When old hoop heads watch Kyrie Irving slither his way into the lane and finish acrobatic layups at the rim with either hand using crazy English off the glass, they see shades of a sometimes forgotten player, one who over the course of a 17-year career put together a resume as one of the most fearless and inventive point guards in the NBA.
Rod Strickland’s basketball legacy has taken on a new complexion in recent years. The New York City hoops legend had the ball-handling ability, the court vision (he’s 12th all-time in assists), and dexterity that made him a nightmare for defenders. You might say he’s something of a spiritual godfather to modern-day guards like Kyrie. He also happens to be Kyrie’s actual godfather, having grown up in the NYC area playing basketball with the elder Irving.
After his playing days ended, Strickland worked for years under John Calipari at both Memphis and Kentucky helping him develop some of the NBA’s best and most thrilling point guards of the last decade or so. Right now, he’s working with Budweiser for a promotion ahead of the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday, in which he and fellow NBA legend Earl Monroe have helped deliver “Draught Lottery Machines” to bars around Manhattan that offer Knicks fans a 14 percent chance to win a free Budweiser, i.e. the same odds the Knicks have at landing the No. 1 pick.
We caught up with Strickland last week, through Budweiser, to talk about Kyrie, his new job with the G League, that infamous hot dog incident during his days in Washington and what it was like to get a shout-out on one of the Wu Tang Clan’s biggest hits.
This is obviously going to be a big summer for the Knicks, with the chance to maybe land that number one pick and with Zion coming in, not to mention all the rumors about Kevin Durant and Kyrie. Is there an air of optimism around New York going into this summer?
Personally, I think there should be a lot of optimism. I think one thing you would want for your franchise is for them to put themselves in a position to have an opportunity to bring some top free-agents in. And that’s what the Knicks have done. And on top of that, the ability to have the top-three pick in the NBA Draft. So now, it’s just a matter of when July 1 comes, execute and try to leverage and bring some of those guys here. But I think there should be a lot of optimism. New York is a crazy city. Madison Square Garden is the best arena ever. A lot of history there, so I think this is an exciting time for the fans and the city.
Obviously it’s been a rough few years, and there’s been a lot of controversy around the team. What’s going to be the key to getting over that hump this summer, being able to, like you said, draw those big name players?
You get over that hump by getting those big name players. Basically, free agents, especially top free agents and guys who have already made a lot of money, they want to be in the winning environment. That’s why I think it’s just important. That’s basically what you’re going to sell as well as being in New York and what all New York has to offer. And then you have that special arena.
So I think you put those things together, and you go out there and you try to get the top two players you can possibly get. You have your young rookie coming in. I think there’s some young talent on the team. Put that together. If you get two top free agents, then basically there’s your contender. At least, in the Eastern Conference, there’s your contender. It’s just a matter of now trying to execute the plan.
I wanted to talk a little bit about what’s going on with your career, with the position you took with the G League last fall, with the new professional path program. How is that going so far, and what’s the next step for you going in to this summer?
I’m happy. I’m happy to be a part of the NBA family. I’m happy to be in the NBA office, learning basketball operations as well as overseeing the professional path select contract. And it’s just basically giving another option so kids trying to become pro, giving them the opportunity before the can become eligible to be drafted to possibly come into the G League and be a part of that $125,000 contract and with obviously higher player development, NBA player development. So, just looking forward to the future, looking forward to moving on. We’ll keep growing it and we’ll see what happens.
You’ve worked in player development before, as an assistant coach. Do you have an interest somewhere down the line returning to coaching, or is this position now with the G League sort of scratching that itch in maybe a different kind of way?
Yeah I think my position now is kind of scratching the itch in a different kind of way. I’ve been blessed. I’ve been able to play in the NBA for 17 years. I’ve been able to coach in college basketball for 11 years, and both at an extremely high level. And now I’m in the highest level you could possibly be in, being in the NBA office, being in basketball operations and learning everything that goes on and goes along with that.
So I think this is where I’m at, this is what I want to do. Honestly, at one point in time, I wanted to be a head coach, but after 11 years I decided to just move on to a different path. I’ve had some opportunities come to me recently for coaching positions, but that’s not really…the option is always open, I never close the door, but right now I’m very content, happy to be doing what I’m doing.
In terms of that work, that time that you spent under Coach Cal [John Calipari] mentoring guys like Tyreke [Evans] and Derrick Rose and John Wall, not to mention you have a close relationship with Kyrie, what does it mean to you today that when we talk about these guys, we often talk about you in those terms? We often talk about the influence that we can see from your game in their game.What does that mean to you?
Well, there’s obviously a great feeling, and it’s funny, now that I’ve retired I’ve gotten a lot of that, and I appreciate that because I think sometimes when we’re playing and going through it you almost don’t appreciate yourself. So to sit back and have people talk about what I’ve accomplished and then to be able to be a part of those young guys’ development. Because one thing I always tell people, we didn’t make those guys.
Those guys were special before they stepped on the court. D-Rose, John Wall, Tyreke, they all were special before they came into the universities with us. But just to be a part of that, to guide them along and help them along, that’s special. Because that’s what it’s really all about. I’ve been blessed with 17 years in the NBA. Now it’s time to give back. To me, that’s just a natural progression. And I love sharing my experiences with the young players.
Speaking of that relationship you have with Kyrie, what’s it been like for you to watch this Celtics series and all the struggles they’ve had?
Well, it was tough. I couldn’t deny that. It was tough to watch. I didn’t expect them to lose 4-1. I actually thought they’d have a chance to get to the NBA finals, and I think they have enough talent to compete with any team in the NBA. And then have a special player in Kyrie that can get them over the hump in crunch time. But it didn’t work out that way. It was hard to watch. But you move on. I think every player, I think if you go down in the history of the league, they all have their moments where it didn’t work out for them, or it didn’t go like they wanted it to go. And they all wound up being better for that. And I think that’s the same thing with Kyrie. I think it was a great experience, it was probably a hard experience, ’cause he’s a competitor, but I think now he gets the chance to sit back, evaluate where he’s at, and then go from there.
And now, he’s done so many great things in his career, at 27 years old. Now it’s time for him to get comfortable, to be in a competitive environment, to be happy, and honestly he’s a competitor, and he goes to win the championship. The best thing is that he’s in the position now that he kind of controls it. So I’m just looking forward to his decision and wherever he goes because wherever he’s at, that’s where he wants to be.
What do you think about the way the point guard position has evolved over the years? Now, we have more scoring point guards, and they’re so much bigger, and so much more physical. What have you seen in terms of the evolution of that position?
I don’t know if there’s a growth, or an evolution. I think it’s just change. I think it all comes back full circle; like now, for instance, we have this three-point barrage now. It’s almost like everyone is driving to the basket to kick it out to the three-point line, where before it was inside-out, and it’s all fine and good. But I think at some point in time that post-play will come back in. And I think it’s the same way with point guards. We have scoring point guards, and that’s kind of been the fad, but it will change around. They’ll understand the value of a different kind of player. I think sometimes we get caught up in the copy-cat situation, and everybody is doing the same thing. It started with, like, Mike D’Antonio, who came into the league and changed the game with his style. I think there is somebody like that coming around that will change the game back.
And it may not go totally back, obviously, I wouldn’t want it to go totally back. Because I’ve played three guards, three out and two in, and it was clogged up. So I like the way it looks now, but I think there’s some tinkering that will be done to the game. And I think having point guards like [Rajon] Rondo, that type of style, will be back. Because I think too much of the same thing is not good. And I think there’s time for change. I’ve watched Giannis just make a living in the paint, and sprinkle in a few threes. I think we get so caught up in that now, everyone has to be a three-point shooter. And I just don’t think that’s the way the game is meant to be. You have different guys that do different things that help your team win.
Sometimes because of what we play now, we put guys in a position that they’re not really comfortable at. And so I believe the game will change. I think we’ll see different kind of styles and different kinds of players at some point in time, hopefully in the near future.
Who have you been watching in the playoffs so far?
Well, obviously Boston, obviously Golden State. But I’m loving Denver right now, because I think they’re playing a different kind of style. You’ve got [Nikola] Jokic in there, who can do some things in that mid-range area and in the post. I like watching the guards in Portland; I like that series. Kawhi Leonard, who I mistakenly said he wasn’t a number one player, has been absolutely fantastic, so I like watching him. I think Philly, they have to undergo some changes as far as how they go about playing basketball, but it’s always good watching the young teams play. But I don’t know, I just like watching basketball. In fact, it doesn’t really matter which team, I think I get a lot, I get something from all of them. I love playoff time, because it means something. The game, the intensity kind of revs up, so I love this time of basketball.
How does it feel to be immortalized in a Wu Tang Clan song? [At the end of their mega-hit “Triumph,” Raekwon drops the lyric “Make ’em jump like Rod Strickland.”]
No, it’s crazy, because I get that a lot. Actually, in DC, a TV station just did a mini-documentary on me and they kind of used that, in Make ‘Em Jump. So, to have a group like that, one of the greatest rap groups ever, to put you in a song, kind of end the song with you, that’s there forever. So I get a kick out of that. It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing.
You talk a little bit in that doc about the infamous hot dog incident too. Do you still hear about that a lot? [Strickland once got ill on the sideline after indulging in some hot dogs before a game in Washington.]
Yeah, I do. But it’s so funny, the hot dog thing comes up a lot. My kids tease me about that. But it’s just one of those things I don’t think people really understand. I’m a true hooper; when I grew up playing basketball, I used to come to the games late, just to prove that I’d come to a game late. I’d wear Air Force Ones, just to prove I can beat you in Air Force Ones. So I just have a lot of those things about me.
So, me eating hot dogs and popcorn, now when I look back at it, that was my defiant moment. I can eat this hot dog and eat this popcorn, and I’m still going to play well. So I look at it now, and I’m like, “What were you thinking?” Because it’s the way they are, the way I am. I’m the ‘anti’ of all that, in the worst way. So it’s funny, because I always tell people, my answer to that is that I put up numbers. But that’s not something I would like obviously, or want to project.
It’s funny, you mentioned how much the nutrition and diet has changed, but was that even really much of a consideration in your day? Did people have their own personal chefs and nutritionists?
Yeah, I had a personal chef, but I still ate what I ate. So I think people were conscious of that, but I think now it’s obviously grown so much, teams are big on that. They have chefs. I think when I was playing late in my career, some teams would have chefs. But now every team has a chef. They eat certain types of food, and the drinks, and all types of vitamins, and what have you. So it’s totally different now.
How much of that is just being young? It seems like when you’re young and you’re in good shape you can kind of eat whatever you want. But obviously as you get older, it gets more difficult.
I think it’s just education. It’s about knowing. I think players know now because they’ve been taught that nutrition is beneficial, and so they watch what they eat. Back then, we didn’t have that. We didn’t have people come and telling us how, to the extreme it is now. It’s just about knowing.
