Former NBA All-Star Michael Redd picks his favorites to win the NBA title

Via Basketball Network: Former NBA All-Star, Olympic Gold Medalist and accomplished businessman, Michael Redd, was featured in the newest episode of 1-ON-1 with Basketball Network. We covered several topics that might be interesting to your audience. Please find the link to the video as well as highlighted topics, quotes and timestamps below:

Full interview:

Michael Redd on why he expects the Milwaukee Bucks to win a championship (20:20)

• “They have all the ingredients, they have experience, they have the talent I believe they have the coaching. They have the organization, the ownership group that has come in over the last six seven years — they’ve been terrific and they provided the organization every opportunity to be successful. So they’re on a little skid right now, but that happens throughout the season.”

“They have a deep team, they just got to continue to do what they’ve been doing. They defend well, they certainly can shoot the three well, I see them as a top team in the east again. They’re right there and I do expect them to win a championship.”

Michael Redd picks NBA title contenders and praises Kevin Durant’s game (24:25)

• “The Sixers sure, they got an upgrade in the coaching. I love Brett Brown, Doc rivers has an incredible career coaching so he’s been a great addition. Joel Embiid is playing at MVP level, Ben Simmons is playing at a high level,  so you gotta look at Philly and what they’re doing. You have to certainly look at the Nets, what Brooklyn is doing and they’re being strategic and adding roster spots. So glad KD is back and he’s healthy this year is so good for the NBA, Brooklyn definitely is certainly a contender.”“And you look at the west, obviously the Lakers with LeBron and healthy AD being obviously favorites one of the favorites at least. The Clippers are playing extremely well with Ty Lue with the helm this year, they’re just playing more hungrier and they’re deeper this year speaking of the Clippers. And then you can’t sleep on Phoenix and Denver and obviously Utah. Utah is playing extremely well. My little brother plays for Utah, Mike Conley, really proud of his career and what he’s been able to add to that team. But the west is deep, there’s about legit four or five teams in the west that could contend for the western conference championship and then in the east you’ve got legit three four teams.
• “Kevin Durant. I’ve always been a Kevin Durant fan even when he was a young fella and I was playing against him. Just to be at that height at seven foot, to do all the things that he can do is just really special. So gifted in every facet and he’s just a joy to watch, because he plays as if he’s a guard at seven foot with guard skills. Defensively he’s gotten better over the last five, six years. I would love to see him on the all defensive squad, but he’s the total package. Hopefully they stay healthy.Michael Redd on Team USA’s 3-year journey prior to winning gold in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (15:55)

  “It was amazing, it was an amazing experience. It was the highlight of my athletic career, by far. To make the Olympics for one, on the team was surreal and then to win a gold medal on top of that was like wow uh what a surreal experience. And to do it with the best players in the world, playing against the best players in the world — so it was an incredible, incredible experience. I think for me the journey made the moment all the more greater.”

  “So there was a three-year process with our team we started in 2005, 2006 of being together in the offseason, training together and Jerry Collangelo and Coach K wanted to have a cohesion and chemistry rather than just coming together in 2008 for the first time and playing together. We knew we couldn’t just compete with the world by just coming together as an all-star team. We had to have time together, cohesion, chemistry, so we spent three years before we even got to the gold medal game together, and I think that propelled us into victory. It was a love for each other, it was a brotherhood. There was a trust that we all developed amongst each other and we knew each other’s games and so the three-year process, the training camps, the dinners, the lunches, the time together made that moment winning the gold medal what it was. And I’ll never ever ever forget that moment and we have a bond all of us have a bond to this day.