ATLANTA — By now, a lot of NBA fans know the 76ers will lose their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if they don’t have a top-six selection in June’s NBA draft.

That’s why many have suggested it would be better if the Sixers tank, to make it more likely they add a nice, young prospect.

And the team continues to do a great job of heeding people’s advice.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ injuries turned a highly anticipated season into a disaster. How will they move forward?

The Sixers picked up a much-needed 132-119 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday evening at the State Farm Arena. It was the 21st loss in their last 25 games.

Quentin Grimes scored 26 points for the Sixers, giving him at least 20 points for the eighth consecutive game.

“That’s just the name of the game, try to be consistent in everything I do whether that’s take care of my body, getting rest, getting shots up,” Grimes said. “It’s kind of a testiment to the work I’ve been putting in all year. I’m just happy to see it pay off.

“So you can definitely see what I’m doing out there, being acknowledged and stuff like that.”

Justin Edwards finished with 11 points two nights after finishing with a career-high 25 points in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Jeff Dowtin Jr. added 17 points and three steals, while Ricky Council IV had 14 points before fouling out.

Another Sixer, Oshae Brissett (five points, four rebounds) was shut down in the fourth quarter due to right knee swelling. This was the 10th and final day of his contract. If healthy, the Sixers want to sign him to a second 10-day deal.

Four-time All-Star Trae Young had game highs of 28 points and 12 assists for the Hawks (35-36). Zaccharie Risacher, the first pick in the 2024 draft, added 22 points. Former Sixer Georges Niang had 20 points off the bench for the Hawks. And Dyson Daniels had five steals, giving him 202 for the season. Atlanta also shot 55.2% from the field on this night.

But statistics are nothing more than a footnote in a game that had a preseason split-squad feel. What’s important is by dropping to 23-48, the Sixers are, once again, tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record with 11 games remaining.

The Sixers will have a 63.9%chance of keeping the pick by finishing with the fifth-worst mark. Finishing among the bottom four teams will only increase their odds. And it will drop to 45.8% with the sixth-worst record.

As a result, the Sixers will take part in another must-lose game Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.

And don’t be surprised if they keep up their trend of playing with a makeshift rotation.

On this night, they unveiled their 47th starting lineup of the season: Edwards, Chuma Okeke, Guerschon Yabusele, Grimes, and Dowtin.

This was because the Sixers were, once again, without 10 players.

Sunday marked the 11th consecutive game that Tyrese Maxey missed with a lower-back sprain and sprained finger. Kyle Lowry last played on Feb. 8 due to right hip injury management. Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Kelly Oubre Jr. (right knee sprain), and Adem Bona (left ankle sprain) also remained sidelined. After returning on Friday, Lonnie Walker IV (concussion) was out again.

Meanwhile, Joel Embiid (left knee injury management), Paul George (left groin injury recovery), Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery), and Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery) are all shut down for the remainder of the season.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey to remain sidelined on road trip; still no update on Joel Embiid’s possible procedure

Despite being undermanned, the Sixers tried to battle back from their 27-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. They pulled within 11 points with 4 minutes, 27 seconds remaining. But that was as close as they got.

“That’s definitely something to be proud of,” Grimes said of the makeshift Sixers fighting back despite constantly being overmatched. “We are playing teams with their full roster and we are down seven, eight [nine, 10 guys]. We got a lot of two-ways [in Dowtin, Alex Reese, and Jalen Hood-Schifino] that are kind of in and out because they have a certain amount of games they can play. We got a couple of 10-day [contract players in Brissett and Okeke].

“So I mean, you have to tip a hat to the team fighting every night … Being in every game that we are playing is really a testament to really how hard these dudes are working to take care of their body and paying attention in the film study.”