Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: Search seventy Sixers podcast Wherever You get your Pods. Elton
Speaker 1: Brand vowed patients in the seventy six ers search for
Speaker 1: a new head coach, this is a pivotal point for
Speaker 1: our organization. You know, out a crossroads right now. So
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be strategic and thoughtful. I'm not going to
Speaker 1: be in a rush. And in the end that approach
Speaker 1: paid off. Doc Rivers out with the Clippers after seven
Speaker 1: seasons in Los Angeles. Within forty eight hours of Doc
Speaker 1: Rivers becoming available, he was in Philadelphia fern interview less
Speaker 1: than twenty four hours after that. The wheels were in
Speaker 1: motion for the fifty eight year old Rivers to become
Speaker 1: the twenty fifth head coach in franchise history. The Doc
Speaker 1: is in the building. Sources have confirmed that the Sixers
Speaker 1: have reached a deal with Doc Rivers. The star power
Speaker 1: with Mbiad and Ben Simmons, you have some other very
Speaker 1: good players of big market in Philadelphia. Those were all
Speaker 1: components for Ernst got him right back in. You look
Speaker 1: at that personnel, doc Rivers scheme, the way he coached
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers. Why got that job. I really going to
Speaker 1: bring that structure to the phill League. He's going to
Speaker 1: get the bit out of Joe will embat I strongly
Speaker 1: believe that Joe William beat Mike whenn' the MVP makes you.
Speaker 1: On this episode of the broadcast Reaction Doc Rivers the
Speaker 1: next head coach of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. It
Speaker 1: is an occasion, so amenas we are being represented in
Speaker 1: three out of the four time zones in the contiguous
Speaker 1: United States. I'm Brian Seltzer coming to here from North Liberties.
Speaker 1: I'm time Againness from Phoenix, Arizona, and i am Warren
Speaker 1: Rosen in Houston, Texas. Guys, we are gathered here for
Speaker 1: this edition of the broadcast to discuss none other than
Speaker 1: the hiring of the twenty fifth head coach in franchise history,
Speaker 1: and it's Rivers. I mean, my first reaction is wow
Speaker 1: for two reasons. Wow Because earlier in the week, at
Speaker 1: the start of the week, if you go back to Sunday,
Speaker 1: he wasn't even available. Then he became available, and now
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers have him. So I think before we
Speaker 1: get into the different layers of this hiring, I'm still
Speaker 1: very much in a wow frame of mind. And I
Speaker 1: want to start with you time because you've seen Doc
Speaker 1: as a player at the back end of his career
Speaker 1: and during the entirety of his ten years ahead coach
Speaker 1: in the league. Well, actually, Brian, I go back further.
Speaker 1: I saw him as a college player in Milwaukee at
Speaker 1: Marquette as a junior. We happened to be the same age.
Speaker 1: And at that point my college basketball career ended and
Speaker 1: I was a reporter, and at the time I was
Speaker 1: with Northern Illinois and Doc was playing at Marquette, and
Speaker 1: I actually asked the coach if I could travel up.
Speaker 1: We had a game up there in Milwaukee, and the
Speaker 1: coach of the Northern Milinois Huskies at the time let
Speaker 1: me go on the team bus. I wanted to see
Speaker 1: Doc play, so we actually played at the same time.
Speaker 1: Clearly he was a much better player. But from Maywood, Illinois.
Speaker 1: He went to provis A East High School just west
Speaker 1: of Chicago, and that was a storied basketball program even
Speaker 1: in years prior to Glenn Rivers Doc Rivers playing there,
Speaker 1: So to your bigger point, and then I did see
Speaker 1: him in college in the NBA. In fact, his first
Speaker 1: year it was with the Hawks in their training camp
Speaker 1: was in Charleston, South Carolina, at the College of Charleston,
Speaker 1: and I was covering the I was working in television there,
Speaker 1: and low and behold, Mike Fortello brought the Hawks in there,
Speaker 1: and I talked to Doc at that time, and we've
Speaker 1: reminisced about that many years ago. But to your overall point,
Speaker 1: it's it's very exciting because at this time, and really
Speaker 1: in a lot of lost seasons, but certainly for the
Speaker 1: Sixers now have a coaching vacancy coming in. It was
Speaker 1: almost like a game of musical chairs, and at a
Speaker 1: certain point, you know the music was going to stop
Speaker 1: and who was going to be your coach? And there
Speaker 1: was talking about Lou and of course Billy Donovan took
Speaker 1: the Chicago job and Dan Tony and then as you say,
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers became available and that change of dynamics. So
Speaker 1: they got a tremendous head coach, two time Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year, NBA champion, totally respected. He's gonna get his
Speaker 1: thousands win with the Philadelphia seventy six ers, whether it's
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one or twenty one season or the
Speaker 1: following year. He's very close. And I believe nine sixty
Speaker 1: four to a great day for the sixties. It really is.
Speaker 1: I echo what you both said. I was so excited
Speaker 1: and a little surprised. Obviously, he just came up on
Speaker 1: the market this week, he's already been to Philadelphia, and
Speaker 1: now he's getting ready obviously to come back more long term.
Speaker 1: So this is something really exciting. I have a little
Speaker 1: bit less experience watching him coach, but what I do
Speaker 1: know is that he is a relationships guy. Ask anyone
Speaker 1: around the league, other coaches, other players, players who have
Speaker 1: and haven't played for him. They love Doc Rivers. He's
Speaker 1: just one of the high character, role model type figures
Speaker 1: in this league, and I think Philadelphia is really lucky
Speaker 1: to someone that brings those types of qualities to the table.
Speaker 1: When you watch any team that at least i've seen
Speaker 1: usually Clippers teams. When the Clippers come to town, there
Speaker 1: are players on the opposing team that want to just
Speaker 1: say hello to Doc, that want to have a conversation
Speaker 1: with Doc. There are reporters that love having conversations with Doc.
Speaker 1: So to have somebody like that, to get to start
Speaker 1: building relationships of our own with him, it's something I'm
Speaker 1: really excited about. It's interesting to say that, Lauren, because
Speaker 1: when you just watch some of the interactions, it jumps
Speaker 1: out that factor that he commands respect. I was going
Speaker 1: through We have access in our department to the Getty
Speaker 1: Images photo archive, and you know that these photographers who
Speaker 1: take photos of all these basketball games and lo and
Speaker 1: behold from the game the Clippers played against the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers at the Center in February. After the game,
Speaker 1: there's Doc and Joel Embiid engaged in a very congenial,
Speaker 1: friendly handshake. Just seeing that there was that immediate friendship
Speaker 1: and camaraderie brought on by respect. And Doc's a name
Speaker 1: teamac like you said, He's been there, He's done that,
Speaker 1: and it's incredible to me that this is going to
Speaker 1: be his twenty second year as a head coach in
Speaker 1: the NBA. Nine hundred forty three wins, that is such
Speaker 1: a massive number. He's missed the playoffs only once in
Speaker 1: the last thirteen years. And when I think of all
Speaker 1: the positives surrounding the profile of Doc as a head coach,
Speaker 1: t mac he's a guy who during that time has
Speaker 1: seen just about everything on the court. On the court, superstars,
Speaker 1: managing relationships and adapting with the times of an evolving
Speaker 1: style of playing the league, no doubt about it. And
Speaker 1: that's what you get is a lot of that experience.
Speaker 1: And I missed the wins by twenty but he's going
Speaker 1: to get it with the Sixers in the next two
Speaker 1: year or so. So the biggest thing in the NBA
Speaker 1: is a head coach is respect. And he's got it
Speaker 1: the second he walks into the gym, the second he
Speaker 1: puts that whistle around his neck and walks on the floor,
Speaker 1: he's got that and our players are going to know that.
Speaker 1: Of course, the bias has already played for him with
Speaker 1: the Clippers, which I think is going to be really important.
Speaker 1: And he's been in all those crucial moments to win
Speaker 1: a championship, you know, and then they wanted an O
Speaker 1: eight in Boston in twenty ten. They were in that
Speaker 1: finals with Kobe against the Lakers. So he's seen all
Speaker 1: the coverages, he knows everything about the NBA and he's
Speaker 1: been in all those situations. And then again it's a
Speaker 1: he's an incredible person, I think, you know, I think
Speaker 1: we all saw that on a different level in the
Speaker 1: bubble when he talked about when there was the restart
Speaker 1: to the restart, and he talked about, you know, so
Speaker 1: eloquent they look at it made the national news and
Speaker 1: I think anybody that listened to that talk about racial
Speaker 1: injustice and his father being a police officer in Chicago
Speaker 1: for thirty years and wanting to be treated fairly, it
Speaker 1: was really powerful. And so he's a he's a great person.
Speaker 1: He's an incredible basketball mind that's been in our league
Speaker 1: at every level as a player and a coach and
Speaker 1: a podcaster. The only thing he hasn't done really is
Speaker 1: be in the front office. So it's a great move
Speaker 1: by the seventy sixers. And you know, you said, you
Speaker 1: don't know, but I would imagine Doc called Doc all right,
Speaker 1: So there's a relationship. So many of the players of
Speaker 1: that era, you know, looked up to Julius Serving and
Speaker 1: he's so close to our franchise and got his take.
Speaker 1: And I don't know that for sure, but you know,
Speaker 1: he did his due diligence on the Sixers, probably just
Speaker 1: as they did with him, and two thumbs up. And
Speaker 1: that's I think, Like I said, it's going to be
Speaker 1: a tremendous thing to inject new life. He's won the
Speaker 1: plus figure in Boston with the Clippers. Sorry, it was
Speaker 1: only plus one the very first year, but with Orlando
Speaker 1: was a big number. When he got the Boston there
Speaker 1: was a huge total win differential in a positive manner.
Speaker 1: So I think we're going to see that as well. Well, Tommy,
Speaker 1: you said it, he couldn't be a better ambassador for
Speaker 1: the game. I think that was super clear in the bubble.
Speaker 1: But that wasn't the first time that Doc has found
Speaker 1: himself in national news, always choosing the right side of history,
Speaker 1: always being candid and open and having the words when
Speaker 1: I think it's really it must be really difficult to
Speaker 1: find the words on the national stage. And he's an
Speaker 1: international ambassador to the game as well. Selts, you mentioned
Speaker 1: that interaction with Joel embiid Ramona Shelburne actually pointed it
Speaker 1: out today that the two of them did a basketball
Speaker 1: a Basketball without Borders trip to Senegal together a few
Speaker 1: years ago, so that might be where that relationship started.
Speaker 1: But we know that they have a little bit of
Speaker 1: history there. So whether it's on the national stage, international stage,
Speaker 1: this is someone who represents the game. My parents don't
Speaker 1: follow basketball, but they knew the name Doc Rivers when
Speaker 1: I told them who our new head coach was going
Speaker 1: to be, and we saw that same type of excitement
Speaker 1: from Josh Richardson. We got to see his reaction as
Speaker 1: he was doing a live stream of his own when
Speaker 1: he saw the news break. Josh Richardson has not played
Speaker 1: for Doc, but he was really excited for the opportunity
Speaker 1: to do so. So I think, whether you're a player
Speaker 1: or you're a parent in Houston, Texas, this is someone
Speaker 1: you know about and you know that he brings this energy,
Speaker 1: this aura that's important, that's special, and is going to
Speaker 1: bring something really different and unique and exciting to this group.
Speaker 1: There's great guys to see. Joel chime in in the
Speaker 1: old Twitter sphere recently minted father Joel embiid that amidst
Speaker 1: diaper changes and all the other things that come with
Speaker 1: being a new dad, he tweeted out, welcome to the
Speaker 1: City of Brotherly Love, Coach Doc Rivers. Excited for the
Speaker 1: future and what we're building here Philly forever. So an
Speaker 1: immediate sentiment of positivity from Joel Embiid. One of the
Speaker 1: things that I did earlier was run through some of
Speaker 1: the lists of big names that Doc Rivers has coached
Speaker 1: over the course of his career. And when you start
Speaker 1: in Orlando, you had Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill for a season.
Speaker 1: You go to Boston, of course there's Pearson Garnett and
Speaker 1: Alan and Terry Kawhi, Leonard Paul George with the LA
Speaker 1: Clippers in addition to Blake Griffin, Chris Paul DeAndre, Jordan,
Speaker 1: JJ Reddick, different guys, different types of players, and I
Speaker 1: think Tea mac he has shown over the course of
Speaker 1: his career talking about Doc Rivers that he is an
Speaker 1: ability to tap in and understand and relationship build with
Speaker 1: the different types of talents and stars that he comes
Speaker 1: across and works with. Absolutely, and not only who he's coached,
Speaker 1: but who he's played under. He played for the Knicks,
Speaker 1: he played for the Clippers when Larry Brown was there.
Speaker 1: I believe he had a stint with the San Antonio
Speaker 1: Spurs for while. Could be mistaken about that, but he's
Speaker 1: had a Welt Mike for Tello for definite shure in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: and he's had a number of experiences to learn from
Speaker 1: throughout his career. When you're in the NBA for as
Speaker 1: long as he's been associated with it, as you say,
Speaker 1: twenty plus years, as a head coach, a broadcaster and
Speaker 1: then a lengthy decade plus playing career. You've seen it
Speaker 1: all and Brian you've touched on and how our game
Speaker 1: has changed and he's adapted with that. So it's gonna
Speaker 1: be I think it's gonna be very interesting. I think
Speaker 1: the team will be re energized, certainly for the Sixers
Speaker 1: and the players. You know, they've got a right or
Speaker 1: wrong that was a very abrupt ending in their playoffs
Speaker 1: and now it's going to be a new attitude and
Speaker 1: a new approach. And you know, I think this is
Speaker 1: obviously a huge part of it in the hiring of
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers, and something that has become clear when you
Speaker 1: dive into Doc and his stops. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: you can point to an instance everywhere he's been as
Speaker 1: far as pretty much bringing guys together, whether it was
Speaker 1: the Donald Sterling incident and navigating the clippers of the
Speaker 1: playoffs in twenty fourteen, the Boston Celtics when they had
Speaker 1: to come together, and Lauren, I know that you watch
Speaker 1: the playbook documentary series on Netflix, the first episode Profile Doc,
Speaker 1: and it was it's really very well done, great insight
Speaker 1: from Doc Rivers, and he lists out different rules that
Speaker 1: he lives and coaches by. And the one thing that
Speaker 1: I'm going to take away from that episode was UNBOOTU,
Speaker 1: the idea of UMBOOTU with the Boston Celtics, and how
Speaker 1: that two thousand and eight team that won the title
Speaker 1: bought into that and they truly became more of a
Speaker 1: we not me type of embodiment and that ideal. Well,
Speaker 1: if you haven't already watched that episode on Netflix, I
Speaker 1: actually watched it, I believe, on Tuesday, before I even
Speaker 1: knew that this was a possibility. Maybe I was hoping
Speaker 1: it was, but it was a really special episode. Doc
Speaker 1: was very candid, and he explained the highs and the
Speaker 1: lows that come along with being great and the idea
Speaker 1: of Ubuntu and coming together as one, the idea that
Speaker 1: he subscribes to that something that I've actually spoken with
Speaker 1: my family a lot about is if one person gets better,
Speaker 1: the rest of the group gets better. If one person falls,
Speaker 1: the rest of the group falls. And what better way
Speaker 1: to structure a team than surrounding those types of ideals.
Speaker 1: He talked about it a lot when it came to
Speaker 1: that Celtics championship team in two thousand and eight, and
Speaker 1: keep in mind, that was a team that missed the
Speaker 1: playoffs the two years before that, and of course they
Speaker 1: had some major acquisitions that really up to their ceiling,
Speaker 1: but it was a team that had disappointed Tom not
Speaker 1: unlike what you said about this group that's looking to
Speaker 1: rebound for I'm unfortunate, let's say, ending to this season.
Speaker 1: Doc has had experience bringing a group of players together,
Speaker 1: galvanizing them around an idea that they can be better together,
Speaker 1: and I think that that's something that he can definitely
Speaker 1: bring to this group that we know is hungry for
Speaker 1: a championship and we know can come close to that
Speaker 1: type of let's say glory, but just hasn't quite gotten
Speaker 1: over the hump yet. I'm really excited about the way
Speaker 1: that that spirit can fit in with this group of
Speaker 1: seventy sixers. And Lauren, you touched on it, and that's
Speaker 1: what team is all about, and that's what Doc Rivers preaches.
Speaker 1: He's a winning person and as a coach who's finally
Speaker 1: won the NBA championship, and that whole concept of sacrificing
Speaker 1: for others, you know, like the hockey just ended and
Speaker 1: I didn't watch a lot other than a little bit
Speaker 1: of the Flyers. I didn't watch a lot of the
Speaker 1: NHL playoffs, but when it comes to a close, I'm
Speaker 1: watching and I don't care if that's the NBA, if
Speaker 1: we could get minor league baseball, I know they didn't
Speaker 1: play because at the end, when a team culminates with
Speaker 1: a championship, all of the themes are exactly the same,
Speaker 1: no matter what level it is. And what do they say.
Speaker 1: They say all the big adjectives, trust, sacrifice, loyalty. These
Speaker 1: guys are unbelievable. We did it together. We you know,
Speaker 1: all of the same things almost to a team, to
Speaker 1: a man, are stated, whether it's Major League Baseball, the NFL,
Speaker 1: or the NBA. When it comes to the end, that's
Speaker 1: what winning teams have, and that's what he preaches, and
Speaker 1: quite frankly, that's what it's got to be for the
Speaker 1: Sixers or any team that aspires to reach the gold
Speaker 1: medal round the championship level. You know, whether it's set
Speaker 1: in the screen, or being a supportive teammate, or bringing
Speaker 1: a great attitude every day, or scoring thirty points or
Speaker 1: getting the big rebound, all of those little things out
Speaker 1: up we've seen in the playoffs, I mean in bounding
Speaker 1: to basketball becomes of paramount importance, so you want to
Speaker 1: he'll vitualize the habits and play with game speed and
Speaker 1: the ferocity so that when it's real, when it comes
Speaker 1: down to gut check time, you've already been there, and
Speaker 1: Doc Rivers is going to bring that intensity, that emphasis
Speaker 1: on execution, team sacrifice, everything. I just talked about a
Speaker 1: couple other adages it sounds like he lives by guys,
Speaker 1: is that he embraces pressure, he welcomes it, doesn't run
Speaker 1: from it. And I think that I'm really curious to
Speaker 1: see how he comes into this season himself following a
Speaker 1: tough end to his run with the Clippers in that
Speaker 1: second round series against the Danver Nuggets. And also the
Speaker 1: idea that he seems to promote and preach is that
Speaker 1: if you're a champion and you have that championship mindset,
Speaker 1: it's never what's in the past. You just got to
Speaker 1: keep looking forward and go for it. So I think
Speaker 1: that's a mindset that could very much mesh well both
Speaker 1: the narrative surrounding Doc coming into this season in parallel
Speaker 1: with the narrative surrounding the seventy six ers collectively. Right
Speaker 1: for sure, I think another thing that we took from
Speaker 1: the playbook, which again, go watch it if you haven't.
Speaker 1: He talked about the fact that Doc Rivers is a
Speaker 1: big Muhammad Ali fan and literally and figuratively as a fighter.
Speaker 1: As a boxer, you're going to get hit. You're going
Speaker 1: it's not a matter of if, it's when and how
Speaker 1: many times and how often and how you get back up. So,
Speaker 1: like you said, Sets, this is Doc coming off of
Speaker 1: a bit of a disappointing season. And what you said
Speaker 1: Tom about the seventy sixers, this is a group that
Speaker 1: has been hit and now it's their time to get
Speaker 1: to rise together and to hit back. And that's where
Speaker 1: champions are made. We hear it over and over and
Speaker 1: over again. It's how you respond to adversity. And if
Speaker 1: you think about this group of seventy sixers players too,
Speaker 1: these are guys that experienced adversity before they got to
Speaker 1: the Sixers. They're a group that's experienced adversity since they've
Speaker 1: been with the Sixers. And like you said at the
Speaker 1: very beginning of this conversation, it selts there's very little
Speaker 1: in the NBA that Doc Rivers has not seen and
Speaker 1: he has not tackled. So I think this for him
Speaker 1: is an interesting new challenge, but he's going to be
Speaker 1: able to draw on a lot of his path experiences
Speaker 1: to hopefully put it all together for the seventy sixers.
Speaker 1: I'm excited, guys. We have the first preseason game what
Speaker 1: this weekend, and then the regular season opener later this month.
Speaker 1: Isn't that I wish it work? Maybe not so much
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty twenty. I guess why don't we wrap
Speaker 1: it up on this. We're gonna hear from Doc Rivers
Speaker 1: at least at this point in time, as far as
Speaker 1: we know, We're gonna hear from him publicly as the
Speaker 1: head coach of the Philadelphia seventy sixers for the first
Speaker 1: time in a few days at the beginning of next week.
Speaker 1: Tom I will start with you, what are one of
Speaker 1: the things that you are most curious to hear from
Speaker 1: him about learning more about him? And then Lauren you
Speaker 1: can pick it up after Tom. Well, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna probably lay out because when you get
Speaker 1: a job, when you interview, even with a track record
Speaker 1: like Doc Rivers, when you're talking to Alton Brand and
Speaker 1: you're talking to you David Blitzer and Josh Harris, you
Speaker 1: have to lay forth a plan and so that they
Speaker 1: hear your vision, right, I mean, if you listen to
Speaker 1: the reporting, you know what happened in Los Angeles is
Speaker 1: that phrases that it comes up so often when teams
Speaker 1: part weighs, but that philosophical differences, well, the philosophical differences
Speaker 1: here obviously align. And so you want to hear the
Speaker 1: plan and about player development, about getting the most of
Speaker 1: your players. You got two All stars in your chock
Speaker 1: full of talent and bringing this team to a whole
Speaker 1: other level. And you guys kind of both just touched
Speaker 1: on these things, and that is underdog. You know, you
Speaker 1: start to create a chip on your shoulder, which is
Speaker 1: never a bad thing to be the hunter, you know,
Speaker 1: you know you we're not the hunting yet, we got
Speaker 1: a lot to prove and so and Doc Rivers is
Speaker 1: not above learning a little bit from his past experience
Speaker 1: and using that growth and bringing that to the Philadelphia
Speaker 1: seventy six ers. And same thing with the players. So
Speaker 1: that's what I think we're going to hear. And you
Speaker 1: know Lauren had mentioned earlier about relationships. That's really what
Speaker 1: it comes down to, so that the players build a
Speaker 1: trust in the coach And likewise, when you're a coach
Speaker 1: and you're putting the players out there, you've got to
Speaker 1: be able to trust that they're going to execute and
Speaker 1: get it done. That's how you become successful. And style
Speaker 1: of play will be something that he will talk about
Speaker 1: and that's what I'm referring to in terms of the
Speaker 1: philosophical you know, the plan, the platform like that. So
Speaker 1: I think Philadelphia is gonna like this guy and in
Speaker 1: that same Philly tough mantra that has to be within
Speaker 1: the fabric of any coach in any ball club that
Speaker 1: plays in our city because that's what our city demands.
Speaker 1: I'm excited, I'm pumped, ready to go. Let's start it
Speaker 1: right now. Guys, Thank you so much, and I'll have
Speaker 1: a lot more to say in the days and weeks
Speaker 1: ahead about Doc Rivers, now head coach with the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers. Thanks for hopping on all right, Brian, Big
Speaker 1: thanks to t mac chiming in from Phoenix, Arizona proper
Speaker 1: where he's doing a little vaka, and Lauren Rosen for
Speaker 1: connecting from her hometown of Houston, Texas. A lot to
Speaker 1: come on the seventy six Ers podcast. Network Feed next
Speaker 1: week we'll bring you complete coverage of the introductory press
Speaker 1: conference featuring Doc Rivers. And also it's going to be
Speaker 1: Vote seven to six week on the podcast network Feed,
Speaker 1: getting out of the vote, spreading the word and what
Speaker 1: is also National Voter Education Week, so look out for
Speaker 1: a bunch of new episodes coming next week. I'm Brian
Speaker 1: Seltzer saying so long for now, Thanks so much for
Speaker 1: tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time here
Speaker 1: on the broadcast. Let's see it