After the Hornets acquired Mike James last week, my main man Toney Blare was telling me about this insane interview dude had with SLAM Radio back in 2006, so I went and tracked it down.
You can listen to it over at SLAMonline.com.
Keep in mind that this interview went down just after James had wrapped up his career season, having averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists for the 27-55 Toronto Raptors.
You really have to listen to the whole interview to understand how awesome it is -- he even busts into a freestyle rap at the end -- but just in case you're in a hurry or have no ears, here are some of the best bits...
What people keep forgettin', you know, people laugh and joke because they not really payin' attention to what's in front of 'em. Because if they payin' attention to what's in front of 'em, they'd understand that every point guard that I played against in the NBA, you know what I mean, I've either outplayed them, or we've equaled each other out, throughout my career.
I'm gonna win two championships in the next three years.
I still don't get my credibility in this game, I still don't get my respect. My thing is people always say "Mike, you mad." My kid here from Toronto used to call me "The Angry Baller." People laugh at me, people joke with me. But my thing is this right here where I'm in the gym right now! I'm boxin', I'm gettin' a thousand jump shots up, right now, while everybody is in the club playin' around, takin' their sweet, while everybody is in the Bahamas gettin' rayed up and all that, gettin' rays, gettin' sun! Ugh.
Ask Steve Nash how does he feel when he play against me.
Almost as awesome is this YouTubed interview with James from late in that same season...
My favorite bit from that: I believe I'm like wine. You know, the older I get the better I'm gonna get.
Bonus linkage:
14 legendary comments post your own
Stefan
02/28/08 04:00 PM
This has nothing to do with mike, but I was just lookin at some videos of Bonzi from the 2006 playoff when he played with the Kings vs the Spurs. He DOMINATED the Spurs. They had to throw double teams his way! Go to this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uca66cK-WrA&feature=related
#1
ticktock6
02/28/08 04:48 PM
Wow. He brings the crazy, doesn't he?
hornetshype.com #2
Stefan
02/28/08 05:51 PM
Oh yeah he does. And did anybody here read the R2MVP on NBA.COM called "Sticking up for Derron Williams"? Its a bunch of bullshit about how D Will is better than Paul and Williams doesn't get enough credit. WTF!? I don't think Deron is half the player CP3 is. People are saying that if Paul is #2 in the MVP race, then Deron should be #1. How the fuck is that possible when he isn't even the franchise player on the Jazz. Its Carlos Boozer! Jazz fans need to shut the fCk up.
#3
T
02/28/08 09:36 PM
I guess Mike James is kind of mad and I hope he can put this in the right direction. I'm a little bit concerned right now.
#4
Fartman
02/28/08 10:26 PM
Damn after that movie I gained some respect for the guy. You need to cut off all the words that sound cocky and remember about the whole subject that he is talking about. He says that he will be who he is and no one talking stuff about him can make him change what kind of a human he is. It's kind of the words that we heard from Tupac when he was alive, he said also that he cant be resposible for a whole collective of people, he is just one person and the burn he is getting is becuase he ain't trying to be someone else. He doesn't want to please anybody and a team that traded for him has to know what kind of a player he is, and I guess that BS actually knew who he was trading for, we needed scoring off the bench and Mike James fits Byron's scenario in a great way because he is a small shooter who will add up some assists to the boxscore each night. If Byron will play him the way this guy thinks he is good at then we'll be really happy with the aquisition of Mike James. He knows what he is capeable of doing, he knows what the people are expecting of him but stays true to his beliefs and to who he is on the court and who he wants to be. I think he just needs to be placed in a good scenario and he will blossom. Don't expect him to be a true point guard tho, even if he says that he wants to get as many assists as possible he will still be a shoot first type of player and that's what we needed, Scoring. We'll see how it turns out for Mike James.
www.ejkiewicz.com #5
Steve H
02/29/08 12:52 AM
Cocky works just fine for me- I'm not looking to adopt the guy- I want to see him sparking our bench squad- so wildly self confident is better than the alternative. More importantly, we are locked into this guy for the next two and a half seasons. Pargo has been awsome when hes not playing terrible, but we need to shift the 2nd team offensive focus onto Bonzi and Mike. I have posted this before-I don't see anyway we get to keep Pargo after this season. He has a player option to go elsewhere, and is sure to be looking to make at least Rasul Butler money for his fine work this season, and we won't have it to pay after re-signing Wells, Andersen, and locking down CP3 for the restof his life. James and Wells, Armstrong and Andersen, and either Pargo or Wright or Bowen depending on the situation as our second unit. That is a fast line up that should be able to press the tempo, and I love the idea of Hilton AND Birdman patroling the lane, swatting every other shot into the stands.
#6
Rob (Sec. 110)
02/29/08 07:08 AM
He is funny! No wonder he has been labled with a bad attitude.
#7
Ron Hitley
02/29/08 07:11 AM
He needs two championships in the next two years to fulfill his promise. Let's hope he can do that with the Hornets.
www.hornets247.com #8
shane
02/29/08 09:08 AM
Hey guys new to this blog. What's up? Quickly on Mike James I do not know him personally or if he isa goodlocker room guy. He certainly can do one thing and that is play the game of basketball. He has done things to the "best" in the game that left me shaking my head whynobody who needed a point guard (i.e. knicks) would have gone after him. If a team needs a point guard for a playoff run--nuggets he is tremendous.
#9
Ron Hitley
02/29/08 09:27 AM
Thanks shane. I do like the fire that MJ has. He sounds like a tougher dude than I expected, which is good since we gave up some toughness (Bobby Jackson) in the trade.
www.hornets247.com #10
Chris Trew
02/29/08 11:26 AM
This actually makes me feel better.
www.christrew.com #11
Brian Spencer
03/01/08 04:07 AM
Mr. James was an absolute bull with the Detroit Pistons when they won the title. Loved it when he was paired with Lindsey Hunter in the backcourt; they caused some serious havoc and were a big part of the title run. Seems like he's just fallen off, though, since that monster (stats) year in Toronto. I mean, he's now on his third team in like 2 seasons. Players don't bounce around like that w/o good reason....
www.emptythebench.com #12
Lang Whitaker
03/01/08 04:15 AM
Hey guys, glad to see the Mike James interview has resurfaced. We knew he had some stuff to say that day, but we had no idea he had all that in him. Asgreat as he was, I was just trying not to laugh throughout most of it.
www.slamonline.com #13
drew lowry
03/03/08 07:34 AM
Good luck with iron mike boys!Ask mo pete about this guy. He was tough in Toronto, but he put up a lot of shots ( made larry hughes look like he was on the bench ) and had tons of lip when it came to his skills, but we are finding out that the Raptors did a great thing by letting him go, and contrary to mike james`s quote " they will be sorry " we ain`t. So enjoy Hornets fans, cause he will onlybooster your bench and thats about it.
#14