And that means that the 76ers have had a lot to gain from their experiences, both positive and negative, of their overseas sojourn.
As Brown sees it, rather than working on the tactical side of the game, it is the ‘peripheral’ things that come from travel that are of the greatest benefit to his fledgling team.
He said: “It’s hard to draw any sort of Xs and Os stuff because whether you’re playing in Bilbao or Manchester or New York city playing is playing is playing.
“It’s more of a chemistry thing. It’s not like we travel so our defence is going to be better or we travel so our offence improves.
“You travel so you can try to get more understanding of who your roommate is, who your teammate is, who your playing partner is.”
It also explains why Brown was determined to bring along injured centre Nerlens Noel despite their being no possibility of him taking the court.
He said: “It’s our decision that he will travel everywhere with us.
“The last thing we want to do is to take a young player that for the first time is earning significant money and leave him all by himself in the city of Philadelphia and think that he’s going to get better and be ready to jump into the team, you know late this year or next year or whenever that may be.”
And whilst the 76ers have had inevitable cases of culture shock, travelling with players who in some cases have never left the United States before, even those have been an opportunity for the team to gel according to team veterans Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner.
Young’s take on the food in Spain (“Some places were good, some places weren’t. I know in Spain they like everything kind of raw and I wanted my stuff cooked”) becomes even more amusing when you find out that far from being presented with sushi, Young was reacting to a hotel hamburger that was still slightly pink in the middle.
Meanwhile, Turner is adjusting to being a senior player despite being only 24-years-old and having just three seasons of NBA experience even referring to the ‘young guys’ who have started a rap group while abroad.
Turner said: “I just want to guide the guys down the right path. I’m still young, I’m still growing and this type of responsibility is going to be key and it will hopefully work out for the best.”
“We’ve had a lot of good times and a lot of fun times as well, and it’s all about laying the foundations so unity and all that stuff.”
“Some of the young guys started rapping, they put together a rap group. Mike [Carter-Williams], Vander Blue, Tony Wroten and Khalif Wyatt.”
Such stories illustrate just how much benefit the trip has been to the 76ers side, and have done wonders for the team’s confidence heading into the season.
While many are expecting the 76ers to be amongst the league’s worst teams next season, Young maintains the team are not tanking and has even said his aim is to make the playoffs.
And that is something that is rubbing off on the youngsters in the side, with rookie Rodney Williams convinced when he says: “We’re rebuilding so it might be tough at times the sky’s the limit for us and as long as we come out and we play as one and everybody goes out there with the same goal I think we’re a team that can contend in the East this year.”
The contrast with the 76ers opponents on Tuesday night couldn’t be more stark.
The Thunder dispatched Fenerbahce relatively easily in Istanbul on Saturday and, as you would expect from a team with a core that has been together for a number of season and is now expected to contend for a title, continued their business-like approach in Manchester.
While conscious of their duty to promote the NBA during their time in Britain, both coach Scott Brooks and stars like Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are all more intent on using the games to adapt to the absence of All Star point guard Russell Westbrook, who will miss the start of the season through injury, than reflecting on the benefits of the trip abroad.
Only rookie centre Steven Adams really shed any light on the Thunder’s overseas experience by tweeting ‘Manchester is all class. #Bangers&Mash’.
Indeed, for the most part the Thunder gave the impression that whether they were playing in Manchester, Istanbul or back in Oklahoma, whether preseason or NBA finals, this was just another game to be won.
And while that’s what almost everyone expects them to do when the game tips off on Tuesday evening, the 76ers know that they’re the team that really ‘won’ in Europe.
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