David West Reveals What It's Like To Play Against LeBron James

You kind of had the game that I was jealous of like I always wanted to be you get the ball and a 15 foot face up, you know go to work. I always wanted to get in that pick pick and roll and just I was a role player. So obviously my scoring was basically depending on what the game called for but I always admired the game that you had you had that game that I always wanted to be able to play on a consistent level, but let's talk about you know, I'm saying your game. Is that what you play like in high school or is that something that you just developed over the years that 15 foot and that face up the nice touch and all that. Like I tell you, I know your game because I had to guard you. You always had that game. I say damn if I was like a guy who got the ball. This is how I would like to play. Let's talk about your game and just soaking into that because you came in when powerful was was like real powerful like right when you came in the league when they had real powerful, but did you pattern your game after anybody? Well, so man is weird. So I didn't play like the way I play in the NBA, you know, I couldn't I didn't play like that in high school. Okay. Well really in college. Like in college, I you know, I scored over like 2,000 points and I mean I joke about it, but I promise you probably like 1,800. Everything was just at the best. So it wasn't until I got to the NBA and I could make plays like 17 feet and in you know, a college three-point lining in but I wasn't like super athletic. I just had a sneaky long wingspan. So people underestimated you know, my wingspan. Like I got a 7-4 wingspan. So that was always a it is that people didn't realize until they started playing against me. So that's how I was able to get my shot off without having to jump so high and all that because when I got the full extension and I had usually had a little bit more on my shot than most people get to so that was one thing. But then I developed the ability to shoot really in the NBA. I was getting knocked around my first couple years because I was like I came in the draft. I was 226 that I worked that only sound right by the way. I pushed around work. I mean, I worked hard to get that heavy for the draft because at that time like you couldn't play the power for Yeah, powerful position without being 245 to 50 to 60 not 2003 does seven footers. I'm saying so I had to I had to change because I was getting knocked around trying to knock people over 220 225 is not working. So I you know, I that summer after my second year. I just started shooting like I mean just literally just gotten in the gym and we just got in the gym and we just started making shots like literally 300 some days 400 500 600 700 speak in my language. Just straight catching shooting the ball until I felt like I had the type of muscle memory where if I just let it go, I think it's going in. So that was something I just had to do, you know, and then I watched Kenny Gaddis and gave me some Karl Malone videos and those Karl Malone videos kind of gave me the context of like how he used to do it and where you should shoot the ball from. So I just copied that and I just started shooting the ball. So be honest with you. It wasn't nothing but just taking the time out three, four, you know, three, four days a week during the summer and just shoot the ball have somebody willing to rebound and pass to you. But like that was it. So the other stuff, you know, the big shoulder and stuff that stuff came as I developed as I got heavier, right? It wasn't until I mean like if you look at my stuff in New Orleans every, you know, a lot of this stuff is off the bounce is to catch and shoot is to shot fake and go go left and get back, right? And then when I get to Indiana, I'm like, okay, I you know, I'm a little heavier now so I could use my use the big shoulder and move people around. But like that's that was the way that my game kind of evolved is just a necessity. Like I had to figure out a way to be successful. I just remember you. I just remember you as a Hornets because one time I was playing in New Orleans. You threw me in the stanchions. So goddamn hard. I still can't remember what happened. No, I said gosh damn. I'm still laying on the floor. Listen D West what they don't understand is when we first came into the League, like the powerful position was the most petrified position in the League. You had Chris Webber one night. You had Tim Duncan one night. You have a young Elton Brand. You have Kevin Garnett. You have dirt new whiskey. You I mean like you will get your ass tore up at the power for Raheem. Oh my gosh. Shariff. I do Raheem was a problem. Like Paul Gasol. Like little in Memphis. Yeah. Yes, bro. Like Maury. I'm all excited about gazebo. I mean and then you had Blake Griffin and Lamarcus come in Scola in Houston. Juwan Howard man. Scola were a lot of guys at that position. There was literally no no night off bro. It was Petra fantasy. The other part is there were defenders at that position like Kenny Thomas. Kurt Thomas. Wow, Kurt Thomas. Yes, I didn't lose to golf. They could you know, you do you one of those guys that could guard the position. You know what I mean? Like this guard the guys out of like out of fear D West. If you didn't bring it you will get your ass tore up and that was around the time where you had to guard your yard or he was coming out. They gonna go at you every time to the coach. Take you out. You gotta prove you can stop it. Yes. So literally I competed so hard because I knew if I did get your ass in bed. It still doesn't explain why I threw me in the stanchion. So damn hard. Oh, all I remember all I remember is all I remember. I think I got suspended. Yeah, all I remember in the back of my head. Still is carpe diem. Because that's the cap. It's your tattoos on your cap. That was what we naughty. You hit me in the back of my head. I'm trying to achieve. I'm trying to achieve that you you hit me in the back of my head and get it twice because I can't cross the middle to score. I think and you like kind of I was like, yo, man, did you do that? And then the next time I was like, yo, bro, you did that on purpose. I'm almost sure that's how I was. Hey, that's how about I was just trying to come in. That's a hard ride. Wow. And then you dip. So it just looked a lot worse than that. Hey, that's how that story started to come together. Little better. Probably is probably true. But he hit me so damn hard, bro. They said is everything good? I just said carpe diem carpe diem. Hey, I would decide because it's not just that if you remember the second time we played y'all in the playoffs, you beat the ---- out of Shane. Oh, Indiana. Oh, yeah. Shane, Shane still can't walk. Shane still can't walk. Hey, no, you're on the other side. So you ain't gonna hear the story. We used to be like, Shane, you all right, bro, bro. Listen, you him up and he's to come to the locker room. We used to just look at him, D-West. Get your ass in the ice tub. We used to look at him and we used to look at each other like, boy, we don't know how much more he can take. Shane on his last leg. Batman on his last leg, for real. Hey, D-West, those Indiana teams y'all had though. Gosh, damn. We had some wars. Yeah. Yeah, not for sure, man. Like we, now we tried everything. You know, that was the thing with us, man. Like the one thing about Coach Vogel, right, was like, he had this weird, not as, but he has this gift of like, he's just pumping, pumping energy into like, he's, he's, he's, it's almost like he's just constantly gassing you, gassing you, gassing you. And so he used to, he really would push me to that line. Like, yo, get there. As soon as you can, get there. And I'm like, well, you just get there. Like whatever that is, get there. So he's like, that's, that's one of the advantages we have. So we like beat these, just beat them up and just get there. So he would, you know, that's the way we played, you know, it gave us a shot, you know, again, every year you got one team that wins, but typically you got three or four championship contending teams. So I felt like, you know, for those years, we were in Indy. We were one of those teams that, you know, if things break the right way, you know, we probably have a shot at a title. I mean, y'all, y'all were the team who obviously between you guys in Boston, but I always knew that East was a, oh my God. Yeah. I always knew like whoever would win between us was probably going to win the East. Like and so I mean, that was no disrespect to Boston, but the physicality that was, that was what y'all brought and we always knew like we got to lay some up. That's what I, that's what I thought first. I mean, I knew he wasn't human, but that's when I first knew LeBron really wasn't human was Indiana series because he would have to end up guarding every position on your floor when Shane would be crippled. He go guard you when PG or Danny Granger get going. He go guard them. Right? Like I was like this dude's all over the place and that to me and playoff basketball to have that luxury was was unbelievable. But that's what I remember that because we did talk about it that Shane Battier story is funny. Batman is my dog. He's beat, but you beat his ass. Oh my gosh, but now those, you know, those series man. It was like, you know, there were moments where we really thought we were like, man. We got you guys like we got him and then I remember like the first year you did. I think this was the conference semis and we're we had we had this is when you guys lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, but we went up to the one and it was Spole and D Wade had their little spat. They were like yelling at each other going to the bench. And I'm like, oh we got like I just knew like that was the crap in the armor. But then like that next game man. It was like they D Wade and Braun went to a level. Yes, and that's where we all were like if we're going to beat these guys at some point over these next few years, we don't have to do some really really really crazy stuff because we all felt that then take it to that level like damn like we felt the debt like LeBron playing and like that desperation mode. That's the mode that like we felt he was most dangerous. It's funny. You say that is out there like he could cook you and get going like, okay, he might but if he feels like he's really threatened like that much the energy that you got to put to stop just the smallest, right? Like when he's just driving just downhill, downhill, downhill, downhill, downhill. It's the ability to break like we would get to Miami. There would be a point where we like, yo, they start running in here. We're done and we make a mistake here mistake there and boom next thing. You know that like 18 old run lobs threes and dunks and ones. So, you know for us man, it was just we tried to find that moment to break, you know, one of the all-time great team. We just couldn't break through. It's funny. You say that because I'll never forget to come to Jesus. We had in the hotel room with the game. He's talked about but we are we were kind of in shambles a little bit like there was some bickering going on and we had that players only and those dudes came out. Like you said desperate though, and it was a different level of basketball man. Like it was watching movie. Crazy. That means nuts and then numbers were insane. They know he's like something stupid. Yeah, the one thing we did and and we knew this that they could go to a level that nobody else could go to, you know, I'm saying. So all we had to do is just defend and play hard like once they went to that level and I tell people this all the time because I made this conversation the other day. I was talking about Jimmy Butler. I was talking about how Jimmy is the smartest offensive player. I've been around this takes nothing away from Dwayne and Dwayne, but they just could go to a level that other people couldn't go to. Jimmy is very calculated. He has to be calculated. He has to if you have a weakness, he has to find it. If you have a if you make a mistake, he has to exploit it Ron and Dwayne. It don't matter what your weakness is, right? They got to go to the level. They're going to go to right and they're going to leave your ass at the fifth floor while they go to the seventh and eighth, right? So it was nothing that I was knocking against Dwayne and Braun. It's just that they're that gifted. You know what I'm saying? And Jimmy has to be a little more calculated. You know what I'm saying? But I'm happy you brought that you brought that up because they literally can go to a level that it don't matter what kind of defense you play. It's on don't matter what your team is. I don't really I don't really think when somebody talks about you know, talks about Braun talks, even though I just like yo, you've never stood across them like in there in desperation my brother. I swear to God, bro. My older brother, right? He's very introspective. So he calls me one day. He calls me one day in the middle of one of those series, right? He called me go show. How you doing? I go, I'm good. He goes, I gotta ask you this. He's like, what does it feel like to be standing out front guarding LeBron James because we had this point where like into the shot clock. We're going to switch. So the game before it was like it happened like two or three times where I'm just out there on the island, you know, against him just for trying to force him to a three. My brother's like, yo, what does that? It's like, yo, what does that feel like? I'm like, I can't even describe it, but I'm like it feel like you like like you thinking it does. You ain't got no words. I'm just trying to figure something out. And that was that was, you know, it's amazing what he's doing now at 40 years old, obviously, but that Miami level athleticism and strength was different. I mean, like you said, when we ran at home, we got going, bro. I mean, he was just running. Oh, yo, he was so fast and athletic, physically focused. You know, we just do just, you know, Savannah the game, man. I mean, that's all he is, right? It's like somebody just has the physical tools, but also the that that mental gift to just boom. If you're here, you can go here and here. Here is a dirty little secret that insurance industry may want to keep under wraps. Insurance companies profit by holding onto your money for as long as possible. So after an accident, they might do whatever they can to delay or deny your claim. This way, they can keep those profits growing. Morgan and Morgan fights hard against these corporations to fight to make sure you get every dollar you deserve. When in court, the insurance companies want juries to think that at-fault driver is the one paying the verdict amount. Meanwhile, it's really the insurance companies who are covering the cost. 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