The Sixers aren’t surprised by their hot start. But everyone else is — and for good reason.

WASHINGTON — In the long run, the 76ers’ Tuesday night game against the Washington Wizards probably won’t mean a lot.

It was four games into the season, and the Sixers still didn’t have their full complement of players. But their 139-134 overtime victory at Capital One Arena still was a little bit of a statement.

The team surrounded by offseason uncertainty has blossomed into the NBA’s early-season success story.

They sit atop the conference standings with a 4-0 record. The Chicago Bulls are a half-game back at 3-0. And the Cleveland Cavaliers, the East favorites, are a game back in a three-way tie with the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks for third place at 3-1.

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“I said this to them on the opening night. I said, ‘Listen, you guys have worked about as hard as I’ve ever seen a team work,‘” coach Nick Nurse said. “‘You guys deserve some success, and you go out there and go get it now.’

“So I mean, I think we got some guys playing really well. I think there’s some tremendous chemistry. I think there’s some tremendous fight. But it’s early. We got a long way to go and a lot to learn and a lot to improve on.”

No one outside of the Sixers organization expected them to be in this position, regardless of sample size. And how could they?

Joel Embiid is on a minutes restriction and unable to play in back-to-back games while he continues his recovery from a left knee injury.

Trendon Watford was available to play Tuesday for the first time after missing the preseason and first three games with left hamstring tightness. Two other players — nine-time All-Star Paul George (left knee surgery recovery) and Jared McCain (right thumb surgery) — have yet to play this season. And Dominick Barlow, who started at power forward in the first two games, sat out the last two matchups while undergoing a procedure for a lacerated left elbow on Monday.

Yet, the Sixers, who finished 24-58 last season, are off to their best start since going 5-0 in 2019-20.

Why have they been able to jell and exceed expectations under the circumstances?

“I don’t know,” Nurse said. “I think you’ve got to play all three phases of the game. You’ve got to play some semblance of defense, no matter what the matchups are, whether you are big or small, quick or slow, or whatever. You’ve got to figure some things out. Done that just enough, I think.”

The Sixers definitely have figured out how to excel in an up-tempo offense. They’re doing a solid job of spacing the floor and moving the ball. They have also been unselfish.

“Lots of good looks from three,” Nurse said. “Lots of dump-offs to the bigs when the bigs are available. And, again, I think the special teams have done their job really well. Layups here, always getting the ball in the boards under pressure.”

The Sixers lead the NBA in three-point percentage at 41.9% and are third in scoring at 129.3 points per game.

The Sixers also have, statistically speaking, the NBA’s best backcourt in Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe. The duo’s combined 186 points were the most by any team’s starting backcourt through the first three games of a season since starters were first tracked during the 1970-71 season.

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Maxey, a 2024 All-Star, accounted for 111 of those points.

After adding 39 points on Tuesday, Maxey increased his NBA-leading scoring to 37.5 points per game. The point guard, who’s in his sixth season, is averaging 8.3 assists and shooting 47.4% on three-pointers. His 18 made three-pointers are tied for second in the league.

“I’m just trying to help us win,” Maxey said. “Whatever it takes at the end of the day, I’ve been talking about it since I got back. ... So that’s all I’m here for, help this team, help this organization.”

Edgecombe had 75 points, the second-most points by a Sixer in his first three NBA games. He is averaging 22.2 points after four games and is an early Rookie of the Year leader.

But Maxey’s leadership has been just as significant to the Sixers’ success as his stellar partnership with Edgecombe.

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The 24-year-old had a message for his teammates once he arrived at the team’s practice facility for pre-training camp workouts in mid-September.

“I just let them know, ‘Day 1, right now, moving forward, we’ve got to be on our P’s and Q’s every single day,’” Maxey told his teammates. “‘We have to work extremely hard, outwork people, and play hard every single night.’

“Coach Nurse made a statement that when fans leave the building, wherever we are at, they’re going to say we played our tails off that night. So that’s what we are trying to do.”

Maxey and Edgecombe have been the stars of the team so far. The duo might even be the most athletic and exciting backcourt in the NBA.

But how will Nurse use all of the pieces if Embiid regains his form and George and McCain return? He will have to tweak a few things, and some players will have to adjust to different roles.

How will players adapt to that? And will the Sixers respond as the schedule gets tougher?

“We are still trying to figure a lot out,” Nurse said. “But I think one of the things we’ve figured out is playing hard and just playing no matter who’s out there and who isn’t, I think it is really important. I think, again, we mentioned some of the other guys who are rounding and getting to play a little more live; that’s going to improve their play.

“So we just got to go play them and play as hard as we can and go from there.”

Time will tell how things fare. But for now, things are going better than expected.