The 2026-27 season is quickly approaching for the Philadelphia 76ers as they have their eyes on ending a long title drought after the big additions made in the offseason. The Sixers will field one of the more talented rosters in the league and will look to get to the mountaintop in 2027.
It's now time to look ahead to the new season and time to break down each position for the Sixers in an effort to preview what the season might look like. Sixers Wire will start with the point guards now and take a look at what the Sixers bring to the table at the position:
Starter: Tyrese Maxey
Quite frankly, there isn't much that Maxey can't do. He's coming off a fantastic season in which he averaged 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 46.2% from the floor and 36.7%
from deep. His work on the floor allowed him to be named to his second career All-Star team and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. He has such a quick first step that he can get past nearly any defender thrown at him, and his ability to knock down long-range shots allows him to still be effective when the opposition tries to crowd him.
Maxey is also somebody who has added the mid-range shot to his game as he shot 42% on all types of mid-range shots and 45% on what is qualified on long mid-range shots per Cleaning the Glass. As the Sixers head into this new season, it will obviously help to have talent like Jaylen Brown and LeBron James next to him, but Philadelphia will be counting on Maxey to be this team's leader. While the new additions have championships and accolades, they are here to help Maxey get it done rather than the opposite way around. This is his team.
Depth behind Maxey
When it comes to the depth behind him, the Sixers certainly made some upgrades. Philadelphia added a legitimate scorer in the form of Anfernee Simons. The 8-year veteran is a career 14.9 points per game scorer and he has hit averages of 21.1 points in 2022-23 and 22.6 in 2023-24 while a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. His scoring punch off the bench will give the Sixers some serious help when they need it.
While Simons will handle a lot of the backup minutes, the Sixers will also turn to rookie Labaron Philon Jr., the No. 22 pick of the 2026 draft. The Mobile, AL native averaged 22.0 points and 5.0 assists and shot 39.9% from deep as a sophomore at Alabama, and will look to bring that scoring and ball-handling to the second unit. The Sixers also have second-year guard Caleb Love on a two-way deal after he averaged 10.4 points with the Blazers as an undrafted rookie in 2025-26.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Philadelphia 76ers positional preview: Tyrese Maxey, depth behind him
