Brown says he feels a debt to Sixers ticket holders

MINNEAPOLIS - Brett Brown disclosed Wednesday morning how he planned to celebrate the first 76ers win.

"Cartwheels, somersaults, great dinner with my family, hug my players, you know, and really salute the fans," said the coach, whose team finally got its first victory, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 85-77, Wednesday night at the Target Center.

"Every game that I ever coached with Philadelphia, I walk out and talk to our season-ticket holders first for 15 minutes," said Brown, a former San Antonio Spurs assistant who was hired in August 2013. "Then I go down to the Wells Fargo building and see all these young guys who are behind the desk, trying to sell tickets. And you feel such an amazing responsibility to help them find success, too. . . .

"I get emotional when I look at those young kids trying to sell tickets when we haven't won. Or the season-ticket holders coming and they haven't experienced any winning, and still they pay for their seats."

Brown wants to make things right for Sixers fans and the city. He said that hangs on him daily. However, the only thing his teams have been able to do consistently is lose.

The Sixers lost 26 straight games last season to match the record for consecutive losses by a U.S. professional team. The 76ers have only won five games since Jan. 30.

Brown won four NBA championship rings as a San Antonio assistant. The Spurs won 50 or more games per season during his 12 seasons in the organization.

He has been taken aback by how challenging his tenure has been thus far with the Sixers.

"When the lights go out and it's sort of quiet, you think a lot about this is hard," Brown said. "But you come back in the gym and you see these young guys, and you are reminded of why you took the job and you left Disneyland in San Antonio."

The Sixers are sacrificing the present with the hope of building a winning future with lottery picks. This season, however, hit a bump in the road when the team acquired two first-round picks - Joel Embiid (foot injury) and Dario Saric (playing in Turkey) - who won't play this season.

"I said this before, even knowing what I know now about our draft picks not being here and we are taking some hits with some injuries," Brown said. "I'd take this job 50 times out of 50 times."