Let’s give Joel Embiid and the 76ers one last shot

The 76ers tip off their 77th season Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at the TD Garden in Boston.

Joel Embiid is 31 and entering his 10th season.

“The Process” is a decade-old, and it is coming off its worst season yet, filled with injuries, privation, and destitution.

The 76ers have not advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years.

It is easy to give up.

But let us give them one more chance. There are plenty of reasons to believe.

To start, this team has talent. Tyrese Maxey is entering Year 6, VJ Edgecombe looks like a potential star, Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. can hold their own, Adem Bona is finding his footing, and when Jared McCain returns, he has the upside of a perennial All-Star. All with coach Nick Nurse masterminding.

The Eastern Conference is wide open. Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton will not play basketball this season, Damian Lillard is back in Portland, Jimmy Butler is in Golden State, and there is no way the Cavaliers will replicate their 64-18 season.

The Sixers are right back in the race as, potentially, a top-five team in the East with the heavyweight Knicks and Cavs, along with some young, scrappy squads in Orlando and Detroit.

But the main source of hope comes from the chosen one. The man who brought the Sixers back to life after years of torment. Joel Embiid.

Yes, the Sixers have never surpassed the second round with Embiid. He seems to hardly play, and it is a lock he is going to get hurt at some point this season. He still is undoubtedly a superstar. When healthy, Embiid is a top-five player in the NBA.

He only played 19 games in 2024-25, but he returns this year in the best shape he has been in, maybe ever. This also might be the best opening night roster that has ever been built around him.

Embiid has battled through every single injury, multiple at times per season. Whether it is his knee or his eyeball, he returns. With the amount of money Embiid has earned over his 10-year career, it could have been so easy for him to call it quits. Retiring is better for his health, and when you have made $321 million, you are settled for a long time. Still, he comes back every season.

The guy has been in Philadelphia for a decade. A lot of the teams built around him have been jokes. He has lived through a revolving door of superstars, including Ben Simmons, Butler, James Harden, and Paul George.

Not once have we ever heard Embiid say anything involving wanting out, which is so rare for superstars in the NBA this era. Kevin Durant seems to trade his way out of everywhere, Harden makes accusations that force a trade, LeBron James talks out of his you-know-what all the time, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s name is constantly swarmed in trade rumors, and Luka Doncic was just traded this past season to the Lakers for some reason.

In Philadelphia, we rally around a player who wants to be here and wear their heart on their sleeve every night. Jason Kelce, Bryce Harper, Allen Iverson, Brian Dawkins, Brandon Graham, these are all guys who fit that narrative. I do not see any difference in Embiid.

The only contrast is his flaws.

Embiid is not perfect. Neither am I. Neither are you.

No one is.

And that is what should make Embiid special.

When he gets knocked down, he does not pout; rather, he gets back up and works his way back onto the court.

Is that not what we love from an athlete in Philadelphia?

So, let us give this Sixers team one more shot. They have talent, the most in-shape form of Embiid they may ever have, and a wide-open conference.

Buy some Sixers stock. Why not?

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