76ers to unveil fluffy blue dog as new mascot
Since starting the season 0-17, leading many to wonder whether they're the worst team in NBA history - or if they would even be able to beat the an NCAA team - the Philadelphia 76ers have been on a dogged quest for legitimacy.
They've gone 12-23 since that start - a better record than six other teams - while carrying the league's sixth-best defensive rating.
To celebrate their new found credibility as an NBA team, the Sixers have finally settled on a new mascot, filling the void left by the discontinuation of Hip-Hop in 2011.
That mascot, Grantland's Zach Lowe reports, will be about as intimidating as the Sixers were during the first month of the season:
The Sixers are set to unveil a new mascot this week, and they confirmed its identity to Grantland over the weekend: a fluffy blue dog named Franklin.
The Sixers consulted several experts, including Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic, but they handed most of the creative duties to 1,000 kids ages 6 to 10 in the Delaware Valley, says Tim McDermott, the team’s chief marketing officer. The team’s research showed that most fans become fans within that age range, and so the Sixers decided to build a mascot kids that age would like.
More proof the franchise's multi-year tanking project is moving in the right direction.