CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former UNC and NBA star Antawn Jamison isn’t playing basketball anymore, but he’s still had a newsy 2026.

Jamison was deeply involved in the hiring of new UNC men’s basketball coach Michael Malone, and he goes in depth about that process as well as what it was like playing for Malone in the NBA in his “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” interview.

A longtime Charlotte resident who has raised his five children in the Queen City, Jamison’s interview serves as episode 1 of Season 4 of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” — the multimedia series in which sports icons sit down for conversations that encompass much more than just sports.

The 1998 college basketball player of the year at UNC, Jamison also had a 16-year NBA career where he scored more than 20,000 points. He had an opportunity to play for the Charlotte Hornets toward the end of his career and now regrets that he passed on it.

In our interview, Jamison, 50, told stories about Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Dean Smith. Our full conversation can be found on the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” podcast as well as on The Charlotte Observer’s YouTube channel. Here are some excerpts, lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

— Scott Fowler: What are you up to these days?

— Antawn Jamison: Right now, just finally being a retired dad. I’ve been dedicating myself to the game of basketball pretty much my whole life. Recently, I had the opportunity to kind of step away from that. I was in the front office for the (Washington) Wizards for the last eight years. And now I have five kids, and two boys that really need my attention nonstop.

One (Rucker) is a rising junior at Myers Park. I have a (daughter) who’s about to be a fourth-grader and who is the love of my life. My mom and dad have had some health issues here lately, but they’re doing great. So, just being a present son, a brother, and most importantly, a father and a friend.

And trying to get my handicap score down a little bit on the golf course.

— SF: What is your golf handicap?

— AJ: I had it at 8-9… If I can get done with all these AAU basketball games and team camps, I can really get it a little lower.. It’s the closest thing to competition I have now. Me and Vince (Carter, Jamison’s former UNC teammate and close friend) — we play occasionally. It’s been a while, because he likes to cheat.

— SF: You were born in Louisiana and spent your early years there. How did the Jamison family wind up in Charlotte?

— AJ: My parents (were) looking for a city where they can raise their kids and give them a better opportunity. My dad was a construction worker. My (mom) told him, “Whenever you find a decent city that you feel like is acceptable for us in the family, send me up one weekend. I’ll check it out. If I like it, we’re there.”

The first two cities (he sent her to) were Louisville, Ky. — she didn’t like it — and Cincinnati. Too cold.

So Hurricane Hugo had hit Charlotte (in 1989) and the company sent my dad and a lot of his co-workers from Shreveport up here to help out. … She came up one weekend, and they drove around, bought a house, came home, packed up. The next week we were here in Charlotte. I was going into sixth grade. I went to Quail Hollow Middle, then Providence High School and then the University of North Carolina.

— SF: How did you figure out basketball was such a big deal in North Carolina?

— AJ: It was a normal day at school and all of a sudden the teacher stopped teaching. She rolls in this TV and puts on the ACC Tournament. I’m just like, “Hold up?! We sit here and watch the ACC Tournament?” And that was my introduction. I’ve been hooked ever since.

— SF: You got to play in a secretive pickup game against Michael Jordan at his peak, early in your UNC career. What was that like?

— AJ: This was during one of the three-peats (when the Chicago Bulls, with Jordan as their star, won three NBA championships in a row two different times in the 1990s). Coach (Bill) Coach Guthridge was always in charge of pickups, and we kind of had a routine. He was like, “Tomorrow you guys are gonna play pick up a little early.”

So we got there (early), thinking somebody’s just coming to watch us play pickup, because we used to have the George Karls and Larry Browns and all those guys (from the UNC coaching tree) do that.

And lo and behold, man, he walks into the gym with that walk. And we’re just like, “Hold up, that’s Michael Jordan?!” We’re fixin’ to play basketball with Michael Jordan, going into my sophomore year.

I just recall the intensity of that pickup game. It felt like Game 6 of the (NBA) Finals. I mean, we’re diving for loose balls, we’re setting picks, we’re talking, we’re communicating. … It was a surreal feeling. … Coach (Dean) Smith — he’s like a proud papa, just sitting there watching…. And Michael still had it. Ask Vince Carter did he dominate us. … He did it with ease. Like, no effort. Just flowed with the game.

— SF: You were very involved in the hiring of new UNC coach Michael Malone. First of all, how do you think he’s going to do?

— AJ: Look, he’s not a Carolina guy who went there. But I know he’s going to have a lot of success. I’m excited for him. I love Hubert (Davis, the former coach, who was fired after UNC’s early exit in the 2026 NCAA Tournament). ... But we all know at the University of North Carolina, it’s unacceptable to be sitting home (after) the first (NCAA tournament) weekend in March. So that’s kind of how we got to this point.

— SF: Once that point was reached, how did you get involved?

— AJ: UNC put together a panel of guys who went to Carolina. Steve (Newmark, the new UNC athletic director) reached out to me and said, “Look, we’re putting this board together, we want to get this coaching search done right. You have had some experience in the (NBA) front office.” Coach Malone’s name came up. And I was like, “Steve, I had the opportunity to be coached under Coach Malone when I was in Cleveland when I got traded from the Wizards.”

This is when LeBron was LeBron. And some of the coaches kind of walked on eggshells when it came to LeBron.

Not Coach Malone. He demanded that respect, and LeBron really paid it.

I just didn’t know if he would jump into the college ranks. … When we reached out to him, I said: “Coach, it’s just like an NBA franchise now. You have a GM. You have a staff. And the University of North Carolina coaching job is one of the most coveted jobs in all of basketball.” Plus, his daughter went there (Bridget Malone is a volleyball player at UNC). It just made sense.

— SF: What should UNC fans expect?

— AJ: In terms of X’s and O’s, he’s one of the best, I’d say, to ever do it. He grew up around the game of basketball with his dad. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him, and I think he’s going to do some unbelievable things. He’s just trying to figure out how to maneuver around the college ranks of NIL and transfer portal and all these things. But we’re getting an unbelievable coach.

— SF: I’ve heard you say that UNC basketball had kind of gotten away from playing for the name on the front of the jerseys. What do you mean by that?

— AJ: That’s the landscape of sports in general. Like when you (once) came to UNC, man, it was a privilege. The James Worthys, the Phil Fords, the Tyler Hansbroughs, the Sam Perkins — so many greats wore that jersey. ... Fast forward to NIL and the transfer portal — if you get coached hard, you might leave. I think that it’s hard to get guys to play for the history and the tradition of the school ...

We (UNC) were kind of late to the game, as far as the collective, figuring out how to generate NIL money. ... We went from a situation where it was a privilege to play for North Carolina to the first thing that is asked when you come visit (any school) now: “How much money do you have for me?”

— SF: I know you loved Dean Smith. What do you think the most important thing is that he taught you?

— AJ: Family.

I can remember my freshman year. They were like: “Coach Smith wants you in his office.” You don’t want that. So I come in. I’m nervous. And he says: “When’s the last time you talked to your mom or dad.”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Let’s call them on the phone right now,” he said.

So Coach Smith calls my dad and says, “Hey, how are you doing? I’ve got your son right here.”

“What’d he do!!” my dad says.

“He didn’t do anything,” Coach says. “He’s just calling to check up.”

And that’s the most important thing. I was worried about going to the NBA and enjoying college. And he was pulling me aside, to make sure you keep that connection with your family.

— SF: Give me a top five of NBA players — and they had to be your teammates at one time or another.

— AJ: OK. My center is Shaquille (O’Neal). At my four, I have (Dirk) Nowitzki. The three can go to LeBron. At two, I go with Kobe. And then my point — I’m going with Gilbert (Arenas). He put together probably six of the best years I’ve ever seen a teammate put together.

— SF: What’s your opinion on the future of the Smith Center at Chapel Hill? Should it be renovated or should a new arena be built either at Odum Village or Carolina North?

— AJ: Wherever the chips fall, I’m all about the University of North Carolina. The Smith Center means so much to me. ... It’s a part of who I am.

But I am also a firm believer there is a time and place for some changes. Is this the place? Is this the time?

I would love for the Smith Center to continue to be where it’s at. But I also go into the VIP entrance and I go to the bathroom (on a level inaccessible to most fans). I don’t get the true fan experience. The people who have to wait 45 minutes to use the bathroom and miss out on some of the game — we have to fix that.

So I’ve been on the fence. Whatever the university wants, I will support it 100 percent. I would love it to stay where it’s at, but I’m also a realist.

— SF: What was the biggest disappointment of your basketball career?

— AJ: I love the Final Four. I experienced it twice (as a player at UNC). But when it comes to championship game Monday, I just always think about what could have been.

If there’s one thing I can have a do-over on, it would be my junior year, playing the Utah Utes (in 1998, in the Final Four). ... Coach Smith had decided to retire, we wanted to do it for Coach (Bill) Guthridge, because of his dedication, being the assistant coach for Coach Smith for so many years. ... But it just takes 2-3 bad minutes. And Utah, they just played flawless (basketball)... I still hear it today: Y'all were the best (Carolina) team that never won. Y'all’s banner should be up there.” That’s the part of the Carolina tradition you wish you were a part of.

I’ve made some mistakes, believe me. I wish I had played for the Hornets. That opportunity came toward the end of my career, I was trying for a championship and played for the Lakers instead. That’s another decision I wish I had (back).

Once, for the Tyler Hansbrough championship (in 2009), Coach Guthridge was walking out (with Jamison) after they won it, almost in tears.

He said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I said.

“I couldn’t get you one,” Guthridge said.

“Come on,” I said. “You couldn’t get us one? We couldn’t get you one.”

That’s the one thing I wish — that I could have done a better job to create that memory, for that team.

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