Training camp is in the books for the Philadelphia 76ers. Preseason action begins on Monday with a matchup against the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League. Here are five takeaways from the Sixers’ media day and training camp in The Bahamas.
Embiid slimming down, focusing on staying healthy
One of the biggest takeaways from the Sixers’ media day was Embiid’s revelation he had lost 25 to 30 pounds this offseason. Injuries have haunted Embiid throughout his career. The big fella has yet to make it through a season fully healthy. Coming into this season slimmed down is just part of his and the team’s plans on how to keep him healthy heading into the postseason.
Embiid made it clear his top priority this season making sure he is healthy going into the postseason. Achieving that goal will involve pacing Embiid throughout the regular season. If that means he fails to reach the 65-game threshold needed to qualify for All-NBA teams and major awards such as MVP, then so be it.
“This year, there’s no agenda — All-Star, All-NBA, there’s none of that,” Embiid said at media day. “It’s whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point and I’m ready to go. For basically every single year of my career, I’ve been hurt in the playoffs. I think that’s the goal. It’s all about doing whatever it takes to get there [the postseason].”
In years past, Embiid shouldered much of the scoring burden for the Sixers. While that led to three consecutive seasons of averaging 30-plus points per game, it also resulted in a lot of extra wear and tear throughout the regular season. Embiid is coming into this season with a different attitude. It is clear he has immense confidence in his teammates, specifically Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, to carry the offense at different times this season.
“I feel like my job this year is to empower those guys, especially Tyrese [Maxey]. I think there’s another step he can take and he’s going to take it,” Embiid said at media day. “I’m going to go out there and just let him be the guy because I know at some point, when it comes down to it, he’s going to come in handy. Same thing with Paul [George] and some of the other guys that we added — Caleb [Martin], Guerschon [Yabusele]. We added a lot of guys. It feels like we have a brand-new team.”
This group of teammates might be the best Embiid has had thus far in his career. If he can stay healthy going into the postseason, the Sixers should be in good shape to compete for a championship. On that front, Sixers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey affirmed the organization’s focus on being smart in how they handle Embiid throughout the regular season.
“We’re going to be really smart about it,” Morey said. “Obviously we’re going to be focused on April, May, June. That doesn’t mean that the time right now isn’t very important as well, but we’re going to be very smart about how we manage him through the season.”
The Sixers’ management plan for Embiid included limiting his work throughout training camp. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Monday, via PHLY Sports, Embiid participated in the entirety of practice outside of the live scrimmage. The big fella did not participate in any of the team’s live scrimmages during training camp. For the immensely competitive Embiid, it is all part of the plan to keep him healthy when the games truly matter.
Maxey growing as a leader
The biggest move the Sixers made over the last decade was drafting Maxey with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Maxey developed over the last handful of seasons into one of the league’s brightest young stars. He averaged 25.9 points and 6.2 assists per game last season. That production was enough to earn him both his first All-Star appearance and the Most Improved Player award. The 23-year old then signed a five-year, $204 million contract extension earlier this offseason.
As Maxey continues to cement himself as one of the best guards in the league, he is now also beginning to make strides as a leader. He spoke on media day about his attempts at becoming a better leader this season:
“For me I think I’ve always been a natural-born leader, growing up. But I think the first couple years of my career were meant for me to learn and to soak up a lot of different things from a lot of different people. And I think I did that. … And I feel like I’m still learning, still soaking up a lot of different information from a lot of different people, but now I feel like it’s my turn to go out there and lead. I’ll try to bring guys along with me, not just with my work ethic but with my mentality, my mindset. Y’all know how I am. I love to win. I hate losing more than I love winning, so that’s the mindset that I’m trying to bring to the table, trying to bring to this team, and I’m trying to do it very professionally as well.”
Maxey already possessed an elite work ethic, something rookies Jared McCain and Adem Bona can observe and learn from. However, he was not very vocal when out on the court. Part of what he can do to grow as a leader this season is becoming more of a vocal presence on the floor. Nurse spoke after Tuesday’s practice, via PHLY Sports, about the steps Maxey has taken to improve on that front.
“When we first started last year playing games, I was like ‘Oh boy. We got a really long ways to go with him using his voice, and leadership wise’. And then I thought he grew really fast in like 6 or 8 weeks, so I think he’s assumed more of that [this year]. Just having pre-practice, and post-practice, pretty high-level conversations with him about what is happening, and what needs to happen. Like today, had a really long talk with him before practice about some things I saw yesterday that I needed to see differently, and he went out and did them today. Just getting him to see and understand what the team needs, and how he fits into the middle of all that.”
Maxey has already developed into one of the most talented guards in the league. It is special to see him continue to grow both as a player and leader for the Sixers.
George learning to fit in with Embiid, Maxey
When the Sixers signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract this offseason, many thought the Sixers just formed the most potent trio in the league. George, a nine-time All-Star, averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game for the Los Angeles Clippers last season. He is one of the league’s best perimeter threats, shooting 39.7% from 3-point range on 7.9 attempts per game over the past five years. Pairing him with Embiid and Maxey undoubtedly makes the Sixers one of the favorites to win the championship this season.
However, there will likely be some growing pains involved as the trio of Embiid, Maxey and George learn to play alongside one another. During the team’s media day, George talked about the necessity of learning to play off one another.
“For us, it’s just countering off each other,” George said. “Nothing’s forced for one person to kind of take that load; we can share that responsibility. But I see us flowing. I think all of us can kind of play our game within the game.”
While George is an immensely talented player, he will likely be the Sixers’ third option when all three of their stars are sharing the court. George seems to be aware of what his role will need to be in those situations. He spoke after the conclusion of Friday’s practice, via PHLY Sports, about what his biggest adjustment is to playing next to Embiid and Maxey.
“I think just giving myself up for the team. Whether it’s spacing, whether it’s cutting, whether it’s getting Tyrese [Maxey] off the ball because he’s being pressured or finding opportunities to get Joel [Embiid] easy looks and touches.”
George’s outside shooting ability should be a critical component of how he fits in on the court next to Embiid and Maxey. However, George also has the ability to be the team’s primary scorer in lineups with one or both of Embiid and Maxey are off the floor. The 34-year old’s all-around skillset was one of the primary reasons the Sixers pursued him this offseason.
McCain’s impressive training camp
McCain, the Sixers’ first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has been praised often throughout training camp. His primary path to producing as a rookie is his outside shooting ability. However, his toughness was what earned him praise early in training camp.
Nick Nurse discusses his first impressions of rookie Jared McCain.
“His toughness level is up there. He’s a scrapper. He really works at the defensive end.”
“He’s one of those guys that, there’s a big pile over there and he comes out with the ball and you’re like, ‘How did he… pic.twitter.com/2rxmopQdZg
— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 2, 2024
The 20-year old also received shoutouts during training camp from both Embiid and Eric Gordon. Nurse praised McCain for his toughness, but Embiid spoke after Wednesday’s practice about McCain’s scoring ability.
Joel Embiid heaps praise on Jared McCain.
“He’s tough. He competes… He’s been shooting the ball extremely well.” pic.twitter.com/6q79pjGSTL
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) October 3, 2024
McCain averaged 14.3 points while shooting 41.4% from 3-point range in his lone season at Duke. It is good to see him start to establish himself, especially after he struggled a bit against summer league competition.
Regardless of his performance in training camp, McCain is not likely to start the season with a significant rotation spot. The Sixers are deep at guard with Maxey starting and Gordon, Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson all likely to receive minutes ahead of McCain to begin the season. However, it would not be surprising to see McCain earn more minutes as the season goes along.
The competition for forward minutes
George, Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. are locked into the Sixers’ starting lineup. There are a lot of questions about how the rotation will shake out behind them.
New acquisition Guerschon Yabusele has an opportunity to assert himself and earn a spot in Nurse’s rotation. At 6-foot-8, he has the size to play minutes at power forward. The French native also plays with a ton of energy and physicality, something which earned him a shoutout from Nurse during training camp. The extent of Yabusele’s role will largely be determined by his ability to space the floor.
“With the importance of Joel Embiid on the team and his aggression in the paint, he’s going to draw a lot of double teams,” Yabusele said on media day. “When he kicks out the ball, I need to be able to knock those threes down and work on my shot — and be able to make plays, too. So I think the 3-point shot will help me a lot this season.”
Yabusele was a below average outside shooter in his first stint in the NBA. However, his 3-point shooting improved to 44.1% over the last two years playing for Real Madrid in the EuroLeague. If he can maintain that uptick in shooting efficiency, Yabusele is well positioned for consistent minutes this season.
Ricky Council IV is another player battling for minutes on the Sixers’ crowded depth chart. He fought his way into the rotation last season, averaging 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per contest. Nurse spoke after Friday’s practice, via PHLY Sports, about what he wants to see from Council this season.
Nick Nurse, on what he needs to see out of Ricky Council IV:
“I need him on the offensive glass, I need him running the floor really hard, I need him guarding really hard. If somebody swings him around to him I need him to take it and knock it down.”
“And [that] he knows the… pic.twitter.com/XyY8TziVak
— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 4, 2024
Continuing to play with a ton of energy on both ends of the floor, in addition to improving his jumper, will be critical for Council’s chances at grabbing a consistent rotation spot.
Rounding out the competition for forward minutes is someone who might have an edge on both Yabusele and Council. KJ Martin has athleticism and experience playing multiple positions for the Sixers last season. The 23-year old averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game in the 2023-24 campaign. Martin spoke on media day about his positional versatility.
“I feel that I can fit great,” Martin said. “Like you said, rebounding was an issue during that [New York] Knicks series, so I can use my athleticism well. There’s a lot of time at the four. I played the four mainly in Houston a lot, and a little bit of the three and small-ball five. I feel like I can get plugged in at a lot of places.”
While Martin has experience playing multiple positions, he lacks one key attribute the Sixers are looking for. Martin shot 30.4% from beyond the arc last season. It will likely be necessary for Martin to show he improved his jumper for him to consistently see playing time ahead of both Yabusele and Council.
It will be fascinating to see how Nurse’s rotation shapes up over the ensuing couple of weeks leading to the regular season.
