RE-RELEASE: Jalen Brunson

22:01Steph McMahon:Yeah, privacy. I hadn't really thought about that either. You know? Yeah. everyone knowing everything is unnecessary very yeah and especially when you're a public figure but and and when you're a kid right if you have to post what you eat what you wear which should i wear this outfit should i wear that outfit yeah but then when you think about as a grown person right like yeah no not everybody needs to know everything about your business right and you feel like you're supposed to share it all for some reason but why it's your life you share what you want to share people are getting paid to literally share their every move every outfit that might be different this younger generation that's what they see that's one thing I worry about I have two young kids and I'm like how early we're talking about cell phones at six years old no

23:01I don't know but my daughter has even truly like she doesn't have an iPad she hasn't really watched TV yet we're kind of we're slowly integrating that like every now and then if we're watching something she'll like look up but like maybe a little wrestling yeah maybe a little here and there she definitely will be watching that but yeah I feel like integrating that so young I've seen it and I'm just like not really for that right now but she loves her books

23:34Steph McMahon:that's great she does love her books does she like pull you down and hand you a book to read so before bed when I'm home sometimes I read to her and we'll read a book I'm like okay goodnight she'll just go like you're not done and then we get another book and then there's another book and then we'll read like three or four books I'm like, it's time to go to bed. Does she ever go to bed? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Eventually. Eventually. Sometimes she's up, but she's been pretty good through the night now. That's great. Yeah. Last night was bad. Now that I say it, last night was bad because we flew back from All-Star last night.

24:21Right. A little time change messed her up. Yeah. Yeah. I used to have my kids on the road and I would try to keep them on East Coast time because we don't we.

24:33Steph McMahon:Oh, yeah. Yeah. We'd travel in and then we had a bus, a tour bus. So it was kind of like our apartment. Right. And and then we'd go, you know, to the next town and then typically we'd leave the next day. So it wasn't really long enough to acclimate to a new time change. So I would try to keep them on East Coast time. and when you're in California or you know wherever that's 3am wake up call and the restaurant's not open so you can't bring them in the hotel you know because we park in the parking lot you can't bring them in for breakfast or anything like that so it's like Cheerios and I was trying to put them to bed when it's light out and you're like no no trust me it's bedtime you can pull shades down on the bus but yeah but they never really slept she has legit like blackout curtains it'll be full on bright outside and there's no no ounce of light yeah yeah I try to do that for me too sounds great yeah it's like a cave it's a good thing I sometimes I want blackout curtains but I feel like I'm gonna miss something oh yeah yeah my youngest who now is almost 16 is like that she likes her curtains open I don't like them open oh no she likes them open she wants to know when it's morning time so she can get up I don't know where she gets this from I need like that, like a little bit of light Just a little glimmer Do you have a hatch Alarm, have you heard of those?

25:59Steph McMahon:She does It like starts to wake up It gives you certain Light, varying degrees of light Right? No, I just have a regular phone alarm Regular phone alarm So a little bit of light And a phone alarm and that's good for you Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? Topps is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Topps Now, highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year. Topps Now is enhancing the fan experience by connecting collectors to the superstars and spectacles that ignite their passion. Featuring stunning event-exclusive photography, each card is made for the moment.

26:49Steph McMahon:And for some lucky collectors, that moment could become the pull of a lifetime. Along with serial-numbered parallels, some Topps Now releases offer a chance at rare short prints, superstar autographs, and even pieces of the mat, gear, or other items used during the featured match. So which moments will you collect? With each card only available for a limited time, you won't want to wait to begin your Topps Now journey. Be sure to subscribe to the WWE Topps Now mailing list on Topps.com and follow Topps on all social media platforms so you never miss a single moment. Music, food, art. These things define and unite us.

27:37Steph McMahon:And they come in colors that breathe culture. Colors that connect us with their variety and richness. You'll find that same variety in Valspar Ultra paints. Great coverage and durability starting at$29.98 per gallon. Enjoy everyday protection against scuffs and wear with a smooth, washable finish. We're made of colors. And with Valspar Ultra, you can reflect that pride of culture you have inside on every wall of your home. Available at Lowe's. What's your night before routine? What's your day of routine? So night before, so we just had practice. obviously uh night before i always go back all right about 95 percent of the time i always go back before a home game so um i go back i shoot for about 20 minutes 20 to 30 minutes um just like a simple routine that's it's really not that much but it's like it gets my mind right and it's and then um obviously go home eat dinner and get ready for bed do whatever um day of so if you have a game at 7 30 tomorrow uh shoot around's gonna be at 10 o 'clock um i probably leave the house around 8 30 8 45 get there around depending you know uh about like 9 15 ish it's like 9 20 i'm in the training room at 9 40 i'm on the court doing my routine before shoot around um we have our shoot around for about an hour then i cold tub right after shoot around um chocolate peanut butter protein shake go home um oh you you will go home yeah okay i'll go home for a little bit um excuse me i forgot a big thing night before i always pick up my outfit okay yeah night before because day of you start switching and then you're just yeah it's not good so i try to do that night before um and then um get home uh do my normal tech recovery boots uh take a nap for no longer than 90 minutes-ish.

29:37Wake up, eat, get to the garden, and then that's a whole other routine.

29:41Steph McMahon:So a nap. Yeah. And that just chills you out? Yeah, it's a long day, and sometimes I don't get the best sleep. The night before? Yeah. Yeah. I take a nap for, I can't do longer than 90 minutes, so if I do that, I feel like a little tired. Off, yeah. Yeah. And that's for home games or every game? Home games. Excuse me. That whole routine was for home games. On the road in a hotel, it's a little different. Okay. But, I mean, there's still going to be a nap. It varies a little bit on the road. If it's an early game, obviously there's no nap. Right, no nap time. But, like, after 7, 7.30, yeah, I'll take a nap.

30:24Steph McMahon:That's good. Yeah. I like that. What's the pregame meal? Doesn't matter. The Switches. All right. Except the chocolate peanut butter shake. Yeah, the shake kind of. Because you were very specific about it. Yeah, that stays the same. And now I want one. That stays the same. Is there added chocolate or just chocolate flavor protein plus peanut butter? Yeah, chocolate protein. Chocolate protein, like peanut butter, banana, coconut water, ice, and either pineapple or mango, whatever I'm feeling that day. Do you ever put instant coffee packets in there? I don't do coffee on game day. Oh, no. I do matcha.

30:57I do matcha. Not on game day. Latte.

30:58Steph McMahon:Okay. See? No coffee on game day. Interesting. No coffee on game day. Matcha. Matcha. You're finding out all the secrets. Yeah. And what are the recovery boots? Like the Norma Tech recovery boots that you sit in. Oh, the inflatable ones? Yeah. Like the whole water. Okay. Yeah. No, no, not the water. Yeah, no, it's just inflated. Oh, yeah. It's like pressure. It's like kind of like you're supposed to help you get your legs back. Sometimes I feel like it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But I do it. But you're just going to do it anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Just in case. And how about in the car rides? What are we listening to?

31:33Steph McMahon:oh that's a good question car rides it varies there's a few I'm like you're in and out twice right so it varies like I whatever I'm feeling if I feel like I need to pick me up something that'll get me going if I feel like too like too hyper like I'll listen to something a little bit more mellow but the last song I listened to before or after our team meeting right before we run out it's always a Bieber song really yeah always any particular one no no I'll shuffle it. It's either one or two, depending on how much time we have after the meeting. Huh. And how'd you get into that? Oh.

32:13Steph McMahon:That's cool. I love that. She, in my freshman year of college, it's when Purpose came out. This Purpose album came out. And then I listened to it. Like before games, I would listen to it. And we were winning. We were playing well. And then we won a national championship my freshman year. So all right, I'm just going to keep this a thing. and then and is he aware uh probably but i don't know does he know you're a believer oh i mean i hope i mean i hope but yeah he's um yeah his music's helped me out a little bit i met him once yeah yeah briefly before a floyd mayweather fight good dude yeah he's well he seemed to be yeah yeah love his music yeah obviously it works for you that's a good thing Yes, we like that that works for you.

33:03So after freshman year, we won a national championship. And then my junior year, we won again. I'm like, all right, this is a staple of my routine.

33:11Steph McMahon:So now you grew up being around basketball with your dad, being a player, and traveling, and being exposed to all of these different stars your whole life, which is very similar to me in the wrestling world. Right. Like I was, you know, everybody's coming over for dinner. You know, it was like come home from school and Ric Flair's in my living room. Like, just yes. No, always entertaining. Yes, he's always entertaining. But so it's funny because people, you know, wrestling fans freak out that, you know, that was kind of my life. You know, Andre was one of my best friends, Andre the Giant. And I'm curious from your perspective, basketball fans, I'm sure, freak out about all of the interactions that you've had.

34:02Steph McMahon:And I know you've told some of those stories. But what do you think you learned the most being around everybody all that time? I learned that one, it was not normal. I thought it was normal. Yeah. Yeah. It's normal for us. You're around it. Yeah. I told a story like a long time ago and it made its rounds like I met Michael Jordan when he was with the Wizards and I had his jersey like when I was younger whenever arena we were at I always got like that team's jersey and it was a Michael Jordan jersey and I met him after the game I said hey do you want me to sign your jersey and I said no you'll mess it up yeah so so has he not sent you a signed jersey no I should probably get that done we should We should make that happen.

34:51You're listening. He probably has a little resentment for me for that. But yeah, like the coolest thing that I learned though, it's like you see like the finished product. You see like the guys on the court. You see them playing well. You see like all the hoopla of like everything that's going on when it's in front of a camera. Like when you see them in the practice gym or you see them in the summer times and you see like no one's around, like how hard these guys work. and you see that you're like the process and you're like damn these guys really do work hard and then you also see the people that don't work hard you're like that guy's really good he doesn't really work that hard as much as I thought he would after seeing like my dad worked really hard like he obviously was on unguaranteed contracts every year for his entire career and then just seeing him work every summer on family vacations like he's still like working out training like he's always doing something and I just thought that was normal so that's what I kind of implemented into my routine in my life but then you see that guys there's some guys that don't really do that much and it kind of do you lose respect?

36:03no I don't lose respect everyone has their own thing as long as you show up and you're ready to go do what you gotta do but I just know how my confidence comes to my work ethic so if I'm working I'm confident I'm good it's like preparing for like a test you study you're going to be prepared for it you see a lot and I was very thankful that I did so work ethic obviously above all right and that's

36:33Steph McMahon:what you were saying too it's the first thing that comes to mind when you are coaching athletes yourself right you know in life or otherwise why do you think that's so important why does it give you that confidence? Well, for me, I just know that when I'm working, I'm not second guessing myself. There's times where I do second guess myself. In my game, I always talk to myself like, hey, you work way too hard to be confident. Yeah. You work too hard. So stop overthinking, just play. Your self-talk. Yeah, my self-talk. It works. For me, it works. And I just know what I put into this. And so I'm just trying my best not to feel any type of way.

37:22Steph McMahon:You know, it's interesting. Floyd, and my husband will tell this story because he was walking Floyd to the ring. We were in his locker room before a big fight and he was just hanging out on the sofa. And his kids were all running around and he was just hanging out. And, you know, Paul asked him, like, so what are you thinking now? Like, what do you do before your fight? And he said, well, if I'm not ready by the time I get here, he said, then I'm not I'm not ever going to be ready. You know, and it was such an interesting perspective, you know, just because everybody gets nervous right before they do something.

38:00Steph McMahon:And it's like, no, no, if you're prepared, if you've done everything you possibly can to prepare for that moment, then you have to have the confidence in yourself that you know what you're going to do. you know obviously you don't know what's going to happen or you know what other people are going to do or circumstances you can't control but you can control the work you put in and then it's second nature versus having to think so much right I remember like someone asking me like what do you work on like in the summertime in the off season I work on like trying to be the most complete player I can be like you work on a lot of different things you work on a lot of different situations so it becomes like natural so it becomes instinct like i don't think oh i'm going to do this and this and this and it never really works out that way you kind of want to kind of play off like your habits and your instincts and um so when i think about like game time situations and what i'm doing on the court like in the summer times like how can i get to the point where these things are comfortable so i can actually do it and react instead of having to think about it i love that philosophy and it certainly works for you i mean i hope i hope i love that everywhere you go nicks fans chant mvp yeah i mean that's pretty cool even even at the garden for wwe they were chanting mvp so that was that that adrenaline rush there was crazier than any other like game any any type of environment i've been in because like like you said like when you're prepared for moments like you're not really worried about anything like that like i was not prepared for what i was getting myself into yeah there's not a lot of rehearsals yeah yeah you're not like i know what to do but like the thing is like in like in the game like you practice certain things so you right you kind to know what you're going to get yourself into.

39:56Steph McMahon:Certain scenarios. Yeah, that was... There's nothing like it. There's nothing like it. It's the ultimate drug. It really is. Nothing like it at all. Especially being at MSG. If it was anywhere else, I don't know. But being in that place... I mean, you had some swagger, I have to say. You really did. I tried. I tried not to hurt my hand, too. Yeah, I'm sure. And hop in the barrier, even. you were like cool jumping over the barrier I was just don't trip no I didn't I don't know if I did the whole thing was a blur that's how it happens and then you replay it like a million times yeah I knew I threw that chair in a little too far I knew that I knew that well and you were like so excited right right before I got in the ring, I was like, just don't push on your hand.

40:57Because I was like five weeks out of surgery. Yeah, just don't push on your hand. And I did a little bit, and I don't know if there was an adrenaline rush or anything, but I didn't feel it. So I was like, alright, I'm good. We're good.

41:11Steph McMahon:Yeah, I saw it late night, like went and grabbed it. Yeah, you grabbed the chair. Yeah, because you know your team out there. You are. So what's, you know, we did have Tyrese on the pod so you guys are actually friends though right yeah yeah yeah he's being in the playoffs two straight years though so yeah but that's I got a lot of respect for him and his family for sure yeah no he's a great guy great dude yeah but it was fun being in there oh yeah oh yeah I truly like before that moment um I didn't know he was a big WWE fan oh really until like we started talking about it everything came about and then really I don't I don't think a lot now my teammates know but like now my teammates really knew that was a huge like huge WWE fan but yeah since then it's kind of like the fandom kind of took off everyone talks about it I've signed like that card of me and Tyrese like a million times now isn't that cool like the standoff card and how'd your t-shirt do pretty good yeah I love it I mean, it's pretty cool.

42:20I loved it. Yeah. I actually was in Greenwich maybe like a month after walking down the street and the kid had it on.

42:30Steph McMahon:That's so cool. I'm like, hey, it's a nice shirt. He's like, thanks. Didn't even realize. But the mom was like, oh, that's him. She's like, cool. And the kid just kept walking. It was really cool seeing that. It was really cool seeing that. Yeah, that's super cool. Yeah. so when when did your love of wwe start i think i was in fifth grade fourth or fifth grade it was in the middle of one of my moves yeah as a kid but um

43:05maybe around like oh seven so that has to be like fifth grade sixth grade yeah around like oh seven is when it really started i knew about it but that's when it really really started so and

43:16Steph McMahon:Undertaker was one of your favorites Undertaker Jeff Hardy obviously Triple H obviously yeah too but not just blowing smoke over here but he's my favorite I mean yeah honestly Edge too yeah Edge too were you watching when it was The Brood or like no you're too far past that I was too far past that but But after like when you get into it, you start to do a little history. You do your research. The Brood was so fun. Yeah. I love the Brood. And then when he came out, I don't know how long ago was it, but he had like the skull with the Brood intro again. Yeah. That was a cool moment. It was the coolest music.

44:08Steph McMahon:Like I loved the Brood. Yeah. Yeah. big news WWE and sports fans the world's number one sports fan festival Fanatics Fest is making its return to New York City Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagues, teams, superstars and athletes you love across four action packed days in July meet your favorite WWE superstars get your hands on exclusive merch and interact with the biggest names in sports then fans of the show can get a 10 % discount by using Steph 10 at checkout. That's S T E P H. The number one, the number zero at checkout. I'm going to fanatics for this year. Oh, great. We'll see you there.

44:56I have one request.

44:57Steph McMahon:Yes. Whatever I do to meet Rhea Ripley. Oh yeah. Can, can, can we get that on camera? Are we still recording? Whatever I do. All right. absolutely Rhea's the best she's the coolest I mean she's such a good person too so my wife doesn't watch really that much but we watched Unreal the first season and she's like oh she seems awesome I was like that's okay it's something we can agree on I did see a picture of you with Rhea on the shirt it was my live podcast I wore the shirt I was like I saw it I forget where I saw it I was like I need that and I'm going to wear it for something yeah Rhea's She's awesome.

45:38Steph McMahon:She is so cool. And she's just a star. Yeah. No matter what she does. I told someone at Fanatics, whatever day she's there, make sure I'm there that same day. Yeah, we will make this happen. Perfect. A thousand percent. Perfect. We are partners with Fanatics and they have a question for you. If you could replace the Knicks starting lineup with four WWE superstars from any era, who would you want on your team and why? Since we're in a modern day basketball, I'll put Undertaker at the five. Me at the point guard.

46:16I need like a... Who's the four on our team now? Josh? Josh is the four on our team? I need someone like Josh, kind of a do-it-all type person.

46:31I don't know. We'll skip Josh. I'm gonna put Batiste at the three because he reminds me of OG for some reason kind of quiet people

46:45Steph McMahon:he's quiet yeah Batiste at the three I'm gonna put Triple H at the four because I'm gonna say Josh is kind of do it all type of person but he's always joking around more times than not So I'm thinking of DX, Triple H. So I'm going to put him at the four. At the two for Mikhail. There's no one really built like Mikhail in the WWE because Mikhail's built like that light pole.

47:21So I'm going to say a person who hasn't missed the game. He'd be Roman. Roman number two considering how consecutive he was championship, McHale's played in so many consecutive games Roman I'm loving the logic behind everything it's very thorough

47:46Steph McMahon:yes, yes if you had to pick a superstar that you think is the most like you who would it be?

47:58I don't know that's tough that's tough I feel like there's so many personalities and I feel like my personality is kind of more off camera than it is on camera. Like when I'm it's like I'm very stoic on the court and I don't really try and show my emotion.

48:22I don't know.

48:23Steph McMahon:How about Kurt Angle? Wow. Yeah. I can see that. hey Joe that's a good one that's probably a better question for you guys I'm trying to think how am I as a person well you were doing the positions and who would be what because of yeah but when I think about myself yeah it's hard when it's yourself but that's a good one I like that what role did wrestling play in your life was it like a constant while you're doing all this moving around Did you try moves on your sister? She's laughing. You asked the question, she laughed. I felt the energy. Yeah, I was jumping off the couches onto like. Doing any Jeff Hardy move?

49:13Steph McMahon:Yeah. No swans on though. Oh, we were doing a couple swans on. No, no. Don't try the same. I didn't do that. To her. I don't think I did that. Did he? I put the belt on the fan

49:33Steph McMahon:That's pretty creative It is creative Belt on the ceiling fan That was always a go to actually Really? But you didn't It didn't go No no I mean that's dangerous I read it Okay I'm just saying I didn't listen set up a ladder didn't hurt anybody didn't get hurt that's good that's good I wouldn't I would not try that stuff at home guys yeah I just want to tell the camera yeah I already did that as soon as you said that there's a disclaimer flashing right now yes we had a guest last week Royce and he was talking about eating Vic's Vaporub that his grandmother would have him eat a little bit of Vic's Vaporub when they were sick.

50:25Steph McMahon:Hot toddy, vapor rubbing hot toddy. He was five, and she would give him a hot toddy. A little scoop of Vicks vapor rub. I mean, so that was an immediate don't do this, but it became like a funny thing. But yeah, I can't write. Like, what on earth is in there that you would ingest it? When I put Vicks right here, it lights you up. Can you imagine eating it? I mean, I guess it cures what ails you, but I am not condoning. No, it worked great. I'm not condoning that. Yeah, right. At the time, my kids were sick, so I was like, I'll take anything. That was wild advice. Yeah, that was. That was a big don't try this at home one.

51:04Steph McMahon:Yeah. Don't worry about it. I'm not trying that. I'm not trying that. What was one of your favorite WWE moments that you remember either going to or watching or something that you would reenact a lot, like storyline-wise, character-wise, anything? One of my favorites, John Cena's Return of the Garden. Was that, 08? For the Rumble? Yes. Yeah. That first live event was a live event in Richmond, Virginia. It was during Undertaker and Edge's kind of feud. I'm pretty sure Vicky was involved in that too. somehow some way but uh that was my first ever event I forget where we were sitting we were sitting kind of up but I remember I remember it like it was like it was yesterday like it was it was so cool like me and my friends we watched we were it was whenever it was like a pay-per-view we all watched at Delato's house we all watched at their house and then um and then once we came like close by like we went like it was like it was really cool for me like i it was something that like i was always going to like event like basketball games like right i'm always getting to go behind the scenes i mean getting to go see this like it's i'm like seeing like i'm like the anticipation of everything something new was like so cool to me and um it was a totally different experience totally different adrenaline rush it was just really really exciting but yeah i remember that like it was yesterday for sure got back super late because we were living in charlottesville at the time so it's like an hour drive and and were you like geeked on the way home or did you sleep in the car i probably passed out but i was on the way there i was yeah i probably passed but it was it was awesome it was i think once i went to like a live event i was like yeah this is dope Hooked for life.

53:06Yeah. It's just some dope stuff.

53:08Steph McMahon:There's nothing like that energy. Yeah. You know, and everybody's super connected by it. It's like you can't help but get caught up in it. Yeah. You know, it's just, it's fun. There's nothing like it. Yeah. It was unbelievable. That like, I was a fan and that got me like, they got me really into it. Yeah. Cause I just, I think there's something more intimate. 100%. About it, you know, and I think it's really special for fans and talent. you know plus you can goof off you can try different things yeah yeah but yeah there's there's nothing like those live events for for moments like that right the entrances are by far like like one of my favorites yeah yeah the entrances are like i think the coolest thing who's the coolest

53:59you can't say the coolest there's there's a lot there's many that's true okay so what like some

54:03Steph McMahon:Some of the coolest that you like. Obviously Undertaker. He's, I mean, all time number one for me. I remember when Batista, when he came out with the machine gun. I thought that was awesome. Edge, when a long time, like early 2000s-ish, when I watched it again, like Jeff would come out with like the blacklight. And he had like the paint on him and everything. I thought that was like the coolest thing ever. what about Jey Uso honestly I think it's honestly the coolest thing right now it is when he runs it back yeah when he runs it back and all the kids that get into it yeah yeah there's some kids that look like when he's like walking down like the aisles and he's doing it there's some kids that are doing it that are just like staring in the light I like when he takes someone else's kid for a little bit well he said sometimes people just hand him their kids and he's like okay just like taking the kids hands so cute yeah so cute he he's he's doing something with that i think it's really cool what could you do with that i could do it i so we did a live podcast and i like was like figuring out how i could come out with like a cool entrance like some type of it would it probably would have cost a little bit too much money but sponsor right i might we'll throw it on the table now.

55:30I think you should.

55:31Steph McMahon:I mean, especially now that we're talking about it. For sure. I tried. I was like, can we get like some pyros? Can we get some smoke? Yeah. Can we do something small? You know, something small. He's a sparkler. Yeah. Yeah. I would puff of smoke. I don't like, I think about it. I'm like, it sounds really cool. But like me, like I'm just, I'm too like, like mellow. Like I don't feel like I could, I would have to change who I am to like do that. I don't know. It's all in the look. It's the intensity. You'd have to have like your competition game face on. Absolutely. Yeah. You'd have to have that.

56:09Absolutely. Now I'm going to start thinking about it now. For next whatever. August, September. We'll get it done. Alright.

56:17Steph McMahon:Alright. I know a guy might want to help you. Perfect. Perfect. Happens to be your favorites. We'll see. So I'm curious and I think you might not be willing to describe this, but the three points. Yeah. Like, why do you how did you start doing that? I mean, clearly it's on your merch, right? Yeah. It's like so now we actually we sell it for our foundation. Right. So like all the proceeds go to to your foundation. To our foundation. But I truly don't know how it started, how it started. like so about four or five years ago in Dallas I kind of did something like it but it was like I don't know why I did it I just did something like it I kind of did it so then my first year in New York I didn't really do it until like playoffs ish and like I remember what I did I made a shot and there was a camera right there and I did it and I caught it and it slow mo'd it and it kind of went viral and everyone was like what's it mean what's it mean i'm like it means i made a three-pointer like i don't know i don't know exactly what it means like it just it just happened and then like when i do like when i see people like yo do the celebration do i'm like i'm like no you can do it i'm not gonna do it i do it when i do it when i make a shot right but um it came out of nowhere and now it's like your thing yeah your gimmick my gimmick yeah it's good it's like the you can't see me yeah it's like It's literally.

57:54It's your yeet. It just, it came out of nowhere and then we capitalized on it.

58:01Steph McMahon:That's super cool. Yeah. That's kind of, that's kind of how it happens. You never know what it's going to click. Yeah. When it's organic is usually when it's the best. Yeah. I just, I feel bad when people ask, I don't have an answer. It just came out of nowhere. And I was like, no, that means something. I'm like, it truly doesn't. It's like three points to the dome or something I read about. So that's mellow. oh so that's that's what you were saying yeah that's Mellow there's a lot of good Nick celebrations yeah there's a lot of good ones you have the discount double check from Steve Novak you have Mellow you have J.R.

58:37Smith's like I don't know what you call it but like he does something so who started it who was like the first three point celebration we're looking it up now it might have been Mello J.R. Smith it might have been he did like there's people who do like a celebration every once in a while he did it 95 % of the time when he hit a three and that's how celebrations kind of started and then in college we were not doing the celebration Coach Wright was not having it oh he didn't like that yeah I remember Russell Westbrook did like he would hit a three he would go like kind of like oh like a yeah Yeah.

59:19That's cool. I used to do that in high school and then I couldn't do anything in college, but I brought it back.

59:25Steph McMahon:I brought something back. Don't know what it means, but it's. Don't know what it means, but hey, it's. It works. It works. It works. What else were some of the values that Coach Wright instilled in you? Hmm.

59:42A lot. He was very big on being professional, looking someone in the eye, giving them a good handshake. When you're first on campus, he buys you your first suit. Really? Suit, shoes, tie, all that, belt. Gets you fitted for everything. So obviously he's a great coach. Coach Wright, Coach Jay Wright is what everyone sees. We see Gerald Wright. I don't know if he likes that joke but we see the real coach right and he made practices harder than the games so he was always trying to do something that was putting you outside your comfort zone so when it came time to actually do what you have to do it was easier and so that was on and off the court so that was my biggest takeaway from him just kind of over preparing yourself to make sure that you're ready like you're not just you're not just going to get ready for like the kind of the bare minimum.

1:00:43Steph McMahon:Right. Over preparing. Yeah. And did you, do you apply that philosophy in life? Yeah. Sometimes. Sometimes. Well, in school you didn't cause you didn't study. Yeah. That sounds about right. That sounds about right. How'd you graduate in three years? Well, we had to be there in the summertime anyway. Okay. So you just took summer. Took summer classes. Like usually people like take one. I took as much as I can and after my sophomore year I played really well and I thought hey I was going to be ready to leave the NBA and then we had a conversation with my parents and they were like you're not leaving you're finishing my dad said I wasn't good enough and my mom said I want your degree anyway so I was like okay well I guess I'm staying and Coach Wright was like this is one of the easiest conversations I've ever had and you played in the championship game your freshman year freshman and junior year And junior.

1:01:38Yeah. Yeah, I graduated and I was like, I won the second national championship play of the year. I'm like, there's really nothing else. I could help myself get into a better draft position. So, yeah, it was one of the best experiences of my life.

1:01:59Because why? I was close to home. I was about 45 minutes from where I grew up most of my childhood.

1:02:10obviously winning cures everything it's a good feeling and they make great relationships when I committed to Villanova I told myself I would it wasn't just like a four year thing it was like a 40 year thing I wanted a lifetime relationship and I have that I still talk to obviously all my teammates some of my teammates I have now still Coach Wright talked to him a week or two ago there are plenty of people who on campus I still talk to yeah it's like lifelong relationships I have

1:02:46Steph McMahon:it's pretty remarkable the people around you that you keep obviously family people you trust but your middle school coaches your high school coaches your college coaches your dad and even the president of the Knicks is your former agent yeah that's probably the the longest relationship I have out of all of them because my dad so Leon Rose the president now his first client ever was my father really yeah and so my dad was playing Australia when I was born and back so it's I'm pretty sure it's winter time when it's summertime for us in Australia so their season was in our summer i was born in august and um august what 31st okay yeah my daughter's august 24th okay august 31st and um leon saw me before my dad did because my dad was in australia wow and so that relationship runs really deep and um obviously once i left he was my agent and then two years three years in he went to be the president of the Knicks and then yeah now we're back together it's pretty cool yeah and now his son's my agent oh really yeah wow you do keep it tight yeah I try I try keep the circle close yeah and it's worked out well for you yeah I mean I enjoy it has there ever been somebody intrude in the circle that you had to kick out not really I don't think maybe knocking at the circle's door but never really let in.

1:04:33They tried. They tried. Yeah. Didn't work. Didn't work. Yeah. Yeah, not that thing about it, no. Like no one's really been like in the circle that we had to kick out. No, there's too many layers. Too many layers.

1:04:49Steph McMahon:It's too deep. Yeah, they can't get the access. Yeah, no. Yeah. No. What do you think about Leon becoming the president? Like going from, so Nick Khan, right, was at CAA and then he ultimately came to WWE. Right. He's co-CEO and now he's president again, WWE, TKO. He's making all these incredible moves as a businessman. What do you think there is about being an agent? Why does that ultimately make you a success, assuming that you believe that he is a success in the role? Yeah, obviously relationships, I think. Relationships are, I think, are a big part of it. I also think, like, an organization like this, in a city like this, it's like, it's kind of a no-brainer.

1:05:41Like, who wouldn't want to work for, like, the Knicks or another storied franchise like LA or, like, San Francisco or Golden State? Like, you get in one of those positions one of those teams like it's just like it's a it's a really big opportunity yeah um so once like i wasn't mad like i was just like it's a great opportunity for him and it's something he really wanted to do and so um yeah i don't i don't blame him at all and i i enjoy being able to see him all the time um obviously we talk a lot of basketball um it's been a great experience for me obviously i want to win like what can make this experience 10 times better if we end it And we, we, we, we won a championship.

1:06:24Yeah. Obviously that's like, that's our number one goal above all.

1:06:27Steph McMahon:The 73 was the last one. Is that right? Yeah. She went there. It was a long time. Well, no, I went there because it's a big opportunity. Yeah. Yeah. No pressure. No pressure. Yeah. No pressure at all. Yeah. It's, um, it's been a long time, but I, I, I feel like we, we, we have an opportunity. Yeah. We do. and how important is the team oh I mean very important like we I think we've this season's been it's been weird because we've had highs we've had lows and we're creeping back up to going back on the high again like I feel like we're getting better late in the season like you never want to be you never want to be like a finished product at any point in the season like you want to continue to find ways to get better I think we started the season first couple weeks but then we got really good won the in-season tournament and then kind of since then it was like rocky, it went downhill and then after January we woke up and kind of finished going through the break strong, playing well so hopefully we can continue that but it's important for us to kind of just get everything else out of the way Like have tunnel vision.

1:07:49Steph McMahon:Right. Have tunnel vision. And as a team, are you able to help each other mitigate distractions? Yes, but there always will be distractions. Yeah. Always. And that goes back to what you can control and what you can't control. Exactly. Exactly. Control what you can control, but there will always be distractions. It's all about like how can you find a way to limit it? How can you control what you can control and not let things seep into your mind or whatever? Like you just, there were always distractions. Always. Mostly unexpected. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's mostly unexpected. It could be like during media and they ask you a question, you say it one way, you don't mean it that way, and it's blown a lot of proportion.

1:08:33And then now they're asking another player, hey, what do you think about this person's comments? Like, how do you feel about that?

1:08:40Steph McMahon:And they're reacting to the way it's positioned. Yeah. Right. And then now you're going back like, hey, like, what was actually, Like I said, there's always going to be something to kind of like throw you off your game. Do you feel like the media, and not like media in general, but does the media try to create controversy within the team? I don't think they, that's a great question. Sometimes they can. I don't know if they're. That's a goal. That's a goal. I think they're trying to try and get something done to put maybe their name out there and kind of see where a story can take them but I don't know I feel like the media is it can go any other way do they train you guys at all not to eat during press conferences laughter they should have to say it now because we have one guy on our team that eats during every press conference to the point where I don't even am I in the press conference with him anymore the clips of him like sneaking the pizza box and you're just like the thing is he's like eating some of the times he's just really hungry I mean I get it we just played a game just wait five minutes five minutes you're doing the media right now you're stirring up controversy it's always controversy between me and him it's always controversy between me it's always controversy between me it happens yeah he I don't even know what to say but what does he say when you say you can't wait five minutes he's just like I'm hungry I get it when we're in the media room like sometimes like it's it's echoed like it's like it's like speakers for people in the back to maybe hear what we're saying you just hear him chewing right in the microphone he opens the pizza box the whole room can smell it everyone sees it I'm just like you never get hungry just smelling that pizza oh yeah but you can wait he was trained he just find a way to piss me off it was the clip he said he eats a snack in bed and he was like there was like a Twizzler stuck in his wife's leg you made the greatest face of that I'm pretty sure I called her I called Shannon after that his wife and I was like you guys are disgusting I'm pretty sure I called her whenever we talk about something I'm just like what?

1:11:24I call her I'm like is this true she's like yeah but I was like you guys are gross you guys are just disgusting they're actually clean they're clean people going to the house their house is always clean it's always clean let me let me put that out there i'm just over here do you ever get worried you're gonna

1:11:43Steph McMahon:say something on the pod that's gonna be taken out of context yep yeah me too yep that's her job to make sure right she's paying we probably a lot of attention we probably would have been canceled by now. You think? Really? Well, he would have been. The cutting room floor? Yeah, it's good. He would have been canceled. I would have been guilty by association. Yeah. That's a real thing, too. Yeah. Yeah. Can we edit that part out? Remember when we said this? It's like the 1030 text, I guess. We'll be talking, and then I'm like, all right, cut it. We're going to have to cut this. and then for the next two minutes we're just saying some outrageous shit.

1:12:30Steph McMahon:Which is all the stuff that people would really want to hear. We thought about doing a roommates after dark. I mean even the name is good. But we would have to wait till we retire. Yeah. Alright. That's fair. That's fair. It gives us all something to look forward to. Hopefully a long time. I don't know about him. He talks about retiring soon but I don't want to retire anytime soon. Got a lot of work to do. Franchise player. Your words not mine.

1:13:05Steph McMahon:What happened here? Did you have a little scar? Yeah. Is there a good story? It's not jumping off a couch story. I know. I was waiting for that. I think it was about three or four. And I was at my grandmother's house. and for some reason I kind of forgot that her bed was like right right when you turn the corner in her room like the bed was right there I wasn't paying attention I ran in and just it was like a slay bed type of thing and I hit the corner and busted yourself open I probably had about 40 to 50 stitches in my head really? in my life yeah all from your grandmother's bed? grandmother's bed I have one right here it's like a little one because a plastic surgeon did it because if they didn't it would probably be these are his Jeff Hardy days what happened there?

1:13:57my other grandmother's, my nana's house really?

1:14:00Steph McMahon:what's the grandmother's? remember like the old kind of like TV like square TVs there was an older one that wasn't being used it was in the corner I was like 18 months old I remember how you're wobbling oh you're little yeah I tripped and fell in 25 right across the front that's awful I think two in the back from when I hit back the two back here the same the grandparent same bump boom boom and then you went back and then I have one on the side of my head from this guy right here we were warming up for a game pre-game pre-game he kind of like just like got a rebound like elbow and we were doing layup lines and I was like what the what are you doing it didn't really hurt but he hit me and then like we're still going through everyone's like staring at me.

1:14:52I'm like, what? Apparently blood was just going down.

1:14:55Steph McMahon:He got you just right. Yeah, so I had to get stitches right here. I don't know if those are actual stitches or liquid stitches, but it was something that needed to be done. I missed that game. Oh, you did? You wound up missing the game? Yeah, I missed the game. How'd the team do? I know. I was going to say, how's that season? Hopefully, no, they won. They won. I had stitches right under here. Elbows from playing. Yeah. I have a... I got twice right here I like hit my chin on the floor I had stitches like four or five like twice randomly hit your chin on the floor no in a game in a game

1:15:35that might be it

1:15:37Steph McMahon:that's a fair amount I'm probably missing something but yeah mostly all head and face areas yeah injuries just bashing about yeah the grandmother's house i'm just feeling for it was your grandmother watching you when you uh no i'm feeling for whoever had to actually it was like a family of like people a lot of family was there oh and um my my aunt was at the hostel with me and my mother was there too my mother was calm and collected like she was mothers are yeah calm and collected my aunt was crying and screaming like oh so the doctor apparently goes up to like your son's gonna be okay and my mom's like that's not that's not her son it's me but yeah it was just her fault no no no probably we'll blame her and what are some of the most important lessons that you want to teach your baby girl

1:16:47obviously hard work

1:16:52never being a follower always being a leader that's what my parents told me just be a leader make your own decisions be comfortable in your own skin be comfortable being who you are you don't have to change who you are for anybody

1:17:11just be the best version of your life self yeah and then whatever she like wants to do i'll help push her in that if she wants that but um i obviously hope she plays a little bit of basketball hopefully but um yeah i'm i just wanted to be her own person be a leader she's cutie pie she's adorable yes

1:17:35Steph McMahon:all the images of you guys walking yeah her holding your hand she's starting to hold my hand a lot more now is she like when she's in a place where she doesn't know where she's at she'll hold my hand like if we're somewhere she knows she's like she's like i got it see she's a leader yeah yeah she's uh she's talking a lot more now um she's she's understanding who people are like we'll say like where's mama like where's mommy and she'll point at mommy where's data she'll point at data um or data um yeah she's she's trying to understand a little more it's really cute to see like her like learning growing up right yeah how their little minds work yeah it's it's the best i was um my i have my oldest daughter is a sophomore in college and my middle daughter is about to go to college and my youngest is going to be 16.

1:18:33Steph McMahon:And so for my daughter who's about to go to college, I've been going through all these pictures because I'm putting together collages or whatever. And man, I am a mess because I'm looking at these videos of them when they were little and they're talking and their little voices and you can hardly understand what they're saying. And, but man, they're talking and it's like it is the best and everybody says it goes too fast and i'm now one of those like older ladies saying that but it's true it just does the first 19 month whatever it is year and a half it's it's gone really fast yeah in the moment it feels slow but like you're like right because a lot's happening yeah lots and then you're like damn that was that long ago like right yeah days are long years are short that's right the days are long and the years are short but the older they get the faster it goes yeah oh but it's the best yeah and every stage really is the best yeah you know until they get ready to leave from really like not i have no good advice for it for when they go to school it's there it's just awful i have a long way to go for that yeah you do you have a long way to go you and so do you yes i was i was ready sorry go ahead no no i was just gonna to say it's helpful and not at the same time like she's got her girls are older my kids are six and two so i'm like in some tough moments especially with the two-year-old and i hear like them leaving and i'm like oh i need to slow down yeah and like enjoy these tough but like beautiful days because before you know it i'm not ready they're leaving the nest we um we had we found like old videos me my sister found like all videos of us yeah and so we kind of like she digitized them or whatever the word is for it and then um it made me go get like a camcorder right oh yeah so i was like all right i'm gonna start like recording stuff and like having stuff and just so we can look back on it like down the line yeah um since i record a lot but since then i have no idea where the camcorder is that's the thing but but your phone is pretty pretty accurate yeah but like the nostalgia of like actual camcorder like the the grainy footage and stuff like that it was it's what like you can put an effect on it but i get it i get the notion i get the notion yeah but it's but can i recommend download it now yeah like all of the stuff that you've already shot because i gotta find the camcorder first that's the thing so like i had things on multiple different devices because you know three kids throughout all this time yeah and we we were missing two years and I couldn't find them.

1:21:15Steph McMahon:And we finally found this computer that was like in the corner and wasn't charged and wouldn't charge, finally did. And now we've got it and we've got everything in one place. But it's like, having lived through that brief period of anxiety, I recommend you find that camcorder. Find a camcorder download. Tonight. Do it tonight. Yeah. Well, this has been so cool. Thank you. No, this is awesome. I appreciate it. I don't think I understand how fast I said yes. but like so grateful you know thank you and especially you have a game tomorrow and everything you've got going on like to take the time to come on our pod that just means so much thank you this is awesome I appreciate it we wish you all the luck and success and all great things for you and your team professionally but for your family you know it sounds like you just you have all the right things around you you know and you have such a good heart and such a good head on your shoulders so just anything we can ever do you know.

1:22:20You guys would come to the garden yeah

1:22:24Steph McMahon:absolutely you know that was at one time known as the house my grandfather built I believe it. Because he had the most consecutive sellouts at that time. No big deal that's. No big deal. I had nothing to do with it. I feel like it's a cool thing to throw out. That's my grandfather but yeah still it's cool. I'll take it. Yeah. Appreciate you guys. Seriously, thank you so much. No, appreciate you. Thank you.

1:22:51Permanent maintenance only works if it's easy to execute and consistent. WD-40 specialist products work with heavy-duty fabrication shops to close PM gaps, reduce unexpected teardowns, and improve equipment reliability.

1:23:03Steph McMahon:From cleaning electrical contacts and protecting PLCs to lubricating chains, bearings, and conveyors, WD-40 specialist products are built for real-world shop conditions. The goal is simple. Keep the line running and maximize production. Schedule a WD-40 industrial site visit at wd40.com slash industrial and see what optimized maintenance looks like.