Sixers media day: Paul George has high expectations; Joel Embiid, Daryl Morey pay tribute to late Dikembe Mutombo

Ben Simmons says he'll finally be available to "complete and play" for the Brooklyn Nets this year.

Simmons has been quiet since the Sixers traded him for James Harden before the trade deadline of the 2021-22 season.

Hampered by back injuries and confidence issues, Simmons never found solid footing in Brooklyn over the last two seasons. But he expects that to change now.

After going undrafted, Justin Edwards is “blessed” to have an opportunity with his hometown team.

The former Imhotep Charter star, who was considered the top prospect in the nation in the class of 2023, spent one season at Kentucky under coach John Calipari, where the forward averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.

He signed a two-way deal following the draft and said his ultimate goal this season is to earn a contract.

Paul George, a nine-time All-Star, has never won a championship. But the 34-year-old is anticipating that this year, the Sixers will be “one of the last teams standing.”

“We should be able to compete for a championship,” George said. “Joel being one of the best, if not the best in the NBA. Tyrese being one of the young stars, up and coming perennial All Stars in the league.

"We have high expectations."

Nick Nurse doesn’t want to put a limit on Tyrese Maxey’s ceiling.

The 23-year-old, who signed a five-year, $204 million extension this offseason, is entering a major year with the Sixers. He’s coming off one of the best seasons of his young career, earning Most Improved Player award and named an All-Star for the first time.

“He’s strong, he’s really had an amazing summer, laser focused just on his body, skills, and his work,” Nurse said.

Joel Embiid won a gold medal with Team USA in Paris at the Olympics this summer. His journey wasn’t all smooth sailing, but Embiid played with the best in the world in competitive basketball games down the stretch.

Now, Embiid is coming off the biggest team achievement of his professional career headed into a critical season for the Sixers.

“He talks very positively about his Olympic experience,” Daryl Morey said. “There’s really no downside to being around those great players and doing what they accomplished for the United States under some tough environments. He really stepped up in key games, key moments, obviously the Serbia game. He’s very proud and excited about the gold medal, and he should be. That’s something that very, very few people get to do. We were very excited for him and what he accomplished and now that just makes us even more hungry to do it here in the NBA this year.”

The basketball world lost a literal and figurative giant on Monday when it was announced that Hall of Famer and former Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo passed away at 58 following a battle with brain cancer.

Mutombo played two seasons for the Sixers from 2001-02, and played the final years of his career with the Houston Rockets during Daryl Morey’s tenure as general manager. When Morey found out mid-press conference during media day, he paused to reflect on what Mutombo has meant to him.

“There aren’t many guys like him,” Morey said. “Just a great human being. When I was a rookie GM in this league, my first chance in Houston, he was someone I went to all the time. He was older than me, which is pretty rare, and obviously his accomplishments on the court. We don’t need to talk about too much, but just an amazing human being, what he did off the court for Africa.”

It’s hard to argue that the Sixers are missing any significant items on the checklist of championship attributes. In fact, from the front office to the court, they have all the appearances of an elite organization — a status further cemented by Joel Embiid’s recent three-year, $193 million contract extension. If the belief is that building a first-class operation will inevitably lead to first-class results, the team could be well on its way to that elusive first title since 1983.

But at the same time, the pressure to deliver on that vision has never been higher — something Embiid’s new deal only heightens.

As far as headline stars go, Embiid fits the championship mold: He is, when healthy, one of the league’s top handful of players — he ranks fifth in Wins Above Replacement per game over the past four seasons — and statistically, he might even be the greatest scorer in NBA history on a per-possession basis. His new deal ensures that he’ll be in red, white, and blue through at least the 2027-28 season (if not longer), giving Philly no fewer than four more shots at a title with Embiid leading the way.

Sixers stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and new teammate Paul George will headline the team's media day Monday.

The annual event, which featured interviews and photos at the team's practice facility in Camden, N.J., is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

The news conferences will stream live on YouTube and on Inquirer.com.

The new-look 76ers, featuring new addition Paul George, will take the court together for the first time next week, but it won't be against an NBA team.

The Sixers first exhibition game (technically not part of their preseason schedule) will tip off Monday, Oct. 7 against the New Zealand Breakers of Australia's National Basketball League at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m.

The Sixers official preseason schedule begins on Oct. 11, when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

After all the free-agency fanfare, the on-court work now officially begins for Paul George in his new basketball home.

George is used to collaborating with fellow superstars, from the MVP-era Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to Kawhi Leonard and James Harden with the Los Angeles Clippers. George’s versatility and efficiency — he shot 47.1% from the field and 41.3% from three-point range last season while averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists — should also help him slide in alongside the electric Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey pairing.

Still, it is reasonable to expect it will take some time for all three players to jell: for George to identify his ideal spots to operate with the ball in his hands and for Nurse’s staff to experiment schematically.