The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Sixers going all-in on young core

By Ben Wieland

CAMDEN, NJ - SEPTEMBER 25: Ben Simmons #25, Joel Embiid #21 and Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers pose for the camera during the Philadelphia 76ers Media Day on September 25, 2017 at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden, New Jersey.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 Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
CAMDEN, NJ - SEPTEMBER 25: Ben Simmons #25, Joel Embiid #21 and Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers pose for the camera during the Philadelphia 76ers Media Day on September 25, 2017 at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden, New Jersey.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 Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 26: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates with Joel Embiid #21 after making a basket in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Wells Fargo Center on March 26, 2018 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 – MARCH 26: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates with Joel Embiid #21 after making a basket in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Wells Fargo Center on March 26, 2018 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 76ers going all-in

In all honesty, this Philadelphia young core may not be good enough. It might not be able to take down the Raptors. Or the Bucks. Or the dreaded Celtics. But Sam Hinkie didn’t give his life (or job) to watch this young talent fail to reach its potential.

And if Markelle Fultz turns into a Dwyane Wade/James Harden-combo combo guard, and Ben Simmons learns to shoot and becomes a taller Magic Johnson, and Embiid gets some more experience and becomes less of a Hakeem knockoff and more of an improved Hakeem clone, or maybe even all three, Philly is set.

Set not just to breeze through the East and defeat the Celtics en route to the NBA title. But set also to go toe-to-toe with the West’s superteams. And set to bring home something Philly hasn’t seen since 1983. And that championship can’t be won by LeBron, or Paul George, or Kawhi: it’s got to be for real.

Next: 3 reasons the Sixers won the 2018 offseason

While the rest of the NBA Frankensteins together superteams, the Philadelphia 76ers have earned the right to sit back and watch the seeds of their dynasty slowly sprout. And in years, when the Warriors have disbanded, the Lakers and Rockets have broken up, the Celtics have had another promising young star die, that seedling of a dynasty will begin to bud.