Rowan Kavner
BROOKLYN – It’s the age-old question.
With the Clippers leaving Chicago for New York on this five-game road trip, some of the players and coaches answered which city they believe has the better pizza.
Some of those answers were more obvious than others.
“Chicago,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “It’s not even close.”
Inevitably, the coaches and players who answered had some biases based on where they grew up, including Rivers, who was raised in the Chicago area.
“I have a ton of favorite spots,” Rivers said. “My spots are more local spots. Lou Malnati’s is good, Giordano’s is good, but there are other places in Chicago that are amazing, and I don’t do deep dish. I do Chicago thin, which is still better than New York style. Not even close.”
Others would disagree.
The Clippers’ connections to both Chicago and New York are extensive, particularly among the coaching staff. Assistant coaches Armond Hill and Lawrence Frank were born in New York. Frank and assistant coach Mike Woodson were also head coaches in New York. Woodson said he’s more a fan of other Italian food in New York, but Hill adamantly answered with the city where he was born.
Jamal Crawford, having played extensive time in both locations, plead the fifth, choosing not to alienate himself one way or the other by answering. He knows how serious each city takes it.
Chris Paul said he’s been to New York more often than Chicago, so he sided with the former. Austin Rivers went with Chicago style. He joked that all Anthony Davis does is eat deep dish pizza, and he said the two of them went to Giordano’s when they played together as New Orleans teammates.
With more connections to New York than Chicago, The Big Apple was the answer for most players.
C.J. Wilcox and Luc Mbah a Moute both picked New York. Lance Stephenson, who’s from Brooklyn, obviously sided with New York.
“I actually think it tastes better, though,” Stephenson said.
Wesley Johnson’s fiance is from New York, so that was his answer, though he said he’s more excited about getting bagels in the city. Johnson’s not a fan of the amount of cheese in a deep dish slice.
Cole Aldrich and Pablo Prigioni both played in New York, and Aldrich said he prefers the ease of eating by the slice in New York. Prigioni’s gluten-free, so he didn’t have an answer.
Aldrich said most hole-in-the-wall pizza joints in New York will have good pizza on the go. He didn’t have a go-to spot for pizza while playing in New York, but he said he liked trying new places.
“That was my wife and I’s kind of thing to do,” said Aldrich, who spent his last two seasons in New York. “We rarely went back to the same place. The Meatball Shop we frequented a decent amount.”
The best debate probably happened between Aldrich and Prigioni, regarding the merits of a gluten-free diet. Prigioni said he went started seven years ago because gluten stays in the body and is hard to digest.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy Italian restaurants, however, and he said Cipriani in Soho is one of his favorites.
