For Philadelphia 76ers, Rough Season So Far

Your Philadelphia 76ers are a headscratcher. They continue to break records at every turn throughout this season, but the records being broken illustrates that their present situation could not be worse. The Sixers recently broke their own record for most consecutive losses in all of America’s four major professional sports leagues. Their first win was on Tuesday, December 1, against the Lakers (during Kobe Bryant’s last game in Philadelphia), breaking an 18-loss season streak. They proceeded to lose again on Wednesday, December 2, versus the Knicks, and December 5 against the Nuggets.

Despite their record, the roster is filled with young and explosive players, and the Sixers’ draft pick situation will further help their future championship dreams. Let us take a look at the season so far.

This year’s starting lineup is headlined by the team’s first and third overall draft pick, starting power forward Jahlil Okafor. Also notable is starting center Nerlens Noel, the reigning rookie of the year. Meanwhile, last year’s third overall pick Joel Embiid is still out with foot injuries plaguing his playing chances. The rest of the lineup is rounded out by point guard TJ McConnell, shooting guard Nik Stauskas, and small forward Jerami Grant. No player has averaged more than 34 minutes per game out of 48.

Big man Jahlil Okafor has made his presence felt, leading the team with eighteen points per game, and 1.7 blocks per game. Additionally, he is second on the team in rebounds, with 7.9 per game. Meanwhile, Nerlens Noel leads the team in rebounds, with 8.4 board per game. TJ McConnell leads the team in assists with 6.2 dishes per game; Robert Covington leading in steals with 3.1 takeaways per game.

But the city of Philadelphia only cares about one statistic: the wins column. Fans are extremely disappointed, as the highest the team has gotten to in the NBA Power Rankings on ESPN is 29th (out of 30). The team is last in their division, last in their conference, and last in the entire league. Rightly so, fans are wondering whether the Sixers can even achieve a second win in the season. As of now, they are only two losses away from tying the league’s worst start in history. Only time and the performance of these up-and-coming players will tell the outcome of the 76ers’ current season woes.