Nobody likes to lose. Not even General Manager and President of the Philadelphia 76ers Sam Hinkie, who really seems to have losing town to a science. In Hinkie’s 3 seasons with Philadelphia, the team has gone a combined 46-195. This season has been by far the worst, as the Sixers have yet to crack 10 wins, and could end the season at 9-73, which would tie the worst regulation-length record of any team in NBA history.
The stress has gotten to Hinkie, and he discussed it with ESPN’s Zach Lowe on Lowe’s Podcast The Lowe Post. Transcribed by LibertyBallers:
Do you care about 9-73?
Hinkie: “For sure. I lost 20 pounds from November to January.”
Lowe: “Did you really? From stress?”
Hinkie: “Yes. It’s not close. This is serious for our fans, our staff, our players, you want to perform, you want to meet expectations and you want to play well. And you want to deliver and tamp down all the noise that comes with a record or a streak or those kinds of things, because they’re not productive to some larger mission.”
Hinkie also told Lowe that tanking isn’t easy:
“It’s not easy emotionally, it’s not easy for everyone to go through. It’s not easy to struggle in the standings and struggle on the scoreboard. I think that’s a big reason people don’t do it, they just want the pain to stop and that becomes a primary motivator.”
It’s been a terrible year for Philly, but hey, hopefully their struggles will be rewarded with Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram.
