NBA TV anchor Andre Aldridge, a California boy who enjoys a good laugh just as much as a good backdoor cut, caught up with Cleveland's sharp (dressed) shooter Damon Jones to talk about fashion, first kisses, French fries and more in this week's "Lunch With Andre."

"Lunch With Andre" is a chance for the fans to catch a glimpse of NBA players outside of the 94x50 confines and hear what they have to say about their life away from basketball.

Andre: First question -- Your favorite musical artist?

Damon: Jay-Z by far.

Andre: Jay-Z by far? Not even close?

Damon: Not even close.

H to the Izzo.
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Andre: OK, we love that. When you were little, what was the best thing you ever got for Christmas?

Damon: The best thing I ever got for Christmas was a BMX bike.

Andre: How old were you?

Damon: Eight.

Andre: Did you know you were getting it or was it a Santa surprise?

Damon: It was definitely a surprise. It came out of nowhere and you know, they had it all wrapped up for me. I think I rode it five days, six days straight without giving it a break.

Andre: You know there’s a BMW commercial now where the little kid is screaming when he opens up a Christmas present? He’s like, “Yesss! Yesssss!” Was that you?

Damon: Man, that was me times 10.

Christmas surprise.
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Andre: That’s strong. What word makes you cringe when you hear it?

Damon: Aw man … Losing.

Andre: When you first got to high school, who was voted the best athlete at the school?

Damon: I was.

Andre: When you first got to school?

Damon: When I first got to high school.

Andre: When you were in ninth grade? Did you start ninth grade or 10th grade?

Damon: I went 10th grade.

Andre: In 10th grade you were the best athlete?

Damon: The best athlete.

Andre: Well, that sucks. How did that feel?

Damon: It felt good. It just got better from there every year on.

Andre: So you were known for basketball even in junior high school?

Damon: Oh yes.

Andre: That puts pressure on you for your senior year. When you were a senior in high school who was the best athlete in your high school?

Damon: Oh I was. It was hands down. They stopped voting. After my sophomore year they stopped voting.

Andre: How’s the second-best guy feel? He knows it’s not a race?

Damon: He didn’t even want them to cast the vote.

Andre: Did you play football in high school?

Damon: I did for a little bit of my first year but my basketball coach was very adamant about me playing basketball fulltime so he wanted me to make a decision. He thought it was best for me to play basketball year round so I put all my eggs in one basket.

Andre: Now your 12th grade year, were you the prom king?

Damon: No, I wasn’t the prom king. No, I wasn’t.

Andre: What happened there?

Damon: I don’t know. I lost probably by 10 or 15 votes. There was another guy at that point and time I think the ladies thought he looked a little bit better than I did.

Andre: So it wasn’t even an athlete thing. He just looked better.

Damon: He just looked better than I did.

Andre: Would you have worn the crown?

Damon: Oh yeah I would ... He had curly hair and he wore nice preppy clothes.

Andre: Yeah, I know how that goes … Because we would have found a picture of the crown. So we’re hating on that a couple of ways.

Damon: Yeah, definitely.

Andre: What grade were you in the first time you kissed a girl?

Damon: Wow.

Andre: Wow exactly.

Damon: Man.

Andre: Yeah, I know.

Damon: I was a junior in high school.

Andre: Wow!

Damon: Yeah, a junior in high school when I had my first kiss. I was kind of a nerd-type athlete throughout my high school career and I kind of blossomed into what I am now.

Andre: Now let me ask you this, how many days were you stressing before that magic moment happened?

Damon: Oh man. We had been dating for about four months. I shouldn’t say dating. We were courting each other. Going out on dates and stuff like that, so, probably about two weeks because we were starting to get serious after about four months. I knew it was coming sooner or later. I just wanted it to be right and I wanted her to enjoy it.

Andre: How do you think that first one was?

Damon: It went well because we stayed together for probably about three years after that.

Andre: That’s pretty strong. I was like eighth grade so I feel pretty good now. There was a long draught after that ...

Damon: (Laughing)

Andre: What’s your favorite junk food?

Damon: Wow. Favorite junk food has to be French fries.

Andre: Plain? Chili fries? Chili-cheese?

Damon: Plain French fries with pepper on them.

Pass the pepper, please.
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Andre: OK. What’s the first album or CD you bought with your own money?

Damon: Man, it had to be one of Jay-Z’s albums. I don’t know which one it was.

Andre: So it was Jay-Z from Jump Street. If you weren’t a basketball player, what would you be?

Damon: Oh man, probably a high-profile movie star.

Andre: A comedic actor or a serious actor?

Damon: You know what? I think I can do a little bit of both. I would prefer comedic roles, but when you’d be at the stage that I would be at, the $20 million a movie, I would be able to do it all.

Andre: You would be at Denzel’s stage. They’d need more than laughs though for that $20 mill.

Damon: Yeah, definitely.

Andre: All right, I need you to fill in the blank. Whenever I leave my house, I can’t leave home with out my _________?

Damon: I can’t leave without my wallet.

Andre: OK, we were taking iPod, glasses but OK we’ll do that. When’s the last time you cried after losing a basketball game?

Damon: Oh man, last time I cried was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago.

Andre: Just that you were so close?

Damon: We were right there. Had an opportunity to win the basketball game you know, a little over two minutes to go we had a lead and we couldn’t close it out.

Andre: I’m not going to put words in your mouth, but that has nothing to do with money or TV or anything. It’s just a feeling.

Damon: It has nothing to do with anything other than seeing 15 guys in an organization put their all into accomplishing one goal. Going as far as we did and not being able to accomplish it was a devastating feeling. Every time I think back on it, I kind of tear up a little bit just thinking about how special that group of guys was.

Andre: Have you ever cried in your life after winning a game?

Damon: I don’t think so. I’ve had tears of joy but I haven’t really let them out. But on the inside I was crying.

Andre: If every person on earth had to keep a diary, who’s would you like to read?

Damon: I would like to read Martin Luther King’s, his diary. Just the things that he had to go through and persevered through and he did it with dignity and poise without having to stoop to everybody’s level of violence and still keeping the non-violent attitude. I would really like to read his.

He had a dream.
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Andre: Have you been to the Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel down in Memphis ever?

Damon: Briefly.

Andre: Give me your top three movies of all time.

Damon: No. 1 would be Ray Charles with Jamie Foxx. No. 2 would be Out of Time with Denzel and Eva Mendes. Put quotation marks. “I love Eva Mendes.” And Pursuit of Happyness.

Andre: Who’s a better dancer, Michael Jackson or Usher?

Damon: Oooh man.

Andre: Kind of tricky…?

Damon: Usher, because he’s part owner of the team.

He beats out the King of Pop.
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Andre: All right. Michael Jackson fans are going to be e-mailing you. If you had to send someone that you didn’t like to court for justice, who do you want to decide the outcome? Remember this is for someone you don’t like. Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy or Judge Marilyn Milian from the People’s Court?

Damon: Judge Judy.

Andre: Judge Judy? Why? She’s kind of salty, isn’t she?

Damon: Yeah, she’s tough.

Andre: I’ve heard that there are two things to do in Galveston, Texas: Go fishing or go to Dairy Queen. So what did you do on Fridays growing up?

Damon: I found myself at the park, on the beach.

Andre: Fishing?

Damon: No, playing basketball.

Andre: So you had a water view when you were growing up playing basketball?

Damon: Oh man, we had a nice park with a pavilion that lit up at night on the beach and that’s where you found all the serious basketball players.

Andre: OK, that’s strong. Hey, who’s the best-dressed sideline reporter: Craig Sager or Jim Gray?

Damon: Craig Sager.


Oh, Craiggers.
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Andre: Now you know you’re known for your fashion sense, but one of our NBA TV directors, Luis Ruiz, he hates your red blazer. So what do you want me to tell him?

Damon: Tell him, “Thanks.”

Andre: I think he said something like you didn’t go to Louisville, so you shouldn’t be wearing a red blazer.

Damon: I’m known for the red blazer and that kind of got me started as far as my notoriety as far as my fashion is concerned, even though I’ve been dressing well for the last four years.

Andre: So who was the best style: Old school Miami Vice with Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas or Crockett and Tubbs out on DVD now, Jamie Foxx and Collin Farrell?

Damon: Crockett and Tubbs, baby. They got that new European look that everybody is going to these days.

Andre: What movie star should play the lead role in the Damon Jones story?

Damon: Mike Epps.

Andre: So you’re saying good looking and funny?

Damon: Yeah. I’m not looking at him like that, I’m just saying he’s funny.

Andre: OK, let’s do a quick word association. I give you a word, you give me a word: Black.

Damon: Michael Jordan.

Andre: Hot.

Damon: My jumper.

Andre: Sweet.

Damon: My looks.

Andre: Beyonce.

Damon: Eternity.

Andre: Love.

Damon: My jumper.

Andre: Kenny Smith told me to look at the video from the Rockets two championship seasons in ’94 and ’95 and to check out both clinching games at The Summit and he said, not me, when I do that to look for a big-headed ball boy and it’s Damon Jones. Is that true?

Damon: False.

Andre: False? Were you a ball boy for the Rockets?

Damon: I was never a ball boy I just had the opportunity to work a couple of their practices where I rebounded a couple times and you know, got a few cups of water, but I was never at the arena when the game was going on.


Kenny can spin a yarn.
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Andre: So, Kenny, again this is a Texas situation and I know you can’t bad mouth anything about Texas you being from there but, are you saying Kenny’s not always right?

Damon: Well, there’s a saying that we have down in Texas and it’s called a tall tale. It starts out short and ends up tall. Him, Sam Cassell, Mario Elie and Robert Horry started it as midgets.

Andre: Give me the top three songs on your play list …

Damon: “30 Is the New 20,” because I just turned 30 in August.

Andre: OK, we’re good with Jay-Z.

Damon: Oh man, Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” and um, “What You Got.”

Andre: You’re from Texas, have you ever had hot-water cornbread?

Damon: No, I always like my cornbread to taste like candy.

Andre: Sweet and sugary.

Damon: Yeah.

Andre: OK. It appears that Miss USA could’ve use your help, or at least your sunglasses. Because she was blinded by the light a little bit. If you were Donald Trump, would you have given her a second chance or would you have said, “You’re fired,”?

Damon: I would have given her a second chance.

Andre: OK, we love second chances. Final question for you. It’s the holiday season now. Canned ham or turkey?

Damon: Definitely turkey … Fried.

Andre: Deep-fried?

Damon: Yeah.

Andre: If America hasn’t had deep-fried turkey, do they know what they’re missing?

Damon: No, they don’t know. Only people from down South really know what deep-fried turkey is all about.

Andre: That’s the No. 1 thing I miss about living in Atlanta. Oh my goodness.

Damon: Yes sir.

Previous to joining NBA TV, Andre Aldridge hosted and anchored numerous programs for CNN’s Sports Division from 1999-2002, including “This Week in the NBA,” “Sports Tonight,” “Closer Look,” and “SI Cover to Cover.” During his tenure at CNN, he also reported live from NFL Super Bowls, covered major boxing title fights, and reported from several Major League Baseball games.