Preseason Bell Ringer rankings:
Jaylen Brown – 1
VJ Edgecombe – 1
LeBron James – 1
The Sixers closed their 2026-27 preseason campaign on Friday with an 125-120 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics in South Philadelphia on Friday night.
The big story was that the Sixers’ regular starting lineup — well, four fifths of it — was in action for this one. VJ Edgecombe was out, but just for rest according to Nick Nurse. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was slotted into his spot for the initial five.
The Sixers continue
to look like a team that is absolutely stacked with talent but has a bit of way to go in terms of solidifying the on-court chemistry, at least early on the game. Things definitely tightened up throughout the second frame and on compared to a disjointed first, showing signs of the team this squad could really be after playing together more consistently.
The main starters played into the second half of this one as well, playing through the third before subbing out for the night. The good news is that they all played well enough to be our Bell Ringer candidates tonight.
Let’s get to it.
Jaylen Brown: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Jaylen Brown just never really looks out of sorts. Even in the beginning of this one where the overall offense of the Sixers was a bit disjointed and sloppy, Brown was able to produce. He made a habit of getting right to the rim early and often, seldom having to rely on pulling up for a contested midrange shot. In the first half, Brown put up 14 points on 5-for-11 field goal shooting (one triple) with six rebounds and three assists. By that point, he had already made a number of defensive plays as well, with two blocks and a steal by the break.
From his skills in isolation and getting to the rim, to his passing, to his aggression on the boards, to his defensive prowess… Sixers fans know all too well what Brown is capable of when he’s at his best. It’s just nice to get to see him doing it in a Philadelphia jersey now.
Brown finished this one with 20 points on 8-for-14 field goal shooting with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. He played 31 minutes.
LeBron James: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Even when LeBron James only seems to be doing a little, he still does a whole lot. LeBron didn’t post some unbelievable stat line on Friday night but it certainly doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved. In his South Philly debut, the king went to work running the offense quite a bit, working the two-man game with Tyrese Maxey most often and a little with Labaron Philon Jr. Even outside those instances, it’s clear that he is focused first on creating opportunities for his teammates before worrying about getting shots up himself, and his passing is absolutely elite. He had a floor-leading seven assists in this one.
And people tried to tell me he was going to be a complete ball hog… Sure, it’s preseason, but it really doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a problem.
Lebron finished the game with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and a block in just under 25 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal
My goodness, is Tyrese Maxey in a great spot to thrive with this Sixers squad. I know that probably seems obvious simply because of the level of talent around him, but it’s also that the talent around him compliments him perfectly. Not only does Maxey now have, for example, the two-man game with Embiid that has pretty much always been successful in the half-court offense, he now adds the two-man game with and transition aggression of Lebron James. Not only that, but the amount of space he now has to operate with considering the amount of attention all of his teammates garner from opposing defenses is greatly improved over the last few years, meaning less forced contested shots and more buckets falling from all over the floor. Maxey’s playmaking himself continues to improve as well, especially with so much off-ball movement from this lineup.
The bottom line is that Maxey is really being set up for success with this roster and I think Friday night was an excellent example of him taking full advantage of that. From getting out in transition to those two-man games to a few just stellar Maxey-magic finishes, the guard was able to contribute consistently throughout his time in this one.
Maxey finished with 22 points on 7-for-11 field goal shooting with three rebounds, six assists and one steal.
Joel Embiid: 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
I’ll be honest, the first half was a very mixed bag for Joel Embiid. It started out a bit like we’ve seen so far this preseason — a bit sloppy, a little lackadaisical even. There were some turnovers, he couldn’t seem to stay on his feet, and just wasn’t getting anything going to start things off.
Then, something switched. Things tightened up as the first half went on, and Embiid started looking like the player we all know he can be. He started working the two-man game with Tyrese Maxey more, using his body to create space to sink some midrange jays, and powering up through contact at the rim for close buckets and drawing a ton of fouls in the process. He was active on the boards and solid on the defensive end. This was truly a night and day turnaround from how he looked at the beginning of the game.
He even got up for a dunk, and I mean got UP. (Yes, I gasp every time he does it, but I guess I’m grateful he physically can.)
And this was just one example of Embiid looking spry and agile once he really got himself going on Friday night. Certainly a good sign.
Embiid finished the game with a field-leading 27 points (7-for-13 field goal shooting), eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
