Sixers coach Doug Collins offered this statistic after the game (which he said he shared with his team as well): No player on the Sixers roster has a winning record as a professional. That actually struck me as quite amazing. Obviously there are the mainstays that you know don’t have a winning record because they’ve been with the Sixers their entire careers (Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, etc.), but to think that even the added veterans and transplants (Andres Nocioni, Tony Battie) don’t have winning records is amazing. It’s a statistic that is common sense once you think about it, but still quite representative of the uphill battle this team faces.
Afterall, there are habits learned during a 27-55 season, or during successive 27-55 seasons.
There is something to be said for learning to win in the NBA. Oklahoma City is learning. There are teams in the East like the Knicks and Nets that are learning, along with the Sixers. And it tells you how key bringing in a veteran, even a limited role-playing guy, can be on the right team. For an example, the Nets need to learn to win but they brought in guys like Jordan Farmar, with his two title rings, who can teach about how to carry yourself like a winner in the NBA. There has to belief with the talent.
Philly is learning, but it’s not going to be easy. It hasn’t been this season.