Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network.
Speaker 1: Search seventy Sixers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. What's up,
Speaker 1: Sixers people? I am Lauren Rosen back with another episode
Speaker 1: of seventy Sixers Insiders. Today I am joined in a
Speaker 1: one on one interview with Tobias Harris, one of my
Speaker 1: favorite people to catch up with on this planet. Every
Speaker 1: time I talked to Tobias, I'm left with a valuable
Speaker 1: piece of wisdom or an insight or something to think about.
Speaker 1: And this conversation on media Day was no exception. It
Speaker 1: was really awesome to catch up with Tobias and appreciate,
Speaker 1: of course, his candor and everything he shared. So, without
Speaker 1: further ado, here's my conversation with Tobias Harris. Tobias Harris,
Speaker 1: wonderful to see you as well. Bring us up to speed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Game seven happens, we're now three months later. Yeah, what
Speaker 1: did you do over the last three months? I assume
Speaker 1: it involved a lot of self care. Take me through
Speaker 1: what that looked like. Yeah, so I would say in
Speaker 1: the Game seven, obviously, uh, streaming disappointing, but they just
Speaker 1: got to figure out what's the next steps to get
Speaker 1: better to make growth and in my personal game help
Speaker 1: how to help the team out as well. So you know,
Speaker 1: from there, I went out and just go into my
Speaker 1: two two and a half months of training and just
Speaker 1: preparation how I pretty much always do before a season,
Speaker 1: just with a different intent. Um, you know, actually same intent,
Speaker 1: but different approach to it, right, So, um, working on
Speaker 1: different skills in my game, to develop my body overall,
Speaker 1: to stay as healthy and be as healthy as I
Speaker 1: can be. So, you know, it was a It was
Speaker 1: a great summer. It was flew by, but there was
Speaker 1: a lot of hard work that went into it that
Speaker 1: was important. You talk about developing your body, and I
Speaker 1: feel very lucky to have spent your entire sixer's career
Speaker 1: here with you. Something that I've really noticed is how
Speaker 1: well you take care of yourself, the attention to detail
Speaker 1: you have in developing your game. You've gotten better every year.
Speaker 1: But something I learned more about you last year was
Speaker 1: the way you develop your mental game. Yeah, how important
Speaker 1: is that going to continue to be as you continue
Speaker 1: to try to maybe build on what was your best
Speaker 1: season ever? Where does the mental game come into that?
Speaker 1: It's a huge element of it. And then I think
Speaker 1: it's just the ability to be able to adapt through
Speaker 1: a season. There's a lot of things that come at
Speaker 1: your way, wins and losses, but just to be able
Speaker 1: to keep your mental space and you know you yourself
Speaker 1: in in a good space or your law. And I
Speaker 1: think for me that was something that was pivotal for
Speaker 1: last year, you know, doing a lot of things that
Speaker 1: allow me to number one with cover but also to
Speaker 1: be better on the floor and off the floor in
Speaker 1: my own life. So that's always a huge element to success.
Speaker 1: I think it's your mental um, you know. That's ah,
Speaker 1: That's something I always will harp on and that I
Speaker 1: you know, relate to a lot of other teammates as well.
Speaker 1: Do you have any mantras right now or mottos that
Speaker 1: are sticking out for you as you head into this year.
Speaker 1: I feel like you share a lot of quotes and stuff.
Speaker 1: Do you have a lot of wisdom? Is there anything
Speaker 1: that sticks out right now? I always share a lot
Speaker 1: of quotes that directly impact me, right so you know,
Speaker 1: more times than now, Like if I tweet out a
Speaker 1: quote or put it on a photo, it's something that
Speaker 1: I reflected on for a period of time or something
Speaker 1: that hit me that morning that I felt is influential
Speaker 1: in my life. A model, I would just say, like
Speaker 1: I just say, stay present and in every moment, right,
Speaker 1: I think even like today, it's like this is year
Speaker 1: eleven for me and it's media day. I'm not the
Speaker 1: biggest fan of media, but like you know, I was
Speaker 1: over there taking photos and I just said, like, you know,
Speaker 1: you should always cherish every moment, stay present in the
Speaker 1: moment because, like you know, I look at the Rooks
Speaker 1: here and how exciting this is to them, and it's
Speaker 1: exciting to me as well. So like you never lose
Speaker 1: any joy in anything, right, I think that support So
Speaker 1: that's that's all. That's always like my life model is
Speaker 1: stay present in the moment, right, enjoy every moment that
Speaker 1: you're in, good or bad, because you can grow from
Speaker 1: it in any different way. So that would be my
Speaker 1: Tobias Harris overall model. Well, I'll take it. You're my
Speaker 1: first of the day. But now I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: going to do a better job of staying present and
Speaker 1: enjoying something that I know is difficult for everybody. Um.
Speaker 1: Something else that that really stuck out to me is
Speaker 1: the way that last season ended. It didn't end the
Speaker 1: way you wanted it too. And you were really open,
Speaker 1: at least on social media with the fans about how
Speaker 1: you feel that you owe them something, yeah, and that
Speaker 1: you want to do them proud. And I remember your
Speaker 1: first season here, you and I had a conversation about
Speaker 1: how you related to your fans and like trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how you were going to continue to do that.
Speaker 1: I'm curious, since we had that conversation now probably two
Speaker 1: and a half years ago, up until now, how has
Speaker 1: that relationship changed. Why do you feel the responsibility to
Speaker 1: do right by them the way that you felt when
Speaker 1: the season ended. Well, I think first is always just
Speaker 1: to do right by myself, us first and foremost, and
Speaker 1: then you know, the team, guys, guys in the locker room,
Speaker 1: the organization, and our fans are part of our organization, right,
Speaker 1: so when we're when we're successful, they're successful vice versa.
Speaker 1: Right that energy Um plays plays his part. So Um
Speaker 1: for me, it's just really sitting back and saying, like,
Speaker 1: you know, we have some of the most exciting fans
Speaker 1: in the NBA. As the reason you know they talk
Speaker 1: about home court. Um that excitement, that that joy that
Speaker 1: they have kids coming in and reading and seeing us play.
Speaker 1: And I believe the city is thirsty for a championship
Speaker 1: and we want to bring that to the city. I
Speaker 1: know I especially want to bring that championship to the city. Um.
Speaker 1: And that's a that's a huge goal of mine. It's
Speaker 1: a goal of mine to win a championship in the NBA,
Speaker 1: UM and be a dream mine to do it in Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: And I do believe like last year, we had a
Speaker 1: golden opportunity that just didn't go didn't end up not
Speaker 1: going our way, right, But um, you know who's to
Speaker 1: say we can't get that opportunity again. And I believe
Speaker 1: we will get that opportunity. It's just a matter of
Speaker 1: the work we put in for it. Um. But yeah,
Speaker 1: our fans are pivotal for that, Like we want to
Speaker 1: have a parade, like we want those things, and we're
Speaker 1: gonna strive for those things. And you know, I play
Speaker 1: the game for many reasons, excitement and fans. That is
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why I do play the game.
Speaker 1: It's a it's a amazing experience, competitive nature, crowd scream
Speaker 1: and yelling, cheering, um. So it's part of it for me.
Speaker 1: So the goal if I was gonna ask you for
Speaker 1: what your goal is with the team, I think you
Speaker 1: just answered it. Yea, you had to pick a goal
Speaker 1: for the season, what would you say that it is?
Speaker 1: I think any season you're going to is to win.
Speaker 1: Right like you you're in the wrong game and wrong
Speaker 1: business as well if you're coming in and not with
Speaker 1: approach to win basketball games. Um. But if I had
Speaker 1: to really lock in on, what would be our number
Speaker 1: one goal is? Um, to stay focused? All yeah? As
Speaker 1: a number one goal is to stay focused, stay in
Speaker 1: the moment. All yeah. Only people who really matters everybody,
Speaker 1: you know, everybody matters. The only people like truly cold
Speaker 1: Weight and this organizations. People in this building are fans
Speaker 1: and people who come support, like that's what it's about.
Speaker 1: So tight you nick, close knit Philadelphia, city of brother
Speaker 1: you love a show, love. Let's go out there do
Speaker 1: what we gotta do. If you're going to accomplish those goals,
Speaker 1: someone that I think is going to be pretty important
Speaker 1: to them is Joel Embiid for sure. And last season
Speaker 1: maybe the most memorable quote you've ever given to me
Speaker 1: because the fact that you felt that when you tell
Speaker 1: your kids the best player you ever played with, you're
Speaker 1: gonna say, Joel Embiid, and I think the fact that
Speaker 1: you have that admiration is really beautiful. But what I'm
Speaker 1: curious about is how your relationship with Joel has involved
Speaker 1: over time, because it seems like you guys have more
Speaker 1: of a partnership now, and I'm curious what you're expecting
Speaker 1: out of that partnership this year and how you have
Speaker 1: seen it change. Yeah. I think you know, for a
Speaker 1: time I got here, everything was kind of like moving parts,
Speaker 1: so nobody truly knew what was going on. And then
Speaker 1: when I signed and was here for you know, signed
Speaker 1: a five year deal, it was like, okay, now this
Speaker 1: is the group, right, Um. So we've been able to
Speaker 1: grow on that, and I think that growth has just
Speaker 1: come from you know, us communicate. He understands like how
Speaker 1: much I care about basketball, but like how important winning
Speaker 1: is for me and as vice versa as well. I
Speaker 1: understand like I see how hard he works. I see, um,
Speaker 1: what a lot of people don't see. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: I've been around to see, like I've heard things before
Speaker 1: I got here, and then you know, I got here.
Speaker 1: And you know, Joel loves basketball. He loves playing, he
Speaker 1: loves competing, you know, all day, so I've been able
Speaker 1: to get to know him as well, and then UM
Speaker 1: also know him to the point where like when we're
Speaker 1: out there playing, we can talk to each other, we
Speaker 1: know how to communicate. So for this year, it's really
Speaker 1: um you know for what it is. And we're the
Speaker 1: two top scorers on the team, so the balls going
Speaker 1: to come to us. So but there's gonna be a
Speaker 1: growth in our games to help one another out. And
Speaker 1: that's what I relate to him, is like, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: need you to help the game be easier for myself
Speaker 1: as well as I'm going to try to make the
Speaker 1: game is easier I can't for you. And I think
Speaker 1: that type of partnership is is a brutal in the NBA,
Speaker 1: especially when you look at a guy that plays a
Speaker 1: five and myself that plays three to four. That tandem
Speaker 1: is is key for going against other teams. So it's
Speaker 1: something really we can really exploit and grow on throughout
Speaker 1: the year. Another teammate I want to ask you about
Speaker 1: is Danny Green. You guys are sort of, at least
Speaker 1: from where I'm sitting, like the biggest leaders on this
Speaker 1: team in terms of veteran status, but wisdom and experience.
Speaker 1: Danny told me when he came back to read Well,
Speaker 1: when he signed his new contract. He came back, he said,
Speaker 1: you were the first person that called him. He said
Speaker 1: that you were in a really relaxed mode. He said
Speaker 1: you had a cigar. He said, you were really excited.
Speaker 1: So take me through that. How excited are you to
Speaker 1: work with Danny again as leaders? I was excited. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, he is that peace for us in the
Speaker 1: playoffs that we truly miss, but all year long he
Speaker 1: was super solid for us. I think when we went
Speaker 1: on that stretch when we played New York at the Garden,
Speaker 1: when played La Golden State, like he was like the
Speaker 1: MVP of that trip, right, And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: all throughout the whole year, just stable. He's a winner.
Speaker 1: He's been there, He's got three rings. But somebody I
Speaker 1: grew up with, you know, grew up in Long Island.
Speaker 1: We live ten mins fifteen minutes away from each other.
Speaker 1: We'll see each other in different circles like workout wise.
Speaker 1: I mean he's older than me, but he's somebody I
Speaker 1: look up to as a young as a young kid
Speaker 1: coming up. So to be able to play with my brother,
Speaker 1: be around him every day too. It's just honor and
Speaker 1: I think, like, you know, it's like, what are the odds?
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. So it's awesome speaking And
Speaker 1: this is how we'll wrap it up. Speaking of that
Speaker 1: kid in Long Island, this is something I want to
Speaker 1: ask all of you guys, if you could give him
Speaker 1: some advice if he's going through a hard time. I
Speaker 1: don't know what age in your teenage years was the hardest.
Speaker 1: If you could give that kids some advice from where
Speaker 1: you're sitting right now, what would it be? Uh, keep going,
Speaker 1: like just just keep keep keep pushing through, right. I
Speaker 1: think it's I think in uh, in any moment, it's
Speaker 1: like our highs and our loves, our best days, our
Speaker 1: worst days. There's always growth. And I think, uh, when
Speaker 1: you hit your like when you hit your rock bottom,
Speaker 1: that's actually where you grow the most. And I think
Speaker 1: when you at that point you can realize it and
Speaker 1: come out of it, it's a special moment. I think
Speaker 1: when you at your high, you said your peak, you
Speaker 1: can you can learn so much as well. You know
Speaker 1: you can get stuck there and you know, think everything
Speaker 1: is sure and fine and not be able to handle
Speaker 1: a setback, so you know, stay even ground, but at
Speaker 1: the same time, keep going because there's growth in every
Speaker 1: situation high low in the middle. So keep going, go on.
Speaker 1: That's it because if you don't go, life gonna continue
Speaker 1: to pass by as well, and you're gonna get You're
Speaker 1: gonna get washing, washing the water. So Tobias, as is
Speaker 1: always the case, I learned something from sitting down here.
Speaker 1: So thank you. I'm excited about this season with you.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Thanks so much for listening to this one
Speaker 1: on one interview on the seventy Sixers Insiders podcast. I
Speaker 1: am Lauren Rosen. That was Tobias Harris. Thanks to Tobias
Speaker 1: for the time and for sharing some stories about himself,
Speaker 1: about his teammates, about his career. Looking forward to seeing
Speaker 1: how he's able to level up on his best NBA
Speaker 1: season last season. If you're not already subscribed to the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers Insiders podcast, please please do so. If you're
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Speaker 1: Have a good one, guys,