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PHILADELPHIA — The final day of the 2022-23 regular season was eventful for Paul Reed. After he helped the Philadelphia 76ers secure a win over the Brooklyn Nets, he headed over to the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast's live event, where he was the headline guest.
Spike Eskin and Mike Levin, who have painstakingly chronicled the last decade of Sixers basketball together, joined forces to put on the fifth live show in the podcast's history. They have interviewed tons of players and coaches/executives, including at their live shows. At Live Ricky V, Bball Paul — Reed's nickname that the two hosts almost always refer to him by — was just the latest to chop it up with the two hosts in front of a room packed with adoring fans.
Numerous fans in attendance at the event at Philly's Underground Arts wore Reed's “Out the Mud” sweatshirts. Eskin changed into one when the Sixers center made his way up to the stage as he and Levin interviewed Reed about a variety of topics, such as how far this Sixers team can go in the postseason, how he established himself as the team's backup center, his growing chemistry with James Harden, and his rebounding abilities.
In one exchange with Levin, Reed learned of his historical rank in one statistical category. He is the Sixers' best-ever offensive rebounder on a rate basis, topping the franchise's offensive rebound percentage leaderboard with a strong lead over names like Moses Malone and Charles Barkley.
“Do you know that you're the Sixers' — statistically— the best offensive rebounder in franchise history? Do you know that?” asked Levin.
“Wait, for real?” Reed responded. All he could do was smile as the crowd applauded and laughed along.
Eskin and Levin have been two of the many Sixers fans to lobby for Reed to get minutes partly because of his incredible ability to fight on the glass and hustle. Being the featured guest for the most well-known Sixers podcast is something he has taken great pride in.
“It's huge. I'm just excited to get on, to talk with 'em and see what they've got for me, see what kind of questions they're going to ask,” Reed said in February about his slated appearance at Live Ricky V. Many of the questions were far from the typical inquiries he's used to.
He was asked if the fact that the college he attended, DePaul, sounding so close to his name was a factor in his decision to go there. The Sixers center was asked who the better shooter was between current head coach Doc Rivers and former teammate Matisse Thybulle, poking fun at the latter's struggles as a shooter. Reed jumped on the grenade for Thybulle, asking why they had to do him like that.
After spending the season competing with guys like Montrezl Harrell and Dewayne Dedmon for minutes behind Joel Embiid, Reed talked about what he did to secure the backup center spot.
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“Honestly, I just locked in, off the court, on the court,” the Sixers center said. “Just made sure that I was consistent with what I was doing on the court. Once I figured out how to do that, that's when I locked in the spot and was able to run with it.”
Chants of “Bball Paul!” and “Out the Mud!” echoed off the walls at numerous points during Reed's discussion with the Ricky hosts and received uproarious applause when he entered and exited the stage. The interview with the Sixers center served as the final act of a night full of twists and turns.
Kate Scott, the Sixers' play-by-play caller on NBC Sports Philadelphia, made a surprise appearance and received a loud ovation from the crowd. She talked about the upcoming playoffs and gave insight into her experience and approach in broadcasting, coming up with a creative new term to describe Joel Embiid: ballerina Godzilla.
A surprise appearance from @katetscott! pic.twitter.com/o4e72x2Mxe
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) April 10, 2023
Eskin read an NSFW poem about Ben Simmons, declaring himself right for being a hater of the now-despised former Sixers star. Musicians Mutlu, Eliza Hardy Jones, and Prezz Carter each performed a song on stage, respectively serenading the crowd with Sixers-inspired parodies of Billy Ocean's “Caribbean Queen” and John Lennon's “Imagine” as well as a diss track of Doc Rivers. They added to their Process Hall of Fame with speeches for each of the three additions, had a trivia game featuring two random audience members, and much more.
After the main show, Reed took pictures with guests as a part of the VIP package. He greeted every fan with a warm handshake, dap up, or hug and smiled for each picture, finishing up with pictures with the Ricky crew.
Paul Reed has worked hard all season long for the Sixers, developing his game and emerging as the preferred backup center for Rivers heading into the postseason. After one last time playing hard with some of Philly's most devoted fans, he will be getting back to work and look to make them proud with good performances in the postseason.
