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ShareO’Brien Officially Introduced as New Coach
Under the banners of the 76ers past championship teams, 76ers President and General Manger Billy King formally introduced Jim O'Brien as the new head coach at a press conference held Wednesday afternoon at the Wachovia Center.
King first met with O'Brien on March 25 in Boston to discuss the possibility of him coming to Philadelphia.
"The process continued on Monday when he came in and had a meeting with (Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager) Tony DiLeo and (Director of Player Personnel) Courtney Witte over lunch," said King. "Then he and I met with (Chairman) Ed Snider and then the process moved very quickly and that's why we're here today."
O'Brien, a Philadelphia native, is excited about this new opportunity and his new team.
"I am thrilled to be back in Philadelphia and it's a great honor to join a franchise that I've been following since I was a little boy." O'Brien said.
The former Celtics coach knows all about the pressures of coaching in this city and is looking forward to the challenge.
"I've been a fan of Philadelphia for many, many years," said O'Brien. "Obviously I wasn't a fan the last seven years, but I know what the tradition is here, I know what the expectations of the people in Philadelphia are. I know it's a tough town from a fan standpoint because I've been a fan rooting for every franchise here, and we all expect winners."
One of the many reason King feels O'Brien is right for the job is his defensive oriented style of play and the hope that O'Brien can get the Sixers back to playing successful defense.
"There are a lot of intangibles that I can talk about or can't talk about because it's just from observing him over the years when we played his teams," King said. "I admired how hard they played, how prepared they were, and I just think that he did a great job there and I felt it was the perfect fit for us."
"I think that's the way you build chemistry (by playing defense)," O'Brien said. "Because in order to play defense you have to go through pain, you have to have guys with guts and you have to have guys that will cover each other's backs. I'm not a guy that predicts things but we will play defense and we will play it at a level that is going to take a lot of hard work, and it will build a chemistry that is a strong one."
O'Brien is familiar with the Sixers having coached against them for years, including in the playoffs, and likes the look of his "new" players.
"I always liked the look in Eric Snow, Aaron McKie and Allen Iverson's eyes when we competed against them," he said. "I love competition. You know the guys in the league you want on your side and you know you the guys in the league you don't want on your side. There are three guys that I just had a feeling, they would fun to compete and be on there side."
O'Brien also said that he wanted to have an opportunity to coach Allen Iverson and is glad he has a player of that caliber on his team next season. King also put to rest persistent rumors of Iverson's departure stating, "Allen will be here next year."
The expectations O'Brien has for next season are hard work, organization and strong leadership from the veteran players.
"What I believe is every person I coach has tremendous responsibility to lead within the organization itself. I don't believe in the great man theory of leadership," said O'Brien. "That you have a coach and the leadership is going to stem from one person. I believe that the people that put on our uniform all have responsibility to share and the leadership."
"I have never had a difficulty leading people, and having people understand the expectations that I have," O'Brien said. "I'm a fairly easy person to play for. I think guys are comfortable because there a plan, there's organization and there's discipline. Players will be able to execute and it's organization that they'll appreciate."
King and the Sixers are looking forward to sitting down with O'Brien and working towards next season as soon as possible.
"We're going to sit down and talk about the personnel, things that we can do," King said. "We want to pick his brain about players he coached against, or coached and try to come up with a process."
The Sixers have yet to assemble a coaching staff for O'Brien but he did make it clear that he wants Dick Harter to be a part of the team in Philadelphia. While O'Brien does have some options in mind he must wait until King gets permission from other NBA teams, as those people are under contract.
King is confident with his new coach and has a resounding optimism about the 2004-05 season.
"I admired the job that Jim had done," King said. "I think when you go in this process you've got to have someone that's you really think is your number one choice, and I think that's what I did."
O'Brien couldn't be happier with his new team, the challenges ahead and coaching in his hometown.
"It's something that I've been thinking about since I was about eight years old to get as chance to maybe be a head coach in Philadelphia at the college or the pro level and it's come true." O'Brien said.
Ford Focus: The introduction of Jim O’Brien as head coach officially on Wednesday, April 20 meant that interim head coach Chris Ford no longer was at the helm.
76ers President and General Manager Billy King thanked Ford in his opening remarks and said that Ford would still be a part of the 76ers family.
“I’d first like to start off by saying, I’d like to thank Chris Ford and his staff and the job that they did,” King began. “It was a difficult time they stepped in, and I want to thank him for his time. I appreciate it and before you ask the question, Chris will be a part of our organization and he and I will meet later to discuss that.”
Ford was elevated from his position as assistant bench coach onFeb. 10, 2004, taking over for Randy Ayers 52 games into the season. The Villanova graduate guided the injury depleted Sixers to a 12-18 mark over the final 30 games.
King first met with O'Brien on March 25 in Boston to discuss the possibility of him coming to Philadelphia.
"The process continued on Monday when he came in and had a meeting with (Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager) Tony DiLeo and (Director of Player Personnel) Courtney Witte over lunch," said King. "Then he and I met with (Chairman) Ed Snider and then the process moved very quickly and that's why we're here today."
 Jim O'Brien and Billy King at the press conference Wed. April 21. Jesse D. Garrabrant NBE/Getty Images |
"I am thrilled to be back in Philadelphia and it's a great honor to join a franchise that I've been following since I was a little boy." O'Brien said.
The former Celtics coach knows all about the pressures of coaching in this city and is looking forward to the challenge.
"I've been a fan of Philadelphia for many, many years," said O'Brien. "Obviously I wasn't a fan the last seven years, but I know what the tradition is here, I know what the expectations of the people in Philadelphia are. I know it's a tough town from a fan standpoint because I've been a fan rooting for every franchise here, and we all expect winners."
One of the many reason King feels O'Brien is right for the job is his defensive oriented style of play and the hope that O'Brien can get the Sixers back to playing successful defense.
"There are a lot of intangibles that I can talk about or can't talk about because it's just from observing him over the years when we played his teams," King said. "I admired how hard they played, how prepared they were, and I just think that he did a great job there and I felt it was the perfect fit for us."
"I think that's the way you build chemistry (by playing defense)," O'Brien said. "Because in order to play defense you have to go through pain, you have to have guys with guts and you have to have guys that will cover each other's backs. I'm not a guy that predicts things but we will play defense and we will play it at a level that is going to take a lot of hard work, and it will build a chemistry that is a strong one."
O'Brien is familiar with the Sixers having coached against them for years, including in the playoffs, and likes the look of his "new" players.
"I always liked the look in Eric Snow, Aaron McKie and Allen Iverson's eyes when we competed against them," he said. "I love competition. You know the guys in the league you want on your side and you know you the guys in the league you don't want on your side. There are three guys that I just had a feeling, they would fun to compete and be on there side."
O'Brien also said that he wanted to have an opportunity to coach Allen Iverson and is glad he has a player of that caliber on his team next season. King also put to rest persistent rumors of Iverson's departure stating, "Allen will be here next year."
The expectations O'Brien has for next season are hard work, organization and strong leadership from the veteran players.
"What I believe is every person I coach has tremendous responsibility to lead within the organization itself. I don't believe in the great man theory of leadership," said O'Brien. "That you have a coach and the leadership is going to stem from one person. I believe that the people that put on our uniform all have responsibility to share and the leadership."
"I have never had a difficulty leading people, and having people understand the expectations that I have," O'Brien said. "I'm a fairly easy person to play for. I think guys are comfortable because there a plan, there's organization and there's discipline. Players will be able to execute and it's organization that they'll appreciate."
King and the Sixers are looking forward to sitting down with O'Brien and working towards next season as soon as possible.
"We're going to sit down and talk about the personnel, things that we can do," King said. "We want to pick his brain about players he coached against, or coached and try to come up with a process."
The Sixers have yet to assemble a coaching staff for O'Brien but he did make it clear that he wants Dick Harter to be a part of the team in Philadelphia. While O'Brien does have some options in mind he must wait until King gets permission from other NBA teams, as those people are under contract.
King is confident with his new coach and has a resounding optimism about the 2004-05 season.
"I admired the job that Jim had done," King said. "I think when you go in this process you've got to have someone that's you really think is your number one choice, and I think that's what I did."
O'Brien couldn't be happier with his new team, the challenges ahead and coaching in his hometown.
"It's something that I've been thinking about since I was about eight years old to get as chance to maybe be a head coach in Philadelphia at the college or the pro level and it's come true." O'Brien said.
Ford Focus: The introduction of Jim O’Brien as head coach officially on Wednesday, April 20 meant that interim head coach Chris Ford no longer was at the helm.
76ers President and General Manager Billy King thanked Ford in his opening remarks and said that Ford would still be a part of the 76ers family.
“I’d first like to start off by saying, I’d like to thank Chris Ford and his staff and the job that they did,” King began. “It was a difficult time they stepped in, and I want to thank him for his time. I appreciate it and before you ask the question, Chris will be a part of our organization and he and I will meet later to discuss that.”
Ford was elevated from his position as assistant bench coach onFeb. 10, 2004, taking over for Randy Ayers 52 games into the season. The Villanova graduate guided the injury depleted Sixers to a 12-18 mark over the final 30 games.
