The Sixers had to start this season with more drama after James Harden asked out. Once again, the Sixers were able to overcome the off-court conflicts and actually build some positive vibes when the season began. However, things ended the same as always for the Sixers with more disappointment in the playoffs.

How’d It Go?

The notable storylines ahead of the season were the James Harden trade request and new head coach Nick Nurse stating that Paul Reed would “for sure” play next to Joel Embiid. The Reed narrative was quickly proven false and the Sixers traded Harden, PJ Tucker and Filip Petrušev to the Clippers a week into the season for Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris Sr., an unprotected 2028 first-round pick, two second-round picks and a pick swap.

The Sixers actually began the season on a positive note, playing attractive basketball with more movement in the offense thanks to Nick Nurse and implementing more two-man game between Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Kelly Oubre Jr. was especially enjoying life with his new team, scoring at an astounding rate before a freak accident in which he got hit by a car and missed 11 games. Oubre took a while to get back up to speed, but things were still mostly positive for the Sixers with Joel Embiid having a historic scoring season and Tyrese Maxey already making a case to be the Most Improved Player. Embiid was having persistent left knee issues and we eventually found out that he had a torn left meniscus after he aggravated it in a game. The Sixers’ season unraveled a bit at that point but Embiid returned for a handful of games at the end of the regular season.

Embiid’s left knee was still clearly causing him some pain during the first-round series vs. the Knicks though and on top of that, he was dealing with a mild case of Bell’s Palsy. Despite some memorable performances by Embiid and Maxey, the Sixers lost in six games to the Knicks to cap off another season without seeing any playoff success. The only players under contract with the Sixers ahead of free agency are Joel Embiid, Paul Reed, Jeff Dowtin Jr. (Sixers have a team option) and Ricky Council IV so some major change is coming. Tyrese Maxey is a restricted free agent and he will naturally return as well.

Coaching

After years of Sixers fans having gripes with the coaching, the franchise got their hands on Nick Nurse, a coach known for his tactical mind (and giving his players exorbitant minutes). He is also well-known for being on the opposing bench when that shot happened before the Raptors went on to capture their first NBA championship. Nurse implemented more motion into the Sixers offense and Kelly Oubre Jr. was a standout with the timing of his cuts. Tyrese Maxey had already proven his ability to play well off the gravity of other superstars in previous years and his personal growth allowed for some excellent two-man game with Joel Embiid. The Sixers flowed nicely and Embiid was putting up eye-popping numbers while sitting out fourth quarters regularly when the Sixers blew out opponents.

Of course, sometimes those movement concepts would go out the door when either Embiid or Maxey was just cooking, but the Sixers were one of the most watchable teams when all their concepts came together. Injuries derailed a lot of that momentum in the second half of the season though. While Nurse did have a couple of uncertain moments at the end of some of the games against the Knicks in the first round, Sixers fans should generally be happy with what he got out of the team and there is a lot to build on moving forward with Nurse at the helm.

The Players

Joel Embiid

C, Philadelphia Sixers

ADP: 5.2/3.5 (ESPN/Yahoo) | Total Value: 40/51 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 1/1 (8/9-cat)

Joel Embiid had a historic offensive season, scoring more points than minutes played. There were many moments during the season when you’d see some stat pop up which only Wilt Chamberlain or very few other players had achieved in terms of scoring. Overall, Embiid was the No. 1 fantasy player on a per-game basis, but that did not really matter since he essentially missed the second half of the season. Embiid only played 39 games and that likely cost many managers in their fantasy leagues.

While the stats were obviously dominant, especially the scoring with a career-best 34.2 PPG, the growth of Embiid’s playmaking was the most notable thing. The Sixers introduced more movement around Embiid and he got to show off more of his passing skills by finding cutters and kicking to shooters. Of course, it isn’t just the system as he has clearly improved that skill over the years. Embiid will be a high-risk, high-reward pick next season with the upside to challenge for the No. 1 spot again despite a likely ADP outside of a top three. If you can stomach the potential for injury, he could be a league-winning pick if he stays as fit as he was during his MVP-challenging and MVP-winning seasons before this one.

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