By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
The NBA has had many different eras defined by the style that the teams play almost exclusively and uniformly across the league. In the 1990's the game was defined by physicality, and the current trend in the league is perimeter and backcourt play.
When you look at the top teams in the league, they all tend to follow the same formula. The Golden State Warriors, widely considered the best team in the league, have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green in an offense heavily reliant on three-point shooting. The Cleveland Cavaliers have Kyrie Irving and Lebron James. The Boston Celtics play with Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder.
It is evident that the top teams in today's NBA are built to live on the perimeter both defensively and offensively. The weakness of the aforementioned teams is in the paint, as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant put on display in game one of the NBA Finals going to the paint at will.
These are the two best teams in the league and they were both exposed by their interior defense. The two teams combined for 29 offensive rebounds in game one, again showing the lack of presence on the interior.
With this glaring weakness, it is only a matter of time before teams start to counter the philosophy of perimeter play with strong interior play, and the Sixers are ready for that transition.
The Sixers have spent their seasons in obscurity acquiring and developing talent to fit a specific identity. That identity appears to be focused on team defense and playing from the interior out.
The current roster has Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Richaun Holmes at center, three players who can start at center in this league. They also have Ben Simmons and Dario Saric at the power forward position. Saric is projected to start at power forward and Simmons is expected to make the shift to point guard. At small forward Robert Covington has developed into a starting-caliber three and D player.
They also have group of second-tier wing players in Nik Stauskas, Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless, Justin Anderson, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot that could all become bench players of trade chips for the team going forward.
The Sixers identity will be one centered around length and size, with a versatile 7'2'' big man, a 6'10'' stretch four, and a 6'10'' point guard.
There are also plenty of players with length in this month's draft, where the Sixers hold the third overall pick, like Josh Jackson, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, and Jonathan Isaac.
They will add to their identity with their draft assets, whether they select players who fit the mold or acquire established players by shipping away the draft picks that they have accumulated.
The Sixers will be fielding a playoff roster soon, and as that roster matures the team will become legitimate contenders as the other teams will not have an answer for the Sixers style of play.
It is a style that other teams are adapting to as well.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have begun building their team from the inside out with Karl-Anthony Towns labeled as their franchise player.
The Milwaukee Bucks are building around Giannis Antetokounmpo, a 6'11'' point forward as well as Thon Maker who projects to be a highly atheltic big man.
The New Orleans Pelicans have also committed to the interior, with an all-star duo of Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins occupying the paint.
The New York Knicks boast Kristaps Porzingis as their future, and the Indiana Pacers were rumored to be trying to trade Paul George in an effort to get assets to build around center Myles Turner.
Teams across the NBA are beginning to focus on size and interior play, as it appears to be the game's next trend. These teams intend to counter the fast, shooting oriented game of players like Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, and Stephen Curry with brute force, opposing them with size and shot blockers to stifle them.
The Sixers are further along in building a team to do this than any of the other teams just mentioned. The advantage that the Sixers have is in their excess of big men.
They have already traded Nerlens Noel, and as the league continues to build up their interior, there will be a market for big men. The Sixers can begin selling assets like Jahlil Okafor and Richaun Holmes to needy teams for more than they would be valued at normally.
The Sixers have positioned themselves to be contender for a long time, and when more teams begin to shift their philosophy, the Sixers will be ahead of the curve.
