Sam Hinkie gets the banner he deserves in Philadelphia

There’s always something with Philadelphia. To get ready for the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery, the City of Brotherly Love raised a banner in Sam Hinkie’s honor.

Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. That is how Philadelphia feels about the former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in Sam Hinkie. Only a few years ago did Hinkie bring something transformative to the City of Brotherly Love called The Process.

While he technically resigned before the end of the 2015-16 NBA season, his replacement Bryan Colangelo is just not Hinkie and never will be. In the minutes before the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery, Hinkie’s favorite event of all time, Philadelphia honored its former general manager by raising a banner in his honor.

That was done in front of a town of people right outside of a Geno’s Steaks. Could there be anything more Philly, expect Rocky Balboa of course? If Sylvester Stallone was available, he should have raised that banner with a tear in his eye because Hinkie was just that important to Philadelphia sports.

Philadelphia has the fourth-best odds to win the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery. The 76ers will have to leapfrog the Boston Celtics, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers to garner that No. 1 overall selection. Philadelphia won the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery, using the No. 1 overall pick on LSU Tigers point forward Ben Simmons, who didn’t play a game for the 2016-17 76ers.

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Nobody did more to try to have a 25 percent chance of winning an NBA Draft Lottery annually than Hinkie. His trust in The Process inspired center Joel Embiid to take that phrase and make it his nickname in his rookie season three years after being drafted. Embiid was certifiably sensational in 31 games for the 2016-17 76ers. He almost made an All-Star Game before getting hurt dancing at a concert. Trust The Process!