In 2022 when the Warriors won their last title, if you told me that one day LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and D(ean) Wade would be on the 76ers I’d be like hell to the naw naw. (Also, where is Ben Simmons?!) And yet here we are!
Here’s the part that should scare the rest of the league ladies and gentlemen. This isn’t LeBron joining a team that needs him to be the engine. This is LeBron sliding into a group that already has an MVP-caliber big, a bucket-getter who just spent the summer proving he belongs in the “best two-way wing” conversation, and two young guards who play like they’ve been doing this for a decade already. Tyrese Maxey. VJ Edgecombe. Joel Embiid. Jaylen Brown. Now DA KING?! Five players who’ve either made an All-NBA team or are trending toward one, all wearing the same jersey.
So I’ll ask the obvious question before anyone else does it for me. Is this the best team LeBron has ever played on?
I know how that sounds given the résumé. Kyrie and prime Love in Cleveland. AD and a bubble run in LA. A Heatles trio that basically broke the sport for a few summers. But from a pure roster construction standpoint, I don’t remember one walking into training camp with this many legitimate creators, this much size, and this many lineup combinations. Embiid at the 5, when healthy, is still one of the toughest covers alive. Brown gives you another player who can take over a game. Maxey and Edgecombe give you two guards who get downhill and shoot it from range. And LeBron, even at 42, still reads a defense like he’s got the whole floor mapped out before you’ve decided where you’re going.
He’s walking on as a stabilizer, a guy who can captain possessions, punish mismatches in the post against smaller wings, and make the right read out of a double team on instinct. Philadelphia didn’t sign a farewell tour, rather we are looking at them adding a chess piece that still sees three moves ahead.
Now, the questions immediately arise when you talk about what could go wrong with that starting lineup.
Start with health. Embiid staying on the floor has been the same conversation forever, and I’m not going to sit here and pretend a new co-star fixes a body that’s fought him this long.
Then there’s hierarchy. Brown spent years in Boston fighting for respect, got his Finals MVP, and still ended up on a plane to a division rival where he’s probably not the first read on most nights. Going from “the guy everyone questioned but who proved it” to “one of five options” creates its own pressure, even if the results end up better.
And then there’s expectations. Maxey and Edgecombe were just building their own identities as young stars. Now they’re getting thrown into a spotlight that comes with real championship demands instead of just “how good can these kids be.”
But here’s why none of that changes how I feel about this roster from a pure basketball standpoint. Go back and watch the Sixers’ offseason moves as a whole. Anfernee Simons is an instant scoring punch off the bench for pennies compared to what other teams paid for less. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a proven championship wing. Labaron Philon might take ballhandling pressure off Maxey and Edgecombe as a rookie. They didn’t stop after LeBron, and that wasn’t just my takeaway. Paul Hudrick at Liberty Ballers looked at the same depth chart and came away with the same conclusion: “The depth chart looks legit.”
That’s what makes this team a nightmare to simulate. Most title contenders pick a lane. Fast and loose, or slow and physical. Philadelphia might make you prepare for two. This roster can do both, and with Embiid and LeBron on the floor together, I’d bet they lean into slowing the game down and daring you to match their size. But flip in Maxey, Edgecombe, and Simons off the bench, and suddenly you’re getting attacked in transition too. Ask anyone who’s tried fighting this roster in 2K how miserable it is to game plan for a team that can beat you at two different speeds depending on who’s on the floor.
Look, I’m not saying banners are guaranteed. Health matters, chemistry takes time, and pressure does strange things to teams that haven’t won together yet. But if you’re a rival executive right now, you’re not sleeping easy. This is must see TV starting in October. And if this group stays healthy, the conversation won’t be whether LeBron can still chase one more title. It’ll be whether anyone in the East has enough answers for everything Philadelphia can throw at them.
I can’t wait to see this team come to Chase Center.
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