The 76ers hold the first selection in Thursday's NBA draft, getting their pick of the incoming hoops litter for just the third time in a franchise history that stretches all the way back to the Syracuse Nationals and a draft record that began when Harry Truman was president.
It is a rare and promising moment for the team, and not just because the two previous top picks, Doug Collins in 1973 and Allen Iverson in 1996, helped build teams that reached the NBA Finals. The same could be expected of Ben Simmons, the 6-foot-10 forward from LSU who reportedly has been told his will be the first name called on Thursday.