Q&A: Carolina Panthers WR Philly Brown

Ten questions about life off the field with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Philly Brown.

Q. If you did not play football, what would you do?

A. I’d be a hooper.

Q. I’ve got to be honest I don’t think that’s realistic with your height. You’d be the smallest dude in the NBA, wouldn’t you?

A. Not even close. Are you kidding me? I’d be taller than Isaiah Thomas. (Editors note: Thomas is 5-foot-9. Brown is 5-foot-11.)

Q. You’re from Philadelphia. How often would you take the train over to New York?

A. None. Never. I never had a reason to go to New York. I don’t really care for it.

Q. So I guess you were a big fan of the Rocky movies?

A. Not this new one (“Creed”) that just came out. I didn’t even go see it. The only one I liked was the one with the Russian (“Rocky IV”). The ones with Apollo are all right, but the one with the Russian is the best one to me.

Q. You went back to Philly from Corey at the start of the season. Are you always going to go by that now? Will you try to get that changed on a driver’s license?

A. No, not to a legal name. That would be ridiculous. I can’t have my kids calling me that.

Q. How do you deal with being a 76ers fan these past few years with all the losing?

A. We’re getting Ben Simmons next year, so I’m happy. As long as we can keep losing and get this No. 1 pick and we get Ben Simmons, I ain’t worried. When the Sixers turn it around, everybody is going to hop on the bandwagon like y’all do for the Warriors. It’s going to be the same thing.

Q. You recently told me Kobe is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). After a few weeks of being able to figure out that that’s patently false, have you decided to back off that?

A. He will forever be the GOAT. This is the 20th season that we’re watching Kobe play in. There are people that y’all call the GOAT that don’t make it to 20 years, that could play at this level for 20 years.

Q. You’re wearing Jordans and you have a Chicago Bulls hat, but you say you never saw Jordan play for them. Can one appreciate basketball history if one does not know?

A. I can’t appreciate great Jordan moments because I never saw him. Never saw a Jordan game, so I can’t appreciate it. Everybody in this locker room that’s my age (24) that walks around and say they saw Jordan play live in games, they’re lying. They just listen to what the media says. Jordan can’t be my GOAT because I didn’t see him play.

Q. How do you like Charlotte?

A. It’s cool. I like it. It’s a nice city. It’s a lot cleaner than where I’m from. People are nice. The food is good. The weather is nice. I wouldn’t mind some snow, though. The weather’s cool. It’s nice down here.

Q. Is there a good place in Charlotte to get a Philly cheesesteak?

A. Oh, I don’t know. I don’t eat them down here. I wouldn’t dare do it. There probably is, though. But I wouldn’t do it. It’s not a Philly cheesesteak if it’s down here. It’s a Charlotte cheesesteak.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Q&A: Carolina Panthers WR Philly Brown."