The Scrappy, Underdog Philadelphia 76ers Pulled Off One Of The Most Miraculous Comebacks You'll See All NBA Season

Mitchell Leff. Getty Images.

Nobody had any faith in this team heading into the season. I mean, why would they? The biggest signing the Sixers made this summer in free agency was a 41-year-old making the league minimum. The biggest trade the Sixers made was sending superstar Paul George over to Boston, and they got a streamer in return. Joel Embiid looks like he hopped on Ozempic, and now might actually be TOO skinny. 

Nope. Nobody had any expectations for this Sixers team this year. Nobody believes in them. So when they found themselves down by 29 against Cleveland in their home opener, it was exactly how everybody expected this team to look. 

They looked so bad that the fans even had to boo the poor halftime performer. 

It wasn't his fault the Sixers were playing like ass, but he was still catching the ire of Philly fans anyway. It was looking like we were in store for another long night of Sixers basketball. 

But this team is different. This team is scrappy. This team might lack talent, but they have heart. They have the spirit of Rocky Balboa coursing through their veins. And just because they're down by 29 points in the 1st half doesn't mean that they're not going to come out swinging in the 2nd half. 

It helps when you have a guy like Tyrese Maxey who can jumpstart the comeback. Sure, he may have only been a 21st overall pick in the NBA Draft. But he sure plays the game like a guy who should have been a lottery pick. 

Then you get a stretch of the game where Jaylen Brown completely takes over. This is a guy who the Boston Celtics just completely gave up on. They said he wasn't worth it anymore. But I guess that's why they say one team's trash is another team's treasure. 

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The Sixers finally took their first lead of the game at 96-95, and then Jaylen Brown comes up with 6 points in about a minute to stretch that lead to 102-95. They didn't just take the lead, Jaylen Brown made sure they locked it up. 

And sure, maybe there was some booing from the crowd earlier in the night when the team was down. But the energy in Xfinity Mobile Arena last night sounded like this was a game 7. And much of that energy can be contributed to the fans absolutely loving what they were seeing out of the 41-year-old last night. 

LeBron James has been playing in the NBA longer than some of these guys have even been alive. But he's still going to keep fighting until that final whistle, because he knows the game is never over until it's really over. And now he has the biggest comeback win in his NBA career. 

You can doubt this Sixers team at your own peril. Maybe they're not a "super team" like the Cleveland Cavaliers putting guys like Donovan Mitchell and James Harden together. But this is a good, scrappy Sixers team filled with a bunch of guys who just want to win. Sometimes wanting it more is all it takes. 

Sidenote: Thank god the Sixers won that game because now we can actually appreciate and enjoy this handshake between LeBron and Joel. 

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It would feel a little silly if this was immediately followed up by a blowout loss at home. But since they took care of business? Everybody in the Philly area needs to break this one out with their boys this weekend. 

@JordieBarstool