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Josh Hart: I'm not gonna lie. Now, like it was all it was always like you waited to see the dunk contest. Like, dunk contest was the main event. Now I'm like I don't know. I watch the three-point shootout and then I just turn it off. Nate Robinson: Because the stars that's supposed to do it don't do it. Like bro, like when I was coming up, LeBron James, you should have been in it. Bron should have been in it. LeBron should have done the dunk contest. Then more guys would have did it. All the stars before him all did it. Kobe, Vince, you had T-Mac, Jordan, Dr. J. Like, all these guys did the dunk contest before. And I don't understand why they wouldn't do it to pay homage to the league and the fans. Like, it's something that you should do. But guys do it no more. You we miss Ja Morant with some of the craziest bounce we ever seen a guard have. He didn't do it. You had Zion Williamson that didn't do it.
What are your thoughts on the state of the dunk contest? Nate Robinson: Man, I watched that after a while and I'm just I'm just sad on where it's going. For one, them letting certain guys do the dunk contest that wasn't even really in the league. That kind of bothered me a little bit, kind of in the beginning when they were doing it and after a while I was like, y'all let him do it multiple times so might as well just let them keep doing it. But just the whole, I mean what more can guys do in a dunk contest? Like everything's been done unless somebody does a flip or something. Like there's nothing that everybody's done everything now. Like what can the dunk contest do and what can they do in the dunk contest to make it seem like something that nobody's ever seen? That's going to be tough to do. You can't get the crowd's attention and the stars to come out and really be excited about anything because everything's been done. You got to switch it up. They got to go to one-on-one or something. Something different.
NBA: Corey Maggette will fill in for Nate Robinson as an AT&T Slam Dunk Judge during NBA All-Star Saturday. 🌟 5:00pm/et on NBC & Peacock
What about funniest teammate? Danilo Gallinari: There is one guy that comes to my mind right away is Nate Robinson. Oh my god, I've never seen a guy with that energy. It was… the energy that you see him put on the court is the same energy that he has on the bus at 3:00 a.m. in the morning when you're going to a city. You just got off the plane, you go to the bus, you are sleeping, you are ready to go to bed, it’s 3:00 a.m. and he goes crazy on the bus. I've never seen a guy with that energy. He's definitely the funniest guy I've ever had as a teammate.
Iman Shumpert: All in or all out; we will not have an American MVP for the next five years. Nate Robinson: Oh, that’s… I'm all in on that. I'm gonna tell you right now. Why? Because you got all the Canadians balling, you got the Greek Freak, you got Joker. I don't think there's going to be an American MVP in a while. Shumpert: So no Cade Cunningham, no Anthony Edwards. Robinson: They’ll have to deal with Wemby. I want Edwards to win, but if they play like the World versus USA, I feel like they have the upper hand right now.
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Nate Robinson: Steph Curry on his way out. Kevin Durant on his way out. Unless they just have some magical sprinkle fairy dust like they're Peter Pan and they can fly with them happy thoughts. Please explain to me who who’s gonna take over because Joker's averaging triple double. You got Luka Doncic going crazy. Triple-doubles. The Greek Freak is killing. You got Wemby who is about to come and take over, like who else is going to do that American-wise?
Iman Shumpert: If the NBA could expand to one more city, is Seattle a better pick than Vegas? Nate Robinson: All in for sure. Yes. We have better fans. Vegas are all tourists. That's it. That's all it is. Seattle will be sold out every single night. No, hear me out. Shumpert: Again, if you live in Vegas, born and raised. I don't know why that man is talking like that. Robinson: Listen, because I'm from Seattle for one, and I'm a little biased. I know that if they open up the floodgates and say we have a team, we'll be sold out for years to come. We got fans that will put up the money.
Paul Pierce: If Shaquille O’Neal had been healthy, we would’ve won that year. Go back and look at our record with Shaq. I think we were like 28–3. We were rolling. All we needed was his presence. When you drive the lane, nobody helping off Shaq. The lane wide open. You not helping off KG. I was having a field day. Rondo too. Off the court—man, the laughs. Shaq’s a comedian, big old kid. And Nate Robinson was with him? Man, that was one of the funniest times. We all kicked it. We all went to dinner. Shaq was the only one with a bigger aura than KG. That’s how big he was. He was like a big sun in the locker room.
Do you feel like you guys cared more about the Dunk Contest? Nate Robinson: I mean, they just make it where it's not as cool now. I don't know why, I don't know where it went wrong. But back in the day, doing the Dunk Contest, it stamped who you were and what you were trying to bring to the table. Like, come on, man, you had guys like Michael Jordan doing the Dunk Contest when he was young. Like LeBron [James], he should have done it. Guys like Ja Morant, Zion [Williamson], why are you guys not doing what you're meant to do? You know what I'm saying? It doesn't make sense. Like, come on, Ja. You supposed to do that rookie year. Zion, you supposed to do that rookie year. Come on, bro. The best of the best. Blake Griffin, myself. I mean, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Desmond Mason, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Dominique Wilkins, they all did it. They were dunkers, and they did the Dunk Contest. So many guys blessed the Dunk Contest and still became the player that they are today. It didn't hinder them. Even if they didn't win, they still did it.
Do you think it’s very different from when you played? You mentioned the money grab... Is it extreme now? Nate Robinson: Yeah. See, when I was a kid growing up, I wanted to make it to the league. It wasn’t about the money. The money comes with making it to the league. Now, for young kids, it’s all about the bag. It’s not about earning respect from your peers who played before you. I wanted Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson. I wanted them to respect the game I brought and the way I played. These young cats fell off that. They lost that, they don’t care. They think they’re just as good as the guys before them. They don’t pay homage, they don’t pay their respect, they don’t pay their dues. They think they’re like that because of how much money they’re making. You’re making a lot of money, but your game doesn’t equate to what you’re being paid. You’re not playing like the GOATs and the guys before you. They don’t appreciate your game. I played for the appreciation and love from the players before me. That was a big thing... I wanted them to respect my game. They’ve lost that part of the game, and they need it back desperately.
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After going through something like this, has your mindset changed from when you were still looking for a kidney to now? Nate Robinson: It’s changed a lot - I have a different view on life. Small things don’t bother me no more. People saying certain things… it really doesn’t matter. I’m here, I’m healthy, I’m enjoying life as a whole. Not too many people get second chances, so I’m going to appreciate this and treat this kidney right. I’m going to eat right, do things way differently. The energy that I’m waking up with every day is a lot different than it’s been over the years. I’m just happy to wake up every day and do whatever it is I want to do.
Are there any particular players right now who remind you of yourself? Nate Robinson: For me, I think Anthony Edwards is a 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 type of Nate Robinson - built, athletic, backs up his sh*t talking. I love that. His personality off the court with his shoe deal and commercials... He does a great job being a great showman and presenting himself as one of the best players. He’s funny, he’s got a lot of swag, he’s a cool dude. I love his game.
When it comes to basketball’s eternal GOAT debate, Former NBA Champion, Nate Robinson says the conversation is already settled. Nate Robinson: “Michael Jeffrey Jordan. He’s the GOAT, no questions asked. Debate should be over.” “When you think basketball, you think Jordan. Kids today only know LeBron, they don’t know Jordan like we do, but they know of him. That alone shows he’s the GOAT.” “LeBron and Jordan will be in the GOAT debate forever, until someone else comes along.” “It’s a tough deal. You can ask any NFL player or anyone from another sport — who’s the basketball GOAT? They’ll say Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Some will say Kobe. I think Kobe is up there as well.” “Kobe had the Michael Jordan mentality. Kobe and MJ had that killer mentality, it’s real. They dominated the game. For me, my two GOATs are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, for sure.”
Lights, camera, layup. The NBA Summer League is giving athletes another shot that takes place behind the camera. With assists from Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and Hollywood power players Mark Wahlberg and Deon Taylor, the Summer League Film Festival is coming back starting July 17 in Las Vegas. The three-day festival will bring big-screen storytelling through 34 selected projects, spotlighting stories produced by NBA stars past and present including Nikola Jokic, Luguentz Dort, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Cole Anthony, Keyon Dooling and Udonis Haslem.