The Sixers are officially cursed and there's nothing we can do about it.

After several years of losing seasons and major injuries, the Sixers are officially cursed.

Justin Grasso
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read

Just like any other Sixers fan, I am set up for disappointment for anything new going on with this team. Its hard to not feel like everything will eventually go wrong with this team when things are going well. A couple weeks back, the Sixers traded up from the number three overall pick to the first so they could draft Washington guard, Markelle Fultz.

When Fultz was brought on to the team, the Sixers organization decided to close the doors on trusting the process and welcoming us to the moment. The moment didn't last too long and we have already seen something familiar happen with our shiny new rookie. Markelle Fultz was helped off the court on Saturday night in just his third game in the summer league. Fortunately, he suffered a sprain ankle and were told he will be out for a couple weeks. Other fans may be letting out a sigh of relief, but I wouldn't. Fultz tried to make us stop worrying, but I am not buying it.

Trust Issues.

Being a fan of the Sixers is like being in a relationship where your significant other constantly screws you over but they promise you it will be better next time. Then when you let your guard down and expect them to be different they just let you down again. I could say this about every other Philadelphia team as well but the Sixers are on a whole other level.

The trust issues for me started back when the process was in the beginning stages and players were getting traded left and right. My favorite player in the 2012 season was Jrue Holiday. The Sixers traded him in 2013. Then I got over that and became a big fan of Michael Carter-Williams, who was eventually traded as well. I understood that this was part of the process and was for the better, but as a fan who invests time watching these games, its hard to be understanding.

When the curse began…

Many may think the curse started with Nerlens Noel but it goes back further. In 2012, the Sixers made a trade for a young Center out of Los Angeles by the name of Andrew Bynum. Does this name ring a bell? You know, the guy who made roughly 16 million dollars to NOT play a SINGLE game in Philly. The guy who re-injured his knee while bowling. Yes, that's when the Sixers curse officially began.

In 2013, they made a trade to acquire the draft pick from the Pelicans to get Nelens Noel in hopes that he would play in the 2013 season. Unfortunately, Noel’s torn ACL prevented him from playing at all in his rookie season. At that time Sixers fans did not know that they needed to get used to this trend of rookies missing their first season.

After a 19–63 record season, the Sixers hoped they would get the first overall pick so they could draft the number one prospect, Andrew Wiggins. Unfortunately, the lottery did not go their way and they ended up with the third pick. They went with their current superstar Joel Embiid. While that ended up being a good pick in the long run, Embiid could still potentially be a bust.

There is no question that Embiid is very good at basketball, but his durability makes him a liability. Just like Noel, he missed his entire rookie season because of a broken foot. When he finally played in the 2016–2017 season, he was limited to 30 minutes per game. While he dominated when on the court, he was not able to stay healthy once again and was eventually ruled out for the rest of the season.

In last years draft the Sixers finally hit the lottery and got the number one pick. They got the stud forward out of LSU, Ben Simmons. While drafting a healthy Ben Simmons felt like a breathe of fresh air, it wasn't long until Simmons ended up breaking his foot before the season even began. Just like every other rookie, Simmons missed his entire rookie season.

Here we are, year five of the process and our first overall pick just rolled his ankle in the summer league. Although we were told his duration of being out will be 1 to 2 weeks, I call bullsh*t. In my honest opinion, we’ll be lucky to see Fultz in the pre-season. This team is cursed and there is no other way to put it.

Follow me on Twitter: @Jgrasso_

Justin Grasso

Written by

An Internet Writer, who mostly covers sports.

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