Rumors

Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Who does Alperen Şengün remind you of? Ryan Hollins: I think he’s a mix between Jokić and Marc Gasol. Obviously, you can see the, you know, the Jokić with the passing, but height wise, he’s probably closer to Marc. And I think a lot of people forget how good, really good Marc Gasol was, and I had to go against him in the playoffs and whatnot, so I know. But he’s got wiggle that’s unique for a European big man. Like, he, he got wiggle like he’s, like, grew up playing in the States, and if, you watch him, he has a different type of flair. But for me, and I’ll give you another name that you want in the Luis Scola. Scola would get you in that short roll, throw the little swoop shots, you know, extremely efficient with what he does. You know, wouldn’t jump off the ground too far if he didn’t need to. So I think a little bit of that and a guy who would put the ball on the deck, you know?

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Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: With Russell Westbrook signing with Sacramento, I have to ask: did you ever buy into the notion of a KD and Russell Westbrook reunion in Houston? Ryan Hollins: Man, I think everybody’s calling for Russ. There’s no question, but I don’t think Houston was able to do anything until December. And I, as we see it, we’re not shocked. He wouldn’t have been around. So, uh, Russell’s an unbelievable talent, man. He’s a winner. And, uh I’ll even say this, man, I felt like last season for Russ, it was maybe not one of the bigger statistical ones, but he played some good basketball, man like he played some winning basketball that has me shocked that he was on the board this long and I thought he really excelled man he made he made some plays there man he was really really good in Denver so I’m excited for Russ right now would have been it you know really cool and fun to see him with a full reuniting the last three Sonics left you know would have been on the same team and that would have be a cool undertone of the season But I’m happy for a man, and I’ve seen Russ work since he was young, man.

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Hollins expressed his immense admiration for head coach Ime Udoka, calling his impact on the Rockets’ culture “tremendous.” “Oh man, Ime is a ten. He’s a real gem,” Hollins said. “Everybody around the league is trying to figure out how to pattern and model their young rebuilds after what Ime has done—bringing culture, bringing toughness, bringing physicality.”

Responsible Gaming

Hollins showed a different side of Dillon Brooks, who is often seen as a fiery enforcer. “Dillon Brooks is one of the quietest, most respectful, and just all-around dope teammates you’re going to find,” Hollins said. “Behind the scenes, he’s incredibly patient and encouraging. He really takes care of his people.”

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Ryan Hollins: "One thing people don’t talk about enough is the mental health side of retiring from basketball. When you leave the NBA, you lose that structure, the competition, and the crowd. For me, I never drank or smoked—my high was the roar of the arena. But when you retire, that’s gone, and you can’t replace it. The Big 3 brought that back. It gave us a chance to feel that energy again, to compete in front of people who love the game. Beyond that, it’s a fraternity. Everybody’s in the same city each week, so you reconnect with guys you haven’t seen in years. We check on each other, talk about life after basketball, and support each other. A lot of players struggle after retirement—addiction, divorce, money problems. The Big 3 isn’t just a league; it’s a lifeline for us to find our balance again. Ice Cube did something special, and it’s changed lives."

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Participants included former NBA players Metta World Peace, Otis Thorpe, Mario Elie, Gerald Green, DJ Augustin, Derek Harper, Cadillac Anderson, Ryan Hollins, and Trevor Ariza; former NFL players Yancey Thigpen and Vince Young; Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards; and professional long driver and 2022 XLD Texas League champion John Zook, whose team finished first.

Rockets Wire

Hollins recently sat down with NBC LA reporter Michael J. Duarte and Nitecast Media radio host Nick Hamilton on the "BLEAV in Lakers Podcast" on the BLEAV Podcast Network. According to Hollins, Kobe's "mamba mentality" not only made him a legend, but one of the greatest villains of all time when it came to his opponents. In fact, Bryant was so intimidating that players on the opposite team would call out sick when they knew they had to face Kobe head-to-head. "Kobe in his heyday had this villainous bad-boy presence," recalled Hollins. "I've seen teammates call out sick, and not want to show up for the game. He wouldn't talk to you. Before the jump ball, he would walk past your bench and have the craziest stare on his face that read: 'It's on!' He went into every NBA match with this killer mentality. He would get you before he even got you. We hadn't even jumped the ball yet and you were thinking about Kobe Bryant. He was an absolute dog. Kobe was on another level."

NBC Los Angeles

"To get Kobe's respect was darn near impossible," said Hollins. "We could count on one hand the number of teammates that Kobe respected. Trevor Ariza was a guy who Kobe respected. Ronny Turiaf, Lamar Odom, Pau…I remember one time I was on the Clippers and Kobe spun off Matt Barnes and went to the hole. I get over early, I slide over two feet and get my hands straight in the air perfectly, and I go to stop Kobe. Kobe jumps into me, throws the ball up, and the referee calls a foul on me. I was in perfect position. Mamba comes down after the foul is called and gives me a slap on the butt as if to say, 'good job kid, you were there, but I'm Kobe.' That was a big moment and I was happy."

NBC Los Angeles

"LeBron does not have the dominance of Michael Jordan. Six rings. Six championships. Has not lost in his era. We don't even think of any other stars in his era. He owned an entire decade of basketball," said Hollins of Jordan. "So when I say that LeBron is the greatest player that ever played, I believe that is something that he grew into. I believe he got to a point where he surpassed Michael because of the way the NBA is played. "LeBron plays in an era in which five guys have to work in synergy or four guys around one player, in which that player has to make everyone better. The difference that I see between Michael, who is the greatest scorer, and LeBron, who is the better player in my mind, is how LeBron can both score and share the basketball and make guys play above their level. That's where I give the difference in that Michael was more dominant, but LeBron is the better player because of his passing ability."

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Ryan Hollins: “LeBron can’t cast a shadow, he [Irving] has a lot of maturing to do as we all have. You gotta think these 23, 24, 25, 26 year old guys casting a big spot so, to be honest I looked at the content and the intentions behind your heart. Who you are versus trying to stunt on somebody because you’re 25 years old and you don’t know any better. But I think the way those two butted heads kind of left a bad imprint on Kyrie. It was bad business. It was some things that LeBron did. You know, Kyrie learned some poor leadership from LeBron and some of the stuff he did and I think Kyrie tried to come into his own in a different way. But very smart, very intelligent you know, really soft-spoken and trying to find out how to be a leader.

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Ryan Hollins: "I don't think Kyrie is a natural leader. You know some guys that are like — you see the 7 or 8 year old in the AAU game where he’s putting all the kids in the right spot, and he’s thinking of everybody…that’s NOT Kyrie. I think that’s something that he’s trying to grow and learn and do, and I think he’s handled a couple of situations wrong. I don’t think he’s lied about anything except about the world is flat when he was jokingly, but I think speaking out in the media; that’s a tightrope of a situation when you talk about your teammates. So I think some of those things he’ll admit that he wants to reel back.”

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“Kyrie is a great dude,” Ryan Hollins told me on this week’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast. “Humble, down to earth, cool…if anything like — you know what’s funny, like of all the guys that were in the team, he hung out with Luke Harangody the most. And Like was a Notre Dame guy and some type of ACC connection was there. Like, Kyrie is not big on going with the norm or trying to be cool or popular. He doesn’t mind being outside the box. Cool down to earth. Great dude man.”

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Ryan Hollins: Hear him out have the conversations but we still need to play

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Ryan Hollins: Congratulations to my guy @RexChapman on his new show #BlockOrCharge

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