October 22, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James (23) reacts with guard Vj Edgecombe (77) after a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
I covered my first Sixers game in 2014.
The team hit the over on their preseason 16.5 win prediction, and truly pivoted to "The Process" that offseason. I have a plush Michael Carter-Williams figurine that has been in my office for more than a decade now (MCW was a Sixer for less than two seasons).
The 76ers added Joel Embiid with the third overall pick in June of 2014 and the wild ride began.
The closest thing I can remember to the hype around the 2026-27 Sixers — which was deafening Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena (seriously, you might start reading stories about NBA players with serious hearing loss, it was damn loud) — was seeing Embiid, finally, suit up and play in person for the first time nearly two years later in 2016. The stands weren't empty. The get-in ticket price wasn't $10 anymore. This team finally had a future.
It's been a decade. The future has been murky.
There's been a healthy mix of extreme optimism and extreme despair for every season since Embiid arrived.
A little over 10 years have passed since the big, trash-talking Cameroonian started his NBA career in earnest (after sitting his first two seasons for various injury-related issues). Is the future here yet?
I'm not sure the most optimistic Sixers fan, Sam Hinkie supporter, or lover of "The Process" expected ever to see the NBA's all-time leading scorer tossing chalk pre-game, wearing 76ers blue. But every time LeBron James touched the ball Thursday night the crowd soaked it in (also, every time James Harden touched the ball they booed — it's Philly after all).
He started alongside what is essentially a super team, with Jaylen Brown joining the starting five after a positively shocking trade this summer that coincided with a change in general manager. The center of the basketball universe is in Philadelphia. A media contingent bigger than the one covering the Eagles every Sunday crammed into the hockey press box in the rafters of the arena for the home opener.
I'm an NBA2k franchise mode guy, and I can't help but think of all the different possible iterations of this basketball team over the last decade. From the half Jimmy Butler season to Ben Simmons to Tobias Harris, Harden, Markelle Fultz and all the rest.
The Sixers are actually extremely championship starved — it's been 43 seasons since their last title, longer than James has been alive.
These Sixers built off their season opening win against the defending champion Knicks, closing a 24-point halftime gap thanks to an explosion in the second quarter to hang on and beat the Cavaliers 114-106 in their home debut. The win felt like it meant something. Just what, is yet unclear. The energy from both the crowd and the players was enough to boil a pot of water as the Sixers turned a potential stinker into a statement.
Still, it's possible they don't have enough rebounding, or defense in general to be the last team standing in an NBA overflowing with legitimate contenders. But there's something to be said for going for it. The Sixers are emptying the clip. Not a lot of cities have teams that are willing to do that.
There was actually a similar "hmm, I'm actually glad they tried that" situation back in 2014 as well. Chip Kelly was hired by the Eagles as the successor to Andy Reid, looking to redefine an NFL offense. After an impressive start, it was pretty clear the pro ranks weren't the place for Kelly's speedy offense. And maybe the star-studded Sixers aren't built to win in the current makeup of the NBA.
But Doug Pederson took over the Birds in January of 2016. Just over two years later the franchise won its first Super Bowl. It would be hard to argue that Brandon Graham's championship-clinching strip sack happens without the Chip Kelly experiment.
Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecomb are pretty young. And they're damn good already. They're going to learn, every single day, from the second best player in the history of the sport (sorry LeBron, Jordan will always be the GOAT, Philly or no).
They're also going to learn how to handle an enormous amount of media attention, high expectations, and sharing the basketball with hungry mouths wanting to be fed. It's a proving ground, as well as an experiment in chemistry and star potential.
Don't be too tunnel visioned. Perhaps this is the final chapter of "The Process," but it could be one of the first chapters on the road to a drought-ending 76ers parade down Broad Street.
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