say what John said. And this is where you have to be authentic. And I am authentic. And everybody that knows me in that Heat locker room and in that organization know I am authentic. and I will be honest and I will be real, but it's because I care and I want the best for you. So the thing about critiquing people or criticizing people is it always sucks if you don't have a relationship with that person.

11:35But if you have a relationship with those people, you've been honest with those people, they respect your opinion, they know who you are, whatever I said on TV, I probably already said to them. Or they probably already knew what was coming. So that's UD. That's who he is. That's what he is. And I built those relationships with those people because I've gotten in the mud with those people. And when you grind and you work hard with people, you have that respect and you earn that respect to critique them and criticize them at times. Yeah. Yeah. So if they come at you, then, you know, it's like, you know, I said this to your face.

12:00Yeah. I would say it to your face. You know, and they know that about me. And when I do criticize, I also tell you what you could do better. Right. And how you can get better. Right. Right. And then, but there's also the praise. Right. So people always hear the negatives like, hey, but you did you hear when I also said you had a good game? I'm a grace case. I give grace. I'm here right now sitting with you because of grace that was given to me. So I give grace. Yeah, I love it, man. What's been the biggest challenge about the transition in Dawn TV, right? I mean, it sounds like it came off naturally to you, but what was that learning point?

12:27Once again, being able to critique and be honest without throwing people under the bus, without making it seem, you know, as I'm just picking on you and also not dimming your light. I want to make sure I build these guys up. I want to make sure I encourage you guys and push these guys. So as I critique and criticize, how can I also not dim their light? And also, you know, once again, continue to push these guys to be their best version. So once again, it's the balance, the balance of critiquing and criticizing, but also, you know, informing and encouraging. And that's the balance that I try to find every night.

13:03Yeah. We're in a very interesting media age now, right? Because all the athletes got the podcast. And so y 'all beefing amongst each other about the stories told and the criticism and all that good stuff. Like you got in the middle of it at a couple of points, right? I don't really beef like that. I try to mind my business and stay over here. Yeah, that's hard, right? It's hard. Every now and then, somebody will knock on your door. Yeah. Yeah, you got to answer. Yeah. Do you like the space that you see your peers in now with their host, or do you call someone like, hey, man, you pillow talking too much?

13:30That's an inside the locker room story. That should have stayed there. Yeah, I wouldn't say pillow talking, but I do think some of the conversations get a little bit off topic, you know, and some of the conversations and some things should be kept personal, should be kept quiet. And that's just the respect I have for myself and some guys in my locker room, that I would never tell certain stories and I would never have certain conversations. There was a conversation that myself and Dwayne had that was very personal and very, very important to him. He spoke on it recently. I would never have spoke on that conversation because of the love and respect that I have for my brother.

14:02So certain things, like I said when I talked to you earlier about the relationships that I want to protect, it's not because I care about what people think when I critique them on TV. It's because there's certain people with certain relationships that I value more than what I'm doing right now. Did you have to put out a fire? Like, you know, listen, you're one of the OGs, man. You know, the mayor of Miami. Did you have to, like, maybe call someone who appears to put out a couple of fires? Yes, I definitely had to put out a fire. I remember my first time, you know, when I first, very first started, there was a conversation about the Miami Heat.

14:28It was a conversation about Tyler Hero. And Tyler Hero is my guy. That's my boy. I love Hero. So the conversation was about him coming off the bench as opposed to being a starter. My opinion on that was, hey, I think this would be great for Tyler to come off the bench. He's been former Sixth Man of the Year. I think if he comes off the bench, he can be his best version. He doesn't have to worry about playing second fiddle or third fiddle or anybody else. That kind of rubbed Tyler the wrong way. And I understood that. And I was able to call Tyler and I was able to go to his house. We worked out together.

14:53We had breakfast together. We had a conversation about what I said. And I stood on what I said, but I told him why I said what I said. It wasn't to devalue you. It wasn't to hurt you. I want you to understand that. And he understood that and we moved on from that. But that was just a learning experience for me. Did y 'all put on some summer breeze and buried a hatchet at that? Nah, I don't think he know about that. I don't think he know about that. I don't think Tyler knew about it. Yeah, yeah. You have a quote, man, and I really love this. In a 2020 podcast you did talking about wine, and it said, be uncomfortably comfortable.

15:20Yes. I love that. Are you in that space now still while you're doing Amazon Prime? Are you uncomfortably comfortable? Yes. Yes. That's the only way I know. That's how I keep pushing. That's how I keep thriving. Once I get comfortable, I get nervous. Why is that? Yeah, I don't like it. You don't like being comfortable? I don't like it. Why? Because I'm comfortable being uncomfortable. I built that. That's how I feel. If I sit around for too long and nothing's happening, I got to get up. I got to get to something. I love to exercise my mind. I don't want my mind to cut off. If I get home at 11 o 'clock and my mind wants to exercise till 2.30, then I let it exercise.

15:52I don't stop it. So being uncomfortably being comfortable. Yeah, it works for me. It might not work for everybody, but it works for me. Just continue to put myself in uncomfortable situations, figure it out, and thrive. Because I know everything that I want in life is on the other side of doing the hard stuff. It's on the other side of getting through the uncomfortable things. Everything I want is on the other side of those things. So I'm willing to push forward and be uncomfortable to get there. Yeah, well, you lived it. And, you know, definitely get into that in a minute. But before we do, put on your analyst hat.

16:19Because the NBA is here, right? It's back. I knew this was coming. I mean, and so I love when former players, they're good at their job when they're breaking down a game. Because I still learn something, right? I covered the Spurs for five years and talking to those coaches and being around Pop and Tim and Tony Amato. I mean, you learn so much about the game, right? Great basketball. And, you know, so what does Udonis Haslam see now as the NBA is here? Right. Let's start with overall league. Well, real quick, did you know you almost I almost played for the Spurs. I know. Yeah. You had a choice between showing up a summer camp and you went to the Miami and you got to 60 players to get there.

16:52Yeah, I did. I did. But shout out to Pop and that organization. R.C. Buford and those people over there. Great organization. class act and thank you for the opportunity because if they did not offer me the one-year deal, the Heat might not have offered me the two-year deal. And that's just how this business works. So it's nothing personal against the Miami Heat but they don't want you until somebody else wants you. No. Well, San Antonio and Miami is like two of the same. And I wanted to talk about that culture later. But again, what do you see, man? What do you see? Spurs are good? The Miami Heat is good?

17:22They called it the Leaston Conference for so long and I took offense to that. It is not the Leaston Conference. It is the Eastern Conference. Right now we are back and the New York Knicks won the championship last year. So the Knicks was able to bring it home. So the championship came back to the east. So we have to shut them out. But obviously, my Miami Heat have done well this summer. Yeah, they have put some pieces together. We see what Philly has done. We look for Detroit to take another step forward. If you look at that Cleveland Cavaliers team, they were probably one player away. They go get Peyton Watson from Denver to come over there, a great two way player.

17:54So there's a lot of changes, you know, happening, you know, right now in the east. And it's exciting. It's very exciting. I know one thing about playing with the big three when they came to Miami. You have to put it together. You have to put it together. Everybody has to be on one accord. So you have to figure that out. When I look out west, man, once again, I just look at that top. I look at that top and I look at the San Antonio Spurs. I look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not taking away nothing from Denver because Joker always has a chance. Not taking nothing away from Ant because they always have a chance.

18:25But right now at the top of the West, you just got to look at those two teams. And I think that pain, that pain of losing that drove San Antonio this summer, because you don't know until you know. You thought you worked as hard as you possibly could. You thought you pushed yourself to the limit. Experience that pain of the loss in the finals over the summer, and you will push yourself to another level. I think that will help them find a level they need to get to. And I think they'll be right back there again this year. Hopefully in the East, my Miami Heat can do it, but we have work to do. We have work to do, but we have the staff, we have the coaches, and we have the players.

18:53If you have that, you have a chance. All you want to do is walk in your locker room knowing that you have a chance. There's so many teams that walk in that locker room every year that know they don't have a chance and have to go through that nine-month grind. You want to walk in a locker room where you know you have a chance, and the Miami Heat have that chance. And I'm not taking it away from the Boston Celtics as well, because I think they will be better than people giving them credit for. Joe Mazzulli's a great coach. Jason Tatum's coming back. Paul George has more left in the tank than people think.

19:17And they also just re-signed Peyton Pritchard. So I think the East is going to be great. The West is going to be great. and so I made some good, good basketball this year. And I'm excited. Yeah, I am too, man. Listen, I got the Spurs winning it, as you said. Of course you do. Of course you do. I mean, you know, but I'm a Philly guy. I'm from Philly. You know this. And you told me that earlier. Yeah, but I just, based off what you just said about losing, I was that first year covering that team was after they lost to y 'all on the Red Island shot. So I know how hungry that team is. You know how that goes when you lose.

19:45That's how that drives you. And they kept everyone together. They had a vet in Tobias Harris. That continuity is what I'm counting on to get them over. And they got arguably the best player in the league in Victor Juan Mianna, right? And so I'm picking them. Yeah. I just, you were with the Miami Heat when they assembled the big three. You know how hard it is to get a team like that assembled and playing so well for their first year. So I'm not picking Philly. But what do you see when you look at the Sixers, right, John? Say, look, if I'm playing against them, I'm attacking, I'm putting Joel Embiid in pick and roll.

20:15How do you stop this loaded roster with LeBron James, Jalen Brown? And Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, right? How do you stop this roster? First of all, I love VJ Edgecombe. Huge VJ Edgecombe fan. You know, I'm from Miami, so he's right across the world in the Bahamas. So I'm an honorary Bahamian. Shout out VJ. Yeah. VJ, so I'm a huge fan. But I look at that team and I look at the speed and the athleticism of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. When Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are using that speed and that athleticism, that is when they're at their best version. So, now you bring in LeBron James, you bring in, you know, JB, and then you have Joel Embiid coming back.

20:50JB played for the Boston Celtics. As great as they were as an offensive juggernaut, putting up a lot of threes, they played at a very slow pace. Obviously, Joel Embiid does not play at a fast pace. LeBron James led the league in fast break points last year, individually, but he doesn't play at a fast pace. LeBron James knows how to cherry pick a little bit. He's been in the league a long time. He knows how to get out and go and get him. So he knows how to do that. I'm interested to see how does Nick Nurse bring that all together? That's right. How does he bring that all together so everybody can be their best version?

21:17Because what you don't want as a basketball coach with five guys on the floor is three guys feel like they're in rhythm and two guys don't. You need to have all five of those guys on a string feeling like they're in the rhythm. So are you going to play fast or are you going to play slow? Are you going to mix it up a little bit? So to me, I just want to know how they're going to play offensively. Defensively, I agree with John. You're going to put Joel Embiid in as many actions as possible. See if you can wear on him. See if you can get him in foul trouble. See if you can even get him to quit defensively.

21:42So that's where you're going to attack them. And also you're probably going to put Bron in some actions as well. As great as he is, as long as he's been in the game, he's not the defender that he used to be. Nor does he want to be the defender or needs to be the defender that he used to be. So those are the two guys you're probably going to put in action on the other end on the defensive side. Yeah. If you are a coach, right, I mean, how do you attack this team? You know, sorry, from the offensive standpoint, like, you know, what do you do as a head coach going against the Philadelphia 76ers? What's Udonis Haslam's game plan?

22:07I'm going to try to get him in foul trouble. I'm going to try to get him in foul trouble. You have a couple guys who you could get in foul trouble on that team. So, you know, offensively, you know, you're putting Joel Embiid in actions, whether it be cross screens or pin downs. If you take the Miami Heat, for instance, you have two bigs who can bust out and start the break. So that creates problems for a guy like Joel Embiid. If you have a big that can bust out and start the break off an offensive rebound, is Joel Embiid going to pick that big up as he busts out? You know, so now you have cross matches defensively.

22:34So I would love to see, you know, just how they play. Because if you play against a team that runs fast offensively, there's going to be a lot of cross matches. Are Joel Embiid, LeBron James, all those guys going to be able to get back and match up because they're going to want specific matchups because they're not going to want those guys getting put in actions and getting in foul trouble early. So are they going to be able to get to those matchups every night if you're playing against a team that's constantly pushing the pace, putting pressure on you, and getting to the rim? Yeah. Inside of the locker room, what's one of the challenges?

23:00I mean, again, you know, you played with LeBron and Dwayne and Chris, and you've been with those super teams. But what's the challenge amongst players when you have this group of talent, that much talent and trying to, you know, again, go through that 82-game marathon, trying to get all of it together in time for the real games, which is the playoffs, right? But what's that challenge internally when you have all those pieces coming together? Building a connection. And it's not the connection on the basketball court because that'll come through a practice time. It's building that connection off the basketball court.

23:28That connection off the basketball court helps you perform well on the court. I think everybody knows this that plays in that league is you perform better and you play to a higher level when you're performing next to your brother. as opposed to just somebody you consider a teammate. So now when you have so much talent, everybody has a clique, everybody has a crew, everybody has business, everybody has family, everybody has other things that take priority. But how important is this championship to you when the practice is over for you guys to go to lunch? How important is it for this championship to you, for you guys to take some time, if you got two days off, maybe to go to the movies or go play golf together?

24:02Those are the things that continue to build that connection. If you look at the last couple of years, there have been different champions for the last eight or nine years. It hasn't always been the best teams that have won it. But what I will tell you is the common denominator is the most connected teams have won the championships the last couple of years. As good as San Antonio Spurs were, they weren't as connected as they thought they were. And we saw that when they played against the Knicks. The Knicks were the more connected team. For you to come back down 29 in a finals, that is connection.

24:28Because a lot of people throw in the towel. Yeah, that's right. I mean, listen, the connection, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, those guys played together. You could tell they like each other. But how about the team nobody's talking about? What's the one that everybody's under the radar? John's a homer. He said the Wizards. No, I go with the Toronto Raptors. Toronto Raptors. I go with the Raptors because if you watched the game of basketball last year, they were one win away from going to the Eastern Conference Finals. They took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games. And everybody said they need one more score.

24:53They need one more guy. Well, they got him. They got him. They got that one more guy. They got a guy who can put up 25. They got a guy who down the stretch when you need a bucket can get you one. You put him with Scottie Barnes, R.J. Barrett, and the rest of those dogs down there, You have an opportunity every single night because nobody's going to play harder than them. Not harder than them. It might play as hard as them, but nobody's going to play harder. And Kawhi seems locked in. He wants to be in Toronto, right? Get away from the Madison with the Clippers. And I think that's the perfect locker room to walk into because he doesn't have to worry about impacting the culture of the younger guys.

25:23They already have their identity. They already know who they are. They already know what they need to do. So he just has to go in and be Kawhi and make shots. That's right. Yeah. How about the one that the team is overrated? The one that, you know, people like, you know, they got a roster, but they not going to really do too much. I wouldn't say overrated. But I think, you know, people think it's easy just to go back to the finals and win the championship again. So I think obviously New York Knicks fans think they were repeating. And people think that if you're a Knicks fan, you're just going to get back.

25:49Well, I'm here to tell you, it does not work like that. No. You do not just go back to the finals. And that was the mistake that myself and Dwayne Wade made when we won our first championship, is that we thought we're going to be doing this for a long time. It took us over 10 years to get back. And that's the reality of this. So I won't say overrated, but I think if you're looking at the Knicks and you're saying, oh, we're going to do it again, we'll be back. It does not work like that, Knicks fans. Yeah. Yeah, I don't pick the Knicks to be back. But a key injury here, luck there, you never know, right?

26:17They lost Mitchell Robinson, and, you know, obviously Kat's going in it now, now not feeling appreciated because of the deal. So they already have that little turmoil that's going on. And credit to the Knicks, but if you want to impress me, do it again. That's right. Do it again. Yeah, that's right. And then I'll be impressed. Yeah. We talked earlier about that culture of winning, man. And I always tell people, like, if you want to resurrect your career, there's only two places to go, either Miami or San Antonio. If you want to get that opportunity and you're a role player and you're trying to maybe get some Miami, San Antonio.

26:45Right. I know being in San Antonio, what makes that culture tick. Right. It was Pop. It was RC. Tim Duncan obviously was that he was the he was the infrastructure. Right. Because Pop can yell at him and everybody else had to take it. Right. What makes Miami culture continue that sustained excellence? Because you're walking in a locker room that's policing itself. If you're walking in a locker room where the coach has to push you, then that's the wrong locker room to walk in. You want to walk in a locker room where everybody is in shape, everybody is doing the things they need to do, everybody is getting their extra shots up.

27:15So that way, if you don't do the things that they're doing, then you're the outcast. You don't. And let me tell you, as a basketball player, that's the last thing you want to do is look like the one guy that's not working hard. Yeah. So if you walk into a locker room where everybody is working hard, everybody has the same mentality, everybody has the same mindset, and even the guys that aren't in as good of shape are pushing themselves every day, you have no choice but to push yourself. So the first thing when you walk into the Miami Heat locker room is you got to deal with Bam Adebayo. Bam Adebayo pushes himself every day.

27:42We're talking about a kid who's going to play almost 80-plus games a year. He does not miss games. One of the better two-way players in this league. So now if your captain and your best player is in great shape, he's here every morning at 630. you can get the shots in. Giannis is pulling up at whatever time he's pulling up getting the shots in. You're not allowed as a young player or as a role player to walk in this gym at 9 o 'clock. And these guys have been here since 6.30 and 7.30. They set the tone. They set the president. Spoh just had to continue to just critique it. But these guys set the tone and the president.

28:11So the culture is given to culture keepers. Zoe gave it to me and I gave it to Bam. And now there's a standard. And when your best player holds that standard, everybody has to fall in line. That's right. Fall in line. It's like, again, like Tim, right? And the same one. What's it like being Udonis Hazem here in 2026, man? Like, I mean, you know, again, 20 years playing for one, you know, team and the most tenured, undrafted player at that, right? But, you know, in the 305, you're going to get mad love, right? Everybody loves you in Miami. You know who you are. As you said in a previous podcast, your face is good everywhere you go.

28:49Yes, I am. But here in 2026 now, retired NBA player doing Amazon Prime, what's it like being Adonis Haslam? Life is great. I cannot complain. If I would have told you that 20 years ago, I would have saw myself here now, I would have been lying. It took some evolution. And this is something that I got from Pat Riley. And this was strictly based on basketball, but I took it and applied it to life. Evolve or die. And that's not necessarily past, but in life, if you don't evolve, you'll be stuck in the same place. and you know for me uh evolution was was key and critical um you know a lot of people that probably see me now is might not recognize me um because of the guy with the braids and the way i played the game of basketball um and just how i came into this league um but for me um evolution has been um the key to to everything now and life is great uh i would have never thought that i would be sitting right here right now with you today i'm doing amazon prime um you know as a basketball analyst.

29:42I'm sitting next to Dirk, who we banged heads for so many years, and I'm sure he didn't like me because I didn't like him. And now we end up being the best of friends. Blake Griffin, Taylor's been amazing, Steve Nash, John Wall. I have no complaints. I am blessed on top of blessed right now. And for me, with the resources and the platform I have, I just want to continue to give back to the city of Miami and make sure I do right by this game of basketball and this next generation. Yeah. Biggest positive surprise of being retired? Positive surprise? I got more friends now. You got more friends now?

30:16Yeah, nobody liked me. I'll tell you, when I played, I wasn't trying to be liked. Yeah. I was not trying to be liked. It was one thing you knew that Udonis Hazel was not talking to somebody from the other team. Yeah. He was not, he, and it was nothing. It was guys that I grew up with. Marquise Daniels is my boy. We grew up together and we played against each other in high school and in college. And when I got to the NBA and he was with the Celtics and I was with the Heat and we played against each other in the playoffs, I did not speak to Marquise. And I love Marquise. And it was the same thing with Keon Doolin.

30:42So I was not very well liked when I was playing for the Miami Heat and when I was wearing that jersey, but nor was I trying to be. And I think on this side now, people get to know me and they see my full personality. And I got a little more friends than I used to. My circle's a little bit bigger. Just a little bit. That's a surprise because usually the circles get smaller once you retire. Yeah, but I mean, when you only surround yourself with your friends and your teammates for 20 seasons, which that's all I did was my friends, my family and my teammates. And that was it. That was my circle. There was so much more out here for me.

31:11And now I'm getting a chance to experience it and see it. Yeah. How about the biggest negative surprise now that you're retired? Negative surprise. People don't pay on time. When I was with the Miami Heat, I knew if on the 1st and the 15th, you could cock it, cock it. I knew it was coming. Now we're on this side. We got to chase people down for our money. Yeah. That's why I got my business manager right here. We got to chase people down for our money. We're a knock on your door now. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Well, what do you like as a leader off the court, man? Again, you have a lot of business ventures.

31:40I mean, definitely getting that in a minute. But, you know, how are you with Udonis Haslam, the CEO? What do you like as a leader? I like being able to have, you know, conversations with the people around me about things that we want to do next and be able to plan and strategize and plot. And I like to learn. I think for me right now, it's about what tables I can get out and what tables I can sit at and what I can learn at those tables. And if people don't want you at those tables, then find another table. For me, I want to learn. I want to be around people that I can learn from. I want to be around people that I can ask questions.

32:12And I want to be around people that can teach me things right now at this stage of my life. So that's what Udonis Haslam wants to do. He wants to sit at the table with people that he can learn from and be invested in those conversations and have some input. And if that's not the case, and if they don't value my opinion and they don't value the things that I have to say, then you have to change the table because I want a voice. Yeah. Well, listen, that learning took, you know, came from somewhere, right? You take a step back. You grew up in Miami. Yes. You know, down to 305. I love Miami, man. Everybody loves going to Miami and South Beach.

32:42But what was that like, you know, growing up for you in Miami? Well, everybody doesn't understand the Miami that I grew up in. Yeah. Not South Beach, Miami. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I tell people all the time, you know, we don't consider South Beach Miami. Yeah. You know, the tax money on South Beach, they on South Beach. They don't share that with the city, respectfully. So my Miami is not the Miami that you might see when you cut on TV. You know, my Miami is a different Miami. My Miami is, you know, needs, you know, housing. My Miami needs jobs. You know, my Miami needs, you know, to continue to provide opportunities for the youth.

33:15My Miami needs to continue to clean up the streets and my Miami needs to continue to fight crime. That's the Miami that I grew up in. That's the Miami that I'm invested in. So you very rarely will see me with security. I'm in the community every single day. and I don't have to turn on the TV to watch the news to understand what my people are dealing with and what they're struggling from because I see it and I'm there. I take what I have and I sit down with the mayors and I sit down with the commissioners once every couple weeks or months and we collaborate and we talk about what's going on in the city, what we can change and how I can be a part of it, how I can help.

33:46So for me, acts of service. You know, how can I serve? How can I help? Yeah. Well, you're raised by your dad, John, you know, has him, and also your stepmother, Barbara, right? What's the biggest thing you learned from them? I mean, my stepmother was probably the toughest person that I have ever been around. Didn't take no crap. So from her, it's just to never back down and always go fight for what you believe in. You know, for my father, always believe in yourself. Almost be a little bit delusional if you have to. At 6 '6", I would have never thought that I'd have been a lead rebounder in the history of the Miami Heat.

34:20I was not that kid that walked down the street, and people tell this story all the time. Hey, I walked down the street and I saw that house and I knew I was gonna buy that for my mom. I was not that kid. I didn't have that dream. Every day I put one foot in front of the other and if something happened good I was gonna keep pushing. Okay, I'm pretty good at basketball. Let me see how far I can go with this and that was just my day-to-day process and my day-to-day thought. So, you know for me, it's just to continue to live the dream that I know they have because a lot of people are confused and lost when they lose their parents but I knew exactly what I needed to do because they prepared me.

34:53And my father was the one who continued, like I said, believe in yourself and then my mother, you know, my mother, you know, dealt with a lot of adverse circumstances. Your real mom. My real mother, my biological mother dealt with a lot of adverse circumstances. And she came out on top. She came out on top and she was an example for women that had been through the things that she had been through. So she's my hero. So from, through all of them, I got, you know, different things that allowed me to be successful in my journey. and I knew exactly what I needed to do when they passed away. Yeah. Well, take me back to that Udonis Haslam on a Saturday watching X-Men, right?

35:26Like, I mean, what were you like then watching? Because, I mean, basketball probably was there too, but what were you like? I was a big cartoon guy, and I still do watch cartoons from time to time. Looney Tunes? All that stuff, man. I mean, if I can get a little Tom and Jerry, you know, whatever it is. I mean, I was watching Proud Family the other day. Oh, you still watch it? I was watching Proud Family the other day with my wife. Wow. Yeah, yeah, we still watch a little Proud Family. So I'm a little bit of a cartoon guy, but sitting back watching X-Men, I was a huge Wolverine guy. Who does not like Wolverine?

35:54So I'm sitting here thinking that I'm Wolverine. I got metal inside me. I'm indestructible. You know what I mean? And as a kid, I think that's what we want from cartoons, man. We just want to look at those things. We want to dream. You know, cartoons allow me to dream. You know what I mean? And, you know, once again, like I said, I wasn't that kid that had a dream growing up. I didn't look at the house and say, I want to buy this for my mother. I didn't have that dream. I just didn't know how my journey was going to go. So cartoons just allowed me to just take a step away from reality and just dream a little bit.

36:22And it was fun. When did you fall in love with basketball? I probably would say my brother, my oldest brother passed away. He was the one who used to take me to the basketball court. And I remember shooting a ball and I used to play with all older people because I was a big kid. And I remember shooting the basketball and I shot an air ball. But my oldest brother caught it and dunked. And when he dunked it, he told me nice pass and he pointed at me. I just wanted to recreate that feeling every single time I went to the basketball court. That's the best feeling I ever had. I had never felt that good before.

36:49And it was an air ball. But he called it and dunked it and said, nice pass. And that feeling that I had, I wanted to continue to try to recreate that feeling. That's the most joy I had as a kid ever at that time. And I wanted to try to continue to recreate that feeling. So that's when I fell in love with basketball. Yeah, I love it. And then you graduated from Miami High in 98 and attended to play for the Florida Gators. And then again undrafted in 2002 to have to spend a year in France where you kind of said, look, I remained on American time because I knew this was just a one-year thing. You wanted to get back to the U.S.

37:19to prove that you belong in the NBA, and you did that, right, getting with the Miami Heat. But when you go into the Miami Heat training camp and you see 60 guys there, you almost want to say, let me get back to Frank. I'm never going to make this because it's almost like a winning lottery ticket. It's hard. I had a conversation with Keith Askins. Shout out K.A. He was also undrafted, and he was a Miami Heat coach for a long period of time. And I had a conversation with Keith Askins, and it was one basketball play. and I'll tell you the conversation Keith Askin said, if you defend and rebound and be relentless, we got a spot for you.

37:47Is that the play you dived on the floor, the lose ball? That was the very next day I had the opportunity to be relentless. There was a drill we were doing. The shot hit, it bounced off the backboard and the ball literally rolled to the other side of the basketball court. And I literally chased it like a Belgian Malinois. I chased it. I chased it all the way down and nobody chased it but me. And we're only doing half court, by the way, but I chased it. And Coach Riley blew the whistle and he looked at me and he said, why didn't you stop? I didn't hear a whistle until now. It kind of sounded like a smart remark, but it was not a smart remark.

38:15And I kind of felt like I was going to get in trouble. And right after practice, Coach Riley called me over and he said, you're going to be a part of this organization. And it was something just that simple that sparked, you know, my journey. But it was always, like I said, be relentless. And when he told me to fan rebound and be relentless, every situation I had, every opportunity, every competition, every player I played against, I literally focused on one small room and me and this guy is in that room and who's coming out. And that's how I approached every opportunity that I had to play the game.

38:45Yeah. Do you see still players like yourself? Because one of my favorite players growing up was Reggie Evans. I tell people like, man, Reggie got paid by doing one thing and that's rebounding a basketball, playing defense, setting screens. He wasn't a scorer. I mean, Reggie had like a game. He had 20 plus rebounds one day with the Sixers. Another Florida boy. And I'm like, I said, man, why can't more guys be like Reggie Evans? Because you need these guys on your team, right? Do you see your types or the Reggie Evans types today in the league? Yes, and I think even more of my types and Reggie Evans types are getting more opportunities because the league is becoming positionless.

39:15So now 6 '6", 6 '7", 6 '8", guys are playing multiple positions. They're guarding 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s because everybody's switching things, sometimes even 5s. So I think a guy like myself and a Reggie Evans, regardless of what people thought about us offensively, defensively, we would have been able to be so valuable to teams because we were able to guard multiple positions and still to be able to be physical and rebound and hold our own. And to Reggie Evans and guys like him and Elton Brand and all those guys that are around 6 '7", 6 '8", those were the guys that I had the most trouble playing against because those are the guys that had to bring it every night because we didn't have a choice.

39:52We weren't as tall. We weren't as gifted. So we knew what our superpower was to bring it every night. So those are the guys that I had the most trouble with were the guys that were around my size, that were just relentless like myself. Yeah, I was going to say, guys, they were relentless, right? But when you have to think back, Udonis, right, and you reminisce a little bit, right, maybe sitting in your grandmom's backyard watching that court that you used to play your cousin on, right? You got my bio, man? I mean, no, man, you know. You know a lot. You bring back a lot of memories. You bring back a lot of memories.

40:19And then you transfer, right? You got to play on a big court with the adults, right? Yes, yes. When you think about that journey, man, I mean, starting from there, playing your cousin in that backyard, your grandma's house, having to go over to France, stay on American time, right, being relentless and your attitude to get back to the NBA. And then you get back there and spend 20 years with one franchise. I think only three guys did that in Kobe and Dirt. 20 plus years with one franchise, right? Three championships. And you had to describe your career today in one word when you look back on it.

40:48What word would that be? Example. Example. My career is an example. It's an example for other kids and for other people that are chasing and they're on their journey. You have a better chance of possibly being a Udonis Haslam or Udonis Haslam caliber player than maybe, and this takes nothing away from the greats, than a Wimby or a Dwayne Wade or LeBron James. Those guys are maybe once in every lifetime or once in however many years type of players. But you have a chance to be me, you know what I mean, through hard work, through dedication. This takes nothing away from what God gave you because God only gave me 6 '8", and I use all 6 '8 of it.

41:24You know, so for me, my career is an example for other kids and other people chasing their journey, not just in basketball, but in life. You know, the things that I've learned on my journey, I apply everywhere. You know, being, you know, in that one percent of people that's going to do the hard things, you know, preparation, you know, focus, you know, accountability, you know, pushing yourself every day because nobody wants to be pushed every day. So, you know, all those things that I learn, I apply in life. So my journey and my story can be an example for someone else. So if I have to say anything, I would say example.

42:00I thought you would say sacrifice because along your career, you've had so much of it, right? You sacrifice maybe trying to be a scorer to do those things that you need to do to stand a roster. Got to score my last game, though. My last game, I got to get him up. You had a pretty good one. I got to get him up. But you sacrifice money, right? I remember a story you was telling one time. You was ready to walk into the Miami Heat office and tell Pat Riley, look, Denver got something else on the table. I'm leaving. Your agent at that point, Henry Thomas, called you and Chris and LeBron and Dwayne.

42:26They took less so that way you can stay with the organization. But you sacrificed a lot of money to stay there for so long. So I thought you would say sacrifice. I mean, yeah, that's a huge word. And that is part of it. But when you put it all together, I think the example, because even sacrifice could be an example. That's right. You know, sometimes you have to sacrifice to get the things you want in life. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get to where you want. Sometimes you got to sacrifice because things are not always going to be the way you want them to be. But I think, once again, that's just a part of the example.

42:57And those sacrifices, I got everything I wanted out of those. You know, by sacrificing, I did get the three championships. By sacrificing, I did become the lead in rebounding organization. I had 20 years there. I am the vice president of player development. So through those sacrifices, things manifested for me towards the end of my career. So once again, that's just an example that you might have to sacrifice at some point. And it's okay. It's okay. Well, listen, we're on the one word thing, right? And so when I say these names, you give me one word that comes to mind. Got you. And I'll start with your brother, Dwayne Wade.

43:26Brother. Brother. I was too easy, man. You said it first. You put it out there. That was Ali-Oop. You put it out there. I would say inspiration, though. Inspiration. Inspiration, because I watch him. I watch him from afar. When I don't get a chance to talk to him, I watch him. And I pay attention to how he moves. And I take what he does, and I apply it to my life. And I think that's what you want in a brother or a friend, And it's somebody that inspires you, somebody that pushes you. And I think we inspire each other. We push each other in different ways. And the conversations we have now are so different than the conversations we had 15, 20 years ago.

43:55It's about health, mental health. Yeah. You know, focusing on the things that we want, our dreams, our families, you know, and things like that. So, you know, he's an inspiration to me. Inspiration. Alonzo Mourning. OG. OG. I love that. And I would say that because Alonzo Mourning, even when he got to the end of his career, he was the first one in the weight room. every single day. And we thought Zoe was crazy. Why is he lifting so much weights? Why is he working? And then you realize once you get to 15, 16 years in this league, that weight room becomes your best friend. That is your lifeline.

44:26That is what's going to get you through. That is what's going to keep you healthy. So if I learn anything from Alonzo Mourning, it's being an OG and how to succeed and be successful in this league after you pass a certain age and how you prepare. Yeah. LeBron James. King. King. King. King. Hands down. You know, one of the best players to ever play this game. Obviously, he has the scoring, the record. Obviously, just, you know, every now and then, well, I ain't gonna say every now and then. There's been days in practice where everybody stops and just looks because they know the things he's doing, we might not never see again.

44:59And we've had days like that in practice where even Dwayne just stops and we just look because this is incredible. We might not never see this again. So, King right in front of his name for a reason. King. Matt Bonner. Red Rocket. Red Rocket. I love that. That ain't one word, though. It could be. Smart. Smart. Yeah. One of the smartest guys I know. Great basketball player, but one of the smartest guys I know. I'll tell you a story about Matt Barnard when I was in college at University of Florida. We had a class together, and I did not study for a test. And I said, Matt, we got this test tomorrow at such and such time.

45:30Can I sit by you? I might need to cheat off your paper. You know what Matt Barnard looked at me and said? What's that? I'll help you study. I said, Matt, I don't need your help for that. I could do that myself. Yeah. So Matt Barnard is one of the smartest guys I know, man. And a loyal guy as well. Yeah, and one of the nicest, man. I covered him when he was in San Antonio. One of the most frugal dudes. Yes. I mean, this dude wore flannel shirts and only bought used cars. I like that. I mean, and then Fords. That's the word I probably should have used for Bron. Yeah. Frugal? He's the king, but he a little frugal.

45:59Really? What? Bron ain't spending no money like that. I did not know that. What? LeBron is cheap. What? Or frugal, I should say. Frugal? Frugal. Wow. We like to use the word frugal. Frugal. Yeah, but when we get off camera, we're going to say cheap. Free, frugal. Yeah, but listen, they save money. I tell people, the richer you are, the more frugal you are, too. Yeah, this is true. But, you know, everybody don't need to save it. No, they don't. And he's a billionaire. You touch a billy. Yeah, right. You want to spend that. Spend a little bit. Yeah. Last one for me, man. And this is dear for me because, you know, he comes from the same city as me, but Rasul Butler.

46:30Unfortunate. That's unfortunate. Yeah. That's the word that comes to my mind. Unfortunate. You know, me and Rasul, even before, you know, we had the chance to play together. We spent so much time together that summer training for the Miami Heat. And I have family in Philly, and I used to go to Philly to visit family. And I would always hang out with Rasul and go see his sister and his mom. He was my type of guy. He was my type of guy. And, you know, so before we had the chance to play together, we built a relationship together with the Miami Heat. And that relationship maintained, you know, even when he went to another team, he maintained that relationship.

47:01So, to me, the first thing that I thought when you said that was just unfortunate. Yeah. How unfortunate it was to lose him at such a young age. Yeah, man. I mean, I was able to cover him in San Antonio, man. I mean, he's one of the nicest dudes. Always answered your texts, man. I mean, just one of the most, you know, knowledge. And he was a damn good black player. He was a damn good shooter. Great basketball player. Man. Come off the bench and get the cooking. He don't even need to warm up. Yeah. Microwave. That's what I should have said. Microwave. He get cooking. Yeah. Su-Bot, he's missed, but he was very good, man.

47:29Yes, yes. Looking to your portfolio, man. And I know, you know, you have some Starbucks's and Subway's and Auntie Anne's and Einstein's. Are you still into the franchising? No, not as much. Have you sold all of those? Yes, I've sold all of those. And, you know. Why'd you sell them? Starbucks's, you can't go wrong with Starbucks. It was the beginning. You know, I just wanted to get my feet wet. I just wanted to touch business a little bit. And, you know, see what I like. What did you learn from that experience? You got to have good business partners. Got to have good people around you. And that's what I knew about everything.

47:56But once I started to get into that, it's really important to make sure you have good people around you. As investors, we're just investors. We're just a face. You know, we'll show up, we'll shake hands and kiss babies. But on the day to day, we're running it. The budgeting, the ordering of things. I mean, when you talk about subways, it's it's tedious all the way down to the pickles. It's very tedious process of what you're ordering. So I think if you don't have the right people, then it doesn't matter. It's not going to be successful. So I think putting the right people in the right positions, which is very important in sports and everything else, It's something that I've definitely learned.

48:28And, you know, as I move forward, I only want to continue to work with the people that I want to work with. Well, what are you into now? Like real estate? What do you got going on? I do a couple of things. I'm a little bit into ownership now. You know, shout out my guy, Bob Gold, and my Clara Vista family. You know, we own a couple of soccer teams right now. And Premier League, we have the Ipswich team in the Premier League. And then Serie A, we have Frozanoni out of Italy. So those are two teams that I own. and I touch a couple other teams that I can't talk about right now. In the city of Miami, we do affordable housing.

49:01We've had two, we have a project at Wynwood now that we've already done. It's been about two years that it's up and running. We have another project in North Miami that's finishing up. Yeah. We just had to, you know, finish clean the land up. It was contaminated. So, you know, right now it's about owning. I want to own things. I want to be in ownership. Once again, I want to have a voice. I want to sit at the table with people that I can learn from. And I want to continue to invest in my community back home. Yeah. Any car dealerships? John said he got an Audi dealership down in Miami area. Like, you got any car dealership?

49:27I ain't got that yet. You interested in that? I mean, I got enough cars. Yeah. Yeah. Why not have a dealership? But if you're going to give me a free one. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, listen. But if you're going to get... Then you got to advertise me on Ambulon Prime. Well, then how about that? If you're going to give me a car, then give me a 1972 Chevy Impala. You know exactly what you want, too. Yeah, I do. Yeah. Yeah, I don't want a new car. I don't want an out. I might have to call Matt Bonner for you and see if he can help me out with that. Matt is not giving me no signage. That's why I say because he's cool.

49:52He's going to help me study. Yeah, he's going to help you study when I'm to get it, right? Well, into crypto at all? You touched that? I touched that a little bit early on. That was something that I dealt with a little bit in the bubble. And it was fun, but I think it was more of a rush. You know, just to mess around with it and just have a little fun with it. But I moved away from it. And like I said, more so into the ownership lanes and finding different tables to sit at with different people that I can learn from and grow with. Yeah. How about a boat dealership? You're down in Miami, man. You got the yacht.

50:18I am down in Miami. I am down in Miami. But I tell you, my Miami don't spend as much time on the water as the other Miami. Miami I grew up in, we don't spend that much time on the water. The other side of Miami. Yeah, the other side of Miami. We don't go to South Beach. We go to Hallover Beach. It's a little different. Well, I mean, listen, sit back and, you know, you have a granddaughter now, right? Yes, I do. Years, decades down the line, you were to pass your business empire off to your granddaughter, keeping the family. What do you name that business empire? What do you want it to be? In one word, what would you like it to be remembered as?

50:47What would I name that business empire?

50:53It's a good one. Coco Golf, she said, I want mine to be timeless. That's what she told me. But how about you? My business empire? Timeless is a great one.

51:10Because when I'm done, I don't want it to stop. I want my business empire to keep going. I want my kids to take this and take this to another level. Yeah. So, timeless is a great word, but I would say relentless. Relentless. Never ending. I don't want my kids to rest on this empire when I'm done. I want them to continue to take it and make it better and make it bigger and make it grow for them and their family and their kids and the rest of the husbands. This is just the beginning. Yeah. And I'm just at the start of it. but I want my business empire to be relentless I love that, have you ever called Jimmy Haslam the guy owner of the Browns and said hey man do we have any blood in our family because you might be an owner of the, I thought about it but I think he is H-A-S-L-A-M, I'm H-A-S-L-E-M yeah I tried, I tried I tried, I tried, trust me I tried I was like we might just be, and then when I look at the Cleveland Browns I'll be like nah I can't believe it plus you're a Dolphins fan so it would be illegal, right?

52:12Don't do that You don't have to bring that up right now. Listen, I'm a Cowboys fan, so I'm not talking, man. There's no excuse. Hell no. There's no excuse. Tampa Bay, a rookie quarterback, has no excuse. There's no excuse. So I am not making fun of your team at all. In fact, I prefer the Dolphins because y 'all got the better weather down there. But still, no state taxes like Dallas and Texas as well. Yeah, yeah. That's great. You live in a state with no state taxes. That must be phenomenal, man. That's my business. That's what I tell people. Your money stretches further. Listen, we definitely think about that.

52:39When opportunities come our way to move or do something else or relocate, we think about those things. All those things. Yeah, that's right. You just set it up into Florida, you don't state taxes. Well, I get you out of here on some fun stuff, man. And Udonis, I really appreciate the time. Thank you so much, man. Appreciate you. If I gave you 10 grand right now, it would be a loan because I'm frugal too. What's the first thing you invest in? If I'm being honest with you, Jabari, I would have to talk to my business manager. That's not how my money works. I don't just take my money and just invest it.

53:07We do our due diligence. Like, we make sure that, you know, we cross all T's and dot all I's if we can. Okay. And try to protect ourselves as much as possible. So, my money don't really work like that. I don't really just make investments, you know, on a wing. Okay. So, I got to text Sylvester King, your business manager, and say, hey. Yeah, I got to text him. I give you this 10 grand at 6 % interest. Yeah, we ain't just going to throw it at the wall and see if it sticks. We don't really work like that. Yeah. You might try to talk me down on the interest rate, though. Oh, 6%. Yeah, we got to get it.

53:34Yeah, 6%, you know. But, you know, listen, that's pretty good. It's not bad, 6%. It ain't bad. It's better than seven than eight. We can go lower. Yeah, we could. We could. But listen, man, inflation is high. It's all diesel prices driving now. It's six to six dollars. You get around four or five, boy. You keep hearing me say it. Udonis has some superpower. What is it? People. People. Yeah, I'm relatable to everybody. I'm relatable to the janitor and I'm relatable to the CEO. Yeah. I can sit down and have conversations with everybody. I'm a people person. I literally fit in everywhere. Yeah. You can drop me off like a Navy SEAL and once I get there, I handle business.

54:06Yeah. And that's my superpower. I think, you know, some people are socially awkward and that's not a not. But for me, I fit in in all settings. Yeah. Love it. You into AI? A bit. Yeah. What's your favorite app? What's the one you're using every day? I don't use it every day, but ChatGPT. ChatTPT. Yeah, I got it. It seems to be the favorite. Her name is Alex. Oh, you already got your agent and everything. Yes, I name her. Her name is Alex. Do you talk to her too? Yes. Really? Y 'all have conversations? Yes. What are they like? She's very, very informative. I ask her questions. She gives me answers.

54:33She knows my family. She knows my wife. She knows my kids. You don't have any problem with that much information being on you with an AI? It's online. That's very true. Your whole life is online. It's online. So, yeah, it really doesn't matter. But, yeah, me and Alex do have conversations. Why did you name her Alex? My wife approved it. Okay. It couldn't be nothing cute. That's fair. It couldn't have been nothing cute. No. It had to be like a man. So you could name a man and a woman Alex. So it can go either way. You had to get approval. Yeah, I had to get approval. I couldn't just be. That's smart.

55:00That's smart. You told me before, you want to stay married. You want to stay in the house. I couldn't name a, like, you know, charane or nothing like that. You're like, who? What is this? Who are you talking to? No, that's Alex. That's Alex. Yeah, yeah. Best money management advice, man. You've been around a lot of players. You've been around a lot of execs and people, financial agents, I'm sure. You know, what's the best money management advice you've ever received? Spend the bank's money. Spend the bank's money. Okay. Got that from Alonzo Mourning. Mm. Spend your money, spend the bank's money.

55:27Yeah, I love that. So go get the loan, spend their money, and then put a little bit of your money in it. Yeah, put a little bit of your money, but yeah, don't spend the bank's money. Yeah, I love that. At 6%. Here you go again. You almost got me. You almost got me. Well, listen, man, you've been around the world as well, right? You look around the world today. What's the first country or continent that you would throw some money in and invest in right now? Right now, I love Italy. Italy. Yes, I love Italy. I was able to spend some time in Italy. Once again, I have a team in Italy, a Premier, you know, excuse me, Serie A, and it's frozen only.

55:56It's a small town, about two and a half hours outside of Rome. but it's a cute, cool little town. I wouldn't mind having a little place there. Listen, you can afford it. Just chilling. You got that Amazon Prime money now, man. You can afford it. Don't do me like that. Don't do me like that. I ain't got it yet. I ain't got it yet. I'm trying to get it. Well, man, listen, again, I'll get you out of here on this and, again, appreciate the time so much, man. My favorite business book, Jim Collins, is Good to Great. It'll be easy to say, okay, what's the difference between a good power forward or a good NBA player, but I'm going to switch it up on you.

56:28What's the difference between a good fisherman and a great one? Because I heard you go fishing. I heard you a good bass fisherman from my man Shandell. He says, man, he fishes a lot. I do fish. What's the difference between a good fisherman and a great one? A good one might let the line pop. A great one never lets the line pop. What's the difference? What's the line popping? You got to let the fish run a little bit. So when you're reeling it and the fish is fighting, you got to let it run a little bit. Because if you keep reeling while it's fighting, you'll pop the line. So you reel, you pull back, and then you let it run.

56:57And you reel and you pull back and then you let it run. And eventually you'll wear the fish out where you can reel it all the way in. But if you're just a good fisherman, you're probably going to keep reeling, reeling, reeling, reeling, reeling and think that, and that's going to pop the line. So you reel and pull back and then you let the fish run a little bit, fight a little bit. Then you reel and pull back and let it run and fight a little bit. You have to have patience. And sometimes it takes a long time. It took me an hour to reeling a fish one time. Wow. Yeah, a seven foot sailfish. It took me an hour.

57:22Wow. Just reeling it back and forth. You put the belt around your waist and you hold it and I'm reeling and I got to let it run. It gets fatiguing and you get tired, but if you do it right, obviously you'll get the fish. If you continue to, if you're impatient and you just want to fight, fight, fight, you'll pop the line. Yeah. That might be a good business for you. Be a fishing teacher, fisherman. Yeah, but then we got to deal, we got to focus on the boats. Yeah. And then now you got to focus on when you're not using it, how do we store it and dock it? And that's where you spend the money and that's what's the best.

57:49Operational cost. Yeah, that's what it is. You're thinking like a businessman. When I ain't using this boat and it's sitting in this dock, how much is it going to cost me? I love it, man. I love it. Well, listen, great NBA season on the horizon, man. It's here. Good luck, man, on TV. I'll definitely be watching, man. And come back, talk business sometime. We'd love to, Yagart. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it, man. No problem. Udonis has him, the OG Miami mayor here at the NASDAQ. You're in the Enterprise Zone, now you're leaving the Enterprise Zone. Thank you for watching. Thank you for listening.

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