Sixers fandom from the Answer to the Process

I spent most of my elementary school years shooting hoops in the alley outside my house with tape wrapped around my arm to emulate the arm band worn by Allen Iverson.

I would cut the sleeves off old white T-Shirts and write Iverson and a 3 on the back, with Sixers across the front in Sharpie.

I even wanted cornrows.

A stroll down memory lane, thinking back on 20 eventful years of Sixers fandom.

I wanted to be Allen Iverson when I grew up. You couldn’t convince me that Allen Iverson wasn’t the greatest basketball player ever, or that Dikembe Mutombo wasn’t every bit as good as Shaquille O’Neal.

My first memories of true Sixers fandom are of Allen Iverson playing his heart out in 2001. The Sixers navigating there way through the East and taking Down Toronto in seven games in the second round, then the Bucks in seven in the Eastern Conference Finals. Mostly, I remember them slaying the giant that was the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Finals, handing them their only loss of the playoffs, and the heart and the fight that he and the Sixers gave for the next four games.

Dec. 19, 2006 may be the most painful day of my entire Sixers fandom and the start of the next phase of my life as a fan. Allen Iverson was traded to Denver. It was time to start buying into Andre Miller and looking to Andre Iguodala to lead the team back to finals. Turns out Iguodala is a championship-level player, but as a role player — not as a star and not in Philadelphia. That edition of the Philadelphia 76ers managed back to back playoff appearances only to lose in six games in round one both times.

There was the big Elton Brand signing that a young Sixers fan hoped would result in something better than first round exits. Elton Brand could never live up to the expectations that a 14-year-old Sixers fan put on him. Hindsight says he was coming off a ruptured achilles and he was never going to quite be the Clippers Elton Brand that people were hoping to see in Philly. Then, that first year as a Sixer, he had a shoulder injury that cost him most of the season and it was all downhill from there.

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Then came the Doug Collins era, which resulted in two playoff appearances and even a second round appearance. Enter Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner. Holiday may have been picked outside the lottery, but by year four was an All-Star before becoming one of the first casualties of the Sam Hinkie era. Evan Turner never lived up to the hype, and missing on him with the second pick in 2010 ultimately was the start of the end for Collins and what led to “the Process”

I can remember being in college and joking with some friends about how Brett Brown should be in contention for coach of the year just for getting the Sixers to 20 wins. That first year was pretty bad, the second year was bad, that third year, when they went 10-72, was so bad that I must admit at times even as a diehard fan I would watch games just to see how bad it could get. I would watch just to see how bad they were going to lose.

There was the MVP of those initial Brett Brown years in Tony Wroten. There was Spencer Hawes, Hollis Thompson, and Isaiah Canaan. There was Ish Smith, Jerami Grant, K.J. McDaniels. There was Robert Covington, even Tim Frazier, and some guy who called himself Sauce Castillo. There was maybe my favorite player from those days — T.J. McConnell, or the Little Fundamental as he is known by probably only me. Many of those guys will always hold a special place in the Sixer fan’s heart.

That fourth year with Brett Brown things changed. It was fun again, the team still wasn’t great but they were competitive and you could feel something actually building. Joel Embiid was finally there and even though he barely played, you could see the potential to dominate the league. Then it happened. Everything came together as the Sixers went 52-30 and even won a first round series in the playoffs. Embiid was continuing to live up to that third pick and two redshirt years. There was Dario Saric and now there was Ben Simmons to complete the process. Veterans like J.J. Redick were now willing to sign with the 76ers to add leadership and round out the roster and chase a ring. Surely this team would go a step further next year. Well, that didn’t happen. Thanks, Kawhi.

Fast forward to this past season, it really looked like the Sixers’ year in the Eastern Conference. Surely they at least make the Conference Finals. It was all set up for them to go further. Then, Ben Simmons refused to shoot, even right at the rim, and forgot how to make free throws. At the same time, Trae Young took his game to the next level and sent the Sixers home again.

This summer, it really feels different. We’ll see what happens with Simmons, but Embiid has taken the next step under Doc Rivers and now he is focused all the time and shows a desire to really dominate. It will be fun to see what this team can do next year.

Hopefully, this was a fun read for Sixers fans in their mid to late 20s or early 30s. I’m sure Sixers fans of all ages can relate to some parts of this walk down memory lane and enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed thinking back on some of these memories — especially those early 2000 Larry Brown and Allen Iverson days.

Next. 15 greatest seasons in franchise history. dark

From the Answer to the Process: 20 years of Sixers fandom

By Matthew Prough | Aug 8, 2021

A stroll down memory lane, thinking back on 20 eventful years of Sixers fandom.