A week into the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2026-27 season, the new pieces on the roster have already started to show what they can bring. Some have settled in quickly.
Others are still finding their footing. And one rookie still doesn’t have enough minutes to draw much of a verdict at all.
Jaylen Brown has been the most reliable all-around newcomer so far. He hasn’t been spectacular, but he’s given Philadelphia exactly the kind of steady production a team wants from a major addition.
Through the first week, Brown is averaging 20.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while also giving the Sixers solid perimeter defense. The 42 percent he’s shooting from three is a career high, even if there have been moments where he’s looked a little off rhythm as he adjusts after spending the first 10 years of his career in Boston.
LeBron James has made a different kind of early impression. He hasn’t taken over games the way he once did, but he has still affected them in plenty of ways.
James leads the Sixers in steals at 2.0 per game and assists at 5.7, while also contributing 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds. One of his sharper moments came Sunday night against Detroit, when he scored six straight points to finish the first half.
The one thing Philadelphia still needs more of from him is outside shooting, since he has made just one of his 10 3-point attempts.
Anfernee Simons came out firing in the opener and then cooled off fast. He opened the season with three made 3-pointers, 13 points and two rebounds, giving the Sixers a needed scoring lift off the bench.
But over the next three games, his impact faded. In those last three contests, he scored nine total points while hitting only three of 21 shots and two of 13 from deep.
His 23.8 percent shooting from three is a career low, and because he’s adding just 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, Philadelphia needs more from him if the shot isn’t falling.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has fit neatly into his role. He’s logging 27.5 minutes per game and putting up 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals.
Just as importantly, he’s been a steady floor-spacer, making at least one 3-pointer in all four games and knocking down at least three triples in three of them. His 47.1 percent mark from deep is a career high, and that kind of bench production is exactly what the Sixers are looking for.
Dean Wade missed the first two games because of an ankle injury, but once he got on the floor, he wasted no time showing why Philadelphia wanted him in free agency. He has hit half of his 3-point attempts so far, going 3-for-6, and he has averaged 2.5 steals and a block in each game. He won’t pile up huge numbers with so many established scorers around him, but if he keeps stretching the floor and making plays on defense, he can carve out real value.
LaBaron Philon Jr. is still too early in his NBA run to grade properly. The rookie guard didn’t play in the first two games, then saw only four minutes in the third.
His latest outing against the Detroit Pistons was more encouraging, though. He played 13 minutes and finished with five points, two rebounds and an assist, a start the Alabama product can build on if his role continues to grow.
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One speculative answer floating around would send Jabari Walker and future second-round picks to Charlotte for Moussa Diabat, a young center who has made the most of limited chances. It is the kind of low-cost move contenders often explore when they need rebounding help and extra defensive depth, and Philadelphia fits that profile right now. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Maxey Just Spotlighted A Sixers Problem That Still Looms
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Jaylen Brown is already having to swat away old noise in Philadelphia, and it has nothing to do with his play. The former Celtics wing denied Brian Scalabrines claim that he demanded a trade out of Boston, even as Scalabrine later softened the wording and said Brown had not technically asked out but had laid out a list of demands for the Celtics. For the 76ers, the timing matters because Brown has quickly been asked to turn the page and settle into a new role, with the attention following him from one locker room to the next.
So far, Brown has done the part Philadelphia can control, and the on-court fit has given the team something more useful than the chatter. He recently posted a double-double in a win over the Indiana Pacers, a reminder that the conversation around him is not just about what happened in Boston or how it gets framed now. The narrative may keep traveling with him for a while, but the Sixers will care most about whether the production keeps coming once the questions do not. [Read more 🡒]