Julyan Ray Stone was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but his family moved to California where Stone attended Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta. He went undrafted, during the 2011 NBA draft, after attending the University of Texas El-Paso for four years. The Nuggets signed Stone as an undrafted free agent and he appeared in 22 games with the Nuggets (two starts) last season.
That's Stone the basketball player, now let's find out more about the second year point guard.
Who is your favorite actor?
Julyan Stone, “Denzel Washington. He’s in every movie I’ve ever liked.”
That’s the same favorite actor as Jordan Hamilton and Anthony Randolph, what gives?
Stone, "Jordan Hamilton wants to be like him, so I don't know."
What's your favorite Denzel movie?
Stone, "Favorite movie … actually I like his new movie Flight that was a dope movie or Training Day; I don't know he has quite a bit [of good movies] so it depends on my mood. Yeah, it depends on my mood."
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Who is your favorite actress?
Stone, "Hmm, actress. Like I like their acting or I like the way they look?"
Either one.
Stone, "I got to go with Halle Berry."
How about a favorite Halle Berry movie?
Stone, "I don't even know a Halle Berry movie, I just know how she looks."
What is your favorite thing to do in the weight room or a different type of exercise?
Stone, "Oh, curls! Especially in the summer."
Curls for the girls?
Stone, "Curls for the girls and a little bit of abs and that's it. I don't need it for basketball, it's just for the girls."
How about something you didn't know about Colorado until you got here?
Stone, "I didn't know Tim Gelt [Nuggets Director of Media Relations]. I didn't know he was "the man" if that counts. That's something I didn't know, he's the man. Tim Gelt is the man."
(Note, Gelt was within earshot when I asked that question. A lot of Nuggets players and coaches will address people during their interviews when they are within earshot.)
What's on your iPod lately?
Stone, "A lot of Kendrick Lamar, a lot of ASAP [Rocky], and Young Jeezy's new CD, I listen to that a lot."
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Do you have a favorite food?
Stone enlisted the help of his little nephew Devin who has attended a couple practices with his uncle. Devin responded, "Eggs."
Stone, "I don't like eggs! Does candy count?"
Yes, sure.
Stone, "Ok, candy. Now and Later all day. I love them."
Would those count for dessert as well or do you have a favorite dessert?
Stone, "I do candy for dessert. I don't like cake and all that stuff, I just eat candy."
So do you get candy from Vicki the Sign Lady at games?
Stone, "Oh yeah. I have a candy jar at home full of it. Any time you're in the locker room, look at my jar."
Videogames or reading?
Stone, "I love doing both, but I play a lot of videogames. Well not a lot, but a nice amount."
What game have you been playing recently?
Stone, "Sleeping Dogs. It's like Grant Theft Auto, but in Hong Kong. It's a dope game."
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Did you ever play the old NBA Jam?
Stone, "Yes, I go to 1Up all the time and play it."
Who is your team on NBA Jam?
Stone, “I like the [Orlando] Magic because they have Penny [Anfernee Hardaway]. I play with Penny and Nick Anderson and they have Horace Grant too.”
I used to play with the old Nuggets of Dikembe Mutombo and LaPhonso Ellis.
Stone, "They have that team too. See I was a Penny fan though, so I got to go with Penny."
Did you ever use the Charlotte Hornets team with Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning?
Stone, "And Muggsy [Bogues]. Muggsy was the guy!"
You said you have been reading too; what book are you currently reading?
Stone, "I'm reading The Invisible Man right now, which is a pretty dope book. I'm picking up on my reading because I need to get away from basketball and videogames a little bit."
What else do you like to do away from the basketball court, beside sleeping? There has been a lot of pictures of you, from your teammates, on Instagram of you sleeping.
Stone, "Yeah man, there has been a whole lot of those. I don't even know what to say about that. I just like to chill. Sit at the house and just chill, maybe watch TV."
Devin helped out his uncle once again by letting me know what Stone really watches.
Devin, "He watches cartoons."
Stone, "Yeah I do watch cartoons. I don't watch that many any more though."
I had to follow up with Devin for this one.
Nate to Devin, "What's his favorite cartoon?"
Devin, "Ninja Turtles."
Julyan, who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
Stone, "I'm a fan of all of them. Michelangelo is dope just because he's crazy, I was a big fan of Donatello, Leonardo I was a fan of, all of them."
Who are you closest with on the team?
Stone, "I have different relationships with everybody. C-Brew is kind of like an older brother to me, so he kind of makes fun of me a lot. J-Ham, we came in together [as rookies], we're like fighting brothers. I try to treat Quincy [Miller] like a little brother. I'm close with everybody, it just depends on what is going on with the team at that particular time."
I've been hearing a lot about Brewer being an older brother type figure or mentor. What is it about him that makes him good at that?
Stone, "He's just Brew. He's goofy, he's somebody that you can talk with about anything, he doesn't have an arrogant side to him, and he has experienced a whole lot in this league. So, you can just talk to him and he doesn't make you feel any less important [than anyone else]."
Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
Stone, "Magic Johnson. I love Magic and the [later] era of the big point guard was Penny, so he was an athlete that I used to watch a lot, too. But Magic growing up was my favorite player of all-time. Magic, to me, was the greatest player to ever play, that's just my opinion."
Who were your role models growing up?
Stone, "My oldest brother J.T. and my mother. They were my biggest influences."
And you have other siblings too right?
Stone, "I have my oldest brother J.T., my older sister Terri, my other older brother Frankie, and I got my other older brother Jason."
What's a talent that you have that people may not know?
Stone, "Making music with my brother. I make a lot of lot of music just messing around. We have a DJ booth, turntables, keyboards, so I just mess around with that."
A big thank you to Julyan for taking the time to answer my questions – and a special thanks to Stone's little nephew Devin, who kept his uncle honest. In case you missed them, here are the Getting to Know Your Nuggets with Randolph and also with Hamilton.
