The Sixer Sense
Fansided

These Philadelphia 76ers Are Brothers For Life

By Bret Stuter

Jan 3, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) reacts with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and guard Nik Stauskas (11) and forward Dario Saric (9) after hitting the game winning shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 93-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) reacts with Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and guard Nik Stauskas (11) and forward Dario Saric (9) after hitting the game winning shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 93-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Philadelphia 76ers Adversity Impacted Players On Team As Intended. These Philadelphia 76ers are family, and under head coach Brett Brown, they are brothers for life

What do you do when you are reeling from a ten win season? In short, you lean. On one hand, one player sat on the bench for two years. On the other hand, another player watched from thousands of miles away. Finally, several players snuck into the NBA.  They never heard their names called on an NBA Draft night. This group of players has endured through countless occasion of misdiagnoses.

This team was a top target for prodding, trolling, and ridiculing.   After the team suffered a sound defeat on a basketball court, players knew endless scoffing waited for them on social media.  The 2015-2016 Philadelphia 76ers were best described as the band of misfit toys from the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special.

Road Warriors

In fact, when playing road games, they were targeted by rowdy fans, provoked into positions that would push even the most patient of us to the breaking point.  Through it all, they could only rely upon one another. The family theme runs frequently in the discussions involving the Philadelphia 76ers.

Family ties are important.

More from The Sixer Sense

So is having fun.

Families become very protective over siblings, predecessors, and progeny because of that bond of shared experiences.  They “relate” to one another. Skills and passions pass from one generation to the next.

Much of the secret sauce beyond talent level on a championship team is that “family factor”. Implicit trust. Someone having your back. The Philadelphia 76ers are a very close knit team. Will this team win many more games this season?

Right now, it really doesn’t matter.  They will win games next season.  How? They’ve learned to count on one another through all the losses in the past years. This is a team that not only battles together, they’ve learned to laugh together.

Next: Holmes: Past, Present, and Future

This Philadelphia 76ers may be a team from the Island of Misfit Toys. But this is a team on the cusp of something very significant. Championships will come, if this team can trust one another. Right now, they are learning to do just that.  These Philadelphia 76ers are brothers for life.