WEBVTT - One-on-One with P.J. Tucker

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<v Speaker 1>This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network.

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<v Speaker 1>Search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>back to the seventy Sixers Insiders Podcast. I'm Lauren Rosen

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<v Speaker 1>here with Matt Murphy, ready to talk about one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most well respected veterans in the NBA bar none.

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<v Speaker 1>You can say that with a high level of certainty

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<v Speaker 1>when you talk about PJ. Tucker. Today's guests on the

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<v Speaker 1>seventy Sixers Insiders Podcast. I'm really looking forward to this

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<v Speaker 1>conversation that you had with PJ. Fortunate to get some

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<v Speaker 1>time with him because ever since he was acquired, everyone

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<v Speaker 1>had been talking about PJ Tucker in the playoffs in

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<v Speaker 1>a Sixers uniform, and it's almost that time, and it's happening.

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<v Speaker 1>He's played a ton of regular season games. He's been

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<v Speaker 1>a key part of the ups and downs of a

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<v Speaker 1>long MBA regulars season, and throughout the year the guys

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<v Speaker 1>have talked about how important his veteran presence has been

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<v Speaker 1>in the locker room, and then we'll soon get to

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<v Speaker 1>see it in a playoff series with all these adjustments,

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<v Speaker 1>and he's like another coach on the floor. Some have

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<v Speaker 1>called him the captain of the defense. You know how

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<v Speaker 1>important is defense is come playoff time and a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of eyes will be on PJ Tucker and how he

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<v Speaker 1>is able to propel the Sixers. You mentioned being an

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<v Speaker 1>extra coach sort of, and that reminds me of training

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<v Speaker 1>camp when the coaching staff was kind enough to let

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<v Speaker 1>us sit in on some of those early practices as

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<v Speaker 1>a team. And something that jumped off the page from

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<v Speaker 1>the first couple minutes of this Sixers team working together

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<v Speaker 1>was Pj's comfortability in inserting himself, letting the guys know

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<v Speaker 1>what he was seeing, communicating loudly ay, And that takes confidence,

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<v Speaker 1>That takes a level of pride in yourself and your

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge to insert yourself in that way with a brand

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<v Speaker 1>new team. But on the flip side, the way that

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<v Speaker 1>every everybody listened when PJ spoke even in those first

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes, and we all know what it's like when

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<v Speaker 1>you're new at a job, right and you sort of,

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<v Speaker 1>at least for me, I bide my time, I dip

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<v Speaker 1>my toe in even in a new season with the

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<v Speaker 1>same people like I sort of like to find my

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<v Speaker 1>rhythm more quietly and then I'll start being more vocal

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<v Speaker 1>as the year goes along, not PJ Tucker. PJ Tucker

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<v Speaker 1>can insert himself right away and command the respect that

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<v Speaker 1>he's earned in this league right away from a group

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<v Speaker 1>of players that, by the way, are quite good and

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<v Speaker 1>have had some success in their own right. So really

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<v Speaker 1>cool to see the way that PJ spoke and the

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<v Speaker 1>guys responded from the jump, and then we've watched that

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<v Speaker 1>evolve all season long. And also of course cool to

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<v Speaker 1>get to know him a little better in a conversation

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<v Speaker 1>like this one. He recently crossed eight hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>MBA games for his career, which is a ton of experience,

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<v Speaker 1>and he simply wants the guys to talk and communicate

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<v Speaker 1>on both ends of the floor, and he knows how

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<v Speaker 1>important that is, and he talked with you in this

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<v Speaker 1>interview and anything before we get into it. Really jump. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>it was just such a pleasure. And PJ doesn't do

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<v Speaker 1>these conversations that off and he himself and rarely participating

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<v Speaker 1>in podcasts, but eight fifty NBA games and far fewer

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts podcasts, so he claims. So here's one of them.

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<v Speaker 1>Six to five from North Carolina. PJ Tucker. Okay, fair enough.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you, good job six five Groum, North Carolina. YEA,

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<v Speaker 1>that's okay, PJ. We know you're a great basketball player.

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<v Speaker 1>What else are you great at? I am great collecting sneakers?

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<v Speaker 1>What makes one great at the like, like, we know

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<v Speaker 1>you have an amazing collection, but like the process of

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<v Speaker 1>acquiring them? What makes someone great at that? Um this

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<v Speaker 1>years and years of having pretty decent tasted picking shoes enough.

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<v Speaker 1>You can have a lot of shoes and be a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of bad shoes and they're not good. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>think it's subjective at all? Partially, but for the most

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<v Speaker 1>part it's not, so you consider your taste to be

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<v Speaker 1>the gold standard objectively. No, I think that there are

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<v Speaker 1>a bunch of people that are really good at knowing

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<v Speaker 1>what good shoes are what good shoes aren't. I think

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<v Speaker 1>it's the combination of like actually being a basketball player

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<v Speaker 1>in my entire life and knowing what are good basketball

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<v Speaker 1>shoes from that and from knowing good shoes from a

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<v Speaker 1>steppoint of personal style and being able to wear them

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<v Speaker 1>on and off court. And you know, it's a different evenues.

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<v Speaker 1>You can kind of go down and like pick good shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>but for the most part is pretty basic fair enough.

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<v Speaker 1>When you retire, what do you want people to say,

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<v Speaker 1>teammates of the past, what do you want them to

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<v Speaker 1>say it was like to play with you? I want

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<v Speaker 1>them to say that I was the hardest working, most

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<v Speaker 1>unselfish player they ever play with. When you think about

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<v Speaker 1>your public persona, I feel like players today are like

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<v Speaker 1>very aware of what the public sees out of them

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<v Speaker 1>and what your persona is. What's something that the public

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<v Speaker 1>gets right about you? And what's something that the public

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<v Speaker 1>gets wrong about you? Hmmm, that's a good question. I

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<v Speaker 1>think more times than that they almost get everything wrong

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<v Speaker 1>about me. And I think everybody knows how hard I play,

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<v Speaker 1>so that is an easy one kind of to get right.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think more times either than that, they don't

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<v Speaker 1>really know. I really truly believe that. Is there something

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<v Speaker 1>that stands out to you as like, Oh, people think

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<v Speaker 1>I'm this, but I'm really that. Um. I think I've

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<v Speaker 1>done almost too good of a job of creating my

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<v Speaker 1>lane of how I present my play and what I

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<v Speaker 1>do on a night in night out basis, rather than

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<v Speaker 1>people really seeing the way I change the way I

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<v Speaker 1>play on a night in night out basis based on

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<v Speaker 1>who we play and what we need to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to win. Okay, here's one for you. What's the most

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<v Speaker 1>regular thing about you? Oh that's a good win. First

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<v Speaker 1>of all, I'm super regular, so like in a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of ways, I'm really regular and I enjoyed it about myself. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>but I almost do everything myself. Like I like, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>go to Target, and I'll go to you know, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>go to the bank every once in a while, even

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<v Speaker 1>though I don't like to, um, but like I do

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<v Speaker 1>like super like every huh you go through the drive through? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I drive through drive throughs. I like, like, I literally

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<v Speaker 1>like we'll almost do like every every regular day thing

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<v Speaker 1>every once in a while. Like I like that you

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<v Speaker 1>can have your dream dinner table. Who's at it and

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<v Speaker 1>what's on it? Oh, that is a good one. I

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<v Speaker 1>will say, I'm having a dinner. Who's at it? Okay? First,

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<v Speaker 1>let's just let's do that first. Who's at it? Okay?

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<v Speaker 1>Kobe for real, Drake, Travis Meek, James Arty, and David Beckham.

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<v Speaker 1>You think James would put you at his table? He better.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll let you know what you guys eating, because that's

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<v Speaker 1>a that's like a big table. That's a big table. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a few others maybe, but that's like the core

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<v Speaker 1>of the table. Oh, Virgil, I'm bugging Virgil. That's an

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<v Speaker 1>amazing virtual was at the table for show. What are

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<v Speaker 1>you guys eating? Um? I love sushi, So even though

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<v Speaker 1>I know James probably is it. Um it's a really

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<v Speaker 1>high level sushi place, probably like something really good, but

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<v Speaker 1>sushi for sure. What's the best gift you've ever gotten

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<v Speaker 1>someone I've ever given? Oh, my wife's entire closet probably,

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<v Speaker 1>Like is there like a stand you're a fashion guy, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>is there a standout piece that you remember getting her

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<v Speaker 1>that was like really special? Um? Her second wedding ring?

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<v Speaker 1>M Yeah, because I did we like I designed it

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<v Speaker 1>and like went through this whole thing. Yeah, it was

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<v Speaker 1>a big deal because the first one was really modest

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<v Speaker 1>because it was young, like it was twenty three, twenty four,

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<v Speaker 1>so it wasn't like, you know, it was nice, but

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<v Speaker 1>it went great. So the second one, ten years later,

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<v Speaker 1>it was you know a big deal in designing it,

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<v Speaker 1>in the whole process, and like she like almost crying

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<v Speaker 1>when I give it to her after we hadn't even

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<v Speaker 1>married for a long time. So that was pretty cool.

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<v Speaker 1>That's got to be up there for sure. What's the

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<v Speaker 1>best gift you've ever got for yourself? I treat myself

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<v Speaker 1>every day. Oh that's tough. I don't know. M M.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't even think of a pair of shoes or

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<v Speaker 1>something like. I don't probably you know what. Yes, my

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<v Speaker 1>the first Ferraria I ever ordered, the super fast GTS. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>that one. I'll say that just because I love that

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<v Speaker 1>car so much and designing it and everything all custom, right, No,

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<v Speaker 1>not all of them. You can go, you can get

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<v Speaker 1>some something that somebody else created. No, but like if

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<v Speaker 1>you get a new one, you design it to design it. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there's not a lot of Ferrari sitting somewhere for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Go you just pick? No, No, No No, was that your first?

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<v Speaker 1>Like that was the first one that I actually built? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so first one I actually built myself. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>really big deal because it's the last frontage of the

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<v Speaker 1>twelve fer ever made, So it's a big deal. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you have a memorable fork in the road in your life?

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<v Speaker 1>Too many? I had a lot of forks. Any that

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<v Speaker 1>stand out is like particularly pivotal? Uh, glad you went

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<v Speaker 1>one way? Curious about what would have happened if you

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<v Speaker 1>had gone the other. Yeah. Um, oh, there's two major ones.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm just gonna pick one of the two. Uh, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>say me going to college. Um, I was going to

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<v Speaker 1>Carolina or Texas, and uh me, going to Texas was

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<v Speaker 1>the best thing I've ever done, one of the best

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<v Speaker 1>things I've ever done in my life. Um, because I

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<v Speaker 1>needed to get away from home, Like I think, staying

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<v Speaker 1>in a triangle. I don't know if I will still

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<v Speaker 1>be here right now if I did go to Texas,

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<v Speaker 1>like forced me to grow up, forcing me mature really fast,

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<v Speaker 1>forced me to learn how to take care of myself

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<v Speaker 1>really fast because I was so I was such a

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<v Speaker 1>mama's boy, and like you know, I needed to get

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<v Speaker 1>away from home and it was the best thing I

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<v Speaker 1>ever did. As we start to wrap up, you said

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<v Speaker 1>something really interesting a second ago about how you treat

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<v Speaker 1>yourself every day as a vet in this league. Though

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<v Speaker 1>you've really earned that right right, What do you hope

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<v Speaker 1>for your younger teammates? What do you hope for your

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<v Speaker 1>younger teammates when they become a vent like you like?

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<v Speaker 1>What type of life do you hope that a Tyrese

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<v Speaker 1>Maxie leads one day? For example, they it's funny you

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<v Speaker 1>say it because I always think about it now because

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<v Speaker 1>my events when I was young, and I tell them

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<v Speaker 1>all the time because I get on their nerves and

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<v Speaker 1>they're like, I'm like, you're gonna come back to me.

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<v Speaker 1>I would come to your game one day, like ten

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<v Speaker 1>years from now, you're gonna be playing and you're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>tell somebody's story Belva, and how I told you something

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<v Speaker 1>that was one thousand percent true that you just was

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<v Speaker 1>not rolling with during the time we played together. I

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<v Speaker 1>was like, trust me, I do it all the time

0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.040
<v Speaker 1>when I see market the guy, the guys that you

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<v Speaker 1>know kind of raised me in the league and show

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<v Speaker 1>me ropes and help me out. Every time I see him.

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<v Speaker 1>Is always every single time the things they told me

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<v Speaker 1>one d percent true and they were right, and always

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<v Speaker 1>like to remind him and tell them when I see him.

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<v Speaker 1>All Right, Well, ten years from now, we'll have this

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with Tyrese, will play this for him. We'll ask

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<v Speaker 1>whoever the ten years younger guy is. Then when he's

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<v Speaker 1>the VET, and it'll be full circle and we'll circle

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<v Speaker 1>and it's gonna be great. PJ. Tucker, thank you so much,

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<v Speaker 1>a girl. Thanks of course to PJ Tucker for doing

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<v Speaker 1>one of his rare podcast appearances with us. We know,

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<v Speaker 1>of course about his breadth and depth of experience as

0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.880
<v Speaker 1>an NBA player on the floor, all of the stops

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<v Speaker 1>along his journey to the NBA perhaps one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most winding roads of any player playing today, but also

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know him better off the court. I

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<v Speaker 1>love when we know that he's a big sneaker guy,

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<v Speaker 1>that he's a big fashion guy. But I absolutely loved

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<v Speaker 1>hearing about the way that he's been able to share

0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.200
<v Speaker 1>those passions with his wife. I was also so excited

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<v Speaker 1>to hear that James Harden would be one of those

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<v Speaker 1>seated at his ultimate dinner table. That just shows the

0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.760
<v Speaker 1>friendship and bond that those two have. They've had plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of dinners together, of course, and then given the opportunity

0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.160
<v Speaker 1>to sit with anyone debt or alive, PJ still wants

0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:25.760
<v Speaker 1>James at the table, and I think that that's just

0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:30.120
<v Speaker 1>so sweet. And his passion for sneakers recently benefited a

0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.880
<v Speaker 1>great cause, as PJ Tucker in early in this month

0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:38.200
<v Speaker 1>of April, donated seven pairs of his sneakers to be

0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:42.000
<v Speaker 1>auctioned off for the Sixers Youth Foundation to benefit the

0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.480
<v Speaker 1>youth of the Greater Delaware Valley. So doing it for

0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.240
<v Speaker 1>a good cause. Some pretty great sneakers in that auction.

0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.640
<v Speaker 1>And when you talk about his career, I mentioned at

0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:53.959
<v Speaker 1>the top the eight hundred and fifty games, But his journey,

0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.640
<v Speaker 1>if it's so interesting to look at like MBA dot

0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:58.920
<v Speaker 1>com and see like the teams he's played for, because

0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.240
<v Speaker 1>it started in Toronto and six h seven and then

0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.520
<v Speaker 1>his journey took him overseas for quite a while. He

0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.040
<v Speaker 1>didn't come back to the NBA until twenty twelve, twenty thirteen.

0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:08.880
<v Speaker 1>So a guy that has played for a number of

0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.839
<v Speaker 1>NBA teams, played across the world to try to make

0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.720
<v Speaker 1>it back to the NBA and everything that he has

0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.640
<v Speaker 1>learned in each stop is now benefiting the Sixers as

0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:22.000
<v Speaker 1>they enter the playoffs. Because of that experience and because

0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:23.640
<v Speaker 1>of the respect that he's garnered around the league. I

0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.280
<v Speaker 1>feel like Pja arrived in Philadelphia with sort of a

0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:30.600
<v Speaker 1>big reputation, like a weighty reputation. And you know when

0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.920
<v Speaker 1>PJA comes into a room, he sort of commands some

0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.160
<v Speaker 1>of the air that's in the space. It goes towards him,

0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.120
<v Speaker 1>and seeing him and getting to know him throughout this season,

0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.320
<v Speaker 1>seeing how the reputation matches up with the person has

0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:45.560
<v Speaker 1>been really cool. He's such an interesting guy. He's willing

0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.120
<v Speaker 1>to give back, like you mentioned with the sneaker auction,

0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.400
<v Speaker 1>but he's also willing to give wisdom to the younger

0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:54.520
<v Speaker 1>players to bond with the different personalities in the locker room.

0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 1>Watching he and James reunite together here has been really special.

0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.520
<v Speaker 1>And then just from a tactical perspective, Matt I wanted

0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:04.960
<v Speaker 1>to go back to a media availability that George Niang

0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.400
<v Speaker 1>had a couple weeks ago talking about the way that

0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:11.080
<v Speaker 1>this team, particularly once they were all healthy and had

0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.760
<v Speaker 1>a really strong run, I want to say mid March,

0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.640
<v Speaker 1>mid to end of March, and they had a lot

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.760
<v Speaker 1>of comebacks. They came back against Milwaukee, they started figuring

0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.920
<v Speaker 1>out ways to win, and that became such a theme

0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.040
<v Speaker 1>in this sort of later quadrant of the season. And

0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.360
<v Speaker 1>George was asked what he thinks the biggest difference between

0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:31.640
<v Speaker 1>last season and this season would be in terms of

0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.920
<v Speaker 1>whether or not the team folds or struggles in the

0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.360
<v Speaker 1>fourth quarter versus this season when they've been able to

0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:39.200
<v Speaker 1>figure things out in a big way in the fourth quarter,

0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.520
<v Speaker 1>and George said simply that the difference has been PJ Tucker,

0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.640
<v Speaker 1>whether or not he's on the floor, in the huddles,

0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:48.240
<v Speaker 1>on the floor, whether he's creating second chances for this

0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.120
<v Speaker 1>team with offensive rebounds, with loose balls, or he's just

0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:54.880
<v Speaker 1>being a source of wisdom and imparting what he's seeing

0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:58.600
<v Speaker 1>to the guys that are on the floor. George's description

0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>of how much PJ has meant to the actual ending

0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.160
<v Speaker 1>of the game and whether or not the team came

0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 1>out on top really cool to hear and really heartening

0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.920
<v Speaker 1>to think about as this team heads into the playoffs

0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.200
<v Speaker 1>with PJ into that's great stuff, especially because in some

0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.440
<v Speaker 1>of those moments it's George Niang maybe going in for

0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.800
<v Speaker 1>PJ Tucker or vice versa, and the stuff that Tucker

0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:22.640
<v Speaker 1>can share in those moments is pivotal. And what I

0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:26.600
<v Speaker 1>was thinking of goes back even further and how recent

0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.600
<v Speaker 1>episode of this podcast was with Daniel House Junior and

0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.520
<v Speaker 1>how he knows where to be. His teammates know that

0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.680
<v Speaker 1>he knows where to be on the floor. That's another

0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.720
<v Speaker 1>level with someone like PJ. Tucker, also a former teammate

0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:40.480
<v Speaker 1>of James Harden and James has mentioned that throughout the

0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.000
<v Speaker 1>season about how he never has to worry about PJ.

0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.040
<v Speaker 1>Tucker because he knows how to play the game, and

0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:49.080
<v Speaker 1>why wouldn't he at this point in his career. But

0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.240
<v Speaker 1>I think about the defensive end, and I take it

0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.960
<v Speaker 1>back further in the season too, when the Sixers played

0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.560
<v Speaker 1>the Nuggets at home and they beat the Nuggets, and

0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.480
<v Speaker 1>how important PJ. Tucker's defense on Nicole Yokich was in

0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.480
<v Speaker 1>that game. So a guy that, depending on the matchup,

0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.439
<v Speaker 1>can be a very very important and key defender in

0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.359
<v Speaker 1>high leverage moments and has given this specific team and

0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 1>group of guys a lot of problems in the playoffs.

0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:17.120
<v Speaker 1>So there was a photo that I saw recently from

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.240
<v Speaker 1>obviously the Sixers and he'd played in the playoffs. It

0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:22.080
<v Speaker 1>was like PJ Tucker holding the ball and a bunch

0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.119
<v Speaker 1>of current Sixers kind of like hanging off of his

0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.359
<v Speaker 1>arms when he was their opponent in the postseason, and

0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:30.359
<v Speaker 1>I thought, how much has changed since then. It'll be

0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:33.800
<v Speaker 1>nice to have him on our side as the playoffs begin. Thanks,

0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.600
<v Speaker 1>as always so much to Matt Murphy, to PJ. Tucker,

0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.720
<v Speaker 1>Thanks to you for listening to the seventy Sixers Insiders Podcast.

0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.480
<v Speaker 1>We will be back as soon as we possibly can be.

0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:44.480
<v Speaker 1>As you know, the playoff coverage is going to be deep,

0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:46.119
<v Speaker 1>so let us know what you want to hear. You

0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.480
<v Speaker 1>can reach out any time. We appreciate you guys, and

0:17:48.520 --> 0:18:14.280
<v Speaker 1>we will see you next time. Both from both the