The Philadelphia 76ers may have loaded up in the offseason with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, but Stephen A. Smith says the whole championship picture still comes back to Joel Embiid.
On a recent segment of First Take, Smith made it clear that the Sixers’ title hopes hinge on Embiid being healthy enough when the playoffs arrive. In his view, Philadelphia doesn’t need Embiid at full strength - but it does need him close enough to make a real difference.
“If Joel Embiid is at 70-75 percent come playoff time, the Philadelphia 76ers are winning the championship,” Smith said. “I don’t believe they win the championship without Embiid. But if Embiid is on that damn court, in the NBA Finals, capable of giving you something at at 70-75 percent in terms of his level of health, I don’t seen anybody beating the Philadelphia 76ers.”
That stance comes with the Sixers off to a strong start. They’ve opened the season 8-1, and Embiid has been in the lineup for seven of those games while averaging a little over 33 minutes per night. Through that stretch, he’s putting up 19.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists, while shooting 41.3 percent from the field, 11.5 percent from 3-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw line.
Embiid’s importance isn’t exactly a mystery. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has dealt with injury problems throughout his career, and last season knee and hip issues limited him to 38 regular season games. Even so, he came back for the playoffs and helped push the Sixers past the Boston Celtics in the opening round.
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Pistons Fans Have Every Reason To Be Furious After Embiid Incident
The night in Detroit had the feel of a routine road win for Philadelphia until Joel Embiids physical play turned the focus elsewhere. In the middle of the game against the Pistons, Embiid kicked Jaden Cunningham in the groin on a play that drew no immediate whistle, a sequence that quickly became the kind of moment the home crowd was never going to let go.
Embiid later picked up a technical foul for pushing Tolu Smith, and the league eventually retroactively assessed the earlier kick as a Flagrant 1. He still finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds as the 76ers moved to 8-1, but the box score only tells part of the story from a game that left Detroit with plenty to gripe about after the fact. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers May Have No Choice With Joel Embiid Against Cleveland
Adem Bonas cervical spine sprain has quickly complicated the Sixers frontcourt picture heading into the matchup with Cleveland. After taking an elbow to the head in the recent game, Bona is listed as doubtful, and Philadelphia suddenly looks thin behind Joel Embiid at a position where depth was already going to matter against a Cavaliers team that can punish teams inside.
Embiid has been on a minutes restriction, but he was needed for 33 minutes in the last game once Bona went down. If Bona cannot go, the Sixers may not have much choice but to lean more heavily on Embiid again, even with the long-term caution that has guided his workload. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Front Office Just Made One Bet Fans Need To See
Mike Gansey wasted little time putting his stamp on the Sixers after the 2026 NBA Draft, and the early message from the new President of Basketball Operations is clear: this roster is going to look different. Philadelphia chose not to retain Quentin Grimes or Kelly Oubre Jr., then moved to add Dean Wade on a four-year deal while also pursuing Anfernee Simons as part of a broader push to improve the teams three-point shooting.
Wade has already voiced confidence in Gansey and in the fit with Philadelphia, which matters for a team trying to reset its rotation and sharpen its identity heading into next season. The bigger question now is how far Gansey is willing to go in reshaping the group around that vision, and whether the Sixers recent moves are the start of a cleaner, more balanced roster or just the first step in a longer overhaul. [Read more 🡒]