Heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, the Sixers were on the short list of championship favorites. They had a preseason win total of 50.5 and had the fourth-best odds to win the title, trailing only the defending
champion Celtics, the Thunder (who eventually won) and the Knicks.
However, a tidal wave of injuries wiped out the Sixers’ championship hopes last season, sending them crashing out to a 24-58 record. Quentin Grimes’ late-season breakout was one of their few silver linings, and their pivot to a youth movement helped them uncover some rotation players in Adem Bona and Justin Edwards. But overall, the season was a massive disappointment.
That sentiment has trickled over to the national perception of the Sixers heading into the 2025-26 campaign. John Hollinger of The Athletic predicted that they’ll finish 10th in the East with a 37-45 record, although he did note that “there is probably wider variance on Philadelphia’s potential outcomes than for any team in the league.” ESPN’s Kevin Pelton projected them to win 38.4 games and finish 11th in the East and said “the optimism around the Sixers is a bit mystifying; their roster looks worse on paper with the loss of key frontcourt contributor Guerschon Yabusele.”
Allow me to be the Charlie Brown to their Lucy (before they yank a football away, that is).
Last season was virtually a worst-case scenario from a health perspective. Joel Embiid played only 19 games due to lingering issues with his left knee. Paul George was limited to 41 games because of knee, groin and finger injuries. Tyrese Maxey played a career-low 52 games due to hamstring and finger injuries. Role players such as Andre Drummond (missed 42 games) and Eric Gordon (missed 43 games) weren’t spared, either.
George won’t be ready for opening night after undergoing offseason surgery on his left knee, although he was a full participant in practice over the last few days. However, Embiid should be good to go after he suited up for the Sixers’ preseason finale against the Timberwolves this past Friday. That alone is notable.
Embiid did acknowledge during the preseason that he’s unlikely to play 82 games and his health will be “unpredictable at times” this season. Unlike last year, the Sixers have spent the entire offseason planning for that. Instead of revolving around Embiid on both ends of the floor, they’ve spent time figuring out what their style of play and rotation patterns will look like in games where he’s out.
“I think mentally, everybody’s gotta understand, like, this is where we are,” head coach Nick Nurse said at media day. “We know there’s gonna be games missed. Every team has players missing games. And we need to just be able to forge forward immediately.
“If you wanna take the punch in the gut for a second, that’s fine. That’s all you’ve got is a second. This guy’s out, whatever. Let’s forge forward. Let’s do it together. Let’s make sure that the style of play and the effort, being prepared to play the game, all that stuff stays at a really high level.”
That’s where the Sixers’ reinforcements should come in handy.
At the end of last season, team president Daryl Morey pledged to make the Sixers younger and “more dynamic.” He spent the offseason doing exactly that by selecting VJ Edgecombe with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft and then signing Trendon Watford, Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker in free agency. Although Barlow and Walker are only on two-way deals for now, the Sixers do have one open roster spot and still have access to their full taxpayer mid-level exception, so they could easily convert one to a standard contract at some point.
That infusion of youth should better insulate the Sixers against the rigors of the 82-game regular season. They’re no longer relying on 30-somethings to carry their reserve unit. Reggie Jackson is long gone, while Kyle Lowry is embracing his ceremonial Udonis Haslem role as a locker room leader who should rarely (if ever) see the floor this season. Even Gordon could find minutes harder to come by this year, although Nurse’s willingness to lean into three- or four-guard lineups could help him crack the rotation.
The Sixers are admittedly light on established frontcourt depth behind Embiid, although Bona has been drawing rave reviews throughout the preseason. Barlow, Watford and Walker could have a quiet tournament all year for minutes at the 4, and George figures to spend time there as well in smaller lineups. While the Sixers might struggle to match size with the Houston Rockets’ jumbo starting five, having multiple initiators on the floor at all times should make them far less predictable offensively.
That was a major boon for Maxey in the preseason. Edgecombe’s ability to operate on the ball helped Maxey play off of it at times, which allows him to weaponize his speed and long-range shooting ability without having to create a grand majority of his own shot attempts. We’ll see how (or if) that style of play translates to the regular season, but the early returns suggest that the Sixers might have found an offensive identity that should work both with or without Embiid.
Given the lingering health questions surrounding both Embiid and George, skepticism about the Sixers’ overall outlook remains fair. But again, circle back to the start of last season, when they were in the inner circle of title favorites. Since that time, they lost only Jackson, Guerschon Yabusele (an admittedly big loss), Ricky Council IV and KJ Martin while adding Grimes, Edgecombe, Watford, Barlow and Walker. Jared McCain, who was a complete unknown heading into last year, also emerged as the early Rookie of the Year front-runner before he suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in December.
Although Pelton appears to disagree, the Sixers’ roster is arguably even better than it was heading into last year. They’re also facing a much weaker Eastern Conference now that Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum are recovering from Achilles injuries and Damian Lillard is no longer in Milwaukee. While their avalanche of injuries prevented them from establishing significant chemistry with one another, this year was always lining up to be their best shot at a title, not last season.
The Sixers have hurt us so many times over the years, it’s understandable why everyone is treating them with trepidation heading into this season. But the vibes are immaculate heading into the year, perhaps in part because of the low expectations. Enjoy the ride, and remember: No matter what happens, the Eagles are still the defending Super Bowl champions.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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