Speaker 1: I'm Tari's Meg Si and you're listening to the seventy
Speaker 1: six Ers Insiders podcast.
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Speaker 2: Jared McCain, Welcome to the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much for sitting down today.
Speaker 2: Of course, as US duke people do, I did my
Speaker 2: research ahead of this interview, and I've noticed that in
Speaker 2: every single interview, people ask you about your nails and
Speaker 2: about your tiktoks. So I'm challenging myself to do this
Speaker 2: whole thing and talk about neither.
Speaker 5: Are you ready, Let's do it.
Speaker 2: At Summer League, you told me that upon getting drafted,
Speaker 2: you reached out to some no offense, undersized guards that
Speaker 2: reminded you of yourself.
Speaker 4: Right, tell me how that started, and tell me how it's.
Speaker 5: Going started great and a grade.
Speaker 4: I feel like, oh, it's over. You're not going to
Speaker 4: speak to any of them anymore.
Speaker 5: I mean no, I'll definitely speak to them.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'll probably ask a lot of them for their
Speaker 1: jersey still and we play them. But yeah, just asking
Speaker 1: people who I think I want to look up to,
Speaker 1: want to model my game after, some in some way
Speaker 1: that I've watched them play when I was a kid
Speaker 1: or in college, seeing their film where it's defensively offensively,
Speaker 1: just finding something some insider advice from a place that
Speaker 1: I've never been to to help me in my whole career.
Speaker 4: What's the best piece of advice you got and who
Speaker 4: gave it to you?
Speaker 5: I'll probably say Pat Bev.
Speaker 1: Really, yeah, I just I mean, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of times when they look at me. There's different opinions
Speaker 1: you can have, but his main thing was just like
Speaker 1: be yourself and have fun, and I think that that's
Speaker 1: what I've always tried to live by. So it's kind
Speaker 1: of cool to have somebody kind of validated almost who's
Speaker 1: been there ten years in the league, and it'll carry
Speaker 1: myself a long way.
Speaker 4: I know you reached out to Tyrese Maxey as well.
Speaker 4: Of course, how did that go? And how have the
Speaker 4: workouts with Tyree.
Speaker 5: Spin It's been great.
Speaker 1: Well, he reached out to me right when I got
Speaker 1: drafted and then before Summer League I just wanted some advice,
Speaker 1: and now being able to work out with him and
Speaker 1: just talk to him, meet him, it's I mean, he's
Speaker 1: the biggest blessing I think I could have as a rookie,
Speaker 1: someone who's considered I guess an undersized guard who's played
Speaker 1: as a rookie, had gone through some ups and downs
Speaker 1: like and now he's one of the best guards in
Speaker 1: the league. It's amazing for me to just learn from him,
Speaker 1: and even in the workout, it's just certain things you
Speaker 1: see as a rookie that you want to emulate, whether
Speaker 1: it's just game speed, the way he goes at how
Speaker 1: he talks during his workouts, how he stays so positive,
Speaker 1: which is something I really resonate with. I think all
Speaker 1: those things I'm going to continue to learn from him,
Speaker 1: and it's just great to have a first hand experience
Speaker 1: with him.
Speaker 2: In our first interview together, you said that you wanted
Speaker 2: to go toe to toe with him for hardest worker.
Speaker 4: This morning, you were the first in the gym.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying I don't know where he's at right now.
Speaker 1: He could be working out somewhere else.
Speaker 4: He's working out early as well.
Speaker 1: That's so fair exactly, But yeah, I tried to get
Speaker 1: in as early as possible. It feels like I should
Speaker 1: be the first one. I think, just for me, it's
Speaker 1: like the first win of the day. Sure, and I
Speaker 1: think even making your bed in the morning the first
Speaker 1: win of the day. Just certain things back up, and
Speaker 1: me being the first in the gym is something I
Speaker 1: try to do.
Speaker 2: I know you've also spent a little bit of time
Speaker 2: now with Joel Embiid and with Paul George.
Speaker 4: What were those meetings like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, obviously, for me being a rookie, I'm
Speaker 1: always a little nervous, meaning superstars through I've watching I
Speaker 1: as a kid, but they're none but great to me,
Speaker 1: and I think they're gonna be great vets for me
Speaker 1: going forward. Playing with Paul George on the court and
Speaker 1: just like seeing how he is, it's pretty insane concerning
Speaker 1: how far how long ago I've been watching him, like
Speaker 1: literally since I was a little kid on YouTube, watching
Speaker 1: his highlights in class like to now playing with him.
Speaker 5: It's literally a surreal feeling.
Speaker 2: And you went on podcast Pee Subscribe make sure you're
Speaker 2: following along to all of our player initiatives. When you
Speaker 2: went on Paul's podcast, you talked about the fact that
Speaker 2: before Duke, you reached out to a psychologist and you
Speaker 2: thought that was going to be important for your development.
Speaker 4: Why did you do that?
Speaker 2: And let's talk a little bit about how normalized that's become,
Speaker 2: because that used to be a big deal and you
Speaker 2: said it so just like, of course I did. I
Speaker 2: want to keep my mental performance up. Yeah, tell us
Speaker 2: about that decision.
Speaker 1: Being on social media, there's stuff that's on there that
Speaker 1: can really deteriorate your mental health. And I think going
Speaker 1: into college, especially at college like Duke with a great
Speaker 1: fan base, and a passionate fan base. A lot of
Speaker 1: stuff negative can be said about you, and for me,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to keep my mental right because if
Speaker 1: my mental's not right, I'm not the best player I
Speaker 1: can be at all. And I think that's something I
Speaker 1: have to keep up with. Even if I work as
Speaker 1: hard as I can, if my mental's right, I'm not
Speaker 1: going to play my best. And so just reaching out
Speaker 1: to a psychologist that I've known for a long time.
Speaker 1: My brother has worked with them, and just working with
Speaker 1: him throughout the year, I think really was key for
Speaker 1: me and my.
Speaker 5: Success at Duke.
Speaker 2: You and your brother are very close, is that correct?
Speaker 2: Can you tell us a little bit about your bond
Speaker 2: and the shared dream that you're now getting to realize
Speaker 2: for both of you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, obviously we've been close since a little kid,
Speaker 1: but I think throughout my high school years with time,
Speaker 1: he got really close. And when he got blood class
Speaker 1: when he played in high school, had to stop playing,
Speaker 1: was able to come back, but the blood class came back.
Speaker 1: Like just a lot of stuff has happened with his
Speaker 1: basketball career, and so for me, that's the reason why
Speaker 1: I play, is just for us to reach our dream
Speaker 1: of making it to the NBA and that's why it
Speaker 1: was so special on draft night to achieve that dream.
Speaker 1: But yeah, we're I mean, the closest brothers I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: It kind of just I reach out him, reach out
Speaker 1: to him for anything. He's asked me questions about how
Speaker 1: it's going, Like I tell him every detail because it's
Speaker 1: like him living it too, So it's really cool to
Speaker 1: just share it with him and always have someone.
Speaker 5: To go to.
Speaker 4: Is he coming out to Philly with you?
Speaker 1: He's not, Well, he's a duke, he's a duke grad assistant. Love,
Speaker 1: so he's working there obviously for the season. If he
Speaker 1: can get away and see a game, hopefully he can
Speaker 1: after their season, hopefully we will be still playing.
Speaker 5: But yeah, he'll he'll definitely try as much to get
Speaker 5: out here.
Speaker 2: Your parents, though, are going to be out here a
Speaker 2: lot more and Teddy tell us about your mom, your
Speaker 2: dad and what type of support they're giving you behind
Speaker 2: the scenes, because we got to see them at Summer League.
Speaker 2: They're obviously big Jared McCain fans, which makes sense. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but what's it like behind closed doors?
Speaker 1: It's amazing, Like, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky. I
Speaker 1: thank God every day, like to have such a great
Speaker 1: support system behind me. My mom and dad have raised
Speaker 1: me in such a great way. I'm not trying to
Speaker 1: be biased here, but I think the best parents I've
Speaker 1: ever seen. It's just amazing to have them here with me.
Speaker 1: My mom did just you know, cook food from like
Speaker 1: simple things, cooked meals that I've had since I was
Speaker 1: a kid, just make like make my house feel like
Speaker 1: a home. And it's really nice to have them close by.
Speaker 1: Obviously have my dog Teddy here. If you see my
Speaker 1: dad walk in, there's no way he's not going to
Speaker 1: have either a Jared McCain merch or a.
Speaker 5: Seventy six ers hat on.
Speaker 1: So just always supporting me in every way they can,
Speaker 1: and it's amazing to have them.
Speaker 2: We're inching closer to your NBA debut and opening night
Speaker 2: preseason first then opening night than a full season of
Speaker 2: NBA basketball?
Speaker 4: What are you most looking forward to?
Speaker 5: So much?
Speaker 1: Like the little things for me are the one that's
Speaker 1: gonna get me. I think it's just like, first off,
Speaker 1: never I haven't been to Wells Fargo yet. Cool, I
Speaker 1: haven't been. I've been to the Philly Stadium. I've been
Speaker 1: to the Eagle Stadium, like I've been to everywhere except
Speaker 1: our actual place. So even just driving up in my car,
Speaker 1: like to go in the player's entrance, putting on my jersey,
Speaker 1: looking around seeing Joel and b Tires, Maxi, Paul George,
Speaker 1: like all these players who I've watched, get.
Speaker 4: This, You're gonna be wearing the same outfit.
Speaker 5: Is Yeah, that's that's the crazy, wild insane.
Speaker 1: Just walking out, like doing the warm up, like when
Speaker 1: the ball gets tipps, just watching the game, like it's
Speaker 1: just gonna be so surreal for me. So there's so
Speaker 1: many moments I'm gonna remember and try to just keep
Speaker 1: as a great visualization tactic.
Speaker 4: What are the cornerstones of your game day routine?
Speaker 1: Major one is I read a part of a book
Speaker 1: before every game, part of the inner game of tennis.
Speaker 1: There's a little analogy I like to read about the
Speaker 1: rose and.
Speaker 4: Also say more in.
Speaker 1: This book, it's it talks about just the mental part
Speaker 1: of sports in general, but it's through a tennis coach
Speaker 1: and he talks about this rose analogy where the rose
Speaker 1: is a rose from the time you plant the seed
Speaker 1: to the time it grows, and you're going to give
Speaker 1: it the same care, the same nourishment it needs to
Speaker 1: reach a rose. And that's something that really resonates with me.
Speaker 1: I think just I'm going to be myself, no matter
Speaker 1: how the media sees me, how players see me, I'm
Speaker 1: always going to be myself and no matter what happens,
Speaker 1: I'm always me. And I think that that really helps
Speaker 1: me just not only lock in, but just know like
Speaker 1: I'm out there just going to play and be myself
Speaker 1: out there.
Speaker 2: You've been to the Phillies, You've been to the Eagles.
Speaker 2: What have you observed about the Philly fan base.
Speaker 1: I was sitting right behind home plate and there were
Speaker 1: these fans behind me shout out to those guys, and
Speaker 1: they were just screaming at the other team, like every
Speaker 1: time they missed the bat or missed missed the swing, whatever,
Speaker 1: just screaming at them.
Speaker 5: And that's what I love.
Speaker 1: I love that seeing that part of the passionate fan
Speaker 1: base of Philadelphia, and so I'm excited to see it
Speaker 1: at our games.
Speaker 2: Well, let's bridge the gap between Duke and the Philadelphia
Speaker 2: seventy six ers. What were the fans like for you
Speaker 2: at Duke, because I know that they will hold you
Speaker 2: accountable as well as be your biggest supporters. How do
Speaker 2: you think that they might compare to what you're going
Speaker 2: to experience on opening night in Philadelphia.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think they're very similar.
Speaker 1: I think obviously being affiliates, it's going to be on
Speaker 1: a bigger, bigger stage. But the similarities they have is
Speaker 1: just the passionate, the passionate fan base, Like they're going
Speaker 1: to tell you they can see if you're not playing hard,
Speaker 1: and they're going to let you know if you aren't,
Speaker 1: And I think that's they hold you accountable. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do my part in playing hard, doing what I can
Speaker 1: to help the team win.
Speaker 5: Control what I can control.
Speaker 1: But yeah, i think the fan bases are very similar,
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to get to know this fan base more.
Speaker 2: I know you visited Duke since you left. I was
Speaker 2: going to say graduated. We're not quite there yet, But
Speaker 2: what do you met? What do you appreciate most about
Speaker 2: your limited time at Duke.
Speaker 1: I like how Duke is like very It's think going
Speaker 1: seven thousand undergrad so you kind of get to know
Speaker 1: a lot of people. And I think just when I
Speaker 1: go back, I can walk around and just say hi
Speaker 1: to people, like the workers at WU, the dining hall,
Speaker 1: my teacher familiar think, yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah for them, you know that when I was there.
Speaker 4: I'm dating myself.
Speaker 2: That was when the WU opened, was when I was there,
Speaker 2: So like my first couple of years it was under construction.
Speaker 4: I was their life pre WU.
Speaker 5: That's kind of only know it was there before.
Speaker 4: Well, yeah, that's how old I am.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I shouldn't have.
Speaker 2: Said that, but all right, continue the things that you
Speaker 2: loved included, Yeah, people in the.
Speaker 1: Dining hall exactly, exactly, just saying how to people I know? Remember,
Speaker 1: Like I went back last time and I got to
Speaker 1: see some of my friends who I was in class with.
Speaker 1: They run the newspaper, so I went up there and
Speaker 1: watch a football game with them. Like just simple things
Speaker 1: like that, knowing people and the vibe with Duke. It's
Speaker 1: it reminds me of Hogwarts. I've said before, and it's
Speaker 1: just a great vibe I get.
Speaker 2: Are there ducalums that you've reached out to about the
Speaker 2: transition into.
Speaker 1: The NBA koch Shi care well, all the people that
Speaker 1: have been there, even we had pro weekend, so even
Speaker 1: talking to Mark Williams DJ Stewart, like just people who
Speaker 1: have been there done that and just get as much
Speaker 1: advice as I can.
Speaker 2: All Right, last topic that we need to cover Drake.
Speaker 2: Best Drake album.
Speaker 5: I go back and forth. Give me top three, top three.
Speaker 5: So nothing was the same.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure as my top Okay, take Care I
Speaker 1: was really young, but it's something I come back to
Speaker 1: a lot.
Speaker 4: Okay, And how old were you when take Care came out?
Speaker 1: Was that twenty eleven? I think I'm scar I was
Speaker 1: either like I was like seven or eight?
Speaker 4: Continue?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so take Care. Nothing was the same.
Speaker 1: And More Life is considered a playlist, but More Life
Speaker 1: is up there for sure.
Speaker 5: Scorpions and are rated. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go views.
Speaker 4: You just mentioned six. Narrow it down?
Speaker 1: No, I know, I'm going views, take Care, not in
Speaker 1: order views, take Care and nothing was the same.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: If you could only listen to five Drake songs for
Speaker 2: the rest of your life crazy on repeat?
Speaker 4: Which five do you keep with you?
Speaker 5: Western?
Speaker 1: Road, Flows Okay, Fire and Desire?
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: He's like, I've thought about this already. That's a crazy question.
Speaker 2: But I know my answers.
Speaker 5: I really haven't.
Speaker 4: Okay, Well, the first two came off quite que because those.
Speaker 1: Are my two fair.
Speaker 4: Fair, fair for fair, give me three more over my.
Speaker 1: Dead body, Okay, tuscan leather, Okay. I want to say
Speaker 1: from time Okay, but I'm really missing a lot of
Speaker 1: songs right now, so I don't. It's really like it's
Speaker 1: the top five just right in this moment.
Speaker 2: But for those that want, like the Jared McCain playlist,
Speaker 2: those five, yeah, okay. And last question, why Drake? Like,
Speaker 2: why is Drake so important to you? Because obviously Drake
Speaker 2: is topical right now, but it seems that he means
Speaker 2: more to you maybe like it feels like and I
Speaker 2: know a lot of Drake fans feel that way, right,
Speaker 2: Like his music gets you through things, right, tell me
Speaker 2: about your personal Drake journey.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it.
Speaker 1: I mean it goes back all the way since I was,
Speaker 1: like since my brother introduced me to Drake when I
Speaker 1: was like six years old, like listening listen to best
Speaker 1: I ever had, like him.
Speaker 5: Just just showing me Drake. I think it.
Speaker 1: I went to his concert when I would I went
Speaker 1: to the take Care concert when Kendrick and Asap opened
Speaker 1: up for him, and anyways, but yeah, I think he
Speaker 1: has a song for every mood I'm in he's been
Speaker 1: there since I was a kid. It's kind of someone
Speaker 1: I've grown up with and he's been at the top
Speaker 1: for that long. So just a great artist, the best
Speaker 1: artist of all time. Michael Jackson of course too. But
Speaker 1: Drake is my personal and yeah, it means it means
Speaker 1: a lot to me.
Speaker 2: Longevity is a theme with you, right, you just talked
Speaker 2: about the Rose, You've talked about Drake's longevity. What are
Speaker 2: a couple of things And I know I said last question,
Speaker 2: but I think we're going to tie it up here.
Speaker 2: What are a few things that you're doing right now
Speaker 2: to ensure that this first season for you is just
Speaker 2: the beginning.
Speaker 1: I think asking questions to the people who have literally
Speaker 1: been there for ten fifteen years. Taking care of my
Speaker 1: body is the main thing they say you can't the
Speaker 1: best availability is wait, the best what is it?
Speaker 5: The best?
Speaker 4: Best ability is availability?
Speaker 5: Exactly what she said. So, yeah, just taking care of
Speaker 5: my body.
Speaker 1: Obviously, going to take care of my mental because I
Speaker 1: think and nowadays, a lot of stuff happens and people
Speaker 1: are stepping away from the game because of their mental
Speaker 1: So taking care of that always. But I think one
Speaker 1: thing is working hard. It's always going to come back
Speaker 1: to that, and then once you take care of your
Speaker 1: body and take care of your mental, everything will set
Speaker 1: yourself up well.
Speaker 2: You're asking tons of questions. Thank you for a Let
Speaker 2: me ask you some questions. Jared McCain. Always a pleasure.
Speaker 2: Thanks for sending us.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast, joined
Speaker 2: today by head coach of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers
Speaker 2: in his second year, Nick Nurse.
Speaker 4: Matt Murphy.
Speaker 2: I'm Lauren Rosen. The two of you were recently Carol,
Speaker 2: Iowa together.
Speaker 4: How was it, coach?
Speaker 5: Has not been before?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I love this.
Speaker 7: It is my hometown, Carol, Iowa. Go ahead, what did
Speaker 7: you How did you like my hometown?
Speaker 3: It was my first time there, Carol National Golf, best
Speaker 3: greens around, best greens in the Midwest. Not sucking up
Speaker 3: at all, right now. I also had the chance to
Speaker 3: see the first show from the Icons band, which features
Speaker 3: Nick Nurse, and they end every set with here Come
Speaker 3: the Sixers. So you were doing your thing up there.
Speaker 3: What was the post mortem on the Icons and the
Speaker 3: first concert?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 6: It was good, it was it was.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think it turned out okay. I mean it
Speaker 7: was our first time together. A couple of the members
Speaker 7: had had never even jammed with us before. There was
Speaker 7: a kind of a cross section of a few guys
Speaker 7: I jammed with in Toronto, a few guys I started
Speaker 7: jamming with in Philly, and then a couple all stars
Speaker 7: thrown in there from from other other big.
Speaker 6: Performers or big bands.
Speaker 7: I don't know about eleven I was up there on stage,
Speaker 7: but it was it was pretty fun.
Speaker 6: It was pretty fun.
Speaker 7: I'm I'm blown away at how talented these people are. Like,
Speaker 7: it shocks me that they can say, hey, let's try
Speaker 7: the song and.
Speaker 6: Everybody goes one and then one, two, three, boom, and
Speaker 6: it sounds amazing. It just blows me away.
Speaker 2: Don't sell yourself short. You were part of it. You
Speaker 2: also have that skill.
Speaker 6: Yeah, No, not on their level at all.
Speaker 7: I try to fit in where I can and and
Speaker 7: bang out a few chords and things on the keys
Speaker 7: and stuff like that. But I like jamming, right, I
Speaker 7: like jamming probably better than I do performing.
Speaker 6: I like to when we.
Speaker 7: Get together and just jam at my house or jam
Speaker 7: at somebody else's house, and that can go on for hours.
Speaker 7: And I could probably do that for a lot of
Speaker 7: hours in the day, Yeah.
Speaker 3: Or more recently with Matt Quinn and Mountjoy in the
Speaker 3: in the Philadelphia area as well.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that was really something that was really something. Why well,
Speaker 7: it was the real deal.
Speaker 6: Right, the real deal.
Speaker 7: Usually I've done a couple other of fairly good sized crowds.
Speaker 7: One obviously, the first one I ever did was with
Speaker 7: the Rcels. I think there was about seventeen thousand fans
Speaker 7: at that. That was the first time did one with
Speaker 7: the new power generation Toron Trot and jazz bests probably
Speaker 7: five thousand. But usually those two I was on guitar.
Speaker 7: I just kind of hiding back there by the drummer and.
Speaker 6: You know, playing a little bit and just taking it
Speaker 6: all in.
Speaker 7: But this one was the piano that they had was
Speaker 7: sitting right there, and the crowd was right there and
Speaker 7: twelve thousand people, and.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was it was awesome. I say this, I'll say.
Speaker 7: It again, is that I take me to a Game
Speaker 7: seven in the NBA Playoffs versus doing that. I was
Speaker 7: really nervous again, way out of way out of my
Speaker 7: normal element for.
Speaker 6: Sure, but it was cool. You know. It always helps
Speaker 6: to go.
Speaker 7: In in the afternoon to do a little sound check all again.
Speaker 7: That's all like bizarre and foreign feeling to me, you know,
Speaker 7: putting ear plugs in, I'm not used to that.
Speaker 6: So you can hear you know, would you like, like, coach,
Speaker 6: would you like to hear the drummer better?
Speaker 7: I said, yeah, give me some more drum you know,
Speaker 7: like I know, I know what I'm talking about, right,
Speaker 7: and you can turn down this and you know whatever.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that was you mentioned being more comfortable in
Speaker 2: a game seven that you would be playing on stage
Speaker 2: in a concert. Why is it important to you to
Speaker 2: get out of your comforts like that.
Speaker 6: Well, that's that's one thing that is part of it
Speaker 6: for me.
Speaker 7: Like I didn't battle it nearly as much with Mountjoy
Speaker 7: the other night as I did with the r Kels.
Speaker 6: I really was like side stage and really had never
Speaker 6: done it before, and was like and it was rock.
Speaker 6: I mean, the.
Speaker 7: Place was going bananas and I was just like, I'm
Speaker 7: going home.
Speaker 6: Man, I like I can Where was it?
Speaker 7: It was in Toronto at the Bud Bud Stage, which
Speaker 7: is an outdoor kind of a lot, like a lot
Speaker 7: like the Man outdoor. It's on the lake there in Toronto,
Speaker 7: and and uh, I didn't live that far away and
Speaker 7: there was a six or seven times during the show
Speaker 7: that I was like, I think I'm just gonna slide out.
Speaker 6: And go back home, and uh.
Speaker 7: But but kind of kept saying that to your answer
Speaker 7: your question. I kind of kept saying that to myself, Mandy,
Speaker 7: you got enough guts to get out there and do it,
Speaker 7: you know, like really really honestly, like really nervous and
Speaker 7: trying to push through and go out there and and
Speaker 7: and do it. I don't know, I don't know why
Speaker 7: that's important, but I think at least it's part of
Speaker 7: the kind of internal battle of I don't know, if
Speaker 7: you want.
Speaker 6: To do cool stuff, sometimes you got to take a leap.
Speaker 5: Right that was in the news.
Speaker 3: So was Joel Embiid's contract extension right down here on
Speaker 3: the court at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia seventy six ers
Speaker 3: training complex. How did it feel for the organization to
Speaker 3: first of all get that done, but then to see
Speaker 3: him celebrating with his family and had Arthur shooting hoops
Speaker 3: and all that, Well, it was great.
Speaker 7: And I think I don't know how much you guys
Speaker 7: have talked about it or it's been said, but you know,
Speaker 7: in the first couple months of my tenure three four
Speaker 7: months of my tenure after getting hired, the Joel gonna
Speaker 7: request the trade or going to do whatever, not be
Speaker 7: here or whatever was a kind of a thing that
Speaker 7: certain media outlets were really trying to make a story
Speaker 7: right that if they don't get it together, he's going
Speaker 7: to be out of there type of thing. And so
Speaker 7: I think it's really nice kind of have that be
Speaker 7: gone and this be here and he's gonna be here
Speaker 7: and he wants to be here, and give a lot
Speaker 7: of people a lot of credit for that. And like
Speaker 7: one of one of the people I give a lot
Speaker 7: of credit for is Tyrese, right, like being such a
Speaker 7: good teammate taking such a big step forward, becoming a
Speaker 7: star player like Joel wants to win, and Joel knows
Speaker 7: he needs capable stars with him. And I think Tyresee's
Speaker 7: total makeup is a is a big thing of that.
Speaker 7: And again, ownership obviously got to give them a lot
Speaker 7: of credit all of us, all the rest of us
Speaker 7: kind of worked did our dinner jobs, you know, but
Speaker 7: it's great that for me is almost the most important
Speaker 7: thing that we've got a big Joel locked up for
Speaker 7: years to.
Speaker 2: Come, Yeah, years to come. For him, but also for
Speaker 2: Tyrese and for Paul George. But you brought up the
Speaker 2: Tyresse Joel relationship, and for some reason, when iconic NBA
Speaker 2: duos are discussed, perhaps on national programs, they're usually left out,
Speaker 2: perhaps because of Tyree's youth, he's a first time All Star.
Speaker 4: But what have you observed about their.
Speaker 2: Relationship that you might not have seen yet and that
Speaker 2: the national audience might be missing at this point?
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, I don't know what it is about, first
Speaker 7: of all, about what ty Resee and they leave him
Speaker 7: out of this stuff are maybe you know, you know, huh,
Speaker 7: a lot of stuff, and it's like nobody still believes
Speaker 7: that he's like this good or he's he's he ever
Speaker 7: gonna be like he's really really really really good, like
Speaker 7: you know, and he's not even like none being really
Speaker 7: good at a couple more realies on there.
Speaker 6: Yeah, for him to keep.
Speaker 4: Left off a lot of list does right.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he does.
Speaker 2: Was your question again, what did you observe about the
Speaker 2: relationship that Joel and Terry share.
Speaker 7: I think I think Joel did a good job of understanding,
Speaker 7: like you know, once other pieces had left and Tyresee
Speaker 7: had this ability to bring him along to kind of
Speaker 7: to kind of get to him and say, hey, let's
Speaker 7: work together, let's do this, and almost like like I
Speaker 7: believe in you, Tyresee.
Speaker 6: I also need you, Tyrese. We need each other, you know.
Speaker 7: So I think Joe Well, being the older, older guy
Speaker 7: of the group, more experienced guy, did a great job
Speaker 7: in bringing bringing him forward. And You're like, like anything,
Speaker 7: I think they start working together. It's fun to play with,
Speaker 7: you know. The way they're playing together is fun for them.
Speaker 7: They pushing each other a little bit. They see Joel
Speaker 7: sees Tyrese's growth and knows there's more there to go.
Speaker 6: So I think I think all that's a factor.
Speaker 3: Another Joelle question, just because the last time we spoke
Speaker 3: with you was that Summer League before the Olympics. He
Speaker 3: gets the gold medal with Team USA the dominant close
Speaker 3: to the game against Serbia and helped them along. What
Speaker 3: did you think about Joel at the Olympics.
Speaker 7: I don't know, looking back, I think it kind of
Speaker 7: summarizes what I've experienced. I've never won a gold medal,
Speaker 7: right or whatever, and never, but when I've when I've
Speaker 7: had championship teams, what they experience is a lot of
Speaker 7: ups and downs, and the Olympics is kind of a
Speaker 7: short little window, but it still happens, and I think
Speaker 7: he went through some of that, right.
Speaker 6: He didn't play that many minutes. He was left off
Speaker 6: out of a game.
Speaker 7: You know, there was concerns going, you know, but then
Speaker 7: boom you have he has a big, huge moment and
Speaker 7: they couldn't have won it without him, right.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 7: He delivers in the game almost that they brought him for,
Speaker 7: they needed him for whatever, and then he ends up
Speaker 7: coming out, you know, on the on the other end
Speaker 7: with the gold medal. So I think in a short
Speaker 7: little window, it's a synopsis of being able to handle
Speaker 7: up and downs, even even some really you know, deep down,
Speaker 7: you know, depths of being down and wondering what's going
Speaker 7: to happen, and then coming out the other side and
Speaker 7: being able to celebrate with your teammates and your family
Speaker 7: and having that forever as a as part of your legacy,
Speaker 7: and and something really cool.
Speaker 6: Man, he's got a gold medal.
Speaker 2: A year ago when you got here, you talked about
Speaker 2: wanting to set a culture of expecting to win, focusing
Speaker 2: on April, May and June in year one, when you
Speaker 2: reflect on your one and look ahead to or two,
Speaker 2: what are you proudest of in this first year and
Speaker 2: where's your focus shifting as you're a second year coach
Speaker 2: in this market.
Speaker 7: Without like digging in too deep, I thought would play
Speaker 7: really hard. I thought we gave great effort last year,
Speaker 7: so I always want that. I think I think you
Speaker 7: know I've said this to you before, but I'll say
Speaker 7: it again. You know, when people are walking up the
Speaker 7: stairs after the game, they should be elbowing each other saying.
Speaker 6: Man, did they play hard? I don't even know.
Speaker 7: I don't even know what the score the score ends up,
Speaker 7: but that's that's like the first thing I want them
Speaker 7: to to be able to notice that the team fights,
Speaker 7: the team never quits, the team will come back when
Speaker 7: things are going bad, the team will bounce back after
Speaker 7: tough losses and just give, you know, just give a
Speaker 7: tremendous effort. So now I think we did that on
Speaker 7: a decent basis. I got a whole new roster here,
Speaker 7: so we're gonna have to, you know, kind of get
Speaker 7: back to building that culture, you know, And it's it's
Speaker 7: all about, you know, just demand and that they that
Speaker 7: they that they do things well, that they practice hard.
Speaker 7: They practice with pace, they practice with focus, and when
Speaker 7: they don't, we let them know and we correct it,
Speaker 7: and we just try to keep pushing. You know that
Speaker 7: that energy and focus and learning to win and setting
Speaker 7: up drills to win, you know, all those little things
Speaker 7: that our coaches are so good at doing to build
Speaker 7: that culture is still super important.
Speaker 6: And I think back to the April, May and June.
Speaker 7: It's a little bit weird last year because of the
Speaker 7: huge injury to Joel midway through, and then we had
Speaker 7: a lot of guys out and stretches too, so we
Speaker 7: were really playing, let's do the best we can do
Speaker 7: right now and keep figuring things out, and let's let's
Speaker 7: try to scratch you know, you heard me, scratch out
Speaker 7: a win anyway we can and get to the next
Speaker 7: game and then figure the game plan out for that one.
Speaker 7: Hopefully we'll have a little bit more of a of
Speaker 7: a building, a little bit better health.
Speaker 6: I think we will.
Speaker 7: We got deeper, but yeah, we're going to try to
Speaker 7: play our best basketball in April, man and June.
Speaker 5: For sure.
Speaker 2: When you reflect on that first season, are there any
Speaker 2: nights that stand out to you memory wise of particularly
Speaker 2: good fights where you felt like people really walked out
Speaker 2: and said, dang, those guys went for it.
Speaker 7: I thought the playoffs, first of all, even though we
Speaker 7: came out on the wrong end of.
Speaker 5: It, those were fights.
Speaker 6: Fights, yeah, you.
Speaker 7: Know, against against the team that that's you know, kind
Speaker 7: of what they're going to hang their hat on, right,
Speaker 7: And I would say we fought just as hard as
Speaker 7: they did. We're close to it, and again like we
Speaker 7: were not very healthy to be doing it right. Again,
Speaker 7: I'm I don't make any excuses, but even for Joelle,
Speaker 7: he was a long ways away from you know, being
Speaker 7: being where he could be or where he wished to
Speaker 7: be in that series. And I thought he fought through
Speaker 7: a lot of stuff too. Either than that, you know,
Speaker 7: there was some there was some other cool games. I
Speaker 7: thought the game at San Antonio, the double overtime win,
Speaker 7: I think you guys can correct me.
Speaker 6: I thought, I think.
Speaker 7: Both uh, well, Joel was out for sure, but Trees
Speaker 7: and Ricky Counsel came in, Jeff out and you know
Speaker 7: all these you know guys.
Speaker 6: That was a super fun game.
Speaker 7: I thought they were playing at a really high level
Speaker 7: and and and uh that kind of that was that
Speaker 7: was a good one. I don't know, I'm not really
Speaker 7: that great at remember past games, so.
Speaker 4: That's not true, but we'll let you go.
Speaker 6: Matter it's true, I'm not well.
Speaker 3: He might need to use his memory about very early
Speaker 3: on in his career towards the end here, but maybe
Speaker 3: we'll let him.
Speaker 5: Let him off.
Speaker 2: The home training camp in the Bahamas this year, and
Speaker 2: then a series of away games throughout the preseason. As
Speaker 2: you look at that slate, what can you accomplish reasonably
Speaker 2: with a group that's this new What do you hope
Speaker 2: to get out of that week away together? And then
Speaker 2: these preseason games.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean I think that first of all super exciting.
Speaker 7: You know, it's really the first chance you get to
Speaker 7: get the whole crew together for for real. You know,
Speaker 7: like we do this stuff and a lot of our
Speaker 7: guys in in September, but there's always guys here and there,
Speaker 7: two or three out here and there doing something, you know,
Speaker 7: getting visas or passports or whatever they're doing, you know,
Speaker 7: moving whatever. So it's the first shot to get everybody together,
Speaker 7: and you're really just trying to get again that tone
Speaker 7: set of how we're going to play.
Speaker 6: Usually starts defensively.
Speaker 7: Put a huge, huge emphasis on the defensive side of
Speaker 7: the ball, just to make sure that all those little
Speaker 7: foundational pillars that we like to live by, you know,
Speaker 7: they understand them, and they understand how we're going to
Speaker 7: do them, and then what the plan is behind them
Speaker 7: and all that stuff, and then.
Speaker 6: Start building from there. You know, we'll we'll certainly work on.
Speaker 7: Probably a little bit more advanced in the offense because
Speaker 7: I'm so much more used to Joelle and Tyrese. I know,
Speaker 7: I know where I kind of got to start with
Speaker 7: those guys rather than figuring it out as I go
Speaker 7: a little bit. So I think we'll we'll get ahead
Speaker 7: with those guys and in the preseason mostly just making
Speaker 7: reads and then we got to figure out where the
Speaker 7: other guys fit around them.
Speaker 3: I think we should go into the time machine real quick.
Speaker 3: Let's try, just because it sort of fits in with
Speaker 3: the theme of the beginning of our conversation, playing these
Speaker 3: shows and the nerves you feel coaching and playing and
Speaker 3: all that. I know in your career in the D
Speaker 3: League you talked about what the feelings of nervousness that
Speaker 3: you sometimes felt for even those games, and when you
Speaker 3: became an NBA head coach October twenty eighteen, what do
Speaker 3: you remember about your first opening game of the NBA
Speaker 3: regular season as the head coach in Toronto?
Speaker 6: Hardly anything, Yeah, hardly anything. I do remember. I don't know.
Speaker 6: I want I can answer this question.
Speaker 7: I mean, obviously I felt like we had a really
Speaker 7: good team and we're ready to go. And I do
Speaker 7: know that the forty eight minutes that like you had
Speaker 7: to ride these waves of a game, and you know,
Speaker 7: I wanted to. You want to win your first game
Speaker 7: as a head coach in the NBA, right, you want
Speaker 7: to win your season opener.
Speaker 6: You know they're both coming to kind of at the
Speaker 6: same time. And you did win. Yeah, we did.
Speaker 7: I just remember that it was about like an NBA
Speaker 7: game is, you know, like like it was it was difficult, right,
Speaker 7: it was we look good, we look bad, we look good,
Speaker 7: we looked bad, and then we you know, we started
Speaker 7: playing really good towards the end and kind of kind
Speaker 7: of got away with a win. And I don't know,
Speaker 7: I guess again my first game in the NBA, but
Speaker 7: it was was in the thousandth of games I've coached,
Speaker 7: so had all that much different thing get ready for
Speaker 7: anything else. I do I do remember, like my first
Speaker 7: time as an assistant though, like walking in and kind
Speaker 7: of looking up, you know, Toronto's arenos like pretty tall,
Speaker 7: and like I was just like this is just like
Speaker 7: unbelievable that, like this is what we're playing in tonight.
Speaker 6: You know, I do remember that, but I'm used to
Speaker 6: that stuff now too.
Speaker 3: Starting lineups might be too specific from the Cleveland Toronto
Speaker 3: game in twenty eighteen, but do you remember.
Speaker 6: I know I can give it a shot.
Speaker 7: I want to say Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 6: This is where it gets a little tricky. I'm gonna say.
Speaker 7: Serge of Baka and Jonna's Valentiunas or was it Pascal?
Speaker 3: It was Pascal and Valentias. Do you remember among those
Speaker 3: five who had a really really great game and who
Speaker 3: may happen to play for you in Philadelphia?
Speaker 6: Now?
Speaker 3: Lowry twenty seven points eight assists, five for six from
Speaker 3: three in your first game as an NBA head go
Speaker 3: what was that again? Twenty seven points eight assists, five
Speaker 3: for six from three against the Calves at twelve point win.
Speaker 4: Helpful when that happens.
Speaker 6: He's a good player, Coach, good.
Speaker 4: Memory, Coach Nurse, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 4: We're excited about this season.
Speaker 6: When you're having fun, is quick.
Speaker 4: Glad to hear that you did. Thank you so much,
Speaker 4: Thanks much,