Philly Sports Bracket of Pain: Sixers Region
‘Tis better to have loved and loss than to have never loved at all. Or is it? For a generation that had nothing but apathy for the 76ers basketball franchise from 2002 to 2017, they finally know the meaning of pain thanks to The Process Era. Some of said pain comes from on the court, and plenty from off the court, in the front offices, and especially on social media.
Will the pain of the bizarre events of the past few years defeat the previous generation’s heartbreaks from on the court? The rawness of losing playoff series in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s in the most excruciating fashion are barely masked by the triumphs of 1967 and 1983.
Despite being one of the historic NBA franchises the league would remain the same if the Sixers never existed. Their obsession with promoting the Lakers, Celtics, Michael Jordan and LeBron James have pushed the team into the realm of irrelevance with the other hopeless small market teams.
Lets see what moment of pain stands tall as the worst moment in 76ers history, an uncanny HP Lovecraft-like event from The Process Era, or the epic collapses of the past?
No. 1. Markelle Fultz
What Markelle Fultz moment are we talking about? All of them. From the trade where Bryan Colengelo sold his soul to the devil and paid a supreme price to when Fultz was finally traded to Orlando was a series of painful and stupefying moments that provided nothing but pain and humiliation for Sixers fans. He was supposed to be the third and final piece of Sam Hinke’s ambitious Process, instead he might have been the boy who single handedly destroyed it.
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No. 16: Iverson’s 2nd Act
In 2007 the Sixers organization recognized that it was time to move on Allen Iverson and traded him to the Denver Nuggets. His tenure in Denver was just okay and they didn’t go anywhere in the playoffs. AI’s declining talent no longer matched his ego and he had a disastrous tenure in both Detroit and Memphis. With no other place to go, the Sixers brought him back in a move that was clearly more about selling tickets than winning games. His second tenure in Philly lasted only 25 games because he left the team due to his daughter’s health issues. It would be the last time he played in the NBA, but somehow he still notched another All-Star game berth that season.
No. 2: Kawhi’s Quad Doink
Losing Game 7 of an important series, the biggest Sixers game in nearly two decades, is hard enough. Losing on a buzzer beater is excruciating. Losing when said buzzer beater has the ball softly bouncing around the rim before going is hilariously stupid.
That’s why as painful as this shot is it’s so ridiculous that you just have to laugh at it’s absurdity. The Raptors would go on to win the NBA Championship and this shot remains the defining moment of their title run. This image has gone on to become one of the most iconic pictures in sports history, meaning we Sixers fans are going to have to relive it forever.
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No. 15: Knicks 1989 Sweep
Once upon a time the New York Knicks were good, and in the first round of the 1989 playoffs they swept the Sixers after Charles Barkley missed what would have been the game-winning shot in overtime. The Knicks decided to add insult to injury and sweep a broom on the court in celebration. In the next round New York lost to the Bulls, something they were going to have to get used to for the upcoming decade.
No. 3: 1981 Eastern Conference Finals
Thank goodness the Warriors became the new faces of “Blowing 3-1 Leads” because the Sixers used have the definitive 3-1 Lead Blown. In the 1981 Eastern Conference Rivals against the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird and friends won three straight elimination games by a combined 5 points. That is the definition of excruciating. If the Sixers could’ve closed that series the mediocre Houston Rockets were waiting on the other side in the NBA Finals. This marked the birth of a new dynasty in Boston and the legend of Larry Bird continues to grow to this day. Had the Sixers not avenged their loss to Boston the next season and won the championship two seasons later, this would’ve been Number 1 on the bracket.
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No. 14: 2001 NBA Finals
No matter how great it is to be in the NBA Finals, losing in them still stinks. Obviously the Sixer’s 2001 NBA Finals loss to the Lakers is low in this bracket because the whole world knew that they had no chance to dethrone Kobe and Shaq. The fact that they snatched a win in one of the most iconic NBA Finals games of the past two decades is impressive enough. Still, this is the only NBA Finals the Sixers have participated in 37 years, and losing them in five is no fun.
No. 4: The Colangelos
Sam Hinkieites will forever condemn the NBA for injecting the poison that is Jerry Colangelo and his son Bryan into the sacred Process and basically forcing Hinkie to leave the organization. Their tenures were brief but their mistakes were hugely consequential. Still, it seemed like Bryan Colangelo would be in it for the long haul with the Sixers until the weirdest story in NBA history was uncovered by The Ringer. Hinkieites threw a parade when proven that Colangelo was incompetent at simply keeping burner Twitter accounts private and secretive. Both Jerry and Bryan were on their way out the doors and are remembered only for incompetence and collars.
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No 13: The Charles Barkley Trade
By 1992 the Sixers were going nowhere and the disgruntled Sir Charles wanted out to contend for a championship. They traded him to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang, none of whom helped the team. Barkley went onto win the MVP in 1993 and lead Phoenix to the NBA Finals, the Sixers went downhill until they won the Allen Iverson draft lotterty.
No. 5: Kawhi’s Shot in Game 4 Evens Series
While Kawhi Leonard’s shot at the end of Game 7 will forever be the defining image of that series, it could be argued that the shot he made to take Game 4 was bigger. The Sixers had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in that game and all but wrap up the series. But Leonard hit a three point dagger with just over a minute to go to give Toronto a four point lead and regain home-court advantage. There’s no doubt that had the Sixers won this game, they at worst would’ve won the series at home in Game 6, but instead it set up an agonizing Game 7.
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No. 12: Larry Hughes Drafted Over NBA Legends
With the 8th pick in the NBA draft and need to add someone to play with Allen Iverson, the Sixers decided to take Larry Hughes, a decision that head coach Larry Brown overruled Billy King in doing. The next pick? Dirk Nowitzki. The one after? Paul Pierce. Two NBA Finals MVPs. ‘Nuff said.
No. 6: The Confetti Game
In the 2nd round of the 2018 playoffs the Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward-less Celtics were much more talented than the Sixers thought. With a chance to make it into a series, Marco Belinelli hit a buzzer beater that sent the game into overtime. The crew thought it was a 3-pointer and let confetti loose on the court. What proceeded was the ultimate humiliation in overtime, ruining what was otherwise a fun season.
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No. 11: Moses Malone Trade
While they only captured one title during the span, the Sixers were a championship contender nearly every season for a full decade. In the past thirty-plus years they have made only one trip the Eastern Conference Finals. What was the moment that turned a great franchise into a mediocre one? When they traded former NBA Finals MVP Moses Malone and two first round picks to the Washington Bullets after the 1986 season for Jeff Ruland and Clifford T. Robinson. Who are those guys again? Exactly.
No. 7: Andrew Bynum
The underwhelming Andre Iguodala Era finally came to an end in 2012 when they were involved in a four team trade and acquired Lakers All-Star Andrew Bynum. Bynum was introduced with a press conference at the National Constitution Center with a lot of hype. He never played a game as a Sixer.
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No. 10: 1968 Eastern Conference Finals
Unfortunately the NBA of the 1960s does not get as much respect in history as it deserves. One season after Wilt Chamberlain finally defeated Bill Russell and captured his first championship, the Sixers looked to do it again and took a 3-1 series lead on the Celtics (sound familiar?) But of course, Bill Russell found a way to win because the ’60s Celtics always did. In Game 7, Wilt curiously did not shoot much in what turned out to be his final game as a Sixer. (I also forgot about John Havlicek’s famous steal from 1965 so we can add that moment to go along the 1968 East Finals)
No. 8: 1977 NBA Finals
Doctor J’s acquisition to the Sixers in 1976 was one of the biggest moments in Philly sports history and they instantly turned the team legit. In the 1977 NBA Finals they took a 2-0 lead on Bill Walton and the Portland Trailblazers. But instead of closing the deal and beginning a potential dynasty, the Sixers lost four in a row and the series. It remains the only championship in Trailblazers history, but it at least gave us Bill Walton wearing tye dye shirts and talking about acid trips on ESPN.
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No. 9: Magic’s Historic Game 6 of 1980 NBA Finals
The Sixers were one of the most successful NBA teams of the 1980s, so why are they never talked about in history? Two men: Magic and Bird. And in 1980 they witness the birth of the Showtime Lakers when rookie Magic Johnson played all five position in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals at the Spectrum. It launched the legendary career of Magic and it marked the first of five titles for Showtime in the 1980s.