On the heels of the 76ers’ breakout season coming to an end in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, we’ll be spending a few days publishing short stories as part of our “More to Do” content series, which will focus on how the team, and its players, can build off the eye-opening success they enjoyed in 2017-2018.
Part I: Embiid, MVP?
Part II: A Destination With Increasing Appeal
Part IV: With Newfound Success, No Time for Complacency
When it comes to the flavors of success, it oftentimes tastes best when fresh.
The 76ers got more than a few nibbles this past season, and, needless to say, are eager to keep feeding the craving.
But based on how the club performed during a campaign that saw it take considerable steps forward - 52 wins, and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2012 - it’s also a safe bet to make that the Sixers have an evolving palette.
Whereas before, as recently as the fall, when qualifying for the post-season seemed to be enough to whet the Sixers’ appetite, talk about the team’s aspirations has swiftly and reasonably shifted to grander goals, like conference championships, and NBA titles.
“I think the bar is at a new level...and anything less than what happened this year would be a disappointment for next year,”” said T.J. McConnell, who’s appeared in 248 games for the Sixers over the last three seasons.
Amidst this period, the back-up point guard, who assumed a key starting role in the final two games of the Sixers’ post-season run, has had a front-row seat to the team’s turnaround.
Dating back to McConnell’s debut campaign, the Sixers have increased their win total by 42.
No one has served as the face of what’s been happening with the Sixers as much as Brett Brown, who just completed his fifth campaign as head coach. The recipient of four championship rings from his stint as an assistant for San Antonio, Brown knows well that the type of results the Sixers achieved this season produces ripple effects in relation to how an organization thinks and operates, on multiple levels.
“I think it influences all of us,” said Brown. “It influences, I’m sure, the vision line of ownership, the vision line of the front office. It certainly influences the vision line of me and my staff and the players, who lost in the semifinals. It influences everything, and that’s a good thing, [like] crafting the design of the team - what are you doing with draft picks, free agents? The expectations of our city, those obviously are real.”
That there was no hint of laurels-resting among the Sixers last week as they dispersed for the off-season had to be music to the ears of Bryan Colangelo, the team’s President of Basketball Operations.
Having spent parts of the last three decades overseeing three different NBA teams, Colangelo recognizes that the Sixers have arrived at a critical juncture of their growth timeline. He set the tone for the off-season accordingly.
As Brown alluded to, and Colangelo pointed out during his media address as well, the possibility of the Sixers’ roster looking different in 2018-2019 is very real. The team has momentum, financial flexibility, and a handful of other appealing factors on its side.
The motivation for all parties - players, coaches, and executives alike - is to position the Sixers as best they can to continue pushing the proverbial bar that McConnell mentioned in the beginning as high as it will go.
Said McConnell, “We have to have a big summer for all of us, get in the gym, and get ready to go for next year.”
“I know that personally, without knowing who the team is, we want to do better,” Brown said. “Personally, I want to do better. You want to win more than 52 games, of course. You want to play in the Eastern Conference championship, and a Finals, soon.”
The notion of settling? No, that doesn’t sound like it would be something the Sixers have the stomach for.
“I want to do more,” said the coach. “I want to do more.”
Check back Monday for the latest installment in our 'More to Do' series.