For five years, the Philadelphia 76ers’ marketing department held the faith. It had a lousy team to sell, and just like the team’s fans, the marketers had to #trusttheprocess. The Sixers are now back in the hunt, and more important, in the playoffs for the first time since 2012. They’ll host the first game of their first-round series Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

And the marketing team is ready, with a new logo, brand ambassadors, a concerted social-media campaign, and a desire to go global, writes Sam Wood in the Daily News.

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The Sixers have rarely been stronger. The fan base has exploded in the wake of 50 wins, winning the last 14 in a row, going into Tuesday night’s game in Atlanta. The chopped snake could just as easily represent the Sixers’ swath of victories and its vanquished opponents. (The bell is meant to echo the city’s bicentennial celebration.)

Next season is already sold out, said president of business operations Chris Heck. “We already have a 10,000-person waiting list.”

Only the L.A. Lakers have a bigger ticket base, NBA insiders said, and the Sixers are second only to the Golden State Warriors with the size of their waiting list. Corporate sponsorships —  spearheaded by Toyota, StubHub, ShopRite, and the Rothman Institute at Jefferson — also are up a reported 50 percent.

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