How the Flyers and Sixers have spent the past decade pursuing vastly different paths to end up in the same place
With a combined 3-16-1 record over their past combined 20 games, the Sixers and Flyers have kicked it into overdrive to lose as much as possible. The Flyers are in another not-failed, failed season, and the Sixers are finding themselves in an unfamiliar yet oh so familiar space at the bottom of the league after seven straight playoff appearances. Both are trying to do the same thing to round out the 24-25 season, tank. Both teams find themselves amid ungodly long championship droughts, the Flyers at 50 years and the Sixers at 42 years, but the peculiar thing is how both teams have gotten to this point in 2025 and what the past 10 years have looked like. So, let’s go back to 2014-2015 and see where both teams were and what dominoes fell in place to make a situation like this occur.
To start, the Sixers, who were only 32 years into their title drought, were in full-blown tank mode. In year two of The Process, the Sixers were in the middle of what would become an 18-win season. They would result in the drafting of Jahlil Okafor and Richuan Holmes to add to a yet-to-play NBA basketball, Joel Embiid and Dario Šarić. The Process had brought fans together and the thought of actually committing to a multi-year tank was actually exciting. While it had its skeptics, it had become clear the best process for acquiring high-level talent in the NBA was at the top of the draft. What then took place has already been widely discussed on this podcast and blog, but essentially for a multitude of chaotic reasons, both the Sixers’ fault and some out of their control, over the next 10 years, things would go from overwhelming excitement to crushing apathy. A team that looked like a title favorite, to some even up to this season, now has no hope again. This team would play some of the most exciting basketball seen in Philly in nearly a quarter century but ultimately fall short repeatedly in the playoffs for one reason or another. The 2024-2025 Sixers are not tanking for joyous future prospects, they are tanking from poor roster construction and absolute sheer desperation. Their first-round pick is top 6 protected, and if not, it becomes OKC’s property from when they packaged that pick with Al Horford to get him out of town after being a complete waste of space and disaster in Philadelphia. So now the Sixers must lose. The thought of having this abysmal season end in them losing a top-10 pick and not even getting anything is horrifying. In a league full of teams intentionally tanking, something only the Sixers seem to be criticized for doing (looking at you, Adam Silver), the Sixers are in a dog fight down the straight to remain in the top six.
Then, there is the hockey team that plays in the same building. Only 40 years into their drought, 2014-2015 would end in a way that they would soon get very familiar with: missing the playoffs. However, this was still perceived as a competent team with some quality players on the roster. Jakob Voráček, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Scott Laughton, and Sean Couturier were a great, young group of guys, and of course, they had Claude Giroux, who was one of the five or so best players on the planet. They even had some very solid goaltending from Steve Mason. This team was only four years removed from a championship appearance, so things felt much more positive. With Ed Snider still at the helm, there was hope for consistent competitiveness moving forward. However, Snider’s refusal to ever start from scratch and persistent desire to over-manipulate the roster would hurt them and then his passing in 2016 would leave them rudderless for the next seven seasons. With the success of the other four teams in the city over that time, the Flyers found themselves as basement dwellers for the first time in their history and are currently in the middle of the longest playoff drought in franchise history. One of the few positives was the birth of Gritty in 2018. The Flyers finally appear to be moving in a positive direction with Danny Briere and young, budding superstar Matvei Michkov. However, even that could not protect them from what will ultimately be a disappointing season. With win increases each of the last 3 seasons with less talented squads, there was some hope of playoffs this year, but they took a step backward this year instead. With 8 picks in the top 62 and some money to spend this summer, the Flyers might finally be in a spot to kickstart some positivity but are left to tank here in the spring of 2025.
So here we are. Both winter sports teams are in full-blown tank mode. Depending on how you view it, another season wasted or an opportunity to grab some exciting assets. Regardless, both franchises have burned an immense amount of goodwill in the city of Philadelphia. The Sixers mostly through mismanagement and on-court shortcomings, and the Flyers for almost a decade of largely indifferent ownership as to how the team was performing. Getting a high pick is always a positive, but a lot of times, there is some deeper issue as to why you end up there. The Sixers are just past their time and need to rebuild but are hamstrung by mega contracts. The Flyers just do not have anywhere close to the talent to be competitive in the NHL. Both franchises need to use this time effectively. If we were to project, it does look like the hockey team is in a better position over the next 5-10 years. Players like Michkov definitely can band-aid a lot of problems you have, like Joel Embiid did for the Sixers. Despite this horrific season, the basketball team is still very talented for now. Next year they could just as likely find their way into the Eastern Conference Finals as they could be in the lottery again, next year at an even bigger risk of losing their pick if they do not this year. In a city that has seen three straight playoff appearances and a World Series appearance from the baseball team, three Super Bowl appearances and two wins, and even the soccer team go from basement dwellers to making the MLS Cup over the past decade, these teams’ shortcomings are even more so highlighted. Hope springs eternal, though, and hopefully, the children these teams draft in a few weeks- kids younger than Facebook, mind you- will help shape a better future for these Philadelphia squads.
