The 2024-25 NBA season is right here! We’re breaking down the most important questions, best- and worst-case situations, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 groups. Get pleasure from!
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
2023-24 end
Offseason strikes
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Additions: Paul George, Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain, Adem Bona
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Subtractions: Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum, De’Anthony Melton, Robert Covington, Paul Reed, Cameron Payne, Mo Bamba
The Massive Query: Can Joel Embiid dominate a full season?
Every part, for as soon as, is in place round Joel Embiid.
The 76ers wiped their books clear for one swing at no matter roster they needed round Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — this summer time solely, earlier than Maxey signed his $204 million contract. And so they homered, including the most effective obtainable free agent, Paul George, an ideal match between their present stars.
Not solely that, however they crammed Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson and the shock of the Paris Olympics, Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele, into their remaining wage cap area. Additionally they retained Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. and drafted Jared McCain, who seems NBA-ready.
They gave Embiid every little thing he needed when, sitting beside George in the course of the NBA Finals, he advised a nationwide TV viewers, “Hopefully this offseason we discover a method to get higher and add some items.”
The NBA’s 2023 MVP now has a pair of All-Stars flanking him, identical as he did in 2019, when his Sixers fell one shot in need of his first look in a convention finals, on the high of the kind of roster you construct once you count on to compete for a championship — filled with acquainted veterans and a smattering of upside.
Embiid is out of excuses, although he has had built-in ones for years now. His historical past to finish every season:
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2015: Fractured proper foot
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2016: Fractured proper foot
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2017: Torn left meniscus
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2018: Fractured orbital bone and concussion
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2019: Left knee tendinitis and viral gastroenteritis
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2020: World pandemic
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2021: Torn proper meniscus
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2022: Fractured orbital bone and torn thumb ligament
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2023: Sprained proper knee
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2024: Torn left meniscus
A few of these, together with each facial fractures, are freak accidents. What is evident, although: Joel Embiid’s legs as a basketball participant are on borrowed time. We are able to quibble over whether or not his accidents are the results of poor conditioning or simply the pure order for an athletic 7-footer who carries near 300 kilos. Both manner, Embiid has hassle lasting his profession’s greatest video games, not to mention sequence. Not to mention 4 rounds.
So now could be the time. Embiid is 30 years previous. He may be on the opposite facet of this getting higher.
When wholesome, he has been a monster. From 2020-23, he averaged 30.9 factors (on 42/36/84 taking pictures splits), 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and one steal per sport, ending top-two in MVP voting every season. And he was higher to start out final season, scoring greater than some extent per minute. Then, he tore the meniscus in certainly one of his knees for the third time in his profession. Seems chasing awards, which require 65 video games performed and a famous person’s minutes load, was not the most effective factor for an injury-prone behemoth.
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So it was refreshing to listen to this from Embiid, who was 25-30 kilos lighter on media day: “We have to do no matter it takes to make it possible for within the postseason I am wholesome. This yr, there is no agenda. There is no All-Star. There is no All-NBA. There’s none of that. No matter it takes to ensure I get to that time.”
So right here we’re. Embiid has a championship-caliber group round him and a franchise dedicated to spending its season in service of his well being. They only handed him a three-year, $193 million extension, which runs via his thirty fourth birthday. If he can not erase his id this season as the one MVP by no means to succeed in a convention finals, at what level can we cease anticipating some other end result however disappointment?
Greatest-case situation
Everybody — particularly Embiid and the 34-year-old George — stays wholesome. That’s all that issues. If everybody is accessible come playoff time, the 76ers have the expertise to win a playoff sequence in opposition to anybody. Will they win 4? That relies upon. Can Embiid shut video games in addition to he begins them? Is Maxey ready for the brightest of spotlights? How nicely does George develop chemistry with the 2 of them? Can the supporting forged contribute? If the reply to the entire above is sure, the Sixers can completely win a title.
If every little thing falls aside
Embiid breaks down … once more. George is previous his prime or too damage to inform if he’s. Maxey’s improvement hits a snag. They can not discover a rhythm collectively. Philadelphia’s assortment of complementary gamers — Martin and Oubre, specifically — has extra identify recognition than complete contributions. They’re vulnerable to five-out offenses. The Sixers stall out within the first or second spherical … once more. And we surprise why they dedicated $715 million to an injury-prone large, a 34-year-old wing and an undersized guard.
Fantasy spin
Including George raises Philly’s fantasy ground. Maxey’s effectivity suffered every time Embiid was off the ground. Turning to Embiid, he is persistently one of many league’s highest-usage gamers, however that workload usually results in damage. George is a vital piece that fills numerous roles as a 3-and-D specialist, playmaker and shot-creator for the Sixers.
Embiid ranks fifth in my rankings, with George coming in as a late second-rounder, adopted by Maxey as an early third-round choose. Oubre Jr. is the one different participant who garners any fantasy curiosity and his ADP is within the thirteenth spherical. — Dan Titus
2024-25 schedule
Joel Embiid has received 53 video games as soon as in a season, when he was the league’s MVP, and conceded that he won’t be chasing that award — or any recognition however playoff success — once more this yr. Take the below.
