With one of the league’s top MVP candidates back in tow, the Philadelphia 76ers will look to accomplish something Friday night that they haven’t done since every member of their current roster was under 30 years old.
After missing Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, as well as the Sixers first contest out of the break on Thursday, center Joel Embiid is expected to return to action for the road tilt against the Washington Wizards. Embiid – alongside All-Star guard Ben Simmons – was forced to miss both Sunday and Thursday’s games due to potential COVID-19 exposure.
Simmons could possibly return for Sunday’s home bout against the San Antonio Spurs.
Sixers Haven’t Won vs. Wizards on Road Since 2013
GettyPhiladelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers and Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks during a game on January 6.
The last time Sixers won a regular-season game in Washington was November 1, 2013. That was the second game of Brett Brown’s head-coaching career.
Is tonight the night “The Streak” ends?
Entering tonight’s matchup with the Wizards, the Sixers have gone seven years, four months, and 11 days since their last regular-season victory in the nation’s capital, which, as The Athletic’s Rich Hofmann points out, was right at the beginning of the Brett Brown era. The team’s oldest player right now (Dwight Howard) had just turned 28, while their youngest (Tyrese Maxey) was three days away from turning 13.
According to Basketballreference.com, the Sixers and Wizards played three more times during the 2013-14 season (all Washington wins), including a home loss on March 1 to extend Philadelphia’s eventual 26-game losing streak to 13. Brown’s team lost three of four to the Wizards the following season, with two of them coming on the road and were swept 4-0 (two on the road) in 2015-16.
Over the past four-plus campaigns, the Sixers’ drought on the road against the Wizards has now made it to 11 games. Philadelphia is looking to close out a 3-0 sweep this season though, after taking two wins against Scott Brooks’ club in the first month of the shortened season.
What Else Was Going on in November 2013?
Not only was the last Sixers’ road win against Friday’s opponent during the infancy of Brown’s tenure, but the entire roster was different. That squad included the likes of Evan Turner, Rookie of the Year winner Michael Carter-Williams, and Thaddeus Young, while the Wizards were being coached by Randy Wittman and their starting five featured the likes of a 23-year-old John Wall, 20-year-old Bradley Beal, “The Polish Hammer” Marcin Gortat.
In 2013, Howard was starting his first season with the Houston Rockets and most recent all-star campaign, Simmons was still in high school, but had just committed to LSU, and Rivers was coaching in his first year with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 2013-14 season would end with the San Antonio Spurs taking down LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals and Kevin Durant capturing the MVP.
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Joel Embiid to Return as Sixers Look to Break Drought vs. Wizards