Streetball Legend Adrian “A-Butta” Walton: From Rucker Park to Real Life

[SPEAKER_00]: Today, on Misunderstood with Rachel Yucca-Tao.
[SPEAKER_02]: Rucca Park in New York City now is a landmark.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's very legendary.
[SPEAKER_02]: So many players and people have came through the Rock Apart Fat Joe, Jay-Z, Kobe Bryant Rest in Peace, Alan Iverson.
[SPEAKER_02]: Vince Carter, he came to play a rucker in 1999.
[SPEAKER_02]: I was 17 years old, my first year of playing in rucker.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I had 40 points on the NBA rookie of the year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_02]: That is how I became legendary.
[SPEAKER_02]: I played on all levels of basketball, streetball, high school, college.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know professionals, I've played professionals.
[SPEAKER_02]: I have access and resources as professionals.
[SPEAKER_02]: Every kid is not going to make it to the NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm always teaching people how to learn how to be better within themselves.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I don't like to tell people what to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: I just like to tell and direct people where to go.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that you can find how to figure out who you are and how you can be used.
[SPEAKER_02]: We think that there's no opportunities out there.
[SPEAKER_02]: And when we don't realize there's infinite possibilities within us.
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome back to Misunderstood.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host, Rachel Yucatel.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, most of us grew up thinking of basketball as what we saw on TV.
[SPEAKER_01]: The NBA March Madness may be a local high school game, but in Harlem, New York, there's another arena that's just as legendary and may be even more raw.
[SPEAKER_01]: The black top at Rucker Park.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not just a court, it's a stage of proving ground and a place where reputations are made in front of a roaring crowd.
[SPEAKER_01]: And right in the middle of that world was Adrian A butta Walton.
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't know his name yet, you will definitely feel his impact in this interview.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a street ball star at Rucker, a player whose game and presence drew crowds, inspired future NBA pros, and helped cement Harlem as the heartbeat of basketball culture.
[SPEAKER_01]: But Adrian's story isn't just about flashy moves or highlight reals, it's about pressure, resilience.
[SPEAKER_01]: And what it means to succeed when the spotlight is brutal and the crowd will either crown you or crush you in a single game.
[SPEAKER_01]: Today Adrian has a new book out called a whole lot of game from Rucker to revenue, where he takes the lessons of the court, how to perform under pressure, how to read people, how to bounce back and translate them into real life and business.
[SPEAKER_01]: His journey proves that Streetball wasn't just a side show, it was a classroom.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the lessons he learned there apply to anyone who's ever had to earn the respect fight for the opportunity or turn a tough break into a new lane.
[SPEAKER_01]: This isn't just a basketball story.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a story about grit, identity, and finding your voice in a world that doesn't always hand you the mic.
[SPEAKER_01]: Adrian, thank you so much for joining me today on misunderstood how are you?
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm doing good.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for having me, Ms. Rachel, good to see you.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's great to see you.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so excited you're here.
[SPEAKER_01]: I pretty much can tell you, probably 75% of the people listening to my show, do not know anything about streetball.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm so excited to get into it with you.
[SPEAKER_01]: But before we tell that story and explain your whole history with it and promote your book, I just want to hear a little bit about you growing up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Can you tell our listeners what your life was like?
[SPEAKER_01]: How many siblings you had, where you grew up,
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, my name is Adrian and I grew up in Harlem, New York City.
[SPEAKER_02]: I have two brothers, I lost a brother already to gun violence.
[SPEAKER_02]: I grew up in Harlem, you know, poverty.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, really trying to strive and really trying to understand, you know, what was my place in my city.
[SPEAKER_02]: And from there, I kind of like found basketball, basketball with something that, you know, allow me to kind of like, escape poverty.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I kind of like, you know, became a legend in New York City, which is kind of hard to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I did it at the early age at the age of 17.
[SPEAKER_01]: Amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we talk a little bit about your losing your brother for a second?
[SPEAKER_01]: How old were you and how old was he when he died?
[SPEAKER_02]: I was about let's say 12 13.
[SPEAKER_02]: My brother was about 21 22.
[SPEAKER_02]: He had me about eight years and again this was something I was close with in my family.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, he was killed by a close family member.
[SPEAKER_02]: But again, my brother being a person that he was in the streets.
[SPEAKER_02]: the person kind of like got off on self-defense.
[SPEAKER_02]: It was in their home.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, that kind of like changed me out of young age, you know, looking at what was in the streets and what the streets was all about.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, I kind of like shot away and, you know, stayed away from it, but didn't really stay away from it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Cause again, today I have a podcast out name, streets first.
[SPEAKER_01]: Got it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Got it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, how did you first get into basketball?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like in school was it offered as a sport that they teach you or you really had to go to the streets to kind of just play around?
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the basketball kind of like starts where they call this thing called AAU.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, I was fortunate in New York City to play for two powerhouses, which was New York City,
[SPEAKER_02]: you know, allowed a safe haven for kids to come and be able to get into Catholic schools if they were talented or prep schools and these places were paid for because of being a nonprofit.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, a lot of this stuff that I learned that a young age, I'm realizing today at an older age is good to try to like understand what financial literacy and being an entrepreneur is all about because in my community, that's what people were doing before me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: I get it.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
[SPEAKER_01]: So for listeners who don't know, can you tell us exactly what is street ball and how is it different from regular basketball?
[SPEAKER_02]: So street ball is, you know, I'll give you a great example.
[SPEAKER_02]: Most people might have heard of Anne one.
[SPEAKER_02]: Most people might have heard of Rucopalk.
[SPEAKER_02]: Rucopalk in New York City now is a landmark.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's, you know, if you heard of Yankee Stadium or if you heard of Madison Square Goat and I'm quite sure if you heard of Rucopalk Fat Joe, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kobe Bryant, Rest in Peace.
[SPEAKER_02]: So Alan Ivison, so many players and people have came through to Rucopalk through this one tournament at the time, which was named EBC into Tainus Basketball Classic.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, EBC was kind of like formed and like the 1980s, if I'm not mistaken, and then it kind of like went on and tell about the late
[SPEAKER_02]: 2010s about Costa 2010 and then it became like the entertainers after the owner Greg Marius he passed away.
[SPEAKER_01]: Got it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Where in Manhattan is it located?
[SPEAKER_02]: This is located on 155th and 8th Avenue, Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, I became a legendary Vince Carter that just became a hold of Famer and NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: He came to play a rucker in 1999.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I was 17 years old, my first year playing in Rucker, and I have 40 points on the NBA rookie of the year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that is how I became legendary.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that is what streetball can do.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, why do you think Rucker Park became so famous?
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, rest in peace to Greg Marriott.
[SPEAKER_02]: He created a platform where he wanted to bring the culture together, meaning he wanted to show the world how to get the politicians, the hip hop, you know, the street guys, everybody to come together.
[SPEAKER_02]: And it also gave opportunities to a kid like me that
[SPEAKER_02]: went to alternative school or public school and wasn't fortunate to have enough money to go to Catholic school.
[SPEAKER_02]: These things matter and basketball because of exposure.
[SPEAKER_02]: Again, when AAU came in, AAU now gave you a chance to
[SPEAKER_02]: leave New York City and go play in other tournaments against other competition, which is about exposure.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, New York City was great food for powerhouses like new gout shows and riverside church to create what they created for kids like myself.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, Greg Marriott's kind of like followed that path.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, he had people like Beyonce,
[SPEAKER_02]: I just want to tell you, I don't know no president that will put a streetball tournament on the high-cinerary.
[SPEAKER_02]: Bill Clinton came to watch the games at Rooka Park.
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow, wow.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's because it had such well-known name, or because the ball that was being played was so elite.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it was all the players.
[SPEAKER_02]: If you played in the NBA, you wanted to come to play in this tournament.
[SPEAKER_02]: And mind you, this is concrete, this is outside outdoors.
[SPEAKER_02]: But again, it's the feeling that you want.
[SPEAKER_02]: If you've ever been to Madison Square Garden, and when you hit the shot, the crowd is so loud, you feel that if you go to the Rucker Park, everybody that comes from around the world, they go and they just visit that park, they go and stand in there and take pictures.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's very legendary.
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: So here's what I want to understand because I've heard it has like MCs and music and so it's more of a whole cultural thing to like Chris Brown started.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh wow.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: So so for paint paint a picture like if you're coming down the street on 8th Avenue and you're coming up 150th and you get to 155th.
[SPEAKER_01]: Explain it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Tell us the sound, the sights, the smells like what do we what are we seeing when we come down the street?
[SPEAKER_02]: So by the time you get to 150-50, you're probably going to see a bunch of people standing on a line and you might see the line wrapping around the corner.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I mean, these people, the games doesn't start until six o'clock.
[SPEAKER_02]: These people know to come and get a line, two, three o'clock.
[SPEAKER_02]: Depending on who they're saying is going to play, these lines can be wrapped around the corner and you can be on that line for two, three.
[SPEAKER_02]: I was just to make sure that you get a good seat.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, if you know that you're coming in there to get a good seat to see a game, they also know to make sure that they have entertainers.
[SPEAKER_02]: So in between a half time of a game, you might start, you might see a Chris Brown or a Tiana Taylor.
[SPEAKER_02]: And these at the time, we didn't know you know who these people were, but look who they became.
[SPEAKER_02]: and a lot of talent, you know, bow while even came, you know, would you mean to pre-when he was a little kid?
[SPEAKER_02]: And you can find all of these things on EBC's Rucker Page on Instagram.
[SPEAKER_01]: But when you say they're like performing, are they doing like a halftime show?
[SPEAKER_01]: Or if they just have the mic during the whole thing and they're just talking.
[SPEAKER_02]: No, they come on a, come on a halftime and they perform this song or they perform
[SPEAKER_02]: I was playing in a game and this guy did a halftime song and then turned around today, and that's Chris Brown.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what that platform created.
[SPEAKER_02]: It gave a chance for regular people to become iconic.
[SPEAKER_02]: Who would have a thought that a streetball tournament would be able to do that?
[SPEAKER_01]: That's amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: So now, so I'm still picturing it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Is it a fence thin and people are?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: So basically it's like a regular playground in New York City.
[SPEAKER_02]: You have a lot of what you call NYC City in parks.
[SPEAKER_02]: So a lot of parks are filled with playgrounds and then they have a basketball court and maybe a tennis court.
[SPEAKER_02]: So the basketball court is normally fined stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: So now you have all of this fencing and the people that run the tournament, they kind of like put security and fencing all around the basketball court to make sure like the crowd can't get on the court.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, when you got all of these people scoring, I'm talking about you get the hair, do you miss the shadow anything a player or a fan is right there in your face.
[SPEAKER_01]: right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I got it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: And it's very intense.
[SPEAKER_01]: Is it one core or you have a couple games going on?
[SPEAKER_02]: No, it's just one core.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's always one core, one game.
[SPEAKER_01]: Got it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, tell me about how they're who are the organ is like who's organizing the game, who's who's deciding who's playing, who like explain is it like a real game in terms of again.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's nowadays, it's for, let's say there might be a pot, there might be a prize.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a girl by the name of Queen of Harlem.
[SPEAKER_02]: He has a tournament in New York City, Cole Bowling up in Harlem, and the prize is 100,000.
[SPEAKER_02]: I back then used to play for seven foot trophies, so this is how streetball now has evolved.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is why financial literacy is very important even in streetball, but again, when I first was playing, you had
[SPEAKER_02]: seven foot trophies as the prize.
[SPEAKER_02]: So because that was the prize, you know, you would have the owner, he probably would have different sponsors like Hot 97, Death Jam, you know, Rough Riders, Tyrosquaw.
[SPEAKER_02]: So when he first started, because it was a street tournament, he dealt with rap groups.
[SPEAKER_02]: The rap groups turned into rap labels.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is when Puff Daddy and Terrosquad and Jay-Z started to get into the tournament.
[SPEAKER_02]: And then the rap groups turned into the labels wanting to have a part of it.
[SPEAKER_02]: So Dave Jam came in and he grew with the different sponsorships.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what streetball is all about.
[SPEAKER_02]: sponsorships getting involved with these non-profit so these businesses.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, today you have Joy and Brand, you have 19, they all sponsor like the tournament to New York City.
[SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, this is why I said, we could teach a little bit more financial literacy because if we shown where the game is going, this girl, Queen of Harlem, she's went from
[SPEAKER_02]: 30,000 as the prize to 50,000 as the prize to just this summer, it was 100,000 and half of that money automatically goes to the coach.
[SPEAKER_02]: The players get to split this money the other half, but half of her money, half of the prize, if you win the championship, the money goes half of the money goes to the coach.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so now explain the kids that are playing because you this is how you got famous.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is how you became a legend.
[SPEAKER_01]: You were young when you were doing all this.
[SPEAKER_01]: So do you just show up at the court during the day and try and get involved in a pick-up again?
[SPEAKER_02]: If you start, if you start young like I said, most people would know who you are your talent because you're either playing with powerhouse A, use or you're playing in a top high school or you're playing in.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again,
[SPEAKER_02]: I was fortunate, you know, to go from graphic arts to playing for Milford Academy, and that is a prep school, and I was able to go from prep school to get a scholarship to go to for them University.
[SPEAKER_02]: I verbally committed to University of Miami, but I wound up having a daughter at 17, so I wound up choosing to go to for them to stay home to be close to my daughter.
[SPEAKER_01]: Amazing.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I was just saying that this is how you're able to get on to these teams, most people would already know you.
[SPEAKER_02]: And if they're paying an entry fee to get into these tournaments, so safer instance, they'll say the tournament is worth for the seven foot trophies.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you want to make sure that you're getting it.
[SPEAKER_02]: You probably plan 2500, 3500 to get your team.
[SPEAKER_02]: So.
[SPEAKER_02]: Again, with streetball, there's no union, so if you really want to win, you got to have a budget to get the top players in the city to play for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: I see.
[SPEAKER_01]: I see.
[SPEAKER_01]: What if I told you that the idea that you only get parasites when you travel to some exotic country is flat wrong.
[SPEAKER_01]: Millions of Americans carry parasites right now, often
[SPEAKER_01]: For example, it's estimated that millions in the United States have been exposed to toxicara, a parasitic worm, yet most never even know it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Paracites do not need a plain ticket.
[SPEAKER_01]: They can enter through tap water, sushi, under cooked foods, or contaminated produce.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some strains live in all stages.
[SPEAKER_01]: Eggs, larva, adults, hidden in your gut, releasing toxins that sabotage your energy and digestion.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's why I'm excited about Parify.
[SPEAKER_01]: Kim Rogers 30 day full spectrum parasite cleanse.
[SPEAKER_01]: The kit works by clearing parasites, worms, Candida and heavy metals, targeting parasites in all life stages, supporting gut health, detox pathways and toxin removal.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's taken orally daily for 30 days with precise dosing.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm actually doing it myself right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: I started with the lymph cleanse than I'm doing the purify.
[SPEAKER_01]: Want to dive deep?
[SPEAKER_01]: I did a full interview with Kim Rogers, the warm queen herself, where we expose all the myths.
[SPEAKER_01]: Understand the facts and show how to protect your body.
[SPEAKER_01]: Listen to that episode if you haven't already.
[SPEAKER_01]: Meanwhile, go to Rogershood.com and use the code Rachel to get 10% off of your order.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's our ACAGL for 10% off.
[SPEAKER_01]: Give it a try.
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe your body's missing link is hiding inside.
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's do this together.
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, it's Rogershood.com, R-O-G-E-R-S-H-O-D.com and use the code Rachel for 10% off.
[SPEAKER_01]: and so like the coach every year is scouting for these new hot young talented kids or are the kids kind of coming every day and trying to show themselves.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I get it that they're well known for the most part, but if the coach wants to put together the best team, how hard is it every year to get to get picked to be on the team?
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, you have to be in at the winning.
[SPEAKER_02]: You got to make sure that you're Eva's like you said, scouting, which is high school or AAU teams.
[SPEAKER_02]: Or again, now what we were talking about when it comes to the Rucker, they have a high school division, and they also have an unlimited division.
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you're talented at 16, 17, 18, you might be able to play on a team and unlimited.
[SPEAKER_02]: So at the time, I was young and I was able to play on a limited at 17 years old.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, that's when you start getting paid.
[SPEAKER_02]: And as you can see today, look with that turned into N-I-L, name, image and likeness.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, you know, if you have an image of coming in playing in these type of tournaments, this also gives you an advantage going into college because now people are
[SPEAKER_02]: getting no variety for a while before you.
[SPEAKER_02]: So it even helps you now going into college.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, I get it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So explain, and I, I'll just briefly, I know you said name image and likeness, but we did a whole episode on this, so for people that don't understand, can you talk a little bit about that?
[SPEAKER_01]: And is it something that is being applied to streetball kids right now?
[SPEAKER_02]: So, yes, right now, name, image and likeness, which is NIO is basically about, you know, you are the product, you are the person and how could you get paid off of that with different people knowing that the notoriety and following comes from you.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, again, a lot of young kids today, there, before they even go into college, they're able to get,
[SPEAKER_02]: hypothetically speaking in their communities, businesses that may know about them and being ranked in, you know, what colleges that's looking at them, the sign them, those businesses can now get those, pay those kids to promote their businesses in order for them to accept that check.
[SPEAKER_02]: And before that,
[SPEAKER_02]: that wasn't legal.
[SPEAKER_02]: You weren't allowed to do that.
[SPEAKER_02]: Again, only the universities were able to sell your jersey and you were the star and talent you still couldn't get paid off of that.
[SPEAKER_02]: So now universities are paying kids that are top talent to come to their school knowing that this is a package deal of what you can get in order for you to now not have to even, you know,
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe make it to the NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: You now have an opportunity to, and that's a great thing if you ask me because from where we came from, we are the talent.
[SPEAKER_02]: So we should be able to get paid off of our talent, but again, understand and, you know, financial literacy and learning these things, these things adds on to helping us as we go further.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: So you have a new book called out.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's called a whole lot of game.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why did you decide to write it now of all times?
[SPEAKER_02]: I kind of like wanted to wait.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, you know, I took my time and trying to learn when it was time to tell the story.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I felt that
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, this is the perfect time.
[SPEAKER_02]: I grew up in the era where the game was to be sold, not to be towed, and I think that we're living in an information warfare game right now.
[SPEAKER_02]: So free game is always helpful.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, the more knowledge that we know, the more misunderstood misinformation we won't believe.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, I'm very key in knowing that I've played on all levels of basketball,
[SPEAKER_02]: I know professionals.
[SPEAKER_02]: I've played professionals.
[SPEAKER_02]: I have access and resources as professionals.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, how does that help the student athlete today realize that the word pro means professional?
[SPEAKER_02]: Every kid is not going to make it to the NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: How do I expose them to learning other traits?
[SPEAKER_02]: which is part of being professional.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I use my platform just like I saw Greg Marius resting piece before me, try to figure out how to use your resources to be able to help the next generation educate them a little bit more on what they're getting ready to deal with and go into when it comes to real life.
[SPEAKER_02]: Right now, when you plan, it seems like everything is gonna go your way.
[SPEAKER_02]: but real life eventually hits us all.
[SPEAKER_02]: And this is just a little blueprint to let you know how to build and use your resources to be able to get over humps and get around detours.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, Adrian, I really think you're on to something there, because listen, I interview athletes all the time.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know plenty of them, and they are so focused and so driven when they are in a professional athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: And what ends up happening is after that, when they retire when they have to end their career for whatever reason, they are completely stuck, because they've lost their sense of purpose and they have no other skills.
[SPEAKER_01]: And a lot of them turn to drinking or drugs or get in trouble or get divorce because they're cheating on their wives or whatever.
[SPEAKER_01]: All sorts of things happen because temptation happens and they are living in this world in their head as now a has been because they are now a soccer dad instead of someone who hundreds of thousands of people are cheering for them and it becomes
[SPEAKER_01]: detrimental to their well-being to their mental health and it ends terribly.
[SPEAKER_01]: So you don't have to be a professional to understand that, you know, and go through that, to understand that you could be really good at something when you're younger and learn all these traits, but that learning financial literacy, like you talk a lot about, or learning purpose, learning other skills so that you can
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that that's amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that everybody should be reading your book.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's the key to make sure that I'm reaching out to all the student athletes and being able to help them see that, you know, I know I was a streetball legend, but again, I now have a book.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm an author.
[SPEAKER_02]: and that shall let you know that there is life after the basketball, and how do you teach them that we all have a story?
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, even though we all have a story, we still have more work to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's part of my work that how do I use my legendary status?
[SPEAKER_02]: to not just make people say, oh, my life, wow, he was nice.
[SPEAKER_02]: So he did this.
[SPEAKER_02]: So he did like, there is life after that.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, even though we might NBA players or guys, like you said, athletes, they might have found out what that gift was, but they might have not learned through the journey who they were.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's what I'm proud about that I'm trying to help the next generation.
[SPEAKER_02]: Don't just focus so much on your gift.
[SPEAKER_02]: Learn more and more about who you are and what more you can become as a human being and a person because this infinite possibilities and a lot of us that call ourselves dreamers and visionaries.
[SPEAKER_02]: Those are the people that I'm targeting.
[SPEAKER_02]: To be a dreamer and vision area, you have to also be a doer.
[SPEAKER_02]: I kind of like learned and always knew who I was and who I wanted to be and there's a lot of people out here that, you know, in poverty that comes from that they know who they want to be but they don't have like a pat, a guidance path, to teach them how to deal with adversity or how to, you know, use the people that you know versus just taking pictures with them and just getting likes.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, are you interviewing people and then trying to do business with them or you just want to talk to them?
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, there's little things that you can help people, you know, push a little bit more and that's what a whole lot of game is, you know, I'm giving out free game, you know, because there were a lot of people that
[SPEAKER_02]: I was exposed to that helped me see that there's more to me than just basketball.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so impressed.
[SPEAKER_01]: Are there a couple tips or tricks if you have anyone that's listening right now that is kind of stuck and having some issues and can't get from one spot to the next spot, like in writing your book or in your life, did you learn some things that you feel like are on the tip of your tongue of like, yeah, this is what everyone needs to be thinking about or start doing.
[SPEAKER_02]: One of the first things I would tell you is live, love, and serve every day.
[SPEAKER_02]: We all wake up and abundance is your birthright.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I feel like if you get right with God, watch your God get you right.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm always gonna preach to kids until the next generation.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of people tell you who God is, but now that we have all of this information out here, go try to learn who he is for yourself.
[SPEAKER_02]: And you may unlock something that's hidden within you.
[SPEAKER_02]: that, you know, you would be surprised about.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, if it's one thing that I want to help another person get to the next step, try to build with God because he's the only person that can reach you.
[SPEAKER_02]: I can tell you something that at the end of the day.
[SPEAKER_02]: was only really for me in my life.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, you know, love, that's the key.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, we all have to learn how to love and realize that we're stronger together.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm always teaching people how to learn how to be better within themselves.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I don't like to tell people what to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: I just like to tell and direct people with a go so that you can find how to figure out who you are and how
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm curious, looking back on your life, what are you proud of stuff?
[SPEAKER_01]: Your time on the court or like the impact that you're making now?
[SPEAKER_02]: I would say the impact that I'm making now.
[SPEAKER_02]: When I was playing basketball, I really didn't know who I was.
[SPEAKER_02]: I was kind of bigheaded and just excited about everyone knowing me and loving the fact that I was good.
[SPEAKER_02]: The more and more that I learned about who I was,
[SPEAKER_02]: I love basketball because it's a team sport and a team sport you think about other people.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, it's touching me a little bit more to stay within basketball and to stay within the culture and try to reach people and become better because I've watched a lot of people from poverty fall to that, you know, the streets kind of like with something that's hard to get away from and get over and a lot of us having realized that
[SPEAKER_02]: It's within us to do it, you know, but we just got to keep doing and I think that if they can see someone they came from that and they're still doing that our people are my people is used to
[SPEAKER_02]: witness in something versus hearing, right?
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of my people don't go to church.
[SPEAKER_02]: So because I go to church, I try to say it from both sides to reach my people the same way I'm talking to you just like a regular person, but you can hear the godly words and I'm what I'm saying.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't have to say the exact verses and the church words in order for you to understand it.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, I
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm more proud about what I'm doing today because again, I know that I'm here for a reason I'm still being used as a person that's from the streets that's trying to teach the people if you can go through the streets first you can get anywhere you can become anything and I'm an example of that I'm living proof of what that God does exists.
[SPEAKER_02]: He can turn things around.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love that.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: If Streetball, I have a good question for you, like a fun couple questions.
[SPEAKER_01]: If Streetball had a Hall of Fame, who deserves to be in it with you?
[SPEAKER_02]: One person I would say right off the top is Ray for Austin.
[SPEAKER_02]: He made it to the NBA that called him skip the mod loop.
[SPEAKER_02]: He was like the man of M1.
[SPEAKER_02]: You can Google his name and he made it to the Milwaukee Bucks from the streets.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's someone that made me feel like it was possible.
[SPEAKER_02]: He, Jamal Tensley, he made it to the NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's another guy that's from New York that, you know, I watched play as 13 years in the NBA and the end of Paces.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I was, I was just proud, you know, coming from the same tournament, playing in the same tournament and getting these people to watch them have careers.
[SPEAKER_02]: And the NBA, no one at high school wasn't the best college wasn't the best, but they made the best of it, and they restores heights.
[SPEAKER_02]: It made me see as a person under the mirror that it was possible.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm Sham God.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, today God Sham God coming from Harlem.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's a person that I've watched.
[SPEAKER_02]: Go to Providence.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, excuse me, let's say first go into
[SPEAKER_02]: Carton Hayes, then going to Providence, we're going to a Catholic school, then going to Providence College, and then going to the NBA, but not really being able to play.
[SPEAKER_02]: I watched him turn around and then stay and become a basketball operation or basketball skills teacher with the Mavericks.
[SPEAKER_02]: And then I watch him have his own shoe with whom I saw him.
[SPEAKER_02]: I watched him rock nation sign him.
[SPEAKER_02]: I watch him now, assistant coaching with Orlando Magic.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I watch him now with his own shoe again.
[SPEAKER_02]: And he has a book out too.
[SPEAKER_02]: So those things are inspiration to me watching Streetball players reach those heights to where
[SPEAKER_02]: They raised the boss, so I have to put them in like the the greats and the goats for me with me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, and from what I've heard that pressure of playing in Harlem was more so than not that you even see sometimes in the NBA.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yeah, I mean, if there's a name, like I said, these names are names you can go with.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a guy by the name of Joe Hammond, they called him to destroy it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Most people in the street would think that he had a bad game if he had 40 points.
[SPEAKER_02]: This guy played against Dr. Jay Julius Irving and him and he was scoring 6780 points.
[SPEAKER_02]: So to watch these people that played before you and to see what they, the impact that they had on the community and how people loved, he turned down the laborers because he was making more money in the street.
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_02]: And this is what, you know, we get caught up with and the inner cities that, you know, there's more
[SPEAKER_02]: provided to you trying to hustle and the street then opportunities to be able to see.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, this is why I am helping and trying to help that within inner cities everywhere, within communities everywhere.
[SPEAKER_02]: We all struggle with that, that, you know, we think that there's no opportunities out there when we don't realize there's infinite possibilities within us.
[SPEAKER_01]: right and it's really hard sometimes for people to find that especially when they feel like their circumstances aren't providing a clear guide or path.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know that exposure, exposure does a lot to that when you can see that you're not the only one that has been through that.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of us get inspired by rappers and NBA players and really don't get a chance to hit a real story.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, do the journalism and was being excellent podcasts.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of people can't really learn from these conversations.
[SPEAKER_02]: And people gravitate to what they gravitate to.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's why I said, you know, I'm really trying to use the street way to reach people in a street way of how to grow.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's so true because a lot of people just interview these better known names about what they're doing now and they're the plays that they're doing and whatever all the stuff that's more current as opposed to the real story that I think is so important just how you really got here and talking about those really low times where you really thought you had no options and you were not doing as well and people didn't like you and didn't want you to succeed and like those are all the stories I think that are really
[SPEAKER_01]: helpful.
[SPEAKER_01]: I do have a question for you.
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe this is a crazy question.
[SPEAKER_01]: How does that help do you guys get all these weird nicknames?
[SPEAKER_01]: Where did you get a butter was?
[SPEAKER_01]: Were you like sitting around eating a stick of butter and someone was like, eh?
[SPEAKER_02]: So that was that was the thing that I I'm glad that you acts the announces the announces make streetball what it really is as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know that the people get on the line to watch the players, but the announcers, which is the guys that announces the game as you watch and it's CNN, B.A., you don't have that.
[SPEAKER_02]: And the street bolt, as you bring in a bolt up there's a person that's saying what you're doing, he's keeping the crowd entertained.
[SPEAKER_02]: He may have jokes, he may say things, but again, this is a personality thing.
[SPEAKER_02]: So today, there's a kid about a name of David Tillchachin, Nike and Jordan Brand.
[SPEAKER_02]: They signed him a New York to do all of the games.
[SPEAKER_02]: He dresses up, he wears costumes.
[SPEAKER_02]: He may come out one day and show love the Hulk Hogan to just pass the way.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's dressing like Hulk Hogan.
[SPEAKER_02]: But again, this is what the people like as entertainment.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's calling the game.
[SPEAKER_02]: So it was little things like this.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I said that to you to say when I was growing up and playing back then there were guys by the name of Duke Tango and now Cash.
[SPEAKER_02]: They were the MCs for Rutgers.
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you heard the Black Mumble, which rest in Peace, Colby got that name from those guys, they were calling him a certain name and the Rutgers that stuck to people.
[SPEAKER_02]: So my name became a butter because before me there was the finger roll.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: And the way that I laid a ball up and spin it, it's called the butter roll.
[SPEAKER_02]: So everybody started calling me butter.
[SPEAKER_02]: A butter butter butter.
[SPEAKER_02]: He does it so nice.
[SPEAKER_02]: Look how he spins the ball off the backboard and I can do it with either hand on either side and it doesn't matter where it hit the backboard.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know how to and today that's called the jelly roll.
[SPEAKER_02]: All the young kids, they all say when you lay somebody like this with a finger roll, oh, he jellied on him.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, you can see how the evolution has went on.
[SPEAKER_02]: Great thing.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's great things that could come from street ball.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I know you told us you had one child.
[SPEAKER_02]: Is that how many kids have three daughters?
[SPEAKER_01]: All daughters.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was going to be going to explain a basketball.
[SPEAKER_01]: Do any of them play that?
[SPEAKER_02]: All this daughter.
[SPEAKER_02]: She's graduated from Howard University.
[SPEAKER_02]: My second daughter's graduated from high school and my first daughter.
[SPEAKER_02]: She's just now starting pre-K.
[SPEAKER_01]: Cute.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
[SPEAKER_01]: So what's on your bucket list for the future?
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh man, um, the boys and girls club, you know, I just want everybody to know that I'm building with the boys and girls club and trying to make this a national movement, you know, um, Madison Square Boys and Girls Club, they're helping me and Harlem do some real good things.
[SPEAKER_02]: keeps bait boys and girls clubbing the Bronx.
[SPEAKER_02]: They're helping me do some good things.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm building with Mocafai, which is a financial institution like Chom and Greenwood, that understands that by law banks are supposed to invest into inner city communities.
[SPEAKER_02]: These are the things that you learn within financial literacy.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, Mocafai and on our
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm just trying to help my people, you know, be able to grow in different ways where if we figure out how to give back and do more with making sure that there's opportunities, maybe we could keep some kids out of the street, maybe we could get them to feel happy about learning what AI is.
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, a lot of people don't really understand AI, a lot of people really don't use CHAPGPT.
[SPEAKER_02]: But again,
[SPEAKER_02]: If you get into detail and structure of what you really want to do and what you really want to become and what you really want to target, those things can be fun.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, I want to help my people learn that stuff through the people that I've watched like Tiana, Tiana Taylor, Davies, Cameron, all of these people, Mase, I grew up with these people, Fed Joe and I watched all of them come from the street and become who they are.
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to bring them back to be able to help people learn their traits, they are all masters in their traits, and that's what I'm bringing to the boys and girls club, a master class.
[SPEAKER_02]: To learn how to use my resources to come back and bring my product and teach them what I mean through my product with them being able to see my resources and what they're doing.
[SPEAKER_01]: and is record park still as big of a deal today as it was back when you were playing.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yes, they have a big, big HBCU game here every summer right now.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, they have a, the hitting opportunity summit there by Jordan.
[SPEAKER_01]: The location is still what it was.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's not.
[SPEAKER_02]: I wouldn't say right now in New York City, the number one tournament is Dijkman.
[SPEAKER_02]: What record was when I was playing there were all the stars and celebrities come, they go to the red carpet, the streetball and Dijkman.
[SPEAKER_02]: Dijkman basketball is sponsored by Jordan Brand and they really, really, they had Luca Donchez there this summer.
[SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, if that's the park where all of the stars come at now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Got it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's still going.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's still going.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm sure kids are still looking for their opportunity to be a part of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I got.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Last question.
[SPEAKER_01]: If a young person came up to you today and said, I want to make it like you did what would one piece of advice be from you.
[SPEAKER_02]: trust yourself.
[SPEAKER_02]: The one thing that I've done my whole life was trust myself.
[SPEAKER_02]: I've always had help, but without trusting myself and what I wanted to become.
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to became it.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of us fall victim to never really being able to have.
[SPEAKER_02]: So we might fall victim to when someone knows around us or we may know or see, become successful and then we feel entitled to their success.
[SPEAKER_02]: God gave all of us our own gift.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, if I could help a kid today, I wouldn't want him to be such a follower.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of our young kids today, their followers, their following somewhat of the wrong things because of what they see, you know, people who have today without really understanding what those people have to become and learn how to be in order to have that.
[SPEAKER_02]: So again, my main message is to catch them young to learn about who they are.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's the key, you know, a lot of us don't have that in the homes that we come from, whether they're single parent homes or broken homes or homes.
[SPEAKER_02]: So you gotta be able to help these kids learn who they are.
[SPEAKER_02]: We could teach them trades, we could help them get jobs, we could teach them how to get money, but we're lacking on teaching them character morals and integrity.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's what my job is.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's all I'm trying to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: develop more roots in character.
[SPEAKER_02]: My character has gotten me way more money than my talent has.
[SPEAKER_01]: Amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Powerful, powerful words.
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_01]: Adrian Walton, A butta has just released his first book, a whole lot of game from Rucker to revenue, building business, the streetball way.
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys, if you're interested in reading it, Adrian tell them where they can find that.
[SPEAKER_02]: You can catch it at my website, I'll hold a lot of game.com.
[SPEAKER_02]: You can catch me on Instagram at ButterBudderWorld3.
[SPEAKER_02]: You can check my podcast out streets first.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's on YouTube, streets first podcast.
[SPEAKER_02]: And again, I have up to about five seasons and many more to come.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's I have a documentary coming out on Netflix next year, 2026.
[SPEAKER_02]: Again, I'm continuing to work just to show people
[SPEAKER_01]: amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us today.
[SPEAKER_02]: I wish you a happy new year to have a blessed new
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for listening to Ms.
[SPEAKER_01]: Understood.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host, Rachel, you could tell.
[SPEAKER_01]: Please be sure to subscribe to the show and give us a five-star rating and review.
[SPEAKER_01]: You can support the show by joining our Patreon at patreon.com slash Ms.
[SPEAKER_01]: Understood with Rachel, you could tell.
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you have ideas for the show or want to reach out email us at info, Ms.
[SPEAKER_01]: Understood podcast at gmail.com.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's spelled m-is-s-s-understood.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much, and I'll see you next time.