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PHILADELPHIA — Paul Reed is part of an important lineage for the Philadelphia 76ers. The team's backup center is a glue guy known for hustle plays and doing the dirty work. Appreciation for those types of players has been a staple among Sixers fans for a while, due in large part to the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast.
The podcast, which has been co-hosted by Spike Eskin and Mike Levin for ten years now, set up a live show centered around an appearance from Reed. A night at Philadelphia's Underground Arts that featured Sixers talk and performances from special guests ended with the two hosts talking with the third-year big man on stage. Eskin said that the Live Ricky V took four months to plan out and that Reed was the first and only player he wanted to book.
“We didn't go through anybody,” Eskin said after the event. “It was 100 percent Paul from the beginning…We have players that are Ricky players and Bball Paul's a Ricky player. So, when he said he would do it, it was pretty easy.”
By a “Ricky” player, Eskin means an unsung hero — the guy who helps prop the main guys that get the bulk of the glory. During the portion of the show where Eskin and Levin interviewed Reed, Eskin said that the Sixers center reminds him of guys like T.J. McConnell and Robert Covington, who worked extremely hard to prove their worth amidst a sea of uncertainty that their talents would be recognized.
As Reed would put it, they got out of the mud, becoming key role players for good Sixers teams and icons among the podcasters and their fans.
“I think the Philly fan base is that way because they pride themselves on like hard work and like that kind of s**t,” Eskin said. “But because of how this group of fans started with the Sixers — where it was all nobodies all the time — I think there's like an affinity for those specific kinds of guys.”
Reed was drafted with the 58th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He had to work his way through the G League and fight for playing time alongside other veterans. His tenacity on the boards, defensive versatility, and improvements as a finisher have paid off big time. Heading into the 2023 playoffs, Reed seems like the go-to backup center option.
“It's super exciting,” Eskin says of Reed's development, “because I'm not sure I thought it would ever happen. Watching [Doc] Rivers and [James] Harden really believe in him was like the final step — and they, I think they do believe in him. I actually think in the games when the starters didn't play but he didn't go and try to score 40 points — he was just playing within his role — I thought it showed a lot of growth for him. So, I'm really excited for him.”
The Ricky began during a time of transition for the Sixers. The Process was soon to kick off, aiming to save the franchise from mediocrity and build something fresh, even though that would come at the cost of extreme patience and mounds of losses over several seasons. The listener base grew out of fans who were relieved the team was going in a new direction and held hope that it would pay off in the long run.
In Eskin's eyes, the Process helped shape the sense of appreciation that Sixers fans have for their gritty role players “a lot.” Fans of all types of team sports have had, currently have, and will continue to love their role players, too. But after several years where teams were heavily comprised of those types of players without a star to lead them, Sixers fans have come to be extra familiar with them and have sharp eyes for which ones can and can't cut it. The reserve players that pour their hearts out have steadily earned praise from Philly, especially now that they are playing a part on a team with a legitimate shot at making it to the NBA Finals.
Inability to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals over the past half-decade notwithstanding, the Process has paid off. The Sixers are led by a superstar in Joel Embiid, who worked through injuries early in his career to become arguably the best player in the NBA and likely 2022-23 MVP. Finding such a player was an integral piece of Sam Hinkie's goals for the Sixers. The first guy he drafted with a top overall draft pick has now led the team to six consecutive playoff berths, a feat not seen by the franchise since the 1980s.
On top of his game-breaking, Embiid embodies the spirit of hard work and confidence that Philadelphia does. He is eager to win not just for himself but for the city and the fans who stuck by him through thick and thin. That unique passion and resilience dating back to the Process, Eskin said, has led to a huge sense of pride among the fans. The collective Philly fan brain knows that the superstar deserves loads of recognition and celebration. But the heart wants something, too.
“Everybody wants the big star,” Eskin said, “but we separate ourselves by wanting the grinders.”
