Meet the Sixers: Season outlook and key questions for each player

The 76ers won the NBA offseason by trading for Jaylen Brown, courting LeBron James, and adding veteran reserves to create a new-look roster. That group will be joined by mainstays Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and second-year upstart VJ Edgecombe. The star-studded roster is expected to compete in the Eastern Conference and beyond this season.

The Sixers’ effort to win the actual season — and their first NBA title since 1983 — starts on Tuesday night with a marquee matchup against the New York Knicks. Before the season begins, let’s meet the Sixers. To do so, we’ll break down each player’s 2026 outlook and ask one key question about their upcoming season.

Position: F | Age: 23

Contract status: One-year, $3.4 million deal

2026 outlook: Barlow was a pleasant surprise last season, starting 59 games at power forward and parlaying a two-way contract into a standard deal. He brought complementary skills such as cutting and crashing for offensive rebounds, and played particularly well alongside Embiid. He also is a small-ball center option following Ariel Hukporti’s injury.

Key question: Has his shooting improved?

That is the big knock on Barlow, who has connected on 25.4% of his career three-pointers. He said he has worked extensively on that shot this summer, but has not been able to publicly display it while sitting out the preseason with a back issue.

Position: C | Age: 23

Contract status: Third season of four-year, $7.8 million deal

2026 outlook: Bona is the frontrunner to be the Sixers’ backup center — and spot starter when Embiid inevitably misses games to manage his health — after Hukporti tore his Achilles in the preseason opener. Bona boasts an athletic 6-foot-10 frame and is a terrific rim protector, but his offensive game remains raw.

Key question: Can he cut down on fouls?

Though Bona’s shot-blocking is an asset, he can get overzealous with contact on defense. Limiting fouls has been an emphasis since Bona’s rookie year, down to the minute details such as where to keep his hands. Staying out of foul trouble will be especially important in the games he starts.

Position: SF | Age: 29

Contract status: Third season of five-year, $285 million contract

2026 outlook: For the first time in his 10-year career, Brown is playing for a team other than the Celtics. He’s coming off his best individual season in which he averaged a career-high 28.7 points, while carrying primary scoring responsibilities solo for most of the season while Jayson Tatum recovered from an Achilles injury. Brown is in the prime of his career and he’s motivated after a drama-filled offseason with not only the trade but people trying to diminish his reputation with anonymously-sourced reports.

» READ MORE: Sixers star Jaylen Brown plays with his heart on his sleeve. For the first time, it won’t bleed green.

Key question: Just how will his skill set mesh with this group?

Brown likes to have the ball in his hands, so how will he, potentially, play more off the ball and with teammates like James and Embiid, who like to operate in similar parts of the floor as Brown? That may take some getting used to for all involved. But Brown’s two-way ability will be essential to the Sixers from the jump, especially if they want to get out in transition.

Position: SG | Age: 33

Contract status: One-year, $3.9 million deal

2026 outlook: The two-time NBA champion is trying to rebound after a couple of down years in Orlando and Memphis. He brings veteran savvy, defense and shooting to the rotation, and he knows how to play around James, with whom he was teammates in Los Angeles with the Lakers. The Sixers could use all the defense they could get, and Caldwell-Pope could help in that area while being the kind of player who can be effective without the ball in his hands.

Key question: Can he rekindle how he played in Denver?

With the Nuggets, Caldwell-Pope was an integral part of the team’s 2023 championship. That season he averaged 10.8 points per game while shooting 42.3% from three-point range. He followed that the next season by shooting 40.6% from deep. If he can regain the form he had in Denver, he would become an invaluable player off the bench who knows what it takes to win in June.

Position: SG | Age: 21

Contract status: Second season of four-year, $50.4 million rookie deal

2026 outlook: After placing third in the Rookie of the Year voting, Edgecombe will be building on that impressive campaign while saying he will focus a lot on point-of-attack defense. He is an asset in transition for a team that has a lot of weapons if it can force turnovers. Edgecombe also said he spent the summer putting up a lot of shots, which could help him improve his 35.4% three-point shot.

Key question: Just how big of a leap will he make?

Edgecombe has looked good in the preseason, and has said he is OK if his point totals fluctuate given the caliber of talent that is around him. The Sixers will need his defense and shooting, but he also won’t be shy about getting the ball and creating at the hoop as well in the halfcourt. The team praises Edgecombe for being mature beyond his years, so if there’s a young player who can navigate a lineup like the Sixers, it’s him.

Position: SF | Age: 22

Contract status: Second season of three-year, $7.1 million deal

2026 outlook: Edwards has averaged 7.7 points in two seasons in the league and could bring depth scoring off the bench for a Sixers team that might see some of its starting lineup taking nights off. The issue will be trying to crack through a rotation that got more crowded with the Sixers’ offseason additions.

Key question: What does he have to do to earn minutes?

For any young player, the most likely path to minutes is ramping up effort on the defensive end of the floor. The Sixers are deep in the backcourt, and Edwards will have to distinguish himself in order to earn minutes. Becoming someone the team can lean on defensively is a path to that, especially with the scoring and shooting the Sixers have off the bench with Anfernee Simons and, if he can regain his form, Caldwell-Pope. Nick Nurse is likely to stick with the veterans early in the season but as injuries and load management happens, Edwards should get a chance.

Position: C | Age: 32

Contract status: First season of three-year, $188 million deal

2026 outlook: Embiid is coming into the season fully healthy after he played just 57 games combined in the last two regular seasons. Sixers fans will be on eggshells all season that Embiid can make it through without anything costing him significant chunks of the season. The Sixers and he plan to manage his workload, and so far all signs have been positive about his health coming out of training camp.

Key question: Can he regain MVP form?

There’s so many questions around Embiid this season. Having Embiid available to play is one thing, but what version of Embiid are the Sixers getting? How will he look come the postseason? And just how good does Embiid need to be if the Sixers want to contend for a title? The former Most Valuable Player can still play at a high level when healthy, and the Sixers will need him as much on the defensive end as the offensive end, especially with the team thin at center after Hukporti tore his Achilles in the first preseason game.

Position: C | Age: 30

Contract status: Two-way, $678,000 deal

2026 outlook: The 7-6 Fall, who was converted to this contract the morning after the Sixers’ preseason finale, provides more traditional frontcourt size after Hukporti’s Achilles surgery. He has played in 37 career NBA games with the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, but none since the 2021-22 season.

Key question: Is this his NBA comeback?

A hip strain kept Fall out of every preseason game, making him a total wild card going into the season. But if opportunity exists anywhere on the Sixers’ talented roster, it’s in the depleted (and small) frontcourt behind Embiid.

Position: C | Age: 24

Contract status: One-year, $3.4 million deal

2026 outlook: Hukporti was likely to see some minutes as a backup center until he tore his Achilles in the team’s first preseason game. With Embiid resting that night, Hukporti got the start. Now, he’ll be out for the season after having surgery to repair the injury, and the Sixers could be awarded a $1.7 million disabled player exception for Hukporti’s injury for some relief under the first apron of the luxury tax.

Key question: What will his recovery look like?

Hukporti was a popular player on the Knicks, his former team, and the Sixers, and an Achilles injury is one of the worst from which to recover, but it can be done. Multiple NBA players returned from the injury recently, including Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton. Hukporti has a lot of people rooting for him to do the same.

Position: SF | Age: 41

Contract status: First season of two-year, $8 million deal

2026 outlook: Arguably the greatest basketball player in history, James chose to (likely) finish his playing career with the Sixers because he believes this loaded roster has the chance to win a championship. Entering his unprecedented 24th NBA season, James still is an excellent and versatile player. He has won four NBA MVP awards and four championships with three different teams, and hopes that experience will rub off on a franchise seeking its first title since 1983.

» READ MORE: LeBron James’ commute has drawn attention. Here’s what we know about the 76ers star’s helicopter trips from New York.

Key question: Can he lead the NBA in assists?

Though James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, his basketball IQ and facilitating might be even more impactful on a roster with three other bona fide bucket-getters in Maxey, Embiid, and Brown. James provided a glimpse of his playmaking in his preseason debut, when he recorded five first-half assists and only took one shot. Remember: James Harden led the NBA in assists in 2022-23, with Embiid and Maxey as teammates.

Position: G | Age: 25

Contract status: Two-way, $678,000 deal

2026 outlook: A streaky scorer, Love is on a two-way contract. Barring injuries, it appears it will be tough for him to crack a crowded backcourt.

Key question: Can he earn a standard contract?

The Sixers had immense success with players on two-way deals last season, converting Barlow and Jabari Walker to standard contracts. Given the Sixers’ increased star power and depth this season, it will be more challenging for Love to accomplish the same feat. Improving defensively — while going up against those stars in practice — should be Love’s goal.

Position: G | Age: 25

Contract status: Third season of five-year, $203 million deal

2026 outlook: Maxey has taken a leap every season of his career, including making his first All-NBA team and ranking fifth in the league in scoring in 2025-26. He might be the NBA’s fastest player with the ball in his hands, and complements that with deep shooting range. But the pressure might actually ease on Maxey this season, with James and Brown now on the roster and Embiid potentially healthier.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey once ‘borrowed belief’ to buoy his career. Now he’s a bona fide star in his biggest role yet.

Key question: Will he thrive playing off the ball?

Now that the Sixers have more ballhandlers and creators, Maxey should not need to generate as much of his own offense. That would offer opportunities for him to catch and shoot, to come off screens, and to save more energy for rebounding and the defensive end of the floor.

Position: G | Age: 20

Contract status: First season of four-year, $17.8 million rookie deal

2026 outlook: The Sixers’ terrific offseason began when the former Alabama guard slipped to the Sixers at No. 22 overall in the NBA draft. Philon has potential for two-way impact as a crafty ballhandler and passer, a fearless shot-taker, and a defensive disruptor.

Key question: Does he earn a rotation spot?

Philon has been a preseason standout, taking advantage of backcourt minutes while Simons was sidelined with a hamstring issue. He also does not look intimated by the NBA game. But even if there are stretches when his minutes are limited, getting to learn from a veteran team with multiple future Hall of Famers should prove valuable.

Position: SG | Age: 22

Contract status: Two-way, $678,000 deal

2026 outlook: Rupert is one of a few Sixers on the roster who spent time in Portland (Walker and Simons among the others). He spent parts of three seasons there before the Trail Blazers waived him and he signed a two-way deal with Memphis before coming to Philadelphia. As a two-way player, Rupert is a depth piece and someone the Sixers will watch to see if he can develop into a player who can make the roster in the future.

Key question: What does he have to do to stick around?

Rupert got the most run of his career when he was with Memphis for 16 games last season. He averaged 12.2 points on 30.9 minutes per game, which led to him signing with the Sixers this offseason. Like a lot of other Sixers players down the bench, he will have to likely wait for an opportunity to play, if one materializes. With the Sixers packed roster, it leaves little room for end-of-bench players to carve out a role barring a rash of injuries.

Position: G | Age: 27

Contract status: First season of two-year, $12.2 million deal

2026 outlook: A dynamite long-range shooter, Simons was considered to be a savvy free-agency addition. Expect him to be the first guard off the bench, and to benefit from open looks created by his star teammates. Simons also played with Brown with the Boston Celtics for part of last season.

Key question: Can he win NBA Sixth Man of the Year?

This feels plausible. As a microwave scorer, he fits the general archetype of this award’s recipient. And his stats will mean something if the Sixers are in legitimate contention, while playing a slew of high-profile games.

Position: PF | Age: 29

Contract status: First season of four-year, $38.7 million deal

2026 outlook: Wade joined the Sixers after spending his first seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he and Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey had a good relationship when Gansey was Cleveland’s general manager. Wade is the kind of low-usage, defensive-minded player who can fit in with a star-heavy group like the Sixers since he doesn’t need the ball much to be effective. He is a 36.7% three-point shooter for his career.

Key question: Can he play center?

With the Sixers thin on the back line, Wade might be asked to play the five in some small-ball lineup combinations, especially if Embiid misses any stretch of time. Wade is versatile enough to do that, but just what kind of downstream effect might that have on the team’s defense, especially its rebounding? In other lineups, Wade figures to be the kind of player who will have an impact on the plus-minus column even if he’s not stuffing the stat sheet in other places.

Position: F/C | Age: 24

Contract status: One-year, $2.6 million deal

2026 outlook: Another preseason standout, Walker is a high-energy rebounder even when undersized while filling in at center. He also has been encouraged to fire away from three-point range. Though his contract does not become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10, Hukporti’s injury makes Walker a more valuable frontcourt player.

Key question: Is he a viable small-ball center option?

Walker is probably too far down the bench to find consistent minutes when the roster is at full strength. But the nights Embiid sits, Walker has made a case to be considered for the backup center job in certain matchups. His strength (rebounding) is arguably the Sixers’ biggest teamwide weakness, especially given the lack of size behind Embiid.

Watch the first episode

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.