The Philadelphia 76ers have spent years trying to build something that could truly sit with the East’s heavyweights. Now, with the 2026-27 season on the horizon, they suddenly look like one of the conference’s best teams - and the reason starts with a wild offseason sequence that brought in Jaylen Brown and then LeBron James.
Team president Mike Gansey pulled off the kind of summer that changes a franchise’s entire mood. First came a trade for Brown, the recent All-NBA Second Team member.
Then came the signing of James. Put those two next to Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and Philadelphia’s roster starts looking less like a good team and more like a problem for everyone else.
Gansey, naturally, had every reason to enjoy the moment. Landing two superstars in the span of a couple of weeks is rare enough on its own.
Doing it while building what might be the league’s best starting lineup makes it even louder. Even Kevin Durant has described the group as a superteam on the level of the Golden State Warriors teams he won with in 2017 and 2018.
Philadelphia’s recent history only makes the turnaround stand out more. The 76ers have not won a championship since 1983, and they have not reached the NBA Finals since 2001, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Gansey explained how the Brown move opened the door to James.
"I called Rich Paul right away and said, 'Hey, we got Jaylen, is there a chance LeBron wants to come to us?' 'This changes some things.'
They talked about it... It was a long process, but we don't get LeBron without Jaylen," Gansey said on the MLB broadcast for a Philadelphia Phillies game.
For a team that has had its share of tough years, the outlook is suddenly different. The 76ers can now enter the season as legitimate contenders, and that kind of expectation feels a lot more real when two Finals MVPs like Brown and James are leading the way.
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Joel Embiid Update Gives 76ers Fans Real Reason For Hope
Joel Embiids summer has apparently gone about as well as the 76ers could have hoped, with Nick Nurse saying the big man is in shape, active and feeling much better as he gets back on the floor and into the weight room. After a season in which Embiid still produced at a high level, averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds, Philadelphias bigger concern was never the production. It was the availability, as he appeared in only 38 regular-season games.
Nurses update matters because the Sixers do not need a reminder of how different the team looks when Embiid is healthy and moving well. For now, the early read on the offseason is encouraging, and that alone gives the organization some badly needed optimism heading toward the new season. The real test, of course, will come once the games start and the grind begins to look a lot more like the one that has challenged Embiid in recent years. [Read more 🡒]
Grant Williams Just Eased A Big 76ers Fear About Jaylen Brown
Grant Williams helped calm one of the lingering concerns around Jaylen Brown this week, offering a firsthand view of what Brown and Jayson Tatum were like during their time together in Boston. Williams, who shared the Celtics locker room with both players from 2019 to 2023 before he was traded to the Mavericks, said their relationship was respectful and positive on and off the court, a detail that matters because Brown has long been viewed through the lens of how he might fit with Philadelphia if the 76ers ever circle back.
For the Sixers, the bigger issue has never just been Browns talent. Its whether the personality and basketball fit would hold up in a new setting, especially with the rumors that have followed him because of his ties to Tatum and the Celtics recent years of title-chasing. Williams comments do not answer every question about a potential move, but they do take some of the edge off the concern that Browns dynamic with a star teammate would be a problem in Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Just Made Sixers-Celtics Feel Even More Personal
Jaylen Browns arrival in Philadelphia already gave the Sixers-Celtics rivalry a sharper edge, and his introductory press conference only added to the intrigue. Brown spoke respectfully about Jayson Tatum, the teammate with whom he won a championship in Boston, while making clear the two have not communicated since the trade that sent him to the 76ers.
For a team trying to reset itself around a star-studded starting lineup, Brown brings both production and baggage in the best possible way. He comes off a season in which he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, and now his move to Philadelphia gives the Sixers another marquee name as they chase a major turnaround next season. [Read more 🡒]