Pack your bags, because The Amazing Race is back for its 30th season! Every week, Parade’s Mike Bloom will bring you interviews with the team most recently eliminated from the race.

When a show like The Amazing Race brings together pairs from entirely different walks of life, it’s safe to say some expectations will be defied. In seasons past, we have seen police officers, NFL players and professional wrestlers fall to goat farmers, candy scientists and self-proclaimed “hippies.” Former NBA all-stars Cedric Ceballos and Shawn Merion thought their athleticism and worldly experience would easily take them to the net and ultimately dunk on their opponents. But the race was an opponent even larger than these towering men, leading to an eventful four legs that culminated in elimination in the middle of France.

Cedric and Shawn hit their first roadblock of the race at the actual first Roadblock of the race. Tasked with constructing the word of their next destination, a mix-up of accents stopped Shawn cold in his tracks, quickly putting them behind. Though they were able to pass a couple of the teams who left before them, they nearly froze when host Phil Keoghan told them they would be facing the season’s first penalty, due to Cedric’s unintentional and illegal coaching during the task. They were luckily spared elimination, but that moment, along with having front-row seats to a frantic footrace between “The Ring Girls” and “Team Goat Yoga” made them realize the true stakes that were at hand. Perhaps it was this mentality that fueled their overall success in the second leg, where their aptitudes in emoji-less typesetting and dolly-wheeling led to a second place finish. As they flew to Morocco, the former Dallas Mavericks certainly felt like their namesakes. But it ended up being the Heat that did them in, as Cedric’s navigational issues and his choice during a physically exerting Roadblock to carry around his backpack sent them to the back of the pack. Though things did not look good, if Cedric’s previous cardiac episodes were any indication, he had heart. They pushed through to the end of the leg, only to receive a Deus ex Moroccan Machina in the form of the season’s first non-elimination leg. Tasked with driving to the luscious Saint-Tropez, their directional problems seemed to follow them back to Europe. They did not arrive at the Roadblock last, even after they dealt with the deck stacked against them by stacking boats in their Speed Bump, but Cedric’s lack of a knack for tact put them behind once more. Despite taking on water, the team was able to stay afloat, finishing their sandal-making Detour ahead of vehicle-challenged Eric and Daniel Guffrieda. But they got lost once more, sending them into the Head-to-Head against Lucas Bocanegra and Brittany Austin, where they promptly got bowled over in a game of pétanque. After getting a chance to get back in the game, the basketball players were not able to bounce and got benched for good.

Now out of the race, Cedric and Shawn talk with me about what led to their partnership, whether their size helped or hindered them overall, and what actually caused Cedric to get sick at the Moroccan medina.

You both had storied careers in the NBA. What led you to want to go onto The Amazing Race, and how did you find each other as partners? Cedric, I know you said you had been watching the show for years up to that point.

Cedric Ceballos: You know, you talk junk when you’re sitting on your couch. I was watching other people, but actually knowing what to do and how to get involved in the show, I had no idea and no plan even to submit myself. The NBA called a bunch of former players, asking if [we] could grab our own individual partners to see if we can get involved. I was excited; my family was excited. Their schedules were conflicting, so they couldn’t get involved. I reached out to [WNBA player] Ticha Penicheiro. We have traveled the world together to help kids, and I knew she spoke a lot of languages. Being a fan of the show, I knew that languages and asking for directions would be great. I asked her, and she couldn’t do it. They talked to Shawn about it, too. He was looking for partners, and they just added two and two together and said, “Hey, you guys played on the same team and played for the same organizations multiple times. Same positions, both All-Stars. This might be a pretty good story.” So they asked if we know each other. I’m like, “Do we?!” After that, it was a no-brainer. We started calling each other, laughing about previous shows and what we’re going to do. So it was a good marriage for both of us.

That marriage did get off to a rocky start when Shawn struggled on the first Roadblock in Iceland by mixing up the O’s. Shawn, can you take us through what was going through your head at that moment?

Shawn Marion: It’s crazy. The ice I chose was directly in front of the sun, so I couldn’t see [the accent] on it. I had the letters memorized, but I couldn’t see the O with the accent because mine was upside down or backward. But the crazy thing is, even the film crew said, “Shawn, I couldn’t see it either. There’s no way you would have seen that because of the glare from the ice.” But I got through it, and we were able to catch up and get back into the race. It happens; sometimes you get caught in situations, and you get frustrated. I was cussing and swearing at everybody, but for the most part, I got through it and made it happen.

Cedric: Let me add to that. The whole time, I didn’t’ know what Shawn was doing. And when I saw the show, I thought, “Oh my God, I never would have been able to do that.” Doing that, in that terrain, freezing and wet, with the pressure of the race. You knocked that out, Shawn.

The Roadblock ends up culminating in this penalty due to Cedric accidentally telling Shawn what to do. Even though you guys survived it, were you nervous moving forward about speaking up during Roadblocks for fear of breaking any more rules?

Shawn: Definitely, it makes you want to not say anything, especially during a Roadblock. You can’t help your teammate, but you can cheer them on. It’s like a Catch-22. For the most part, it made you think about the race. You can never really think about the teams you’re going against, you just need to [concentrate] on the race. Cedric always said, “You just don’t know where you’re at. So just race, because you never know who’s going to be in front of you or behind you.” For the most part, you don’t know, especially when everybody’s spread out.

Cedric: That penalty put a caution into us that would hurt us later. When I was on the Roadblock [in Morocco], I passed Shawn, and other teams yelled out their [partners’ names]. Shawn thought, “Well, we got penalized last time.” He saw me, and he could have said, “Ced, I’m here!” That would have saved a lot of time; we probably wouldn’t have even come in last. But we had that penalty before, so that made us gun-shy. I didn’t even know I passed by Shawn until I’m watching the show. I was right there!

In your last leg, we saw your height work for you (in the case of the Speed Bump) and against you (in the case of the dinghies at the Roadblock). Would you say your size overall helped or hindered you?

Shawn: Honestly, I would say it hindered us. Everything was predicated on being smaller. A lot of the challenges we did were more demanding for us because we were bigger. When you’re smaller and skinnier, you can move a lot faster. Everything is not made for big guys. (Laughs.) That’s the reason they have average, above average, and below average. It speaks volumes everywhere you go around the world. There are a lot of things not suited for big guys. Think about it; when you want to buy a car now, you have to sit in the car. I can’t buy it without sitting in it because it can be too small. All that stuff does play a part in it. Some of the stuff we were able to do because we were bigger and stronger, like the boats. But some of that stuff was really demanding on us. Even in the first leg, when we had to go over that cliff. That was not easy for us! That took a longer time than people think. People who were lighter and smaller were able to get that clue a lot faster than we were. Even climbing [the SkyClimb suspended ladder during a Roadblock] in Belgium was hard. My arms were shot. They didn’t show this, I was dehydrated and almost fainted. That stuff is really demanding on you.

Cedric: For big guys, we were at a disadvantage. The only one we weren’t was the [Speed Bump]. As Shawn said, when I was out on the trapeze, I sagged all the way down to the point where I was hitting the mountain. Even when we were at the [fry race Head-to-Head challenge], I was faster than Cody, but I couldn’t get as low as Cody. All physical challenges did not accommodate us, not one bit.

Speaking toward the physical aspects of the show, I would be remiss not to bring up the fact that Cedric, you had a few heart attacks before coming on the race. Shawn mentioned earlier that you have this “never give up” attitude. Did those experiences helped shape that mentality and the way you saw the race?

Cedric: I think both of us grew up where we thought we would have a disadvantage and we would have to conquer a lot of things. Not only because of being black males in this society, being raised by single moms, or being in neighborhoods that are not too accommodating for what we need. As soon as we got started, we’re in New York City, and it took us almost an hour and a half to get a cab to stop. (Laughs.) Two big, tall black guys with bags on their back and cameras and they say, “I’m not stopping!” It’s all kind of stuff that, even in our lives, helps us not quit. Shawn is a champion; I went all the way to the championship. We always had a persistence in our lives, no matter what it was, from when we were kids. It’s the same thing now, how we conduct ourselves with our families. We just try to dig deep and not quit. I see social media hits with people saying, “We wanted you guys to win just because of your attitude, never saying die and not complaining.” So even though that boat was small, at that time I was like, “I need to get through this. It is what it is.” I can’t go, “Hey, get me a bigger boat!” Or one with a motor.

Were there any teams in the bunch that were close to or distant from in particular?

Shawn: We didn’t really have any rivals. But everybody was connected out there. Everybody helped each other do something, especially if they had done something already. There were no enemies out there. Throughout the whole time we were there, everybody got along. We had so many opportunities to talk to these people during our downtime, and we heard some of the stories and backgrounds of the teams, and it was really cool. We got to learn about different fields of the workforce, like lifeguards, firefighters, X Game players, and musicians. I thought it was really great.

I want to turn the focus away from the other teams and back to within your team. What did you learn about your partner during your time on the race?

Cedric: If you do anything to [Shawn’s] son, he will kill you. (Laughs.) He doesn’t care about his championship ring; he doesn’t care about his money, he doesn’t care about his success or his fame. If you do something to his “little fella,” he will rip your head off. When it comes to family, he takes care of his little man to the fullest. The whole time, he said, “I want to know what he’s doing, I want to FaceTime him.” I know his family, and their close-knit, but seeing how intense he is when his child.

Shawn: [Cedric] missed his family too, but one thing I do love is that he hates animals. He’s not coming close to any animals! (Laughs.) He stopped eating animals; he’s really adamant about it. At the end of the day, he’s going to get through it; he’s a fighter. He told everyone about how he went through three heart attacks. In Morocco, I was watching how much he wanted to just get through the race. But I was saying, “Forget the race, I just want you to get home!” He was adamant about getting through and gutting those fish. They didn’t show it, but there was a lot of footwork [that leg]. They cut out some really good stuff! We had to race a cab with everyone at the same time; we had to run through the marina and go up hills. It wasn’t as easy as you think it is.

And I can imagine with those Moroccan cats as well, Cedric wasn’t too happy.

Cedric: No, no. And everybody who thought I threw up because of the fish, I was actually throwing up because of an octopus that they didn’t show that was dissected when we turned the corner. I just wanted to clear that up. (Laughs.)

So you’re not going out for calamari anytime soon?

Cedric: No, no calamari for me.

Shawn: (Laughs.) It did stink over there, though!