Whenever a franchise enters a rebuilding phase, the atmosphere can quickly turn frustrating and uncertain. That was exactly the case for the Philadelphia 76ers after their 2012 playoff exit, when the team committed to a full-scale rebuild, called "The Process," that would eventually redefine its identity.
For Robert Covington, who was part of the team from 2014 to 2019, those years weren't just about losing - they were about navigating an environment that often felt directionless and depressing.
Speaking on the Run Your Race podcast, Covington described just how mentally draining that period was. Despite players putting up their best effort, the results simply didn't follow, and the constant losing created a heavy, discouraging atmosphere on the court and inside the locker room.
"My four years? 18, 10, 28, 52 - that was my four years in Philly. We were the second-worst team in NBA history. But the thing was we weren't getting our a– beat. We were actually in games, we just ran out of gas. We didn't have sustainability," Covington said on the Run Your Race podcast. " We get to the fourth quarter, we're still playing like the first quarter, can't do that."
The numbers back it up. The 2014-15 Sixers were the worst offensive team in the league. The following season (when they won merely 10 games), they again ranked at the bottom offensively while also finishing among the worst defensive squads. By 2016-17, it marked the third straight year as the league's least effective offense. Thus, it wasn't just a painful stretch; it was a prolonged period of poor performance.
But beyond the on-court struggles, the instability behind the scenes made things even tougher. Covington revealed how players were often signed and released within days, sometimes just before contract guarantee deadlines in January. And that kind of uncertainty created frustration, leaving players never feeling secure in their roster spot.
Even players like TJ McConnell, who continuously had solid on-court performances, weren't guaranteed stability. There was always a lingering doubt about whether they'd still be with the team the next day.
"Bro everyone was on a non-guaranteed contract. If you weren't drafted, everybody's on a non-g guaranteed contract. TJ McConnell was stressing every goddamn day," Covington added. "I had 27 teammates in one year. At one point, I didn't even get to know the person that was next to me. Every week, somebody was added and removed."
Given those struggles, it's no surprise that expectations skyrocketed once Joel Embiid emerged as the face of the franchise. Put simply, he became the symbol of hope for a fanbase that had endured years of losing. While the team has remained somewhat competitive in the regular season, its constant second-round failures have left a sense of unfinished business.
Now, with a young, promising and developing backcourt duo of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the 76ers appear to be at another crossroads. The front office understands what those rebuilding years felt like.
That is why there is a growing urgency among Philly fans to achieve real success. If the team fails to make a deep playoff run even in 2026, significant changes could be on the horizon. After everything the franchise and its fans went through during "The Process," there's only so much patience left for falling short, and we could see a totally different Sixers squad next season.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
