It has been a trying half decade for the Philadelphia 76ers organization. They painfully pushed through Sam Hinkie’s “Process”, losing games in droves in the interim. Philly has moved on from Hinkie, but his constructed roster still remains for Brett Brown. However, that roster has one increasingly troubling trend. The 76ers can’t keep a big man healthy. #1 overall pick Ben Simmons is the latest to join the ranks on the walking wounded, suffering a Jones fracture that could sideline him at least two months. Are the Sixers just snake bitten with bigs, or is there something inherently wrong with their strategy to return to glory?
Simmons suffered his injury Friday night in Philadelphia’s ultimate scrimmage before the start of the preseason. After tests, the Jones fracture, and the 76ers’ worst fears, were confirmed. The injury that sapped a year of Kevin Durant’s prime will delay that of the NBA’s next superstar. But while it hurts, it isn’t an unfamiliar feeling for Philadelphia fans. In fact, losing a big man has transcended deja vu for Philly faithful.
Nerlens Noel was traded for on Draft night 2013 with the knowledge that he’d miss the year. He has since returned and been solid, but he’s still yet to put in a full NBA season. Noel is in a contract year this year, and is a safe bet to get plenty of offers as a restricted free agent.
Joel Embiid was the pick a year later. The former Jayhawk is still waiting to take his regular season bow. Embiid’s list of setbacks is lengthy, but the hope is that the 2016-17 will finally see him break through. He is scheduled to start the preseason opener on Tuesday.
Jahlil Okafor, the “healthiest” of the lot, saw his embattled rookie campaign end with knee surgery. He himself has spent the latter part of training camp on the outside looking in while recovering from that procedure. Okafor will more than likely not see the floor in long stretches until the regular season begins.
While all these injuries are inconvenient, none sting more than the latest. Simmons had warranted LeBron James 2.0 hype coming off his one season at LSU. The 76ers were over the moon to take him #1 overall, even if Simmons was initially hesitant to the idea. But instead of the beginning of a new era of Philadelphia basketball, we see a continuation of the now time honored tradition of big men ailing.
Hindsight is 20/20, but like his predecessors, the warning signs with Simmons were there. He missed significant chunks of time at LSU with a variety of maladies. He had to limp out of his first NBA Summer League game with cramps in both of his legs. Even the most cynical of Sixer supporters wouldn’t think that their least fun basketball ritual would rear its ugly head again. Nevertheless, here we are less than a month away from the start of the regular season, and the 76ers are scrambling.
This unit, city, and organization have suffered so much in the past few years. It doesn’t seem fair for it to happen again. Ben Simmons is the man that was supposed to erase these seasons of futility. His drafting was to usher in a change in the sorrowful status quo of 76ers basketball. Now we’ll have to wait to see if the next big thing can be more Blake Griffin and less Greg Oden in his recovery. Sixers fans know that wait all too well.