The Philadelphia 76ers and their long-suffering fan base finally got a reward for years of tanking and “Trust the Process” rebuilding: The top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

A Manning-Leaf debate has already begun over whether the Sixers should take LSU’s Ben Simmons or Duke forward Brandon Ingram with their selection, and while the back-and-forth talk will rage on for months, Philly’s front office should wake up Wednesday and declare Ingram is their pick.

Simmons’ prodigious talent is undeniable. He will no doubt be a star, one of those players who will wow you with crisp passing one moment, scoring the next and some consistent rebounding all night.

But there are some question marks — he’s a point forward whose struggles with his jump shot. There’s also the talk that Simmons might more of a Scottie Pippen-esque No. 2 on a team than a full-on first-option superstar.

While that sounds appetizing, it’s not what the Sixers need heading into next season.

Philadelphia, with its glut of young talent in the middle including Jahlil Okafor and defender Nerlens Noel, don’t need another body in the paint (albeit one with elite skills driving to the hoop). They need a scorer and a floor spacer.

Enter Ingram. With his 7-foot-3 wingspan and long-range prowess, the comparisons to Kevin Durant (!) are already flying around, though he’ll have to add some weight on to his frame. Suddenly, the Sixers can score down low with Okafor, outside with Ingram and could have Dario Saric come over from Europe and the oft-injured Joel Embiid finally make his NBA debut.

That sounds like a dangerous young core that might be a guard away from a playoff team. And if the front office, with veteran basketball mind Bryan Colangelo at the helm, decides a backcourt upgrade would be a better fit instead of a tall pile of forwards? Trade one of them — Noel or Okafor is a possibility to make room for Embiid — for some guard help.

But it all starts by taking the pure scorer with heaping upside.