The Philadelphia 76ers earned their first win of the season last night, but first, they had to have a do-over to start the game. Philadelphia traveled to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves, and the game was restarted after a bizarre opening sequence.
The first 16 seconds of the game actually had to be replayed because officials figured out that the teams were going the wrong way.
According to media reports, Henry Sims was fouled on Philadelphia's opening possession and was about to shoot free throws when the referees stopped everything. They determined that the teams were actually shooting at the wrong baskets and that the game had to be restarted.
The foul was wiped away, the clock was reset to 12 minutes, and then the teams tipped off once again, going the right directions the second time around. Given the struggles of both teams so far this season, perhaps nobody should be surprised that they were not aware that they were going in the wrong directions.
The two teams are last in their respective conferences, and the win by Philadelphia actually saved them from tying the NBA record for most consecutive losses to begin an NBA season. Going into the game, the 76ers were 0-17, and many thought that they would set a new mark for futility for sure.
The Sixers have been a point of controversy for much of the past 18 months thanks to their controversial approach to rebuilding. History shows that it is incredibly difficult to compete for a title without a truly elite player, and the best way to land one of those players is through the draft. Philadelphia has resorted to extreme tanking in order to pursue this goal. Their players play hard on the court, but the roster is so bereft of talent that it often does not matter. It could be argued that Philadelphia on has two or three players that would even make most other NBA rosters.
The tanking approach may pay off, but it will also likely be the last time that fans ever see this, as the uproarious response to Philadelphia's blatant tanking will almost certainly lead to lottery reform.
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