Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network.
Speaker 1: Search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. Nobody
Speaker 1: deserved a relaxing offseason more than seventy Sixers assistant coach
Speaker 1: Dave Yeager. After battling head and neck cancer during the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one twenty two NBA season and returning to
Speaker 1: the bench for the season's final stretch, the veteran coach
Speaker 1: could have taken a hard earned trip off the grid. Instead,
Speaker 1: he's spending his time giving back in multiple communities across
Speaker 1: the country. Ahead of one of Yeager's favorite summer events,
Speaker 1: a basketball camp on the Standing Rock Reservation in northern
Speaker 1: South Dakota and southern North Dakota, the now thirty years
Speaker 1: Sixers assistant coach sat down for some time on the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers Insiders podcast to discuss life, what's ahead, and
Speaker 1: everything that he's doing to make the world a better place.
Speaker 1: I'm so so happy now to be joined by coach
Speaker 1: Dave Yeager. It is wonderful to see you. It's wonderful
Speaker 1: to see you healthy. How are you, Where are you?
Speaker 1: What is happening in the life of an assistant coach?
Speaker 1: Right now. It's great to talk to you as well.
Speaker 1: Things are really good for the Sixers and for me
Speaker 1: as well as far as personally things that have going
Speaker 1: on with recovering from cancer treatment, and it is a process,
Speaker 1: and you know, you never feel like you're fully healed
Speaker 1: or done with it. That it's always going to be
Speaker 1: a part of your story and part of what you're
Speaker 1: going to go through physically and mentally going forward, and
Speaker 1: your family has to live with it as well. But
Speaker 1: we feel very positive about it because of getting to
Speaker 1: it early and identifying what the what the problem was
Speaker 1: early and then going to treatment immediately, and so we
Speaker 1: feel really very positive about what's going going forward to
Speaker 1: be and live a full life. Well I'm not the
Speaker 1: only one that feels this way, but it's just awesome
Speaker 1: to see you. How it's sort of like back to yourself.
Speaker 1: For like a little extra context. I remember last season
Speaker 1: really well. We started a long road trip and you
Speaker 1: sort of gave the announcement that we're gonna be taking
Speaker 1: time away from the team, and nobody knew about it,
Speaker 1: and I remember as time went along there were questions
Speaker 1: about whether or not you'd return during this season, and
Speaker 1: I think that doc especially, it was certainly hoping that
Speaker 1: you would get back, but not expecting you too. And
Speaker 1: I remember how meaningful it was to have you back
Speaker 1: for the end of the season, for the playoffs, and
Speaker 1: how I think, especially among men like people don't express
Speaker 1: a lot of emotion, but that was a moment when
Speaker 1: people really did and everyone was so happy to have
Speaker 1: you back. So what was it like to be able
Speaker 1: to get back? And now how much do you look
Speaker 1: forward to going into a more regular season? Yeah, that
Speaker 1: was really there was neat Any impact I had on
Speaker 1: them was times a thousand of the impact they had
Speaker 1: on me, you know. And being around the guys, being
Speaker 1: around the coaches that are both the players and the
Speaker 1: coaching staff are way more than a working professional relationship.
Speaker 1: We're all friends, and you know, you're pulling for each other,
Speaker 1: and your families know each other, and your your families
Speaker 1: are trying to help each other all the time. And
Speaker 1: we're around each other more than we are with our
Speaker 1: sometimes with our with our own families, and so it's
Speaker 1: its own family. And so that was very invigorating for
Speaker 1: me and just a real shot in the arm um.
Speaker 1: And then certainly the competition and being able to be
Speaker 1: part of another successful season, and now as you flow
Speaker 1: into the upcoming season and the excitement that we have
Speaker 1: going into that, and I know we'll talk about that,
Speaker 1: but uh, it's just it's there's just such a good vibe.
Speaker 1: We have a great group of players as people, and
Speaker 1: the same with the coaches as people that you want
Speaker 1: to be around them. And so now with the success
Speaker 1: we've head and the success we feel like we can
Speaker 1: have going forward, it's just really it's a very positive
Speaker 1: vibe because everybody's all pulling in the in the same direction.
Speaker 1: And the offseason is a weird time because we don't
Speaker 1: really get to check in with you guys all that much.
Speaker 1: But in the limited check ins that we have had
Speaker 1: with the coaching staff, with executive leadership, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of excitement about what's gone down in the last few
Speaker 1: weeks adding to the roster. Looking ahead, you mentioned building
Speaker 1: on what was already a pretty successful experience with the
Speaker 1: existing unit. What excites you about the changes that have
Speaker 1: been made and the opportunity that's ahead now a little
Speaker 1: let's say, like a little over a month in the distance. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's pretty it's pretty crazy. You know, we thinks go
Speaker 1: fast you know, and I think before you even get
Speaker 1: to the changes, I think you get to the fact
Speaker 1: that James Harden and Joel Embiide and then the other
Speaker 1: guys did not have a lot of time together. Our
Speaker 1: core has has two years together, Tyrese, Tobias and Joel
Speaker 1: and Tobias have been together for X number of years.
Speaker 1: We get that, But to add a guy who has
Speaker 1: the ball as much as James does, especially with Joel,
Speaker 1: that's only going to get better as more time is
Speaker 1: spent together, right, And so I think that's going to
Speaker 1: be really a positive for us to be able to
Speaker 1: have a training camp and to go into a full
Speaker 1: regular season together. And that's that's a process and a
Speaker 1: journey that they'll continue because they're great players, continue to
Speaker 1: get better at And then when you add the fact
Speaker 1: that our development of our younger players, they're going to
Speaker 1: continue to get older. Shake Milton Matisse, title, et cetera,
Speaker 1: et cetera. And I don't want to miss anybody. I mean,
Speaker 1: in Tyrese, we kind of sometimes just glean glean over
Speaker 1: Tyrese because he's so he's so prominent. But he's had
Speaker 1: a great summer. We know this, and so there's that
Speaker 1: development and that improvement from within UM and now you
Speaker 1: then add the other players that Melton, D'Anthony Melton and
Speaker 1: uh and PJ. Tucker with with Daniel House. So what
Speaker 1: it does is it gives us a lot of flexibility.
Speaker 1: Those guys can all play multiple positions. They can play
Speaker 1: with the basketball, they can play without the basketball, and
Speaker 1: they can all defend their own position very well as
Speaker 1: well as other positions. So it's just a it's a
Speaker 1: really And then they're good dudes too, Let's not let's
Speaker 1: let's not let that go. They're they're good people. We're
Speaker 1: adding to the mix. So it gives us a lot
Speaker 1: of depth. And some would say the other side of
Speaker 1: it is you have more margin for error. You have
Speaker 1: Injuries are part of the process of an NBA season,
Speaker 1: and so to have that continuity where you kind of
Speaker 1: don't miss a beat something when somebody has to be
Speaker 1: out for X number of games or a period of time.
Speaker 1: And I think that's just only And also the fact
Speaker 1: that especially PJ has been around the block, he's got
Speaker 1: veteranness to him, he's got experience to him, and he's vocal,
Speaker 1: and I think that's really going to help our locker
Speaker 1: rooms going to help our team continue to grow through
Speaker 1: the journey of the season. We've heard Doc talk about,
Speaker 1: we heard players talk about post game after the final
Speaker 1: loss in the playoffs this season is toughness, And so
Speaker 1: you talk about PJ is someone that has all the
Speaker 1: experience that a player can have in this league in
Speaker 1: terms of winning, but also in terms of years. James
Speaker 1: of course has both of those as well, but the
Speaker 1: toughness factor. As a coach, when you see the additions
Speaker 1: that have been made, how excited are you to watch
Speaker 1: the identity sort of start to evolve based on the
Speaker 1: addition of people like PJ and the desire to get
Speaker 1: tougher that we heard everybody express after the loss. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you know, as a coach, you don't really want
Speaker 1: to hear that sometimes, I think from players, But I
Speaker 1: think what they're expressing is I want to be part
Speaker 1: of me wants to be like this, but I need
Speaker 1: somebody to go first, you know. I mean, like I
Speaker 1: got it in there, but I you know, And I
Speaker 1: think that's what PJ. Tucker's going to really like. You're
Speaker 1: going to see guys now like come a little bit
Speaker 1: out of their shell with their personality not outside of themselves,
Speaker 1: but to that part of it can come out a
Speaker 1: little bit more as somebody is kind of out there
Speaker 1: in front. I wouldn't say that we are not tough
Speaker 1: as our group, but I think that now we have
Speaker 1: a catalyst for that and a leader in that area,
Speaker 1: and I think you'll see guys be their toughness is
Speaker 1: going to come out a little bit more than it
Speaker 1: has in the past. Well, I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 1: I'm excited for you to hopefully have a more conventional,
Speaker 1: traditional eighty two games season to see how it all
Speaker 1: comes together. The reason though, that we got together for
Speaker 1: this conversation is to talk about some other things that
Speaker 1: are happening off the court. This is something I love
Speaker 1: doing with our players. Some of my favorite conversations to
Speaker 1: have our sort of how are we using our platforms
Speaker 1: outside of basketball to use your influence in a positive
Speaker 1: way and make the world a better place. So I
Speaker 1: know that you're going to be doing a camp this
Speaker 1: upcoming week. I know that you're doing other things in
Speaker 1: the community as well, but let's start there. Why is
Speaker 1: it so important to invest in the different communities that
Speaker 1: you've been in and maybe can you actually rewind and
Speaker 1: tell us about your roots with this area of the country,
Speaker 1: why it's important to you to continue giving back there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So you know, there's four things or probably more that
Speaker 1: we try to do in the offseason. One is totally
Speaker 1: relaxed right from the long season, and then another one
Speaker 1: would be we try to work with our younger players
Speaker 1: and develop them as much as possible. And then another
Speaker 1: one would be, Okay, now I'm trying to think of
Speaker 1: new ideas, and that usually kicks in about August because
Speaker 1: you've been chilling, you've been enjoying your family who misses
Speaker 1: you throughout the course of the season. So as a coach,
Speaker 1: you're trying to pick other people's brains, the college guys
Speaker 1: wherever they're picking your brain. You're trying to figure out
Speaker 1: different things that you can add to your group and
Speaker 1: bring to the party this year that will help us
Speaker 1: get to another level. And so we're doing that, and
Speaker 1: then forth being having an ability now that the summer
Speaker 1: leagues are over, everybody's kind of available and the opportunity
Speaker 1: to do some camps or to do clinics and to
Speaker 1: give back. And I think the mindset is always how
Speaker 1: can I help? And you see that with Tyres and
Speaker 1: you see that with some of the other guys. It's
Speaker 1: not a self promoting deal. It's it's how can we
Speaker 1: help more people have experiences that they might not otherwise
Speaker 1: have by providing resources for them to be able to
Speaker 1: do some of these things. And so I'm a part
Speaker 1: of a basketball camp and on the Standing Rock Reservation
Speaker 1: in southern North Dakota right in the middle and it's
Speaker 1: northern South Dakota, southern North Dakota in Fort Gates, North Dakota.
Speaker 1: And it's important to me because I think I think
Speaker 1: as a league we do a lot a lot of
Speaker 1: good things as a league and individual parts of that,
Speaker 1: and I think we try to help some of the
Speaker 1: more underserved places in our country. And one of those
Speaker 1: that sometimes I think gets overlooked a little bit is
Speaker 1: are the reservations. And some of the poorest counties that
Speaker 1: we have economically in our country are on the reservation.
Speaker 1: And the issues that some of these kids deal with,
Speaker 1: the suicide rates, the alcoholism rates, and those kinds of
Speaker 1: things that they grow up with, where I'm able to
Speaker 1: maybe have a have a chance to uh to have
Speaker 1: an impact or to show them something or they they
Speaker 1: hear something like, oh, that's cool, I get I get
Speaker 1: a taste of that. I get a vision of what
Speaker 1: it looks like. If it's not about getting out, but
Speaker 1: it's it's it's rising too in their future. Maybe I
Speaker 1: want to be part of this that or the other
Speaker 1: experience that maybe I never even got to chance to
Speaker 1: see in my mind. For us to do those kinds
Speaker 1: of things as some of the players do with their camps,
Speaker 1: and that's what we're trying to do and what I'm
Speaker 1: trying to serve at this camp. That's so cool, so exciting,
Speaker 1: and very helpful to people like me that don't have
Speaker 1: background in that area to just learn more. So thank
Speaker 1: you for sharing that, and thank you for everything that
Speaker 1: you're doing with them. I know you're also involved in
Speaker 1: the NJTL. If you want to tell us a little
Speaker 1: bit more about that. I don't know that people always
Speaker 1: understand it's a it's a it's a privilege for me
Speaker 1: rather to force you guys to brag about yourselves a
Speaker 1: little bit, because not everybody knows that this is such
Speaker 1: a big part of your life, of the players lives,
Speaker 1: of the other coaches lives. So if you would indulge
Speaker 1: me and us and let us know a little bit
Speaker 1: about that organization as well. I think people would love
Speaker 1: to hear about it. I think, you know, if you
Speaker 1: champion certain things where you are, and how you can
Speaker 1: help with maybe your experiences and how that can maybe
Speaker 1: help somebody else. And so I bumped into this opportunity
Speaker 1: in while I was the head coach in Memphis junior
Speaker 1: tennis and my kids. We were going to put him
Speaker 1: in this program and and the it's like three hours
Speaker 1: a day for five days of the week. And the
Speaker 1: guy said, you know, that's going to be fifty bucks.
Speaker 1: And I was like, pardon me. He goes, if that's
Speaker 1: too much, you know we have we can bring it
Speaker 1: down through our donations. I was like, no, no, it's
Speaker 1: not enough. How are you able to do that and
Speaker 1: serve these kids? And and it was it was in
Speaker 1: the know in some inner city spots in Memphis, around
Speaker 1: the community, and and that's how I got to learn
Speaker 1: about it. And so how can I help bring focus
Speaker 1: to that and also funds so that we can get
Speaker 1: more kids in there who don't need, don't can't pay,
Speaker 1: or don't need to pay because we helped support that.
Speaker 1: And so uh, at the NJTL is National Junior Tennis
Speaker 1: in Learning UH and it was started by Arthur ashe
Speaker 1: uh just a tremendous spokesperson and wonderful human being and
Speaker 1: we helped a lot of kids. And so now you know,
Speaker 1: as time has happened and my life has changed personally
Speaker 1: with through the cancer. And then we also have the COVID.
Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward to doing something with the NJTL
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, and they've got a good program and people
Speaker 1: have gone on from there to do to do really
Speaker 1: good things as I've understood, and it's just the world
Speaker 1: is changing now that we're fully back open and we
Speaker 1: can get involved in some of those things. So I
Speaker 1: think that's really positive. And then you have the what
Speaker 1: has happened to me lately and my experience with cancer
Speaker 1: and the idea that okay, how can I help and
Speaker 1: if I can use a platform to get it out
Speaker 1: that early detection makes a difference. It absolutely makes a difference.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure it's not a big deal. No, go
Speaker 1: get it checked out. Go and so and with the
Speaker 1: sixers have just been so supportive and that's just terrific.
Speaker 1: We're going to be able to do five or six
Speaker 1: Jefferson is going to put out five or six different
Speaker 1: opportunities throughout the community with a mobile service where they
Speaker 1: can they can screen people and work on early detection
Speaker 1: for people that might not otherwise make that trip or
Speaker 1: push themselves to go have something checked out and man
Speaker 1: like that. That's like that makes a difference. And I'm
Speaker 1: just really really proud of our organization because they're like,
Speaker 1: they're just ahead of the curve. They're they're fantastic in
Speaker 1: their support of how can we help with the resources
Speaker 1: we have, which is a lot. Uh and it's it's
Speaker 1: it's very humbling, very cool, and that of course is
Speaker 1: a product of the fact that the team made that
Speaker 1: donation in your honor following your return to the team.
Speaker 1: So really cool to a so you come back, but
Speaker 1: be so you get something really positive, positive out of
Speaker 1: an experience that was pretty negative. It's really inspiring. It's
Speaker 1: really cool, and I'm really glad that you and the
Speaker 1: team are going to be able to share that For
Speaker 1: sharing about that experience as well, I can imagine that
Speaker 1: it's been just like a totally surreal year. We all
Speaker 1: had to deal with COVID, but then you had to
Speaker 1: deal with so much more right when we were coming
Speaker 1: out of it, it was yeah, it was it was
Speaker 1: It was interesting and it was difficult, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I had a lot a lot of support from not
Speaker 1: just basketball people, but a lot of basketball people throughout
Speaker 1: the country and certainly friends and family and then also
Speaker 1: you know our sixer's family as well. But uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's not something you think is ever going to happen
Speaker 1: to you. And I think that's why people don't go
Speaker 1: get tested and get get the detection devices and tests
Speaker 1: applied to them, because like, a, that's that stuff that
Speaker 1: happens to other people. And I was certainly was one
Speaker 1: of those people, like that's never gonna happen, and it's
Speaker 1: it just I remember when I got the text and
Speaker 1: we were in Toronto and like we've found something, and
Speaker 1: you know what, and then you talk to your doctor,
Speaker 1: like you immediately call your doctor and then to sit
Speaker 1: there in that hotel room and you've been on the
Speaker 1: road plenty, you know how long those hours are from
Speaker 1: when shoot around is over to when you go to
Speaker 1: the arena. That like, I think I could be a
Speaker 1: doctor with all the hours if I if I had
Speaker 1: we'd done some studying and research from the hours of
Speaker 1: twelve till four thirty in the afternoon on the road
Speaker 1: in the game. But it was the longest three or
Speaker 1: four hours ever. And so when then we got to
Speaker 1: the arena, the trainer, I grabbed him and we went
Speaker 1: in and Doc and I put our heads together and
Speaker 1: I said, here's what I know so far. We'll see
Speaker 1: what happens coming down the pipe. But I can't believe
Speaker 1: this is happening to me. And you go through it
Speaker 1: and you get through it and come out the other side. Well,
Speaker 1: I know that it ended up being like a source
Speaker 1: of a lot of inspiration to people within the organization
Speaker 1: people outside of the organization. I'm sure it's not easy
Speaker 1: to talk about it and share it. So thank you
Speaker 1: so much for sharing what you've shared and again applying
Speaker 1: the experience to now make some real actionable help and
Speaker 1: change for folks that are gonna be saved by the
Speaker 1: ability to test early and screen early, as was the
Speaker 1: case in your life. So thank you so much for
Speaker 1: sharing it, and thank you for continuing to push to
Speaker 1: make it easier for others. Absolutely good stuff, Coach Yager.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me today. Hey, I
Speaker 1: can go on and on. You know we could just
Speaker 1: do this like two hours. You make it so easy,
Speaker 1: so I appreciate it very much. Thank you absolutely, Thanks
Speaker 1: as always for listening to the seventy Sixers Insiders Podcast.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Coach Yeager for his time during his time off.
Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Rosen. Check back into the seventy Sixers Insiders
Speaker 1: podcast feed for more updates As the off season comes
Speaker 1: to a close and the preseason approaches. Matt Murphy and
Speaker 1: I will have you covered every step of the way
Speaker 1: for the twenty twenty two twenty three season. We are excited,
Speaker 1: we hope you are too, and we will talk to
Speaker 1: you next time.