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Cooney: Brown not type to blow his own horn over Sixers' success

JOEL EMBIID hits a three, deposits a vicious dunk, blocks a shot into oblivion and almost immediately looks to the crowd to encourage louder positive reaction in Wednesday's 94-89 win over Toronto.

JOEL EMBIID hits a three, deposits a vicious dunk, blocks a shot into oblivion and almost immediately looks to the crowd to encourage louder positive reaction in Wednesday's 94-89 win over Toronto.

Dario Saric hustles his way to a couple of loose balls, blocks three (though the box score said two) shots in the matter of minutes and nails an important three-pointer and he throws his shoulders back, sticks out his chest and is simultaneously attacked by celebrating teammates.

T.J. McConnell celebrates a late pass, field goal or free throw late in the game and those in the stands who ever played any level of basketball imagine themselves being him, the underdog who has worked his tail off to now be a viable member of a team that, right now, is the talk of the NBA.

The "Trust the Process" chants grow louder every game, with some "MVP" ones thrown in for good measure when Embiid gets to the foul line. It's a time to pick your head up, stick your chest out and nod approvingly if you're a player, fan and believer of what seems to be the beginning of what could become one of the biggest turnarounds in all of sports.

And yet, if you watch and listen closely, the one person who has had one of the uppermost hands in all this, who has endured more than any player, front office member or fan, is trying to escape the attention in a time when every basketball fan in the city is carrying a spotlight.

Brett Brown will never utter the word validation. That's just not his way. In fact, while the city and his players get caught up in the euphoria fueled by three years of unimaginable losing and now skyrocketing by seven wins in nine games, Brown has, consciously or subconsciously, started to crawl into a shell.

If anyone in the organization deserves to expand his chest, it's Brown. If adulation is rained down upon anyone, the coach who oversaw 47-199 in his first three seasons should be the recipient.

But Brown isn't looking for that. It's not that he's not appreciative of the way his team is playing right now. It also isn't a reflection of his admiration for the fans in this city, as from Day One he has felt a connection even he didn't expect when he came here in the summer of 2013. It's just that Brown, much like former general manager Sam Hinkie, the architect of "The Process," isn't short-sighted. Seven wins in nine games is remarkable for this team at this time. Key words - at this time.

Brown is a product of an organization in San Antonio where 50-win seasons were rolled out as easily as the basketballs before practice. Winning seven of nine was considered a bit of a hiccup in what Brown calls his years in "Disneyland." Seasons didn't end in the middle of April, as they've done in Philadelphia since his arrival; rather, that's when the real season started, as the playoffs got underway.

He came here preaching pace and defense and never wavered through a losing streak of 26; through a season that threatened to challenge the worst full-season record of all time; through injuries that cost him three seasons of key players. His vision of the league in the near future is all about playing defense and shooting threes. He has grown his team into that, with many holes still to fill, but with the luxury of many ways in which to do that. In the meantime, this craziness is all happening and the coach is retreating a bit, because he's just not close to being satisfied.

"It makes me feel that you're right (about his coaching outlook)," said Brown. "You coach and you go into work. I've been privileged to see five NBA championships (with four titles). I feel like I know what it takes to play in May and June. It's not a mystery to me and there's a lot that goes on behind (the scenes) that and you can't even put to words. This league is relentless. The durability that it takes to get these guys to play . . . Imagine walking off of a court on June 17.

"So, to teach our young guys and grow the program and try to have a vision that the city of Philadelphia would be proud of (is the goal). You think you know. I love my staff. I've kept my staff. We haven't rejigged much. We've stayed on course and we haven't skipped days. So for that reason, I'm proud of them to have some wins validate some of the way we believe is the right way to coach a basketball team and grow our program."

His message is clear. This Process is nowhere near completed. Some pieces are falling into place, none better than Embiid, who ws not named an All-Star starter on Thursday night. Players who will be key contributors down the road are showing signs that they could be that. Brown has played a huge part in growing players - Robert Covington, mostly - into legitimate assets on the floor.

But to Brown, those are all just some of the border pieces that will outline what all hope is a completed puzzle in the next few season as Ben Simmons gets healthy and a plethora of draft picks are gotten. So he'll go about his business just the way he did when the losses mounted.

"No one deserves wins more than he does," McConnell said of Brown. "I think he's sacrificed his coaching record for what's going on now. It pretty much shows you what kind of guy he is. He doesn't care (about his record). He cares about the players. He does want to win but he knew it would take some time."

He knows that to get where he wants to be, it will take a little more, too. Validation? Not just yet.

cooneyb@phillynews.com

@BobCooney76

Blog: philly.com/Sixersblog