Fifteen years ago, amid another promising summer, an Eagles backup quarterback named Vince Young surveyed the talent on hand – new acquisitions like himself, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Jason Babin, added to a Michael Vick-led core – and declared the Birds a “Dream Team.”
Turned out that none of the new guys (least of all Vince Young) made a significant difference. Those Eagles finished 8-8, then tumbled to 4-12 the following season, spelling the end of the Andy Reid Era.
The point being that we all need to pump the brakes on what the addition of LeBron James might mean for your 76ers. That as rosy as things appear to be, it might all prove to be a summertime dream.
But sure, have your fun. Marvel at a roster that, following the additions of LeBron, Jaylen Brown and others now features players who have won five MVP trophies (four by LBJ), made 29 All-NBA teams (21 by James) and appeared in 36 All-Star Games (22 by his ownself).
Rest assured, this team is as talented as any the Sixers have ever assembled. It rivals the Julius Erving–Moses Malone 1982-83 team, the last one to win a title, and the ‘66-67 championship bunch, which started three Hall of Famers in Wilt Chamberlain, Chet Walker and Hal Greer and brought another, Billy Cunningham, off the bench. (The other starters, Luke Jackson and Wali Jones, weren’t too shabby, either.)
And certainly the mission is clear – especially to the 41-year-old James. He tweeted Friday that after this past season, the last of eight he spent with the Lakers and the 23rd of his career, he thought his playing days were over. But then he added the following: “I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.”
Still, there are questions. Of course there are questions. Questions about fit and ego. About spacing and sharing. About who will take, much less make, a big shot from downtown. (Check the three-point percentages of potential Sixers starters not named Tyrese Maxey or VJ Edgecombe.)
And the biggest of all is this: What can they get out of Joel Embiid? How much will he play, and how effective will he be?
After all this time and all these roster machinations, that is the long and short of it: They need the big fella to deliver … something. That does not mean they need vintage, MVP-level Embiid; that guy doesn’t exist anymore. What it does mean is that they need him on the floor, engaged and efficient, when it matters most. Because even in an era when the center position has been devalued, a capable big is still a must. And after Embiid, all the Sixers have are Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti.
Certainly those guys will see their share of action. Embiid, 32, has played 96 of a possible 246 games the last three seasons, including 38 in 2025-26. And certainly Nick Nurse can spackle over Embiid’s regular-season absences by using a center-less closing lineup. (You will recall, for instance, that there were times Boston used Brown as a center on defense against the Sixers.)
But to navigate the postseason company they now figure to keep, they will need Embiid. While it is obvious that his creaky knees will not allow him to be what he once was, he can still be an on-court presence. He can still counter the Karl-Anthony Townses of the world (and, if it comes to that, the Chet Holmgrens and Victor Wembanyamas as well). Even at this late stage of his career, Embiid can be the difference between a berth in the conference finals and something far, far greater, no matter who is arrayed around him.
It is not a question of whether the Sixers will be good this season. It is, rather, a question of how good. And to be at their very best – to be something more than a summertime dream – they will need to maximize Embiid. For all the talent they have, there is no one else like him on the roster, even now. He still holds the key to what they might become.
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