NEW YORK — We now know a little more about the Philadelphia 76ers.
After Saturday night’s 130-119 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, it would still be a bit aggressive to call them Eastern Conference favorites, especially since the Detroit Pistons, Knicks and Boston Celtics are all looming at the top of the standings. But it would be fair to say that this group, if they can stay healthy, has the talent, versatility and ability to win the East.
For three straight games, all on the road, these 76ers have enjoyed as much health as they have seen in two seasons. That means Joel Embiid and Paul George have joined Tyrese Maxey and rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe in the starting lineup — and with no minutes restrictions at that. The result was a three-fight winning streak, two of them in impressive fashion.
The result was an attack that opposing teams struggled to stop. The result was also a defense capable of making enough stops when needed.
“For three games, we’ve had the same players in our starting lineup,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “For three games we started with the same five people. I don’t think I’ve been able to say much since I’ve been here. You (reporters) should go check your notes on that. It’s good to finally have some continuity.”
The statement at the start of this story is not said lightly and should not be taken lightly, especially since it probably could not have been said at the start of training camp, nor during the preseason, nor even at the start of the regular season. Sure, the team possessed talent, but with injuries to star players and with the cloud of last year hanging over the franchise, few could have predicted that the 76ers’ (19-14) advantage would become evident by the start of the new year.
But just as a number of things went wrong for the Sixers last season, there were several things that went remarkably well this go-around. Maxey is playing at a league MVP level, so much so that he needs to be included in these conversations at this point in the season. In Saturday night’s win over the Knicks, he scored 36 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. On a basketball court full of top talent, he was by far the best player. His abilities as a scorer have always been evident, but he has made great strides in his ability to make plays for others, and he has made great strides defensively.
Along with Maxey, Embiid is starting to look more like the player he once was. More importantly, Embiid does this while integrating into the dynamic guard play on the roster. The deal with him and the rest of the roster seemed awkward as he returned to the lineup. But during this road trip, this adjustment was made without problem.
.@JoelEmbiidThe reaction after his first dunk of the year is pure gold. 😁 pic.twitter.com/YwN3BS6MyL
– Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 4, 2026
Individually, Embiid is playing as well as he did before the knee injury that cost him the better part of two years. His play at this level, with Maxey playing at a superstar level, made the Sixers difficult to deal with. For so long, it’s fair to wonder if Embiid would be able to get back to that level. His play, coinciding with Maxey’s ascension, raised the ceiling for the 76ers as a whole.
“I’m just super happy to see Joel, Tyrese and PG on the field and healthy,” Edgecombe said. “I’m super happy, man. It’s like the little kid in me, playing alongside the superstars that I watched growing up. Yeah, man, it’s awesome.”
Edgecombe helped change Philadelphia’s ceiling, perhaps more than his teammates. He was one of the best rookies in the league and became more than a role player. He showed his ability to lead lineups offensively. He showed the ability to create plans on his own.
This did two things for the 76ers as a whole. First, it gave them dynamic offensive talent to accompany Maxey. On Saturday, the Sixers forged their initial split on the scoreboard with Edgecombe in the game and Maxey and Embiid both resting. It was Edgecombe, not Maxey, running through the Knicks defense.
The second thing Edgecombe did for the Sixers was get rid of George. When the Sixers signed George, they expected him to become a star. At the start of the season there was pressure on him to get back to that level. He no longer has to do it. He can be a connector offensively and fill gaps when needed. On Saturday, he made several big 3-pointers against the Knicks, but George’s biggest value to this group so far has been his defense on the wing, which has been excellent. And with Edgecombe moving to third scorer, there’s a lot less pressure on George to be what he was offensively.
VJ Edgecombe (77) played well for the Philadelphia 76ers during a stellar rookie season. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
A play Edgecombe made late in the second half summed up how rare he was for his age. The 20-year-old caught the ball on the wing in transition with Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns guarding him. He could have tried to score alone; instead, he slowed the play down, allowed Embiid to set up on the block and gave him the ball. Embiid had the much smaller Mikal Bridges pinned to his back. He turned around and scored easily.
Maxey, taking a breather at that point, turned to Trendon Watford and told him it was a play you don’t see many rookies make.
“We’re running out of excuses for his play at this point,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “He’s just good. We don’t need to make excuses about how good he is, because he’s a rookie. If you’re good tonight, good the next night and good the next night… guess what? You’re a good player.”
Saturday’s win was important because it gave the Sixers a 3-2 record to complete their longest road trip of the season. They were able to find a rhythm within their rotations and their alignments. By the end of the night, they looked like a team that knew how to play together and make the pieces fit together. This is something that has been fleeting over the last couple of years.
The caveat to this is health. Everyone knows that Philadelphia, by nature, is not going to be the most durable team in the league. There will be other games missed at some point due to player injuries. But the 76ers are now five games above .500 for the first time this season. They are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
And more importantly, there was finally a glimpse of what this team can be when healthy. Who knows how long this will last, but if the team is healthy when the playoffs roll around, Philadelphia may be a team no one wants to play.
“I think the biggest thing we can take away is we’re getting a little more rhythm,” Nurse said. “We’re a little bit fitter. It’s given us some options. We hope we can continue to use the same lineups. We just have to continue to take one day and one game at a time.”
