The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers fulfilling hopes from around the world

By Bret Stuter

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 2: Dario Saric #9 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates with Joel Embiid #21 and Ben Simmons #25 after making a basket and getting fouled in the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center on December 2, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 2: Dario Saric #9 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates with Joel Embiid #21 and Ben Simmons #25 after making a basket and getting fouled in the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center on December 2, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 3: Joel Embiid
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 3: Joel Embiid /

Dreams from the far corners of the globe

No dream of playing basketball is as unlikely as that of Cameroon Joel Embiid. He grew up in a nation which had little basketball options to fuel interest. And his initial interest was soccer and volleyball.  Basketball only began to interest Embiid in his teens.

Soft and inexperienced. Basketball was not a popular sport in Cameroon in Joel Embiid’s childhood. And if not for the intervention of fellow countryman and NBA player Luc Mbah A Moute, he would be winning hearts in volleyball.

Croatia sends a hero to Philadelphia

To the north, another nation had Philadelphia in it’s sights. The home of Pedrag and Vaselinki Saric was an incubation chamber of love and respect for the game of basketball.  That legacy fostered the workhorse like effort in their son Dario.  Much like Embiid, Dario Saric was selected in the 2014 NBA Draft.  And much like Embiid, Saric did not arrive to Philadelphia until 2016.

But where Embiid fought against the trend, Dario Saric was raised in a basketball family.  As Philadelphia 76ers fans learned the economic reasons why Dario Saric would never come to Philadelphia in two seasons, the honor and reputation of the Saric name dictated he would.  And while Dario does not command headlines, his contribution forged the 28 wins last season when neither Simmons nor Embiid could play.  So too, he is finding his role this year.