These are exciting days in Philadelphia basketball. After many long years of our 76ers losing more games than any of us would care to say we finally have some hope. "The Process" Its been a phrase thrown around Philadelphia for years now. But what is "The Process?" What does it mean? Will it ever end? Here is a timeline of "The Process" to date
The Process Begins
The 2012-13 NBA season was disappointing for 76ers fans. The team did not make the playoffs for the first time under coach Doug Collins, the majority of the team suffered injuries, the team finished 12 games below .500, and newly acquired star Andrew Bynum missed the entire season due to injury. At the end of the season Coach Collins resigned and GM Tony DiLeo left the organization.
The 2013/2014 Season
At the conclusion of the 2012-13 NBA Season, the third GM since 2011, Sam Hinkie, was hired. During the offseason Coach Brett Brown was hired and the 76ers selected Michael Carter-Williams in the first round of the draft. In the same draft, Hinkie made the decision to trade star Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel, who was coming off of an ACL injury during his freshman year of college. To put it lightly, the season was a disappointment for many. The 76ers finished the season with 19 wins and 63 losses. They also tied an NBA record with 26 consecutive losses. Hinkie was widely criticized for letting the team lose with the hopes of getting better picks. There was some hope however as Michael Carter-Williams was named Rookie of the Year and the 76ers received the third overall pick in the draft. With the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Sixers selected Joel Embiid and traded for draft pick Dario Šarić.
The 2014/2015 Season
While this season marked the debut of Nerlens Noel, there were not many other positive things that could be said for this season. Both Embiid and Šarić missed the season, due to injury and commitment to the Turkish Basketball League respectively. Before the season began, Thaddeus Young was traded. The team began the season by losing 17 games in a row and did not win until early December. At the trade deadline, Hinkie shocked many by trading Michael Carter-Williams for a future first round draft pick. The Sixers finished the season with the third-worst record in the league, 19-63.
The 2015/2016 Season
During this offseason, the Sixers selected Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick in the draft. It was also announced that Embiid and Šarić would both not be playing for the team during that season. The 2015-16 season began with a league-record tying 18 straight losses. This continued a losing streak from the previous season and set an American professional sports record for most consecutive losses at 28. The team hired the chairman of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo, as "Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner" and "Chairman of Basketball Operations" in December 2015. The Sixers finished the season with a league-worst 10-72 record, though not setting the NBA record for most losses. This season also marked the last one with Sam Hinkie as GM. Hinkie resigned on April 6th 2016 by sending a thirteen-page letter to the Sixers. Hinkie had been constantly criticized for "tanking" the team and stockpiling draft picks. It was later announced that Bryan Colangelo, son of Jerry Colangelo, would replace Hinkie as GM of the Sixers.
The 2016/2017 Season
The 2016-17 has so far been the most successful for the Sixers in recent years. After last season's 10-72 record, the Sixers were awarded the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. For many, there was a similar feeling to the end of "the Dark Ages" (a similar period of tanking in which the Sixers were eventually granted the first overall pick). With the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the 76ers selected Ben Simmons. It was also announced that Embiid and Šarić would make their debuts. Before the season began, Simmons broke his foot. Despite this, Embiid and the Sixers have surprised many. At the time of this article being written (2/10/17), the Sixers are at a 19-34 record and have finished multiple games in the new year in spectacular fashion. Even with Embiid's all-star snub and recent injury things are looking promising for the young team. In one month they won as many games as they did in the entire previous season. With Embiid and Simmons both supposedly returning to the court at the end of the All-Star Weekend, the sky is the limit for this young team.
While these past few seasons have been long and at times frustrating, I say that "The Process" has been worth the wait. Here is a fun YouTube video for a fake 30 for 30 (though I cannot wait for when they make a real 30 for 30).
