The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t won an NBA championship in 43 years. Since then, they’ve ranged from the worst team in the NBA to being real playoff contenders. Unfortunately, the last couple years have been full of off-court drama, injury bugs, and ultimately disappointing endings season after season.
However, with the 2026-27 season approaching, it’s clear that the Sixers have reached a turning point. Along with the roster undergoing a massive overhaul, the Sixers’ media day shows that the team’s mentality has shifted too.
At media day, the core of Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe have all shown their intentions. They want to do the one thing that the Sixers have yet to do. They all share the same burning desire to win it all.
And they all are ready to contribute and sacrifice in their own ways.
LeBron’s Redefinition Of Sacrifice Will Change The Team’s Chemistry
One of the main questions floating around the NBA world is how the team will handle ball distribution.
Some in NBA media see it as an issue. They claim that there are too many players on the roster who need the ball to make an impact. They specifically cite players like Maxey and Edgecombe, whose growth could be stunted this season. However, James doesn’t see things that way.
When asked about what it means to make sacrifices, James responded, “Sometimes in sports, people hear ‘sacrifice’ and automatically start thinking negative about it. It’s not a negative thing. There will be collective sacrificing in a good way.”
He goes on to explain that Edgecombe’s development won’t be stunted. James states, “I don’t think his role should change, I think with the group of guys we have, no one mentions that everybody’s role will probably be different. That’s for the greater good. You can sacrifice one or two more shots which’ll give you one or two more bursts of energy that’ll allow you to slide on defense, or take a charge.”
The kind of stigma that comes with James joining a new roster can be overbearing for some players. However, it’s clear that James wants them to understand that in order to do what they say they want to do, everyone will have to buy in to the team, mentally and physically.
If there’s one thing James knows how to do, it’s win. Being himself, he’ll always be able to be impactful on the court for this team. However, his greatest contribution may now come from his mentality and experience, and it’s already clear that the rest of the roster is buying into his approach to winning.
Joel Embiid Opens Up To The Importance Of Consistency
Embiid has been with the Sixers since 2014. He’s seen just about as high as the Sixers have gone, and is all too familiar with the lows. That kind of losing and repeated disappointing experience can deflate a player’s passion to win.
However, Embiid seems to be embracing it more than ever this season. When a reporter approached Embiid reflecting on the Sixers’ past rosters, saying that they “didn’t work out,” Embiid had a unique perspective on what that meant.
“I wouldn’t say it didn’t work out,” he responds. “Obviously we didn’t win, but I think to be able to win – it’s hard to win when you get a group of guys together for one year, two years maybe.”
He goes on to explain the short amount of time the team was able to have guys like Jimmy Butler and James Harden. There were times that the team had the talent, but lacked the essence of what actually makes a team. There was no chemistry, and most importantly, no consistency.
This year, Embiid knows things are different. “It’s hard to win, man. You need that consistency; you need to get guys on the same page. I feel like this year, we have that.”
The Sixers have had rosters that have been championship contenders, but they weren’t allowed the time to blossom and grow into actual championship teams. He cites the Thunder, Nuggets, and Celtics as examples. They’re all teams that have had the same core for an extended period of time and eventually reached their championship peak.
Just like the rest of the team, Embiid is following along with the new definition of sacrifice. “You might get less touches, but you also might get more space. So what are you going to do with that space?” Embiid asks.
It’s clear that he sees the plethora of talent as an opportunity to use everyone at their most efficient levels.
Jaylen Brown’s Not Worried About Philadelphia’s “Alpha”
Although controversy and drama has seemed to follow Jaylen Brown in his career, Sixers fans can rest assured that the theatrics will finally end in Philadelphia.
Joe Varden, writer for The Athletic, came to stand during Brown’s portion of media day press conferences. He asks, “Going into training camp, do you guys know who this team is, or who the alpha is? And is that something that matters and is that something that’s going to come play out over time?” Brown’s response was two words.
“Next question.”
Although brief, this is a clear juxtaposition to what Brown found himself in the midst of in Boston. Brown was constantly explaining himself, as he was forced to describe the relationship between him and Jayson Tatum.
This time around, Brown isn’t involving himself with the media’s antics. After Tatum went down during the 2025 playoffs, the Celtics’ expectations for success in the next season dropped significantly.
Brown watched as everyone counted Boston out because of Tatum’s absence and showed them exactly why they had nothing to worry about. Brown led them to the second seed, finishing sixth in MVP voting and ultimately having a career year at 29. Analysts and NBA media stars slandered and questioned his leadership regularly as if he wasn’t proving himself on a nightly basis on the court.
Brown didn’t just show NBA media that this dramatized saga with the Celtics was over. He showed his commitment to the team’s needs by highlighting everyone’s offensive capabilities while emphasizing that they all need to hold each other accountable on defense. Ultimately, Sixers fans should be grateful and rest assured that Brown is coming with the primary focus on winning.
The Time to Win Is Now
Technically, Philadelphia has two years to get things figured out with the roster that they acquired during this offseason. However, because of LeBron James being 41 and the amount of money they’ve spent this summer, the time to win is now.
Fans of any Philadelphia sports team know better than to hang their hopes on a championship, but it’s definitely reassuring to hear and see that the Sixers core has their eyes on the prize.
If things go according to plan, the NBA Championship Bus will be riding down Broad Street for the first time in a very long time.
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