New 76ers mascot takes aim at Robin Lopez
Someone new is stepping up to contend Robin Lopez's prejudice toward mascots.
That would be Franklin, the Philadelphia 76ers' new mascot.
While Franklin's unveiling on Tuesday seems like it was mostly filled with sick dance moves and the results of the "kids-only chief design team" tasked with finding Hip Hop's replacement, there was a stern challenge offered to Lopez, who has had a few choice encounters with mascots in the past.
A couple of weeks ago, Lopez got pretty heated with Harry the Hawk (Hawks). He's also beefed with Clutch the Bear (Rockets), Hooper (Pistons), The Coyote (Spurs) and Moondog (Cavaliers).
Unfortunately, the ramifications of Franklin's call-out might be limited to Twitter for the time being -- the 76ers and Trail Blazers have already played their two regular-season matchups for 2014-15. The Trail Blazers won both; Lopez sat out the 114-93 win on Dec. 26, but posted 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the 114-104 win on Nov. 24.
- Mike Fiammetta
