Sixers are cheering for Eagles and hoping they become next Philly team to reach finals

The Phillies advanced to the World Series in October. The Union reached the MLS Cup in November. And the Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12.

So does that make it an NBA Finals-or-bust season for the 76ers?

“It’s funny that we are talking about that now, because we also were talking about it before the season started,” Matisse Thybulle said. “The pressure for us to do well is always there because everything that happened was kind of manifested by the fans. Like everyone [said the Eagles advancing to the Super Bowl] was going to happen, and it did.”

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As a result, Thybulle doesn’t think the expectations surrounding the Sixers have changed. He thinks it’s amazing that Philly professional teams are living up to their potential.

“And, I mean,” he said, “I think we’re just going to be the next ones up after the Eagles win the Super Bowl.”

The Eastern Conference’s second-place Sixers head into Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic at the Wells Fargo Center as the NBA’s hottest team. They are 32-16 with a league-best seven-game winning streak going into the game, winners of 20 of their previous 24 games.

Markelle Fultz seemed to be in a great mood.

Eight hours before Monday’s game, the Magic point guard talked about being excited to play in the Center. The Sixers picked Fultz with the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, and this contest will mark the first time he has played in the arena since Nov. 19, 2018.

“Always, you know, fun to come back here,” said Fultz, who was traded to Magic on Feb. 7, 2019. “The fans are one of a kind here. Just the atmosphere here and the experience of being drafted here, you know, it’s definitely going to be fun to be able to step on the court and play.”

Improved three-point shooting is perhaps the biggest difference in Fultz’s game. He’s shooting a career-best 34.2% from beyond the arc this season after making just 26.7% as a Sixer. However, he’s still hampered by injuries.

Monday was just his 128th game in a little over four seasons in Orlando. After missing the first 21 games with a broken toe, Fultz made his season debut on Nov. 30 against the Atlanta Hawks. He is averaging 12.1 points, a career-high 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals through 29 games.

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“[Fultz] has got a good feel for the game,” Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters earlier this season. “He can score, he can get the ball to a lot of places where he needs to. He’s got a little bit of a one-on-one package where even if he’s tightly guarded, he can vault up and figure out a way to get it in the basket.”

However, as a Sixer, he was regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. In Philly, Fultz was often criticized for his shooting woes and extended time away from the team. He played in only 33 games in a little less than two seasons as a Sixer.

But he has remained friends with people in the organization, especially Joel Embiid.

“We talk every once in a while,” Fultz said. “It’s not an everyday basis. But we have a lot of love for each other. As soon as I got here, I jumped on FaceTime and we were just talking a little bit of trash to each other and just talking a little bit.”

Fultz believes he has built relationships that will last a lifetime from his time in Philly.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers heads into Monday’s game 23 victories shy of tying former Sixers coach Larry Brown for eighth place on the all-time coaching wins list. Rivers has 1,075 victories over 24 seasons with the Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Sixers.

Brown, a Hall of Fame coach, compiled 1,098 wins over 26 seasons with the Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Sixers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Charlotte Bobcats.