The Philadelphia 76ers have experienced a staggering number of freak events over the years. At this point, their fans must be burning sage and praying to the basketball gods to reverse whatever form of witchcraft has been struck upon their team. Here is a glimpse of the carnage that has unfolded in Philly over the years:
THE ANDREW BYNUM FIASCO
After winning back-to-back championships as the Lakers’ starting center, Andrew Bynum was traded to Philadelphia in 2012 and almost immediately injured his already fragile knee while bowling in the offseason (yes, actual ten-pin bowling).
He had planned to return around the All-Star break, but it was then discovered that his knees had begun to degenerate. Bynum underwent season-ending knee surgery as a result and left in the offseason to embark on a similarly disastrous stint in Cleveland. He never played a game for the Sixers, with his only memorable contributions in Philly being his hilarious range of haircuts.
SAM HINKIE’S EXCEEDINGLY STRANGE RESIGNATION LETTER
When Sam Hinkie called an end to his reign as 76ers general manager in 2016, he submitted one hell of a resignation letter. A 7,000 word monstrosity, the letter quoted everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Elon Musk, and even offered an analogy based on an extinct flightless bird.
Well, that’s one way to quit your job.
MARKELLE FULTZ’S MUM INSTALLING CAMERAS IN HIS HOUSE
As if Markelle Fultz didn’t have enough problems at the time, The Washington Post reported in 2018 that his mother, Ebony, had installed cameras in Fultz’s house during his rookie season.
The report claimed she also asked some of Fultz’s acquaintances to sign non-disclosure agreements, for reasons that remain unclear. “There’s definitely crazy [expletive] going on with the mom and how involved she is and how overprotective she is,” one source told The Post. “The best possible situation is if the mom just backs off for a period of time and gives him a chance to breathe.”
Ebony refused to address the claims directly, simply saying she was looking out for her son’s health.
PHILLY ARENA STAFF PREMATURELY DROP CONFETTI, SIXERS PROCEED TO LOSE
When Marco Belinelli hit what seemed to be the game-winning shot in Game 3 of Philadelphia’s second-round matchup against Boston in 2018, the Sixers arena staff showered the court with confetti. The only problem was that Belinelli’s foot was on the line, meaning he had tied the game rather than won it. Embarrassingly, the Sixers went on to lose in overtime.
The 76ers blasting confetti because they thought they won and then proceeding to lose in OT is an all-time classic pic.twitter.com/OoJjZwxJ1z
— Celtics Junkies (@Celtics_Junkies) June 23, 2020
THE BRYAN COLANGELO BURNER ACCOUNT SCANDAL
The 76ers had a PR disaster on their hands in 2018 when The Ringer published an investigation into Bryan Colangelo, the team’s general manager and president of basketball operations at the time. The report claimed Colangelo had used up to five burner accounts to disparage his predecessor, Sam Hinkie, as well as numerous 76ers players including Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.
Image Source: Sixers @ Instagram
