Robert Horry is back in familiar territory this week. The seven-time NBA champion and Laker is back in LA, where he'll be taking part in various aspects of NBA All-Star Weekend, including the Castrol Rising Stars game on Friday night at Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Since I played here in L.A., even though I didn't play for the Clippers, it's just an opportunity to go around and hang out with different people," Horry told Men's Journal about his All-Star responsibilities. "And, you know, it's like an ambassador, and that's one of the great things I've always enjoyed doing for the NBA once I retired. Because when you're a player, you don't have time to do that. You want to be an ambassador. I'm going to do things for the NBA shootout, at studios on Amazon. I'll do the celebrity game. It's a multitude of things."
All-Star Game is critical for multiple reasons, Horry says
During his 16-year NBA career, Horry did not play in any All-Star Games, but he was a regular All-Star Weekend attendee and says the annual break gives players a chance to breathe and refresh themselves before the final two months of the season.
As an NBA alum, it also provides Horry the chance to reconnect with former teammates and on-court adversaries.
"It's a time to reset. It's the middle of the season," Horry explained. "I think sometimes it gets forgotten that 82 games is a lot of games. And I think it's a good time to hit the reset button. And also, for me, as a retired player, it's a good way to connect with the old and the new. Interact with old players, teammates, guys I went up against. It's just a good way to get together and reminisce a little bit and just to say hi to everybody because even though summer league has changed and a lot of guys go to summer league, I just think this is just a great way to get together mid-season. This way you get together twice a year instead of just once a year."
Robert Horry vs. Richard Jefferson goes viral
Recently, Horry appeared on former NBA forward Richard Jefferson's new podcast "The Richard Show," where things got intense between the two when debating their championship resumes.
Jefferson won one ring with the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers, a run he claims was the greatest in NBA history. Horry believes that honor should go to his 1994-95 Houston Rockets; the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, Houston ran the gauntlet to win its second straight championship and Horry's second of seven as a pro.
Clips of the argument between the two have gone viral on social media recently.
"The debate was who had the greatest playoff team ever. And, he was talking about the Cavs that come back from 3-1 against against Golden State," Horry explained. "I said, 'That was one moment.' It was really one moment against the greatest team but us in '95, we didn't have home court advantage. We had to go into Utah and beat Utah in a Game Five in the first round because the first round was only five games back then. Then we went on to play the Phoenix Suns down 3-1. We come back and win that. And then we go up against the Spurs, with the MVP, David Robinson, and Dennis Rodman, who had beat us five times that season. And we beat them. And then we go on to sweep the Orlando Magic.
"There's no way that's not the greatest run in NBA history. I'm not saying it's the greatest team. But that was the greatest playoff run ever."
'Big Shot Bob' wants one guy taking the last shot
Suiting up for the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs from 1992-2008, Horry honed a well-earned reputation as a clutch player. His "Big Shot Bob" nickname is an ode to the multiple memorable game-winners he hit during championship runs.
If Horry couldn't take the last shot for his team, who would he want taking it? There's one obvious answer.
"It'd be Steph Curry. I think he showed that in the Olympics," Horry said. "Even at 35, 36, whatever, he's still an elite performer, elite shooter. We always talk about his shooting ability. His handles are freaking good. I'm not saying they're Kyrie [Irving] handles, but Kyrie's a 100. And he's like a 99.9. So I think his ability to escape from double teams and still be able to get off the shot and the range he can shoot it with is incredible."
Horry's legendary coaches linked by one thing
Horry won multiple NBA titles each under Rudy Tomjanovich, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, three marquee coaches with three very different ways of doing business.
One thing united them all though, Horry says: defense.
"If you look at, you think about Dream [Hakeem Olajuwon] was a Defensive Player of the Year. Kobe was up there for top defense. And, Tim [Duncan] was Defensive Player of the Year. Shaq was that anchor for us on that Lakers team," Horry said. "You all had dominant big men who could play defense. You had wing guys who could play defense. You think about Mario Elie and Clyde [Drexler] who don't get enough credit for how good they played defense. Then you go to the Lakers, you have Derek Fisher and Kobe and Ron Harper, all those guys that could play great defense. And then you go to the Spurs, you got Manu and Tim and Bruce Bowen]. Every team I played on was real well-rounded defensively, and that's what you have to look at. Because defense wins championships. At the end of the day, you've got to stop somebody."
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/Vxlj7XP
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