Sixers Win the Lottery

There’s a nervous energy as thousands of Sixers fans are packed into Xfinity Live. I anxiously wait for the lottery to start. I’ve been here since before 6. A ton of us have. The lottery was supposed to start at 8 but it’s 8:15. Shit, we just went to commercial. O well it will be back soon enough. Someone else shuffles by. My dad and I wonder if this is finally the year. We already missed out on Andrew Wiggins. A year later, we didn’t get Karl Anthony Towns either. We just hope it goes better this year.

Ok, cool, we are back from commercial. Finally, it begins. Teams begin to be listed and fans cheer as it becomes more evident that the Sixers will be picking at a high draft slot. We get to Sacramento and there’s some disappointment as the Kings come up at 8. I tell my dad that it’s ok. We still have our own pick. Then, the Lakers pick doesn’t come to us but we shake it off. We are guaranteed a top 3 pick. Damn, another commercial. We get excited but remember that we have been in this position the last two years. We got to the commercial break, only to finish at 3. The commercial ends and the entire crowd is fixed to screen. Just give a top 2 pick, I say. I just don’t want 3. The Celtics come in at 3 and the place erupts. We are jumping. Now I’m greedy. I want number 1. It would just feel so sweet after these frustrating years of losing. The pick is in.

They announce that the Lakers get the second pick and Xfinity goes crazy. Everyone is jumping and screaming. Beer is flying everywhere as we mosh. No one cares. We won something. Lady luck finally looked upon us with favor. We have out choice between two top talents. Still, I’m not thinking about that choice right now. I am not thinking about the disappointment of Los Angeles and their pick. I just feel happiness. It’s contagious as we continue to cheer. Spike Eskin, the host of the party, takes the mic to hype up the crowd and talk trash about Jerry Colangelo. We all cheer and boo as it it’s appropriate. We smile, we boo, we laugh, we look at each other. This is what the process was all about. Sure, it had its backing with number and analytics, but as it grew, it became about more. It was a sense of community. A forum for nerds and fans to talk about optionality and potential in team building. It had become a tight knit group of people who barely even know each other. The basketball and the happiness connected all of us in that moment. If we had lost, we would have been connected through our misery. But hey, we still would have had each other. Still, we don’t have to think about that. We won. We did it. This year was worth it.

Now, the Sixers have the number one pick. They have a choice between two of the best prospects to come out in a few years. There is Ben Simmons. The power forward with the skill of a point guard who could be one of the very best if he puts it all together. And then there is Brandon Ingram. The do-it-all wing from Duke who draws comparisons to Durant because of his long frame and shotmaking ability. One of these two guys will be a Philadelphia 76er as a result of tonight’s draft lottery. Sure, the Sixers have more work to do. They need to make the right decision and then continue to build around that guy. They have to wonder whether replacing Sam Hinkie, the person who helped us get this pick, was the right move. They have to see how Bryan Colangelo performs as the general manager this summer and whether he can lead this team into contention. But that’s a discussion for another day. Tonight, as fans, we celebrate. We celebrate because the Sixers have more hope than ever. We celebrate because of the present and we celebrate because of the future. Lastly, we celebrate because basketball will once again be fun in the City of Brotherly Love.