Iman Shumpert is reflecting on the impact his late father had on his life and how that influence shapes the way he parents his own kuds.
During a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, the former NBA champion spoke candidly about raising his two girls and navigating fatherhood after divorcing from Teyana Taylor.
When asked how his relationship with his daughters, Junie and Rue, compares to the bond he shared with his late father, Shumpert was clear.
“Oh, it’s the same,” he said. “I’m open book with them. Open door. Uh me and Junie have tough conversations.”
He acknowledged one key difference.
“You know everything that’s transpired, I don’t have their ear every day how my dad did,” he explained. “That’s their difference that I don’t have their ear every day.”
Still, Shumpert emphasized that presence matters most when they are together.
“As far as when they’re around me, when they speak to me , the protection that they need, they get it,” he said. “With kids like they see time. They see you looking them in the eyes. They see you paying attention and remembering they got a presentation today.”
He added that children notice the details.
“They don’t want to hear how was school they want to hear how was the presentation,” he said. “Their only difference is they can’t get me access to me every night how it was in my household. As far as what I can present, as far as love, it’s all mimicked from him.”
The conversation then shifted to the importance of Black fathers.
“Blackfathers are like a really good defensive back,” he said. “When you got a cornerback or a safety out here that’s so good and their hands is so good they catch everything. Don’t nothing get past them. The other quarterback won’t even throw him the ball. And that’s what having a father is like — they won’t even try you.”
He continued, “All the [ __ ] that your dad do for you, you not going to see it… real pain… and he ain’t going to let you feel none of it.”
For Shumpert, that protection created a lasting sense of security.
“My whole life when I see five men on the corner, this a safe ass corner to me,” he said. “If my uncles and my dad is standing outside this store, every kid that walk past is safe. So that’s how I view black men.”
Before the conversation wrapped, Sharpe asked if he planned to have more children. Shumpert did not hesitate.
“Oh, yeah. I’m going to have more kids,” he said. “I got to have a [boy]. I got to get it..”
Pressed on whether he wants a son, he added, “More girls is cool. I don’t really care. But we going till we get that boy.”