The NBA Anthem Stand, Anxiety & Finding Identity in Christ (Ed Young, Jonathan Isaac)

-Starting at forward, Jonathan Isaac! -It's Isaac! [CHEERING] -Oh, my goodness. -Isaac took it away from him for two. -I don't believe that being unvaccinated means infected. -But he's so much more than Justin NBA star. A true American hero, Jonathan Isaac. -You were the only NBA player to stand during the national anthem. -I felt like I was standing over a cliff. And I had a decision to make. And I felt like the decision that I was making. I was simply about trying my best to honor my best. I felt like I wanted to point people to Christ and say that, and then all the things that take our society, racism is just one of them. They're heart issues. If we could love each other the way that Christ loves us, which is in spite of us, then we could have real change. -Today, it's my privilege and pleasure to have Jonathan Isaac from the Orlando Magic 6 Pick in the 2017 number 6. How good you got to be for that? You got to be incredible. NBA draft out of Florida State. Jonathan. -A long time ago. -Do you know why I played basketball at Florida State? -You know, really?

-Well, sitting there, I thought, because sitting there, I'm like, "You look cool." -Jonathan, I'm not that tall. I, full scholarship, Florida State, in 1979. -That's awesome. -81, I did this most of my career, sat and cheered on great people like you. Jonathan, I did start two games myself more a year. -Bye. -I have an incredible career, and then I'll shut up. My lifetime average was 0.7 per game. -Yeah, hey, something. -Is this great? Jonathan is all-world. I'm all-bench. Yeah, it's crazy. So, Jonathan, 6 Pick in the 2017 NBA draft. What does it feel like to be? I mean, we knew it was there. I'm 6 Pick. I mean, you had to be thrilled. -Yeah, for me, it was like a surreal feeling, because, you know, growing up, I didn't, like, have my eyes set on the NBA as, like, most kids that are coming up have, you know, for me, it was just like, I love this sport, but I have no idea where it can go. And then, ultimately, getting into the NBA was like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm here." And it was actually kind of terrifying.

-I'll bet, I mean, and then you walk in the court, and you were with guys, and I'm sure you've looked up to your whole life, you're going, "What?" -Exactly, exactly that. What am I doing here? -Okay, who was the first guy that, when you walked in the court, you were going, "I cannot believe I am guarding this guy, or this guy's playing against me, or with me." Who would that be? -Yeah, it was actually Anthony Davis. And I remember I was guarding him, and it was so funny. We were at the Frito Line, and, you know, I'm in one spot, he's next to me. I don't think, you know, I'm doing pretty well, like, defensively guarding him. And I look up, and I see the stuff on the thing, and he has 40 points. [ Laughter ] -All right, we're seeing him, 40, 40. -That's hilarious, Johnson. -Yeah, a lot of free throws, some buries. But I was like, I kind of felt like I got a couple of stops on him, and I'm like, "Man, I'm playing great defense, and it looks like a 40 ball." -You know what? There's so many guys like that. They just kind of float through. -Exactly, exactly.

And you're going, "How do they get that?" -Yeah, nothing like spectacular. It wasn't like one spectacular play or anything like that. It was this consistent bucket. I didn't even catch it. -Okay. When does the season start for you, Jonathan? -So, the end of this month, we have training camp. I believe it's 28th of September. And then early October is pre-season, and mid-to-late October is Gotan. -Is training camp difficult? -It is. -Is it pretty tough? -Yeah, the really the biggest thing is you're getting and saying, you know, we have a whole new coach and staff, you know, going into this season. So it's going to be a lot of work and through kinks and, you know, offense and defense and learning their ways. But really, the hardest part is just getting in great shape. -Tell me about your... And Jonathan, I'm very ADD, as you can tell. I'll bounce around all over the place. Tell me about your background. Like, where did you grow up? Tell me about that a little bit. -Yeah, I grew up in Bronx, New York. My mom... -That's some serious basketball there. -Do you have a sewer?

But funny enough, I didn't really play basketball in New York. I didn't really pick up basketball until I got to Florida when I was 10. But I played at the rec a little bit in New York, but nothing competitively. But yeah, I was just a still kid, pretty quiet. when I was 10, my parents split up and we went with my mom, my four brothers and one sister and that's where I found basketball and kind of learned how to be, you know, hit my head a couple times. I'll struggle with anxiety and kind of being self-conscious a lot when I was younger at this from the move and being like, you know, white space going in Naples. So it was tough. - You were in Naples? - Yeah, in Naples, Florida. - I mean, there are a lot of white people there. - Absolutely. - I'm not making fun of white people 'cause I'm white. I can, but I grew up, I mean, I grew up, Jonathan, when I was younger, of course, with a lot of black people, let do it, more black people. And I played, you know, with black people, Florida State with black. I even, in my family, Joe, me, I mean, I want her to be black. - I could tell that, you know, you got some swag for you.

- Listen, I used to have a lot, Jonathan, I used to have some soul, I've lost it. - I can see you. - I've been around so many white people, let me just confess. - No, but seriously, and I know you feel the same way, I'm so thankful to God that I've been around, grew up in a diverse culture, and you're saying the same thing, aren't you? - For absolutely, you know, with all the, yeah, with the struggles, for sure, I feel like I definitely learned just how to be, how to operate in different places, you know? I think this is a good quality to have, even when I think about my kids, like being able to experience different cultures, different people, just make you a better, more well-rounded human. - Yes, it does. And that's one of the great things about sports, as you know, better than I do, your thrust through these environments where you've got to get along, don't you? You've got to find common boundaries. - Exactly. - And common boundaries, commonalities. - Yeah, for sure. - I just had lunch, Jonathan, with a former D1 player that I played high school with in Dallas. He's almost 610, and we were talking about, you know,

some of the great times playing basketball back in the day, but he was born, but anyway, it's crazy that I get to talk to you. This is a privilege. You started your own shoe company. Tell us about it. Unite us. - And so it's called Unite us. What I'd say is, it's probably how it came together. I was originally found to Nike when I first got into the NBA. I pulled my ACL three years in, and-- - Yeah, let me start. Was that pain, a lot of pain? - It was, it was, it sounded like my world was ending in one second, yeah. - Oh, man. - Because having never really had a major injury before that, it was just like, I was just in the second moment, and then it's like, is my career over? You know, is everything done? But yeah, so I told my ACL, I didn't end up not resigning with Nike, and now I'm rehabbing and coming back, and I go to my past, and I say, hey, when I get back, I'll probably go with Adidas or somebody else, and he was like, make your own shoe. And I'm like, do you not understand how this worked? If you can't just make your own shoe, it's like, you got Nike, and all these big brands

and companies and stuff. And he's like, dude, make your own shoe, you can do it. And so I started having some conversations with my agent and just people around me. And long and behold, we figured it out, soy bershuri, and it was just, it was so cool to just be able to create something authentic to me. And you know, they became the first NBA signature sneaker with visible Bible verses on the outside. I don't know, that's how the Judah one was born, and now I'm wearing the Judah twos and the NBA now. - Okay, your shoes are great. We have some of them. - Awesome. - And they are on an HNL, a whole not that level. I know that's an old phrase, but I'm bringing it back, Jonathan. - Yes, no, I appreciate that. If they serve as a great, for me, it's been, oh, you think about wearing a scriptural shoe with people immediately, you think like evangelism, sharing the faith, for me, it's like when you put the shoes on, man, I'm putting shoes on with scriptural now. And it kind of just gives you that like reflection in yourself and like, you know, I need to, not like I need to be perfect, but it's like, I need to handle myself in a way that's worthy of where shoes are still showing up. And so-- - And you know, how about this, Jonathan?

The scripture talks so much about the Christian life being a walk. - And then going back to what you said about meeting a diverse group of people, those of us in Christ, the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity to walk in their shoes, to go, okay, I'm gonna take myself out of myself and put myself in your shoes. I mean, like when you tell the story about growing up in Naples, I'm like there, you know, and when I'm talking about my deal, 'cause you're a believer, you think, okay, that's cool. - What do you like about your shoes, United? I mean, obviously the scripture, but how about just technically? - We sent out to do this thing that's kind of never been done. A player is gonna create his own brand and was gonna wear them in an NBA basketball game. My first fear is like, can we actually create a shoe from scratch that can hold up in an NBA game? And we succeeded in that. And so just for me, it was like cross-wing, the shoe looks great, but can we figure out the technicalities of a high-performance shoe? And we did. So that, I think that's my favorite thing about them, outside of the scripture, outside of how they look, but just the fact that they are a real basketball shoe. And we have running shoes, we have slides,

we've got a lot of stuff going on. - Jonathan, you're a true entrepreneur. - All right, I'm trying to be a good Lord. - For the Lord, for the Lord. And Jonathan, you, okay, take me back to 2020, you were the only NBA player to stand during the national anthem. I love that. We've all read that and applaud you. Tell me about that deal. - Oh man, I mean, I often kind of go back and think about that time and just how crazy it was. You know, really just a terrifying time for me. You know, I kind of, I don't hold it in the sense of like, I did this amazingly courageous, you know, bold thing. It's kind of for me, like, I felt like I was standing over a cliff and I had a decision to make. And I felt like the decision that I was making, I was simply about trying my best to honor and say, you know, you have this tragic death of George Floyd. How do I feel about it? How do I internalize about it and what is the answer? And I said that, you know, I kneel in for the national anthem and wearing a Black Lives Matter teacher, wasn't the answer for me. I felt like I wanted to point people to Christ and say that then all the things that tiger our society, racism is just one of them, they're heart issues. And if we could love each other the way that Christ loves us, which is in spite of us, then we could have real change.

And, you know, moving forward. And I just wanted to share that message. And that's how it went down. - Well, you know what, I appreciate your courage. Courage is the God-given ability to stand in the midst of fallout and fear and to do the will of God, no matter what. And you are living that out, my friend. - There's definitely a lot of fear going on. I was, I was slave, I really was. - And that's part of it. - Yeah. - Do it scared, do it afraid. That's right. - Yeah, I think the, absolutely coolest thing for me, again, it's not the focus on the stand or the courage of the boldness itself. It is, it's more so my story. You know, so what most people don't know is that I struggle with anxiety and kind of something security in my whole life. - Wow. - Well, I was at Florida State. I'm the number one player in the state of Florida, but I'm on anxiety medication, just a practice, right? Because. - Unbelievable. When did you start, when did you start going through Jonathan anxiety? - Ever since I was a kid, you know, I just,

I couldn't see what other people saw in the sense of, you know, when I started playing ball and getting better, I started receiving all of this praise and affirmation, and it never felt like it actually landed on me, it was just around me. And I couldn't, if you get myself. For people who say, man, you're so talented, you're gonna, you're gonna go to the NBA. I don't know. I'm talking about me, you fucking me. And so I just kind of had, maybe just a negative view of myself for, you know, from the time I was a kid, you know, I don't know if it's from my parents splitting up or just experiences that I had. I just, I didn't see myself in a positive light. And so I get to Florida State, and again, I'm met with, you're gonna be the big man on campus. You're gonna be the one that's gonna lead us to the National Championship. I'm like, I can't do that. And so I found myself having little panic attacks at breakfast, out of wake up in the morning. I go to eat breakfast with the team. And I was sickies when I'm putting the spoons on my mouth and I'm stuck, what's going on? And I had a couple episodes actually passing out in class. And you figure out how to, I really, really struggled in the first half. And I went back in the second half after I noticed, um, we go to halftime.

I think he goes to one part of the locker room. I went to a separate room, the crowd. And after I kind of cried and got all my emotions out, and then I was the man, you know, in the second half. And that's how I went out for a lot of games. And so I say that to say, uh, for me, it speaks to just who, who crises, you know, in our weakness and our frailty. Yeah, you know, he, there's a real transformative power in Christ. Hey, I knew it wasn't my strength. I knew it wasn't anything to do with me. I was just trying to, uh, do what I felt like he was for me to do, and he gave me the strength to do it. Isn't it astonishing to Jonathan, how many great men and women have got in scripture? Faced depression and anxiety. Yeah. I just did a whole message on it a while back. I mean, awesome. Elijah, I mean, here he was at the top of the top and then bam. He turned and just fell into depression and how God, yeah, just, but, but God, here's the thing about it. As you know, God doesn't cause it, but he uses it for his glory. He doesn't cause your depression, anxiety, or mine, or whoever, but he's going to leverage that. If we'll, if we'll allow him to for, for, for his glory. I think also, it just speaks to why we need them. You know, like the human system of the way the world works. And then asking, you can do so to a thriving, mental, you know, all state, you know, everything that we experience, everything that we see. It's sitting away at who we are as individuals. Yeah, cross gives us a true identity. And brilliant, Jonathan, where do you go to church? I go to church at a Genesis church here in Orlando. Genesis church, great. The pastor that I talked about with the shoes is actually the, a part of the former church that I used to go to a year or two ago, but not go to Genesis here in Orlando. Excellent, excellent. OK, what is your, what is your signature move, Jonathan? I mean, what do you know for offensively?

Uh, honestly, I really don't have a signature thing offensively. I'm kind of a bit versatile. You know, I, I shoot some threes. I, I dunk, I cast some lob may have a move here and there, but I'm really known for my defense. So all of my signature things are blocked out. OK, talk to me about defense. Sorry, you're, you're, you're a great shot blocker. Back in the day, I'm going to drop some names on you right now. If you don't mind. OK, when I left Florida State, I went back to Houston. My father passed through the church there and I was on staff. And I was in my early twenties. I just got married. I started at NBA Summer League out of our church gym. And let me tell you, you showed up there. Are you ready for this? Yeah, go ahead. Down Moses Malone. Oh, I know Moses. I knew Moses as well. Hakim Alajawan, Clyde Drexler, Xavier McDaniel, Sleepy Floyd, Otis Thorpe, George, the Iceman. I'm crazy. Just to name a few and check this out. I played with those guys every day. A fire. So I didn't, I didn't become really good. Well, to me, not to you until then, after my day is there. But I knew very fast, Jonathan, here, I thought I was good. When I walked in the court with those guys, Jonathan, no. So I can sit there in a game and go, Oh, I'd have made that shot.

Or I could have blocked that shot. No, those guys are cheap. Man, the 12th man in the NBA, he can kick anybody's butt who thinks they're good watching this. That's how good you are. Yeah, I'd agree with it. No, no, no, I've lived it. OK, tell me about shot blocking. What do I need to know? I mean, I'm 65 years old. I don't play anymore, but what could you teach me right now, Jonathan, about shot blocking? I think it's fun. It definitely gets the crowd type when you got a good block. Yes, it's about like timing, but also like it takes some courage as well. You know, it's just to step up and risk, you know, being dunked on or something like that to go up there and try to block it out. So it's just, it's great. And it really helped the team. You know, live, live ball turnovers. There's a guy you can Google him. You're so young. You don't know who he was Have you ever heard of Marvin Webster? Yeah before Marvin the human eraser Webster tell me that's not a good nickname. Yeah fire the human eraser. Yeah. Absolutely. So you're a human eraser, Jonathan Yeah, my nickname is the Minister of Defense Somebody calls somebody them. I didn't know that. Yeah, that's a great nickname I like it forward the Minister of Defense Jonathan Isaac Jonathan defense

Okay You probably never heard this phrase defense wins games, but Jumped joke Jonathan up the NBA play some serious defense. Obviously you're one of the best defenders out there Talk to the people listening talk to the young young people about playing defense. What what can I do to improve my defensive game? Well, I don't I don't know there's much you can do at this point in time No defenses is 50% of the game and so if you're able to Leverage both. I think it makes you more well-rounded player. How good is Steph Curry? Amazing He's amazing. Yeah, how about Zion? amazing I think for him it's just a health piece, but you know if he can figure that out if you get back the way he was I mean Zion's high school footage. Yes, I am I need to watch your high school footage Jonathan. How do I get that go to YouTube and just type in Jonathan Isaac high school I bet it's great. I got some nice clip For most mr. You're funny, man Okay, I sincerely can't believe God gave me the opportunity to play with those guys those NBA guys like that I mean let me say this they didn't like him I ran the league and I would do a little Bible study for them. Oh, wow Yeah, yeah, so the only reason they let me play is if they needed another guy Yeah, they weren't like oh we got ahead. I mean, you know because most of the guys there almost all of them Were were NBA players one time I played Jonathan in the game I was the only guy there. He was not an NBA all-pro on the court. Wow Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, that's amazing Yeah, I thought I tell you somebody could still play George Garvin he didn't he would even retire the Iceman that dude was wicked Great player. Yeah, that's well. I'll tell you the great player to that play with I'm gonna name drop Pete Merrimich Yeah, absolutely that dude I always woke up hit the right pistol Pete pistol Pete. Yes, sir. I did a basketball camp with him Jonathan at our church

No, it was the last basketball camp. He did before he tragically died of a heart issue when he was 42 years old Yeah, I remember seeing a flip going on Instagram where he was talking about his faith and I'd never need her He was actually a Christian, you know this hearing about him his His testimony. Okay, Jonathan. Tell me how did you become a believer? How did you how did you become a Christian? Yeah, so I grew up in church. I kind of had like the typical Childhood experience where it's like hey, your parents are kind of lugging you to church. They're really impressing you with You know church life You screw, you know all that stuff and for me, I definitely Enjoyed it. I just didn't fully understand it. You know, I still had a This is just for distant, you know, this is this what we do as a family and it wasn't until This school when I started to that's what really became my focus that it was like So it was you know, the face stuff is great, but I want to experience everything that I see, you know I'm gonna do everything and Once I got to the NBA, I was able to do that I was able to experience the world, you know And come to the realization that man uh This stuff is it's great. It's it's fun but well, it's not all that is cracked up to be and I actually feel pretty empty and I don't feel you know Filled or that I have identity. I feel like I'm just doing things to cope and and to just do them and That led me back to Yeah, maybe this stuff was not this tradition. Maybe it really is true and I kind of went on this He say it of like crystal apologetic and Started listening to all these different Christian apologetic guys. I'm watching a bunch of videos And then I met the pastor in my former pastor and an elevator And he said to me I can tell you how to be great and I said, how I think that you got to know Jesus and our relationship formed right there and what our clearly became a believer. I love it. I love it.

When did you wake up one day, Jonathan, and go, "Man, I have some insane basketball talent. I've never gotten to that point in my life. I just wanted to ask someone who's great at that question." For me, it was a little later, I had some really great moments, high school, and freshman year I was MVP, but again, there was like, I'm in Naples, Florida. This is not a big pool of amazing talent, you know? Jonathan, that's funny on a lot of levels. I got to wait for that. I still didn't think that, "Man, I'm really good." When I was, I think it was my senior year, I wasn't even playing AAU basketball. I was playing huge triple LSA's, and that's like a – that – yeah, on a ball. If my senior year, all I have is future Carolina University and Arkansas State were cool, and I decided to do a post-grad year at UNC Academy, and that summer I was able to play EYBL for the first time because I had an S3 year, and EYBL was where all those top players were, and I remember watching all these guys make tastes and seeing how amazing they were. Once I got there and I played and I was able to hold my own and even create recognition for myself was when I was like, "Oh, I may actually be really good," you know, and that's when everybody thought about the NBA being a possibility for me. That's great. So it took the opportunity God gave you to play against some really great talent, no hate on Naples, but it's a really great talent, and that's what did it. Okay. A lot of people are watching and they're going, "Okay, what is the difference?" I mean, I would think this. What's the difference, Jonathan, between college basketball, because you played at the highest level, Florida State, and the NBA? What's the difference? I mean, there's definitely the speed of the game, really the big thing is the size. You know, like, the NBA is huge, you know, it's the best athletes in the world, no doubt. Yeah, for sure.

But it's the sheer size of point guards, the wings, the centers, it's just the lead is huge. And so that's the biggest comparison to college. Having a college team play an NBA team, there's the physical strength, there's the speed of the game, but just the sheer size, it be tough to compete. I don't see how some of these little guys do it. Yeah, pretty amazing. It is. So looking at the magic this year, what do you see your role as on the team? Like, what are you, what are you? I mean, so this is going to be my 10th season. We've got a lot of great guys on this team. I'm really optimistic about what this season is going to be for us. I think so for me, it's like being a vocal leader, having energy when I'm in the game, creating, providing defensive support, and, you know, knocking down my stuff. That's my biggest thing. It's like being consistent, a good defensive anchor for the team and hitting open shots. Yeah, an NBA, you said about knocking it down. If you don't knock down shots, you're not going to be in the NBA. I mean, we have an open shot. If you don't make it. It's tough to play unless you bring something else that is equally as viable. Jonathan, you're a great man. God's using you in a great way, and you have a great shoe company. Thank you. Jonathan, again, I want to pray for you before we go, and you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you in Dallas, okay? Sure. Sure. Lord, thank you so much for Jonathan and just continue to anoint him and bless him as he

walks in your shoes, God. Protect him and just give him your courage and strength to do and to be the kind of man you want him to be in every phase of life, in every phase of the game. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. And I Jonathan Isaac, the minister of defense. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [MUSIC]