Philadelphia 76ers forged Philly tough through adversity

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 14: the Philadelphia 76ers huddle prior to game one of round one of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat on April 14, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Closeness through adversity

But something was happening through all that losing. 15 individuals endured adversity together. 15 young men with completely differing backgrounds, cultures, languages, and experiences were learning a very important lesson together. On one hand, winning is tough. On the other hand, winning in the NBA is tougher. Finally, winning NBA playoff games is tougher still. All the while, this team learned the importance and rarity of NBA success through experiencing so much NBA failure… together.

One of my favorite moments of the scene from the locker room: @rich_hofmann asks McConnell about being part of the transformation from 10-72 to where they are today, TJ looks him dead in the eye and goes, "That was a hard fought 10-72, by the way"
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 25, 2018

Such a Philly thing to say. Such an incredibly Philadelphia sports mentality. And he is 100 percent correct. Through all the losses, Philadelphia competed to the end. It was not by accident, mind you. That competitiveness originated with that patient head coach Brett Brown. But it was supported with a basketball analytics team who monitored practices in the gym. And the team recorded player effort each game for years, giving immediate feedback to each following each game. This team was about building a championship team. But it was building a championship team from the ground up.