Top 3 biggest surprises of the 76ers’ season so far
Oct 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Anfernee Simons (5) drives against New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The 76ers are 6-1, and that is not even the most impressive part of their season.
The most impressive part is how they are winning and putting together this strong start to the season. The Sixers are getting behind for most of the game and completely turning it around in the fourth quarter, and looking like a whole different team. Tyrese Maxey has been the anchor as he is second in the NBA in scoring average as he is averaging 29.6 points per game so far and has really stepped up when needed.
Though he hasn’t been the team’s biggest surprise. Others are stepping up, while some are not performing as anticipated. Here are the top three biggest surprises of the 76ers’ season so far:
Anfernee Simons beyond the arc
Simons has provided terrific three-point shooting off the bench, which is exactly what the Sixers needed. Simons is averaging 12 points per game and shooting 43.8% from beyond the arc.
If Simons keeps this up, the Sixers will have their go-to bench scorer who can also be used in late-game situations when the Sixers need a big bucket.
Adem Bona‘s struggles
Bona has performed very poorly as the backup to Joel Embiid.
With Ariel Hukporti‘s season-ending injury in preseason, Bona was named the backup center to Embiid. Bona was always known for his dominant shot-blocking, but his defense and rebounding have looked very poor so far.
The Sixers have been getting outrebounded by most of their opponents, and a lot of that is on Bona. Through the first six games, he is averaging just 3.9 rebounds per game, and what makes that worse is that he is averaging 14.1 minutes per game, and that is all the production the 76ers are getting out of him.
The good news for the Sixers is that Tacko Fall is now healthy, and Jabari Walker has been solid, so Philadelphia does not have to give Bona minutes if this continues.
Jaylen Brown‘s quiet production
This may be the most surprising one.
Brown, who was supposed to be the Sixers’ go-to weapon, is barely getting the ball. It is still very early in the season, and there is no reason to worry, but one has to wonder why Brown is off to a slow start. The former Boston Celtic is averaging 19.8 points per game, but when you watch the games, Brown has not gotten involved much in the offense.
All this means for the 76ers is that they need to get him more involved so they can be an even more dangerous threat to the Eastern Conference, but they still have won games regardless.
Braydin Adams
Braydin is a young, passionate sportswriter looking to build a highly successful career in Journalism. Alongside Philly Sports Reports, he contributes to LebcoSports.com, where he covered the Northern Lebanon Baseball District 3 championship and covers other sports and writes on local athletes. Adams also contributes to lwoSports.com. Braydin is a dedicated young writer who hopes to become a professional beat writer one day.
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