Sixers assistants Q&A: Former G League coach Coby Karl on the value of ‘shared suffering’

During a recent conversation with Ricky Council IV, Coby Karl’s message was simple.

“I know,” Karl told Council, one of the 76ers’ two-way players. “I’ve been that player, and I’ve also been that coach.”

“That player” and “that coach” means somebody who carved out a role in the G League before getting the NBA bump. After serving as the G League-affiliate Delaware Blue Coats’ head coach the previous two seasons — including a championship in 2023 — Karl was promoted to an assistant on the Sixers’ staff following Nick Nurse’s hiring. He is taking a similar path to many of his first-year colleagues, as Nurse and fellow assistants Bryan Gates, Bobby Jackson, Rico Hines, Matt Brase, and Doug West all spent time in the G League before moving up to the NBA.

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As part of an ongoing Q&A series with the Sixers’ assistants, the 40-year-old Karl touched on the adjustment in going from a head coach to an assistant, what it’s like to help craft an offensive scheme anchored by Joel Embiid, and staying connected to the Blue Coats.

(Note: This conversation occurred last week from the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden, and is edited slightly for length and clarity.)

A: Obviously, it’s difficult at times, because it’s a bunch of guys that are trying to get to know each other and figure out how to help. But it’s been a lot of fun. I think Nick has a special way of bringing people together. The character within our group and the integrity within our group, I think, is very high. So it’s easy to work with people who love what they do, are good people, are good collaborators, and are good teammates. Obviously, this is my first experience with a bigger staff and first experience being on a new staff, but some of the results show for themselves. And the energy — I guess the vibe — I think speaks for itself.

A: He’s a doctor, right? [He has a PhD in sports leadership.] I think he’s studied it a lot. I think it’s nuanced. I think it’s unique to every individual. His style is very hands-off. He lets people be themselves, and he watches and he observes and he helps them kind of integrate themselves into the group. There is a lot of collaboration, a lot of bonding in terms of off-the-court stuff. We had some time together before the season started. We spent a lot of time together at Summer League and in meetings. And then there’s embracing difficult tasks, taking on the challenge and accepting challenge.

When you do difficult things together, I think it brings groups closer together. One of my mentors at Boise State, Leon Rice, he brought a Navy SEAL expert in. It’s kind of quirky, but the phrase he used that stuck with me was “shared suffering.” Getting acclimated to that and understanding what to expect. I think the most special thing about Nick that I’ve observed is that he is him. He’s not trying to be someone else. And I think, once you understand that about a person, it’s very easy to work with him and figure out how to help him.

A: A couple things. I’m a worker now. I’m a servant to this vision. I’m a servant to our players and I’m a teammate to our staff, so that’s been different. Being on the head, you are the recipient of a lot of people’s hard work. So just getting used to the work and what the expectations and what the responsibilities are, that was one thing. The second piece is just building relationships with our guys. Because I’ve been around, but I haven’t coached them. I haven’t shared suffering with a lot of guys that have been here. I’ve kind of been on the perimeter watching them go through it and I felt it with them, but they didn’t know me well.

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So building up those relationships, building up communication, trust, and then showing that I can help. I think those are the things that are new. As the head coach, everyone’s listening, and then I have a platform to speak more and I can integrate my concepts and my energy and my ideas. Whereas, as an assistant coach, I’m supporting the vision of this whole group. It’s been a fun challenge.

A: His resumé speaks for himself. So I think, in terms of the coaching stuff, he has everything he’ll ever need — times 10. Where I’ve tried to help is, whenever I get an opportunity and whenever he asks, is to be open to sharing my experience with him and letting him know. But the thing with him is, he knew going into it, the G League you can’t really prepare for. And that’s the hardest thing in life to prepare for: chaos, the unknown. But my family and I have gone to every game I’ve been in town that I’ve been able to, and obviously Coach Nurse and Matt and B. Gates and Toure’ [Murry, player development coach] have been to a couple. I think that’s really fun for me to experience, because I know how much I appreciated when our coaches would come down and watch us and having that support and that communication.

I was just talking to Ricky Council [last week], and with Terq [Smith] and Kenny [Lofton], it’s like, ‘I know. I’ve been that player, and I’ve also been that coach.’ So just letting them know we’re paying attention. I’ve put on three or four Blue Coats games in my house when I have an opportunity to, because I care so much about that program, those people, those players and their path. And on top of that, there’s no way I would ever be here without that program. I have so much love for what those people have done for my life.

A: The first thing that came to mind was our leadership group. Prosper [Karangwa] and Jameer [Nelson], and I think that extends to EB [Elton Brand] and Daryl [Morey] and Doc [Rivers]. That group, their support in helping me become a better coach, a better leader, understand and reflect on some things that were difficult for me. In addition to that, I think understanding the value of my support group.

I really appreciated what they did and their personal characteristics and their personal insights that they provided for me, whether it was emotional or work rate. Maybe I didn’t see them as much or I didn’t tell them as much, but they matter. Maybe my assistant coaches didn’t speak up at every coaches’ meeting. But sometimes, in a difficult, stressful environment, when they did maintain their calm when I was freaking out, how much that helped me. I think I learned about just staying ready and being present to be supportive for everyone in our group.

A: The most fun I have is communicating what I see or my experience with them to the new group, because they don’t know their journey as well as I do. I’ve shared suffering with them, and we’ve shared victories together and had some good conversations in tough times and great times. My favorite part is talking about them and kind of helping explain who they are and what they can do, and then seeing them do it on the court brings me great joy.

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Probably the most joy I have is watching Jaden go out there and play well in preseason. He’s put so much work in. He’s wanted this so bad, and then our guys are starting to see who he is. And then seeing P. Reed go out there and figure out a way to always affect the game. It just doesn’t always make sense, but that’s who P. Reed is.

A: It’s been great, because Nick is so hands-on with it. It’s his ideas. It’s his concepts. It’s really what he wants, and I just follow his lead in that aspect. And then obviously, Joel, I follow his lead. I believe our players will tell us what they need and how they want to play, and I think they’ve done a great job of embracing what Coach is about and then moving through some of the processes that we need to do to get better.

It’s been fun. I think that’s why I like coaching: I like to help our players be more successful, maybe provide something that they didn’t see before that we can organize all five people together to alleviate some of the stress of friction. I’ve been here the last couple years, and I’ve seen some of the difficulties that they’ve gone through. So I have a little bit of inside knowledge of some of the areas that they were really successful in that maybe we can utilize, and then some of the areas that they struggled with and maybe why they struggled through some of those things.

A: I was just really proud of him. What Nick has done with him, I think, is really special. Just seeing how the timing of it all works — all the leadership that Doc has provided to his growth, and then now Nick coming in and just providing a different perspective and taking that next step for him. Watching him go through that, I was just really happy.

I think he’s starting to understand what he’s capable of and how impactful he can be within a group. I see him really flourishing as a leader. I think you’ve seen him embracing his teammates and his environment and that level of guidance. He is our leader. I think he’s stepping into that and really taking that challenge with Coach’s help. It’s really fun to see him kind of take some of the concepts that coach has been asking him to do and the beliefs that Coach has, and then mixing those things together with his personality in our group — and then to see something like that happen.

A: It’s not just the players. There’s so much time and effort and sweat and pain that goes into this process, 82 games a season. Phil Jackson used to say, when I was a player, ‘You’re a gladiator.’ You literally have to figure out a way to armor up and go out there and go to battle, because it’s hard. All eyes are on you. The media’s here. The pressure of living up to expectations. Your own stuff. All that stuff is out there in a very volatile situation. I just want people to understand, even our nutritionist, our performance staff, our assistant coaches, our video coordinators, there’s so much love and work put into this process.

And then our players are putting in time in the training room. Putting in time in the weight room. Putting in extra time on days off. You get home from a road trip at 2 a.m., and they’re in the gym at 12. Even watching video and going through their own life processes off the court. We’re so passionate about our sports, because it’s awesome to compete at this level. But I think we forget how much these guys really care and how hard it is and how much time, how much sweat, how much love they put into this process. The money is one thing, but I promise you, winning and playing and competing and improving, those things mean so much more to these guys than just the salary. I think that gets lost sometimes because that number is publicized.