Isaac Burton played 96 games in the NBL over four seasons with both the Sydney Kings and the Newcastle Falcons. A defensive ball hawk who excited the crowd with flashy dunks was a fan favourite in Sydney and the NBL during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Burton became embroiled in a point-shaving scandal during his time playing basketball (and baseball) at Arizona State University, a moment in history that has recently been made into a Netflix documentary called "Bad Sports".
The documentary focuses primarily on the players at the centre of the ASU scandal, namely Stevin “Hedake” Smith and Burton, but it also zooms out to lay bare the real villain in their story: the NCAA, which doled out stipends so insufficient that athletes came to see point-shaving as their only means of survival.
Burton re-joins Aussie Hoopla to go into further detail on the point-shaving incident, discuss his involvement in the crimes and interactions with the FBI and how it impacted him.
He also discusses his time playing basketball in Australia and Cyprus with Dan, remembering some of the highlights and lowlights from his career.
Topics include... The Netflix documentary "Bad Sports" and why Isaac decided to be a part of it (2:00) Burton's relationship today with Stevin "Hedake" Smith (5:30) Why Isaac chose to play basketball instead of baseball despite being drafted to the MLB three times (8:00) Growing up in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s and the dangers he faced growing up (11:00) His college experience playing baseball and basketball at both East Los Angeles Community College and Arizona State (14:30) Arriving at Arizona State, meeting Stevin Smith and how they spent their time on campus (16:30) How the investigation began and his interactions with the FBI (19:00) Graduating college and signing with the Sydney Kings (23:00) The reasons Isaac loved living in Sydney (28:00) His first day at training with the Sydney Kings and who he spent time with on the team (30:00) Facing off against Andrew Gaze, Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace and other NBL legends (35:00) Playing against Allen Iverson (39:00) Shane Heal heads to the NBA and his second season with the Kings (40:00) Matt Nielsen's emergence into an NBL star (46:00) An NBA try-out with the Phoenix Suns (47:00) His friendship with Latrell Sprewell and the tension present during his time with the Warriors that culminated with him choking coach PJ Carlesimo (52:00) His season with the Newcastle Falcons in 1998 (55:00) His revenge game against the Kings while with the Falcons (58:00) How Isaac spent 2000-2001 in prison but was allowed out to play basketball for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits IBL team (102:00) A return to Sydney in 2001 (1:07:00) Playing basketball in Cyprus (1:11:00 ) Thoughts on college players being paid to play (1:13:00) What life lessons Isaac took away from the point-shaving experience (1:18:00)Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms.
Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring;
Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin, AJ Ogilvy, Daniel Kickert
Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Vic Law, Jack White, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Brad Newley, Dusty Hannahs
Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer
NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton, Donald Sloan
The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Andre Moore, Steve Woodberry, Gary Ervin, Ebi Ere, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch
And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chuck Harmison, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner
All that and much more.
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