Finding joy in mini victories for the Philadelphia 76ers

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Perspective is important when wading into the discussion on whether something is good. There is a difference between objectively good and the kind of subjective promise of actually possessing the tools, intelligence and fortitude necessary to achieve one’s goals.

At first glance, one might scoff at the notion of the Philadelphia 76ers being good. This collection of individuals purporting themselves as a team is just 14-26 over the first 40 games of an 82 game NBA season. There are only three teams in the 30-team league who have won less games at this juncture of the 2016-17 campaign, and yet this version of ‘The Fighting Hinkie’s’ are, in fact, good.

This franchise has fallen into the dismal trench of teams with a losing culture. Maybe worse is the fact that losing was accepted and even championed (as a short-term down payment in service of a long-term reward) over the course of the last four combined seasons. The last time Philadelphia finished a full 82-game season above .500 was 2004-05 and though the team has experienced glimmers of climbing the dangerously steep walls of their self-dug trench, they never could quite get over the hump.

Hope, however, was the quintessential driving force for players and fans alike. Hope that one day their savior would in fact arrive with a rope long enough to not only carry himself out of their chasm, but load everyone else onto his back as well.

This group of individuals seemingly cast aside by all others are slowly but surely becoming a unit. Finding joy in the small victories within each play, each quarter and each game is vital to the success of their journey from the abyss of losing, and ultimately achieving the good available to all.

Wednesday night — during a victory they had no business earning over the Toronto Raptors — Dario Saric delivered a mini victory the size of Texas.

The jubilation of the players of a franchise littered with losses over these past four years is a sight to behold and continues to spurn on the hope they can turn it around. There are many things in life which are held to be contagious. Losing and porous attitudes are just two of the infinite anchors of a bad culture for any team, or unit.

Joel Embiid is a stellar young talent, but even more important is that he’s a charismatic, never-say-die, throw-it-in-your-face type of talent who certainly can help turn this team into something good.

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There are no guarantees in life. No magical elixirs of well fortune. But when people choose to seek out that which is good in life and not dwell on the more cumbersome revelations, those are the times people band together to create something worthwhile.

The 76ers are on the precipice of being great, or at the very least good, and these seemingly meaningless victories are the key along the endless journey.

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