Overachieving in the NBA is no easy task, yet the Philadelphia 76ers have done so this season with a robust 54-28 record in the regular season and a third seed in the East, falling in the second round against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
But for Robert Covington, it's been the defeats that have helped shape this roster into what it is right now, being one of the last five teams standing in the postseason.
“The journey is what makes you who you are,” Covington said, according to ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz. “That journey made us who we are. The 18-win season, the 10-win season, all that, it built us up for this moment. That's what allowed us to get to where we are now. That was a test to see how strong an individual can be when you're going through all that.”
The Sixers lost games at almost record pace, stockpiling draft picks, which have turned into the likes of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz — players that are destined to be catalysts moving forward.
“The Process” was more than former general manager's Sam Hinkie's vision to build solely through the draft — a strategy many teams have adopted since — but also a way to put a battle-tested roster together by experience, one that has now started to flourish into a threat in the East.
Philly will draw strength from this experience and make the most of every loss, coming back the same way Robert Covington stuck through every losing season to one day see the light he's seen over the course of this season.
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