The Philadelphia 76ers spent the first week of the 2026-27 NBA season building a 3-1 start, and that opening stretch already put a few roster spots under the microscope. Some players have come out looking better than ever. Others have left the early conversation trending in the wrong direction.
Tyrese Maxey has been the headliner. Through four games, he’s set the pace for the new-look Sixers with 28.8 points per game while adding 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals. That production earned him the first NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor of the season.
Maxey has done plenty to carry the offense, even if his outside shot hasn’t fully caught up yet. He’s hitting 30 percent from three early on, well below his career mark of 37 percent. Still, the overall start has been strong, and he has quickly taken on the role of go-to scorer on a roster that also includes Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and LeBron James.
Another player whose early stock has climbed is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. There were fair questions about how much he had left at 33, but he’s answered them with a steady, useful bench stretch for Philadelphia.
He’s playing 27.5 minutes per game and averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals, while also knocking down two threes per game at a 47.1 percent clip. For a second unit that needs reliable pop, that’s exactly the kind of return the Sixers were hoping for.
If Caldwell-Pope has been a bright spot, Adem Bona has been the opposite. He’s the only legitimate center on the roster behind Embiid, but his start has been rough.
In Philadelphia’s first three games, Bona totaled just two points and six rebounds combined. He did bounce back some in Sunday night’s loss to Detroit, finishing with 13 rebounds and six points.
The Sixers will need more of that version going forward, especially with no other obvious backup center options available.
Justin Edwards also lands on the down side, and the reason is simple: he hasn’t played. Even with the Sixers dealing with injury issues and a thin roster to open the season, Nick Nurse didn’t use Edwards for a single second over the first four games. That kind of omission says plenty about where he stands right now.
Edwards is in his third season with the Sixers, and he still hasn’t forced his way into a dependable rotation role. There’s time for that to change, but the early returns have not been encouraging for the Kentucky product.
In Other News...
Sixers Could Catch Pacers At The Perfect Time Wednesday
Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe are expected back in the 76ers lineup Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers, giving Philadelphia a major boost after both sat out the previous game with injuries. Even with those reinforcements, the Sixers are still working around several absences of their own, including Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall and Jabari Walker, so the rotation is not exactly at full strength yet.
Still, the timing could matter. Indiana arrives with its own injury concerns, and the Pacers have several players on the report, including some key names who are either out or in question for the matchup. For a Sixers team trying to stabilize itself, this is the kind of spot where getting Embiid back can change the feel of the night quickly, even if the full picture on the other side is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Adem Bona Just Put Real Pressure On The Sixers Backup Center Race
A recent run of minutes gave Adem Bona the kind of opportunity the 76ers have been waiting to see him seize. In 25 minutes, he finished with six points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, a line that underscored why the coaching staff had already envisioned him as part of the center rotation. With injuries thinning the big-man group and Andre Drummond gone, the pathway behind Joel Embiid has opened wider than expected.
Bonas case is built less on scoring than on the traits Philadelphia needs most when Embiid sits: activity, rim protection and work on the glass. The competition for backup center minutes is still shaped by who is available, but Bona has clearly put himself in position to be the primary option off the bench. For a team trying to preserve Embiid while staying solid in the frontcourt, that is no small development. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Nets Wanted No Part Of Jaylen Brown
Before Jaylen Brown ever got to Philadelphia, the Nets apparently had a chance to bring him to Brooklyn and passed. According to league insider Brian Lewis, Boston floated Brown in trade talks, but Brooklyn declined in large part because of his close relationship with Kyrie Irving, a connection the organization apparently did not want to revisit after the turbulence of Irvings run there.
For the Sixers, the backstory is part of the larger appeal of landing a player who has settled in and produced right away. Brown is performing well this season, and while the Brooklyn angle is mostly a what-if now, it helps explain why his arrival in Philadelphia mattered beyond the normal trade chatter. The Nets may have had their reasons for staying away, but the Sixers are the ones benefiting from what they saw as a clean fit. [Read more 🡒]