Philadelphia 76ers Fans Were Quick to Notice a Small Detail in the Team’s New Uniforms
A passionate group of Philadelphia 76ers fans will never forgive the team for pushing beloved GM Sam Hinkie to resign. His tactics and decisions became known as ‘The Process’ and fans really bought in. A few years after his departure things have changed dramatically for the team.
Hinkie’s mentor Daryl Morey is now in charge of basketball operations. Will he provide some continuity between what Hinkle was building, and what Colangelo failed to pay out on? Some fans think so, and their proof comes from an odd place: the team’s new jerseys.
The potential hidden message in the new Philadelphia 76ers uniforms
The new 76ers City Edition uniforms were unveiled on November 11th, as 6ABC reports. The dark color palette, inspired by Ben Simmons’ respect for Allen Iverson and the associated red-fringed, dark uniforms of that era, is striking. But there was some controversy in the maze-like minimalist rendition of the city of Philadelphia that prominently bands the middle.
That reaction took on a different tone when fans noticed an interesting hidden detail. A 94 WIP blog post on the matter clears up what all the fuss is about. Right in the middle, designed too prominently to be accidental, is a clear rendition of the letters “TTP.” And it couldn’t come at a better time.
What The Process era meant to Philadelphia 76ers fans
In 2013, then-GM Hinkie put out his mission statement for the Sixers, according to Bleacher Report. “We talk a lot about process — not outcome — and trying to consistently take all the best information you can and consistently make good decisions,” Hinkie said during his introductory press conference. Although he didn’t say the words, fans and the press ran with it.
It became the team’s calling card as the rebuild led to season after season of crushing defeats. Sixers fans leaned on their GM’s plan, increasingly coming to his defense despite it all. Sports Illustrated documented how far it went, with a report on fans wearing Sam Hinkie jerseys to games. This is not how GMs are usually regarded in professional sports, but he offered a different level of transparency than most. Fans responded.
When Joel Embiid debuted in 2016, he was fully aware that he represented the first tangible result of Hinkie’s plan. He outright said, “I’m The Process.” Hinkie’s role in the process ended there, however. The ownership, impatient with the long run of bad results, pushed the embodiment of “Trusting the Process” to resign.
Will Daryl Morey continue the legacy of The Process, or is a new era dawning on Philly?
Hinkie’s successor, Brian Colangelo, insisted that he would take up the mantle of “The Process.” His biggest move, picking up Simmons first overall in the 2016 NBA draft, met with mixed results. Instead of cashing in on Hinkie’s groundwork, the team was left scrambling to figure out how to build a team around Embiid and Simmons.
Colangelo wasn’t long for the position. The Ringer reports that he and his wife were caught running several burner accounts on Twitter. They regularly trashed players via this anonymous barrier, and even exposed internal team information that wasn’t meant for public consumption. Colangelo had to go.
The team replaced him with former player Elton Brand. He entered the position with a questionably light resume and has seen mixed results.
Enter: Daryl Morey. While the former Houston Rockets GM had his own Twitter controversy boiling over, related to his criticisms of the Chinese government, Sixers fans had reason to get excited.
Morey was the primary influence in Hinkie’s innovative approach to the position. Just days in, he’s already showing what he’s capable of.
USA Today reports that Morey made moves to acquire Seth Curry and Danny Green. The two are seen as perfect matches to achieve the level of spacing required for Embiid and Simmons to succeed.
