Philadelphia Sixers head coach Brett Brown feels his team could have threatened for the Eastern Conference crown after hitting stride at the end of last season, capable of reaching the NBA Finals.

The coach and interim front office herald offered his most heartfelt ideals with reporters during his annual media luncheon.

“Last year in my head and my heart, we could have played in the NBA Finals,” said Brett Brown according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers fell way short of that goal, eagerly breezing past the Miami Heat in the first round, but trumped by an undermanned Boston Celtics team with no Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward in the lineup. Philadelphia saved face by winning a game at home, but the initial 3-0 deficit proved too much to overcome, as the Celtics took it home with ease in Game 5 of the series.

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The Sixers had railed off 16 straight wins to finish the season, snatching third place from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who eventually unseated the Celtics in a seven-game series, reaching the NBA Finals a fourth straight time.

Brown won't back down from his statement or his goals as a coach, putting it rather simply: “I’m here to win a championship.”

The former Gregg Popovich disciple will now have a healthy Markelle Fultz back in the picture, along with a similar array of a supporting cast to get another crack at making The Finals this time around.