The Sixer Sense
Fansided

2000-01 Sixers vs. 2017-18 Cavaliers

By Rory Fette

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers talks in the interview area before his teams' workout 07 June 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of the best-of-seven NBA Finals 06 June. AFP PHOTO Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers talks in the interview area before his teams' workout 07 June 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of the best-of-seven NBA Finals 06 June. AFP PHOTO Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A hypothetical Philadelphia 76ers matchup between two teams that were historically star-dependent.

Sports fans everywhere watched the Cleveland Cavaliers get swept in this years NBA finals. Analysts and fans alike all dubbed this loss as unavoidable, due to the fact that LeBron James had “no help” and also due to them playing “the best team ever assembled”. So really no harm on LeBron for not winning a game right? However, if you look back in time a bit you might find another team, and another star, that was in an eerily similar situation…

FLASHBACK: ( After the 2001 finals)

The LA Lakers are the best team ever assembled in NBA history. Shaq and Kobe ran the league together, each averaging almost 29 points apiece. And with a formidable supporting cast of Derrick Fisher, veteran Horace Grant, and former multiple-title winner Robert Horry, a championship really seemed like the only option.

More from History

Out east the the game is being stepped over and ran by one player in particular, Allen Iverson. Putting the Sixers on his back at times he lead the team to a pretty unpredictable first place spot in the east.  Aside from an aging defensive star, Dikembe Mutombo, the 76er roster was pretty bare. Yet, that didn’t seem to matter as Allen Iverson played out of his mind. He averaged over 31 points a game, he won the MVP award, and he won a NBA finals game almost singlehandedly.

Hmmm, sound familiar to anything.

FLASHBACK: (After the 2018 finals)

The Golden State Warriors are the best team ever assembled in NBA history. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the league when they were respectively healthy.  Both of them averaged over 26 points a game and led “the super team” to an NBA title. And with sharpshooting star Klay Thompson, defensive stud Draymond Green, and great reserves like Andre Iguodala, they were a lock to win.

Out east the game is being dominated by one player in particular, LeBron James. Putting the Cavaliers on his back at times, he inexplicably dragged his deconstructed, then reconstructed, team to the NBA finals. Aside from an often inured star, Kevin Love, the Cavalier roster was very bare. Yet, that didn’t seem to matter as LeBron James played out of his mind. He nearly averaged a triple-double all year, he should’ve won the MVP award, and he, almost, singlehandedly won a NBA finals game.

Starting to see the similarities now?

The comparison explained

Now I know lots of you will look at the above and instantly try to tear it apart. “Did he really just compare Kevin Love to Dikembe Mutombo?” “…Klay Thompson to an mostly injured Derrick Fisher?” “What about Eric Snow?!”

In short no, not directly. But, what is pretty interesting is that fact that these teams were structured in very similar ways. The 2001 Lakers and the 2018 Warriors each had two established superstars and a very good supporting cast of players around them. Additionally, in each of their supporting casts, there were also other all stars. Stars, that were arguably better than any supporting player on the team they were facing in the finals. They were the best teams in the world at the time, and now are both argued to be the best teams ever.

The 2001 76ers and 2018 Cavaliers each had the best player in the league and one other all-star. The supporting cast around the teams were not amazing. Each team had a general buzz around them that they were being carried by the greatness of their super star (Allen Iverson/Lebron James). To go along with that, both the teams had a clear secondary “star” on the team. Even though Kevin Love and Dikembe Motombo are extremely different types of players, they both had the same role of being the key supporter to the the best player in the league.

So, what does this mean

Everyone and their mother thought that the situation LeBron James was in was the toughest situation in history. One player couldn’t have possibly had a worse team around him as LeBron did, right? One player couldn’t have possibly had to play a tougher team in the finals, right?

Next: 5 reasons LeBron should come to Philly

Well actually, maybe that narrative isn’t right, and maybe the world has the Philadelphia 76ers to thank for that.