Brown: No. 1 pick validates some of the pain 76ers went through
NEW YORK - The Philadelphia 76ers have lost big for three years, when they appeared to value draft picks more than players.
They got a huge victory Tuesday night, and maybe the wins on the court will soon follow.
The 76ers won the NBA draft lottery, giving them the No. 1 selection in June.
''The pain that we've all gone through, the pain of losing is real. You can't camouflage it,'' said coach Brett Brown, who represented the 76ers on stage. ''The city has been incredibly patient, tolerant, choose any word you want. I think this validates some of the pain we went through.''
The 76ers finished 10-72, just off the worst record in the history of the 82-game schedule, and had a 26.9 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick (their own 25 percent chance, and Sacramento's 1.9 percent chance, since the 76ers had the right to swap picks with the Kings from a previous trade.)
Philadelphia certainly won't complain, not after doing no better than No. 3 in the previous two drafts during a three-year process where the focus was more on building for the future than trying to win in the present.
''We can now make the decision all by ourselves,'' said Brown, who is 47-199 in his three seasons. ''We don't have to wait and see what someone else does. It gives us the injection we need.''
Lottery night was always going to be the highlight of this season for the 76ers, who started it on a freefall that never stopped. They started 0-18, finishing a 28-game skid dating to 2014-15, en route to a 10-72 record that was just a game better than the all-time worst in an 82-game season.
They never attempted to put a competitive team on the court under general manager Sam Hinkie, who resigned in April after overseeing a plan to accumulate draft picks but not wins. They also have the 24th and 26th picks in the first round, and their young players are expected to be joined perhaps next season by Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, who were previously drafted by Hinkie but haven't played in the NBA, with Embiid sidelined by foot injuries and Saric remaining in Europe.
''Trust the process. ... Hopefully the last time we're in the lottery,'' Embiid tweeted.
The draft is June 23 in New York, with LSU's Ben Simmons and Duke's Brandon Ingram considered the top two picks.