FanPost

Nerlens Week: The Ligament That Flipped The Sixers Upside-Down

Prior to tearing his ACL, Nerlens Noel was widely considered to be the frontrunner for the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Immediately following his injury, Noel's draft stock fell drastically and many analysts began to question the young superstar's NBA future.

So let me start by telling you what every sports writer, analyst, and pundit knows: Historically, ACL tears have been extremely difficult for elite level professional athletes to fully recover from.

Yes, historically speaking, this statement is very true. But don't you see? That's just the problem with what all the experts were looking at... it was historic, or as far as advancements in ACL reconstructions go, it was actually PRE-HISTORIC!

ACL reconstructions are NOT what they used to be. Medical advancements, most notably in the are of post-surgery rehab, have allowed athletes to 100% fully recover from ACL tears. However, in the not-too-far-removed past, athletes who returned to sport after ACL reconstructions maxed out a fraction of their old selves.

So why is this important, you ask? A great question, indeed!

Because all of the "experts" were analyzing Nerlens' market value based on outdated medical techniques, the Sixers were able to STEAL the best player in the 2013 NBA Draft. And ultimately, because Nerlens Noel tore his ACL, the Sixers were able to revamp their entire franchise.

Because Nerlens tore his ACL, the Sixers were able to trade Jrue Holiday, they were able to gain rights to international hype-man Dario Saric, and not only that, but they were also able to land ever-valuable future picks. Oh... And I almost forgot that the resulting tank-fest allowed the Sixers to draft Embiid, too. So this may sound pretty crazy, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that Nerlens Noel tearing his ACL was the best thing to happen to the Sixers in the entire past 10 years.

It's a bold statement, sure. And of course, there will be no way to know if the statement is actually true until many years down the road. But one thing is for sure... the Sixers organization was flipped upside-down the night that Nerlens Noel tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament.

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