The Sixers [Name Of Player] Games Ranked

Where does the Shake Milton Game rank?

[photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images]

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, but that ban will be lifted in March of 2020. He is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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Spike and Mike have talked on the last few podcasts about how this recent stretch has felt like home -- the most “Processy” period in recent years. This, of course, culminated on Sunday afternoon, in what will be commonly known as “The Shake Game.” Milton lit up the Clippers for 39 points in a game that included a dunk on Patrick Beverley, having Paul George switched onto him and being faced with the Harden treatment -- double-teams at half-court. 

Watching Shake unexpectedly torch the Clippers got me thinking about the best individual performances we’ve seen from Sixers. And since my column last week was not fun at all, I decided to write something a bit more jovial this week.

My criteria was as follows: if I say “The [name of player] Game,” it has to be obvious to most which game I’m thinking of. 

Here’s an example of what I mean: Joel Embiid’s 46-15-7-7 performance against the Lakers a few years ago is not on this list. It was the best game I’ve watched a Sixer play, but Joel (and Ben Simmons) have had too many great games for there to be one game synonymous with their name. Additionally, I heard many dissenting arguments about what “The Furkan Korkmaz Game” would be (either of his 30+ point games in February, his game-winner in Portland, or his 40-point Summer League game), which led me to the heartbreaking decision that there will not be a Furkan game on this list.

After lots of Basketball Reference searches, even more YouTube binging and many texts and emails with AU, here’s the list I settled on…

#9: The Isaiah Canaan Game

January 30th, 2016

18 points, five three-pointers made

Though likely thought of as the Harrison Barnes Game by the most pessimist fans, the Sixers nearly defeating the eventual record-setting Warriors in Philadelphia was truly a sight to behold. Other than Barnes knocking down a game-winner, we all remember just one play: Isaiah Canaan, in the corner directly in front of the Golden State bench, scoring a four-point play in the final minute of action. After watching every highlight reel of this game publicly available, I can confirm that Canaan played well overall that night, but he is penalized in the ranking a bit because none of us would remember it without the four-pointer. If we were ranking the top moments in Process history, though, this would have to be near the top of the list.

#8: The Carl Landry Game

April 5th, 2016

22 points, nine rebounds, 9-10 from the field

This honestly might be my favorite game on the list. The Sixers started the night in the midst of a 12-game losing streak and with a record of 9-68. They ended it comfortably ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, with a player at the free throw line being greeted by “MVP” chants from a united crowd. The best part about this game: the Sixers sat Landry for the remaining four games on the schedule, and he hasn’t been with another team since. The Carl Landry Game was actually the last game of his career.

#7: The Spencer Hawes Game

November 22nd, 2013

25 points, 12 rebounds

The final year of Hawes’ tenure in Philadelphia was, if I remember correctly, not always thrilling (if this is incorrect, don’t blame me, I was literally 11 years old). But the 2013-14 Sixers did get off to a start that was fun as hell, particularly with a few signature wins that made this list. The Sixers trailed the Bucks by seven points with less than 90 seconds left, and then… Hawes went insane. First, he drilled a three off a flare screen from the right wing. Then, coming off a pin-down, he hit one from the left corner. And finally, down three points with 3.9 seconds remaining, Hawes dashed to the corner, where he launched a one-legged, one-handed rainbow and tied the game right in front of the Milwaukee Bucks bench. As time expired, he whipped out the finger guns to celebrate (thanks to AU for reminding me about this all-important detail), and the Sixers eventually put the game away in overtime.

#6: The Markelle Fultz Game

March 26th, 2018

10 points, eight assists

In terms of the amount of pure elation we all received, the night Fultz suddenly returned from his mysterious shoulder ailment may rank at the top. The hindsight understanding that this was not a prelude to any future success dampers it a bit, but shouldn’t make us lose sight of how victorious that night felt -- not just for fans watching the #1 overall pick return to the court, but for Fultz’s teammates who were genuinely thrilled for him, and most importantly, for Fultz himself, as he finally was back in uniform after five long months. The love has started to dissipate recently, but what won’t go away is the memory of the rousing standing ovation when Fultz checked in, or the “FULTZ” chants, or the crowd going absolutely bonkers as he knocked down two jumpers to end the game. Those were incredible moments, and it was an incredible night.

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#5: The Corey Brewer Game

January 21st, 2019

11 points, two steals, two blocks

Corey Brewer face-guarded James Harden while James Harden was on the ground. Watch this video. It is the only justification I need to have an 11-point game on this list.

#4: The James Anderson Game

November 13th, 2013

36 points, 12-16 from the field, 6-8 from three-point range

James Anderson was terrible! But that’s what makes this game my favorite of the bunch to rewatch. Some context, thanks to Basketball Reference: in the first eight games of the season, Anderson was playing heavy minutes on the wing and only averaged 6.9 points per game, shooting close to 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Sixers hoped he could be a gunner from deep, but he never gave them much of anything. On this night, though, he was everything they could have hoped for, pouring in an uber efficient 36 points on just 16 shots, punctuated by a hail mary three to send the game to overtime. There wasn’t an unexpected scoring explosion as good as this from a Sixer until...

#3: The Shake Milton Game

March 1st, 2020

39 points, 14-20 from the field, 7-9 from three-point range

Everything about last weekend’s emergence from Shake was perfect. From the early dunk on Patrick Beverley, to raining threes, having Paul George switch onto him, beating George off the dribble with ease, having Kawhi freaking Leonard switch onto him, and having the Clippers use their James Harden defense -- a trap at half-court -- in order to get the ball out of his hands. My favorite part was Mike Breen’s seemingly increasingly alarmed tone as he went from “Shake Milton scores” to “Shake Milton once again” to “Shake Milton?!” to “SHAKE MILTON!!!!” I can’t begin to imagine how many people were frantically googling “Shake Milton” at halftime of the game, and that is what made it all so spectacular.

#2: The TJ McConnell Game

May 7th, 2018

19 points, eight rebounds, five assists

Down 3-0 to the Celtics and on the brink of elimination, Brett Brown whipped out a desperation play, pulling the plug on what had been the NBA’s best starting lineup by inserting TJ McConnell in place of Robert Covington (Covington had a notably poor series, but this was more about Ben Simmons than it was Covington -- the Celtics had completely neutralized Simmons, and the Sixers needed an additional ball-handler). Brown’s bold call didn’t win them the series, but it did win them a game, as McConnell toyed with Terry Rozier and the Celtics, getting to the rim whenever he wanted. That series was truly awful to watch, but the fact that TJ McConnell carried the Sixers to a second-round playoff win is truly incredible.

#1: The Michael Carter-Williams Game

October 30th, 2013

22 points, 6-10 from the field, 4-6 from three-point range, 12 assists, seven rebounds, nine steals

I’m expecting some pushback against this choice for the top spot, and I get it. MCW turned out to be terrible! But just read these numbers again: 22 points on 10 shots, plus 12 assists, seven rebounds and nine (!) steals… in his NBA debut! It is quite seriously one of the best debuts in the history of the league, and even more impressive considering he did it playing for a team that went 19-63 and against a Miami Heat team that had just won the NBA Finals the year before. For a night, it seemed like we had a star in the making.