While Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was celebrating his 59th birthday on Friday, the rest of the NBA universe went into a frenzy following the news that LeBron James will be signing with Philadelphia.
With The King comes a new batch of lofty expectations.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” James said in a post on X.
As we are all aware, the Sixers have not made even the conference finals since 2001. Outside of the pressure to stay healthy throughout the playoffs, most of the pressure will land on Nurse throughout the season to ensure a championship run.
Nurse and the Sixers have avoided true contender expectations over the past two seasons, whether by design or necessity.
Entering the 2024-25 season, the Sixers had objectively the best offseason with the Paul George signing, yielding sky-high expectations. But they got hit by the injury plague the moment the season began, ushering in their worst record (24-58) since 2015-16.
Last season saw the Sixers enter with very reasonable expectations, likely a play-in team but possibly a 4-6 seed in the conference, early exit. They finished the season being swept by the Knicks in the second round, but completed a thrilling 3-1 comeback against the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Thus, the upcoming campaign will be only the second season Nurse has had to realistically deal with championship expectations. The first was his first season with the team in 2023-24, where they lost to the Knicks in the first round after making the playoffs as a play-in team. But even that season featured a James Harden holdout and another Joel Embiid meniscus tear.
This season, the Sixers field one of, if not the best roster in the NBA on paper, and are receiving the national pressure to perform. As long as the players are healthy, lots of the pressure will be directed at Nurse.
The problem to solve will be how to effectively utilize the Sixers’ four playmakers on offense. We saw at the end of the season various moments where Tyrese Maxey was struggling to be as impactful with Embiid being the centerpiece of the offense. It threw Maxey off the rhythm he established through the first 3/4 of the season which earned him All-Star starter honors.
Bringing in Jaylen Brown, who put up career-best figures in scoring (28.7 ppg), assists (5.1) and usage rate (32.5%) will not only force Nurse to stabilize Embiid and Maxey in his game plan, but add another layer in the shape of an All-NBA player.
James will absolutely help ease the pressure off Nurse at times thanks to his infinite basketball IQ and playmaking. There may also be times where James’ gravitas increases the pressure on coach. We have seen multiple iterations of “LeCoach” from a far throughout his career, so it will be of great curiosity to see whether Nurse meets the Philly version over the next two seasons.
Even with the monstrous acquisitions of Brown and James, Mike Gansey has delivered Nurse a pool of role players he will have to weave into the mix. Led by second-year guard VJ Edgecombe as the fifth starter, Nurse leaning into a transition-heavy gameplan could reap benefits during the regular season from the bench mob as well.
Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Labaron Philon Jr., Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti and even new addition Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all have something to bring, especially in a fast-paced environment. And as long as James’ legs remain under him, we know what he can do with a full head of steam.
The pressure for Nurse will be how he marries that clear shift of priority from a team-building standpoint with the slow-paced nature of Embiid and James’ halfcourt game.
Can Nurse effectively convince Embiid to trade post ups for more threes to help space the floor? Can the coaching staff shift Embiid’s focus from majority offense to majority defense and avenge the dismal season we saw from him as a rim protector and rebounder last go-around? Will Nurse, and the organization at large, keep Jaylen Brown fulfilled in the wake of the ugly Celtics split and looming contract extension? Will Nurse establish that working relationship with James to avoid any “LeCoach” drama? Who will rebound the basketball?
Safe to say it will be exhilarating pondering these questions throughout August and as we approach training camp. What about Nurse or the strategy this season are you excited to have answered? Leave it in the comments below.
Entering his fifth year as the Sixers coach, it would be hard to argue more pressure has been on the Iowa native than there will be this upcoming season. The good news is, he will not be wearing as heavy of a load as the sole Finals-experienced main character for the Sixers. Five seasons of championship winning experience has just landed in Philadelphia.
