While the New York Knicks are the defending NBA champions and they should raise their championship banner with the confidence that comes with winning the franchise’s first title in 53 years, the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be in a position to steal their thunder.
After adding Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the offseason, the Sixers are the team that nobody will be able to take their eyes off of as the season gets underway. Many observers believe this dynamic team — that also includes Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe — will be the best in the league.
When it comes to flat-out talent, the Sixers certainly will be able to make a great argument. But things like chemistry, familiarity and defense will also have an impact. One or more of those factors could scuttle Philadelphia’s plans to become the best team in the Eastern Conference and the next NBA champions.
Growing together will take time
Prior to this huge summer of change, the 76ers had several aspects of their game that came together in their playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics. The Sixers were underdogs in the series and they lost three of the first four games. Based on the history of the Celtics and 76ers, it seemed clear that Boston would put away Philadelphia, and do it sooner rather than later.
But instead of folding up, the Sixers found their stride, regained their belief in themselves and won the last three games of the series. The most notable aspect of the reversal in the series is that none of the last three games were close. Philadelphia was suddenly the quicker, hungrier and more efficient team
They had the power of Embiid and the speed, talent and quickness of Maxey and Edgecombe along with the talent of Paul George. Suddenly, the Sixers had passed the Celtics in the blink of an eye.
As confident as the Sixers were at that point, they could not make a dent in the New York Knicks and they were swept in four games.
Nobody expected the 76ers and Celtics to become trade partners in the offseason, and the idea that Philadelphia would end up with Brown did not seem realistic. Yet, it happened and the Celtics split up the duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum that had previously won an NBA title. The Celtics got George and draft choices in return, but it is clear the Sixers made the bigger splash.
It didn’t stop there as they also got the biggest free-agent signing in the offseason when James made his decision to go to Philadelphia. It seemed that James would either head back to Cleveland or Miami, the 41-year-old looked at the Sixers and figured that it was the team that had the best chance to bring home a championship.
From that perspective, it was a fairly logical choice. However, the 2026-27 76ers are going to have to learn to play together. That will not be easy and it will take time.
Cohesiveness and competition will take tremendous effort
Adding Brown and James to the Sixers core is going to put a ton of responsibility on the shoulders of head coach Nick Nurse. He knew how last year’s team came together, now he gets two more superstars to throw into the equation. James is arguably a top-3 player in the game’s history but he is certainly nearing the end.
He is a brilliant team player who has always gotten as much from setting up his teammates as he does from his own scoring.
Brown is a little bit of a different story. While there were never any outward issues with Tatum, it seemed Brown wanted some of the glory that went to Tatum.
He seemed to enjoy himself more last season when Tatum was rehabbing his Achilles than when the two played together. It’s not exactly selfishness, but Brown wants to be appreciated.
Throwing these two with the Sixers’ established stars will be somewhat complex.
The other issue is the competition the 76ers will face. The Knicks are in their glory and they should have an excellent chance to earn another Eastern Conference title and perhaps repeat as NBA champions. The Celtics will still be strong and they have something to prove without Brown.
The Detroit Pistons and Cavaliers both have a chance to be formidable as well.
Nobody is going to hand the Sixers anything. There is little doubt there will be certain nights where they are hitting on all cylinders and they will look like a brilliant and star-studded team.
However, that does not mean they will have the consistency needed to get to the top and dominate. The cohesiveness needed could take more than a season to develop and the competition is brutal.
The Knicks are not ready to welcome the 76ers to the stage and the Celtics will join the fight as well.
Those are the fatal flaws that will keep the 76ers from winning the NBA title.
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