Takeaways from Sixers Media Day: LeBron James didn’t come to Philly to lose in the second round, Embiid is healthy, and Jaylen Brown is locked in
The East got deeper this summer, and it doesn’t matter. The spotlight is on the Sixers, and after Monday’s Media Day, it should be. This is a team that has Jaylen Brown and LeBron James next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, and a franchise that hasn’t sniffed the conference finals in 26 years finally looks like it’s built to get there and keep going. After hearing from all four stars, I’m all the way in.
Sixers Media Day – New Look Roster
Tyrese Maxey Recruited LeBron James:
Forget everything you heard about why LeBron picked Philadelphia. He told us himself. LeBron said he had a list of teams he was considering, and when he broke them all down, his relationship with Maxey was one of the main deciding factors.
It wasn’t a quick call either. LeBron said he picked Maxey’s brain over multiple conversations about where Maxey sees his career going, how much he believes in this franchise and how LeBron would fit. He even admitted he knows his personality comes with baggage that some teams can’t handle, and he wanted to know if that would be a problem here.
That should make every Sixers fan proud of Maxey. The greatest player of his generation basically asked Maxey for permission, and Maxey sold him.
The two go back to 2020, when Rajon Rondo connected them while Maxey was prepping for the Draft and LeBron was getting ready for the bubble. Maxey moved his workouts from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. to train with LeBron, and the next summer he got LeBron in the gym at six. They’ve trained together every offseason since, and Maxey said it’s strange seeing him in Camden instead of just in the summer.
Maxey pitched Philly to LeBron two years ago, and it went nowhere. The Jaylen Brown trade in early July changed everything. Maxey said once he heard LeBron didn’t want to go back to L.A., he figured he’d shoot his shot again. LeBron called him, they talked it through, and Maxey hung up thinking this might actually happen. Now it has.
LeBron Is Already Running the Locker Room:
Four stars means everyone is taking fewer shots, and LeBron didn’t dance around it. He said if this team wants to do something special, the sacrifice has to be collective, and he made a point of saying sacrifice isn’t a negative.
Give up a shot or two, and you’ve got more in the tank to take a charge in the fourth quarter, crash for an offensive rebound or run down a chase-down block. None of it shows up in the box score, and all of it wins playoff games.
When the guy with four rings is the first one volunteering fewer shots, nobody else in that locker room has room to complain about touches.
The Second Round Is Not the Goal Anymore:
LeBron also made it clear none of this is going to happen overnight. He said too many people want instant oatmeal, and that being great comes from doing the same uncomfortable things over and over until they become normal. This team has to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Then he said what every Sixers fan has been screaming for years. LeBron warned that if the work doesn’t get done, this becomes another great team on paper that flames out early, and he shut that down: “I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round.”
This fan base has watched the second round end its season more times than anyone should have to. Having the biggest star in basketball name it as unacceptable on Day 1 changes the standard in that building, and it’s about time somebody set it.
LeBron James in Philly
Maxey Is About to Feast:
Maxey said he’s comfortable in any role, and this roster is going to let him play off the ball a lot more. He pointed out that he doesn’t have to be the one bringing it up every trip anymore, naming LeBron, JB, VJ, Anfernee Simons and Labaron Philon as guys who can handle it. He’s looking forward to more catch-and-shoot looks, running off screens and handoffs, and getting out in transition.
This is where Maxey takes another leap. Only 40% of his three-point attempts came off the catch last season, the 14th-lowest rate among 305 players with at least 100 attempts. He shot 41.8% on catch-and-shoot threes and 33.3% off the dribble. The Sixers have been asking him to manufacture everything off the bounce for years. Put him next to LeBron and Brown, hand him open looks, and watch what happens to his efficiency.
Joel Embiid Showed Up Ready:
Embiid walked into Media Day noticeably thinner and wouldn’t tell anyone how he did it. He said he feels good and that he did the right things to put himself and the team in a position to win. He also laid out the plan for the season, which is to play as much as he can while building toward being at his best in April and May. That’s exactly the right approach.
Yes, he’s played in just 42% of the Sixers’ games over the last three years. Everybody knows that number. What they conveniently ignore is what happens when he actually plays. In 10 seasons, the Sixers have outscored opponents with Embiid on the bench exactly once, in 2019-20. Over that decade, including the playoffs, they’ve been plus-8.0 per 100 possessions with him on the floor and minus-3.2 without him. That’s an 11.2-point swing. In the regular season, they’ve played like a 53-29 team with him and a 33-49 team without him.
Read that again. Embiid turns a lottery team into a contender by himself, and he’s been doing it for 10 years while this front office surrounded him with rosters that fell apart the second he sat down. His defensive mobility isn’t what it was, and he has to keep playing big on offense, but the only thing that truly matters is him being on the floor in May. For the first time, the Sixers have enough talent to survive the nights he doesn’t play, and that’s on the organization finally doing its job.
Join The Chase
Read More
Joel Embiid breaks silence on LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, and fans should be in love with all of it
The entire basketball world has had something to say about…
Sixers Media Day: Black throwbacks return, Crypto.com patch is gone
Sixers Media Day hasn’t even started yet and the organization…
Confirmed: LeBron James is coming to Philadelphia to help Joel Embiid win a ring and complete the process
For months at this point, we’ve heard about the LeBron…
Comments (0)