The upcoming 2025-26 NBA season could represent a major inflection point in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise, depending on how healthy Joel Embiid is and how well he plays. If it is clear after next season that the Joel Embiid of old is not coming back, the front office owes it to themselves and their fans to really start ushering in the next era of Sixers basketball.
If Joel Embiid does come back and return to form, the Sixers suddenly—and ironically—find themselves as one of the healthier and more talented teams in the Eastern Conference. One of those realities is bound to present itself in due time, since that has yet to be decided, here are three ways Joel Embiid can bounce back next season:
Plan to take a step back and stick to it
There is enough evidence at this point to predict that Joel Embiid will not be making it through a full NBA season and playoff run healthy. Assuming he wants to play professional basketball for as long as he can, his approach needs to change starting now.
Joel Embiid does not need to lead the league in usage rate to profoundly impact winning basketball games in the far inferior Eastern Conference. If he can comfortably let Tyrese Maxey run the show, give VJ Edgecombe and Jared McCain the necessary leeway to make mistakes, and just worry about commanding gravity and hitting shots, Embiid will still find his way to 25 points per game with relative ease.
There is a world where the Sixers are a successful basketball team this upcoming season without Joel Embiid playing at an MVP level. Now it is on Embiid to recognize where he is at in his career and make a concerted effort towards saving himself on the court.
Play deep drop coverage
When Joel Embiid was at his athletic peak, he could defend pick-and-rolls at the level and still recover in time to protect the rim within the same sequence. Ever since he tore his meniscus in January of 2024, he has not had the same sustained burst to be able to cover that much ground on a possession-by-possession basis.
Head coach Nick Nurse must tweak the Sixers’ defensive scheme to accommodate Embiid’s waning athleticism. The most logical way to protect Embiid is to play him in a deep drop.
With Embiid walling off the paint, the Sixers’ perimeter defenders can stay home on shooters and limit kick-out opportunities. The pull-up midrange jumpers and floaters will be there for the opposing offense, but they are less efficient shots than layups and long balls.
The Sixers must design a defense that forces Joel Embiid to expend less energy. He is still a hulking presence by the basket, even if his legs do not have any lift. Nick Nurse needs to pencil him into the paint and work out the rest from there.
Answer the call…
This one has a double meaning…
As ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye highlighted in his recent article, Joel Embiid has a deep-rooted issue with answering his phone dating back to his brother’s tragic passing. This is not to say that his reasoning is unjustified, but it does peel back the curtain on who Joel Embiid is and how he operates off the basketball court. If he wants to see his Sixers reach the heights he thinks they can, he needs to be generally more receptive.
The Sixers are not an entire roster full of veterans anymore. They have young, ascending, and—most importantly—impressionable players on the roster. Joel Embiid is still the most talented player on the team and has undoubtedly accomplished the most. If those guys want to get the extra reps in, go out to dinner to bond as a team, or even ask for advice while watching a film at home late at night, Embiid should be there for them.
Joel Embiid is at the stage in his career where he can still contribute to a winning basketball team while also starting to pave the way forward for the next era. Akintoye’s article mentioned how Embiid has never really trusted the Sixers franchise in his 11-year career. Everything he felt they did not provide him, he can make his duty to change for guys like VJ Edgecombe, Jared McCain, Justin Edwards, and even Tyrese Maxey.
If Joel Embiid can realize that version of himself in the continuous game of maturation called life, he will answer the proverbial call of what it means to be a true leader. And sometimes that means he has to answer the phone calls, too.
