With so much attention on the Miami Heat in recent months, don’t forget there’s been plenty of action going on there for many years, especially the 3-point shot spectacles of NBA great Voshon Lenard. On the eve of the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks 2011 NBA Finals Championship, Voshon voiced his thoughts with Tam-Star on Miami’s Big Three, Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting skills, the NBA’s greatest players of all time, and of course, those heated battles with the New York Knicks. This 2004 NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout winner talks more than basketball though, including his picks on rappers, the female form, nightlife, and his plan to “strike the pose” with Captain Morgan. A former Nugget, Trail Blazer and Raptor, Voshon definitely delivers some Heat!

Tam-Star: Your career includes stints with the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, and of course the Miami Heat. Growing up was there a NBA team that you wished you had played for?

Voshon: Pretty much my dream was fulfilled with Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. That was pretty much all the teams I really wanted to play for and dreamed of playing for.

Tam-Star: Out of all those cities, which had the cutest girls?

Voshon: Pretty much all of them. When you’re traveling like that you’re having a good time when you’re on your business trips, meeting different people in different towns.

Tam-Star: When did you first decide you were going to become a professional basketball player? Was there any person or player that inspired you?

Voshon: When I was little Isaiah Thomas; I admired him a lot, so I pretty much decided to pattern my game after him.

Tam-Star: As someone who is known as a great 3-point shooter, what current NBA player would you say is the purest shooter in today’s game?

Voshon: The purest shooter… I’d probably have to say Dirk Nowitzki. He’s proven that over and over again, and if there was anybody I want on my team it probably would be him right now.

Tam-Star: Everybody’s on Dirk’s hill right now. What do you think is the difference in the NBA when you played and the NBA now?

Voshon: I think guys are coming in a lot younger these days and they’re trying to learn the game where when I came in so many guys went to college first. There’s so many guys coming out of high school right now going to the NBA, it takes them 4-5 years to really learn the game and mature. So I’d say that’s the biggest difference between when I played and now.

Tam-Star: What about the relentless groupies? How has that changed and do you think it’s worse now than when you were playing?

Voshon: I wouldn’t know nothing about that. My main thing was to go in and work every day and just play hard.

Tam-Star: In your era you witnessed great rivalries and epic battles. When you think of the NBA in the late ’90s of course we think about the Knicks and your former team, Miami Heat. Can you tell us your thoughts about playing against the Knicks as a Miami Heat player?

Voshon: That was some hard fought battles when we played them back in the day with Allan Houston and John Starks. It isn’t the same these days. You throw an elbow now you get a technical foul and get fined a lot of money, so it’s different these days.

Former NBA Point Guard Voshon Lenard and DJ Lorenzo at Captain Morgan Party

Tam-Star: Definitely. On that note, speaking of the Knicks, I know that you and former Knicks player Larry Johnson as well as Darryl Dawkins are throwing these house parties around the country for Captain Morgan. Can you tell us a little bit about the parties and what you guys are actually promoting?

Voshon: Yeah, I’m going to be hosting the party to kick off the summer with Captain Morgan’s Long Island iced tea. It’s going to be an exciting night. We’re going to be there and have a good time, and that’s pretty much it.

Tam-Star: Can we expect to see you striking that Captain Morgan pose?

Voshon: Yeah, I’m going to try and do it — put the one leg up.

Tam-Star: Cool. I’m sure you have been to some amazing parties as an NBA player. Out of all the cities you’ve played in, which city do you think has the best nightlife?

READ MORE