Trust isn't rewarded in every relationship, but those Philadelphia supporters who believed in the 76ers' proverbial "process" all these years apparently are on the verge of something very good.
Just two seasons ago, the Sixers went 10-72 and sparked a conversation about changing the draft lottery.
On Tuesday, they arrive at Target Center for a late 8:30 p.m. tip all even for the season with a 13-13 record despite their current four-game losing streak.
The league's laughingstock not so long ago while they accumulated both draft picks and losses galore, the Sixers will be featured by ESPN in consecutive games this week: Tuesday and Friday at home against Oklahoma City.
The Sixers are must-see TV after they patiently waited a full season or more for young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to heal from injury. They've surrounded the two with other young players such as Dario Saric and Robert Covington as well as veterans JJ Redick and Amir Johnson, among others.
"You look at the way they built their team," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They've got some guys they can build around and they're young, so they're going to get better. And they added the right veterans to the mix, so that adds to the development of the young guys. They're tough. Their defense is very good. They shoot the three. They do a lot of things well."
Here's a look at how the Sixers, coached by Brett Brown, were built by General Manager Sam Hinkie, who wasn't employed long enough to see "the process" through, and Bryan Colangelo:
The franchise
Embiid, drafted third overall in 2014, almost certainly would have been drafted first overall if he hadn't sustained a stress fracture in his foot. He didn't play at all during his first two NBA seasons and played only 31 games last season. This season he has played 21 games while the team manages his workload.