National Media Continues to be Misinformed About Rebuilding Process

The Philadelphia 76ers have thoroughly confused the national media, and those who have followed the process can see that they are misinformed.

Philadelphia 76ers fans, you deserve a lot of credit. Not only did you put up with years of losing — and quite well, I might add — but you made it fun. Rather than wallowing over the fact that the team had to be bad on the court for years, you all found fun in watching low-level basketball players get a chance, and loved to watch them develop.

Above all, though, maybe the biggest thing that came from this rebuilding process and people being interested in it was people being informed. I haven’t ever seen a fan base with so many intelligent casual fans. Some of you know the wildest deep analytic stats that prove your point, and some of you may know more than the big-shots in sports media.

Actually, I know you know more than them. Because the big shots don’t even understand the simple stuff.

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We should have seen this coming, and shouldn’t be too surprised that it is happening, but the national media’s ignoring of the rebuilding Sixers over the last few several years created a lack of knowledge for what was going on inside the organization and even publicly with the fanbase.

While most fans look at what’s happening in the game itself when they attend the Wells Fargo Center, others of us look at things we can’t see on TV, such as the press representation in the media section of the arena. Often times when I’ve gone to games over the last few years, I’ve looked at the press row and thought, “that’s it?”

Of course, coming off of an era where a player as captivating and as sound-bitable as Allen Iverson will put different senses of what a “normal” media size crowd is in your brain. But it also seems like Tom Moore has remarked several times on Twitter this season that the media showing at practice was “large.”

And now that the Sixers are actually becoming relevant and worth talking about, the lack of knowledge from national media is beginning to show in a huge way.

It started a few months ago when ESPN analyst Mark Jones said the foundation (which he pointed to Joel Embiid, a Hinkie pick as evidence for it) was strong in Philadelphia, and credited that to Jerry and Bryan Colangelo.

Now, more talking heads from ESPN are displaying the same lack of knowledge and awareness for how happy fans actually are in Philadelphia, and the tone that is in South Philly.

Here’s what Stephen A. Smith had to say (quote transcribed by Philly Voice):

"The Los Angeles Lakers are losing and they should continue to lose, as in every single game of the rest of the season. This is a Process you can trust. Not losing three seasons, just a couple of months and call it a day. Why? Because a Lonzo Ball out of UCLA, because of this kid Fultz of Washington. He’s a baller, he’s no joke!"

Just a couple of months of losing? Did we forget about the last few years of the Lakers and how bad they were last season too? And did Stephen A. not realize that the Lakers have been terrible pretty much all season, excluding the first two months of play or so?

ESPN wouldn’t dare credit the Sixers for doing the same thing with the same intended result over the last few years.

Oh, and above that, he also played the race card with Sam Hinkie. Listen, I know there’s a lot of inequality in this country right now, but Sam Hinkie is not an example of that.

And here’s what Michael Wilbon had to say (again, transcription of quote courtesy of Philly Voice):

"He should feel “Thank God” about the Lakers tanking. The league needs the Lakers. There’s only one way to get well: You got to draft your way and sign free agents. They got to have this pick, thank God they’re tanking."

If there’s only “one way to get well,” then why did the Sixers get ostracized by the media for doing the one thing they could have? Probably because it wasn’t evident that there was one way until Hinkie tried it.

The Philly media caught on right away, though. Wilbon has called the Sixers out plenty of times for their process that was more structured than Los Angeles’s.

And the Lakers didn’t even do the same thing. They’ve only been intentionally tanking for the last several weeks, but losing for years. At least the Sixers lost on purpose. The Lakers lost because they were bad on accident.

Wilbon has a reputation for not knowing what the tone is in Philadelphia:

We could easily just stop listening to some of the misinformed national media, but it’s important for the greater good of the NBA community that these people know what’s going on.

The danger with them spurting out incorrect information and uninformed opinion like this is that some of these big-shot media heads have more power to control the national narrative of a team and the perception of the happiness or unrest of fans than the fans there actually do.

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Philly fans are happy, excited, and ready to see what the future has. And it’s all because they tanked. And it’s because of Hinkie to a great extent. The national media may ignore that, and it’s our job as fans to be informed.