Philadelphia 76ers: Now’s the time to buy stock in The Process

Remember the summer of 2017 as the offseason when the Philidelphia 76ers became America’s NBA team

How can you not be deeply in love with what Philadelphia 76ers former general manager Sam Hinkie and current GM Brian Colangelo have put in place in the city of brotherly love?

It has been five long years since the Sixers have been a relevant playoff team. The series of events that have unfolded not only for the Sixers, but in the Eastern Conference this summer makes it look like the drought will finally be over in Philly.

The previously mentioned series of events in Sixer-land is known as The Process. Everyone is buying into what the organization is doing, and that doesn’t happen without the man who spoke the slogan into existence: Joel Embiid.

I truly believe Joel has shifted the culture of how the city of Philadelphia views their Sixers. Where there is Jojo, there is hope. In the 31 games Embiid played last season, the fans got to see a glimpse of what the future holds. Due to his minutes restriction, once Joel logged 25 minutes in a game, the training staff had to tell coach Brett Brown to take him out. He hated it. You would see Jojo smack the bench chairs and slam his water bottle down, all in frustration of not being able to help his team win games.

Per 36 minutes last season, Embiid averaged a monstrous 28.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3.5 blocks per game. Let all of that sink in for a minute…

28.7 ppg would put him fourth in the NBA, .2 points behind Isaiah Thomas, and .7 points in front of Anthony Davis. 11.1 rebounds would have him tied with Kevin Love at 8th in the entire league. 3.5 blocks per game would have him blowing away the entire NBA in that category, almost a whole block per game more than the second place Rudy Gobert (2.6 BPG).

Oh, and did I mention he shot 36.7 percent from three? That is the same percentage as All-Star Jimmy Butler, and a better percentage than three-point snipers Lou Williams (36.5) and Devin Booker (36.3).

All of these stats that are making your imagination run wild need to be put to a halt, however. They all don’t matter if Embiid can’t stay healthy. That is the No. 1 priority of the Sixers during the process. This rebuild, and all of the hopes and dreams of Sixer Nation hinges on the health of their potential superstar.