In the summer of 2013, the appetite for professional basketball in the city of Philadelphia was at a point that few could have imagined during the days when Wilt or Dr. J or Allen Iverson plied their trade on the local hardwood.
More than a decade had passed since the 76ers’ last championship game appearance, and they’d spent most of the intervening years trapped in a vicious cycle: good enough to compete for the playoffs, not good enough to win once they got there. With attendance figures mired in the bottom third of the league and a season-ticket base eroded to a concerning degree, the organization seemed to have lost the considerable sway it once held over the local fan base.