October 23, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Joel Embiid called Thursday's home opener a "top-three" experience in his NBA career.
PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid has rarely approached his media availabilities with any sort of cheerful demeanor in recent years.
Sure, there have been jokes – "trolls," he calls them – but Embiid has shied away from making positive declarative statements.
On Thursday night, Embiid sat down at a podium and sang a different tune.
“I've been here for a long time. That was probably not the best night, but that was probably a top-five night for me since I've been in Philadelphia," Embiid said after the Sixers completed a 29-point comeback in their home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. "That was great. I have no words. That was amazing."
Sixers fans have teetered on apathy over the last three years. Because the continued playoff disappointments add up, and so do Embiid's surgeries. It is part of what made Thursday's scene nearly unfathomable: Embiid, teaming with not just Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe but also LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, playing in front of the most deafening crowd any of them had ever heard in Philadelphia.
"To be honest, I think that's the loudest I've ever heard Xfinity since I've been there," Edgecombe said. "It was great. Shout out to them for not leaving after halftime when we were down 25 points. That’s big-time. I love how the fans supported us tonight, and they helped us win that game."
At first, Thursday's home opener appeared to be a massive letdown. The Sixers played a terrible opening half, digging a 29-point hole it was hard to see them getting out of.
"It’s time to see what we’re made of," Maxey told his teammates at halftime. "Are we going to be some front-runners and dig in, and only be happy when stuff is good? Or when stuff is bad, [are we] going to fight and be resilient? We did that."
Pure euphoria ensued. It took less than a minute of action in the third quarter for the Sixers to force a Cavaliers timeout. An 11-0 run cut the lead to 13 points. "That first stint was huge," Maxey said, adding that he knew the Sixers would be able to take the game down to the wire.
Moments later, Maxey scored inside and followed it up with a transition triple. Cleveland called another timeout as Maxey and Brown ran to the scorer's table to celebrate. The lead was down to seven and the arena became unglued.
"You could really feel it before the game, probably more than ever that I’ve been here for sure," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. "Just the general buzz and all that kind of stuff. But when he hit that three, that's certainly as loud as I've heard it in here. And when you come back from 29 down, that's pretty fun as a fan to ride that wave."
PHILLY IS ON A 33-11 RUN 💨
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2026
After trailing by as many as 29 points, Tyrese Maxey (20 PTS) cuts the deficit to 7! pic.twitter.com/L65VKNDiKx
Slowly but surely, the Sixers chipped away. For the second straight game, Nurse made significant adjustments to his defensive alignment and reaped the benefits. James slid up to center once again, and it turned the Sixers into the defensive buzzsaw nobody saw coming. Maxey, Edgecombe and James combined for eight steals, and the Sixers' defensive surge triggered an offensive onslaught.
A team designed to dominate in transition did just that. After the Sixers looked out of sorts in the first half, they turned into a well-oiled machine. A Cavaliers team with all of the continuity these Sixers lacked were shellshocked.
"The energy was great," Brown said. "The crowd helped us get back into that game, so we didn't do ourselves any favors in the first half. But I think Cleveland felt the atmosphere, they felt the crowd in that second half. It helped us crawl back."
What also helped rattle Cleveland: Maxey going from his typical off-ball role defending the worst offensive player on the opposing team to fiercely guarding his former mentor, James Harden, across all 94 feet.
"Totally changed the game, right? He totally changed the game," Nurse said. "I think he came out and he's out there doing that and the rest of the guys are in the back watching and all of a sudden they start saying, 'I'll be in on that, too.' And then all of a sudden you’ve got everybody. He provides not only the physical effort to start it, but it [was] just kind of a spark that got everybody kind of emotional."
After Maxey and James led spirited offensive pushes, Embiid took his turn. He pummeled the frequent mismatches, he finally found his jumper and he contained enough Peyton Watson drives to set the Sixers' defensive playmaking barrage into motion. At one point, as Embiid shot free throws the crowd chanted "TRUST THE PROCESS." It was the first time in years those words have been chanted for Embiid.
"Trust the Process" chants raining down with Embiid on the line pic.twitter.com/N6OdpPxMEM
— Drew Peltzman (@dapeltz13) October 23, 2026
A shot Embiid has made as much as any other in his career – a pick-and-pop jumper from the nail – gave the Sixers their first lead of the game, capping off a dominant run early in the fourth quarter:
JOEL EMBIID GIVES PHILLY THEIR FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME IN Q4!
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2026
THEY TRAILED BY AS MANY AS 29 POINTS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nwK8qCxHhe
Then Brown's turn came. He had as rough of a first half as anybody, and he more than made up for it in the second half. Brown helped enable the Sixers' defensive turnaround by stonewalling the much bigger Evan Mobley. And after knocking down the corner triple that started the team's post-halftime run, he found a chance to take over. When Embiid checked out for a brief rest – backup center Adem Bona was booed for having the temerity to step onto the court – Brown immediately took command, scoring three unanswered baskets in 68 seconds.
The Sixers are finding something real. After a summer of wondering how so many ball-dominant forces would coexist, it seems rather simple. Over the course of 48 minutes, there are more than enough possessions for each of the Sixers' key players to stand out.
"Yeah. And it should flow organically like it did, especially in the second half," James said. "We should never have to put pressure on ourselves to feel like we’ve got to do too much offensively. When a guy has a good rhythm, we just try to feed them. But it comes through the system of the offense and it doesn't look forced. And I think that's what was able to help us not turn the ball over as much in the second half. It just looked organic."
As a lineup without Embiid and James thrived, Nurse was able to get them to their targeted minutes totals for the night. They returned to the game with three minutes and 32 seconds left – all of a sudden leading by seven points. More cohesive defense and selfless offense did the trick.
For about an hour, the Cavaliers had ruined a party months in the making. Then came the largest comeback in the longest career in NBA history.
“It was everything that I dreamed of and more," James said. "We got the boos. That was amazing. We deserved it. And then we had the cheers, and almost blew the roof off this thing tonight — in a good way. It was a hell of a night.”
MORE: With 29-point comeback, Sixers stage a home opener for the ages
