Baron Davis Complex interview

[Elano]

The L.A. Clippers’ new point guard talks about how he’s become one of the NBA’s most entertaining players, both on and off the court.

ON A BASKETBALL COURT, BARON DAVIS IS NO JOKE. Off the court, though, is a different story. Earlier this year, the 29-year-old South Central L.A. native teamed with high school buddy Cash Warren (a.k.a. Mr. Jessica Alba) to launch ibeatyou.com, where the famous (Davis, Alba, Steve Nash) compete with regular folk in everything from staring contests to movie-trailer spoofs. He’s also co-founder of Verso Entertainment, a film-production company whose credits include the critically acclaimed gang documentary Made in America. The point guard with many hats sat down with Complex to explain what he finds funny—and why he doesn’t mind being laughed at.

Judging from your Internet clips [see "METUBE" sidebar], it seems like you have more fun off the court than—
Baron Davis: Anybody in the world! [Laughs.]

Where does that come from?
Baron Davis: You know, basketball for eight months is just work, work, work, and work. And sometimes you have to live outside of your celebrity or whoever you think you are as an NBA player. It kind of keeps you grounded just to know that you can make fun of yourself and have people laugh at you.

How did ibeatyou.com come about?
Baron Davis: We were thinking about crazy things we could come up with to have some fun. Now, every stupid thing I do becomes a competition. And the best thing is the celebrities never win.

Pro athletes usually don’t want other folks laughing at them, though.
Baron Davis: I’ll never be that “trying to be all serious” guy. It’s just not who I am. When something’s meaningful, I can get down and talk about serious matters. But we’ve been blessed to play basketball and be who we are. Sometimes we lose that kid inside.

Was there anything specific that made you want to drop the façade?
Baron Davis: Early in your career you want to be this and that and “keep it real” and maintain your street cred. I just got really tired of it. Being guarded all the time wasn’t fun. And I started realizing that hanging out in the hood all the time wasn’t really beneficial. I just felt like there was more of the world to see.

You caught a lot of flack a couple seasons ago for flashing a gang sign during a game, though.
Baron Davis: Yeah, from the media. They talked about Paul Pierce, why he threw up “gang signs” [in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs]. I’m not saying that was the best thing, but at the same time you can’t hide who you are. I grew up playing with gangbangers. You’re not glorifying it; it’s just like, “Oh shit, did I just do that?” That’s just part of what builds you and what helps you make it.

Speaking of gangs, how did the Made in America film come about?
Baron Davis: The idea was, What can I do to get back to my community? You can try to do all you can to get to the kids, but what I found was you always have to go through the gangs. A lot of my family members are gangbangers; I’ve put my foot in the water [before]. I want to create a system that makes it easier for athletes and entertainers from the inner city to reconnect. And I thought the best way to do something was to make a movie. It gives the world an opportunity to see exactly how real it is.

Have you always been into film?
Baron Davis: Yeah, I always grew up around movies, because it wasn’t too safe to be outside a lot. It gave me another world to live in, to not deal with the reality of what was going on.

Is that something you want to pursue full-time after your basketball career?
Baron Davis: Yes and no. The next step in life from a serious perspective is working with kids; but from a fun perspective, film is a world I want to conquer because I’ve been paying my dues for a while.

Is acting in your future?
Baron Davis: [Laughs.] Only if Steve Nash is in it with me.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

BD seems like a funny guy...



why'd you delete the thread you made about Jordan getting beat one-on-one?

[Elano]

BD seems like a funny guy...



why'd you delete the thread you made about Jordan getting beat one-on-one?

accidentally.
i was tryn to fix the video 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

BD seems like a funny guy...



why'd you delete the thread you made about Jordan getting beat one-on-one?

accidentally.
i was tryn to fix the video 

PM Jome...he'll bring it back.

[Elano]

BD seems like a funny guy...



why'd you delete the thread you made about Jordan getting beat one-on-one?

accidentally.
i was tryn to fix the video 

PM Jome...he'll bring it back.

http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=200803.0

[tempo2]

^^ quality!