Andre Roberson: I still think back to that January night in Detroit

Andre Roberson is a name that many remember when they think back to those Thunder teams in the 2010s. Known for his defensive prowess, he played alongside Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony throughout the years in Oklahoma City before his NBA career was cut short due to injury.

The former All-Defensive player talked with HoopsHype in a wide-ranging candid conversation about his experience so far in France with Cholet, favorite memories in OKC, his NBA career, and more.

What has your experience been like there in France now that you've been there for about a month?

Andre Roberson: So far so good. A lot different than obviously what I’m used to, but at the same time just embracing the journey. A small town, great organization, great people. So it kinda makes the transition a little easier. I didn’t know the history of Cholet until I actually got here. I didn’t know Rudy [Gobert] played here. I didn’t know Kevin Seraphin, Killian Hayes and Tidjane Salaun played here. So, it kinda shocked me but, I was also optimistic and everything on how they do things the right way and similar to how things are run in the NBA. But they put a little twist on it. Just embracing the journey and then just happy to be back on the court after everything I’ve been through. So, feels good to be back.

Anything in particular that’s been difficult in terms of adjustments?

AR: Yeah, it’s definitely different. It’s a small city, I think it’s like 50,000 people. It’s kind of like in the middle of nowhere. But it’s good, getting out of the mud again. And getting back to the meat and bones of who I am and how I got down in the past. So definitely have to face myself in a sense of… Do I really wanna continue to play basketball? At the same time, it helped me do that and gain the love of basketball back after the devastating injury that I’ve had. So, it’s good, man. It’s a good test.

As you just mentioned how you want to get that hunger back in playing basketball, have you had a lot of doubts over the years?

AR: Oh for sure. I mean, I have three setbacks during my rehab in the beginning. And even when I came back in the bubble, I was about 85 percent healthy, but I wasn’t, not necessarily 100 percent healthy. I was cleared to go, but at the same time, you still have that mental aspect of it, of like second guessing yourself and just feeling free to overexert yourself at will. So I still had that psychological part to get past. I wouldn’t necessarily say I was fully healthy or fully ready, but at the same time, you gotta get yourself back out there somehow, some way and kinda break that barrier.

And then, just took some time to myself after those long three years of just enjoying life and enjoying my little sisters grow up and watching them play basketball and help them form and shape their games before they went off to college. TCU and Duke. It was definitely a joy to watch them because if I was still playing, I definitely would have missed them. So it was good to help out with them and, just enjoying the fine life of just being healthy for the first time was my big thing.

It was nice to do that, but at the same time, it was like… Do I wanna continue to play basketball or do I wanna head in a different direction in terms of finding a new career? So, I had to definitely sit down myself. And, a lot of conversations with my girlfriend in terms of just, I’m finally in a good spot. Do I wanna go back out there and risk being injured again potentially, not to say it happened, but, it’s always that possibility any time you step back on the floor. And just going out there and pursuing it. So I’m 32 years old, not necessarily ready to retire and move on. So, that’s why I’m back here now. So, going out there at the same time, I didn’t want necessarily have the injury take me away. I wanted to walk away myself. So, that’s like a lot of motivation for me, get back out there and break that narrative.

Just me getting back to the roots of myself, I’m just going out there and enjoying the basketball the way I know how to enjoy the basketball instead of the narrative over the years of like, oh, he can’t do this, you can’t do that. And I’m like, I’ve done this my whole life and I’ve gotten to that point to where I’ve even reached the NBA.

So that’s where I’mat… To bring basketball full circle for me, just to see on the American side and see it on the European side and just travel the world. No better way to travel the world than doing something you love and getting paid to do at the same time. So, it’s pretty dope to do so. It’s a blessing.

How do you feel mentally on the court? Do you feel like you're back 100 percent?

AR: This is a different transition for me. Even this league itself, it’s like 40 minutes and I think in this league you have to play it like five minutes – five in, five out. Like five minutes maximum, you rotate.You don’t wanna be that guy to go out there and jack 40 shots and lose a game at the same time trying to prove a point. I also wanna come here and help build something. It’s just kinda maintain that, but at the same time, showcase myself. So I’m aggressive within the flow of the game and go out there and enjoy it. I want everybody to enjoy. Overall, I feel great. I feel motivated, feel hungry. So I’m excited for this next journey, man.

Two years ago you had mentioned your goal was to get back in the NBA. Is that still a goal of yours to get back?

AR: Yeah, 100 percent. I mean to a degree the NBA is the pinnacle of basketball. So, at some point, yes, I definitely like to do that. At the same time, it’s like if it happens, it happens, If it doesn’t, hey, I’ll come over here and make a career and travel the world and get a chance to see the world in different aspects of life and different cultures. There’s more to life than just basketball. That’s kind of what I’m figuring out as well. When I hang it up, I can write to not just Americans, especially with where the NBA is heading, Not just Americans, Europeans, Asians. So just being able to relate to them in that aspect to come and give them more tidbits. So. who knows, man, wherever the wind takes me, is where I’m headed. I’m a man on a mission but like I said, just enjoying it at the same time.

Were you against playing overseas the past couple years?

AR: I wasn’t necessarily against overseas. I was more so like in the unknown with overseas. At the same time, they knew my case and helped me ramp up to play again and we did a great job with that. I think it was like a month or two. So that was the only people I felt comfortable ramping back up in that aspect again. Somebody that knew my case and were willing to take me on. But at the same time, it was like, yeah, NBA was a possibility, yeah, to go ahead and do that. That’s something I’ve known and feel comfortable with. But I wouldn’t necessarily say I was against going overseas. But my ultimate mission is to obviously play back in the NBA, in the pinnacle of basketball.

There was a lot of things I was still scared of doing when I was in the NBA, like even playing on the Detroit court again. Just like going and revisiting the back door alley-oop area that I kinda passed out on. It’s just things I kinda got overwhelmed but at the same time just go back and enjoy the game that I love and prove I could play at the highest level of the game.

Do you think back often to that January night in Detroit?

AR: 100 percent. I think back to even beyond that too. A lot of things leading up to it now that I kind of know my body and know how things transpired. It’s a lot of things that took place. So. I wish I was more aware of and guided in the right direction. But hey, things in life happen for a reason and you gotta roll with the punches.

What are some of your fondest memories playing in OKC?

AR: The fondest memories is just going out there and just being dominant. As dominant as we were, with just different lineups and I guess different years, whether it be the early years of the Thunder or towards the end where we had PG, Melo, and Russ. So, I guess those are my finest years, you could say when we’re up 3-1, even though that may be something that I always regret, it was kinda dope that run that we had was pretty special. To go through Dallas, go through San Antonio, and Golden State, it was pretty dope. Wish it would end a little different but hey, can’t turn back the clock.

One of my good friends, me and Steve (Steven Adams) got drafted together is probably one of my fondest memories because that’s probably one of my closest guys from that team still to this day. And just flying back on the plane and being together to Oklahoma City, and meet my family and meet his family and all those closest people. That was probably one of the fondest memories.

Russ, yeah, Russ get a bad rap but he’s definitely one of the best teammates. He always looked out for guys, man. Anytime we land in a new city, we go try a new restaurant together or go get like some soul food somewhere. In Memphis, we went to a special place, go eat at a nice restaurant as a team. So. he’d always kinda orchestrate a lot of that. That’s kind of something we always pride ourselves on. It’s why we were a close-knit team. But in terms of other stuff, I can’t really elaborate on some of the non-PG stuff. So I’ll just leave it at that.

What’s one funny story that happened with Steven Adams?

AR: Steve always got f***ing one-liners. That’s just him in a nutshell. When I went over to New Zealand for one of his camps and I found out he was not the biggest in his family [laughs] that was like the biggest shock to me. He had like 17 siblings but the funny part about it is they were all funnier than him. He’s like the least funny. And I was like, bro, their family is pretty special. But that was one of the shocking memories of Steve.

One of the great memories that always got me going when I was on the court was he would just always call me the police warden. “Put people in handcuffs.” Yeah, it made me chuckle and stuff when I’ll be on the court. So that was kind of like our thing.

Right now, the Thunder are favored to win the West, and you saw a lot of these guys on the team, like Shai, Lu Dort, when you were there. When you look at the current OKC team, what are your thoughts on them?

AR: It’s just a product of the job Sam Presti done of carrying that flag throughout the years and Mark Daigneault putting people in position to continuously carry that flag and carry the Thunder legacy forward. It’s honestly just dope to see those guys continue to sign and carry that Thunder shield forward, man. Because to be honest, I didn’t know if the team was going continue to pan out. I don’t think I knew or anybody knew what the direction of the Thunder were gonna be after everything kind of exploded. But it’s dope that they embrace that and just kinda kept running with it, kept putting the work in, and doing the things that they’re doing now. So, making something special to get out there in OKC. And hopefully, maybe they can even do something further and greater than what we did and going to win a championship. So, I’m definitely rooting for them and they always got me in their corner for sure. So, excited to see them.

Since you were last in the league, what have you noticed being the biggest change?

AR: I would say the physicality of the game. In my opinion, the physicality, but at the same time, I don’t necessarily feel like the IQ has gone up. I just feel like certain teams and certain players are exploiting the game a lot more. Yes, there’s a lot more skilled players but in terms of understanding the game, and IQ for the game, I feel like it’s not kind of shot up the place where I thought it and hoped it would be, but hopefully it gets there one day. But the one thing I kind of surprised that is taken over is the fashion industry in the NBA. It’s kind of good and bad, you get a lot of guys more worried about their pre-game fits and post-game fits and all that. But you do get a lot of benefits of guys getting free gear, and opportunities to go over to do Fashion Week and you know what I mean, free clothes that they don’t necessarily have to worry about buying, I guess you could say during the season. So it’s pros and cons to it. But overall, I mean, I’m just happy to be kind of moving forward in a better direction. So in a sense of like, amplifying itself and continuing to push the needle. So, I’m excited to see what things happen next.

When you say the IQ hasn’t gone up for some players, what do you think that is a byproduct of?

AR: You could say it starts with AAU, then you start with like the highlight culture. Guys wanting to just try to dunk on people and shoot long threes. And not necessarily truly understanding the art of the game and learning how to immobilize a player or take away certain things or get to certain spots a different way. It’s just a lot of exploiting. I mean, I guess you could say it’s always been around even with like James [Harden], like with the fouling and shit, exploiting the game in that sense.

But, you can also blame the competitive nature that’s also dropped down. I think a lot of that’s due to making money. being involved now and everybody wants to stay healthy on the court to take advantage of that opportunity. And the games also changed, it’s a lot faster, more rigorous on the body. I guess you could see the NBA curse year, what they say is when the game starts to transform and you could thank the Golden State Warriors for that, the high-paced offense.

It’s definitely good in a sense, but I do feel like the competitive nature dropped off. I wish it was a little more competitive in the sense of like guys talking smack from a sense of like, alright iron sharpen iron instead of like doing things for clicks and just baiting each other. Doing things for fake TV. Fake tough and all that extra stuff. You still get a little bit of some players that are more old-school like that. But, overall, I think it dropped off for sure. Everybody is more buddy-buddy now, which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing. I just think it does take the edge off when you’re going up against someone for sure.

I wanted to touch on how this new generation of players get paid so much more than previously. There was a story about how Greg Oden talked about how he was depressed when he retired and then he saw Timofey Mozgov get $50 million. With the new TV money coming in, do you wish you played in the league now than say you did 10 years or so ago?

AR: Yeah, you can always think of it like that, but at the same, you can always sit here and say you helped build something to that, you know what I mean? Like, 10 years from now those guys will be saying the same thing. So it’s like when does it stop? So like I said, just being able to play eight years or I guess you could say the five years that I played in eight years, I was in the league, being able to make money and take care of my family was a blessing itself. So, just being able to lay that foundation, and being a part of something in that’s where it’s at now. Do I wish I could turn back the clock and not be injured to capitalize? Yeah, of course. But like I said, I’m just happy to be a part of that and not necessarily pocket-watching on other guys. I’m glad that everybody’s getting the money they deserve and hopefully, we can keep pushing that needle forward every TV deal we have from here on out. So, that’s kind of where I’m at on that.