Every podcast, we do a segment of Reese's Pieces, and we ask the fans some questions
So these are some questions that some fans had sent in. So once your career is over and you receive so many milestones, do you see yourself ever being a coach of a team
I really don't want that life, but I would not say no
Would you coach your kids? If I needed to. Yeah. If I needed to
Like, I really feel like I may, if my daughter plays basketball, I think I might be a coach
Oh, yes. I definitely think I'm going to be that guy. But coaching a lot of, coaching where
What are we talking about coaching at? I don't know. I don't see you coaching the NBA, but like, you got the NBA
I don't really know if coaching my thing. Like, I love giving back to the game
I don't know if I would be a coach. But you also, too, you don't want to say, you never want to say never because that may be a part of your calling, right
And, you know, to think about getting a chance to put together a certain staff of individuals that can really imprint the players the way that you know they need to be imprinted and not just, you know, teaching them a game of basketball, but the other things that come with being professional and being, you know, men
And, like, you know, so you look at those things like, man, I got a lot to give. And I can give it from that seat
But also, too, I can give it from the seat I'm in, too. And so I don't know
I don't know. I have no idea. But I would not say no. I'm not out of it
Yeah, that's what I'm saying right now. I don't want to be a coach. I'm good right now. I don't have the patience to be a coach
Some coaches don't have the patience and they coaches. That's true. Yeah
I don't know. I mean, you know what? You know, a lot of things is. Listen, we say a lot of things, but everybody got a number now
You see the money they're getting paid now. Because I used to be like, I ain't coaching. I'm like, wait, how much? Yeah
He got 80 what? Oh, okay. Yeah, it's changing now. So you're like, wait, so a hundred million about to be on the sideline soon
I'll take that. I'll put on a suit. Yeah, me too. so we'll see you know you never know another fair ex um what made you want to write a book
um so i've written two books my first book was called the father first how my life became big
and the reason i wrote that book was um because i was going through a lot publicly through the
separation of my my ex-wife and i and i and i custody journey yeah and it was just a lot of
man who as I was going through it just had a lot of questions a lot of answers a lot of things that
we just didn't know and so I just wanted to share that journey yeah you know and I just wanted to
be like a because when I was going through it I didn't really have a lot of places to look not a lot of men that shared that journey or publicly got custody kids or the things that
I went through and so it became important for me to be able to put something down so
the story can be told and I use that story to go out on talk shows in different places just to
to highlight and elevate men, um, standing up and fighting for, um, you know
to be in their kids lives more, more so than anything. So that's why I wrote my first book. And then my last one was just kind of a wrap up for my career
I'm a photographer, videographer, follow me for probably 10 to 12 years of my career
And so we just wanted to kind of give them the inside of inside scoop a little bit about the game and how I thought and saw the game and the people that was along the journey
And so, yeah. Yeah. last question what is your best advice that you've received from a coach or a mentor
basketball or not basketball life oh man we receive so much uh from coaches and mentors over
over the time i think well let me use this one and i go with shack right it's good on thing um
and a lot of that is because it's probably more relevant now in my life than it was when i was
even planned but one thing I learned from Shaq outside of you know learning how to win and all
those things was I learned how to be myself and you watch we watch Shaq as a someone who goes out
and has all these partnerships and all these promotions and all the things you do we just get to see Shaq you know as we see nobody else but him no matter what it is he doing he going to be Shaq And so that the one thing I learned And he told me you know early on was he called me Flash all the time
He's like, Flash, like, if it's not you, don't do it. If it doesn't feel like you, don't do it
So I learned how to stand up for myself in meetings when they were bringing me certain ads or certain things
I'm like, that ain't certain commercial ideas. I'm like, that's not me
That's not what I represent. Not at this point. And so I'm not doing it. So I learned how to speak up for myself
I learned how to make sure that my brand is just me
And so it becomes real, real and authentic to who I am. And so and it has allowed me to grow in front of the world for the last 20 some years
It's allowed me to be able to cross my legs when I didn't do that when I first came in
It's allowed me to be able to paint my nails when I didn't do that when I first came in, because I'm just being me
And if you're on the journey with me, you just see it. And so I'm going to give Shaq a lot of love and credit for like giving me that as a young guy
Like, yo, this sounds like something easy, but no, people don't want you to show up as you're not
You got to know what you to bring in what room. Yeah, for sure
You know what I'm saying? You got to know that. But in the midst of it, I think the world's got a chance to like, especially now in retirement
the world's getting a chance to see me a little bit more. Yeah. And, you know, in all facets
Yeah. Well, we appreciate that. I mean, I think for me, when I started doing like commercials and stuff like that, like, you know, WMA players don't make that much money
We wasn't making that much money. So I was looking at the dollar sign. Like, I was going to do it. I don't care. Like, I was just willing to do it
But now, like a year later, like I even was telling them, like, I do my hair different
I do my makeup different. Like, everything is like different now because like I want to look a certain kind of way for myself because that's what I like
Like, not what somebody else likes or what they want me to look like or do. So like that was a hard thing for me to like coming into as a businesswoman, like doing the things that I want to do and being able to say like, no, like I'm not doing that or like I'm not comfortable in that
So this your words, not mine, but like you call yourself a baddie, right
Like I follow you in the baddie era. OK, so how did you like make that
All right. When it comes to like Hoopers, right. even though it's WNBA and it's women
it's still like a facade you gotta have especially being a dog right like they expect
you to be a certain way but you like no I'm Barbie with this I'm still this like
how were you able to do that and feel comfortable doing that and not care
you know not not not care but yeah I think like growing up my grandma always kind of like made sure
my hair was brushed like my nails were painted like that was kind of always my thing like
growing up so like when I got social media like my social media kind of pop in like high school
I kind of always made it known like on my social media, I'm not posting basketball. Like I'm posting me in a cute outfit
Like that's just what I'm doing. And like I get criticism for that because I don't post me working out
I don't post me in the gym 24 seven. Like I'm going to post like, I just got on a PJ today
Like this is what I'm doing. Like I'm not posting that I'm in a gym because my life outside of basketball
is like the Barbie life, the unapologetic life, like doing what makes me happy
And I think that has what made me who I am. and that's what I just like stood on like I told my agent like I want to be able to be me and I want
if I can't do that and a brand can accept that then like I don't want to I don't even want to
be bothered with that and all money ain't good money it's not yeah that's what I something I had to learn too so I think a lot of players to emphasize on that like in the WNBA now you see
tunnel fits you see league fits like you see everybody dressing up and looking good but on
the court they still hooping like normalizing that because everybody has a stereotype in the
league like everybody dresses this way or like they act this way like no we have girly girls in
the league like everybody they want to say everybody's so masculine the NBA doesn't have
any pretty girls like we have some pretty girls in this league like we have beautiful women in
this league that cannot just play basketball but also can do so many different things and I think me coming into this league that was one of the faces that do both that has really helped
this league yeah I mean it just you know obviously it great because now brands are starting to understand the power of you know the female voice as a leader of brand of product or whatever it is
And so, you know, it's the right era to be able to be unapologetic
And I think, you know, the thing is, is the from being a player who's come in and like being a part of like changing the era of the game, the generation before
Right. It's a little different than how they did it. how do you deal with the generation before
I know you give everybody their respect, but how do you deal with the generation before
Maybe not necessarily understanding how you get into, how you doing it, because that's not the way they did it
Well, I mean, I think they have literally loved on me since I've been
been in the league. So like I watched Skyla Diggins put on her heels
put on her lipstick since she was in, at Notre Dame. Like I was watching
I was watching Lisa Leslie. I was watching Candace lay her baby hairs. Like I was watching that
I was so slayed. Social media just wasn't as prevalent as it is now
and I think that's just the difference of it. I haven't had a vet that is hated on me
or somebody that used to play that is retired now that has not shown me love
I think because I respect them so much and I listen to them
even the players in the league. I talk to Tina Charles. I talk to so many of the great players that are in the league
I talk to Asia. Being able to pick their mind, because I want to understand what it takes to be great
I want to understand what it takes to be an Olympian. And, like, I want to do those things. And it's not even, like, I came into this league knowing who I am
but also what I also want to bring to who I am and how I can build on that
And not even, like, coming in cocky. Like, I think I came in with a lot of respect to all the players
that were before me, and I think that's kind of why it's been super easy for me. Because I know sometimes, like, vets don't like rooks sometimes
Especially not coming in and popping. Nah. Like, you come in and popping with your own swag
Yeah, that's why I was kind of nervous. That's why I didn't say anything. Like, first couple practices, I said nothing
because I didn't want them to think like this cocky girl can come in and think she popping it
like what she did in college that matters like nah I came in silent I came in and did my work
every day and I left and they used to be like why is she so quiet like now she stand off and stuff
like that and like teaspoon kind of emphasized like you need to speak up like you need to say more and that's why I tried to kind of say more um but like yeah I think that was just that was
just kind of how it was for me yeah yeah no you you did it but you did it you did you're doing it
Right. I think the thing is this microphone that you guys have as a WNBA athlete is now as louder than ever
And WNBA has always done an amazing job of utilizing their microphone and their platform
Incredible job, better than a lot of other sporting leagues. But now you guys get to use it in a whole different way
You know what I'm saying? Like I said, now you're pulling up to McGallis. And so now you get to show a whole different element inside to obviously woman, but to a professional woman who plays this and still does this
So me as a father, like I'm so thankful for this era for my five-year-old who is going to be tall in a mug, you know what I mean
Who's going to be browned in a mug. So she gets to now look and see other people who, you know, not like it was never there
Like you said, Lisa Leslie's of the world, but she gets to look and see someone who, you know, that literally looks like her in a sense
And like my daughter's the princess's barbiest human in the world. And so she's like, oh, it's a so someone who plays the sport my daddy plays actually like like other things that I like outside of basketball
And so it's so cool that you don't get to see it all the time. I know you see it probably out the game
You hear from kids sometime. But as a father, to be able to see his daughter, have someone to to yze out of in that sense
Man, it's just man. Like, keep keep keep using your microphone. Keep doing what you do
keep being unapologetically you because people are going to fall in love with
that because they're going to see it consistently enough. Yeah, I appreciate that
Sadly, the Chicago Sky are out of the playoffs, but who you got for the WNBA Finals
Well, okay, so you can go against the Aces obviously because they done this back now But I did go to New York I did watch got Liberty And I like to see it switch up a little bit I like to see the Liberty get in there and get won
Yeah. You know, I love the domination of the Aces, but I like the rivalries being built, too
You can't sleep in the Lynx, though. I can't. No, the Lynx is good, too
You're right. Yeah. Actually, that's who they play. They play the Lynx when I went to the game
I can't sleep in the Lynx. All right. So the Lynx, that's who you got? I don't really know
My pick probably right now. Uh-oh. Don't you do that Don't you do that
Come on Don't you do that Uh uh Come on Where you doing
Come on Come on Hey Baby come here Come here Yeah no
Come here Hi Kyle How are you girl We're gonna finish I haven't seen you
In so long You tired You had a long day You had a long day
Didn't you have a long day What'd you do today I did three dance classes
You had three dance classes today and you just started this on every Saturday. She got three dance classes
This is new. She has a new school. All kind of things, right? God's being nervous today
I was just talking about you right before you came in. Which is crazy
I was talking about how we're changing your whole room to Barbie and everything's becoming Barbie
Even my birthday party. When is your birthday? November 7th. Where are you partying at
At home. Okay. All the friends are coming over? Mm-hmm. Okay. Told you
I'm going to make sure I see you something really nice. Okay
So she got a chance yesterday, the other day, to have her first day since she started a new school to wear anything she wanted
Yeah. And that's when I posted. It's free dress. It's free dress. I'm sorry. It's called free dress
I saw your shirt. She put the shirt on to own a free dress. That was cute. That was cute
I love that. Well, before we go, Kyle, I know you want to take a nap
You want to spend time with your dad? yeah i know we always give our flowers to someone um is there someone that a woman that you would
love to give your flowers to um yeah my wife just walked in so wifey i'm gonna give my flowers to my
wife um come in here wifey uh wait i was like there's one right answer yeah i'm not listen i'm
not crazy um well i say that to say so you know flowers given because you know we're we're doing
this journey now. We've been doing it as parents. You want to get out? I guess in retirement, I get to see it a little bit more
of the boss and the life that my wife has to live. When I was hooping, I didn't get the chance
to see it all, but it's not easy. It's not easy being a leader of your family
your own personal family. Also, too, having to be a leader of your family that's
created, being a mom, being a She goes to work for weeks
She travels away. She goes to shoot movies and films and directors. So she's doing so much
So I get to see how heavy that bag is that she carries. And I didn't know it when I was playing basketball
But now that I'm done, I'm in amazement of what she can accomplish daily
And still look like this in the midst of it all. He said you were his crush since he was young
No, I didn't say all that. I didn't say all that. Yeah, you did. But it's true, though. It's true. How could you not
It's true. Your friends and family have told the story. No, they be jacking
You were on the wall? They be jacking. She was on the wall? What wall
I grew up in the hood. We ain't had no... You know you put es
on a wall, you're celebrity crush. You know you put your celebrity crush on a wall
Yeah, so, yeah. But I'm going to give my flowers to this beautiful woman over here