Roy Hibbert worked for the 76ers from 2019-22. But after just one season, he realized he never wanted to coach again.
On the
T’d Up with Pierre Andresen podcast, Hibbert, now a broadcaster with CBS Sports, said his year as an assistant under Brett Brown in 2019-20, Brown’s last year with the Sixers, killed his burgeoning interest in coaching post-retirement.
“I would say that was the worst experience of my life,” Hibbert said. “I was a player development associate for the 76ers, and that was Brett Brown’s year with Ben Simmons and everything like that. That was the worst year. No accountability whatsoever with that team. So I said, you know what, I don’t want to do coaching anymore after experiencing that.”
Hibbert said he didn’t want to drop any names or throw any specific players under the bus, but he also didn’t make it difficult to connect the dots.
Hibbert, a two-time NBA All-Star who played nine NBA seasons including seven with the Pacers, said that star players like Simmons would miss practice without informing the coaching staff, and young players would choose not to participate in conditioning and low-minute games, even though they were required for players who played under 18 minutes the night before.
“I remember the second-year player was just in a mood, in a funk, because he said he didn’t want to do it,” Hibbert said. “I was in my third year in the NBA, I’m telling them I played in low-minute games, helping guys get ready, and I’m starting the game. It is what it is. I wanted to learn how to become a coach, so I started at the bottom, but the people that were ahead of me were basically babying these kids and not telling them what they needed to hear. They just did what they wanted.
“I was just like, if I’m going to invest my time in this, and they don’t hold people accountable, it’s not the best for me. So that’s why I was done and started doing broadcasting. I currently work at CBS Sports and I much more enjoying talking the game than coaching.”
Hibbert spent two more seasons working for the Sixers under Brown’s replacement, Doc Rivers, before making the jump to broadcasting.
