“They are not the same team they have been in years past,” he said. “They are actually starting to become a great team.”
Kelly Oubre, Jr spoke this quote into a microphone on October 18, 2017, and it predicted everything that would unfold for this year's version of the 76ers.
Fast forward six months later and one of top SG's of all time weighed in on the Philadelphia 76ers after being defeated by them in the first round:
“This was a great series. I think they grew up and learned some things and the way we pushed them. These guys are the future of the NBA and the NBA is in great hands with Ben [Simmons] and Joel [Embiid] and those guys.”
The 76ers are teed up for a 2nd round matchup with the winner of the BOS/MIL series, with arguably a favorable eastern conference finals path getting to a void teams like Toronto, or a battle-tested LeBron and friends (Cavaliers).
The rest of their playoff run, no matter how long or short it transpires, is predicated on an unpredictable eastern conference, irrational confidence, youth, house money, and TALENT.
This is the magical elixir for them to contend as champions in their first appearance in the playoffs since 2012, and the first appearance under the modern-day 'Process' era.
So at this point, even if they lose, they win, and if they win...they REALLY win.
GM Colangelo was able to fine tune the roster with a fantastic balance of veterans sprinkled within the mix whether you consider the 1-year, $23 million contract Redick signed in the off-season, or the last minute buyout pickups of Bellineli and Illysova in March.
This sets a precedent for how to fill out the roster even if some of these pieces don't return next year or down the line, while the core of Embiid, Simmons, Saric, and hopefully Fultz, continue to mature into savvy veterans themselves.
The 76ers are officially the second out of three teams to advance to the 2nd round and will now take a collective breadth as they hastily spectate the outcome of their potential foes' matchup to come.
B. Simmons 1st Round
18.2 PPG/10.6 RPG/ 9 APG/2.4 SPG
J. Embiid 1st Round
18.7 PPG/10.3 RPG, 3 BPG