Speaker 1: This is Black History Month. Inspirations The seventy Sixers Podcast
Speaker 1: Network miniseries, Part two, A Path of Perseverance Winning. For
Speaker 1: the better part of the last fifteen years, winning has
Speaker 1: been Danny Green's way. The two thousand nine champion Santa
Speaker 1: Tony ours back on top once again to the Los
Speaker 1: Angeles Lakers. They are the Bubble NBA champions, and I
Speaker 1: might add also well deserved. They played sensationally. Green's three
Speaker 1: rings tie him for second most among active players, one
Speaker 1: behind Lebron James, who has the most with four. Not
Speaker 1: bad for a guy who was taken in the middle
Speaker 1: of the second round of the two thousand nine draft
Speaker 1: and had to break into the league through the G League.
Speaker 1: I've been lucky enough to play against alongside some great
Speaker 1: players and you know, guys that also know how to win.
Speaker 1: When I got a chance to play for some true
Speaker 1: professionals and playing for a coach Pop Simmy, Tony Manu,
Speaker 1: you know that stigma kind of six with you and
Speaker 1: everybody that's winning. It makes it easier to be a
Speaker 1: part of winning organizations. People want you to be on board,
Speaker 1: but you learn a lot from those guys. Little things,
Speaker 1: the details A good part of it. This is being
Speaker 1: kind of lucky. Clearly, Green is a skilled deflector, but
Speaker 1: his modesty shouldn't belie his skills. He's one of the
Speaker 1: top three point marksmen in the game and is an
Speaker 1: All League defender. His new head coach feels Green shouldn't
Speaker 1: sell himself short. He knows how to playoff of talent,
Speaker 1: and he's done a great job of that. He's been
Speaker 1: fortunate in his career when you think about it, with
Speaker 1: all the great players that he's been able to play
Speaker 1: next to, and that's an art. It is. It's an
Speaker 1: art for him when you learn how to still play
Speaker 1: well off of great players, and Danny has done a
Speaker 1: great job of that. That's why we wanted them. A
Speaker 1: lot of these guys make it easier for you to
Speaker 1: play basketball game when they're they're All stars, they're superstars,
Speaker 1: Hall of famers, and you just do what you do.
Speaker 1: But you trying to find way to make the game
Speaker 1: easier for them and learn them. Green in the corner
Speaker 1: thought about a three goes to bed and a layup
Speaker 1: is good? Nice, fine by Danny Green. He did rise
Speaker 1: as if to shoot the ball, but at the last
Speaker 1: moment it is deflected. And he recalibrated it throws it
Speaker 1: down to sibbons just come in depending on what the
Speaker 1: roster looks like, the fit looks like, the coaching system
Speaker 1: looks like, an organization looks like. You figure out said
Speaker 1: how to be that translator, but also what the team needs,
Speaker 1: what the organization needs, and if it needs defense, which
Speaker 1: is always need defense, I gotta bring that defense esbon
Speaker 1: or offense. I might need need to be aggressive in scoring.
Speaker 1: I might need to be a facilitator or a screener
Speaker 1: or got to get people open or create a mismatch.
Speaker 1: So if the team needs that, or rebounding the offense, rebound,
Speaker 1: tip outs, whatever it may be. You gotta do those
Speaker 1: little pieces and figure that out along the way as
Speaker 1: you're getting better as a group. It's a process that
Speaker 1: Greenness had to perfect the past few seasons. After playing
Speaker 1: for San Antonio from twenty ten to twenty eighteen, the
Speaker 1: thirty three year old has been a man on the move.
Speaker 1: He started each of the last three seasons with new teams.
Speaker 1: This busy night has already started with a wal Bob.
Speaker 1: We've got to trade breaking news coming in. Daryl Morey's
Speaker 1: wasted no time. The new Philly GM traded Al Horford
Speaker 1: for Danny Green and Terrace Ferguson. According to Adrian or Janowski,
Speaker 1: and there are a lot of things to break down
Speaker 1: here with that Green now sports sixers, red, white, and blue.
Speaker 1: Was something that back in training camp he was still
Speaker 1: wrapping his head around. It's tough to believe and tough
Speaker 1: to get used to these colors. It's kind of been
Speaker 1: manifesting for some time, even when I've played here against
Speaker 1: the team. When I'll go to restaurants, people, you know,
Speaker 1: come to Philly, come here, come here. You know. I'm
Speaker 1: just trying to do what they brought me here to do.
Speaker 1: And that's a helped lead this team. We've got some
Speaker 1: good pieces now they have some great my eyes all
Speaker 1: stars with Joel Ben and Tobias There's a lot of
Speaker 1: depth on this team and I think we have the
Speaker 1: pieces to do something special this year. When it comes
Speaker 1: to Green's value, it's a no brain er why any
Speaker 1: team in the NBA would want him. He's got the pedigree,
Speaker 1: the personality, the three and D pro to space the floor.
Speaker 1: So when the Oklahoma City Thunder made Green available on
Speaker 1: Draft Night, just two days after acquiring him from the
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Lakers. The Sixers pounced. Daryl Morey thought Green
Speaker 1: would be a perfect fit. Those have watched the Sixers
Speaker 1: up close and person no longer than me know that,
Speaker 1: like when they've had when when Joel and Ben have
Speaker 1: had that shooter. It's actually insane how good those those
Speaker 1: lineups and how good those teams played. I think it's
Speaker 1: different with different rosters, different organizations, different teams. We have
Speaker 1: different pieces of different personalities. I think the first step
Speaker 1: for me is just building a rapport with the guys
Speaker 1: in the locker room, kind of trying to earn their
Speaker 1: respect or just kind of earn their trust, and then
Speaker 1: build from there. Let's execute. Now, thanks you keep slambling
Speaker 1: with the shooters, get rebounds, we all get on the
Speaker 1: ward and then obviously with the coaching staff as well,
Speaker 1: build the trust of the coaching staff and then kind
Speaker 1: of find my niche my role to where I can
Speaker 1: be the community here they're relaying the messages between the
Speaker 1: coaches and players and getting out of guys what we
Speaker 1: need to do and get to the coaches of what
Speaker 1: guys you know, needn't want great execution there we go.
Speaker 1: So first building that trust and that rapport and that
Speaker 1: respect first, and then kind of you know, going into
Speaker 1: philosophies and defense and offensive XS and os and that
Speaker 1: stuff which can wait later. But we're trying to build
Speaker 1: trust now and build some camaraderie, some bonding, some teamwork,
Speaker 1: and that's because that goes a long way. That's more
Speaker 1: important than anything else. But it's not play. You gotta
Speaker 1: have chemistry first, taking lessons from the past and applying
Speaker 1: them to the present. I've been a part of some
Speaker 1: great organizations, some great teammates, but also we kind of
Speaker 1: figured it out and everybody has kind of lost themselves
Speaker 1: in the game and been selfless when it comes to,
Speaker 1: you know, wanting to win. So hopefully we can do
Speaker 1: that this year with this group. Hopefully we can keep
Speaker 1: the streak going, keep the streak alive. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: know at some point it's probably gonna end, but hopefully
Speaker 1: not this year. More of Black History Month inspirations coming up. Hey,
Speaker 1: it's Brian Seltzer and here at the seventy six ers
Speaker 1: podcast Network. We strive to bring you sound content as
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Speaker 1: Now back to Black History Month inspirations. Dandy Green was
Speaker 1: born in nineteen eighty seven and grew up on the
Speaker 1: south shore of Long Island in North Babylon. Need a
Speaker 1: point of reference, It's essentially the next town over from Islate,
Speaker 1: closer to Manhattan Islands, where current teammate Tobias Harris was raised.
Speaker 1: I'm knowing him and his family since I can remember,
Speaker 1: since I was a teenager. I remember when he was young.
Speaker 1: Back then, Tobias a little heavier set kid. He was
Speaker 1: a little chunky guy. Tobias Harrison. I remember my dad
Speaker 1: used to referees game. Some of my friends referees games.
Speaker 1: The youngest I can remember watching him play was probably said,
Speaker 1: I guess middle school era, about twelve thirteen years old,
Speaker 1: maybe before that, but I've seen him playing in high
Speaker 1: school fifteen sixteen. That's when he shot up from being
Speaker 1: a not short, chunky guy, but a wider guy to
Speaker 1: a tall, you know, slim guy out of nowhere. He
Speaker 1: can grow five six inches in the summer. Him his
Speaker 1: brother and I'm like, damn, how to hells y'all grow
Speaker 1: so fast? But took the game serious. He worked out
Speaker 1: every day, was in the gym, him and his brothers.
Speaker 1: You know, all the hard work paid off for him,
Speaker 1: and I was happy to see it. Green is about
Speaker 1: five years older than Harris, but their shared roots has
Speaker 1: always been a source of respect. He's been one of
Speaker 1: the best talents ever come out and proven that you know,
Speaker 1: Long Island has some ballplayers. Could have been also arguably
Speaker 1: a couple of years that he's been in this league.
Speaker 1: You know, I've just been watching him grow and I
Speaker 1: couldn't be more proud of a guy, you know, seeing
Speaker 1: him grow up as he was a youngster to where
Speaker 1: he is now, and being a teammate of his now
Speaker 1: Green for Harris, who threw it down nicely done between
Speaker 1: those two, Danny Green dropping a dime on Tobias Harris.
Speaker 1: Hopefully we can make some special happen and bring it
Speaker 1: back to Long Island, not just the city of Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: but bringing this back to Long Island as well. Wherever
Speaker 1: Green has gone, he's taken the formative influences of life
Speaker 1: on Long Island with him, specifically his relationship with his dad,
Speaker 1: Danny Green Senior. He raised me since I was young,
Speaker 1: and he put the basket on my hands. He taught
Speaker 1: me this game, He taught me how to drive, tell
Speaker 1: me everything. Green's mother left home when he was young,
Speaker 1: leaving Big Danny responsible for the family. You know, he
Speaker 1: was a single dad at one point and raised me
Speaker 1: and my brothers. There's now five of us total, but
Speaker 1: there was three of us. He taught me the game,
Speaker 1: He told me about life, to me a lot about
Speaker 1: lessons of life. Teaching came naturally to Green Senior, so
Speaker 1: much so that he made it his profession. There's two
Speaker 1: things I asked my players to do on my travel time.
Speaker 1: If you know what those two things are, John the
Speaker 1: Christian listen and follow directions. So just listen to follow directions.
Speaker 1: Thing's gonna happen to you in life. Life's not easy
Speaker 1: and it's not always any fun. It's still be hard life.
Speaker 1: This meant to me how I'd challenge you and every
Speaker 1: day there's gonna be something thrown into you. Now, how
Speaker 1: you deal with that? So there's the other thing. He
Speaker 1: also made it his duty at home sharing stories with
Speaker 1: his children about world changing black leaders past and present.
Speaker 1: A lot of those things, a lot of things they
Speaker 1: went through have always stuck with me, and how they
Speaker 1: operated and how they fought through so many tough times
Speaker 1: and issues and still stood tall. Learning from him, learning
Speaker 1: from them. I can't just list or say one name
Speaker 1: that was one inspirational. They were all inspirational to me,
Speaker 1: from Martin Luther King to Malcolm X to Nelson Mandela
Speaker 1: said to Barack Obama. Now, so the list goes on.
Speaker 1: In March of two thousand and six, the bond between
Speaker 1: Green and his father faced another substantial test. Days after
Speaker 1: his freshman season at UNC came to a disappointing end
Speaker 1: with a second round NCAA tournament loss to George Mason.
Speaker 1: Green learned his father had been arrested back on Long Island.
Speaker 1: Green Senior has always maintained his innocence. While the initial
Speaker 1: charges were dropped, another conspiracy charge was brought up. Green
Speaker 1: Senior pleaded guilty to avoid a possible eight to twenty
Speaker 1: five year prison sentence. He ended up serving nearly twenty
Speaker 1: two months and got out in March two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1: The terms of his parole prevented him from traveling out
Speaker 1: of state to watch Green in that year's Final Four.
Speaker 1: In two thousand and nine, he got his chance and
Speaker 1: saw Green and Unc win a title My family Stand Up.
Speaker 1: I love you guys so much. That means back to
Speaker 1: me that you can make it here today. So significant.
Speaker 1: To have a strong not just male, but any father
Speaker 1: figure of course is very important. And mother figure. You
Speaker 1: don't realize how important it is until you don't have one.
Speaker 1: You need that guidance you need, you know, for boys,
Speaker 1: you need to be taught how to be a man
Speaker 1: and also how to treat women. So you need both
Speaker 1: of those figures there, but also the things that you
Speaker 1: go through as a black male, as the things they
Speaker 1: went through and that you'll probably see and be prepared for,
Speaker 1: and how we're you know, behind, and we had to
Speaker 1: do the extra work to be equal to most people
Speaker 1: in this world. So those a lot of lessons that
Speaker 1: I was taught as a youngster, A lot of things
Speaker 1: I had to see in my own to teach about racism,
Speaker 1: how people might see you as less than them, and
Speaker 1: how you know, you might not get certain opportunities of
Speaker 1: certain interviews because of the color skin, or people might
Speaker 1: stereotype you or categorize you because of the color skin.
Speaker 1: A lot of those things I would not know if
Speaker 1: I didn't have my dad on, my father figure, all
Speaker 1: those people to look up to around me. More than
Speaker 1: a decade later, Green and his family have reaped the
Speaker 1: rewards of his perseverance. He's one of the most respected
Speaker 1: successful role players in recent history, and now hopes to
Speaker 1: bring his championship touch to a new team in a
Speaker 1: new city again. It's been a whirlwind. This whole year
Speaker 1: has been a worldin for everyone, so, you know, I
Speaker 1: can't just say for me, but at twenty twenty has
Speaker 1: been kind of crazy up and down with COVID obviously
Speaker 1: stopping and going and restarting, and short offseason, you know,
Speaker 1: being traded and being traded again, and only having six
Speaker 1: weeks off. We already kind of knew that going into
Speaker 1: the bubble that was gonna be short term around, but
Speaker 1: we didn't think it was gonna be that short. Looking
Speaker 1: forward to the task, looking forward to the season, been
Speaker 1: a whirlwind. It's been a lot of ups and downs.
Speaker 1: Still kind of riding that wave. When now we're back
Speaker 1: to work, you know, no more championship. We gotta kind
Speaker 1: of pull ourselves again and do it here. We're ready
Speaker 1: to take on that task, that challenge. Black History Month
Speaker 1: Inspirations is a production of the seventy six Ers podcast Network.
Speaker 1: Our voiceover artist is Nick McCain. Production support from Danny
Speaker 1: Green Music courtesy of APM Music. Select information for the
Speaker 1: story was sourced from ESPN, the New York Daily News,
Speaker 1: and the University of North Carolina. Look traditional installments in
Speaker 1: this mini series throughout Black History Month, with future episodes
Speaker 1: profiling Mike Scott and Eldon Brant