The NBA Draft is a crapshoot. Everyone knows it, but nobody lived it quite like Philadelphia. If you look closely at the Philadelphia 76ers draft history, you aren't just looking at a list of names and heights. You're looking at a decade-long experiment in human psychology, math, and high-stakes gambling that nearly broke the league.
Philly is a basketball town that breathes through its lungs and its scars. For every Allen Iverson—the undisputed king of 1996—there’s a Markelle Fultz or an Evan Turner. It's a journey of extremes. We’re talking about a franchise that intentionally tried to lose to win, only to find out that the ping-pong balls have a sick sense of humor.
Let’s be honest. Most people think "The Process" was just about Joel Embiid. It wasn't. It was about a volume-shooting approach to the draft that yielded some of the greatest "what-ifs" in sports history.
The Era of Total Deconstruction
Sam Hinkie arrived in 2013 and basically decided the middle of the NBA standings was a graveyard. To get to the top, you had to go to the bottom. Deep.
The 2013 draft was the opening salvo. Trading Jrue Holiday—an All-Star in his prime—for the rights to Nerlens Noel and a future pick was a shock to the system. Noel was coming off an ACL tear. He was a defensive specialist who couldn't shoot. Then came 2014. Joel Embiid was the prize, but he had a broken navicular bone in his foot. Philly didn't care. They took him anyway, knowing he might not play for two years.
That same night, they drafted Dario Saric, who was literally under contract in Turkey and couldn't join the team for two seasons. The fans called it "Stashing." The rest of the league called it insanity.
But it worked, sorta. Embiid became a generational MVP. But the Noel and Jahlil Okafor picks? Those felt like a waste of the misery fans endured. Okafor, taken 3rd overall in 2015, was a throwback post scorer in a league that was suddenly obsessed with three-pointers. He was a dinosaur the moment he stepped on the court. It’s a classic example of scouting the player but ignoring the direction of the game.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Number One Picks
Philadelphia 76ers draft history is defined by the number one overall pick. They've had it four times since the merger: Doug Collins (1973), Allen Iverson (1996), Ben Simmons (2016), and Markelle Fultz (2017).
Iverson was the culture. He was the answer. No notes there.
But the Simmons and Fultz back-to-back years are where the trauma lives for Sixers fans. Ben Simmons was a physical marvel. A 6'10" point guard who could pass like Magic Johnson and defend every position. For a few years, he was an All-NBA lock. But the shooting. The refusal to even try. It became a mental block that eventually paralyzed the franchise.
Then there’s Fultz.
Philly traded up with Boston to get him. They gave up a future first-rounder just to move from 3 to 1. Fultz was supposed to be the perfect fit—a three-level scorer who could play off-ball next to Simmons. Instead, he developed one of the most mysterious cases of "the yips" in athletic history. His shooting form vanished. Nerve damage? Psychological pressure? We still don't really know. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum, the guy Boston took at 3, became a superstar. That’s the kind of draft-day swing that alters the course of a decade.
Diamonds in the Rough and Late-Round Wins
It hasn't all been top-three drama. If you ignore the lottery, the Sixers have actually been decent at finding value where others didn't look.
- Tyrese Maxey (21st overall, 2020): This might be the biggest steal in the modern era of the franchise. Because of a shortened college season and some scouting oversight, Maxey fell to 21. He’s now an All-Star and the fastest player in the league.
- Jrue Holiday (17th overall, 2009): Long before he was an NBA champion in Milwaukee, Jrue was a lockdown defender in Philly.
- Thaddeus Young (12th overall, 2007): A professional’s professional. He gave the Sixers years of solid, versatile play.
- Landry Shamet (26th overall, 2018): He was a knockdown shooter who eventually became a key trade piece to get Tobias Harris.
Success in the draft isn't just about hitting the home run at the top. It’s about not striking out when you’re swinging at the bottom of the order.
The Lessons of the Colangelo and Brand Eras
When the league stepped in and Sam Hinkie was forced out, the draft strategy shifted. It became more about "fit" and less about "best player available." Bryan Colangelo and later Elton Brand had the unenviable task of trying to complete a puzzle with pieces that didn't always match.
Zhaire Smith (2018) is a name that haunts the front office. Not because of his talent, but because of the trade. Philly had Mikal Bridges—a local kid, son of a team employee, and a perfect 3-and-D wing. They drafted him, then immediately traded him to Phoenix for Smith and a pick. Smith then suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction to sesame seeds and never recovered his athletic form. Bridges, of course, became one of the best role players and fringe stars in the NBA.
The Philadelphia 76ers draft history shows that sometimes, being too smart for your own good is a curse. They overthought the Bridges pick, trying to squeeze more value out of the asset, and ended up with nothing.
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Why 1996 Remains the Gold Standard
You can't talk about Philly and the draft without 1996. The 76ers were coming off an 18-64 season. They needed a miracle.
Enter the Georgetown guard with the braids and the crossover.
Iverson changed everything. He didn't just win games; he changed the way the NBA looked and felt. He was the first pick in a draft that included Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and Steve Nash. While the Sixers missed out on some of those other legends, nobody in Philadelphia would trade the Iverson era for anything. He was the soul of the city. That draft proved that one single right choice can sustain a business for fifteen years.
The Mistakes We Keep Seeing
There’s a pattern in the Sixers' misses. Usually, it’s a failure to account for modern spacing.
Taking Okafor when the league was going small was a mistake. Taking Simmons and Fultz together—two guys who ultimately couldn't or wouldn't shoot from the perimeter—clogged the lanes for Joel Embiid. The draft isn't just about finding the best basketball player; it's about finding the player who makes your existing players better.
Philly has often chased the "ceiling" of a player while ignoring the "floor." They gamble on athleticism and size, assuming they can teach the skill later. But as the Simmons saga proved, you can't always coach the "want to" into a player's jumper.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
When evaluating the future of the 76ers and their draft picks, keep these metrics in mind:
- Free Throw Percentage as a Shooting Indicator: If you look at the 76ers' draft history, the guys who failed to develop a jumper often had poor free-throw percentages in college. This was the red flag for Simmons and Noel. It's the most reliable stat for predicting NBA shooting success.
- The "Third Star" Trap: Teams often draft for a star when they really need a high-level role player. The Mikal Bridges trade is the perfect example of valuing a "potential star" (Zhaire Smith) over a "guaranteed starter" (Bridges).
- Medical Due Diligence: The Sixers have an uncanny knack for drafting players with pre-existing injuries. Embiid worked out. Noel, Fultz, and Smith did not. In the modern NBA, availability is the most underrated ability.
- Character and "Motor": Tyrese Maxey succeeded where others failed because of his legendary work ethic. When scouting future Sixers picks, look for the guys who are praised for their gym-rat mentality rather than just their wingspan.
The Philadelphia 76ers draft history is a chaotic, beautiful, and frustrating timeline. It’s a reminder that even when you have a plan—even when you have "The Process"—the bounce of a ball or the health of a foot can change everything. But if you hit on just one Tyrese Maxey or one Joel Embiid, all the years of losing suddenly feel like they were worth it.
The next time Philly is on the clock, don't just look at the highlight reel. Look at the free-throw percentage. Look at the injury report. And for heaven's sake, if there’s a local kid who can play defense and shoot threes, just keep him.
To truly understand where the team is headed, you have to track the "Stepien Rule" implications and the draft capital they've traded away in the James Harden and Paul George eras. Those missing picks are the tax the team is paying for the mistakes made during the lottery years. Watching the salary cap and the incoming rookie scale contracts will be the only way to see how they build around Embiid's remaining prime.