Larry Brown, Former NBA & CBB Champion Coach

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He won a championship with the Detroit Pistons back in 2004, and he's the only coach to ever coach a team to an NCAA championship and also a NBA championship as well, and that is the Hall of Famer in Larry Brown. Coach, always great to hear your voice. Thanks so much for doing this, and how you been? I'm good, Zach. I'm good.

Well, I appreciate you coming on. You know, I was actually talking about your 2004 Pistons team last week because we were talking about some of our favorite teams to ever win a championship as we had that long layoff until the finals finally got underway. When you look back all these years later about coaching that group in Detroit that won it all, what comes back to mind and what made that group so special? Well, one, I was lucky to follow Rick Carlisle and then work for Joe Dumas and have an owner like, you know, Bill Davidson, but, you know, I took over nine teams in the NBA. Only one had a winning record, and that was Detroit, and, you know, the team had good values because they played for a good coach prior to us getting there. And, you know, what I remember most is we split in LA.

You know, that was the format 2-3-2, which is really not the best format, I think. We wouldn't game one, and then we're up three in game two with limited seconds on the clock, and, you know, Phil calls a timeout, and I tell the team I think we should foul, and they all look at me like I'm crazy, you know, because we never hack-a-shack, you know, Shaquille. We never fouled, you know, to keep people from shooting a three to tie a game, but, you know, we kind of knew Kobe's going to take the final shot, and he usually makes it, and they all looked at me and shook their head. No, we don't foul, coach, and then I said, all right, what if they throw it to Shaq, and then they all looked around and said, all right, if they throw to Shaq, we'll foul, and then they huddle up after that, and I knew they were saying we ain't fouling, and then they threw to Shaq, and Shaq hit Kobe, Kobe hit a three, and we lose, so instead of going up 2-0, we're 1-1, and flying back, you know, we got the fly charter, and the players were up front, and the coaches were back, and I went up, and I apologized to the team. I said, you know, we should have fouled. It was my fault, and they all looked at me and told me to get back to my seat, because we're not coming back to LA.

It's a wonderful story. The Hall of Famer Larry Brown here with us. Rashid Wallace, I actually heard Andre Iguodala do an interview, it was two, three years ago, with Dan Leberthardt and Stu Gatz, and Andre Iguodala said, if Rashid Wallace played in today's NBA, he'd be a top five player.

Is that something you agree with? Do you think Rashid's game would have done even better in this era of the NBA? I thought he was a top five player when I had him, but, you know, the game's changed so much.

I don't know. I don't really understand it, to be honest, when half the shots you take are three-pointers. I kind of don't understand, but Rashid, you know, he's a lot like Anthony Davis. You know, he can go outside, he could make a three, he could get in the post and hurt anybody that's trying to guard him on the block. He's athletic enough to switch, because the NBA, if you watch the game, all they do is try to get a ball screen or a pin down to create a mismatch, and then drive and kick or, you know, hopefully get it all the way to the rim. But you need big guys that are mobile enough to switch and keep people in front, and they value a big person that can shoot outside as well as, you know, post up if the opportunity presents itself.

Rashid could do all those things. You know, he's a great defender, a good rebounder, great passer, and maybe one of the most misunderstood players. You know, every teammate or every coach that ever coached him loved him like I did. Do you feel that same way, obviously a different player, but with Allen Iverson, that he was a little bit misunderstood as well? I don't know if he was misunderstood. You know, when I was coaching him, he was probably the most popular player in the NBA.

I don't care, you know, you can talk about Michael or all of them. You know, everybody could identify with Allen, you know, because he was smaller and people beat him up, but he never complained and got up. I think he led the league in scoring three or four times when I was with him. Everywhere we played, there were so many people cheering for him.

The misunderstood part is, you know, this whole practice thing. And if you ask most of the players that played for me, they would probably tell you they thought I was the devil because we did practice a lot. You know, Allen wanted to play 48 minutes every game, and practice wasn't one of his things. But, you know, when it came game time, he was so competitive and wanted to win so badly.

So, I don't know. I think if you ask most kids, they'd tell you he was their favorite player. And when I left the pros and went back to college, every AAU event I went to, every small kid wore number three, had cornrows, and had a sleeve on his arm.

And I think that was just because of Allen. I actually know one of those intramural teams that you would sometimes see, Matt Sherman. I don't know if he had cornrows and a number three, but I remember when you weren't coaching, you were actually coaching an intramural team for my buddies, Matt Sherman and then AJ Marshall. You know, that was really something, coach, that, you know, NBA, college, and there you are coaching in a youth league when you're out of a job. Well, I always wanted to be a high school coach and teach American history and really coach all sports.

You know, I don't know if people remember the Chip Hilton series, but Claire V wrote this series about a great athlete who lost his dad. He played all three sports and his coach coached all three sports, and I thought that would kind of be a pretty good career path for me, but, you know, I was lucky. I played for some amazing coaches and had some amazing coaches sit next to me, and, you know, my career kind of took a different path, but I think that the most fun I ever had in coaching, to be honest, was when I was Coach Smith's assistant, when they only had two assistants, and I got to coach the freshman team.

I learned how to coach, and I think that was, you know, a time in my life that I really, you know, looked back on it and thought it was unbelievable. Now, if you're a college coach, you're coaching pros, you know, and I don't know how they're going to sustain that. I don't know how, you know, these non-reverning sports are going to make it, and I don't know how you can follow a team because the personnel is going to change every year. It's going to be kind of crazy. With that being said, as the Hall of Famer Larry Brown is here with us, Dan Hurley has a decision to make.

Do you leave UConn where you just won two national championships and go take the Laker job, or do you say, how would you react if Danny Hurley elected to go take the Lakers job? Temp check. What kind of summer are we having this year? A family road trip summer? A beach bump summer?

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TuneIn is the audio platform with something for everyone. News. In order to secure convictions in a court of law, it is essential that we conclusively. Sports. The clock at four. Doncic.

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Go to TuneIn.com or download the TuneIn app to start listening. You know, I don't think you would take it if we didn't have NIL and, you know, the portal. I don't think you'd even consider it, to be honest.

But it's so different now. You know, I think when you hear, see Coach Saban retire, and you hear Tom Izzo's remarks, I think it's not out of the question that he would consider it. I think it would be a huge plus for the Lakers and a huge loss for college basketball, because, you know, that whole family is pretty special.

The dad doesn't get enough credit. You know, he might have been one of the greatest coaches ever and an unbelievable human being. But, you know, I think we'd lose a lot losing, Danny, you know, to the NBA.

But I couldn't blame him for leaving, you know, because, you know, I spent three months at the University of Washington early in the summer, and they had a big portal turnover, and they had a huge NIL deal going with different players, and I didn't think it was fair. I don't, you know, I'm not against kids making money. I would hope every kid that goes to college could go like my children. You know, if they needed a free meal, if they needed, you know, clothes, you know, they never had a problem worrying about where the next penny was coming from. But I wish if we were going to pay them, you put the money in escrow and, you know, let them use the money when they're finished, because they're all not going to make the NBA and earn a living playing. And the amount of money you make, you know, with these NIL deals, you spend it over the course of your life, it's not a lot of money.

But each kid should be able to go to college and, you know, be like a normal student. When I went, we got $15 a month laundry money and weren't allowed to work. And when we got that $15 check, it was a lot of money. $15 check, it was like hitting a home run. So now, you know, some of these colleges, it's $15 couldn't even get you two slices of pizza now, coach. Let's be real.

Yeah. But your college education, when I was at SMU, it was 80,000 to go to SMU. You could get a Pell Grant. You could get a cost of living allowance. You could get a clothing allowance. You could work while you go into school. The value of the education was unbelievable. You had health care.

You had every opportunity going. And then getting a degree was huge. Now, if you transfer a lot of these schools, you need 60 hours to get a degree from school.

You know, you can't just transfer like to Wake Forest in your senior year and expect to get a degree in these 60 hours from Wake Forest. And I think that troubles me a little bit. Wrapping up with the Hall of Famer, Larry Brown, who's kind enough to join us on the Zach Gelb show. You know, the question becomes, since Danny is a demanding coach and he has a bit of a quirky personality, how would that work coaching professionals?

Do you think there'd be a big adjustment for him if he did take the Lakers job? Yeah, I mean, it's an adjustment for everybody, you know, going from college to pro, but the, you know, the college games becoming more and more like the pro game, the style of play, you know, but he's a great coach. I think players, you know, I don't want to talk too much, but, you know, every time I took a new job, I tell my staff the first couple of days are really important because, you know, we got to show the players we can coach and they'll know after two practices whether we coach or not. And they said, oh yeah, that's the most important thing. I said, no, the second thing is, you know, we got to show them that, you know, they can win with us. And they said, oh yeah, that's really important. And then the third thing, you know, I told them, if we do a good job with them, they'll know they can make more money. And they all said, oh, definitely that's the most important. And I said, no, the most important thing is that we can show them that we care about them and that'll trump everything. And I think Dan would have no problem showing them that. What was your takeaway by the way? Last night, NBA finals is the Celtics gave it pretty good to the Dallas Mavericks to go up 1-0.

You know, I played golf a lot and all the caddies always asked me who I think was, is going to win. And I always, I told everybody, I thought Boston was great, but if they didn't have Pozingis, you know, I thought that might be the difference. You know, I thought Jason had Dallas playing great. But I thought Pozingis was kind of an extra factor because I didn't know Boston's depth was as good as maybe Dallas, but watching last night, that blew me away. He was sensational. Yeah. I was, I was shocked how that game turned out, but you know, I think both coaches have done amazing jobs with those teams and I think it's going to be a fun series, but if Pozingis plays that way, the depth of Boston is not an issue because, you know, Hartford either becomes a starter or a bench player and that adds to their depth.

So that might be a factor, but it's hopefully it'll be a great series. Last thing I'll ask you, Larry Brown, as you know, I lived in Philly for seven years and I know the weight your name still carries there. And Bede, we know what he is. He's a phenomenal player.

Tyrese Maxey had a sensational season. The Sixers still trying to find that other guy to complete that team. Some people have talked about LeBron. I don't think LeBron is going there. How about your view on the future of the 76ers? I was there for Allen's unveiling of the statue, which is too small, right?

They needed to make that statue just a little bit bigger. Yeah, they ought to make it about 511, 160 pounds, but they got a great coach. They have good ownership. You know, I think Harris is better than people.

People think, um, you know, they added some experience with the tune and buddy healed. You know, I think they're a great team of Joel can stay in shape, um, and keep from, you know, being hurt. But, uh, you know, I, I love the future of the Sixers. Um, when you have a, a guard that's growing like Maxey and, and then you have a center like Joel, you can fit in and find the right pieces. But they certainly have an unbelievable coach and, you know, I, I hope they continue to do well, but think about it. I, you know, look at all the injuries the Knicks had. Yeah. I met Bogdanovich Robinson, Randall.

I mean, it was, yeah, it was, it was unbelievable. And I'm not so sure if they were completely healthy that they might had a chance to win the championship, but teams are getting better. Um, but I'll, you know, I'm just hopeful that, you know, we don't see so many people moving around so we can learn to cheer for people.

He's the hall of Famer Larry Brown coach. Always great to hear your voice. Thanks so much for doing this.

Good health. All right. Thanks. There you go. The great Larry Brown joining us on the Zach Gelb show.

Always love when we get a chance to connect with him. Tune in is the audio platform with something for everyone news in order to secure convictions in a court of law. It is essential that we conclusively sports, the step back three music, and even podcasts, whatever you love, hear it right here on tune in, go to tune in.com or download the tune in app to start listening. Tired of sifting through countless supplements, unsure of what's actually effective introducing Legion, the choice of over 800,000 discerning fitness enthusiasts with all natural products, clinically effective ingredients, doses, and hassle-free money back guarantee. You can achieve your fitness goals without the unnecessary guesswork. Say goodbye to wasted efforts and hello to results with Legion.

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