The Philadelphia 76ers have the kind of roster that puts championship talk on the table immediately. That part is easy.
The harder part is turning all that talent into a team that actually gets where it wants to go. For Philadelphia, the path to a title comes down to three things: Joel Embiid staying on the floor, the bench doing real damage, and the stars figuring out how to share the spotlight.
Start with Embiid, because everything still runs through him. Even when he isn’t at full strength, he can tilt a game with his offense.
The problem is that the warning signs are impossible to ignore. The 32-year-old hasn’t played more than 60 games in three years, and over the last two seasons he has appeared in just 57 regular-season games.
That’s the tension hanging over the entire season.
Nick Nurse does have one potential advantage here: he can manage Embiid’s minutes more carefully across the year, which could pay off later. And there’s no mystery about what Embiid brings when he’s available. His career averages - 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game - tell the story of a player who remains Philadelphia’s offensive anchor.
The next question is whether the supporting cast can actually hold up its end. Last season, the 76ers were 27th in bench scoring, putting up only 32.4 points per game. Quentin Grimes led that group with 13.4 points per game before moving on to the Los Angeles Lakers, and too often the offense simply lost steam once the starters sat.
That’s where the deeper roster around Mike Gansey comes into play. Philadelphia now has more options, and players like Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade are the sort who can matter even in smaller roles.
Simons brings the scoring pop the second unit badly needs; he averaged 14.3 points per game last season while shooting 44% from the floor. Wade, meanwhile, didn’t fill the box score the same way, averaging 5.8 points per game, but he helped lift the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defensive standing when he was on the court.
For Philadelphia, the bench doesn’t need to be flashy. It needs to be dependable. If each reserve does the job he’s supposed to do, that changes the entire shape of the team.
Then there’s the biggest chemistry test of all: making the stars fit. The roster Nurse has now is loaded with talent, championship experience and energy. But talent alone doesn’t solve the issue of too many players used to having the ball in their hands.
That’s the challenge with LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey all in the mix. Someone has to set the tone offensively, and that means one of them has to be willing to step back.
LeBron has already shown in Los Angeles that he can let others take over if the coach wants it that way. Brown has spent years in Boston in a role where he was often second to the top billing.
Maxey, for his part, is one of the league’s best off-ball movers.
The ingredients are there. No question about that.
But Philadelphia still has to become a team, not just a collection of names. There will be some early-season adjustment, and the real issue is how fast they work through it and build momentum.
In Other News...
Tyrese Maxey Is Already Answering A Big 76ers Leadership Question
Tyrese Maxey has been spending the 2026 offseason doing more than just keeping his own game sharp. The 76ers guard has been working with new teammate Anfernee Simons, part of the kind of early-on chemistry building that can matter a lot for a roster trying to settle into a new season. Simons arrived on a two-year deal after stops with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, and getting him integrated now gives Philadelphia a head start before the games start to count.
Maxey has also been training with other teammates and players, which is its own quiet signal about where the leadership question in Philadelphia is headed. He is not waiting for the season to reveal who takes ownership of the locker room and the workout calendar. Instead, he is already acting like one of the players setting the tone, making sure the Sixers are connected before they ever step on the floor together. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Just Added A Wild New Twist To Phillys Offseason
Jaylen Browns move to Philadelphia already made the 76ers one of the more interesting teams of the 2026 offseason, and now he has added an off-court wrinkle that only deepens the intrigue. Brown recently stepped into the ring for his boxing debut in an exhibition bout in Nigeria, a nod to the combat-sports background that runs in his family through his father, Quenton Marselles Brown, a former professional boxer.
For the Sixers, it is another reminder that Brown has interests well beyond the NBA floor, even if his future in boxing or UFC remains strictly speculative for now. The basketball fit will matter most in Philadelphia, of course, but this kind of detour helps explain why Brown has long been one of the leagues more distinctive stars, and why his arrival has already brought an extra layer of attention to the teams offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Flier Comes With A Chance At Unmatched NBA History
Dillon Jones arrives in Philadelphia with the kind of rsum that makes a training-camp flier worth a closer look. After winning NBA championships with the Thunder in 2025 and the Knicks in 2026, he recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Sixers, giving the team a low-risk chance to evaluate a player who has seen limited NBA minutes but has also spent time in the G League showing value as a scorer and rebounder.
For the Sixers, the appeal is straightforward: Jones brings versatility and a rare championship background to a roster spot battle. For Jones, the opportunity is even more unusual. If he earns a place on the roster and Philadelphia goes on to win the 2027 title, he would become the first player in NBA history to win three straight championships with three different teams, a distinction no one has managed before. [Read more 🡒]