Josh Powell (Sydney Kings) on back to back titles with the Lakers, Kobe Bryant memories and his time in the NBL

Josh Powell rose up from being a homeless teenager to reach the NBA, where he played seven seasons, before playing overseas which included a stop with the Sydney Kings during the 2016-17 season.

He now plays for the Killer 3's in the Big 3 competition under coach Charles Oakley and Powell joins Dan Boyce on the podcast the discuss overcoming the odds, his time playing for the University of North Carolina State, winning two NBA championships with the LA Lakers, his friendship with Kobe Bryant, highlights from his 17 years as a professional basketball player and what went wrong with the Sydney Kings in 2017.

Topics include...

• Playing in the Big 3 with the Killer 3's under coach Charles Oakley (2:00)
• Being homeless as a teenager and how he overcome a rough home life in order to reach the NBA (6:00)
• Playing college basketball for North Carolina State (11:00)
• Going through the NBA draft and not being selected and his first years as a pro playing in Europe (14:00)
• Signing with the Dallas Mavericks and his experiences as a rookie in the NBA (17:00)
• The 2006 NBA championship, falling short to the Miami Heat and why Josh thinks this is one of the most controversial Finals in NBA history (21:00)
• Being traded to Indiana and then Golden State, how does being traded affect a players mindset (24:00)
• His best season in the NBA comes with the LA Clippers (25:30)
• Fighting to stay in the NBA and the mental toll it requires (27:00)
• Being signed by the LA Lakers and how their locker room was different to other NBA teams (28:00)
• His brotherhood with Kobe Bryant and stories from the times they spent together (30:00)
• The Lakers vs Celtics rivalry (35:00)
• Signing with the Atlanta Hawks and getting to play back home (38:30)
• Signing with the Houston Rockets only to be made their player development coach (40:00)
• Reaching Australia and his season with the Sydney Kings (42:30)
• Playing under Andrew Gaze and where things went wrong at the Kings  (45:00)
• Retiring from professional basketball, how Josh knew it was time (54:00)
• The biggest mistakes and learning experiences Josh went through during his career (57:00)

Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms.

Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin, AJ Ogilvy, Daniel Kickert

Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Vic Law, Jack White, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Brad Newley, Dusty Hannahs

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton, Donald Sloan

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Andre Moore, Steve Woodberry, Gary Ervin, Ebi Ere, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chuck Harmison, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner

All that and much more.

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