Team Bonding Vital to 76ers’ Success: ‘Our Chemistry is Going to be the Biggest Part for Us’

The preseason is over, and on paper, this Philadelphia 76ers squad looks like the best team in the NBA from a roster perspective. But in order to truthfully be a contender in the league this season, the Sixers need to figure out team chemistry.

“Our chemistry is going to be the biggest part for us,” newly-acquired sharpshooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said on Monday. “Us liking each other, being able to be around each other and have fun on and off the court.

Caldwell-Pope signed with the Sixers this past season after a season with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists with the team and had 14 starts. In the totality of his career, KCP, who has played for seven teams and is entering his 14th season, knows what it takes to go out and win. Caldwell-Pope has been a key piece on championship rosters, winning two NBA Finals in the two times that he got there.

It is an excellent point that has not been talked about enough by coaches, players, or media alike. This team needs to actually like each other and figure out their chemistry if they want to win games starting Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Two seasons ago, LeBron James and Jaylen Brown had an adamant disdain for one another, with Brown stating that his son Bronny James was not an NBA-caliber player. James, in response, vocalized his displeasure with Brown’s statement, and the two delivered backhanded comments to one another through interviews. The pair of superstars have since reconciled, but the question still lies in whether that renewed friendliness will definitively stay.

In addition to Brown’s issues with James, Brown has had his problems with current 76ers players. Back during Philadelphia’s incredible 3-1 series comeback against Boston in the first round, Joel Embiid and Brown went at it with each other, with Brown throwing elbows at Embiid and then he responded with shouting in his face. This was a repeated rivalry that looked intense throughout the series, and as many fans remember, the Philly faithful were not very fond of Brown.

But as with any superstar athlete that comes to Philadelphia, any past hate or disdain goes away just like that. Philadelphia has welcomed in Brown with open arms, but he needs to be on his best behavior with this squad in order to keep team chemistry. Brown himself has stated that this is important.

“We ain’t going to be on here doing nothing crazy,” Brown said. “Just, you know, letting you get to know us as human beings, being authentic, but also just, you know, building team chemistry. I think chemistry is important for, you know, a team to be able to vibe in order to try to accomplish goals.”

Brown and James have set aside their differences for the greater good of the team already, even creating a handshake with one another to further team chemistry.

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The team as a whole needs to put all animosity aside and put any ill feelings toward each other on the back burner if winning is truly the goal. This team is almost entirely new, with only about half returning from last season.

Altogether, the team has now less than a week until the season officially starts against the New York Knicks Tuesday night, where the Sixers will get an opportunity to watch the Knicks get their championship rings and raise their banner.

Fitting, as this squad, who is all looking to achieve that same goal, can witness what it’s like in person before they head on their own quest for a championship. Maybe this will be the perfect time to fully coalesce each other’s thoughts into one single goal: an NBA Finals win.

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