Brett Brown wants guys like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to understand the type of winning mentality exuded by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.
“Just the the reality of the complexity of a team,” Brown said, via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “The pieces that really go in to a team. The sacrifices that really have to go on within a team. … The intricacies of team, the competitiveness that it really takes, the notion that your best player has to — and leadership comes in all forms — your best player has to grab stuff by the throat and lead, and it can be done a little bit by committee.
“But the weight of a lot of that, and I put my hand up as the head coach, too, I like our guys seeing all of this stuff. You’re reminded that people like MJ and LeBron [James] and [Kevin] Durant, they didn’t win championships until they were 28. And if I’m wrong, I’m wrong by maybe a year with all three of those people. So it does take time.”
As the Sixers coach stated above, he also wants his young core to realize that winning a title is an extremely long and difficult process. With both Embiid and Simmons at just 26 and 23, respectively, time still remains on their side.
Ultimately, however, Brown firmly believes that in their quest for the ultimate prize, his entire team needs to be on the same wavelength.
“That is the messaging in the conversations that I have with my staff and our players, that when it’s go time, we’ve got to go,” he said. “We are hunting to still contend for a championship.”
The Sixers have not exactly had the best of seasons this term. They are positioned at the sixth spot in the East after accumulating a 39-26 record prior to the season hiatus. Nonetheless, Philly still remains to be one of the most promising teams in the league, so as long as the pieces fall in the right place, they should be destined for great things.
