Obi Wan Kenobi: Brett Brown
Obi Wan Kenobi is the last Jedi Knight to play a pivotal role from the beginning of the Star Wars saga. Beginning the series as a padawan, or student, of “The Force”, he quickly rises to the level of Jedi Knight. Now, as a fully indoctrinated Jedi, he is oftentimes the lead scout for the entire Jedi Order in investigating troubling matters and new dangers as they arise to oppose the Jedi.
Even after the Jedi Order is leveled, he remains close to Luke Skywalker. Knowing that Luke is blessed with a tremendous potential in The Force, he remains close by and vigilant. It is he who instructs Skywalker in the force initially. But Skywalker eventually turns to Yoda for even more advanced training. Ultimately, Skywalker finds the Jedi Master on Dagobah. There, he learns from Yoda until he is prepared to assume his role as a Jedi Knight.
Brown is strong in The Process
So too, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown remains the last individual who signed up as Sam Hinkie’s lieutenant who remains with the team. As such, it was Brown who had Joel Embiid as his “padawan”. In fact, it is Brown who continues to instill the powers of “The Process” to his roster. The Philadelphia 76ers, or Jedi Order, in this analogy, rely upon their head coach to focus upon the right priorities. Right now, those keys are Pace, Space, and Pass, and the team is strong in those principals.
Obi Wan Kenobi became the default head of the Jedi Order when Yoda went into exile. So too, Brett Brown has emerged as the leader to the “Trust The Process” movement since the resignation of Sam Hinkie. He continues to remain strong in the founding principals, and he shares his knowledge, wisdom, and mentoring freely with his players. But like Ben Kenobi, you have to wonder just when he will face his ultimate test of sacrifice for “The Process”. Will the team retain him all the way to an NBA Championship? Or, like Ben Kenobi, will he be another casualty along the way?