There’s no in-between for the 2026-27 Sixers. They could be great. This experiment could also blow up.
If the Sixers get all these stars at their best often enough, this season will be something to see. If they don’t, same thing.
On an average night in Brooklyn, I don’t imagine it’s difficult to find a 32-year-old man who is ambling along on his way and who, though taller than most men, cannot dunk a basketball. Still, it was a bit surprising to find such a person last Thursday night, on the basketball court inside the Barclays Center of all places, and to have that person be a one-time most valuable player of the National Basketball Association.
As games go, even meaningless ones, the 76ers’ 114-108 preseason loss to the Nets was not Joel Embiid’s best or most reassuring. He crammed a lot into 24 minutes of action, and little of it was good: one made field goal, four missed shots, just three rebounds, and eight turnovers.
As moments go, the most concerning, and darkly humorous, came in the first half, when rookie guard Labaron Philon Jr. tried to cap a 2-on-1 fast break by lobbing a pass near the rim to Embiid, who instead of leaping to slam the ball home caught it flat-footed and missed a layup.
» READ MORE: LeBron James’ commute has drawn attention. Here’s what we know about the 76ers star’s helicopter trips from New York.
Now, does that sequence mean that Embiid’s health and conditioning are already a problem as the Sixers stand poised to begin their most fascinating and highly anticipated season in years? Not necessarily, no. But Embiid’s ugly stat line and, more importantly, the sight of him moving with all the speed and steadiness of a 91-year-old high-wire walker served as a reminder of the challenges inherent in the Sixers’ attempt to win their first championship since 1983.
LeBron James’ presence won’t make Embiid’s knees more stable or his footwork smoother, and it won’t prevent Embiid from crashing to the court (as he has long been apt to do) and maybe taking a teammate with him. Jaylen Brown’s enthusiasm for and embrace of Philadelphia won’t stop or even slow James’ inexorable march to his 42nd birthday on Dec. 30. Tyrese Maxey’s and VJ Edgecombe’s skills in the open court and on the perimeter won’t make up for the (temporary?) absence of a backup center, and they won’t mitigate the worry that, once again, the Sixers won’t be able to protect the rim when Embiid isn’t on the floor.
The easy way of prognosticating about the 2026-27 Sixers is to peruse the roster and presume the best. That James has been so productive and (relatively) durable so late in his career is a marvel. Brown appears bent on proving to everyone — his previous team, the Boston Celtics, most of all — that he has been and is a genuine superstar, one who doesn’t need to score 29 points a night to be indispensable to a title-contending team. Embiid, and Maxey and Edgecombe, for that matter, ought to be invigorated for having two such accomplished teammates. With Philon, Anfernee Simons, and Dean Wade, the Sixers promise to have a deeper bench than usual.
Again, pretty easy to see all those assets. It’s harder to acknowledge the combustible elements in this experiment that could leave the lab in smoking shambles. No one should expect James to suit up for more than 71 games this season; that’s the most he’s played in any season in the last eight years, and he’s done it just once. Embiid hasn’t appeared in more than 39 games in a season since 2022-23, and he appeared in just 66 games then. Perhaps Nick Nurse can stagger their nights off to keep them fresh for the postseason, but such an approach could cost the regular lineup the chemistry, cohesion, and seasoning necessary for a long playoff run.
» READ MORE: Even in Year 24, there’s new (and old) things to learn for LeBron James
Remember: James has been the alpha dog on all his teams, maybe in the whole league, for 24 years now. Brown is coming off a season in which he set career highs in points per game and shots per game, leading the Celtics to 56 victories without Jayson Tatum for most of the season. Embiid has been the alpha and omega of the franchise for a decade, and Maxey was poised to succeed him as that centerpiece player, if he hadn’t already.
That’s a ton of ego for Nurse and the players themselves to manage, and we haven’t even added to the scale James’ passive-aggression, Embiid’s fondness for trolling, and Brown’s intelligence and honesty and willingness to wield them.
What’s more, unlike the last season that the Sixers won a championship, unlike that ’82-83 club that took on an air of inevitability once it added Moses Malone, this team doesn’t have Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones in its starting lineup — two stars so humble and unselfish that they couldn’t conceive of growing grumpy because they weren’t getting enough shots. The assurances that this season’s Sixers won’t create such obstacles for themselves are nice, but these guys haven’t even taken their first road trip together yet.
“You would think it would be hard from looking at it, but if you just knew the things I knew about these guys, then it would change your perspective on how much they’re willing to sacrifice,” forward Jabari Walker said. “They understand what it takes to win, and everyone is just looking for this opportunity. I think you’ll see different sides of different people now that this situation looks different. The idea of ego and things like that is kind of going out the window now. It’s like, ‘How do we figure it out?’”
What does Walker know about James, Brown, Embiid, and Maxey that we outsiders don’t?
“It’s a great group …” he said. “This is the most included I’ve felt in any training camp. It just shows that the stereotype of high-end guys and high-end athletes — sometimes it’s not what the media makes it.”
» READ MORE: ‘Sixers Extra’ season preview: What to expect from LeBron James and his new team this year
Slow down. The Sixers haven’t shown us anything. This whole exercise could go very, very right, and it could go very, very wrong. They have a genuine shot at greatness, yes, but they’re going to need Joel Embiid looking healthy and LeBron James looking young. They’re going to need their starting five to do what Walker insists they will: sacrifice.
If the Sixers get all these stars at their best often enough, this will be something to see. If they don’t, same thing.
After an exciting Sixers offseason highlighted by the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, join Inquirer beat writers Gina Mizell and Chris Hine for a preview of the season. Watch here.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Sixers Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
