NBA Veteran Exposes Truth About Modern Basketball | Jason Terry DSH #984
Experience firsthand accounts of playing alongside legends like Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Terry breaks down what made the 2011 Championship Mavericks special and shares untold stories about competing against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Get the real scoop on what it took to succeed in the NBA's most physical era, and hear Terry's honest take on why today's game is completely different. From defensive strategies to shooting evolution, this veteran tells it straight about the NBA's transformation.
Want to know what it was really like guarding Allen Iverson? Or how practice was actually harder than games? Terry holds nothing back in this eye-opening conversation about basketball's past, present, and future. 🏆
#NBA #Basketball #JasonTerry #Basketball #SportsTalk #NBAVeteran #DigitalSocialHour
#nba #nbahighlights #nbaveteraninsights #spalding #wilsonevolution
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Jason Terry
01:40 - Favorite Year in Basketball
02:47 - 2011 Mavericks Championship
05:01 - BetterHelp Mental Health Support
08:30 - Evolution of the Game of Basketball
10:48 - Early Career Minutes Experience
12:59 - Toughest Player to Defend Against
15:21 - Greatest Shooter in NBA History
16:19 - Where to Find Jason Terry Online
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Transcript
Guys that I had looked up and I tried to emulate, I was still able to compete against.
For me, it was a dream come true.
Nice.
Practice was harder than the game.
Easily, I'm supposed to be the starter.
First game, somebody's
out on suspension.
I start, I go for like 23 and 9.
My mind, I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm starting the rest of the way.
I didn't play for two months.
What?
Yeah.
The guy came back.
The team's rolling.
I had to wait my turn.
All right, guys.
First podcast ever.
Jason Terry, let's go.
What happened out there, man?
Listen,
when you flop a set and lose to a straight flush, I don't know when I should have went all in, but I did on the turn.
The young lady, I love her to death.
She had no idea what she had.
She was on a flush draw out the gate.
And she ended up with a straight flush.
Damn.
So
how can you be mad at that?
That's the thing with poker.
You can play perfect for sure.
Still lose.
And I'm going to tell you what, this is a great thing you guys are doing because I was able to play with guys I competed against.
And then one of my greatest backcourt mates of all time won a championship at Arizona, Mike Bibby, in 97.
And then I had to play against him, and I won my first NBA championship against him and Mario Chalmos were sitting across the bench.
So it was incredible.
You got to reminisce about the old times.
It was dope.
You still have any bad blood with anyone you competed against?
Not at all.
You let it all go?
Yeah, I had to.
You know, I'm coaching now, so letting that go is a big part of your evolution, and I had to let it go.
Wow.
Still hate the Miami Heat.
That's just me.
I mean, obviously, but.
Yeah, I feel that, though.
Some people don't ever let it go.
Nah.
You know?
You played 19 seasons.
What was your favorite year where you had the most fun?
A couple years, right?
My first year, 1,000% because it was your rookie year.
And I look across the locker room and I see Isaiah Ryder, the Kimbe Mutumbo, Jim Jackson, LaFonso Ellis, like those were my veterans.
So
you always remember the first year it's like the year you were born.
Like you got to remember that.
So then I will have to say my
the year after I left Dallas, I went to Boston
and I played with Kevin Garnett, right?
My high school classmate, 9-5, Paul Pierce, my high school classmate, 9-5,
and then Rayjean Rondo and then Hall of Fame Fame coach Doc Rivers.
Like, that was, to me, that team of all the teams I played with was assembled to win a championship.
Ray Allen had left.
I replaced him.
We had a good young nucleus, but playing with guys like Kevin Garnett, Ray John Rondo, and Paul Pierce, like it was a dream come true for me.
It didn't last long enough for sure.
Obviously, the Dallas teams, you know, my favorite team, obviously the team I want it with,
you know, Hall of Famers, Tyson Chandler,
Jason Kidd,
Karan Butler, who was injured,
you know, those guys, like, what can I say?
Sean Marion, the Matrix, like JJ Berea, those guys, those are Hall of Fame guys.
Pedro Stoyakovich,
just
that team was epic.
Legends, yeah.
And you guys were 60 that year, right?
Man, I couldn't tell you what seed we were, but I could tell you who we went through.
Yeah.
And when you beat Portland, right, with LaMarcus Aldridge,
Andre Miller, who was a draft classmate of mine.
They have Dame at the top.
Not a rivalry.
Nope, Dame wasn't there.
But then you beat them.
And in the second round, you play against, they're going for a three-peat, the two-time defending champion Lakers with, you know, Lamar Odom,
Paul Gasol.
But my idol, one of my rivals, like...
Kobe being Bryant, one of the greatest players of all time.
And then Phil Jackson, the greatest coach of all time, like playing against against them in that series, but it wasn't a series.
Like, we swept them.
Damn.
Yeah, we swept them.
And that doesn't happen.
You know what I mean?
Not the Kobe.
No, not a Kobe-led team.
Never happens.
And, you know, for us to do that in the fashion we did it in, and then for me to play one of the greatest games I've ever played in my life, like all the years of basketball I ever played in,
game four
at the house, solidified a sweep,
record number of threes.
Like the basket was so big, every time I just threw it up, it was going in.
Like
it's just one of those moments.
And it was on Mother's Day.
Like I took my mother to breakfast that morning.
Like I just knew something special was in the air.
Wow.
And we beat them.
And then to go play the Oklahoma City Thunder, who obviously, if that team stays together, who knows?
You talk about four, five, six.
Like, they were built to win championships.
They had one, two,
three Hall of Famers, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Right.
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When they were just
realizing their greatness, they were young, but they were ready.
But we just had a little more experience than them.
Right.
And we and we dusted them off and then we play against the Heatles.
Like, you know, everybody picked LeBron.
You guys were not failing.
Chris Bosch.
Yeah, they win it.
And we came in there on a mission and we took care of business.
But
that was an epic team.
Yeah.
How was your confidence throughout that playoff run?
Like, going into it, did you guys have any
idea that you could do that?
All-time high.
It was the most confidence I've ever had as a professional athlete.
Really?
Only because my preparation gave me that confidence.
I knew, like, I knew what spots I can get to versus their defense, where I can go to get my shot off.
Playing with a point guard like Jason Kidd, he was a coach on the floor.
And
to me, he's like Tom Brady.
Like,
he can tell you what's about to happen.
And if you trust it and just get to your spot and run your route, the ball's going to be there.
And then you just do what you're supposed to.
And playing with a guy like that was unbelievable.
And then you had
a Hall of Famer like Dirk Nowitsky.
Like, how do you not play your best for a guy that brought it every single night, ultimate professional?
And you knew, like, if he was on his A game,
you could play B plus and you know, you had a chance to win.
Right.
Unguardable.
Unguardable.
Like, could not stop him one-on-one.
Yeah.
And he was on one of the best runs I've ever seen.
I've played with probably 15 Hall of Famers throughout my career.
And Dirk Nowitzki, the run he had in that year, was unbelievable.
And for me to be on the court with him while he was doing it,
i don't know i don't know if there was any other kind of run but he literally carried us wow offensively was he a pretty vocal leader he wasn't vocal he did it you know by by action like he showed you what he could do he wasn't gonna talk yeah like duncan him and duncan epitomized like the guy that was just a workman journeying just work work work their works speak volumes they didn't have to talk They came out and did it and performed.
And then you looked at the stat sheet and you're like, oh, yeah, he busts our ass tonight.
I feel that, man.
And you've always been one of the better shooters, right?
But when you started out in the league, that wasn't like a hot thing to just chuck up threes.
Never.
Never was a hot thing.
You chuck up too many threes, you're going to be sitting
on the bench next to the coach.
But it's the evolution of the game.
When I played across three generations of the NBA, and I talk about the evolution of the game, I was able to cross those generations and understand, like, okay,
the first generation I came came into, the physicality,
defensively, the strategic defensive mindset that you had to have to execute and be able to function.
Like that was the era, okay?
Then we crossed into the next generation, the small guard, Alan Iverson's era, you know, the guards that were should be point guards, but they're really shooting guards.
I crossed into that generation and it was the, at the same time, It was the power forward generation where you had Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki.
They kind of ran it, but you also still had Kobe who was right there ready to take over and assume the role, right?
Assume the position.
Then you cross into the last generation, which is just, I mean, it's the wild, wild west.
It's okay carrouse to shoot out.
Every night it's going to be high scoring.
There's no physicality.
And it's just put on a show, entertain, right?
But still compete at a high level.
Yeah.
Right.
And so to be able to cross over those three generations, like, it's just a blessing.
Like it's a blessing.
And I can appreciate each generation for what it was.
So I'm not going to say like, oh, this generation was better than that.
No, they were all great in itself.
I love that.
Which was your favorite one to play in?
Oh
it's hard to say, but I mean
the first one.
Really?
The physical one?
Because MJ was still there.
He wasn't MJ, so to speak.
He was 45, right?
Right.
But it was Michael Jordan.
And it was like, that's the the guy you looked up to.
Carrie Payton was my role model.
I was able to play against him.
Sam Cassell was still playing.
I was able to play against him.
So guys that I had looked up and I tried to emulate, I was still able to compete against.
So my first 99 to 2003-ish
was like, for me, it was a dream come true.
Nice.
How tough was it getting minutes those first few years?
Oh, it was tough.
It was tough because practice was harder than the game.
Really?
I had a veteran by the name of Bimbo Cole.
Obviously, when I I come in, I'm the 10th pick.
Easily, I'm supposed to be the starter.
Lenny Wilkins, Hall of Fame coach.
It's like, nah, young fellow, you got to wait your turn.
First game, somebody's
out on suspension.
I start.
I go for like 23 or 9.
Damn.
So in my mind, I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm starting the rest of the way.
I didn't play for two months.
What?
Yeah.
The guy came back.
The team's rolling.
I had to wait my turn.
And that's just what it was.
And I respected it, but every day I worked hard.
Those guys pushed me.
But I tell you what, practice was harder than the game.
Damn.
Yeah, I feel like these days kids are starting like right away.
Well, we're not practicing as much.
They starting right away.
And rightfully so.
This generation of basketball players, and I can tell you because not only do I coach this era and I've coached AAU, but I got a young nephew.
My young nephew's fifth grade.
He's doing moves that I wouldn't even dream about doing in the fifth grade.
Wow.
You know what I mean?
So they're so much more talented and gifted, but it's not because they were just born with it.
It's because what they've seen, how the game is transforming, they've been able to watch it.
It comes to them.
Like they don't have to go to the gym.
They can look at their phone and see, oh, this is how you do a step back.
The other day, I'm looking on my iPhone.
I look at YouTube.
This is how you tie a winds or not.
And then I've been trying to tie a tie for 25 years.
Now I can go to my phone, look at it, boom.
So understand how to play the game.
But you still have to go and play the game.
And I think that's the part of it where they'll have their struggles but eventually their talent will supersede it and that's your give back that's how the game should be right guys should get better the game should grow and be better as it evolves
if it doesn't what are we doing you know what i'm saying so like when michael jordan played yeah kobe bryan should come do what mike did and do it to another level, right?
Because he had a roadmap to look at and to be guided by.
Absolutely.
Who is the toughest player you had to defend?
Ooh, two.
First, I'm going to give love to somebody, and you probably don't know this name, but Earl Boykins.
I don't know.
I never heard of him.
He's small.
He went to Eastern Michigan.
He was a spark plug, but he probably was like 5'5-5-6, and he was a bucket.
And it was always my matchup because me and him came in the game at the same time.
As soon as I check in, he checked in.
And it was just like I just couldn't guard him.
He was so little, he can weave in and out of traffic and he can get his shot off.
He had a quick pull-up.
He he had good mid-range and he was just tough to guard you know i'm saying but all time is allen the answer iverson
when you talk about guys that set the bar transcended the game right cultural icons i look at magic
i look at jordan i look at bird
i look at allen iverson And then I look at Steph Curtin.
You know, obviously LeBron James, for sure.
Nobody looks like him.
Nobody's built like him.
Like,
physical freak.
Yeah.
For sure.
IQ off the charts.
But I'm saying the cultural impact that those four guys I named that had on the game.
White guys to shoot.
Boom.
Bird.
Name close.
Magic.
6'9.
Handle, dribble, pass, shoot, do it all.
Revolutionize the game.
Big point guard.
Michael Jordan, are you kidding me?
Fly through the air, come off screens, could shoot, could pass, could do it all fundamentally.
Allen Iverson, be you, be who you are.
Cornrows, Braves, throwbacks, coming in, right, whatever, hang out all night, do what he do,
drop 40 on you.
Like, no sleep.
It don't matter.
Right?
Acceptable.
He did it.
He transcended the game.
Stephan Curry, are you kidding me?
He made every
Hooper real.
I don't have to be 6'9, 7 feet, 6'6.
I could be 6'feet, 6'1, 6'2, and shoot from half court.
Like, he gave every kid hope, and he's still giving them hope.
Facts.
But the ability to shoot the way he does with the efficiency he does it at,
like, transcended the game.
It's unreal.
We'll end off on this.
It's a good segue.
Who do you have as the greatest shooter of all time?
The greatest shooting form of all time is Clay Thompson.
It ain't even close.
Pure beauty.
Starts at your feet, goes up through the top, finish with perfect form, lock it, stick it, perfect, perfection.
Clay Thompson.
The greatest shooter is Steph Curry.
It's no question.
He can shoot it from all kinds of different ways, off the dribble, off the catch, off the move.
And he shoots it efficiently.
So you got him over Ray Allen?
Ray was a bad boy.
And I think Ray gets slighted because they put him in the category as shooter.
Ray can shoot, but if you really watch Ray Jesus Shuttlesworth, he had it all.
He could play pick and roll.
He come off the bounce.
He can attack the rim, go up top on you.
Ray had it all.
Just later in his career, and for the longevity of his career, he was known as a shooter.
Yeah.
Been funded.
Where can people find you?
What do you got coming up next?
Man, I'm an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz right now.
Utah Jazz assistant coach.
I also am a grassroots director.
The Lady Jets.
I've been doing it 15 years.
Went on the Adidas Circuit.
Shout out Three Stripes.
That's it.
Boom.
We'll link it below.
Thanks for coming on, man.
Thanks for watching.
Appreciate you.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.