A couple of sobering Sixers milestones, Philly’s all-time best Bryce (wink, wink), and other thoughts

First and final thoughts …

There are many ways to measure the many ways that the 76ers have let people down over the years. Here are a few numbers that do the trick.

The number of appearances they’ve made in the Eastern Conference finals since 1983, when they last won an NBA championship: two.

The number of overall No. 1 picks they have selected since 2015 who had a mental block about shooting a basketball: two.

The number of playoff series they’ve won during Joel Embiid’s career: five.

The number of times they’ve won more than one playoff series in a single postseason during Joel Embiid’s career: zero.

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The total number of games Embiid and Paul George played last season because of their injuries: 60.

The approximate amount of money the Sixers still owe Embiid and George: $410.5 million.

Again, those are just a few, and since the Sixers have the No. 3 pick in this month’s NBA draft, they’ll either add to the list or, in the best-case scenario, start turning things around. But before we look too far into the future, let’s stick to the past for a second. There are two timely milestones that drive home just how disappointing the Sixers have been, how long they’ve been so disappointing, and how much time has passed since they weren’t.

The first: Friday marked the 24th anniversary of the franchise’s high-water mark since that ’83 title, the 107-101 overtime victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals. That thrilling and unforgettable run through the Eastern Conference, when for weeks it was difficult to find a car anywhere in the Delaware Valley that didn’t have a Sixers flag affixed to it, is nearly a quarter-century old.

The second: Allen Iverson turned 50 on Saturday.

Allen Iverson, the MVP of that team and of the entire NBA that season. The “little kid,” as Larry Brown called him. The star who dropped 44 in Game 7 of the conference finals against Milwaukee and 48 against the Lakers in Game 1 and stepped over Tyronn Lue. The guy who needed to grow up, the guy whose bad decisions had people wondering whether he’d meet an awful end, the guy who somehow stayed — at least in the mind’s eye — forever young.

That Allen Iverson.

Fifty.

My God, has it been that long?

Jesús Luzardo is turning out to be the best Phillies pitcher of all time and the worst Phillies pitcher of all time — all in the same season.

Jaroslav Svejkovský, whom the Flyers just hired as an assistant coach, is a native of the Czech Republic, specifically the city of Pilsen, which is the birthplace of Pilsner beer, which makes this the best decision in Flyers history.

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The White Sox are holding a bobblehead giveaway event Sunday to honor longtime infielder Ray Durham, and because Durham doesn’t like to fly, he spent much of this week traveling to Chicago from California by train. Which sounds like an enjoyable, novel thing to do until Barbara Hershey shows up dressed in black.

It’s worth remembering that, even though Bryce Huff recorded just 2½ sacks with the Eagles, was benched for Super Bowl LIX, and was traded as soon as NFL rules made it easier for Howie Roseman to do so, he did win a championship here. That alone automatically makes him the greatest Bryce in Philadelphia sports history, right?

*****

First it was the “Sports Illustrated cover jinx.” Now it’s the “Madden NFL cover” curse. So much supernatural activity! If only there were a rational explanation for such mysterious goings-on, such as the likelihood that, the law of averages being what it is, an athlete or team that reaches a level worthy of such recognition will regress or slump or never reach those heights again. Reality … always such a bummer.