Philadelphia 76ers’ 2014 NBA Draft Class
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Joel Embiid, No. 3 overall
All eyes had locked onto Kansas’ top recruit, Andrew Wiggins, before the 2013-14 college basketball season started. The Sixers already had Nerlens Noel, and every Philly fan was convinced the athletic wing would be the perfect two-way star to dominate the league alongside Noel for the next decade.
Well, things changed: Wiggins had a generally disappointing year at Kansas, still went first overall, and is now worse than Robert Covington but making more than twice as much money.
Embiid stole some of the spotlight away from Maple Jordan while with the Jayhawks: he averaged decent numbers with 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds, but flashed greatness with his skills and footwork. A back injury right before the draft saw the Cameroonian’s draft stock plummet, so he fell right into the Sixers’ lap at the third pick of the draft.
Embiid missed two years with a foot injury, but those subsequent years of bad basketball helped Philly land point god Ben Simmons and legendary bust Jahlil Okafor. Philadelphia 76ers fans have now seen the 7-foot-2 beast in 94 games, and it’s safe to say the city is thrilled that the team stayed patient and trusted the Process.
Elfrid Payton, No. 10 overall (immediately traded to Orlando for Dario Saric)
When Sam Hinkie selected a point guard with the 10th overall pick in 2014, then-Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, along with the MCW-led cult that made up the 76ers fanbase in 2014, was stunned by the move.
Minutes after the commissioner announced the pick, Hinkie shipped Payton to Orlando for Dario Saric, who had just signed a two-year deal in Turkey and would not be able to join the roster until 2016.
Payton made the All-Rookie First Team in 2015 and enjoyed three mediocre seasons in Orlando before they flipped him to Phoenix for a second-round pick that saw the Magic select Jarred Vanderbilt.
The Louisiana-Lafayette product signed a one-year deal with the Pelicans this summer.
Now, Saric is a fan-favorite and a mainstay on the Philadelphia 76ers roster while Payton just signed with the Pelicans to back up former-Sixer Jrue Holiday. And they said Dario would never come over.
K.J. McDaniels, No. 32 overall
The bouncy Clemson wing made a decent impression in his 52 games with the Philadelphia 76ers. He provided some energy off the bench with his ferocious dunks and shot-blocking ability. He started 15 games for the historically bad 2014-15 Sixers team but Hinkie decided to deal him to the Houston Rockets midseason.
Mike D’Antoni used the 23-year-old as a fouler for most of his time in H-Town. He would enter the game, intentionally foul the other team’s worst free-throw shooter, and do that six times per game. He made $3.33 million in one year while doing that.
Now, McDaniels is a free agent. He last played for the Brooklyn Nets, but he was employed by the Toronto Raptors for a short time last season. He’s coming off an MVP performance in the Summer League title game, so maybe a team will reward him with a spot at training camp for his efforts.
Jerami Grant, No. 39 overall
Similar to the man selected seven picks ahead of him, Grant provided the 76ers with some highlight plays during his time in South Philly, but he ultimately was dealt to Oklahoma City. He earned legitimate playing time in his two seasons with OKC.
This past season, the Syracuse product appeared in 81 games, averaging 8.4 points and 3.9 boards. He won’t live up to the expectations his uncle Horace set in his 16 NBA seasons, but that has not stopped him from becoming a reliable role player on a playoff team.
Russ Smith, No. 47 overall
Russdiculous entertained millions in his run to the (now revoked) NCAA Championship in 2013. He never appeared in a game for the Sixers and he ended up overseas after two seasons and 27 NBA games played.
Smith landed with Luoyang in China’s second-tier basketball league and has put up video game numbers with scoring averages reminiscent of Wilt Chamberlain. He averaged 61.4 points per game in his first five games with the team; his highest scoring total during that run was 81 points, and his lowest was a humble 42.
Vasilije Micic, No. 52 overall
The Serbian point guard had an impressive season before the Sixers drafted him deep in the second round. He posted a line of 11.8 points, three rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in the 2013-14 season for KK Mega Vizura in the Adriatic League.
The 6-foot-6 floor general moved to Bayern Munich quickly after the 2014 draft and he has not appeared in an NBA game, similar to many of the draft-and-stash prospects the Sixers have nabbed late in the draft in recent years.
Micic bounced around eastern Europe for a few years, but he recently joined Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, where Dario Saric played before he came over, and the Serbian spent the 2015-16 season together there.
Nemanja Dangubic, No. 54 overall
Dangubic, like his compatriot Micic, never appeared in an NBA game, either. The Sixers drafted the 6-foot-7 forward late in the second round and quickly traded to the San Antonio Spurs, but the team did not need him so he has not come over.
He’s played with Red Star Belgrade since he was 21, and now at 25, he still has not managed to average upwards of 10 points per game for an entire season with that team.