Will Philly sports fans experience more heartbreak in 2023? They’re bracing for it as Sixers enter playoffs.

Philly is the first city in sports history to lose three straight championships. It’s a sensitive subject.

One Philly sports fan described this past year as “always being the bridesmaid and never the bride.” The 76ers offer the city one more chance to become next at the altar.

The last time the Sixers won a title was in the 1982-83 season, behind stars Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Maurice Cheeks. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the championship squad.

Since then, the Sixers have only been back to the Finals once, in 2001, when they were led by Allen Iverson and fell to the L.A. Lakers in five games. They almost broke that streak last season, but were eliminated by the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Sixers could face another second-round exit or break that streak and get back to the Finals for the first time in nearly 22 years. The Inquirer asked local fans for their thoughts about the third-seeded Sixers before their first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets. Here’s where they stand.

Lauren Gordon, 53, of Norristown is a Sixers season-ticket holder who has been a fan since she was 12 years old. Gordon’s dad took her to a few games during that 1983 season, and she recalls her mom hanging posters of two-time All-Star Andrew Toney. When Gordon had a home of her own, she decked out multiple rooms in Sixers merchandise, with Iverson and Joel Embiid posters on the walls.

She’s optimistic that this year the Sixers will bring home a championship. As someone who watched the evolution of this current team, Gordon said Embiid’s health is behind her optimism.

“This is the best-constructed team that we had going into the playoffs,” Gordon said. “I would say this team is even better than when we had JJ [Redick] and Jimmy [Butler]. We have everything we kept saying we were lacking; mental toughness, bench players. Embiid was deserving of MVP last season. But this season, he took it to a whole new level. We could actually win the whole thing this year.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid and the Sixers have the talent, but they need championship toughness

Gordon predicts the Sixers will beat the Nets in Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center. In the second round, if they matchup against the Boston Celtics, she’s still confident that the Sixers are coming out on top.

“I don’t think there’s any team out there that could beat us in a seven-game series,” Gordon said. “Not only is this city and fanbase hungry for a championship, but Embiid — he’s mentally and physically ready.”

Other fans view this year as the ultimate test of whether the Sixers can win beyond the regular season, and if coach Doc Rivers will return for a fourth campaign.

Jonathan Dunleavy, 26, lives in Center City and is a graduate of La Salle. He’s spent the last couple years coaching AAU basketball in Philly. He expressed that this playoff run is a “win-or-bust” situation.

“If the starters aren’t doing what’s needed early in the game, I don’t think that they’re going to be ready,” Dunleavy said. “I have confidence in the Sixers that we could beat anybody, but from a realistic standpoint, we’ve had teams where we’re really good and lost in the second round, because we didn’t have a third option outside of Embiid and [James] Harden.

“Tobias Harris, who has a $200 million contract, does he become the third option? Or can Tyrese Maxey elevate his game?”

Emotions are high for Sixers fans, who can’t help but relive last season’s doom. Some jokingly admitted they don’t want to watch to avoid anxiety and stress. But the fanbase can at least agree that this year’s been rough across the sports landscape, so they’re ready to turn the page, starting with Game 1 at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“It’s definitely a unique year in terms of heartbreak in the city,” said Juila Hopson, a sophomore finance major at Temple. “I hope that these guys can get it done. There’s a bunch of guys on the bench that have been showing a lot of promise. I hope that the [team] feels that sense of pressure to get it done for the city.”