By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
In his first year as mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney got to see the Villanova Wildcats celebrate a national title, which depending on who you talk to, was Philadelphia's first championship since the Phillies won the 2008 World Series title. Kenney doesn't seem to believe that will be the last Philadelphia basketball championship during his tenure as mayor.
In a wide-ranging interview with Joseph Santoliquito of Philly Voice, Kenney says that he thinks the Sixers are the most likely professional team in Philadelphia to win a title during his time as mayor:
I’m doing an analysis of where we are starting next year. You’re going to laugh when I say this, but I think it’s going to be the Sixers. Yep, I believe so, based on their young talent coming together. You have Ben Simmons coming back, you have Joel Embiid and the guard, T.J. McConnell, is fun.
I think the Sixers have some raw, amazing talent. I think Embiid is fun to watch.
I love all of our sports teams. I just think breaking through [for the Eagles] to a Super Bowl with this particular team at this point may be a little longer than it will be for the Sixers to get to where they need to be.
While it's good to hear that Kenney trusts the process, his reasoning for doing so may not be the strongest. T.J. McConnell probably won't be on the Sixers when they are a playoff team next, let alone when, if at all, they are competing for NBA titles.
Kenney is a politician, who said in this interview that he does plan to seek a second term as mayor, so it's important to remember that. He's probably aware that Millennials, who he will need to come out and vote for him, have been the biggest supporters of the team's "process." So while he may believe that the Sixers have a bright future, that may not be his only motivating factor in saying this.
In all likelihood, no professional sports team will win a championship during Kenney's first term. He took office in January of 2016 and is serving a four year term, so in all likelihood he would need to get a second term to reach a point where a team could be competing for a championship. That said, all four of Philadelphia's teams could theoretically compete for a championship at some point during Kenney's second term, should he be re-elected.
