Winning Championships Requires More Than Just Good Players

Philadelphia sports fans are rightfully frustrated about the lack of championships in the city. Philadelphia is the only major city with 0 dynasties. New York, Chicago, LA, Houston, & Boston have all had 1 or more in their histories.

With disappointment, blame naturally follows. How we meter out the blame is where things can get difficult and some people in media miss the mark.  

Winning is hard to do, and to do so regularly you need very good ownership, a very good front office, great players, a good coach, and then good luck. Every champion has had the benefit of luck in addition to having to do everything correctly.

Every part is vital. When we really think about, how many times in Philadelphia have we have checked every box? It is a given that you need great players, but great players never win alone.

That isn’t just in Philadelphia, that is everywhere. Lebron James didn’t win in Cleveland for example the 1^st time due to a petty owner, & bad management. He took the blame, as superstars do, but it was an organizational failure.

Find a person who is blindly ripping superstars & nobody else, and you will also find a person who isn’t looking at the big picture. It is never that simple. 

Look at Philadelphia sports right now. You can’t control luck but have the 4 major teams done all they can to win?

The Sixers have a good owner, they have 2 great players, and the coach is good, but they had bad injury luck. The Flyers don’t have the great players. The Phillies check every box, and now they just need things to break their way.

The Eagles have the ownership, they have the front office, they have great players, but is Nick Sirianni a great coach? We will find out at the end of this season. It will not be solely on Jalen Hurts, even though the QB is the face of the franchise.  

None of this is to take accountably away from the star players. They are the ones who must perform. They play the games. You can’t work around a Tobias Harris. At the same time, winning is hard, and you need everyone in the organization pulling in the right direction.

Somebody paid Tobias, and they are just as responsible. We see the players out there every game, but a lot happens before they take the field. The best organization wins championships, not just the best players.  

Tyrese Maxey had a game for the ages Tuesday night. With the Sixers on the brink of elimination, he stepped up to force a game 6. Not only did he score 46 points, and play nearly the entire game, plus OT, but he hit this shot from WAY beyond the arc to force overtime.

They were down 6 points with under 30 seconds to go. Many Sixers fans were already writing their angry Tweets about how the season ended. Little did they know Tyrese was not about to go down without a fight.

First, he hit a 3, despite being fouled by Mitchell Robinson. He went on to convert the 4-point play, making it a 2-point game. They fouled Josh Hart, sending him to the line, where he went 1 for 2, to make it a 3-point game. Then, from what at the time I thought was way too deep and way too early in the shot clock, he unleashed a 3 for 34 feet and nailed it.

I was floored. I was one of those people who thought the game was over. No team ever comes back from a deficit like that. But maybe that was because no other team has ever had Tyrese Maxey.

That was one of the best games we have ever witnessed. Not just for the overall stat line, but for the impact, and the moment it came in. The Sixers were dead in the water, and he brought them back to life. We saw him go from star to Superstar, in real time.

And his performance did not go unnoticed. Between NBA players other Philly athletes, media personalities, and NY Celebs, there were some great reactions to what Tyrese Maxey did.

LeBron James for one was a fan of Maxey's big night. Which is certainly interesting, given the rumors surrounding LeBron. There is a chance Lebron is not in a Lakers jersey next year. Now that we know how big of a fan LeBron is of Maxey, is this a hint?

I am a big fan of Jon Stewart. but seeing him slackjawed and flabbergasted after what Maxey did, makes that moment so much iconic. That is a man who has seen some things working for the Daily Show. But in all my years watching his show, I never saw him look that stunned. The NYC celebrity contingent has been exceptionally annoying this whole series, so it was nice to see them suffer for a bit.

I can handle the likes of Ben Stiller, Jon Stewart, and Spike Lee talking trash. They are super accomplished. But Turtle? The dude is the worst character in his own show, and that is all anyone knows him for. And yet every came I have Jerry Ferrara's opinions shoved in my face as he runs his mouth on Twitter. I haven't even thought of him since Entourage ended, and hopefully I will never hear from him again once this series ends. I could handle Johnny Drama, Ari Gold, or Vincent Chase talking trash. but not Turtle.

So seeing him devastated like this, felt pretty good.

Speaking of Ben Stiller, I dont think I have ever seen someone as angry at a basketball game as he is here. It looks like he is hissing at Maxey. He hasn't been this angry since the reviews and box office numbers for Zoolander 2 came out. Also of note, Tracy Morgan giving Maxey a not-so-kind gesture. Great stuff.

One NYer was taking it a bit better, at least the next day. MSG is a special place. But Knicks fan Greeny was willing to put Maxey's performance up there amongst the best performances in MSG history. He was probably still hurting from seeing his Knicks get beat, but credit to him for giving Maxey his proper props.

Some other Philly athletes weighed in as well. Slay took to Twitter to praise his fellow Philly star. He also made sure to mention that the man needs to be paid. I would not worry about that part Slay. Maxey is going to be paid what he is worth.

Ramona asks a good question here. has anyone else ever done this? Lifted Embiid up while he struggled? In past playoff runs the Sixers needed Embiid to be great, or they lost. Embiid did great things on defense last night, but his offense was severely wanting. But Maxey had his teammate's back, and went off to make up for it.

We never saw Ben Simmons or James Harden do that.

I am not a Mad Dog fan. But I did get a lot of enjoyment from him trolling Stephen A Smith this morning. Smith has been obnoxious with his Knicks love. The fact he was on the ESPN pre-game shows for the games, made it even worse. So seeing him get back what he was giving, was nice to see.