Andrew Bynum returned to Philadelphia this past week to finally play a game at the Wells Fargo Center. His introduction was met with a chorus of boos and chants–most notably in the fourth quarter when the home fans started chanting “Bynum sucks!” repeatedly.
Were they right to do so, or was it disrespectful and very bitter?
If you’ve lived under a rock for two years, here’s how the story goes: Philly gave up a ton of assets to land Andrew Bynum. He sat out the entire year and didn’t really make an effort to get into any kind of playing shape and continued to taunt the fans with various bowling expeditions and flamenco dancing sessions.
Free agency came and he and Sam Hinkie cut ties quicker than you can say “analytics.”
Bynum led the Sixers fans on all year, promised to go to prom with them and ditched them on prom night.
Andrew Bynum was well within his right to wait until he was fully fit to start training again. Like Derrick Rose, he wanted to get his body completely ready. But fans won’t buy into that when he’s out bowling and putting strain on that fragile knee.
He didn’t sacrifice all he could to play for the Philadelphia 76ers and for a team that blew up a team one win away from an Eastern Conference Finals appearance to land you, that’s pretty big. Fans love players that sacrifice things for the greater good and Sixer fans were ready to go all in on supporting Bynum. Who can forget his first-ever press conference?
So yes, the boos were justified. Bynum made $16 million last year, despite not doing very much in way of playing basketball. He’s earned more in that past year than any of us are ever likely to earn. By doing nothing. He led the franchise and the fans on; was lazy and hasn’t been kind to the franchise since he left.
Funnily enough, both parties are happier without each other. Bynum — when healthy — gets to play with Kyrie Irving and company, while Philadelphia can live without the distraction and now have a legitimate plan to become a title contender sometime in the future. But fans deserve little moments like this. They are fans at the end of the day; they support the team, they pay their money, they show up after working hard during the day. They are the ones that pinned their hopes on Bynum, let them boo him after he showed them a lack of respect through the last year.