October 28, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Indiana Pacers came one half away from winning a championship two years ago. Now they are one of many Eastern Conference contenders.
INDIANAPOLIS – Dean Wade signed with the Sixers to play in games like Wednesday night's clash in Indianapolis: just one of 82 regular-season games, but one between two teams with legitimate championship aspirations. In this season's Eastern Conference, most games the Sixers play will fit that mold.
"I wanted to play for a competing team still," Wade told PhillyVoice before the Sixers put the finishing touches on their preparation for the Indiana Pacers at shootaround. "Coming from Cleveland, I didn't want to go anywhere that wasn't competing."
By staying in the Eastern Conference, Wade ensured he will do a whole lot of competing.
After kicking off their season with games against the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers – last year's conference finalists – the Sixers faced the Milwaukee Bucks, a team projected to be among the worst in the NBA despite having several accomplished veterans. Then they lost their first game of the year to the Detroit Pistons, winners of 60 games and owners of the best record in the conference last season. Up next: Wednesday's game against the Pacers, ready to return to title contention after coming one half from winning it all two seasons ago. They will face the Knicks again upon returning home, then fly to Charlotte to face a young, hungry Hornets team that was the best in the NBA during the second half of last season.
There are no breaks in the Eastern Conference, where at least 11 teams consider themselves playoff-caliber squads. The conference is as good as it has ever been. That means the standings could be as consolidated as they have ever been. That makes a Wednesday night in Indianapolis in October as compelling as it has ever been.
Right around this time a year ago, the Sixers had established themselves as a pleasant early-season surprise. After the nightmare that was the 2024-25 campaign, the Sixers seemed finally capable of overcoming Joel Embiid's frequent absences. They went 5-1 to begin the year despite less-than-ideal circumstances on the Embiid front.
In retrospect, they had a much easier road then than they do now. Of those five early-season wins, three came in games they were heavy favorites to win. They sleepwalked for much of a game against the Washington Wizards before putting their collective foot on the gas late. They needed a go-ahead triple in the final seconds to beat the Hornets, still yet to emerge. They went to Brooklyn and pummeled the lowly Nets.
In the moment, those wins felt somewhat momentous for various reasons. There was Adem Bona blocking everything and playing like a high-quality backup center, there was Quentin Grimes announcing himself as a Sixth Man of the Year Award candidate and there was Trendon Watford looking to be an exciting bench chess piece. Hindsight suggests those players were mere beneficiaries of a flash-in-the-pan moment; they had chances to shine against subpar competition.
That speaks to the value of having someone like Wade, a tried-and-true role player with years of experience playing for a winning regular-season team. And, for a team that has not often been perfectly emblematic of the phrase "locked in," it is a favorable dynamic that probably does not exist anymore. Teams are not tanking. The conference is loaded with talent (the Sixers even came close to losing to Milwaukee at home last week). Coasting is not going to work.
These Sixers, of course, are not last year's. New Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey made sure of that, letting Grimes and new Pacers swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. depart, replacing them with Wade and Anfernee Simons, trading Paul George for Jaylen Brown and topping it all off by signing LeBron James.
James' arrival in particular put a target on the Sixers' back. They are the most talented team in the NBA, and the entire league knows it. Even in a preseason game, the Sixers unveiled their star-studded starting lineup for the first time and faced constant full-court pressure from a Nets team playing like it was in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
This play has stuck in my head:
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 9, 2026
A 32-year-old Julius Randle fully laying out for a loose ball in front of the Nets' bench in a preseason game, setting the tone.
The Nets causing problems with their length and active hands on D, then moving the ball on the other end for a layup. pic.twitter.com/1w0MOxhdox
"It's good to see that now, and get the feel of it," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the exhibition. "I think we'll see some of that throughout the year, so it's good to see it now."
Injuries have ravaged the league just in its opening week; several high-caliber players have already gone down for significant periods of time. And to some degree, the NBA's regular season is a war of attrition. The Sixers have their own injury-related concerns to focus on, from the daily fears about Embiid to the planning that goes into managing the workload of James, whose 42nd birthday is about two months away.
In order to survive the season – and be better off for it when the playoffs begin – the Sixers must withstand the best punches of a lot of heavyweights in their conference. Availability and production from their stars will be critical. So far, the results have been mixed, but largely positive. Tyrese Maxey has cemented himself as a very strong All-NBA contender immediately:
he’s literally the Eastern Conference Player of the Week 😎 pic.twitter.com/yijCKi6bHa
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 26, 2026
There is no promised land for these Sixers without the names atop the roster performing. But Maxey, Embiid, James and Jaylen Brown will not be able to do it alone. Their most important reserve is Wade, a master of the little things whose ability to impact winning without having plays called for him can be a template for multiple Sixers youngsters.
"You realize sometimes simplicity is just key, and you don't overdo it. And I think it kind of confirms a lot for me with what I'm learning and where I'm growing," Jabari Walker said of Wade during the preseason. "Seeing guys like that get paid, it’s like, 'Okay, just knock down the corner three, play defense, be out of the way, be a great person.' And that's the road I'm trying to follow."
Wade takes pride in the example he has set; a grin appeared and widened as he learned of Walker's comments. This Sixers team has seen its strong preseason depth get damaged significantly by a rash of injuries. They will need every player on the roster – save for Ariel Hukporti, already out for the season. Every other Sixer rostered has a pathway to contributing, and to get through the gauntlet that is the Eastern Conference they all need to step up at some point.
The competition, from October until April, is just too strong.
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