NBA playoffs: After Super Bowl, World Series, MLS misery for Philadelphia, will 76ers be better?
Can the 76ers FINALLY bring sporting glory to Philadelphia? After the city lost a Super Bowl, World Series and MLS Cup in the past six months, Joel Embiid and his team are entering the NBA playoffs
It was a story of sporting pain for the city of Philadelphia in the six months. Now the 76ers begin their attempt to do what the Eagles, Phillies and the Union couldn’t: win a title.
Hosting the Brooklyn Nets in the first two games of their playoff series, the 76ers are among the favorites to win the overall NBA title amid stiff competition from the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks.
But with Joel Embiid – the leading MVP candidate – and James Harden, the 76ers have stars capable of leading a run at the championship. The 76ers have not won the title since 1983.
And for the City of Brotherly Love, desperation for sporting triumph is rapidly mounting after so much pain in America’s other sports.
In February, the Philadelphia Eagles were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl in Arizona – Patrick Mahomes led his team to a 38-35 victory.
Joel Embiid photos in action in the NBA playoffs for the 76ers against the Nets on Saturday
The city of Philadelphia has suffered losses in six months in the Super Bowl, the MLS Cup and the World Series
On November 5, Philadelphia had a double whammy of sporting woes.
First, the Philadelphia Union twice gave up a one-goal lead to LAFC in the Major League Soccer Finals before losing to Gareth Bale’s team on penalties.
Later that day, the Philadelphia Phillies were defeated by the Houston Astros to decide the World Series, with Dusty Baker’s team taking the silverware.
And it’s not the first time Philadelphia has had to endure such a painful series of defeats.
In the 1979-1980 season, the Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Final to the New York Islanders in six games, the 76ers lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, and the Eagles lost Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders who were crowned champions. champion of the 1980 season.
76ers star Embiid was optimistic about his team’s chances ahead of the tip against the Nets.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Embiid said. “Since I’ve been in the league, I saw it as a goal.
“And you want to do everything you can to try to win it. It doesn’t take just one person.
‘You don’t win alone. You have to win as a team. So we just have to stick together and get together.”
The Philadelphia Union was defeated by LAFC in the MLS Cup Final on November 5
That same day, the Phillies lost the World Series in baseball to the Houston Astros