We’re talkin’ basketball on Deco Drive — but only because a bunch of past and present NBA superstars are starring in a new movie. Deco’s most valuable player, Chris Van Vliet, flew to Los Angeles to chat with the all-star cast.
Kyrie Irving (as Uncle Drew): “All you wannabes out here want to play like Jordan.”
Basketball player: “Who you trying to be, Morgan Freeman?”
Nice moves, right? That’s Uncle Drew, the alter ego of Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving. The character was first created as part of a commercial for Pepsi Max in 2012.
Kyrie Irving (as Uncle Drew): “I know I’m old, youngblood, but you wanna switch sneakers?”
Chris Van Vliet: “How crazy is it for you that this all began as a spot for Pepsi, and here we are talking about this as a film?
Kyrie Irving: “Nerve-racking, surprising, hilarious that we actually get to sit down and talk about this aside from my professional career.”
In the film, Dax, played by Lil Rel Howery, is a streetball coach looking for a player that will help him win the championship.
Lil Rel Howery (as Dax): “Someone like you could combine the old school with the new school.”
Kyrie Irving (as Uncle Drew): “It’s gotta be my team, my roster.”
Lil Rel Howery (as Dax): Yes!”
Chris Van Vliet: “Where did the Uncle Drew voice come from?”
Kyrie Irving: “It was inner, man. It was an inner voice that I had to bring forth as best I could. It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.”
We’re guessing the second hardest thing to do was putting on all of that makeup — a process that took three hours every day.
Lil Rel Howery (as Dax): “You look like Wolverine’s grandfather. That’s none of my business. That’s your look.”
Yep, that’s Shaq under all that facial hair. Uncle Drew picks him, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller and Nate Robinson to be on his squad.
Chris Van Vliet: “Who was the biggest goof on set?”
Lisa Leslie: “Well, Nate and Shaq. I say they are like the same person.”
Reggie Miller: “One is 7-foot-2 and one is 5-foot-9.”
But not everyone in the movie is an NBA All-Star.
Chris Van Vliet: “Going into the movie on a scale of 1 to 10, how good were your basketball skills? We’ll start with Nick.”
Nick Kroll: “What’s below 1? Is there a below 1? I was like, ‘I think I’ll be fine out there. I played Jewish day school basketball, so I should be fine.'”
But Nick Kroll did have a moment he’ll never forget.
Nick Kroll: “I have footage of me scoring on Kyrie. He came up to try to block it and he misses, and you can see me on camera, and I’m like, ‘Oh, [expletive], I just scored.'”
“Uncle Drew” pivots into theaters June 29.
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