When the Philadelphia 76ers hired Sam Hinkie as the team’s new general manager in 2013, he embarked on a plan for the Sixers to lose with a purpose, writes Robert O’Connell for The Wall Street Journal.
That purpose was to rack up losses in order to get high draft picks, increasing the chance to draft a franchise player (or multiple) and become a championship contender.
In 2014, the Sixers drafted Joel Embiid. After missing his first two seasons, Embiid made his debut in 2016 and worked his way toward becoming one of the NBA’s top players, even winning the 2023 MVP award.
However, he has also continued to miss huge chunks of games throughout the years, due to a wide assortment of injuries. Last week, the team announced that Embiid would be shut down for the remainder of the season — where he has only appeared in 19 games — due to a lingering knee injury.
Embiid has missed a whopping 45 percent of the Sixers’ games since he was drafted.
As he turns 31, it’s not likely that Embiid will get healthier as he ages.
Assuming that is the case, the years of suffering Sixers fans endured a decade ago will be confirmed as all for naught.
Read more about the Sixers’ process and Joel Embiid’s role in it at The Wall Street Journal.
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