76ers GC's Jeff Terrell, Steez Preview 2K League Finals

we're ready for that. From the NBA two K League, seventy six Ers GC has a chance for a band here the story behind the team season on this episode of the broadcast, what's going on everyone? How are you doing? Brian Seltzer great through with you for another episode of the podcast. It's August Man craziness that you could actually say we're kind of in some ways heading into the backstretch of the offseason. I don't think that would be

an untrue statement. A team that will have one more game before it's offseason win to lose, seventy Sixers GC out of the NBA two K League. They are taking on t Wolves Gaming on Saturday at three o'clock in a best of five game two K League Finals championship series, and I'm looking forward to chatting with their head coach, Jeff Terrell and one of the mainstays on the roster,

Alex Steves Bernstein coming up in just a few moments. First, per usual, a reminder a call to action that if you're not yet a subscriber to our podcast, please go your favorite podcasting platform type in Sixers podcast Network that'll take you to our feed, subscribe and get fresh episodes on the regular about once a week, maybe once every ten days in the offseason, and then we'll ramp things up once again in the fall when the guys are back in Camden and getting ready for the preseason and

training cap All right, this is a great story, I think seventy sixers GC second year of the NBA two K League. They are in the finals, which will take place this weekend in Long Island City. Great group of guys. They have their headquarters here at the seventy Sixers training complex. We see them around a lot. They also have a house that they all live in in South Jersey, just a few miles down the road from the training complex. And it's been a great run this season. Not a

linear progression for seventy six ers GC. They started off strong, went through a little bit of a dip, they've been on the rebound and they have surged into the two K League Finals where on Saturday at three o'clock they will face t Wolves Gaming, the team they began at this season against. So I wanted to sit down with

two vital members of the seventy sixers GC program. That would be NBA two K League Coach of the Year Jeff Terrell and his second year with seventy six Ers GC and stez Alex Bernstein, his second go round with seventy sixers GC as well, a key fixture on the roster, and we looked ahead to what could be a momentous moment for seventy six Ers GC this weekend. Hope you

enjoy the chat. What's up guys? Great? Great? I feel a very calm, composed and mellow vibe from you guys, and we're about forty eight hours out from just a huge opportunity for you guys. So take me inside seventy six ers GC right now and what the mood's like. It's been a long week ever since we made the finals. I remember the next day we kind of woke up and we were like, damn, I just want to play already, you know, making the finals and you have a whole

week to prepare. But the problem is that a lot of the teams are already knocked out, so some of them are back home in the offseason already, so there's not a lot of opportunities to practice, to scrimmage. A lot of it is more of like independent stuff, watching film, getting shots up on your own than just mentally preparing for the first Saturday. But yeah, like I said, just just a long week, long strust a week, a lot of emotions running through your mind the whole time. You know,

you're nervous, you're anxious, you're excited. You you run through all these scenarios in your head of like what the stage is going to be like, like that time when you walk out, because every other time is going to be different. You know, the regulations in game, the tournament games,

those are all great and they're fun. But that moment when we're walking down the stairs and you know you see like the first finals logo, the first trophy, whatever it is you see, You're going to see something that's different because of a finals appearance, and you know you're gonna really set the mood and set the tone. So I think we're ready for that. It's interesting too because you guys are playing in the same venue where you

were the previous weekend. But yeah, I gotta imagine once you see the brand, Yeah, yeah, and all the different decorations, it does have to be a different feel though it is. So from the coaching standpoint, Jeff, how do you try and manage some of the emotions the moods that Steves was just talking about. Yeah, we're just going into it like it's another game. Preparing and preparation leading up. We've watched a lot of game film. We feel very confident

and we're going to go in and do so. We treated as just a regular season game, just any game we've ever played, and we've done that for two years straight now, so we're not going to deviate from what we do as for preparation and stuff like that. A lot of people have asked, like, or what are we going to change? It's the best of five series, what are you gonna do? And we're just gonna stick to who we are and make them change to how we

play for some of them uninitiated. I'll fill this out there to both of you because we'll have a crossover audience hopefully on this episode of the pod. What is seventy six ers GC? Jeff, what have you tried to instill on this team? From a holistic standpoint, what do you strive to have the program represent? Yeah, for us, especially coming from coaching traditional basketball and crossing over to E sports, I try to tie a lot of similarities.

So our guys playing together as one of the biggest ones. We have guys that are coming in and they're probably the best players from their pro am teams and having them buy into how we play. So playing as a team, moving the ball, talking every single possession, and just having more of a family atmosphere is something that we really strive for, and it's something that we've been very good at doing for two straight years now. Yeah, to piggyback on that, when we uh when I first got here

to when I got drafted to Philly. I remember one of my very first times talking with Jeff and and I went, I went into I went to his room just to introduce myself, and I knew right away that someone like Radiant was going to be definitely one of the best players on the team, which he is. He's

arguably the best player in the world. And um, but I told Jeff, I remember, I told him that, like when we needed like somebody to like step up, be a leader, like be the vocal leader, I was like, I'm I'm gonna be that guy for us because I want seventi six ers GC. I want this team to have something different than every other team in the league. And I think that all of us with obviously helped

from from Jeff Radiant New Deini Zds. We're a very disciplined team and we're a very fun team to the same time, though, but like Jeff said, we're a family and nobody's playing for their independent self. We're not going for accolades, we're not going for stats. We don't care about MVP, DPOY, none of that kind of stuff. We

care to win the game. And if we're if we're losing the game, if we end up losing the game, but we did it, you know, with one hundred percent, leaving it all in the court and playing for each other. I could live with that at the end of the day. What I can't live with is, you know, is if we go in there and try to play selfish ball like that, that's something that we've never stood for. And we've taken losses like that, like last year against the Heat and the Semis. We lost, but we left it

all on the court. We played for each other the whole time. Some things didn't go our away, but not one second did we give up. I could take that loss at the end of the day. I can't take a loss where it wasn't our game plan, it wasn't our system, it wasn't seventy six ers uc basketball. And I think that's something that our guys really get and then they understand that when you come here, you know, you're coming into a brotherhood, you're coming into a family.

You're coming into an organization that will do anything to have your back as on as you know you represent them the way. And I think that's why like ninety percent of the league wants to be in Philly. Every offseason, my dms are filled with people that are saying, Hey, bring me to Philly, like get me drafted to Philly, you know, trade me to Philly, whatever it is. And

I think that's really awesome. At the end of the day to like think about it while you're just like sitting there looking at the mirror and being like, I've helped create like a dynasty a culture over here in Philly, even though like the actually seventy six of the traditional seventi six ers have always had a very impressive like resume with everything like just being able to add on to that was seving six ers. G see basketball. I think it is tremendous and I'd love to be able

to say that I'm a part of it. I think it's easy for someone on the outside, and this is regardless of what sports team you follow, whatever the league is, to be dismissive of sayings like well, we play for each other and it's all a bad family. Like a

lot of teams say that. But Jeff, where do you see as the season goes along and the team continues to have more and more success and advancing like it did to this championship round, Like that stuff has got to show up, right, This is probably where I would think it truly does leave its mark and make the most difference, Right, Yeah, I think that's what sets us apart. A lot of people probably do think it's cliche and stuff like that, but it's it's something that we really

stand by. A crazy stat came out the other day. I saw and uh, we're the all time winning as team. I know it's here two, but we're the all time winning as team in the league. So we're forty two and sixteen. I think that we win seventy one percent of our games, and our guys treating every game like it. We don't go into every game like it's a championship, but we treat every game the same. So being consistent with how we are, how we talk to each other, how we act all during the game and then off

the court, it's something that I mean, it shows. I mean, consistency is a key for us. Steeves. How would you describe seventy six ers GC style of play? What type

of team are you? Guys? I remember last year and this year, a lot of the twitch viewers, which is our stream right now, we're also streaming on YouTube, but everybody in the chat love seeing seventy six or GC basketball because we're we're not unorthodox, but we're different, meaning that, like a lot of teams, struggle sometimes to put the ball in the net, and that's one thing we're very good at because obviously we brought four guys back from the year one, so the chemistry is always there on

the court, and it's fun and it's fast paced, and you know, we love shooting threes. We're a Debrange team, so like Radiant Sharpshooter, he's like another like Steph Curry out there. And then ZDS, who's our actual sharpshooter. I'm always trying to set off balls for him. Always were like I said, we're always playing unselfish ball, so I don't care about my stats. As long as I can get somebody open, I can get Radio open, ZDS Breadwinner,

anybody like that. That's what we're trying to do. And I think that you know, with the plays that we were running a lot last year, not so much this year, but people bought into seventy six year GC basketball because it was just so different than everybody else. Usually people were just more like pick and roll or like trying to get it to their center and the paint and

then they'd go up with it. Both. With us, it was like we were always moving around, always coming up with like interesting plays that would throw teams off hard. And there were momentum swingers. At times. There would be times where we'd be tied or we'd be down in the game and we'd hit them with a play that they've never seen before, and you know, I'd go back

and rewatching the twitch. Cha would be going crazy because it'd be something that they didn't think would work in two K. They thought they would only work in traditional basketball. But having someone like Jeff who's a traditional basketball coach, you know, in him bringing that element to the two K side of it, you know, we have a good collaboration of both. So would when we brought that twist season one and into season two, people fell in love

with seventy six year GC. So we just you know, we try to keep that same energy all every year. Jeff for there are a lot of other coaches who come from a traditional backupketball background in the two K League. I think this year there's there's two others that are actually from the G League. So the Warriors have a G League coach and the Cavaliers have a G League coach. Other than that, I don't think so um. I think a lot of it is just esports guys, but it

shows that it makes a difference. The Calves. We're pretty decent last year, but bringing the coach and this year they definitely got better. Warriors beat us on the turn Championship and they won the Ticket Championship and they have a G League coach. They're a very good team. I think they won four games last year. This year they went in and I mean they won two tournaments. So I think it makes a big difference having a basketball mind out there. But it also helps knowing both landscapes.

So I think that's what sets us apart a little bit, is because we all know both landscapes of it as well as coaching and playing college basketball. I also played two k for four years, so it helps out as town. It's awesome, it's there. How would you describe Stee's the arc of this season? What was this season like for you guys? Getting things rolling, great success at the beginning with a tip off torn and then from there. Yeah,

this year was It was interesting. Losing two players, so that means you bring two new guys on from the draft, but it's scary because the one thing, like all the guy in the pool that you can draft from they're all good at two KUM, so you're not really worried about that, but you're worried about finding a good person, a good teammate, um, somebody you could live with. Obviously, somebody can just be around. And that was my biggest concern.

Every time Jeff and I would talk about names of potential candidates to be drafted to Philly, we were always like, can you know, can we vibe with them? Can you just like hang out with them, go to a movie with him, like have dinner with them, whatever it is, And so in that aspect, you know, we obviously drafted to the most perfect guys for our team to fill in those spots. Breadwinner at first, I think he was very timid about our team, didn't know how to how

to act, what he needed to do. And then he figured out really quick, like what his role is on the team, which has been tremendous defensively for us, helped us out someone which we probably wouldn't be where we where we are now without him on defense. And then casting a great six man, always just just happy to be here no matter what it is, always giving us his input on things, especially during games at halftimes. But

that's been that's been one of the hardest parts. And then once you mesh like middle of the season, once you feel that chemistry is like strong. I knew we were gonna be okay. We we went through a little bit of a slump, but you know, just talking to the team and stuff and where everybody's mindset at, nobody was really that worried. Maybe Jeff a little bit, but besides him, like we we all knew where we were

planning to be and that was in the playoffs. M But that's that's just the biggest thing I could teach. I could teach you how to play two K, but I can't teach you how to be a good person. And I think that no, no, but that's the biggest thing. Especially these guys have been playing took for so long. They know how to play two K. That's not hard. But you know, some people are raised differently than others. That's and that's how it's always going to be, and

so meshing the right people together is tough. Um. We we've gotten lucky the past two years of having really good guys on our teams. Give us a sense of just how much time you guys spend with each other. Because we're here at the seventy six ers training complex. How big would you say? The room we're in right now is where six seventy six ers GC headquarters is, well maybe like fifteen vibe fifteen, I don't know, yeah or something like that. It's a decent size, I mean.

But the good news is that we have this facility here in Camden with at the seventy six years facility, so we could practice here and then when we go home at like eight o'clock, nine o'clock at night, if we want to scrim we have a facility there. So we have all these computers there at our home as well at our team house, so we're always together to

answer a question. But and that's what's tough, because like when the season's over, like you're only with each other for six months, so you think like, oh, it's not that long, like, but once you leave. I remember last year when I left and went back home to California, I was like, damn, Like that sucks, Like I don't get to like see these guys for a while now, and like I FaceTime, you know, Jeff all the time's ds um and and that's tough, you know, I see when I see ZDS on the phone, like I want

to like I like living with him. I like being around him, even though like he's little kids sometimes and he bugs when he like, um, you just that's that's why it's part of the family, and that's why it's different for us, like other teams may say it, but like that, that's truly what we are and it's tough, like leaving each other at the end of the season. Maybe the better question, Jeff is how much time do

you guys not spend with each other season? That might be easier to answer because it's it's not like Steves was saying, it's not just here at the training complex. It's the house that you guys have in the South Jersey suburbs. You lived in an apartment building in Philly last year. It's constant proximity and continuity. Definitely. So last year I would say we weren't together as much because

we weren't in a team house. This year, I think we're not probably not together when we're sleeping, I mean just but I mean that's what we wanted. Like we were at the Franklin last year and we were our season one team was really close. Like don't get me wrong, we were um, but it wasn't like that that that full thing that I feel like we needed. So like Jeff and I in like Radium, we're saying, like we

need a team house. Like there wasn't a specific reason why, but I guess like if I had to just put it, like my thumb on it, I just say, like to get that full potential of like your chemistry and just like being a team and being cohesive, like living together is like the best thing to do. Um. And that's what's funny. It's like when we get off the game of two K at home, there's never really any time where we're like I need to get away from these guys,

like I need to do my own thing. Like it's never like that, Like even if we're yelling at each other during the game, like say, you know we're having a two kay conflict, Like once we get off the game, we keep everything two kay. So once we're off, it's fine, we're like, hey, you want to get somebody, let's go.

Like and I think whether you see it or not or you don't get it, like that's what helped us like reach where we are right now going to the finals, is you know, just being together and just like buying and buying in as a family. It feels like your family extends beyond just the guys on the team. It was amazing watching last weekend during the playoffs, just the turnout that you guys had, and the fan support got so intense that at some point there was a tech

involving Celtics. I mean, it was crazy. That had to be a tremendous boost. Yeah, the fans, it was amazing having them out there. We haven't had that. We've had support throughout the two years, but we haven't had that many people show up and it played a huge role in us moving through both rounds. To be honest with you, they were engaged. They showed up. I want to say

the second quarter of both games. In both games. One game we were tied twenty three twenty three, and one we were down twenty seven twenty three, and instantly our guys just locked in and we started taking off. And can't thank them enough for supporting us, can't thank them enough for for being there, and we can't wait to see them there Saturday as well. Yeah, it's um just to back up off that, like we know, like he said, there's at one point we didn't obviously have like that crowd.

They're not there every week, um, and we don't expect them to be. But season one it was tough because like a lot of people, especially here at the facility, we knew, like we know, the seventy six years love us, but a lot of people didn't fully grasp what this league was, how serious to take it, um, what do we need from them? Stuff like that, And um, season two has been like a huge I don't even want

to say turn around. I just want to like, after season one they realized like what we are as a team, and I think, you know, the sevent six years they also fell in love with us that like we're trying to do exactly what they do for the traditional team and that's what we're trying to build here. And so they you know, bought in completely and supported us like so well, and being at that game or being at

that playoffs I think really showed that. And once, like Jeff said, once we saw that they were all there. It's fun playing for people, and it's fun playing for a crowd, um, And usually you know there's always a crowd in New York, but having your own crowd there in seventy six or colors like it's something else. And every time we get a bucket, they're going crazy. Every

time we get a stop, they're going crazy. And apparently, yeah, things got so crazy that it pissed off one of the Celtics players and he got a technical and that was a momentum swinger right there. So it's like having that environment there at the finals this week, it's going to be crazy. So if you're from Tea Wolves Gaming, that's got to be something on your mind, right Definitely.

I think it definitely something that they'll think about because our team as a whole, they talk regardless, like our guys are going to talk to the other team and let them know. Trash talking is a big part of it's a huge part, and it's a huge part. And I think having our fans there, that's something that we've played against it before, so we know what it's like to be on the other side and not have a ton of people there at tournaments and stuff like that,

and it plays a role. They're allowed, they're in your head like it happens. We have a guy, a mature group that can get through it, but not every team's like that. So I think our fans will play another huge role for us talk to us about T Wolves Gaming, the team that you guys faced coincidentally and ironically enough to start the season. There's some subplots and storylines connecting both clubs give us a rundown to what T Wolves Gaming is all about. They're a very good team. They

wouldn't be here if they weren't. They made a great trade during the mid season and got another guy from Miami point guard, but he's playing their their small forward role, so they have two guards on their team that can make reads, make plays. They move a lot, they talk a lot on defense. They're a very good team. I

think I really like our match up with them. Before the playoffs started, we told, we talked, we saw the brackets, and we said, you know, like, if we can get the t Boys in the finals, I'd be awesome, And it happened. We have to obviously go take care of business. Now. We love our matchup with them. We're beyond prepared for him. We know what they're gonna do, but now we have to go out and handle business. So I'm excited. There's

no other team I'd rather be with. I trust them, and we're very excited for Saturday and there's a close connection right on their roster. Yeah, one of our Season one players, Feast, my duo last year, he was our power forward. So you know last year when he was on seventy six years, you see, meaning him had to be on the same page down low. You know, if I was helping on off of his guy, he was helping off my gut whatever it was. And meeting him

are really close last year. Unfortunately, you know, I know what the storyline looks like, and I'm sure they'll say it in the videos, you know, on Saturday, you know Feast. You know, they might even say we traded him just to make the drama even worse. But it wasn't anything like that. We we loved Feast. He was great for us. Just so happened. You know. That's how the Cookie Crumbles expansion team came in. They took him from us, and um,

but that was okay. And I told him when he got taken from seventy six ers that you know, as long as you're in this league and you're competing, you're doing what your love, that's all that matters. Like I don't care where you are. But like I told him, I said, I don't because that was at one point where he told me like if I'm not in Phili, like, I don't know if I want to be in the league. And I told him like, no, like you need to do what you love like no matter where it is.

And obviously he's in the finals. I we texted each other right after we both made the finals and we said, like how proud we were of each other. So there's no bad blood there at all. I'm excited to play him. He's a great teammate, he's a great player, great ambassador of this league. But um, no, they're a good team. They're definitely not the same team that we played earlier in the season. But then again, we're not the same team that that we were in the beginning this season.

We're way different, um, and we've really found our groove. They say that, you know, the league saying that they're the hottesteam in the the league right now. Yeah, sure, they got the longest, they are the most hot wind streak out of all the teams. But right now, you know, we're clicking on all cylinders, radiance going crazy. Everybody had a key part in this playoffs to make us get to this where we are now in the finals, and I think that's what that's what separates us. I do

like our matchup. We've been watching a lot of film. We know what we gotta do. Now, what's going out there and executing. Hey, Jeff, what makes Radiance so good? He was second in MVP voting. Why is he perhaps the best player on the planet. I think he's, without a doubt the best player on the planet. I say that a lot, but I truthfully mean that, not being biased.

But he puts in so much work it's ridiculous. He will go practice, We'll play for you know, five or six hours, then he might go get some food and then he's back on two k's. He'll play till five in the morning sometimes and he'll just be practicing. And he knows every combo that he can do with his player. He knows the ends of it, outs of everything that has to do with two K. His IQ is very very,

very very good, and he's an unbelievable scorer. Radiant's biggest weakness I think from season one was leadership, and it's something that he went from being about a two or three until he's probably about a seven now. And I told him in the offseason, I said, Radiant, if he can get to a five, I think we can win a championship. I just need you to get to a five as a leader, and I mean, he's surpassed that.

He's been a great teammate. He's talking a lot more, calling out more stuff, and it's a testament to how well he's played this year. So we began to wrap this. How about you want offer something I was just gonna say, Radiant skills, no doubt, like best best in the world. I think that the thing that I noticed that separates him from any other point guard in this league is he puts his teams in position to be successful. He

puts his players. So like all those times you've seen Zds get threes, anytime you've seen you Daney score at the corner, whatever it is, that that's all starts with the Radiant putting them in that spot. And then you know, doing like what Jeff said, like his comblo dribbles whatever it is to get Radiant open, which means you have to help. So then he passes to you and lets you succeed. And that's something you that's very hard to

find because, like I said, we're very unselfish team. And there's a lot of point guards out there, a lot of teammates out there that will try and just go get that bucket on their own because they want that stat but not him. So you know, being able to put others in front of you first, even if you are like maybe not the most vocal guy that he's very quiet, dude, And at one point in Jeff's right,

he wasn't you know, that much of a leader. But this year he's stepped up a lot and helped out, Like there's only so much I can do vocally to like try and tell my team, like what I think we need to do and stuff, because I don't have the ball in my hands. You know, he's our point guard. He and he stepped up this year by being a leader, and that's another key why why we're here right now in the finals. I know every team at the start of his season probably expects to go the distance, make

to the finals. When the championship, when do you think you knew this is? For each of you guys, what do you think or when did you feel like you knew that you really had a shot to get to this stage? And what have you enjoyed the most about the year. For me, to be completely honest, was on draft night when bred Runner fell to nineteen. He was a top five projected pick. He's unbelievable, and for him to follow that far with the four guys that we had coming back right then, I knew it was a

it's a championship or bust. My favorite part of the season honestly goes back to tip off, which is crazy, but I think that's the first time that bred came in as such a highly talented player. He's so talented, but that's when he really like became part of the family. Leading up to there, there's some struggles with us like

rolls and like, hey, is this really for me? And stuff like that, but he bought in and I think that's what changed our season around, with him understanding how we are as a team, how we talk, how we act, how we played again other and um, that was my favorite moment of the season. Yeah, he's right with bread winner, how how far he came. There was a lot of talk like if this league was right for him because he's leaving three kids behind right now, and that's tough

to do. Nobody can just pick up that pick up and leave for that long um, Jeff does that too. Radiant does that too. But you know he was indecisive, and I promised him. On draft night, I called him and I said, if you buy into this system and you just do what you need to do for this team, I guarantee you like you're gonna make enough money, You're gonna you're gonna be able to provide for your family.

You're gonna prepare like a better life for them. And I said, I should need you to just buy and just listen and just do your thing, man, And that's exactly what he did. But I told them we were going through a slump that I was talking about earlier. And I told the team, I said, if we get through this, I promise you no team wants to see us in the playoffs. And if you if they let us in the playoffs, and I said, we have no problem like being able to find a way to get

to that championship. And you know, proud of my guys for for getting through that slump and you know, putting us on a wind streak to get us to the playoffs. And right when we made it, I knew, like everybody was so excited, but it wasn't like excited like hey, like we're in the playoffs. It's like it was more like we were excited, like damn, they really let us in, Like now it's time to go crazy. And that's exactly

what we did. We had two sweeps in a row in bow series and now we're here awesome Saturday, starting at three o'clock, best of five game series in the finals against T Wolves Gaming. Jeff Terrell two K League Coach of the Year Alexander, Steves Bernstein pleasure fellas best of luck, thanks for representing the old franchise and company and all that, and it's it's been an awesome ride.

Hopefully there's one more great moment. So much, you know, Steve's touched upon this during the interview, that the traction and the following that in just less than two years, the NBA two K League has generated and seventy six ers GC has generated so amazing and it's awesome that at this juncture of growth, you're seventy six ers GC battling for a title on Saturday against T Wolves Game.

Can't wait to see how it shakes out. Sounds like a reasonably confident group based upon what coach Jeff and Steve's we're talking about. You can stream the championship on YouTube and Twitch, and you can follow at seventy six ers GC on social. All right, I think next week on the pod, we're gonna speak with Trey Burke, one of the newest members of the seventy sixers. Love that acquisition by Elton Brand. We'll get into his backstory little bits as we continue our off season coverage here on

the broadcast. See you