The stakes were high for the Sixers at Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, where all the teams who spent the previous season mired at the bottom of the standings got a chance to look toward a brighter future.
With a little cooperation from probability, the Sixers had a best-case opportunity to land two top five picks, one from the Los Angeles Lakers and one from a swap with the Sacramento Kings. At an absolute minimum, the Sixers were guaranteed to wind up with at least the 7th overall pick.
Representing the team in New York City was the loveable and always stylish Joel Embiid, whose talent the Sixers hope will blossom alongside the player they select in the June 22 draft. Last year's number one overall pick, Ben Simmons, is also waiting in the wings.
Everything lined up suspensefully when the Sixers, who would have drawn the 5th overall pick, invoked their right to swap with the Kings. That put them in the ping pong ball running for one of the top three picks alongside the Boston Celtics (who owned the Brooklyn Nets' pick) and the Lakers.
The Sixers wound up drawing number three, which, considering how people gripe every year about this thing being rigged, is something to be grateful for in its own right.
And here's what Twitter had to say about the outcome for the Sixers