Summer of 2012
Even after the success they observed the previous season, the team’s ownership and management felt that it was time to make a big change. In August, the Sixers traded Iguodala to the Nuggets in the trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Nikola Vucevic to the Magic, and Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson to the Sixers. Earlier in the summer, the Sixers had used the amnesty clause to waive Elton Brand. Additionally, Lou Williams signed with the Hawks in free agency.
So, with Iguodala, Brand, Vucevic, and Williams exiting, and Bynum and Richardson entering, the new model was surrounding a dominant center with a talented point guard (Holiday) and capable shooters. The Sixers signed Nick Young and traded for Dorell Wright. If all went right, the Sixers had a chance to be one of the four best teams in the conference at least. But, all didn’t go right.
The Sixers opened up the season at home against, you guessed it, Iguodala and the Nuggets, pulling out an 84-75 win. Their 7-4 start showed promise, but as time went on and Bynum remained sidelined with a “knee injury”, it became clear that the team was not built to compete without him.
The one tangible positive of the season was that Jrue Holiday emerged as a potential franchise cornerstone, earning his first all-star nod (and, the game after being selected, dropping a then-career-high 35 points in a 97-80 win against the 26-15 Knicks).
Perhaps the most satisfying win of the season came the day after my grandfather passed away. I couldn’t muster an appetite to eat my veal parmigiana at the restaurant because of the sadness overwhelming the table, so I brought it home and ate it in my room as I watched the Sixers close out the Golden State Warriors during Stephen Curry‘s breakout season. Even with Holiday’s emergence, the team would drop to as low as 16 games under .500 and ultimately finish the season at 34-48.
After this season, it all becomes a blur in my head until 2016-17.