Preseason Chats with Jared McCain and Nick Nurse

I'm Tari's Meg Si and you're listening to the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast.

This podcast is part of the seventy six Ers podcast network, presented by Stern and Cohen Law.

Search seventy six Ers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. Suffering an injury at work can cause physical pain, but also great uncertainty about your rights. You need to retain a worker's compensation law firm that is a winner like our sixers, a firm that gets some of the best settlements, but is also willing to go toe to toe with the insurance company. No settling on the cheap. This is Philly.

Jared McCain, Welcome to the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast.

Thank you so much for sitting down today.

Of course, as US duke people do, I did my research ahead of this interview, and I've noticed that in every single interview, people ask you about your nails and about your tiktoks. So I'm challenging myself to do this whole thing and talk about neither.

Are you ready, Let's do it.

At Summer League, you told me that upon getting drafted, you reached out to some no offense, undersized guards that reminded you of yourself.

Right, tell me how that started, and tell me how it's.

Going started great and a grade.

I feel like, oh, it's over. You're not going to speak to any of them anymore.

I mean no, I'll definitely speak to them.

Okay, I'll probably ask a lot of them for their jersey still and we play them. But yeah, just asking people who I think I want to look up to, want to model my game after, some in some way that I've watched them play when I was a kid or in college, seeing their film where it's defensively offensively, just finding something some insider advice from a place that I've never been to to help me in my whole career.

What's the best piece of advice you got and who gave it to you?

I'll probably say Pat Bev.

Really, yeah, I just I mean, I think a lot of times when they look at me. There's different opinions you can have, but his main thing was just like be yourself and have fun, and I think that that's what I've always tried to live by. So it's kind of cool to have somebody kind of validated almost who's been there ten years in the league, and it'll carry myself a long way.

I know you reached out to Tyrese Maxey as well. Of course, how did that go? And how have the workouts with Tyree.

Spin It's been great.

Well, he reached out to me right when I got drafted and then before Summer League I just wanted some advice, and now being able to work out with him and just talk to him, meet him, it's I mean, he's the biggest blessing I think I could have as a rookie, someone who's considered I guess an undersized guard who's played as a rookie, had gone through some ups and downs like and now he's one of the best guards in

In our first interview together, you said that you wanted to go toe to toe with him for hardest worker.

This morning, you were the first in the gym.

Yeah, I don't know.

I'm not saying I don't know where he's at right now. He could be working out somewhere else.

He's working out early as well.

That's so fair exactly, But yeah, I tried to get in as early as possible. It feels like I should be the first one. I think, just for me, it's like the first win of the day. Sure, and I think even making your bed in the morning the first win of the day. Just certain things back up, and me being the first in the gym is something I try to do.

I know you've also spent a little bit of time now with Joel Embiid and with Paul George.

What were those meetings like.

Yeah, I mean, obviously, for me being a rookie, I'm always a little nervous, meaning superstars through I've watching I as a kid, but they're none but great to me, and I think they're gonna be great vets for me going forward. Playing with Paul George on the court and just like seeing how he is, it's pretty insane concerning how far how long ago I've been watching him, like literally since I was a little kid on YouTube, watching his highlights in class like to now playing with him.

It's literally a surreal feeling.

And you went on podcast Pee Subscribe make sure you're following along to all of our player initiatives. When you went on Paul's podcast, you talked about the fact that before Duke, you reached out to a psychologist and you thought that was going to be important for your development.

Why did you do that?

And let's talk a little bit about how normalized that's become, because that used to be a big deal and you said it so just like, of course I did. I want to keep my mental performance up. Yeah, tell us about that decision.

Being on social media, there's stuff that's on there that can really deteriorate your mental health. And I think going into college, especially at college like Duke with a great fan base, and a passionate fan base. A lot of stuff negative can be said about you, and for me, I just wanted to keep my mental right because if my mental's not right, I'm not the best player I can be at all. And I think that's something I

Success at Duke.

You and your brother are very close, is that correct? Can you tell us a little bit about your bond and the shared dream that you're now getting to realize for both of you.

Yeah, I mean, obviously we've been close since a little kid, but I think throughout my high school years with time, he got really close. And when he got blood class when he played in high school, had to stop playing, was able to come back, but the blood class came back.

To go to.

Is he coming out to Philly with you?

He's not, Well, he's a duke, he's a duke grad assistant. Love, so he's working there obviously for the season. If he can get away and see a game, hopefully he can after their season, hopefully we will be still playing.

But yeah, he'll he'll definitely try as much to get out here.

Your parents, though, are going to be out here a lot more and Teddy tell us about your mom, your dad and what type of support they're giving you behind the scenes, because we got to see them at Summer League. They're obviously big Jared McCain fans, which makes sense. Yeah, but what's it like behind closed doors?

It's amazing, Like, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky. I thank God every day, like to have such a great support system behind me. My mom and dad have raised me in such a great way. I'm not trying to be biased here, but I think the best parents I've ever seen. It's just amazing to have them here with me. My mom did just you know, cook food from like simple things, cooked meals that I've had since I was a kid, just make like make my house feel like a home. And it's really nice to have them close by.

Seventy six ers hat on.

So just always supporting me in every way they can, and it's amazing to have them.

We're inching closer to your NBA debut and opening night preseason first then opening night than a full season of NBA basketball?

What are you most looking forward to?

So much?

Like the little things for me are the one that's gonna get me. I think it's just like, first off, never I haven't been to Wells Fargo yet. Cool, I haven't been. I've been to the Philly Stadium. I've been to the Eagle Stadium, like I've been to everywhere except our actual place. So even just driving up in my car, like to go in the player's entrance, putting on my jersey, looking around seeing Joel and b Tires, Maxi, Paul George, like all these players who I've watched, get.

This, You're gonna be wearing the same outfit.

Is Yeah, that's that's the crazy, wild insane.

Just walking out, like doing the warm up, like when the ball gets tipps, just watching the game, like it's just gonna be so surreal for me. So there's so many moments I'm gonna remember and try to just keep as a great visualization tactic.

What are the cornerstones of your game day routine?

Major one is I read a part of a book before every game, part of the inner game of tennis. There's a little analogy I like to read about the rose and.

Also say more in.

This book, it's it talks about just the mental part of sports in general, but it's through a tennis coach and he talks about this rose analogy where the rose is a rose from the time you plant the seed to the time it grows, and you're going to give it the same care, the same nourishment it needs to reach a rose. And that's something that really resonates with me.

You've been to the Phillies, You've been to the Eagles. What have you observed about the Philly fan base.

I was sitting right behind home plate and there were these fans behind me shout out to those guys, and they were just screaming at the other team, like every time they missed the bat or missed missed the swing, whatever, just screaming at them.

And that's what I love.

I love that seeing that part of the passionate fan base of Philadelphia, and so I'm excited to see it at our games.

Well, let's bridge the gap between Duke and the Philadelphia seventy six ers. What were the fans like for you at Duke, because I know that they will hold you accountable as well as be your biggest supporters. How do you think that they might compare to what you're going to experience on opening night in Philadelphia.

Yeah, I think they're very similar.

I think obviously being affiliates, it's going to be on a bigger, bigger stage. But the similarities they have is just the passionate, the passionate fan base, Like they're going to tell you they can see if you're not playing hard, and they're going to let you know if you aren't, And I think that's they hold you accountable. I'm gonna do my part in playing hard, doing what I can to help the team win.

Control what I can control.

But yeah, i think the fan bases are very similar, and I'm excited to get to know this fan base more.

I know you visited Duke since you left. I was going to say graduated. We're not quite there yet, But what do you met? What do you appreciate most about your limited time at Duke.

I like how Duke is like very It's think going seven thousand undergrad so you kind of get to know a lot of people. And I think just when I go back, I can walk around and just say hi to people, like the workers at WU, the dining hall, my teacher familiar think, yeah.

Yeah for them, you know that when I was there. I'm dating myself.

That was when the WU opened, was when I was there, So like my first couple of years it was under construction.

I was their life pre WU.

That's kind of only know it was there before.

Well, yeah, that's how old I am.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I shouldn't have.

Said that, but all right, continue the things that you loved included, Yeah, people in the.

Dining hall exactly, exactly, just saying how to people I know? Remember, Like I went back last time and I got to see some of my friends who I was in class with. They run the newspaper, so I went up there and watch a football game with them. Like just simple things like that, knowing people and the vibe with Duke. It's it reminds me of Hogwarts. I've said before, and it's just a great vibe I get.

Are there ducalums that you've reached out to about the transition into.

The NBA koch Shi care well, all the people that have been there, even we had pro weekend, so even talking to Mark Williams DJ Stewart, like just people who have been there done that and just get as much advice as I can.

All Right, last topic that we need to cover Drake. Best Drake album.

I go back and forth. Give me top three, top three. So nothing was the same.

I'm pretty sure as my top Okay, take Care I was really young, but it's something I come back to a lot.

Okay, And how old were you when take Care came out?

Was that twenty eleven? I think I'm scar I was either like I was like seven or eight?

Continue?

Yeah, so take Care. Nothing was the same.

And More Life is considered a playlist, but More Life is up there for sure.

Scorpions and are rated. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go views.

You just mentioned six. Narrow it down?

No, I know, I'm going views, take Care, not in order views, take Care and nothing was the same.

Okay.

If you could only listen to five Drake songs for the rest of your life crazy on repeat?

Which five do you keep with you?

Western?

Road, Flows Okay, Fire and Desire?

Okay.

He's like, I've thought about this already. That's a crazy question. But I know my answers.

I really haven't.

Okay, Well, the first two came off quite que because those.

Are my two fair.

Fair, fair for fair, give me three more over my.

Dead body, Okay, tuscan leather, Okay. I want to say from time Okay, but I'm really missing a lot of songs right now, so I don't. It's really like it's the top five just right in this moment.

But for those that want, like the Jared McCain playlist, those five, yeah, okay. And last question, why Drake? Like, why is Drake so important to you? Because obviously Drake is topical right now, but it seems that he means more to you maybe like it feels like and I know a lot of Drake fans feel that way, right, Like his music gets you through things, right, tell me about your personal Drake journey.

Yeah, I think it.

I mean it goes back all the way since I was, like since my brother introduced me to Drake when I was like six years old, like listening listen to best I ever had, like him.

Just just showing me Drake. I think it.

I went to his concert when I would I went to the take Care concert when Kendrick and Asap opened up for him, and anyways, but yeah, I think he has a song for every mood I'm in he's been there since I was a kid. It's kind of someone I've grown up with and he's been at the top for that long. So just a great artist, the best artist of all time. Michael Jackson of course too. But Drake is my personal and yeah, it means it means a lot to me.

Longevity is a theme with you, right, you just talked about the Rose, You've talked about Drake's longevity. What are a couple of things And I know I said last question, but I think we're going to tie it up here. What are a few things that you're doing right now to ensure that this first season for you is just the beginning.

I think asking questions to the people who have literally been there for ten fifteen years. Taking care of my body is the main thing they say you can't the best availability is wait, the best what is it?

The best?

Best ability is availability?

Exactly what she said. So, yeah, just taking care of my body.

Obviously, going to take care of my mental because I think and nowadays, a lot of stuff happens and people are stepping away from the game because of their mental So taking care of that always. But I think one thing is working hard. It's always going to come back to that, and then once you take care of your body and take care of your mental, everything will set yourself up well.

You're asking tons of questions. Thank you for a Let me ask you some questions. Jared McCain. Always a pleasure. Thanks for sending us.

Thank you.

Welcome back to the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast, joined today by head coach of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in his second year, Nick Nurse.

Matt Murphy.

I'm Lauren Rosen. The two of you were recently Carol, Iowa together.

How was it, coach?

Has not been before?

Yeah, I love this.

It is my hometown, Carol, Iowa. Go ahead, what did you How did you like my hometown?

It was my first time there, Carol National Golf, best greens around, best greens in the Midwest. Not sucking up at all, right now. I also had the chance to see the first show from the Icons band, which features Nick Nurse, and they end every set with here Come the Sixers. So you were doing your thing up there. What was the post mortem on the Icons and the first concert?

Oh?

It was good, it was it was.

Yeah, I think it turned out okay. I mean it was our first time together. A couple of the members had had never even jammed with us before. There was a kind of a cross section of a few guys I jammed with in Toronto, a few guys I started jamming with in Philly, and then a couple all stars thrown in there from from other other big.

Performers or big bands.

I don't know about eleven I was up there on stage, but it was it was pretty fun.

It was pretty fun.

I'm I'm blown away at how talented these people are. Like, it shocks me that they can say, hey, let's try the song and.

Everybody goes one and then one, two, three, boom, and it sounds amazing. It just blows me away.

Don't sell yourself short. You were part of it. You also have that skill.

Yeah, No, not on their level at all.

I try to fit in where I can and and bang out a few chords and things on the keys and stuff like that. But I like jamming, right, I like jamming probably better than I do performing.

I like to when we.

Get together and just jam at my house or jam at somebody else's house, and that can go on for hours. And I could probably do that for a lot of hours in the day, Yeah.

Or more recently with Matt Quinn and Mountjoy in the in the Philadelphia area as well.

Yeah, that was really something that was really something. Why well, it was the real deal.

Right, the real deal.

Usually I've done a couple other of fairly good sized crowds. One obviously, the first one I ever did was with the Rcels. I think there was about seventeen thousand fans at that. That was the first time did one with the new power generation Toron Trot and jazz bests probably five thousand. But usually those two I was on guitar. I just kind of hiding back there by the drummer and.

You know, playing a little bit and just taking it all in.

But this one was the piano that they had was sitting right there, and the crowd was right there and twelve thousand people, and.

Yeah, it was it was awesome. I say this, I'll say.

It again, is that I take me to a Game seven in the NBA Playoffs versus doing that. I was really nervous again, way out of way out of my normal element for.

Sure, but it was cool. You know. It always helps to go.

In in the afternoon to do a little sound check all again. That's all like bizarre and foreign feeling to me, you know, putting ear plugs in, I'm not used to that.

So you can hear you know, would you like, like, coach, would you like to hear the drummer better?

I said, yeah, give me some more drum you know, like I know, I know what I'm talking about, right, and you can turn down this and you know whatever.

But yeah, that was you mentioned being more comfortable in a game seven that you would be playing on stage in a concert. Why is it important to you to get out of your comforts like that.

Well, that's that's one thing that is part of it for me.

Like I didn't battle it nearly as much with Mountjoy the other night as I did with the r Kels.

I really was like side stage and really had never done it before, and was like and it was rock. I mean, the.

Place was going bananas and I was just like, I'm going home.

Man, I like I can Where was it?

It was in Toronto at the Bud Bud Stage, which is an outdoor kind of a lot, like a lot like the Man outdoor. It's on the lake there in Toronto, and and uh, I didn't live that far away and there was a six or seven times during the show that I was like, I think I'm just gonna slide out.

And go back home, and uh.

But but kind of kept saying that to your answer your question. I kind of kept saying that to myself, Mandy, you got enough guts to get out there and do it, you know, like really really honestly, like really nervous and trying to push through and go out there and and and do it. I don't know, I don't know why that's important, but I think at least it's part of the kind of internal battle of I don't know, if you want.

To do cool stuff, sometimes you got to take a leap.

Right that was in the news.

So was Joel Embiid's contract extension right down here on the court at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia seventy six ers training complex. How did it feel for the organization to first of all get that done, but then to see him celebrating with his family and had Arthur shooting hoops and all that, Well, it was great.

And I think I don't know how much you guys have talked about it or it's been said, but you know, in the first couple months of my tenure three four months of my tenure after getting hired, the Joel gonna request the trade or going to do whatever, not be here or whatever was a kind of a thing that certain media outlets were really trying to make a story right that if they don't get it together, he's going

Come, Yeah, years to come. For him, but also for Tyrese and for Paul George. But you brought up the Tyresse Joel relationship, and for some reason, when iconic NBA duos are discussed, perhaps on national programs, they're usually left out, perhaps because of Tyree's youth, he's a first time All Star.

But what have you observed about their.

Relationship that you might not have seen yet and that the national audience might be missing at this point?

Yeah, well, I don't know what it is about, first of all, about what ty Resee and they leave him out of this stuff are maybe you know, you know, huh, a lot of stuff, and it's like nobody still believes that he's like this good or he's he's he ever gonna be like he's really really really really good, like you know, and he's not even like none being really good at a couple more realies on there.

Yeah, for him to keep.

Left off a lot of list does right.

Yeah, he does.

Was your question again, what did you observe about the relationship that Joel and Terry share.

I think I think Joel did a good job of understanding, like you know, once other pieces had left and Tyresee had this ability to bring him along to kind of to kind of get to him and say, hey, let's work together, let's do this, and almost like like I believe in you, Tyresee.

I also need you, Tyrese. We need each other, you know.

So I think Joe Well, being the older, older guy of the group, more experienced guy, did a great job in bringing bringing him forward. And You're like, like anything, I think they start working together. It's fun to play with, you know. The way they're playing together is fun for them. They pushing each other a little bit. They see Joel sees Tyrese's growth and knows there's more there to go.

So I think I think all that's a factor.

Another Joelle question, just because the last time we spoke with you was that Summer League before the Olympics. He gets the gold medal with Team USA the dominant close to the game against Serbia and helped them along. What did you think about Joel at the Olympics.

I don't know, looking back, I think it kind of summarizes what I've experienced. I've never won a gold medal, right or whatever, and never, but when I've when I've had championship teams, what they experience is a lot of ups and downs, and the Olympics is kind of a short little window, but it still happens, and I think he went through some of that, right.

He didn't play that many minutes. He was left off out of a game.

You know, there was concerns going, you know, but then boom you have he has a big, huge moment and they couldn't have won it without him, right.

Uh.

He delivers in the game almost that they brought him for, they needed him for whatever, and then he ends up coming out, you know, on the on the other end

Man, he's got a gold medal.

A year ago when you got here, you talked about wanting to set a culture of expecting to win, focusing on April, May and June in year one, when you reflect on your one and look ahead to or two, what are you proudest of in this first year and where's your focus shifting as you're a second year coach in this market.

Without like digging in too deep, I thought would play really hard. I thought we gave great effort last year, so I always want that. I think I think you know I've said this to you before, but I'll say it again. You know, when people are walking up the stairs after the game, they should be elbowing each other saying.

Man, did they play hard? I don't even know.

I don't even know what the score the score ends up, but that's that's like the first thing I want them to to be able to notice that the team fights, the team never quits, the team will come back when things are going bad, the team will bounce back after tough losses and just give, you know, just give a tremendous effort. So now I think we did that on

And I think back to the April, May and June.

It's a little bit weird last year because of the huge injury to Joel midway through, and then we had a lot of guys out and stretches too, so we were really playing, let's do the best we can do right now and keep figuring things out, and let's let's try to scratch you know, you heard me, scratch out a win anyway we can and get to the next game and then figure the game plan out for that one. Hopefully we'll have a little bit more of a of a building, a little bit better health.

I think we will.

We got deeper, but yeah, we're going to try to play our best basketball in April, man and June.

For sure.

When you reflect on that first season, are there any nights that stand out to you memory wise of particularly good fights where you felt like people really walked out and said, dang, those guys went for it.

I thought the playoffs, first of all, even though we came out on the wrong end of.

It, those were fights.

Fights, yeah, you.

Know, against against the team that that's you know, kind of what they're going to hang their hat on, right, And I would say we fought just as hard as they did. We're close to it, and again like we were not very healthy to be doing it right. Again, I'm I don't make any excuses, but even for Joelle, he was a long ways away from you know, being being where he could be or where he wished to be in that series. And I thought he fought through a lot of stuff too. Either than that, you know,

I thought, I think.

Both uh, well, Joel was out for sure, but Trees and Ricky Counsel came in, Jeff out and you know all these you know guys.

That was a super fun game.

I thought they were playing at a really high level and and and uh that kind of that was that was a good one. I don't know, I'm not really that great at remember past games, so.

That's not true, but we'll let you go.

Matter it's true, I'm not well.

He might need to use his memory about very early on in his career towards the end here, but maybe we'll let him.

Let him off.

The home training camp in the Bahamas this year, and then a series of away games throughout the preseason. As you look at that slate, what can you accomplish reasonably with a group that's this new What do you hope to get out of that week away together? And then these preseason games.

Yeah, I mean I think that first of all super exciting. You know, it's really the first chance you get to get the whole crew together for for real. You know, like we do this stuff and a lot of our guys in in September, but there's always guys here and there, two or three out here and there doing something, you know, getting visas or passports or whatever they're doing, you know,

Usually starts defensively.

Put a huge, huge emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, just to make sure that all those little foundational pillars that we like to live by, you know, they understand them, and they understand how we're going to do them, and then what the plan is behind them and all that stuff, and then.

Start building from there. You know, we'll we'll certainly work on.

Probably a little bit more advanced in the offense because I'm so much more used to Joelle and Tyrese. I know, I know where I kind of got to start with those guys rather than figuring it out as I go a little bit. So I think we'll we'll get ahead with those guys and in the preseason mostly just making reads and then we got to figure out where the other guys fit around them.

I think we should go into the time machine real quick. Let's try, just because it sort of fits in with the theme of the beginning of our conversation, playing these shows and the nerves you feel coaching and playing and

Hardly anything, Yeah, hardly anything. I do remember. I don't know. I want I can answer this question.

I mean, obviously I felt like we had a really good team and we're ready to go. And I do know that the forty eight minutes that like you had to ride these waves of a game, and you know, I wanted to. You want to win your first game as a head coach in the NBA, right, you want to win your season opener.

You know they're both coming to kind of at the same time. And you did win. Yeah, we did.

I just remember that it was about like an NBA game is, you know, like like it was it was difficult, right, it was we look good, we look bad, we look good, we looked bad, and then we you know, we started playing really good towards the end and kind of kind of got away with a win. And I don't know, I guess again my first game in the NBA, but it was was in the thousandth of games I've coached, so had all that much different thing get ready for

You know, I do remember that, but I'm used to that stuff now too.

Starting lineups might be too specific from the Cleveland Toronto game in twenty eighteen, but do you remember.

I know I can give it a shot.

I want to say Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard.

This is where it gets a little tricky. I'm gonna say.

Serge of Baka and Jonna's Valentiunas or was it Pascal?

It was Pascal and Valentias. Do you remember among those five who had a really really great game and who may happen to play for you in Philadelphia?

Now?

Lowry twenty seven points eight assists, five for six from three in your first game as an NBA head go what was that again? Twenty seven points eight assists, five for six from three against the Calves at twelve point win.

Helpful when that happens.

He's a good player, Coach, good.

Memory, Coach Nurse, thank you so much for joining us. We're excited about this season.

When you're having fun, is quick.

Glad to hear that you did. Thank you so much, Thanks much,