No. But can I write a clickbait headline? You’re goddamn right I can.

Rich Hofmann wrote an interesting – if not slightly amateurish – article on Philly.com today examining Google Trends for Sixers-related searches and comparing them to searches for the other local teams over the past year and decade. Not surprisingly, the Sixers saw a surge in interest in Philly over the last month. Hofmann’s chart, maddeningly not color coordinated (Sixers are Blue, Phillies are orange, Eagles are green):

Voila_Capture 2016-07-07_10-52-58_AM

He extrapolates the following conclusion from this very raw data:

The Sixers (blue line) are, to me, the most interesting — and not only because they are more popular in the off-season than they are in the regular season. Overall, interest in the team is clearly surging. You feel it anecdotally, in just talking to people, just hanging around town, and whatever value this chart might be, it reaffirms that feeling.

Hmm. OK, let’s pump the brakes a little bit. They just had the number one pick in the NBA Draft and were reported to be players (they weren’t) in one of the most fascinating off-seasons of all-time. In fact, their chart largely mirrors the chart for searches for “Ben Simmons” and “NBA,” in Philly (my chart)

Voila_Capture 2016-07-07_10-04-46_AM

I’d argue that the Sixers, somewhat ironically – given the fact that their team value has increased almost solely because of league value – are themselves along for the ride that is the NBA’s resurgence. Over the last two years the league has benefited from the convenient narrative of Good vs. Evil– the progressive, likable and fun Warriors battling the oft-hated LeBron James, who last year nearly overcame impossible odds – a video game boss battle of sorts where The King could only be defeated by the quickness and ingenuity of Wizardy Westerners who could shoot – and this year succeeded in overcoming different but equally impossible odds, somehow winning over the country and flipping Steph Curry and the Warriors into heels. Throw Kevin Durant into the mix, and now you have a sort of Cold War-level hegemonic conflict with elements of MAD-ness between the Warriors and Cavs. The Sixers landing the number one pick –  one of the most high-profile prospects to enter the draft in the past five years or so – makes for the perfect storm of renewed interest.

That’s not to take anything away from the Sixers. Not by a long shot. I just don’t think it’s as simple as measuring their Google Trends, since having the number one pick in the draft will always have a massive impact on search interest in the short-term. And searches alone are hardly indications of fan sentiment.

But if you want to dive even deeper, almost all of the Sixers uptick in Hofmann’s chart came from the day after the lottery, the day after the draft, and the day after free agency started:

Voila_Capture 2016-07-07_11-02-08_AM

My Nate Dogg hold up aside, I believe that the Sixers are best positioned among any of the Philly teams for the next episode. I’ve thought they’ve been the most interesting team over the last year, maybe even two. Between the unique and sometimes frustrating ownership and management style, Sam Hinkie, the unabashed tank, the league-Colangelo angle, and now genuine talent poised to form a potentially dominant team… the Sixers are where it’s at. But up until recently – say since Sam Hinkie stepped down – Sixers posts on site garnered little interest compared to Eagles, Flyers or even Phillies posts. That’s all changed. Our Sixers posts are second only to Eagles posts right now, so anecdotally I can confirm what Hofmann tried to measure. However, they still have a long way to go before they even approach the level of interest – at least if you want to use Google Trends – we’ve seen in the other teams:

Voila_Capture 2016-07-07_10-07-10_AM

The relative spike in Sixers searches – that blue line with the tail – took an incredible NBA Finals and off-season and a number one pick to achieve, and it is still dwarfed, right now, by the Phillies, who are currently in the midst of one of the most unpredictable and mediocre seasons of all-time. The Sixers will get to the MF-ing mountaintop eventually. We just have to Trust The Process.