The 2025-26 Sixers regular season officially begins in a matter of hours, with the Sixers in Boston getting set to take on a new-look Celtics team.
For these Sixers, the hope is that Wednesday night will be the start of a drastic year-to-year turnaround, eliminating the poor taste in everyone's mouths after a nightmarish 24-58 campaign last season.
Every Wednesday here, we will take the temperature of the national media's position on this team with power ranking roundups.
How do various experts feel about the Sixers as the 2025-26 season tips off?
NBA.com: 18
Writer John Schuhmann lists Embiid's rim protection as a factor to watch in the opening week of action:
"A healthy Embiid is one of the best defensive anchors in the league. The Sixers’ Week 1 opponents – Boston and Charlotte – aren’t huge threats at the rim, but if Embiid’s teammates trust that he’s got their back, they can better defend the perimeter." [NBA.com]
Schuhmann may be right that rim protection is less vital against Boston and Charlotte than some other teams in the NBA, but if the Sixers want to succeed at any level close to the heights they have been aiming to reach for Embiid's entire career, the former NBA MVP must return to becoming an elite defensive stalwart.
One of the most jarring aspects of Embiid's miserable 2024-25 campaign was that his defensive production dropped off significantly. In the past, Embiid has always managed to find a way to become a high-caliber rim protector, even if he was hobbled or things were not going particularly well offensively. That finally was not the case last season, and there is an argument that Embiid bouncing back on defense is just as important as him finding his peak form as a scorer again.
MORE: Embiid's return provides the Sixers some hope – and Embiid some relief
The Athletic: 13
Writer Law Murray is somewhat optimistic about this team, in part due to their desperation to turn things around after the nightmare that was last season:
"There is too much on the line for everyone involved in Philadelphia, with the possible exception of Tyrese Maxey, so don’t be shocked if the 76ers rebound to their usual results of getting to the playoffs and not doing much while they’re there." [The Athletic]
There has been so much negativity surrounding this team – and speculation about Embiid, Paul George, their contracts and their left knees – that Maxey might be flying under the radar right now. Maxey's fifth season in the NBA was the first in which he did not make a significant leap from where he was at the year prior, though he did post a career-best defensive campaign.
If Maxey can continue growing on that end of the floor while returning to near-dominance offensively, he can be an enormously impactful player. His biggest area for growth on the offensive end is clear.
"Playmaking skills," Sixers veteran guard Eric Gordon said last week. "We all know he can score, but to play-make, make the game easier for everybody else, I would say that's maybe a next step. He's always been a good better, but we're going to need him to make even more plays."
MORE: How much better can Maxey get?
CBS Sports: 15
Nobody knows what to make of this team, and that includes writer Colin Ward-Henninger, whose only hope is to see Embiid on the floor consistently:
"Anyone doing any sort of preseason rankings or predictions has to take a 15-minute mental break when it's time for the Sixers entry. On paper, they could be a top-three seed. If things break a certain way, however, they could miss the playoffs (again). As NBA fans, at least we can all agree that we want to see a healthy season from Joel Embiid — whatever that looks like for him these days." [CBS Sports]
Having Embiid on the floor is, of course, far and away the most important thing for the 2025-26 Sixers. But more than ever, Embiid's supporting cast must be reliable so that the former NBA MVP is not required to shoulder a massive burden in order for this team to win games.
MORE: Projecting Nick Nurse's rotation for opening night
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