PHILADELPHIA – A rookie center on the 2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers, Nikola Vucevic not only got to feel the white-hot intensity of the NBA playoffs, but he also reveled in the joy of toppling the Chicago Bulls in the first round and the agony of losing to the Boston Celtics in a tight, seven-game series.
It was the kind of feeling that Vucevic hoped to experience all throughout his NBA career, especially on a 76ers team that seemed to be on the rise at the time.
But, as Vucevic – now a franchise fixture for the Orlando Magic – found out in August of 2012, things can change quickly in the NBA.