Every year, ESPN rolls out “Future Power Rankings,” which are its “projection of the on-court success expected for each team over the next three seasons.” After one of the greatest offseasons in franchise history (if not the best), the Sixers unsurprisingly went soaring up the latest edition of the rankings.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Sixers were fourth (!) in the future power rankings after they signed Paul George in free agency. Following the injury-ravaged hellscape that was the 2024-25 campaign,
they plummeted to 19th in last year’s edition, which was the biggest drop of any team.
This year? The Sixers are back up to eighth, mostly fueled by a surge in the “players” category.
ESPN’s Dean Oliver noted that “despite having one of the most hyped starting fives in history,” the Sixers only landed sixth in the players category. By contrast, the Brooklyn Nets were first in that category in 2021 when they had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden; the Milwaukee Bucks were third when they had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard; and the Phoenix Suns were fourth when they had Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal (even though that was an obvious disaster in the making).
“Apparently, the FPR committee has gotten a bit skeptical of these star-packed lineups,” Oliver added.
Which teams landed ahead of the Sixers in that category, you might wonder? The Oklahoma City Thunder (fair), San Antonio Spurs (also fair), New York Knicks (defending champion bump), Cleveland Cavaliers (lmfao) and Boston Celtics (huh????). Apparently, ESPN’s panel buys into the Cavaliers’ reputation as the NBA’s reigning Analytics Champions, even though they could be in real trouble against the Sixers in particular.
ESPN’s Zach Kram correctly pointed out that LeBron James and Joel Embiid “might not help the 76ers for the entirety of the three-year span under consideration for these rankings, but they’re key members for a title contender in 2026-27.” Even without those two, the trio of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown give the Sixers a solid foundation to build around for the next few years.
The Sixers’ lack of financial flexibility hurt them in these rankings—they’re 25th in the league in that category—as having Embiid, Maxey and Brown on max contracts will limit what they can do moving forward. Right now, they’re only $1.8 million below their first-apron hard cap, which means they can’t even sign someone to fill their last remaining open roster spot until December at the earliest.
With that said, the NBA recently issued an updated salary-cap projection for the 2027-28 season that was $2 million higher than the initial projection. While the Sixers aren’t going to waltz into the offseason with significant spending power as long as they have three max contracts on their books, it’s possible that they could have access to most or all of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception next summer.
The Sixers also jumped from 16th in the “management” category last year to 10th this year, which is likely a reflection of what new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey was able to pull off during his first offseason in charge. And hilariously, they went from 14th in market last year to ninth this year. It’s amazing what signing LeBron to a minimum contract can do for the perception of your franchise.
Honestly, it’s hard to pick too many nits with the Sixers’ placement in the latest future power rankings. No one in their right mind would put them behind the Charlotte Hornets (ranked seventh) in power rankings strictly for this year, but it’s at least feasible that the Hornets are in a better place than the Sixers two years from now. The same goes for the Houston Rockets (fourth) and Detroit Pistons (sixth), both of whom have more young talent to build around.
Still, the Sixers’ 11-spot jump from last year’s rankings to this year’s is a testament to work that Gansey and the rest of the new front office did this offseason. If they can cash in on that this coming season, they figure to crack the top five in the next edition of these rankings.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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