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Philadelphia 76ers 2024-25 season preview: Will Joel Embiid finally deliver deep playoff run?

ben rohrbach
Senior writer
·5 min read
2
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We're breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

  • Additions: Paul George, Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain, Adem Bona

  • Subtractions: Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum, De'Anthony Melton, Robert Covington, Paul Reed, Cameron Payne, Mo Bamba

  • Complete roster

Here's everything you need to know for the 2024-25 NBA season. (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

Everything, for once, is in place around Joel Embiid.

The 76ers wiped their books clean for one swing at whatever roster they wanted around Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — this summer only, before Maxey signed his $204 million contract. And they homered, adding the best available free agent, Paul George, a perfect fit between their existing stars.

Not only that, but they crammed Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson and the surprise of the Paris Olympics, Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele, into their remaining salary cap space. They also retained Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. and drafted Jared McCain, who appears NBA-ready.

They gave Embiid everything he wanted when, sitting beside George during the NBA Finals, he told a national TV audience, "Hopefully this offseason we find a way to get better and add some pieces."

The NBA's 2023 MVP now has a pair of All-Stars flanking him, same as he did in 2019, when his Sixers fell one shot short of his first appearance in a conference finals, at the top of the type of roster you build when you expect to compete for a championship — full of familiar veterans and a smattering of upside.

Embiid is out of excuses, though he has had built-in ones for years now. His history to end each season:

  • 2015: Fractured right foot

  • 2016: Fractured right foot

  • 2017: Torn left meniscus

  • 2018: Fractured orbital bone and concussion

  • 2019: Left knee tendinitis and viral gastroenteritis

  • 2020: Global pandemic

  • 2021: Torn right meniscus

  • 2022: Fractured orbital bone and torn thumb ligament

  • 2023: Sprained right knee

  • 2024: Torn left meniscus

Some of those, including both facial fractures, are freak accidents. What is clear, though: Joel Embiid's legs as a basketball player are on borrowed time. We can quibble over whether his injuries are the result of poor conditioning or just the natural order for an athletic 7-footer who carries close to 300 pounds. Either way, Embiid has trouble lasting his career's biggest games, let alone series. Let alone four rounds.

So now is the time. Embiid is 30 years old. He might be on the other side of this getting better.

When healthy, he has been a monster. From 2020-23, he averaged 30.9 points (on 42/36/84 shooting splits), 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and one steal per game, finishing top-two in MVP voting each season. And he was better to start last season, scoring more than a point per minute. Then, he tore the meniscus in one of his knees for the third time in his career. Turns out chasing awards, which require 65 games played and a superstar's minutes load, was not the best thing for an injury-prone behemoth.

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So it was refreshing to hear this from Embiid, who was 25-30 pounds lighter on media day: "We've got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I'm healthy. This year, there's no agenda. There's no All-Star. There's no All-NBA. There's none of that. Whatever it takes to make sure I get to that point."

So here we are. Embiid has a championship-caliber team around him and a franchise committed to spending its season in service of his health. They just handed him a three-year, $193 million extension, which runs through his 34th birthday. If he cannot erase his identity this season as the only MVP never to reach a conference finals, at what point do we stop expecting any other outcome but disappointment?

Everyone — specifically Embiid and the 34-year-old George — stays healthy. That is all that matters. If everyone is available come playoff time, the 76ers have the talent to win a playoff series against anyone. Will they win four? That depends. Can Embiid close games as well as he starts them? Is Maxey prepared for the brightest of spotlights? How well does George develop chemistry with the two of them? Can the supporting cast contribute? If the answer to all of the above is yes, the Sixers can absolutely win a title.

Embiid breaks down ... again. George is past his prime or too hurt to tell if he is. Maxey's development hits a snag. They cannot find a rhythm together. Philadelphia's collection of complementary players — Martin and Oubre, in particular — has more name recognition than total contributions. They are susceptible to five-out offenses. The Sixers stall out in the first or second round ... again. And we wonder why they committed $715 million to an injury-prone big, a 34-year-old wing and an undersized guard.

Adding George raises Philly's fantasy floor. Maxey's efficiency suffered whenever Embiid was off the floor. Turning to Embiid, he's consistently one of the league's highest-usage players, but that workload often leads to injury. George is an essential piece that fills various roles as a 3-and-D specialist, playmaker and shot-creator for the Sixers.

Embiid ranks fifth in my rankings, with George coming in as a late second-rounder, followed by Maxey as an early third-round pick. Oubre Jr. is the only other player who garners any fantasy interest and his ADP is in the 13th round. — Dan Titus

Joel Embiid has won 53 games once in a season, when he was the league's MVP, and conceded that he will not be chasing that award — or any recognition but playoff success — again this year. Take the under.