The Philadelphia 76ers shocked everyone this offseason. After acquiring Jaylen Brown in a trade and signing LeBron James, the Sixers put together one of, if not the best, starting fives in the NBA. The 76ers now have a starting five of Brown, James, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid. On paper, this team is legit, but a lot of things have to go right as well, and they must build team chemistry. Now we get into reasons why the 76ers could win the 2026-27 NBA Championship and reasons why they could not.
Can the 76ers win the NBA Championship?
Why They Could Complete the Process
Obviously, the new starting five says enough, but there are plenty of reasons the Sixers could win a title. The first is Embiid not having to stay healthy anymore. It is absolutely important for Embiid to stay healthy, but with the new roster, it is no longer a requirement for Philadelphia to win, which takes a ton of pressure off Embiid.
The next reason is less pressure on Maxey to score 30+ points per game. Brown will complement Maxey nicely because he likes to isolate and score and takes so much pressure off of him. Then, with the development of Edgecombe and into a new role, Edgecombe will get the ball a lot less, but when he does, he is freaky athletic, and his defense is where he will impact the most next season. Edgecombe even said, “ Championship or Bust”. The entire city of Philadelphia knows that this is their best shot to win in a long time, and Embiid not having to mess up his body to be out there every night is a huge advantage.
The last reason for the 76ers is their schedule; the’re are tied for the fewest back-to-back games, and they do not have to travel far until around Christmas time against the Los Angeles Lakers, which is a huge advantage for energy and not being fatigued early on in the season.
Reasons Why They Could Fall Short Again
Unfortunately for the Sixers, there are still plenty of ways this could fail miserably. The very first reason is egos: every single player in the Sixers’ starting five is a star except for Edgecombe, who is getting there quickly, though. Everyone will want the ball in their hands, and there is only one ball to go around. If everyone decides to shoot the basketball and never pass, then the team chemistry will get destroyed, and sloppy basketball will be played. Maxey recently came out and said “nobody on this team can have an ego”, so he knows how big of a concern this could be.
The next big thing is health. Embiid and James will have nights off due to rest, but if the young guys happen to get injured, then this team could be in trouble because James and Embiid are also older now and could get injured as well.
The last big concern is the Sixers bench. Yes, they got better and drafted Labaron Philon Jr. and signed some key pieces, but they still do not have a reliable backup center that can come in and play hard, physical basketball and get rebounds.
There are reasons to believe this genuinely could be the 76ers’ year, but you also have to factor in the concerns. Do you think the Sixers could possibly win the title or will they fall short again?
Main Image: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
