BY BELLA MICHAELS
Photo Courtesy of Paul Reed's Instagram
From winning the NBA G League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards to signing a standard NBA contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, Paul Reed has been having quite the rookie season.
But he’s had to overcome many obstacles to achieve success as a basketball player.
Reed was drafted in the second round with the 58th overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft by the 76ers on a two-way contract, but his journey leading up to this season hasn’t been an easy one.
When fans see athletes successful on the court, they don’t see the multifaceted layers beneath the glam of the game.
“I moved around a lot when I was a kid,” Reed said. “We didn’t get a house until I was like 9 years old. Once we got the house, that’s when I started playing organized basketball.”
He didn’t make the team his sixth grade year. Once he got to seventh and eighth grade, he made the team, but he didn’t touch the court much at all. Basketball wasn’t the only thing Reed had to worry about growing up.
Despite having a father, also named Paul, who played professional basketball in Europe and an uncle, Mike Sims-Walker, who played NFL football for four seasons as a wide receiver, his family still struggled financially.
Reed’s father stopped playing pro basketball when Reed was about 4 years old. Basketball players in Europe don’t make nearly as much money as NBA players do here in the States.
Typically, players on average make between $60,000-500,000 a season in most European countries, but that’s with the higher-level leagues.
“My uncle used to take care of my grandma,” Reed said. “He helped us out a lot throughout my life and without him, I don’t know if I’d be here today.”
Sims-Walker didn’t play in the NFL until Reed was about 8 years old. But Reed is extremely thankful to him for his support through tough times.
“There was one time when we couldn’t pay the bills,” Reed said. “The lights were out, the water was out for like two weeks. That was tough, I was in high school. Just trying to go to school with all of that on your mind is tough.”
But Reed didn’t let that affect him. He stayed strong for his family.
“I wasn’t the only one going through it,” Reed said. “It happened to all of us so I didn’t want to be the dude that was complaining all the time to make the situation worse than what it already was.”
So he charged his phone and laptop at school, and he oftentimes would go to his grandma’s house to get his stuff taken care of.
Reed’s upbringing taught him from a young age that life is not easy and to not expect handouts. This mentality prepared him for his unprecedented rookie season that was plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic that shook the NBA.
The 2020 NBA Draft was held virtually after being postponed from June to November.
COVID-19 restricted teams from bringing players in to their facilities to put them through workouts, medical and performance testing. No tournaments, no in-person combines and no group workouts.
“If it wasn’t for COVID-19, we would’ve been able to do Summer League and more workouts,” Reed said. “I didn’t do any workouts and go up against anybody. I came in and had to sit out for about four days for training camp. It was a huge obstacle, but everyone in our draft class went through it. So it’s not like one person got an advantage over another, we all had to deal with it.”
When Reed arrived at the Orlando Bubble to play with the Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers G League affiliate, he put on a show.
Reed playing for the Blue Coats. Photo Courtesy of Reed's Instagram.
He averaged 22.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.93 steals and 1.8 blocks in 15 regular-season games with the Blue Coats. He shot 58.8% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.
Reed also recorded a league-high 12 double-doubles -- a category he dominated in during his reign at DePaul University.
The former Blue Demon also led the G League in rebounds per game (11.8) and offensive rebounds per game (4.6).
“It makes me feel good. I put a lot of work in,” Reed said. “What you put in, you get out. When I went down to the bubble, I looked at it as an opportunity to get better, mentally and physically.”
There were a lot of resources for the players in the bubble, but due to the pandemic, the time in the weight room was limited.
“You couldn’t be in there all the time so I had to put a lot of work in just in my room to separate myself to give myself a chance to be successful,” Reed said. “And I was reading a lot of books, just working on my overall being.”
His standout performance not only led the Blue Coats to their first playoff appearance in franchise history, but led the 76ers to convert Reed to a standard NBA contract.
Reed’s new deal is a three-year contract where he will make the league minimum over that span. The next and final two years of the contract are not guaranteed.
Usually, it’s a longshot for late draft picks to officially make an NBA roster. They typically end up stuck in a two-way contract or find themselves waived after training camp. Reed climbed his way to the top quickly.
Last month, he neared a double-double in a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, posting 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one assist in just 10 minutes off the bench.
He isn’t any ordinary rookie. He’s a rookie who’s been also virtually working on his bachelor’s degree at DePaul. He’s expected to graduate this June.
“I chose to finish my bachelor’s because I made a promise to my mom and auntie that I would get my degree,” Reed said. “And for the future when basketball is over with, I want to make sure I have options to do whatever I want to do to fall back on.”
It’s very rare to find an NBA rookie still pursuing his college degree, because once they leave college they usually choose to focus strictly on basketball, since the sport is so demanding and time-consuming at the professional level.
The process of earning a degree while hooping professionally is what distinguishes him from the other rookies.
“I go and make sure that I’m working harder than them,” Reed said. “That’s what makes me different. I see how hard other people are working, but it’s like a competition for me to outwork the next person.”
Reed is grateful to be surrounded by fun and supportive teammates.
“The vibe is cool,” Reed said. “We got a group of guys that really like each other. We all hangout and go out together. Dwight Howard is probably the funniest dude on the team. He brings up everybody’s mood with his energy.”
Oftentimes young people can let success get to their heads or distractions sway them from their end goal, but Reed is keeping himself grounded by constantly reminding himself that he’s got so much more to prove.
He didn’t face all of those hardships in life to stop here.
“I think I still got to prove myself everyday,” Reed said. “I don’t think a day goes by where I don’t have to prove myself and prove that I belong. I think that’s what this league is all about. It’s showing up everyday and showing that you belong.”