Fans will always love somebody new and give them the confidence to help them succeed in the NBA. For Philadelphia 76ers rookie Paul Reed, he has become the new fan favorite in the City of Brotherly Love.
Ever since he was drafted, Reed has had a rallying cry of “out the mud”. It means that he is continuing to work hard and earn everything he’s ever had despite his very humble beginnings.
That rallying cry along with being very active on both ends of the floor has made him become one of the favorites to root for in Philadelphia and he definitely feels all of it.
“I think the Sixers fans are amazing,” said Reed. “They support, that’s all you ever ask for as a player. Having a fan base behind you, that’s great.”
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The rookie out of DePaul spent the entirety of the G League season with the team’s affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats and he had a terrific showing. He averaged 22.3 points 11.8 rebounds while shooting 44.4% from deep while guiding the Blue Coats to the G League championship game.
That shooting percentage is a surprising number as he is not known as much of a shooter. Blue Coats coach Connor Johnson and his staff worked well with him down in the bubble in Orlando.
“That was a conscious effort for me to improve it,” Reed explained. “Before the season, I set goals for myself. One of my goals was to shoot 45% from 3. What helped was my coach. He gave me more confidence. He was telling me to shoot the ball more. I was like I can do that. So I started shooting it more and more started going in.”
Those improvements he made in the G League along with all of the fans giving him the support have made him feel very confident about his game. Something that might not have been there at the beginning of the season.
“Let’s say my confidence was on a 5 before and now it’s on a 10 and my abilities.,” he finished with a smile.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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