Well, the Sixers' 2025-26 season came to a rather anticlimactic end eleven days ago. The Knicks made it look pretty easy against the Sixers which was certainly a bummer. But the Sixers did upset the Celtics in a pretty epic seven game series in the series prior! They came back from 3-1 too! That's something I'll certainly never forget! Too fun!
It was a great time writing about them the past seven months! It was a bit of a rollercoaster honestly but I was pretty surprised at how many positives there really were.
Tyrese Maxey somehow improved yet again in his sixth season! He had career highs in numerous major categories and it was pretty brilliant. I've seen people speak on Austin Reaves' scoring progression year in and year out, meanwhile Tyrese Maxey has done the exact same!
Here's Maxey's PPG progression in his six NBA seasons:
- 2020-21: 8 PPG
- 2021-22: 17.5 PPG
- 2022-23: 20.3 PPG
- 2023-24: 25.9 PPG
- 2024-25: 26.3 PPG
- 2025-26: 28.3 PPG
If he were to somehow keep progressing, he'll be winning an MVP or something before we know it! He's seen very similar statistical improvements in other aspects of his game as well. Maxey is only going to be 26 next season so he's still in his early prime! It's going to be interesting to see just how good he can get.
Another incredibly bright spot the Sixers had this season was of course rookie guard V.J. Edgecombe. V.J. is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. He averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. That's certainly a Rookie of the Year caliber season in my opinion but of course with Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel having great rookie seasons, it was just ultimately a pretty deep rookie class. In other seasons V.J. could have won it, but he still placed third in Rookie of the Year votes!
Going forward, I believe the Sixers should function as if Tyrese and V.J. are the faces of the franchise and build around them.
Joel Embiid is still solid but he's barely available and frankly he's a wickedly complicated subject. He may not even be on the team next season, it's really hard to say what happens next with him. I don't think it's wise to go on expecting he'll carry the team throughout the regular season by any means. The whole thing is just strange. Maybe he'll just be like a secret weapon or something for the playoffs LOL. I wonder if the Sixers consider just playing him like 15-20 minutes a night. Maybe that way he can at least appear in more games? I don't know man.
The Sixers fired Daryl Morey, who was the President of Basketball Operations, so that's sorta interesting. He was certainly a mixed bag. The contracts he committed to were terrible, but he did draft well at times.
I'm glad Nick Nurse is still the head coach, I think he's solid.
The Sixers are pretty stuck financially which is tough but perhaps Maxey and Edgecombe can overcome and make others around them better. Paul George showed some decent value in the last stretch of the season and into the playoffs which was encouraging to see. I liked what Johni Broome had to offer out of college but he didn't really play much whatsoever in his rookie year. Maybe he develops out of nowhere ya never know.
The Sixers could trade Embiid but that might be really difficult honestly. Not sure who would want him unless it's a great deal.
I guess they just gotta compete and just keep it pushing. Build with Tyrese and V.J. Nick Nurse is a solid coach. The Sixers did win a game vs the Celtics in the playoffs without Embiid! They have the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft this summer too so I mean, maybe they find an under the radar prospect. I'll be curious about who they choose. I imagine they select a big man.
This team isn't hopeless! October will be here in a flash!