With the Philadelphia 76ers finally rolling and fans seemingly happy with “the process”, it’s important to note who first helped start the entire term by focusing on rebuilding for the future: Former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie.
Hinkie, who stepped down after learning he would be let go by the Sixers last year following several disastrous campaigns, primarily focused on tanking and building for the future while serving as the team’s general manager. With fans rapidly losing their patience due to the team’s lack of success, star center Joel Embiid created the term to help settle the masses down.
“We talk to each other sometimes,” Joel Embiid said on Hinkie, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com. “And I feel like he basically kind of lost his job because of me, because I missed two years. So I feel like I owe him a lot.”
Embiid missed the first two seasons of his career with the team due to various injuries, costing the franchise several games and playing a role in the eventual mutual dismissing of Hinkie.
With Embiid finally healthy and the Sixers sporting a young core consisting of Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, the team has looked promising early on — they currently hold a 14-13 record with two potential All-Star talents.
“The Process is never going to end,” Embiid told David Aldridge. “It’s an ongoing thing. I don’t think it’s ever going to stop. As I have explained before, it’s a process for making it to the playoffs, it’s another one to make the conference finals, another one to actually go to The Finals and win the championship. And when you actually win it, you’ve got to come back the following year and do it all over again. So I don’t think The Process is ever going to end. But at this point of The Process, it’s rewarding. We’ve been winning lately. We’ve been playing well. We still have a long way to go, but I’m excited about the future.”
