Philadelphia 76ers: Sport Science Team Has Built up to This

The Philadelphia 76ers’ sport science team has been developing alongside the team the past few seasons, but this one is where it becomes critical.

In today’s sporting world, technology has become more important than ever. No longer are we healing things “the old fashioned way” or just “toughing it out” when it comes to getting injuries healed. Instead, medical teams are looking into new techniques and new equipment to help further their craft, and shorten turnaround time for injured players.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that is very much on the rise in this realm.

Just over a year ago, the Sixers went out and got one of the biggest names in sports medicine, David Martin. Martin came in shortly after the announcement that Joel Embiid had gone through a setback in his injury recovery, and would require surgery yet again. Clearly, Martin’s biggest task was getting Embiid ready for the season, but he also had a duty to help all of the Sixers roster and lead the medical team.

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Here is what Hinkie had to say about the hire of Martin:

"To give our players every opportunity to be healthy and remain healthy, while also allowing them to perform at their best, we have made many investments — adding staff and integrating outside experts, partnering with pioneers in sports science and technology, and adjusting our day-to-day training, practice and recovery plans… But none like David Martin. He is a scientist. He is also a coach to some of the world’s highest performing, most resilient athletes and coaches. We are delighted to add someone of his immense talents to lead and grow our efforts."

Martin is not the only person on staff. The Sixers have been building up their sport medicine team for the last several seasons, and it all leads up to this. The past few seasons, in a sense, were like a trial run for the medical team. It didn’t truly matter (as far as winning is concerned) if players were injured because the Sixers were trying to lose anyway — although, yes, it is important for players to have long careers that their injuries were properly attended to — but the team still implemented a high-tech team to help with recovering from injuries.

For instance, if a JaKarr Sampson or Hollis Thompson missed a few weeks over the last few years, it wasn’t that big of a deal. What mattered was the doctors and staff getting that practice they need with the NBA players and the technology they were using.

Injuries mattered over the last few seasons, but not as much as they do now. Now, the Sixers have the pieces that they will be moving forward with — Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid — and need to keep them as healthy as possible.

Simmons — the team’s first overall draft pick from this season — has the ceiling to be franchise-changing, but only if he stays healthy. Imagine where the Chicago Bulls would be if Derrick Rose had never gotten injured.

Embiid’s recovery is meticulous and even if he is healthy now, he needs to be closely monitored throughout the season to ensure he’s not falling back.

Saric is transitioning to the NBA and because of that may have some physical issues, since the game is played a bit differently here than it is in Europe.

Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor need to be kept healthy because the team will undoubtedly be looking to move one of them eventually, and having options on who to move is a luxury. If one of them is injured, they will be harder to make a trade with.

Also going into this season, the Sixers are getting ready to move into their new practice and training facility, which comes equipped with things such as a hydrotherapy room. This will help in injury recovery.

Additionally, the team is looking to be on top of the up-and-coming technology and businesses. The Sixers are launching an innovation lab which allows people to come in and pitch ideas for businesses in the sport science realm. If the Sixers like an idea, they may pursue purchasing the company to use it.

Next: The Diversity on the Sixers is Impressive

The sport science program has been growing over the past few years, and leading up to now. Now, it becomes even more important.

The Sport Science Team Has Been Building up to This Season

By Josh Wilson | Jul 29, 2016

The Philadelphia 76ers’ sport science team has been developing alongside the team the past few seasons, but this one is where it becomes critical.

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