The Sixer Sense
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Joel Embiid Is The Anti-Andrew Bynum

By Bret Stuter

Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) practices prior to a game against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The New York Knicks won 109-102. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) practices prior to a game against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The New York Knicks won 109-102. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Jerry Colangelo (R) is introduced as special advisor to the Philadelphia 76ers during a press conference with owner Joshua Harris (M) and general manager Sam Hinkie (L) before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Jerry Colangelo (R) is introduced as special advisor to the Philadelphia 76ers during a press conference with owner Joshua Harris (M) and general manager Sam Hinkie (L) before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Necessary Ingredients

To build something, you need blueprints. To cook something you need a recipe. To shop within a budget to ensure you do not overspend you need a shopping list.

To build a championship team, you need basketball analytics.   Analytics is a road map, a championship team checklist, which gives the basic ingredients, the amount of each ingredient, and a map of where you have gotten so far, and how far from the goal your team is.

More from The Sixer Sense

We studied the “map” of a championship team under the lens of basketball analytics.  To build a champ, you need three players of exceptional value.  But there’s another catch.  Most teams rush to find their elite player, and then scramble to build the rest of the team around that elite one.

The pragmatic example of how easy that is to do is to picture a house construction where the contractor builds the roof, sets it upon two by four supports, and then rushes like hell to build the basement under the roof.

Good luck with that.  No wonder so many teams fail in the effort.

In the Sixers new approach, the team began the simultaneous task  of building it all at once.  How did the team know when the player would suit the goal three or four years down the road?  Analytics was the team’s compass.

The team did not become emotionally attached to any player.  The team sought the components of the championship team – a player in the NBA 96th percentile, a player in the NBA 90th percentile, and a third player in the NBA 79% percentile.  Find those, and the team is set.  Find those, and you will have your championship.

But nobody lets a player of that distinction walk away from their team.  All teams want a player of that caliber.  So the two paths are simplified:  Grow that player, or obtain them before the mature into NBA All Stars

Next: The Center of Attention

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