April 15, 2022 • 41 mins
Welcome to The Big Niang Theory! On episode seven, Georges Niang and Lauren Rosen go in-depth with Tobias Harris, following Tobias' journey from Long Island, around the NBA, and to Philadelphia. From family, to giving back to his communities, to Joel Embiid, to an interesting take on food, get to know Tobias on a deeper level.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Big Niang Theory. Let me ask one question.
Is my podcast Joel is a card shark. Danny gets
swindled fashions. I just like stuff that looks greatness, just
reads greatness, and the outfit right in Welcome back everybody
to the Big Niang Theory. We had a superb guest today,
(00:22):
m Tobias Harris. I've had a close relationship with Tobias,
you know, since I've gotten to Philly, and today was great.
I mean, he got to open up about you know,
his time here in Philly, his family, his journey, how
his mind operates, you know, even funny topics about food
(00:44):
and his thoughts about me. And but I think the
coolest thing was, you know, Tobias impacts a lot of people,
and he does it, you know, with a clean heart.
And I think, you know, this episode, people are really
going to get in and get to see who Tobias
is as a person. And I think that's going to
make a lot of people love the guy that he is.
(01:07):
And he's super special to us, super special to me,
super special to the people in his life. And I'm
really excited for the for the podcast world to hear
this episode. He mentioned it in the conversation, but he
said that he doesn't do a lot of content. He
doesn't do a lot of pr stuff, even though from
where I'm sitting I think he should because of all
(01:28):
the good that he does in the world. I wish
he would talk about it more, but I think that
that makes it even more meaningful when he is willing
to talk about it, when he is willing to open up.
There are a few people in the world that I
admire more than Tobias Harris. He is in my mount
rushmore I think of people that I've worked with. So
I'm very excited for him to share and show everybody
why this is an awesome episode. So, without further ado,
(01:51):
here's Tobias. Let's do it. Yeah, Welcome everybody to the
Big Niang Theory. I'm George Niang with my co host
Lauren Rosen, and today we have a very special guest.
It was kind of last minute, but I appreciate his
(02:11):
assertiveness of coming up to me and getting it done.
We have Tobias Harris in the building. Thanks for joining us. Tobias,
happy to be here. You know, I've never really said
this to Tobias, but you know, growing up kind of
in the same area. Tobias was a little bit older
than me, and uh, you know, I did look up
to you when I was in high school, you know,
(02:33):
when you played in the au. This is the last
time I'll ever bring it up because that's embarrassing. But
that's not growing up in Boston and Tobias being from
New York or Connecticut, No kidding, New York. You know,
obviously he was highly touted. He's had a he's had
a crazy journey. But I think being I'm a New
(02:55):
England kid or Northeast kids, how do you feel being
close to home? Because this is my first season playing
close to home, and it's kind of like the best
of both worlds. Like my mom came and stayed with
me for ten days, which was exciting and thrilling. But
you're like right up the street. So if you enjoyed that,
it's three years. It's been like three years, right, yeah, no,
So that's that's been cool. I mean, you know, coming
(03:19):
from where was I was in LA before. So, um,
my my dad and my mom were really my dad
if he can come to every game, he'll come to
every game. My mom she's like, I'll watch you from
the TV screaming like I don't need to be up
in the stands with him screaming. And sometimes my mom
(03:40):
she'd be getting a little like when you know, in
the arena, she'll bark back a little bit when people
say that, so she'll bark back. So she would be like,
I'll see where you want. You know, I don't want
to be. Uh, I don't want to getting no arguments
in us. I'm gonna stay at the house and whatnot.
But for them to have the lissessibit be two hours
(04:01):
thirty minutes away to come to games, that's awesome, and
then met vice versa as well, to be able to
go back from time to time. Uh. And then just
growing up like growing up in Long Island, obviously I
was being able to watch the Knicks like as a kid,
obviously I was a huge Ellen Iverson fan um in
(04:21):
his days as a sixer, so being able to see
him play, and then you know, now playing for this organization,
it's uh, you know, it's awesome. Yeah, And you're like,
I wouldn't say surprisingly, but you are like super close
with your family and that's not and you have a
big family too, so that's not always often like I
forget like your sister had like her senior night in
(04:44):
tobis like yo, I'm going I was like, shoot, you're
better than me. I would be trying to get and
as to sleep. But no, like speak on that. Like
in your and your dad. I see your dad even
like how you close you guys are when he sits there.
There was one time like it was like an image.
You were in the corner and he was in like courtside,
and before you could even like finish your shot, he's
like holding his father. I thought that was funny. But
(05:07):
that's that's very I wouldn't say rare, but it's isn't
the most common thing that you have big families that
are just so close to each other. Talk about how
you guys are so close. I mean I've played against
your brother a couple of times hoop and is is
in the Harris DNA, that's for sure. Yeah, I mean
that's where it all started. I think that's where like
the closeness of the family began. Like there's six of us, right,
(05:31):
so it's a big family. To say the least. Shout
out to my mom, who like who raised us, and
you know that's a powerful woman. There just being able
to do whatever it took to see us be successful.
And then my father, you know who as a kid,
that was my coach, right and I couldn't stand him
(05:51):
as a coach because he was so hard on me.
But at the end of the day, like, now that's
my agent, so now he took over representing me. I
want to say that was my third year in the NBA.
Ryan we were able to do two two big great deals.
So it just like shows like our family, it was
a connective union. My older sister, she was the first
(06:12):
one to get a Division one scholarship to go to
play at Delaware. My older brother was actually the first
one to get He didn't get a basketball scholarship, but
academically he got scholarship, so he went to University of Maryland.
So like seeing him come up and he's a lot
older than me as well, but seeing him come up
(06:34):
go to college, maybe like think like, oh, I can
go to college, you know what I'm saying. And then
my sister getting a basketball scholarship goes to college. You know,
my younger brother Tyler, who plays as well overseas my
younger brother Terry, who plays who played in the G League.
But now Terry like shifted focus, shifted his focus and
(06:55):
does real estate, and you know he was very successful,
super successful out you know. Noah, So I think it's
just And then my young sister Tory played at Saint Bonaventure.
Was like to see her have a senior night. You know,
I wanted to go there and be a part of it,
and at the same time made me feel like like wow,
(07:15):
like my little sister, this is the last college game,
you know what I mean. So it's just that connectiveness.
But it all was groomed by competitiveness. It was always
fights in the house on basketball. Can you imagine that. Yeah,
it was always like me to see a tyler and
(07:36):
like it was just argued festive, like one on one
and like my want would be like I wish you
guys would argue this much about you're great, like you know.
So it's like that type of thing. So that's how
we always got as close as we are to this day.
How much do you think that growing up in that environment.
So to just give a little bit of color about
where you stand among your teammates, We've had five episodes
(07:58):
now this will be the sixth, and I think in
all of them, if not almost all of them. You've
been credited as the leader of the team on the court,
off the court communicatively. How much do you think growing
up with all those siblings prepared you to take on
that role that you hold within this team? Well, yeah,
prepare a whole lot really, because I think when it
(08:19):
starts as like I was always trying to win the
battle of like being the best player in the family
right basketball wise, So like up until like age thirteen,
I was always humbled by my sister. So then like
when I finally beat her, you start popping off like yeah,
like I'm the man, like you know what I mean. So,
(08:40):
but I always had to level out kind of the
the quote unquote like egos of like keeping you know,
I had to show like you know, I was a
mcdonald'sall American talk to Arren Crupe. But I had to
show like I didn't get there because of just waking
up and being able to dunk and run like Duncan run.
(09:01):
Like no, I had to really work extremely hard, Like
I was up every morning six o'clock running around the neighborhood.
Then going to school, I used to have eight to
ninth period off working out during school, then going to practice,
then after practice working out again. So like it was
just basically me representing what I'm trying to get across, like,
(09:24):
and that's to make it to the NBA. So I
wanted my other brothers and sisters to see that as
well and for that to groom them. So I think
that the whole family atmosphere, being competitive, being a hard
worker has allowed me to have insight on being able
to be around a team. Especially in the league. A
lot of young guys come in each and every year,
so just being able to sow that seed into them
(09:46):
as well is huge. George, how would you describe Tobias's
purpose on this team outside of what he does on
the court. You know, I think Tobias, you know, we're
actually talking about this on the bus yesterday, Like he
has a good he can get a good read on
every person that he has enough time around and can
take a good pulse on you know, what they like,
(10:07):
what kind of doesn't you know, really flow with them
and kind of be able to connect. He's like a connector.
I think that's something in professional sports that is so undervalued,
when you have someone that is able to connect groups
or clicks of people because everybody knows it's like not
everybody gets along, but Tobias can kind of flow and
go within and have a special relationship with everybody. But
(10:29):
also he can you know, read the room and when
it's you know, not time to crack a joke or
say something that you know is going to cause controversy,
but he also can say it in a way that
opens up dialogue that helps you connect as a team.
And as I'm sitting here listening to your stories about
like your sisters and stuff like that, it just brings
me back because when I think of like your journey
(10:50):
in the NBA, like and you want to you know,
prove to people like yeah, I mean you were a
McDonald's All American and you're a top ten recruiter. And
some people would think like, oh, like that's easy to
get to the NBA. You're a top ten recruit, Like
you just have to have a solid freshman year and
like you're good. And but like you went to Milwaukee,
like if nothing was easy there, you struggled there. You
(11:12):
went to Orlando when you finally cut your niche there
you were traded and then you know, you finally sent
home in Detroit, you're traded in to LA and then
from LA you come to Philly, and like the best
thing that like I realize about you is that you
don't let any of that stuff within the business rob
you of your happiness. And the funny part is people
will to bias this, to bias Tess, but like the
(11:33):
production is like still the same, And I sit back
in my room and I'm like baffled because I'm like,
how does someone go through all that but still stay
steady and the production just stays the same. So like
what goes through your head for you to go through that,
it's ten plus years right to continue to just be
like I want to wake up and continue to grind
and make this the best and continue to produce. Because
(11:55):
at some point some people are like, all right, enough
is enough. I've been traded, you know four times, Like
when is it gonna be like where I can just
relax and be complacent. But then again, like your your
life has never been anything with complacency. Yeah, no, it's
it's uh, It's true, I think, like honestly, and sometimes
(12:16):
people don't like hearing other people say this, but I
love my life, like I legit love my life. I
love waking up being playing in the NBA. That's number one.
I love that. I love being able to come on
on a bus in the morning and y'all are like
half sleep and I'm maybe like scream and wake up,
love and like you know what I mean, Like I
love like people being like damn, how somebody's got so
(12:39):
much energy, you know what I'm saying, Like I like shit,
Like you know, that's why I like being around young guys,
young guys on the team like Tyrese Isaiah Batist, like
them guys give me more life because they're so new,
you know, they're so new to it. Um. But for me,
you know, I had to realize this, like through my career,
(13:00):
my journey, Like I remember one of the lowest points
in my life was I was in Orlando and I
didn't sign an extension with them, right Like I was
offered three year like thirty eight or something, and they
didn't want to go up in the number. So I
was like, dang, Like I wanted this extension so bad,
(13:20):
you know, And like I remember one of the coaches
texting me just being like just no, like this is
just an opportunity for a greater blessing for you, right,
And I always think about that moment because we had
played a preseason game, we had played the Rockets, and
I remember after the game, I was like vividly in
my room by myself, just so upset because I didn't
(13:43):
know where my future was going, you know. But that
message really like uplifted me to know that things are
always gonna work out. And I think, like, once, like
I got past that moment the next season, ended up
signing a four year deal with the Magic. But once
I got passed that moment, I always think back to
(14:03):
that moment, like think about where you are, where you were,
and like where you're at now, right, like, and this
is just a thing of life, like things do work
itself out and everything. So I try not to, you know,
get sucked into all all like the noise on the
outside of what's going on, and just stay level because
at the end of the day, I'm playing this game
(14:25):
that I love. I got a beautiful family, beautiful friends, teammates.
Everything around me in my life is flowing in a
in a positive direction. So I'm just like, man, like,
I can't I can't be I can't really be upset
for too long. And I think another great thing, like
with with everything that you have that's great going on
the court. I remember to buys telling someone they're like,
(14:47):
you know, one thing you guys will have for me
as a teammate is if you call me in twenty
five years and ask for some advice, I will pick
up the phone. And that's another But that's another attribute
that like people don't understand. It's like, yeah, we're really
close and you know, we trapped probably two hundred and
twenty days out of the year, but that doesn't mean
that when I get traded to another team or go
(15:07):
to another team, like people are still going to pick
up my phone calls. And I think the best part
that you do is you're active on the court. Obviously
you've had a tremendously decorated, you know, career, But off
the court, I think, I don't want to say it'd
be surprising to some people, but like a lot of
people don't give athletes respect like off the court, and
you're very involved in every community that you've been into.
(15:28):
You're very involved in business opportunities. But also I think
the best attribute is even when I have questions about
business experiences, Tobias is willing to sit down and actually
have like in depth, intelligent like conversations and advice and
talk about experiences that he's had where he's like, WHOA,
don't do that, or yeah I've tried that and this works,
(15:49):
or yo, I found this. I found this out, Like
you should try this now? Has that always been or
when in your NBA career or maybe who has helped
you see that light or tap into that or is
that just you being competitive and be like you know,
all right, I'm good on the court, like I'm gonna
take care of now. I want to you know, see
if I can take this to a whole new level. Yeah.
(16:10):
That was like one day I sat down, I said
to myself, I said, well, like, what's your what's your
goals outside of basketball? Right, because you can only play
for so long. And like a couple of people, like
a couple of friends of mine, actually they'd be like, man,
you gotta do more media stuff or more pr and
I'd be like why and they're like, because you want
(16:32):
to get your name out there more like people didn't
know this and that, like you gotta build these things
up for your legacy. And I was like legacy, man, Like,
like legacy is about like you get a championship and
you enjoy what you do. I said, if you're lucky
enough to get a championship, then you know, more power
(16:53):
to you, right, And so like I sat back and
I said, because I think, like, as athletes and NBA
play is so much for our whole life, We've been
stuck in this identity and I always wanted to figure out, right,
when basketball has done, what is going to be your identity? Right?
And like yeah, yeah, so like what like like who
(17:13):
are you going to be because you're not gonna be
you know, able to wake up every day and go
in front of twenty thousand fans and play, So like
what is going to give you that time consuming thing
at the same time that you enjoy to do, right?
And that's why I like, you know, let me figure
out ways exactly, yeah, like like like what could it be?
(17:36):
And then you know, I started figuring out like what's
important to me? And that's that. The first thing was
the youth, Like our youth and being able to give
back to them education is important to me. Right. So
then my next step was like, you know, a huge
goal of mind while I'm done playing, you know, hopefully
that's years from now is to have a school, you know.
(17:57):
So you know, I started doing things, and um, I
talked to a lot of people, you know, a lot
of wealthy people as well to figure out like what
what do they do. I'm always trying to gain an
advantage of knowledge to just to just see. And a
buddy of mine told me, he said, do one thing
every year that sparks your interests, right, like investing wise,
(18:17):
you know. So I got into crypto and then I
just did the research and I started reaching out to
people in the space like that's bigger in the crypto,
like hey, let's connect, let's talk. So then, you know,
once I started doing that and reaching out and learning,
that was when I was like, you know what, I
got to share this knowledge. But I'm also a person,
is I'm not going to share knowledge, especially with y'all
(18:40):
like his teammates, if it ain't hit back for me,
Like I'm not about to tell you, hey, we should
do this coin, but I don't know about it yet,
Like I'm gonna make sure it's working and then we
right exactly. So so like that's that's kind of how
I looked at it. All those things are just knowledge,
but they don't. I never let all that stuff take
(19:01):
away from my day job, but I also don't let
my day job over some around we went emotions to
not do things that I think are fun. I want
to do That is so well put right there. You
guys have both touched on it, but I'd like to
go a little deeper. Tobias is unlike other players in
(19:23):
that you continue every year to not just invest in
Philadelphia communities. We've talked about literacy, but you're doing that
in every community you've ever played in. Correct, the community
you grew up in Haiti where else Africa as well,
So we did a little project out there with basically
like solar panel like eyebook so the kids can I
(19:46):
have access to literacy and reading. So yeah, there's a
lot of different communities, like at some point, I would
love to touch everywhere. You know, but that that's always
been a thing for me, and I'm I'm also I
know when dealing with corporations and business, a lot of
stuff is always like a PR thing, and I always
(20:07):
say as I don't I don't want any PR All
I want is to do it to basically a lot
of kids to know that someone cares about them. And
someone's pushing this to them, and I do like them
to know that I'm doing it because, like you know,
they as as an athlete, as NBA player, they look
up to you as a role model. And you know,
the first thing when you see NBA players, you don't
(20:29):
think books, So it's added motivation for them at times
and think reading books sports. Like even he does it
like that, Yeah, you know what I mean exactly, but
like outside that, like I always say, I just I
love doing those things because I know, at the end
of the day, I don't do it for me. I
do it for the ones that are involved, and I
(20:51):
know that it's impactful. And I always always felt that
if I go onto something, it's got to be with
a clean heart, and that's how I try to do it.
I think it's interesting that you continue though, Like George
and I have both talked on this podcast about being
emotional and reacting with emotion in different situations. We share
that in common, and I think you've started this conversation
by talking about getting traded or being in some way
(21:13):
wronged by different communities, right, but then still choosing to
invest in those same communities to be able to separate
what the breakup with the team or the city was like,
but continue to invest in kids in youth and people
that bought your jersey while you were there. Not everybody
does that. I think that's really special. But but that's
when you described like you're like, oh, wise to bias,
like a good leader, like we just gave you three
(21:34):
minutes on because like like you said, it's like I'm
going in with a clean heart. It doesn't matter if
it didn't work out or for what reason. My job
on this earth, you know, whatever. People feel like their
impact is and tobiases is to impact other people, and
he's not doing it in a way that look at me,
look at me. It's more or less? How can I
make things better? Like when you talk about kids in Africa,
(21:56):
like given those books to be able to He's given
them the greatest tool in the world. Knowledge is power money.
Someone can take money from you once you have knowledge,
like nobody can take that from you. And I think
the fact that you see that and you don't let
like you said, the emotions of your day job, but
(22:16):
you still keep the main thing, the main thing, which
is basketball, you know, but don't let the emotion and
the highs and lows of that take away from you
affecting so many other people. I mean that that's what
a leader is. And you know and I don't want
to be over the top because I'm not over the
top of like, oh I love to buy like but
that's but that's like, that's what I'm here for. Yeah, seriously,
(22:37):
So you can do that after. But that's like what
a leader does. And that's why when people ask who's
your leader on the team, like all of us have
said on here, Tobias because he doesn't ask for the credit.
He shows up every day and is the same him, like,
and that's what you enjoy being around something that's going
to be the same energy, the same person, and he's
looking to impact people constantly. It's true we had to
(22:58):
wait six months to get him to come on here
and about himself on this podcast. Yeah, now I think
it's it's one of those things too. It's like sports
or sports and people have a lot of emotions in them.
But you know, everything goes, everything connects with with each other, right,
Like the better the Sixers do, the better in my opinion,
(23:23):
Philadelphia economy does. Right, Like if you own a sports
bar and your team is sucky. Nobody's coming to your
sports bar to watch games, right, I was, Si, I
was legitimately thinking about this other day. I was like,
I wonder if Joel and B goes into a sports bar,
Like he wouldn't do it because he's not leaving his house,
but like if he goes, if I own a sports bar,
(23:44):
he comes to my sports bar, he could eat there
free forever, right because all the business you to my
sports bar. Right. But like it just these things go
hand in hand, where like you know, and I think
that's why sports is so is now in today's age,
is so popular because it does build like the hype
around the city. People love to support good, good teams, right,
(24:07):
So it's just one of those things I remember, like
somebody hit me up on Instagram. It's like get out
of Philly, and like I wanted to be, like I
impact more people in Philly than you do. And that's
outside of basketball. Like but like it's just one of
those things that's like I personally know inside like wherever
I'm at, I am going to do what I do
(24:28):
on the basketball court. But outside of the basketball court,
I know, at the end of the day, I am
going to help some of our youth grow up to
be their best selves, you know, and that's how I
live my life of wherever I'm at in an NBA city.
I want to know more about your relationship with Philly
because you brought it up. You started this conversation by saying,
we can ask you anything, and you and Philadelphia have
(24:51):
been on a journey for sure. What have you enjoyed
most about it? What have you learned about yourself while
on that journey? I think the biggest thing that he
says when this in this whole journey, is what I've
learned about myself, right And I think that from the
day that I got here, the expectations from the team,
(25:13):
from everything that's going on, from signing a five year deal,
you know, it has been a journey. I think for me,
nothing ever is gonna go exactly how you plan it, right, um,
From being booed like in the middle of the season
early on, like you know, it's it's those things that
(25:36):
just honestly, it has just been a check to my
own ego of being able to say, uh, personally, you
need to take a step back and understand like what
you want out of all this, and then to really
figure out like now, why why does that make you
(25:57):
so upset? Right? And I think like for me, it's
more so been alone, like I'm a prideful person, like
I have expectations for myself, my game, how I want
to play, how successful I want to be for the group,
like how much I want to win and yea, at
times you do feel like from a base of fans
(26:23):
it's kind of misconfused at times, in my opinion, But
I understand where like some fans don't watch basketball games
like they just watch stats like and that's okay. And
I think for me personally, it's just understanding like I
have to be comfortable with myself, with my game and
(26:43):
with my team and teammates. And once I came to
grips with that, and came to grips with the situation
of where we were and where we're in, I've been
able to just free flow and play how I normally,
how I want to play, right, And that it took
some time to really like have a realization with so
I think it's it's all. It was all, It's all
(27:06):
been a learning process and will forever be a learning
process and true be told, like I looked at every
moment like when when the fans were boring me in arena,
like I was coming to the bench and like everybody's
like yo, like like I mean, we're not on this video,
but everybody's eyes are like yo. Like I remember something
like damn, T that's crazy, and I'm like I'm like damn.
(27:31):
But like when I got back on the floor, I
was like, I literally said to myself, I said, in
my mind's like, you should shoot whenever you get the ball,
Like you shouldn't worry about if they boo if you miss,
Like you should just use this as an opportunity to
mentally get yourself ready for whatever's to come in the
playoffs in the championship, Like you should use this opportunity.
(27:55):
And I was like, you know what, I'll do that,
like because at this point they're booing, so they can
only keep going or start clapping like one or the other.
So I was just like, I'm gonna use this opportunity,
and I leg did it. It happened like another game
out that I was a little quieter, but the same thing.
I was like, just use this opportunity, like figure out
a way to make it a game they credit to
(28:17):
you though, because I don't know how if I would
be able to react in real time and figure out
what the lesson is going to be if people are
coming after me, A lot of people would crawl into
their shell, like when a turtle's under attack and they
bring themselves under their shell. That's what I do. I
don't know how you handle it, but immediately figuring out
what the lesson is and how to learn it as
quickly as possible. Not everybody can do that, and I
think that's really cool, right, No, And I think the
(28:40):
time on that, like you know, to be like, hey,
you know, it is what it is, and I can
only control what I can control. But I think the
biggest thing that fans need to realize is like if
they don't think that US players and them are aligned,
Like we both want the same thing. We want a championship,
just like you guys want a championship. Because I missed
that shot out there, not doing it on purpose, trust me,
(29:02):
I want that ball to go in and I don't
want the guy to score on me. Like we're all
like we all want the same things. And I think
for you, the best parting that you said was like
you had to check your ego right, you know, I
had to be like, you know what, they want, you know,
me to play better. I want me to play better
for sure, and I'm gonna go out there and give
him my all. And you know, I mean, I think
(29:24):
I think with you as people, people don't understand is
you put in so much work and time and effort
into your craft that at the end of the day,
you were like, I can just flow because knowing that
I put this much time and effort in my craft,
like there's no possible way I could lose, not like
no chance. And then ever since that had happened with
them booing and stuff like that, like defensive assignment, it's
like scoring, everything has just gone. And it's like it
(29:47):
wasn't like all right, it's how it's Tobias gonna be
a day. It's more like we know we're gonna get
from Tobias and the rest is just flowing. And that's
that's a credit to you, because, as we know, in
this professional business, checking your ego is it's something that
isn't the easiest. And my mom brought a good point.
It was like the next day she called me, she said, Okay, yeah,
(30:09):
I'm good. She go, I hope. You know, no one
in the stands can do what you do And I said,
that's a fat mom, shut up. But she was like,
all right, that's all I had to say. Everybody needs
people like that in their lives. I'm a big fan
(30:31):
of the Harris family. From what I know you two.
I have something that I want to ask you guys.
You two have very different personalities, but it's been very
clear all season and long that you guys get along
really well. And Tobias. I've asked everyone that's come on
this podcast what their first impression of George was or
what you made of George before playing against him first
of this morning. Okay, well, how about you reveal what
(30:56):
that first impression was and what you've learned since becoming
George's team. And I'm really excited for the answer now,
So don't disappoint because you guys are making all sorts
of faces right now. I want to know. Okay, So
all right, all right, first thing, I can give some
back background on the story. So you know me, me,
Me and George and I'm not gonna say who else
(31:16):
on the team, but we're part of this crew called
the fat Boy Crew. Okay, now, it's a fact, well
not actually fat some mean word I heard so right,
Like so we can go like on different like just
through different spaces of life, like kind of how the
earth and gravity works. Like Monday, we may jump on
(31:40):
a scale. The thing may be up eight pounds, or
the next day we can jump on it and it
could be like down one pound. So or Tobias brings
crumba cookie on the plane. I look at it and
then I'm up five pounds. It's like I didn't eat
anything but gained weight. I'm not sure where this is going,
but I'm gonna so. Like early on my career, like
(32:00):
when we did that body fat test, I used to
hate doing the body fat test because my number would
be a little hot. Now I kind of gotta figure
it out. So I remember playing against George my rookie year,
and chubby people always jug Chubby people always judge another
chubby person. So as George was playing in the game,
(32:22):
he got in the game and I was like on
the bench, I was like, look how chubby this guy is.
I'm like, his body fat gotta be like thirty thirty,
like you know, so, And I told him that this morning,
I was like, gee, I remember playing against you and
you ran down the court and I was like, Yo,
this guy's body fat is crazy right now. But now
(32:44):
that I'm around George, we always we check each other.
Like if when he's on the plane and he's eating
a little bit, you don't need that. I was like,
you don't need that. He's like, you can only have
four pieces of checking nuts. Yeah like that. Yeah, So
we check each other and we keep each other in
chubby camp, like it's just this is where you do
like great teammates told each other count exactly, and then
(33:04):
when I bring crumble on the plane, I always tell
them like just take a half, you know what I mean.
But I saw this video from this lady. I need
to send it to George. Her name is Abraham Hicks,
and she said that the reason why me and George
(33:25):
are chubby is because that when we see food that
we like, which like if it's a box of donuts,
we're already thinking that those donuts aren't good for us.
But if we changed our vibrational frequency and we said
that these donuts are healthy and are good for us,
they would be fine for us to eat. I'm gonna
(33:45):
send you this video because it made a lot of sense.
This is what we're talking about. Try to shoot down
what he's saying. Because if somebody brought me chick flight here, right,
you bring me chick flight. You can bring a salad, right,
They have the same amount of calories. But if I've
seen a Chick fil A and I was like, I
(34:06):
was like, oh, that's not healthy for me, and I've
seen the salad, I'm like, oh that's healthy for me.
I eat it. I have a better frequency to that salad,
whereas that Chick fil energy. That makes sense though, because
some salads you put the dressing on it as the
same amount of calories. He's sometimes true. But if you
decide that fries are healthy, that doesn't mean that they're
(34:28):
not going to make Trust me, I'd eat fries every
day if I could. Well, who fries aren't healthy? Okay,
next topic, No, I'm asking for real, they're definitely not.
Why the salt in the oil and the fact that
there's no nutritional value whatsoever. I don't know. People have
different feelings on oil. I'll try to change my frequency
with fries next time I eat them, but I think
it's still not going to feel So could I look
(34:50):
at the fries and then be like, um, healthy, I
would say that it's not home, it's Oh honestly, I'm
gonna try. I'm gonna send you in the video and
you're gonna be on it. Okay, just try it an
off season. No right, no, it's better, all right, well, Tobias.
(35:10):
In the last segment of the Big Kneang Theory, Um,
we have a point where we ask you, what would
you tell your younger self if you had some advice
to give to your younger self. Can we do it
in parts? Actually that could we go high school? Yo
(35:31):
yo yo yo, yo yo yo. It'd be the same thing, really,
maybe the same thing. Relax and let it flow. And
that's why I tell myself every morning, relax and let
it flow, like let things happen. Continue to like be
who you are, and you know, um, put in like
(35:53):
as much work as you're doing, but relax and let
things flow, because things work out. Everything works out. And
you know I took about the story when I was
on the Magic and even now, like those are the
same things I tell myself because you're gonna be fine
and things are gonna work out, but just relax and
(36:14):
let things flow. The way they need to flow before
we let you go. Yes, and I like that advice.
I want to ask you about a couple of your teammates,
headlined by the headliner Joel Embiid, who was putting together
his second consecutive MVP caliber season. Yeah, you said towards
the beginning of last season that you're going to tell
(36:34):
your kids one day that Joel Embiid is the best
player you ever played with. George, that's how it feels about.
That was amazing, Thank you. So besides George, Joel Embiid
is the best player that you have ever played with
and you believe you ever will play with. First of all,
great quote. That one was a that was a SoundBite
for the ages. Here we go. But why why are
(36:54):
you so sure? What makes him so special? Because a
lot of people around this time of year have a
lot of opinions on why he is or isn't the MVP,
but not that many people have seen it up close
and personal the way that you have over the last
few years. So what makes him that to you? Well, first,
I hope he wins the MVP. I just think he
like he's put you know enough by work together, deserves Yeah,
(37:17):
he deserves it. He does. Um yeah, you look at
like his start of his career, the injuries, Um, he
just got so much better. Like from the time that
I've been here, Um, my first guy traded. You know,
his confidence has always been very high. But he's smart
(37:40):
like basketball player, Like yeah, he's always you know, he
always watched MBA like like little things in gangs. Like
he has like coaching smartness, right, Um, and he knows
like all stats of like players of like you'll say
something like, oh yeah, I like it, Like it's crazy.
He shoots forty percent and like I'll go on Basketball
(38:01):
Reference and like like he does shoot. He also remembers
every play that he's ever played in or watched, and
he remembers who was where and who was guarding him.
It's really interesting to hear him recount stuff that's happened
to him like that to me is fascinating. Sorry continue, Yeah,
But so I think like his scoring dominance. We were
(38:23):
talking on the bench esterday where he shoots till three
were like three seconds on shot clock and then makes it.
I was like, it's not the greatest shot, but they
always go in something like this is a great shot.
But like the things that that he does on four
as a as a big man, like the dominance. I mean,
(38:47):
I believe he's MVP, and I would say if he
doesn't get that, you know, I hope he does get it.
But offensively, I would say he's one and two most
gifted like offensive players in our game right now. And
he's worked at that because you know, when Joel first
(39:08):
came in, like I played against your own college, he
was like super skilled, back to the basket. But as
you know in the NBA, like you're back to basket,
you're getting double team, they're not letting. So now he's
expanded his game to be able to dribble, to be
able to shoot a mid range shot, as like you
can't drop a play that's as efficient as Joel shooting
that mid range picking pop or off the dribble. And
now he's shooting threes, and then he's getting down hill
(39:29):
driving to him, and now he's improved like passing. It's
and I think when it comes down to the MVP voting,
people have to take into account what he was doing
from day one and at the beginning of our season,
like his body of work. It's not just like the
last two months, like his body of work, you know,
when we didn't know who was going to be on
our roster, you know, in that whole situation, and he
(39:51):
was still leading us to victories. It was impressive. Like
the fact that this guy had us in you know,
the top four in the East and we're missing thirty
five million dollar on our salary caps Like holy smokes,
Like this guy is is doing. Not to say that,
nobody else on the team gets credit, but Joel was
leading us, and I think that's why he's MVP. But
(40:14):
I won't speak on it anymore because the cream always
rises to the top. Is that what they saying? Yeah?
If I hope he gets it? Um, Yeah, honestly, I
hope he gets both of them. By both, I mean
MVP mb by this season, MVP of the championship, you
(40:35):
feel me. Yeah. With that being said, we got we
got our work cut out, so we need to get
to work. But Tobias, thank you. I was gonna say,
he seems comfortable. I gotta go. George, thank you for
coming on the big Niang theory. We really appreciate it,
all right. I appreciate his long overdue I gave you
(40:57):
my word earlier in the year and we got it done.
So this was great. Thank you guys, Tobias Harrison, man
of his word, We appreciate you. You gotta say my
word is Bond. Thanks right, Yeah, we know
Welcome to the Big Niang Theory. Let me ask one question.
Is my podcast Joel is a card shark. Danny gets
swindled fashions. I just like stuff that looks greatness, just
reads greatness, and the outfit right in Welcome back everybody
to the Big Niang Theory. We had a superb guest today,
(00:22):
m Tobias Harris. I've had a close relationship with Tobias,
you know, since I've gotten to Philly, and today was great.
I mean, he got to open up about you know,
his time here in Philly, his family, his journey, how
his mind operates, you know, even funny topics about food
(00:44):
and his thoughts about me. And but I think the
coolest thing was, you know, Tobias impacts a lot of people,
and he does it, you know, with a clean heart.
And I think, you know, this episode, people are really
going to get in and get to see who Tobias
is as a person. And I think that's going to
make a lot of people love the guy that he is.
(01:07):
And he's super special to us, super special to me,
super special to the people in his life. And I'm
really excited for the for the podcast world to hear
this episode. He mentioned it in the conversation, but he
said that he doesn't do a lot of content. He
doesn't do a lot of pr stuff, even though from
where I'm sitting I think he should because of all
(01:28):
the good that he does in the world. I wish
he would talk about it more, but I think that
that makes it even more meaningful when he is willing
to talk about it, when he is willing to open up.
There are a few people in the world that I
admire more than Tobias Harris. He is in my mount
rushmore I think of people that I've worked with. So
I'm very excited for him to share and show everybody
why this is an awesome episode. So, without further ado,
(01:51):
here's Tobias. Let's do it. Yeah, Welcome everybody to the
Big Niang Theory. I'm George Niang with my co host
Lauren Rosen, and today we have a very special guest.
It was kind of last minute, but I appreciate his
(02:11):
assertiveness of coming up to me and getting it done.
We have Tobias Harris in the building. Thanks for joining us. Tobias,
happy to be here. You know, I've never really said
this to Tobias, but you know, growing up kind of
in the same area. Tobias was a little bit older
than me, and uh, you know, I did look up
to you when I was in high school, you know,
(02:33):
when you played in the au. This is the last
time I'll ever bring it up because that's embarrassing. But
that's not growing up in Boston and Tobias being from
New York or Connecticut, No kidding, New York. You know,
obviously he was highly touted. He's had a he's had
a crazy journey. But I think being I'm a New
(02:55):
England kid or Northeast kids, how do you feel being
close to home? Because this is my first season playing
close to home, and it's kind of like the best
of both worlds. Like my mom came and stayed with
me for ten days, which was exciting and thrilling. But
you're like right up the street. So if you enjoyed that,
it's three years. It's been like three years, right, yeah, no,
So that's that's been cool. I mean, you know, coming
(03:19):
from where was I was in LA before. So, um,
my my dad and my mom were really my dad
if he can come to every game, he'll come to
every game. My mom she's like, I'll watch you from
the TV screaming like I don't need to be up
in the stands with him screaming. And sometimes my mom
(03:40):
she'd be getting a little like when you know, in
the arena, she'll bark back a little bit when people
say that, so she'll bark back. So she would be like,
I'll see where you want. You know, I don't want
to be. Uh, I don't want to getting no arguments
in us. I'm gonna stay at the house and whatnot.
But for them to have the lissessibit be two hours
(04:01):
thirty minutes away to come to games, that's awesome, and
then met vice versa as well, to be able to
go back from time to time. Uh. And then just
growing up like growing up in Long Island, obviously I
was being able to watch the Knicks like as a kid,
obviously I was a huge Ellen Iverson fan um in
(04:21):
his days as a sixer, so being able to see
him play, and then you know, now playing for this organization,
it's uh, you know, it's awesome. Yeah, And you're like,
I wouldn't say surprisingly, but you are like super close
with your family and that's not and you have a
big family too, so that's not always often like I
forget like your sister had like her senior night in
(04:44):
tobis like yo, I'm going I was like, shoot, you're
better than me. I would be trying to get and
as to sleep. But no, like speak on that. Like
in your and your dad. I see your dad even
like how you close you guys are when he sits there.
There was one time like it was like an image.
You were in the corner and he was in like courtside,
and before you could even like finish your shot, he's
like holding his father. I thought that was funny. But
(05:07):
that's that's very I wouldn't say rare, but it's isn't
the most common thing that you have big families that
are just so close to each other. Talk about how
you guys are so close. I mean I've played against
your brother a couple of times hoop and is is
in the Harris DNA, that's for sure. Yeah, I mean
that's where it all started. I think that's where like
the closeness of the family began. Like there's six of us, right,
(05:31):
so it's a big family. To say the least. Shout
out to my mom, who like who raised us, and
you know that's a powerful woman. There just being able
to do whatever it took to see us be successful.
And then my father, you know who as a kid,
that was my coach, right and I couldn't stand him
(05:51):
as a coach because he was so hard on me.
But at the end of the day, like, now that's
my agent, so now he took over representing me. I
want to say that was my third year in the NBA.
Ryan we were able to do two two big great deals.
So it just like shows like our family, it was
a connective union. My older sister, she was the first
(06:12):
one to get a Division one scholarship to go to
play at Delaware. My older brother was actually the first
one to get He didn't get a basketball scholarship, but
academically he got scholarship, so he went to University of Maryland.
So like seeing him come up and he's a lot
older than me as well, but seeing him come up
(06:34):
go to college, maybe like think like, oh, I can
go to college, you know what I'm saying. And then
my sister getting a basketball scholarship goes to college. You know,
my younger brother Tyler, who plays as well overseas my
younger brother Terry, who plays who played in the G League.
But now Terry like shifted focus, shifted his focus and
(06:55):
does real estate, and you know he was very successful,
super successful out you know. Noah, So I think it's
just And then my young sister Tory played at Saint Bonaventure.
Was like to see her have a senior night. You know,
I wanted to go there and be a part of it,
and at the same time made me feel like like wow,
(07:15):
like my little sister, this is the last college game,
you know what I mean. So it's just that connectiveness.
But it all was groomed by competitiveness. It was always
fights in the house on basketball. Can you imagine that. Yeah,
it was always like me to see a tyler and
(07:36):
like it was just argued festive, like one on one
and like my want would be like I wish you
guys would argue this much about you're great, like you know.
So it's like that type of thing. So that's how
we always got as close as we are to this day.
How much do you think that growing up in that environment.
So to just give a little bit of color about
where you stand among your teammates, We've had five episodes
(07:58):
now this will be the sixth, and I think in
all of them, if not almost all of them. You've
been credited as the leader of the team on the court,
off the court communicatively. How much do you think growing
up with all those siblings prepared you to take on
that role that you hold within this team? Well, yeah,
prepare a whole lot really, because I think when it
(08:19):
starts as like I was always trying to win the
battle of like being the best player in the family
right basketball wise, So like up until like age thirteen,
I was always humbled by my sister. So then like
when I finally beat her, you start popping off like yeah,
like I'm the man, like you know what I mean. So,
(08:40):
but I always had to level out kind of the
the quote unquote like egos of like keeping you know,
I had to show like you know, I was a
mcdonald'sall American talk to Arren Crupe. But I had to
show like I didn't get there because of just waking
up and being able to dunk and run like Duncan run.
(09:01):
Like no, I had to really work extremely hard, Like
I was up every morning six o'clock running around the neighborhood.
Then going to school, I used to have eight to
ninth period off working out during school, then going to practice,
then after practice working out again. So like it was
just basically me representing what I'm trying to get across, like,
(09:24):
and that's to make it to the NBA. So I
wanted my other brothers and sisters to see that as
well and for that to groom them. So I think
that the whole family atmosphere, being competitive, being a hard
worker has allowed me to have insight on being able
to be around a team. Especially in the league. A
lot of young guys come in each and every year,
so just being able to sow that seed into them
(09:46):
as well is huge. George, how would you describe Tobias's
purpose on this team outside of what he does on
the court. You know, I think Tobias, you know, we're
actually talking about this on the bus yesterday, Like he
has a good he can get a good read on
every person that he has enough time around and can
take a good pulse on you know, what they like,
(10:07):
what kind of doesn't you know, really flow with them
and kind of be able to connect. He's like a connector.
I think that's something in professional sports that is so undervalued,
when you have someone that is able to connect groups
or clicks of people because everybody knows it's like not
everybody gets along, but Tobias can kind of flow and
go within and have a special relationship with everybody. But
(10:29):
also he can you know, read the room and when
it's you know, not time to crack a joke or
say something that you know is going to cause controversy,
but he also can say it in a way that
opens up dialogue that helps you connect as a team.
And as I'm sitting here listening to your stories about
like your sisters and stuff like that, it just brings
me back because when I think of like your journey
(10:50):
in the NBA, like and you want to you know,
prove to people like yeah, I mean you were a
McDonald's All American and you're a top ten recruiter. And
some people would think like, oh, like that's easy to
get to the NBA. You're a top ten recruit, Like
you just have to have a solid freshman year and
like you're good. And but like you went to Milwaukee,
like if nothing was easy there, you struggled there. You
(11:12):
went to Orlando when you finally cut your niche there
you were traded and then you know, you finally sent
home in Detroit, you're traded in to LA and then
from LA you come to Philly, and like the best
thing that like I realize about you is that you
don't let any of that stuff within the business rob
you of your happiness. And the funny part is people
will to bias this, to bias Tess, but like the
(11:33):
production is like still the same, And I sit back
in my room and I'm like baffled because I'm like,
how does someone go through all that but still stay
steady and the production just stays the same. So like
what goes through your head for you to go through that,
it's ten plus years right to continue to just be
like I want to wake up and continue to grind
and make this the best and continue to produce. Because
(11:55):
at some point some people are like, all right, enough
is enough. I've been traded, you know four times, Like
when is it gonna be like where I can just
relax and be complacent. But then again, like your your
life has never been anything with complacency. Yeah, no, it's
it's uh, It's true, I think, like honestly, and sometimes
(12:16):
people don't like hearing other people say this, but I
love my life, like I legit love my life. I
love waking up being playing in the NBA. That's number one.
I love that. I love being able to come on
on a bus in the morning and y'all are like
half sleep and I'm maybe like scream and wake up,
love and like you know what I mean, Like I
love like people being like damn, how somebody's got so
(12:39):
much energy, you know what I'm saying, Like I like shit,
Like you know, that's why I like being around young guys,
young guys on the team like Tyrese Isaiah Batist, like
them guys give me more life because they're so new,
you know, they're so new to it. Um. But for me,
you know, I had to realize this, like through my career,
(13:00):
my journey, Like I remember one of the lowest points
in my life was I was in Orlando and I
didn't sign an extension with them, right Like I was
offered three year like thirty eight or something, and they
didn't want to go up in the number. So I
was like, dang, Like I wanted this extension so bad,
(13:20):
you know, And like I remember one of the coaches
texting me just being like just no, like this is
just an opportunity for a greater blessing for you, right,
And I always think about that moment because we had
played a preseason game, we had played the Rockets, and
I remember after the game, I was like vividly in
my room by myself, just so upset because I didn't
(13:43):
know where my future was going, you know. But that
message really like uplifted me to know that things are
always gonna work out. And I think, like, once, like
I got past that moment the next season, ended up
signing a four year deal with the Magic. But once
I got passed that moment, I always think back to
(14:03):
that moment, like think about where you are, where you were,
and like where you're at now, right, like, and this
is just a thing of life, like things do work
itself out and everything. So I try not to, you know,
get sucked into all all like the noise on the
outside of what's going on, and just stay level because
at the end of the day, I'm playing this game
(14:25):
that I love. I got a beautiful family, beautiful friends, teammates.
Everything around me in my life is flowing in a
in a positive direction. So I'm just like, man, like,
I can't I can't be I can't really be upset
for too long. And I think another great thing, like
with with everything that you have that's great going on
the court. I remember to buys telling someone they're like,
(14:47):
you know, one thing you guys will have for me
as a teammate is if you call me in twenty
five years and ask for some advice, I will pick
up the phone. And that's another But that's another attribute
that like people don't understand. It's like, yeah, we're really
close and you know, we trapped probably two hundred and
twenty days out of the year, but that doesn't mean
that when I get traded to another team or go
(15:07):
to another team, like people are still going to pick
up my phone calls. And I think the best part
that you do is you're active on the court. Obviously
you've had a tremendously decorated, you know, career, But off
the court, I think, I don't want to say it'd
be surprising to some people, but like a lot of
people don't give athletes respect like off the court, and
you're very involved in every community that you've been into.
(15:28):
You're very involved in business opportunities. But also I think
the best attribute is even when I have questions about
business experiences, Tobias is willing to sit down and actually
have like in depth, intelligent like conversations and advice and
talk about experiences that he's had where he's like, WHOA,
don't do that, or yeah I've tried that and this works,
(15:49):
or yo, I found this. I found this out, Like
you should try this now? Has that always been or
when in your NBA career or maybe who has helped
you see that light or tap into that or is
that just you being competitive and be like you know,
all right, I'm good on the court, like I'm gonna
take care of now. I want to you know, see
if I can take this to a whole new level. Yeah.
(16:10):
That was like one day I sat down, I said
to myself, I said, well, like, what's your what's your
goals outside of basketball? Right, because you can only play
for so long. And like a couple of people, like
a couple of friends of mine, actually they'd be like, man,
you gotta do more media stuff or more pr and
I'd be like why and they're like, because you want
(16:32):
to get your name out there more like people didn't
know this and that, like you gotta build these things
up for your legacy. And I was like legacy, man, Like,
like legacy is about like you get a championship and
you enjoy what you do. I said, if you're lucky
enough to get a championship, then you know, more power
(16:53):
to you, right, And so like I sat back and
I said, because I think, like, as athletes and NBA
play is so much for our whole life, We've been
stuck in this identity and I always wanted to figure out, right,
when basketball has done, what is going to be your identity? Right?
And like yeah, yeah, so like what like like who
(17:13):
are you going to be because you're not gonna be
you know, able to wake up every day and go
in front of twenty thousand fans and play, So like
what is going to give you that time consuming thing
at the same time that you enjoy to do, right?
And that's why I like, you know, let me figure
out ways exactly, yeah, like like like what could it be?
(17:36):
And then you know, I started figuring out like what's
important to me? And that's that. The first thing was
the youth, Like our youth and being able to give
back to them education is important to me. Right. So
then my next step was like, you know, a huge
goal of mind while I'm done playing, you know, hopefully
that's years from now is to have a school, you know.
(17:57):
So you know, I started doing things, and um, I
talked to a lot of people, you know, a lot
of wealthy people as well to figure out like what
what do they do. I'm always trying to gain an
advantage of knowledge to just to just see. And a
buddy of mine told me, he said, do one thing
every year that sparks your interests, right, like investing wise,
(18:17):
you know. So I got into crypto and then I
just did the research and I started reaching out to
people in the space like that's bigger in the crypto,
like hey, let's connect, let's talk. So then, you know,
once I started doing that and reaching out and learning,
that was when I was like, you know what, I
got to share this knowledge. But I'm also a person,
is I'm not going to share knowledge, especially with y'all
(18:40):
like his teammates, if it ain't hit back for me,
Like I'm not about to tell you, hey, we should
do this coin, but I don't know about it yet,
Like I'm gonna make sure it's working and then we
right exactly. So so like that's that's kind of how
I looked at it. All those things are just knowledge,
but they don't. I never let all that stuff take
(19:01):
away from my day job, but I also don't let
my day job over some around we went emotions to
not do things that I think are fun. I want
to do That is so well put right there. You
guys have both touched on it, but I'd like to
go a little deeper. Tobias is unlike other players in
(19:23):
that you continue every year to not just invest in
Philadelphia communities. We've talked about literacy, but you're doing that
in every community you've ever played in. Correct, the community
you grew up in Haiti where else Africa as well,
So we did a little project out there with basically
like solar panel like eyebook so the kids can I
(19:46):
have access to literacy and reading. So yeah, there's a
lot of different communities, like at some point, I would
love to touch everywhere. You know, but that that's always
been a thing for me, and I'm I'm also I
know when dealing with corporations and business, a lot of
stuff is always like a PR thing, and I always
(20:07):
say as I don't I don't want any PR All
I want is to do it to basically a lot
of kids to know that someone cares about them. And
someone's pushing this to them, and I do like them
to know that I'm doing it because, like you know,
they as as an athlete, as NBA player, they look
up to you as a role model. And you know,
the first thing when you see NBA players, you don't
(20:29):
think books, So it's added motivation for them at times
and think reading books sports. Like even he does it
like that, Yeah, you know what I mean exactly, but
like outside that, like I always say, I just I
love doing those things because I know, at the end
of the day, I don't do it for me. I
do it for the ones that are involved, and I
(20:51):
know that it's impactful. And I always always felt that
if I go onto something, it's got to be with
a clean heart, and that's how I try to do it.
I think it's interesting that you continue though, Like George
and I have both talked on this podcast about being
emotional and reacting with emotion in different situations. We share
that in common, and I think you've started this conversation
by talking about getting traded or being in some way
(21:13):
wronged by different communities, right, but then still choosing to
invest in those same communities to be able to separate
what the breakup with the team or the city was like,
but continue to invest in kids in youth and people
that bought your jersey while you were there. Not everybody
does that. I think that's really special. But but that's
when you described like you're like, oh, wise to bias,
like a good leader, like we just gave you three
(21:34):
minutes on because like like you said, it's like I'm
going in with a clean heart. It doesn't matter if
it didn't work out or for what reason. My job
on this earth, you know, whatever. People feel like their
impact is and tobiases is to impact other people, and
he's not doing it in a way that look at me,
look at me. It's more or less? How can I
make things better? Like when you talk about kids in Africa,
(21:56):
like given those books to be able to He's given
them the greatest tool in the world. Knowledge is power money.
Someone can take money from you once you have knowledge,
like nobody can take that from you. And I think
the fact that you see that and you don't let
like you said, the emotions of your day job, but
(22:16):
you still keep the main thing, the main thing, which
is basketball, you know, but don't let the emotion and
the highs and lows of that take away from you
affecting so many other people. I mean that that's what
a leader is. And you know and I don't want
to be over the top because I'm not over the
top of like, oh I love to buy like but
that's but that's like, that's what I'm here for. Yeah, seriously,
(22:37):
So you can do that after. But that's like what
a leader does. And that's why when people ask who's
your leader on the team, like all of us have
said on here, Tobias because he doesn't ask for the credit.
He shows up every day and is the same him, like,
and that's what you enjoy being around something that's going
to be the same energy, the same person, and he's
looking to impact people constantly. It's true we had to
(22:58):
wait six months to get him to come on here
and about himself on this podcast. Yeah, now I think
it's it's one of those things too. It's like sports
or sports and people have a lot of emotions in them.
But you know, everything goes, everything connects with with each other, right,
Like the better the Sixers do, the better in my opinion,
(23:23):
Philadelphia economy does. Right, Like if you own a sports
bar and your team is sucky. Nobody's coming to your
sports bar to watch games, right, I was, Si, I
was legitimately thinking about this other day. I was like,
I wonder if Joel and B goes into a sports bar,
Like he wouldn't do it because he's not leaving his house,
but like if he goes, if I own a sports bar,
(23:44):
he comes to my sports bar, he could eat there
free forever, right because all the business you to my
sports bar. Right. But like it just these things go
hand in hand, where like you know, and I think
that's why sports is so is now in today's age,
is so popular because it does build like the hype
around the city. People love to support good, good teams, right,
(24:07):
So it's just one of those things I remember, like
somebody hit me up on Instagram. It's like get out
of Philly, and like I wanted to be, like I
impact more people in Philly than you do. And that's
outside of basketball. Like but like it's just one of
those things that's like I personally know inside like wherever
I'm at, I am going to do what I do
(24:28):
on the basketball court. But outside of the basketball court,
I know, at the end of the day, I am
going to help some of our youth grow up to
be their best selves, you know, and that's how I
live my life of wherever I'm at in an NBA city.
I want to know more about your relationship with Philly
because you brought it up. You started this conversation by saying,
we can ask you anything, and you and Philadelphia have
(24:51):
been on a journey for sure. What have you enjoyed
most about it? What have you learned about yourself while
on that journey? I think the biggest thing that he
says when this in this whole journey, is what I've
learned about myself, right And I think that from the
day that I got here, the expectations from the team,
(25:13):
from everything that's going on, from signing a five year deal,
you know, it has been a journey. I think for me,
nothing ever is gonna go exactly how you plan it, right, um,
From being booed like in the middle of the season
early on, like you know, it's it's those things that
(25:36):
just honestly, it has just been a check to my
own ego of being able to say, uh, personally, you
need to take a step back and understand like what
you want out of all this, and then to really
figure out like now, why why does that make you
(25:57):
so upset? Right? And I think like for me, it's
more so been alone, like I'm a prideful person, like
I have expectations for myself, my game, how I want
to play, how successful I want to be for the group,
like how much I want to win and yea, at
times you do feel like from a base of fans
(26:23):
it's kind of misconfused at times, in my opinion, But
I understand where like some fans don't watch basketball games
like they just watch stats like and that's okay. And
I think for me personally, it's just understanding like I
have to be comfortable with myself, with my game and
(26:43):
with my team and teammates. And once I came to
grips with that, and came to grips with the situation
of where we were and where we're in, I've been
able to just free flow and play how I normally,
how I want to play, right, And that it took
some time to really like have a realization with so
I think it's it's all. It was all, It's all
(27:06):
been a learning process and will forever be a learning
process and true be told, like I looked at every
moment like when when the fans were boring me in arena,
like I was coming to the bench and like everybody's
like yo, like like I mean, we're not on this video,
but everybody's eyes are like yo. Like I remember something
like damn, T that's crazy, and I'm like I'm like damn.
(27:31):
But like when I got back on the floor, I
was like, I literally said to myself, I said, in
my mind's like, you should shoot whenever you get the ball,
Like you shouldn't worry about if they boo if you miss,
Like you should just use this as an opportunity to
mentally get yourself ready for whatever's to come in the
playoffs in the championship, Like you should use this opportunity.
(27:55):
And I was like, you know what, I'll do that,
like because at this point they're booing, so they can
only keep going or start clapping like one or the other.
So I was just like, I'm gonna use this opportunity,
and I leg did it. It happened like another game
out that I was a little quieter, but the same thing.
I was like, just use this opportunity, like figure out
a way to make it a game they credit to
(28:17):
you though, because I don't know how if I would
be able to react in real time and figure out
what the lesson is going to be if people are
coming after me, A lot of people would crawl into
their shell, like when a turtle's under attack and they
bring themselves under their shell. That's what I do. I
don't know how you handle it, but immediately figuring out
what the lesson is and how to learn it as
quickly as possible. Not everybody can do that, and I
think that's really cool, right, No, And I think the
(28:40):
time on that, like you know, to be like, hey,
you know, it is what it is, and I can
only control what I can control. But I think the
biggest thing that fans need to realize is like if
they don't think that US players and them are aligned,
Like we both want the same thing. We want a championship,
just like you guys want a championship. Because I missed
that shot out there, not doing it on purpose, trust me,
(29:02):
I want that ball to go in and I don't
want the guy to score on me. Like we're all
like we all want the same things. And I think
for you, the best parting that you said was like
you had to check your ego right, you know, I
had to be like, you know what, they want, you know,
me to play better. I want me to play better
for sure, and I'm gonna go out there and give
him my all. And you know, I mean, I think
(29:24):
I think with you as people, people don't understand is
you put in so much work and time and effort
into your craft that at the end of the day,
you were like, I can just flow because knowing that
I put this much time and effort in my craft,
like there's no possible way I could lose, not like
no chance. And then ever since that had happened with
them booing and stuff like that, like defensive assignment, it's
like scoring, everything has just gone. And it's like it
(29:47):
wasn't like all right, it's how it's Tobias gonna be
a day. It's more like we know we're gonna get
from Tobias and the rest is just flowing. And that's
that's a credit to you, because, as we know, in
this professional business, checking your ego is it's something that
isn't the easiest. And my mom brought a good point.
It was like the next day she called me, she said, Okay, yeah,
(30:09):
I'm good. She go, I hope. You know, no one
in the stands can do what you do And I said,
that's a fat mom, shut up. But she was like,
all right, that's all I had to say. Everybody needs
people like that in their lives. I'm a big fan
(30:31):
of the Harris family. From what I know you two.
I have something that I want to ask you guys.
You two have very different personalities, but it's been very
clear all season and long that you guys get along
really well. And Tobias. I've asked everyone that's come on
this podcast what their first impression of George was or
what you made of George before playing against him first
of this morning. Okay, well, how about you reveal what
(30:56):
that first impression was and what you've learned since becoming
George's team. And I'm really excited for the answer now,
So don't disappoint because you guys are making all sorts
of faces right now. I want to know. Okay, So
all right, all right, first thing, I can give some
back background on the story. So you know me, me,
Me and George and I'm not gonna say who else
(31:16):
on the team, but we're part of this crew called
the fat Boy Crew. Okay, now, it's a fact, well
not actually fat some mean word I heard so right,
Like so we can go like on different like just
through different spaces of life, like kind of how the
earth and gravity works. Like Monday, we may jump on
(31:40):
a scale. The thing may be up eight pounds, or
the next day we can jump on it and it
could be like down one pound. So or Tobias brings
crumba cookie on the plane. I look at it and
then I'm up five pounds. It's like I didn't eat
anything but gained weight. I'm not sure where this is going,
but I'm gonna so. Like early on my career, like
(32:00):
when we did that body fat test, I used to
hate doing the body fat test because my number would
be a little hot. Now I kind of gotta figure
it out. So I remember playing against George my rookie year,
and chubby people always jug Chubby people always judge another
chubby person. So as George was playing in the game,
(32:22):
he got in the game and I was like on
the bench, I was like, look how chubby this guy is.
I'm like, his body fat gotta be like thirty thirty,
like you know, so, And I told him that this morning,
I was like, gee, I remember playing against you and
you ran down the court and I was like, Yo,
this guy's body fat is crazy right now. But now
(32:44):
that I'm around George, we always we check each other.
Like if when he's on the plane and he's eating
a little bit, you don't need that. I was like,
you don't need that. He's like, you can only have
four pieces of checking nuts. Yeah like that. Yeah, So
we check each other and we keep each other in
chubby camp, like it's just this is where you do
like great teammates told each other count exactly, and then
(33:04):
when I bring crumble on the plane, I always tell
them like just take a half, you know what I mean.
But I saw this video from this lady. I need
to send it to George. Her name is Abraham Hicks,
and she said that the reason why me and George
(33:25):
are chubby is because that when we see food that
we like, which like if it's a box of donuts,
we're already thinking that those donuts aren't good for us.
But if we changed our vibrational frequency and we said
that these donuts are healthy and are good for us,
they would be fine for us to eat. I'm gonna
(33:45):
send you this video because it made a lot of sense.
This is what we're talking about. Try to shoot down
what he's saying. Because if somebody brought me chick flight here, right,
you bring me chick flight. You can bring a salad, right,
They have the same amount of calories. But if I've
seen a Chick fil A and I was like, I
(34:06):
was like, oh, that's not healthy for me, and I've
seen the salad, I'm like, oh that's healthy for me.
I eat it. I have a better frequency to that salad,
whereas that Chick fil energy. That makes sense though, because
some salads you put the dressing on it as the
same amount of calories. He's sometimes true. But if you
decide that fries are healthy, that doesn't mean that they're
(34:28):
not going to make Trust me, I'd eat fries every
day if I could. Well, who fries aren't healthy? Okay,
next topic, No, I'm asking for real, they're definitely not.
Why the salt in the oil and the fact that
there's no nutritional value whatsoever. I don't know. People have
different feelings on oil. I'll try to change my frequency
with fries next time I eat them, but I think
it's still not going to feel So could I look
(34:50):
at the fries and then be like, um, healthy, I
would say that it's not home, it's Oh honestly, I'm
gonna try. I'm gonna send you in the video and
you're gonna be on it. Okay, just try it an
off season. No right, no, it's better, all right, well, Tobias.
(35:10):
In the last segment of the Big Kneang Theory, Um,
we have a point where we ask you, what would
you tell your younger self if you had some advice
to give to your younger self. Can we do it
in parts? Actually that could we go high school? Yo
(35:31):
yo yo yo, yo yo yo. It'd be the same thing, really,
maybe the same thing. Relax and let it flow. And
that's why I tell myself every morning, relax and let
it flow, like let things happen. Continue to like be
who you are, and you know, um, put in like
(35:53):
as much work as you're doing, but relax and let
things flow, because things work out. Everything works out. And
you know I took about the story when I was
on the Magic and even now, like those are the
same things I tell myself because you're gonna be fine
and things are gonna work out, but just relax and
(36:14):
let things flow. The way they need to flow before
we let you go. Yes, and I like that advice.
I want to ask you about a couple of your teammates,
headlined by the headliner Joel Embiid, who was putting together
his second consecutive MVP caliber season. Yeah, you said towards
the beginning of last season that you're going to tell
(36:34):
your kids one day that Joel Embiid is the best
player you ever played with. George, that's how it feels about.
That was amazing, Thank you. So besides George, Joel Embiid
is the best player that you have ever played with
and you believe you ever will play with. First of all,
great quote. That one was a that was a SoundBite
for the ages. Here we go. But why why are
(36:54):
you so sure? What makes him so special? Because a
lot of people around this time of year have a
lot of opinions on why he is or isn't the MVP,
but not that many people have seen it up close
and personal the way that you have over the last
few years. So what makes him that to you? Well, first,
I hope he wins the MVP. I just think he
like he's put you know enough by work together, deserves Yeah,
(37:17):
he deserves it. He does. Um yeah, you look at
like his start of his career, the injuries, Um, he
just got so much better. Like from the time that
I've been here, Um, my first guy traded. You know,
his confidence has always been very high. But he's smart
(37:40):
like basketball player, Like yeah, he's always you know, he
always watched MBA like like little things in gangs. Like
he has like coaching smartness, right, Um, and he knows
like all stats of like players of like you'll say
something like, oh yeah, I like it, Like it's crazy.
He shoots forty percent and like I'll go on Basketball
(38:01):
Reference and like like he does shoot. He also remembers
every play that he's ever played in or watched, and
he remembers who was where and who was guarding him.
It's really interesting to hear him recount stuff that's happened
to him like that to me is fascinating. Sorry continue, Yeah,
But so I think like his scoring dominance. We were
(38:23):
talking on the bench esterday where he shoots till three
were like three seconds on shot clock and then makes it.
I was like, it's not the greatest shot, but they
always go in something like this is a great shot.
But like the things that that he does on four
as a as a big man, like the dominance. I mean,
(38:47):
I believe he's MVP, and I would say if he
doesn't get that, you know, I hope he does get it.
But offensively, I would say he's one and two most
gifted like offensive players in our game right now. And
he's worked at that because you know, when Joel first
(39:08):
came in, like I played against your own college, he
was like super skilled, back to the basket. But as
you know in the NBA, like you're back to basket,
you're getting double team, they're not letting. So now he's
expanded his game to be able to dribble, to be
able to shoot a mid range shot, as like you
can't drop a play that's as efficient as Joel shooting
that mid range picking pop or off the dribble. And
now he's shooting threes, and then he's getting down hill
(39:29):
driving to him, and now he's improved like passing. It's
and I think when it comes down to the MVP voting,
people have to take into account what he was doing
from day one and at the beginning of our season,
like his body of work. It's not just like the
last two months, like his body of work, you know,
when we didn't know who was going to be on
our roster, you know, in that whole situation, and he
(39:51):
was still leading us to victories. It was impressive. Like
the fact that this guy had us in you know,
the top four in the East and we're missing thirty
five million dollar on our salary caps Like holy smokes,
Like this guy is is doing. Not to say that,
nobody else on the team gets credit, but Joel was
leading us, and I think that's why he's MVP. But
(40:14):
I won't speak on it anymore because the cream always
rises to the top. Is that what they saying? Yeah?
If I hope he gets it? Um, Yeah, honestly, I
hope he gets both of them. By both, I mean
MVP mb by this season, MVP of the championship, you
(40:35):
feel me. Yeah. With that being said, we got we
got our work cut out, so we need to get
to work. But Tobias, thank you. I was gonna say,
he seems comfortable. I gotta go. George, thank you for
coming on the big Niang theory. We really appreciate it,
all right. I appreciate his long overdue I gave you
(40:57):
my word earlier in the year and we got it done.
So this was great. Thank you guys, Tobias Harrison, man
of his word, We appreciate you. You gotta say my
word is Bond. Thanks right, Yeah, we know
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