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Smallwood: Ranking the NBA's young teams

THE LAST TIME I did this little exercise, Sam Hinkie was still running the Sixers; Joel Embiid and Dario Saric weren't on the roster; and Ben Simmons had not started his one season at Louisiana State University.

Right after the 2015 draft, I assessed which of the top young teams in the NBA would have the best chance of being a contender by the 2017-18 season.

I concluded the Sixers were tied with the Milwaukee Bucks, behind Minnesota, Utah and Orlando but ahead of Boston and New Orleans.

A lot has changed since then as teams have added pieces to their young nucleuses.