Former 76ers Center, Todd MacCulloch, Pays MGK An Amazing Visit

Last week, we got to see the much-anticipated return of one of the Philadelphia 76ers' beloved big men.

It had been a little while since this guy touched the court down at the Wells Fargo Center, and he got a nice ovation when he walked onto the hardwood prior to last week's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Come to think of it, this is starting to sound a little similar to the return of the reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, but it is actually someone else!

I am talking about none other than former 76ers great, Todd MacCulloch!

Not only did Todd MacCulluch return to the Wells Fargo Center last week, but he also made a visit to the MGK studios and The Matt Cord Show With Steve Vassalotti.

You can actually check out the complete conversation with the former big man for the 76ers below.

https://wmgk.com/episodes/the-matt-cord-show-w-steve-vassalotti-todd-macculloch-interview/

Todd MacCulloch, for our younger audience, played during the Allen Iverson era, and was actually a part of that magical season the team had back in 2001.

That 2001 76ers team made it all the way to the NBA Finals, and, in fact, were the only team to beat the Los Angeles Lakers during their whole playoff run.

Todd was a big part of that season!

Most importantly, Todd is perhaps one of the nicest athletes you will ever come across.

Since retiring from basketball, Todd has actually stayed active in the sports world and is a nationally-ranked pinball player!

He currently lives in Bainbridge Island all the way in Washington State.

For my rock n roll lovers, here’s a fun fact — Todd is neighbors with Ben Sheppard, who is the bassist for Soundgarden.

After he stopped by the MGK studios and we caught up with him, Todd made his way down to Broad Street to catch that night’s 76ers game!

Todd was the guest bell ringer that night, and he definitely got the crowd into the game early, and the energy never left.

Like I mentioned earlier, that game also marked the return of Joel Embiid who had missed the last two months with a knee injury.

The Sixers went on to win that night and I credit that to the return of both big men — Joel Embiid and Todd MacCulloch!

It was great to get a win and even better to catch up with Todd.

Go Sixers!

Another trophy is making its way to South Philly and taking its rightful home right on Broad Street.

Joel “The Process” Embiid was officially awarded the MVP of the NBA last night, and a lot of us think it has been a long time coming.

The big fella had quite the season!

He led the NBA in points per game with 33.1 and brought in 10.2 rebounds per game, which was good for 8th in the league.

Plus, he got his teammates involved, averaging 4.2 assists per game.

Embiid is the fifth Philadelphia 76ers player to win the award with Wilt Chamberlain winning in 1966, 1967, and 1968, Julius “Dr. J” Erving winning in 1981, Moses Malone winning in 1983, and Allen Iverson winning in 2001.

This is the second MVP season I have had the pleasure to watch up close as the public address announcer for the team.

Both seasons were legendary between Iverson’s season in ‘01 and Joel’s this year!

We all know the ‘01 season ended in an NBA Finals appearance, so hopefully, his year is similar, but we actually finish the job this time and win it all!

But that discussion is for another day!

Today is all about Embiid!

It has been a pleasure to watch him grow as a basketball player.

From a guy who couldn’t get on the floor his first two years due to injury to the best player in the world!

Also, off the floor, he is one of the funniest players to be around.

For example, when we were in London in 2018, I snagged a funny photo of him imitating Dikembe Mutumbo’s finger wave!

That’s just one small moment that sticks out of him as a person.

I look forward to doing his intro every night because I know it is going to be the loudest the crowd gets during the pregame night in and night out.

Plus, I can’t forget our pregame ritual where I give him his first pass of the night and then after getting a feel for the game ball, he passes it back to me so I can give it to the referee!

It is so cool to see all his teammates react and give him his flowers!

He deserves them all!

But I’m sure his focus right now isn’t even on winning the award, it’s on trying to get healthy for his team and working towards a championship!

So let’s get it done, big fella!

Congrats!