By Darien May, Sports Talk Philly Staff Writer 
The Philadelphia 76ers cannot let history repeat itself if they want to truly be great and compete at high level for many years to come. You may be wondering what period in history I’m referring too; we needn’t look too far back in time. I’m referring to none other than the electrifying Allen Iverson wonder years. The decade in which the 76ers competed at a high level with arguably one of the best scorers to ever play the game of basketball. The pinnacle of the franchises success during that era ended in 4-1 shellacking by the ever so dominant 2001 Los Angeles Lakers.
During that time, 76ers ownership had many a misstep, but was lucky enough to land the talented Allen Iverson in the 1996 NBA Draft with the no. 1 overall selection. But let’s go back even further and take a look at how they got there. From 1992 to 1998, the Philadelphia 76ers selected in the top 10. Sound familiar?
1998 1 8 Larry Hughes
1997 1 2 Keith Van Horn
1996 1 1 Allen Iverson
1995 1 3 Jerry Stackhouse
1994 1 6 Sharone Wright
1993 1 2 Shawn Bradley
1992 1 9 Clarence Weatherspoon
History tends to repeat itself every so often and it just so happens to be reoccurring right before our very eyes. Well, to a certain extent. As you can see, the 76ers were “trusting the process” far before Ben Simmons was even born. Quick side note, for those “seasoned” fans who love to bark how unaccustomed they are to losing and how embarrassed you are to be a fan, you should be used to this, no? For all the criticism Hinkie gets for drafting the centers in back-to-back years, just look at how many times the 76ers of Christmas Past squandered on their first round selections. Take Allen Iverson out of the equation and only one of these selections made between 92’-98’ played more than two measly seasons with the 76ers, the lone player being Clarence Weatherspoon, whom played only five.
My point? The draft is a crap shoot; nobody knows how these players will perform in the NBA or how they will fit your roster. If the “tank” only yields one generational talent then you shouldn’t lose your mind over it because this franchise has seen it before. That brings me to my next point, fit. For all the glory that is Allen Iverson, ownership could not find a fit for him, whether it be a head coach, consistent second scoring option or even a fellow superstar.
There were a few obvious examples that stood out to me instantaneously, which I was torn over initially because many find it difficult to be overly critical of your childhood icon but I ultimately decided to be objective in my analysis. To start off, the one in house talent capable of being that 1-2 punch you would have love to have seen alongside Allen Iverson was none other than Jerry Stackhouse. He was a highly-touted prospect drafted a year before Allen Iverson and selected number one overall in 1996. The UNC alum was dubbed by many the “next Michael Jordan” since both players were drafted third overall, stood 6’6 and were from UNC. During his inaugural season, he averaged 19.2 ppg and went on to average 20.7 ppg alongside Allen Iverson, who averaged 23.5 and went on to win Rookie of the Year. Jerry Stackhouse would be Allen Iverson’s highest scoring teammate during his time in Philadelphia. In fact, seven out of the 10 years he was here, none of Iverson’s teammates averaged over 15 ppg.
As I previously stated, there are a bevy of reasons as to why this may have happened. Legend tells us that Iverson wasn’t the easiest player to get along with, Stackhouse even went as far to say their fallout was over a physical altercation between the two, although, Iverson has yet to comment. Another reason could have been Iverson’s ball dominant style of play; he needed the rock in his hands to be at his best. Fast forward to the 2000-2001 season, the peak of the Allen Iverson Era. The 76ers went 56-26 that year and faltered in the finals to the Lakers. They got the finals on the back of a fifth ranked defense that they combined with Allen Iverson’s mind blowing scoring ability. So, why did they lose? They ran into the formidable duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who both averaged 28ppg on the year. While Allen Iverson was special in his own right, averaging 31 ppg, the second leading scorer on that roster was Theo Ratliff, who tortured the league with his 12 ppg.
Why couldn’t management get a better secondary scoring option than Theo Ratliff? How come they couldn’t attract a fellow superstar to play alongside the great Allen Iverson? Why did Larry Brown run for the hills the first chance he got? Everything points to the poor management of their superstar, it was his way or the highway and the entire franchise was at his beck and call. For how miraculous of a ball player Iverson was, he was impossible to control. He has now since matured and even acknowledged the error in his ways, specifically his treatment of Larry Brown. The long and the short of all this is, the 76ers can’t allow this to happen and I, for one, believe they won’t. I believe the 76ers hit the on nail on the head and now have two generational talents on this roster who seem to be team first guys with high character. Management should take heed to the past transgressions of this franchise and build the right away around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Very rarely do you have the opportunity that he 76ers currently have, you get to rebuild, grow and develop your young talents while the rest of the league shutters at the sight of Golden State or Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs.
Will history repeat itself? Let’s hope not.
