WEBVTT - TOM's Talks | Aaron McKie 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:08.479 search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. This 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:12.200 week's edition of Tom's Talks is with Temple University men's 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:17.280 basketball coach Aaron McKee, a homegrown Philadelphia's success story coach. 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.120 McKee enters his second year as the Owl's head coach. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.960 In this podcast, he speaks about the powerful and peaceful 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.840 protest march he took part in on the weekend of 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:31.200 June seventh in Philadelphia, his fourteen year NBA career, the 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.440 Sixers run to the two thousand and one NBA Finals, 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:38.040 his longtime friendship in bond with Hall of Famer Alan Iverson, 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:41.800 and all the tremendous coaches he played for. Here's this 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:47.320 week's episode with coach Aaron McKee. Welcome to another edition 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:50.519 of Tom's Talks. And I so often say this phrase 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:52.519 like this is one of my favorites, but this is 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:56.240 one of my all time favorites. Were joined by Philadelphia 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.240 basketball legend Aaron McKee, the current head coach at Temple University. Coach, 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.000 thank you so much for joining us and taking the time. 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.280 This is a time of change, turbulent times in our city, 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.360 for our country, a time to uplift one another and 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.240 as you're right to try to work towards social justice 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.800 and racial equality. I know you went to the march 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.959 last weekend with your son. Tell me about your experience. 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.319 I mean, it was great, and I think the one 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:29.360 thing that stood out the most to me, it's how 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:33.240 I took the train down, you know, because they blocked 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:36.120 off a lot of the passageways to get in. And 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:40.120 when I got downtown, it was early quiet when I 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.720 got off the train, and when I made my way 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:47.000 around to like fifteenth in market, there was all the 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:49.880 protesters just to see if people. I mean thousands and 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.120 thousands and thousands of people just out there walking in 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:57.400 protests and rallying, and they were all in Unison. It 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.400 was almost like it was just one voice. There was 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:01.720 so many tens of thousands of people out there, and 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:05.520 it was almost like it was was one voice, and 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.560 we just we just walked right into that. And you know, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:10.640 I looked at my son who was along with me, 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.960 my son Jared, and I looked at one of my players, 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:16.920 JP Mormon, who was with me, and just to look 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.560 on their face was just like wow. I mean we're 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:23.240 we're sitting smack dab in the middle of history. Unfortunately, 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:25.640 you know, you certainly don't want to be in a 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:29.600 situation where you're fighting for equality and equal equal rights 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:33.119 and policy chains and all of those different things, but 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.160 that's where we're at in society right now. And and 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:38.840 just to have my son along and one of my 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.519 players along it. You know, those guys are the future 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:43.600 and we're fighting for them to have a better future, 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.240 along with a lot of others. Right and speaking of 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.680 your players, like your guys are eighteen to twenty two 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.480 years old, as you say, as coaches, you're trying to 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:55.960 uplift them and give them an opportunity to achieve their dreams. 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:00.679 That's obviously a huge responsibility, and especially in this time. 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:04.000 What do you say to your guys, Well, just keep 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.560 your eyes and ears open. There's a lot of information 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:11.639 that's being put out there. We know right from wrong. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.480 And as I told my guys, I'm in full support 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:18.280 of of what they want to do. But carefully think 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:21.520 out what you want to do, because before you hit 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.200 that sin button on whatever message you want to get 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.840 out there, let's make sure it's the right message. And 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.120 if you want to march. You want to protest, you 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.000 want to be a part of a rally. I said, 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.680 I'll support you, but we're not getting getting involved. I'm 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.920 not supporting you getting involved with the other nonsense that 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:44.040 goes along with protests. Coach, You're an amazing story, an 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.440 amazing Philadelphia story, having grown up in difficult conditions in 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:54.720 North Philadelphia and yet achieving publicly championship at Gratz, graduating, 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.840 then going to Temple and being a star graduating Temple, 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.200 fourteen year NBA career, ten years, and as assistant coach 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:04.960 both in college and the NBA, and now obviously the 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.440 coach that you're alma mater. Speak to that experience and 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:11.520 how it can be a guide an example for others. 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:16.520 I hope. I hope I'm a symbol of inspiration, you know, 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.000 for a lot of kids, not just kids here in Philadelphia, 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.159 but just to cast across the country that you know, 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.320 you certainly can achieve your dreams. But I also like 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.719 to look at have kids look at it from a 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.160 perspective outside of sports, because so often, you know, and 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:33.840 they're in a city. You know, kids just feel like, 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:41.160 you know, their worth is in entertainment, whether it's you know, singing, dancing, football, basketball, 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.159 and they have so much more value than just believing 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.240 that that's all they're capable of. So I hope my 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:52.360 story stands as a as a source of inspiration for 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:56.480 those kids and and helping them believe that they can 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:59.760 achieve achieve their dreams. Now, with all of that being 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.880 that is, you know, I like to believe I did 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:03.680 things the right way, and I listened to the right 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:09.200 people and and just try to do it the right way, 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.159 and you know, and it worked out for me. You know, 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:13.760 it worked out for me. You know, there was a 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:15.839 lot of ups and downs, you know, some highs and 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.960 lows throughout the way, but you know, again, it's one 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:21.039 of those things, you know, for kids like me to 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.479 come from Philadelphia, to go to Simon Grad's High school, 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:28.720 UM to attend Temple University as a student athlete, to 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.720 play for the seventy six years, it's a hometown kid 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:34.039 that's living a dream. It's a dream come true for me, 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.040 I would imagine. I know you've talked about coach Ellerb, 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.960 but to coach to play for Coach Ellerb and then 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.760 John Cheney, that had to be formative for you a 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.680 very I mean, they all of those guys and you 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.479 can you can throw John Hartnett Um and there as well, 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.919 who was a youth developer um, you know, for me 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:57.080 growing up and a lot of other kids that went 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:01.920 on to be successful in basketball, and even in all 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.120 of those guys were pretty much on the same page 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:08.040 in terms of raising kids and saying, hey, you know, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:09.799 we got to make sure we're taking care of business 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.040 in the classroom, and we got to make sure we're 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.719 taking care of business on the basketball court by you know, 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:18.400 by working hard and being coachable. You know, those guys 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.719 were great, and they also gave you the life lesson. 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.720 So everybody was on the same space, on the same 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.960 page and speaking the same language. And so many of 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:29.040 the guys that I was around growing up were able 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.560 to go on and be successful because of guys like 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.440 John Hernett, because of guys like Bill Ellerby at Simon Gradson, 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:39.400 you know, obviously because of the legendary head coach at Temple, 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.800 John Chaney. And I would imagine some of that is 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.760 part of your pitch, your spiel, if you will give 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:47.760 me a ninety second version of what you say to 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:50.040 young players that you'd like to bring to Philadelphia, or 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.279 stay in Philadelphia to play for your program, the fifth 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:57.719 winning this college basketball program you play there. Tell me 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.720 what you tell these young young guys for starters when 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.000 you talk about the city. If you want great culture, 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:07.680 you want great food, You want to come to a 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.440 city that's that's vibrant and full of life. You know, 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:16.720 Temple University in Philadelphia is the place in terms of 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.240 our basketball culture. Again, you just said it. We wanted 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.680 the fifth winning his programs in basketball history, so you 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:24.800 know we stand at the top with a lot of giants. 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:29.680 You know, our culture is such of hard work, toughness, commitment, 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.600 and consistency. And I think that identifies Temple University and 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:37.360 I think it also identified the city of Philadelphia. When 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.960 you started your NBA career, you went out to Portland, 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.440 you were the seventeenth pick of the Blazers. What was that? 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.400 That must have been a huge culture change going all 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.920 the way out to the Pacific Northwest and playing for PJ. 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.880 Carlium at that time. Yeah, I was, I guess I 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:56.360 was in between on it. I was just excited, static about, 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:59.520 you know, getting drafted and being a part of that 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.400 and being able to live out my dreams and you know, 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.040 I'm reaching the apex of basketball. You know, I'm playing 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:07.760 at that I get the opportunity to play at the 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:11.400 highest level. But being a kid from the inner city 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:15.640 of Philadelphia and you go from the inner city of 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:20.160 Philadelphia to Portland, Oregon, which is you know, their polar 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:24.080 opposite from one another. And I'm kicking and screaming, you know, 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:26.080 at the airport, why do I have to go? And 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.200 it ended up being one of the greatest experiences of 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.200 my life. It was a basketball town and you know, 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.440 the Trailblazers at that time was the only show in town. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:39.880 The fans were great, the city was beautiful, and it 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:42.439 was just it just opened my eyes to there's more 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.280 outside of Philadelphia, and I had a wonderful experience out there. 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.440 That first year you were still in the old calle 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.400 cem Clyde Drexler was your teammate. The next year you 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.959 moved into the Rose Garden. Buck Williams, you know, I 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.440 would imagine he had a huge influence early in your career. 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.960 Talk about those guys, because not only do you played 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:00.839 with great players. We're gonna into this, but you had 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.560 something as we mentioned earlier, great coaches, but what was 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:05.640 that like those first couple of years with the Plazers. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.680 It was it was great because you know, I go 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.840 from a college kid now here it is a year earlier. 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.920 I'm sitting here just watching these guys on television, and 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.480 you know, you move out there and here it is 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:22.079 now and I'm out here playing pick up all with 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:23.800 these guys are like, why am I playing pick up? 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.959 All that? And this was before the season started with 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.800 Client Drexler, Ross Strickland and Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.040 and Cliff Robinson, all these guys. I just watched them 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:38.040 playing the NBA Finals against you know, Michael Jordans. And 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.000 what I realized right away is the majority of the 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.319 guys that was on the team were married and kids 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.920 and you know all of those things. So they were 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:49.520 established with their lives. They wasn't guys that was like, 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.240 hey man, let's go, let's go to dinner and hang out. 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:54.240 You know, they having dinner at home with their families 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:57.079 and all of that. And it's so different now as 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:00.640 I watched the NBA fall, It's so different down because 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.959 the league has gotten much younger and so guys are 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:07.880 not married and have kids, you know, that are fifteen 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:12.080 sixteen years old when younger guys come into the NBA. 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.880 But those guys were, you know, sitting on a plane 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.960 reading newspapers and talking about current events and all those 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:21.600 different things. And I just had a good time with 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:23.760 them and just learned a lot just from watching them, 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.000 and in some of my subtle ways that I have 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.600 about me, I get it from being in Philadelphia and 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:31.760 some of the people that I've been around, but I 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:34.240 also studied some of the players that I've been around too, 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.160 and just try to emulate how those guys carry themselves. Right. 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:41.080 So you go from Portland to Detroit, but not long 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:43.960 with the Pistons. Doug Collins was the coach there. He 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.400 ends up losing his job. Alvin Gentry gets the job, 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:49.280 but eventually come to Philadelphia, and that was where the 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.439 main chunk of your NBA career took place. And as 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.560 you said, being from here but then going to play 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.200 for the Sixers, that must have been a dream come true. 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:02.720 It was, and again it was it was one of 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:05.040 those things where you know, our Detroit team, he was 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:09.080 pretty good, we won fifty plus games the previous year, 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:12.000 and then, um, you know, I get the news that 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.720 I'm going to you know, Philadelphia, which was a struggling 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:17.760 team at that time, and you know, you were were 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.880 I was hearing things about you know, Alan Iris, and 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.320 I was hearing things about you know, Derek Coleman, and 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.120 just like, man, this is just not a good situation 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.520 that I want to be in at the point of 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:32.280 my career that I'm at. And uh, you know, right 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:34.560 away when I got on the team and I got there, 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:38.720 I realized it was something different about those guys, was 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:43.120 something different about you know, how we how we approach things, 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.640 and just getting the opportunity to sit down with Alan, 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.320 getting the opportunity to sit down with Derek Coleman and 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.199 and talk to those guys. Man, they were totally different 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.880 from you know, how people describe them, and they were 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:58.800 more people person than than anything else. And so you 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.920 know it's you go act to that saying, never judge 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.920 a book by his cover, And that's one of the 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.240 things I did with those guys before I got there. 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.760 Until this day, those guys end up being you know, 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:12.160 two of my better friends in life. And Alan credits 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:15.920 you so much. He spoke real highly of you all 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:19.320 the time, but especially at that Hall of fame speech 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.679 in Springfield. You guys created a bond and you were 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:24.679 able to guide him a little bit based on being 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.080 a little bit older and having more experiences speak to 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.559 that relationship. I mean, you know, time you watched our 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.120 relationship grow. You was around us a lot, and you know, 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.640 we we're similar in a lot of ways, but different. 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:40.120 You know, we both like having a good time and 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.000 laughing and cracking jokes, because that's what we did a lot, 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:45.800 you know, with each other. You obviously saw a lot 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.439 of the card games, and we were sitting back, sit 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.240 on the plane if it was a five hour trip, 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:59.280 were playing cars five hours sometimes, yeah. And you know 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.800 on a bus ride to the games too, and front games, 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:05.040 we sat next to each other in the back. So 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.959 we spend an incredible amount of time with each other. 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:09.520 We would go to well get on the road, we 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.800 would go to the movies and stuff together, and just 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:13.840 we had an opportunity to get to know each other 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.720 on a personal level and just sitting and talking about 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.000 life and family and just the ups and downs and 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.360 the struggles that you know, we all go through. I mean, 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:25.480 his struggles were a lot more than than mine. And 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:27.440 you know, he had a lot more on his plate 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.320 than I did because of you know, a lot of 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:32.839 it was because of you know, who he was, and 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.080 you know, but you know, he was just a wonderful 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.240 guy and just you know, he has a heart of goal. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.000 You know, he's always looking out for other people. And 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:42.720 you know, a lot of the stories don't get told 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.640 about him in his heart. But it's okay as long 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.160 as he knows who he is and how he operates, 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.120 I think, you know, and that's the one thing I've 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.720 always respected about him. And as I said, never changed, 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:56.239 don't change. You know who you are because of a 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.679 position that you have, and you know, it's just an 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.800 incredible person man, and you know, really cool and you know, 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.240 some things I agree with them and some things I 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.480 didn't agree, and vice versus some things he agreed with 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:11.280 me on and some things he didn't agree. But that's friendship, 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:14.880 that's honesty, and you know, just having people around you 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:19.720 that you that you trust. Basketball wise, you guys climbed 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:21.840 into the playoffs, got knocked out two years in a 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:26.440 row by Indiana, and then that third year your breakthrough. 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.640 You beat the Pacers. Obviously the big series with Toronto 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:32.920 beat Milwaukee in the Conference Finals, and it's actually nineteen 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.160 years ago right now as we speak. It was the 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:39.920 anniversary if you will have Game three back here in Philadelphia. 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.640 You guys were banged up, including yourself in the one 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:44.880 NBA Finals, but talk a little bit about that in 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:48.000 terms of taking the Lakers in that first game and 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:52.040 that playoff run in the finals. In general, it was 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:57.200 it was just great. It was just an awesome, awesome experience. 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:01.280 Just I even I still myself and just say, wow, 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:03.560 you know, I got a chance to play in the 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:07.240 NBA Finals from my hometown team, Like, you know, how 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.960 often does that happen to, you know, two people. I 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:11.920 don't know how many guys, I'm sure as there's other 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:16.000 guys that got that opportunity. We certainly wanted to win it, 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:18.760 and going into that series, we felt we had a 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:23.440 really good chance of doing so. But you know, we 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.200 run up into a dynasty of Kobe and Shock and 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:31.080 you know, their complimentary players were really really good. So 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.000 they had all the components and they had it clicking 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.400 and had it in high gear. But it was just 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:39.040 an exciting time at least for me um in the 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.000 city of Philadelphia, you know, with you know, our team 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:47.320 and our push. Indiana was our nemesis, and we always 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:49.720 felt we had to get through those guys, you know, 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.720 the Reggie Miller era, and they were really good. They 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.080 were well coached, you know, coach after coach and started 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.840 with Larry Brown, and I think it was Larry Bird 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.040 maybe stepped in, and then it was Rick Carlile and 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.480 those guys were always, you know, pretty good, and they 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:05.720 was our nemesis. Every time we ran up into those 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.640 guys into the playoffs, they was knocking us out. And 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.960 we felt like, you know that O one, that two 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:16.080 thousand and oh one year was our year now, and 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:18.840 they took us down. You know, they came in that 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:20.800 first game and I believe they beat us at home, 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:22.920 and you know, we looked around at each other like 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.480 here we go again. But we said, hey, we got 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:27.560 back to it. We got back in practice and say, hey, 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.320 we're gonna get these guys. Don't worry about it. We're 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.240 gonna be fine it. We got out there and we 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:35.440 finally got past those guys, and that was that moment 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:37.720 for us, like, hey, guys, we could do it. Everything 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:40.600 we talked about in the summer, everything we talked about 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.800 in the beginning of the year. It's starting to take 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:45.880 shape for us. And then we had Toronto, that next series, 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.280 which was an epic series for US with Vince and Ai, 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:53.320 two superstars in the league that's really carrying the banner, 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.720 helped carrying the banner for the NBA and promoting it. 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.480 Those both of those guys had outstanding series and it 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.360 came down to a last shot. You know, shot goes in, 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.000 we might not even be here talking about, you know, 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:09.159 having this conversation, but the shot doesn't go in, and 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.960 we get a chance to advance to go on and 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:16.480 play the Milwaukee Bucks, which was another really tough series. 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:20.199 And the Bucks was really talented team led by Sam Cassell, 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.679 Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson and Tim Thomas and you know, 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.720 those guys up and down the line had some some talent, 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.640 they had some depth, and we was able to scratching 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.040 car our way through those guys and you know, met 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:34.159 up with the Lakers in the final. You know, it 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.000 was a pretty good series and it was it was close, 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.120 but you know, those guys were able to edge us out. 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:41.119 It was just just an awesome experience for me to 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:43.199 be able to go through that and you know, be 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:45.760 able to share that with family and friends and be 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:48.000 able to bring that to the city of Philadelphia and 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.920 share that with them. Although we didn't win it, but 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.680 you know, we gave it our best. And one of 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.119 the things that people loved about that team was the 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:00.800 work ethic. And certainly now as a coach, you can 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:04.400 share with your team, but the team was built around 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.400 Alan obviously an MVP, and you were the sixth man 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:10.840 of the Year, but everybody it was shared sacrifice. You 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.280 talk about and Larry Brown preached this big the North 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.239 Carolina way, playing the right way, but that's also how 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.520 you grew up playing basketball, and that's what it takes 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:23.200 to be a championship caliber team, right. I mean, everybody 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.840 has to play for another not care about who gets 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.600 the credit. And that's what you guys, that was emblematic 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:31.600 of how you play. Talk about that. You know, you 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:34.600 want to be your better teams or the selfless ones, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.240 and you have to understand your position. You have to 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:41.160 understand your role because when you when you understand those things, 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:44.080 I think it makes everybody better. You know, Alan was 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:48.399 our guy, and you know he took some of the 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:50.400 pressure off of us because of some of the things 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:53.040 that he could do. We took some of the pressure 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:54.960 off of him because of some of the things that 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.840 we could do. And everybody identify their role and they 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.919 were comfortable and doing that on and night in and 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:03.879 night out bases. You know. Again, I talked to you 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:06.600 earlier about going to dinner and going to the movies, 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:08.960 and we would do those things together as a team. 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.400 So we got really close, and we was a close 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:14.159 knick group, and we four for one another and we 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.680 had fun. I believe our practices were harder than than 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.199 the games because we competed so hard in practice, and 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:22.560 you know, we wanted to beat you know, we wanted 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.320 to win, and and and it translated our practice habits 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:28.840 translated to how we you know, we played in the games. 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:33.920 And then after Philadelphia, in the collective bargaining agreement at 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.800 that time, there was this amnesty clause and the Sixers 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.440 exercised that and you end up going to Los Angeles 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.439 and you play with Kobe Bryant. You didn't play a 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:46.960 whole lot of those two years, but playing with Phil 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.640 Jackson as the coach, and specifically Kobe because now you're 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.119 on his team, what was that like seeing him? You know, 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:59.919 right there in the prime of his career, he was different. 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:04.760 You know. He obviously had that drive to be great, 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:09.400 and I think that's what drove him every day. Just 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:14.720 like any other great that dominate their profession, there's something 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:18.640 inside of them that says that they're different than everybody else, 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:22.560 and they want to show you every day. There's no 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:24.320 amount of money that you can put in front of 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:27.760 those guys, or gifts or toys or whatever you want 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:29.560 to call it, that you could put in front of 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.119 those guys that's going to motivate them. You know, some 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:34.719 people are motivated by money, some people, you know, are 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:38.280 motivated by success. Some people are motivated by being the 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:41.040 best at what they do. And for me, he was 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:44.760 motivated at being the best at you know, what he did, 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:48.119 and that's playing the game of basketball. He wanted to 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:53.320 surpass Michael Jordan's he wanted to get out of his 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.240 shadow to some degree, and that's you know, it's always 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.560 hard and it's always going to be a fight for 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.480 the next up and coming player. You know, Lebron is 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:06.160 dealing with that now. But Kobe was just so driven 0:21:06.200 --> 0:21:08.320 to be the best at what he what he'd do, 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:10.479