National Basketball Association

Dario Saric Calls Sixers Fans the Sixth Man of the Team

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dario Saric referred to the rambunctious Philadelphia 76ers fans from Thursday night as the “sixth man” of the team.

The number six has a lot of meaning to the Philadelphia 76ers. For starters, the team’s nickname is the “Sixers.” Julius Erving, one of the team’s all-time great players, wore the number six on his uniform, and had it retired by the team.

Rookie forward Dario Saric might start something that gives even more meaning to the number six. Following the Sixers’ devastating double overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday, Dario talked about how important the fans were in keeping the Sixers going and giving them motivation.

“It’s something special for me… I think [fans] will be like sixth man on the court,” Saric said.

Dario on playing in Philly: “It’s something special for me… I think [fans] will be like sixth man on the court.” pic.twitter.com/gom9pDnZ3d

— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 7, 2016

We’ve seen this term used for fans before, but more prominently in football. The Seattle Seahawks fans have been dubbed over the last several years as the “12th man” because their skull-shaking loudness that gives the team an incredibly home-court advantage. In basketball, there hasn’t been so much of an equivalent, but perhaps the Sixers could hop on that and the fans could become “the Sixes.”

The Seahawks fans often flew flags with “12” on them. It would be sweet to see 6s all over as a symbolic reference of how important the fans are, and of course, since it’s in the Sixers name.

For this to happen though, the fans need to keep the intensity going throughout the regular season. The reason this preseason game was so packed is because the Sixers were debuting Saric and Embiid for the first time, as well as first time Sixers like Gerald Henderson and Sergio Rodriguez.

Dario knows no different from the Philly fans. He knows that they were excited to see him and that they came to welcome him at the airport. He knows the sole home game he’s played. What he doesn’t know firsthand is how low the attendance has been over the past few seasons, and how little the city of Philadelphia generally cared about coming to Sixers games over the past several years.

Moving forward, however, it will get easier for casual fans to come out and see the Sixers play and enjoy it. The team is going to become more fun to watch, and more fun to cheer for. If the attendance rises, there’s a chance the Sixers could have a solid home court advantage in their “sixth man.”