The Philadelphia 76ers were the trendy pick to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and some folks even had them making it all the way to the NBA Finals. The Sixers had a hell of a season and won more games than anyone had expected but nevertheless, reality came crashing down on them on Wednesday night, as the Boston Celtics eliminated them, ending the series in five games.
The series with the Celtics exposed some things that the Sixers will need to fix and focus on moving forward but there is no doubt the future is extremely bright in the city of brotherly love. It’s a confidence that is not lost on their best players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. In fact, right after the season ending loss, Embiid was comparing the Sixers potential to that of a young Oklahoma City Thunder that struggled at first with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, before turning into a powerhouse franchise.
“Me and Ben have a lot of room to grow”, Embiid said to reporters after the game. “I was thinking about it, just looking at what KD and Westbrook, what they did their first season together. I think they only won 28 games or something like that. Looking at what we did, we’ve got a bright future.”
Fans in Philly would clearly love if Embiid & Simmons can wind up having careers the likes of Durant & Westbrook, except for the whole not being able to keep them together thing. Regardless, Embiid does have a great point about what young talent can morph into.
He went on to share that Simmons came up to him after the game and let him know they will win multiple championships together. “At the end of the game (Simmons) came up to me and showed me his hands and was like, ‘There’s gonna be a lot of rings on these.’ I was like, ‘For sure.’”
This season may not have ended how the players and fans in Philly had hoped but this should only be the start of many years of deep postseason runs and championship potential to come.
Written By @IamJoeSports
Via NBC Sports
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