Dario Saric deserves discussion as champion caliber component

Dario Saric is a blue-collar player who delivers daily. Despite the spotlight on his teammates, his workhorse production is a key component to any success for the Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers power forward Dario Saric gives 100 percent day in and day out. In the 2016-2017 season, he played 81 of 82 games, and was the biggest reason for the team winning 28 games last season. This year, he’s played 68 of 69 games, improved his scoring by 2.1 points per game, improved his rebounding by .6 rebounds per game, and upped his three point shot from 31 percent to nearly 40 percent.

He’s hot on field goals, deadly accurate from the free-throw line, and tosses out assists, steals, and blocks. He is one of the most versatile players on the team. And he has earned the respect, admiration, and love of the Philadelphia 76ers fans.

Champion rosters need more than three players

So when I wrote a story about three championship caliber players on the roster, those fans politely let me know that I overlooked the guy so many overlook. And they weren’t happy about it.  And I have to admit, they are right. Dario Saric deserves to be in the discussion as a champion caliber player.  But it was never my intention to slight any player on the roster. The true purpose of the article is the vision of great things for the Philadelphia 76ers teams next season and beyond.

The 2017-2018 season already has more victories than the previous two seasons combined. And with that, this is all unexplored territory. And with overshooting the mark, there are many good reasons why discussing just how good will this team become is the right thing to do right now.  But looking ahead must also include “how did we get here?” in the narrative. Let’s fix that now.