There is no question that the Philadelphia 76ers became NBA championship contenders after the offseason they had, and if there is any year with their best chance to win it is this year. The Sixers built one of if not the best starting lineups on paper that now features Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid, but will have to wait and see if they can build team chemistry on the court. While the 76ers improved dramatically, they will not have an easy road to be the team that comes out of the Eastern Conference. With that being said, let’s dive into who the Sixers biggest Eastern Conference threats are for the upcoming season.
Eastern Conference Contenders
Defending Champions
The 76ers arguably biggest challenge in the Eastern Conference is the defending champions, New York Knicks. With a starting five of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns, The Sixers will need to remain healthy and develop team chemistry to overcome the Knicks.
The Knicks were nothing short of dominant in the playoffs, they opened the first round of the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 Series win in a best of seven over the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks then swept the Sixers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals; they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals before finally beating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 out of seven to win the NBA Finals.
Luckily for the Sixers, they traded for Brown and signed James, making the them right there with the Knicks. On paper, you can already argue the Sixers have a better starting five then the Knicks, but the Knicks have team chemistry that the Sixers will need to build if they want to come out of the East.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Another team that could be a major threat to the Sixers is the Cavaliers. Are the Cavaliers not quite as scary as the Knicks? No, but they still have a very talented team and only got better. The Cavaliers have a starting five that now features James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. The Cavaliers got Watson in a trade with the Denver Nuggets in a five-team trade.
This is a team that went 64-18 in 2024 while Mitchell, Allen, and Mobley were there and to now have Watson a good young player and Harden, this team is absolutely a threat to the Sixers. While Harden is older and struggles in the playoffs, he has many dominant performances in the regular season and the overall talent the Cavaliers have, takes a lot of pressure off Harden come playoff time. Again, the Cavaliers are not as daunting as the Knicks, but they absolutely possess a starting lineup that can scare the Sixers a bit.
Boston Celtics
Yes, it sounds absolutely crazy to have the Boston Celtics on here after they traded Brown to the Sixers, but you have to consider everything else. The Celtics still have Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and now Paul George from the Sixers who was absolutely electric in the playoffs. The Celtics missed Tatum for nearly the entire 2025-2026 season due to a torn Achilles, but they still managed to get the number two seed in the Eastern Conference and that was due to Brown mostly but the Celtics prove they can surprise everyone.
The Celtics and Sixers is also a big rivalry and the Celtics always give them fits even when the Celtics are banged up. While the Sixers by far have the better overall roster, they still cannot overlook a Celtics team who has playoff experience in their starting five.
The 76ers have a championship starting five on their roster but will have tough battles standing in their way. Do you think the they can overcome their biggest threats in the Eastern Conference?
Main Image: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
