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Tag: Adem Bona

  • Instant observations: After a few emotional days, Sixers settle things down with decisive win over Suns

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    The 2025-26 Sixers have officially reached the 30-win mark, and Saturday’s victory was much-needed after all that has happened over the last few days.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid carry the load from start to finish as Sixers escape vs. Kings

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    All day Thursday, the Sixers’ messaging was clear: they could not take a perceived easy matchup against Sacramento lightly. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid certainly did not.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers lose another last-second game, swept in two-game set vs. Cavaliers

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    The Sixers and Cavaliers alike have described their pair of games as having a playoff feel. The distinct differences in makeup between the teams creates a compelling matchup.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers go wire-to-wire, split back-to-back in what might be Kyle Lowry’s final trip to Toronto

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    The night after an embarrassing late-game collapse, the Sixers responded exactly as they hoped to, handling the Toronto Raptors with ease on Monday night.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers win a critical Eastern Conference game as a new lineup comes up large down the stretch

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    The Sixers are 2-0 at full strength in 2025-26, as they notched a critical Eastern Conference victory on Friday night.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers reach full strength for the first time in over two years, get back on track vs. Wizards

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    For the first time since Dec. 18, 2023, and only the 11th time in head coach Nick Nurse’s tenure with the organization, the Sixers did not have a single player ruled out due to injury or personal reasons on Wednesday.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers win a battle of elite guards in second consecutive emphatic Madison Square Garden victory

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    Whatever you do, do not look now. But… the Sixers are playing like an awfully good team right now. They have won three games in a row.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George finally figuring out their fit as Sixers nab second straight win

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    For over a year, the Sixers’ three players inked to max contracts have been discussing the importance of continuity for the sake of building a rhythm. Perhaps this is what they had in mind.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey carry the load for the Sixers, and VJ Edgecombe brings them home with overtime game-winner

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    The Sixers have appeared hesitant to lean into their best offensive stuff this season. On Tuesday, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey took over as a tandem until it was time for VJ Edgecombe to have the final word.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Diving into Joel Embiid’s progress and obstacles on both ends of the floor after Sixers fall to Bulls

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    Joel Embiid had a strong offensive showing on Friday. On defense, the Sixers started experimenting a bit with how they used him. An Embiid-centric look at another brutal loss for the Sixers in Chicago:

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Sunday stats: How a lineup the Sixers had never used before won them a game

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    With 1:11 on the clock in the third quarter, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse tried out a brand new lineup. It played so well that he never made another substitution.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Nets on Friday in ninth straight absence; Paul George questionable and VJ Edgecombe out

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    Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) will miss his ninth game in a row when the Sixers face the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday night, according to the team’s injury report for the game issued on Thursday evening, while Paul George (right ankle sprain) is questionable, Adem Bona (right ankle sprain) is probable to return and VJ Edgecombe remains out for the third consecutive contest:

    Embiid has not played since Nov. 8, when he posted season-highs in points and minutes in a victory over the Toronto Raptors. Embiid had a scripted absence the following night as the Sixers managed his left knee, the subject of an arthroscopic procedure in April and other work in recent years. Embiid seemed to be making considerable progress.

    But on the morning of Nov. 11, Embiid came to the team’s pregame shootaround and reported soreness in his right knee. Of his eight consecutive absences, the last seven have been caused by the right knee issue. He has mostly been practicing fully during his absence, and for more than two weeks the Sixers have been adamant that the former NBA MVP was still merely day-to-day. He was initially questionable for Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Orlando Magic, but was ruled out a handful of hours before tip-off. He did not practice on Wednesday, instead going through what the team called an “individual strength and conditioning session.”

    George, who missed the first 12 games of the year due to his own left knee surgery recovery, went from probable to out on Tuesday due to a right ankle sprain. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said that night that it was not yet clear whether or not the nine-time All-Star was going to miss more time, but George was a full participant in the team’s practice on Wednesday.

    Edgecombe also participated in that practice, a positive sign after the rookie missed his second game in a row due to a left calf issue. His designation on both injury reports for those absences was “left calf tightness,” but Nurse referred to it as a “strain” on Tuesday. Edgecombe had imaging come back clean, and Nurse acknowledged that the team is inclined to be especially cautious given the links between calf injuries and Achilles injuries. Now he is out once again, but this time a designation of “left calf injury management.”

    Bona told PhillyVoice earlier this week that he was “feeling great” as he recovered from a right ankle sprain which has sidelined him for five games. On Wednesday, Bona said that being available to return on Friday was his “big goal,” and he felt like he was “right there.”

    The expected absences: Kelly Oubre Jr., whose re-evaluation for a left knee LCL sprain is about a week away, and Trendon Watford, out for at least two weeks due to a left adductor strain the 25-year-old suffered on Tuesday.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Sixers list Paul George questionable to make season debut vs. former team on Monday; Joel Embiid out vs. Clippers

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    Nine-time All-Star Paul George appears to be primed to make his season debut for the Sixers on Monday night against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sixers listed George as questionable to play on their injury report unveiled on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid remains out due to a right knee issue:

    George had multiple left knee injuries during his debut season with the Sixers, only logging 41 appearances while also being derailed by ailments related to his finger and groin. The nine-time All-Star injured his left knee again during the offseason, requiring an arthroscopic procedure in July. George has not yet played in 2025-26 despite fully participating in Sixers practices for a month now, causing significant frustration among fans. The latest substantive update on George’s status came on Tuesday, when the Sixers said his final step before returning was strengthening his left quadricep.

    Embiid, who has played in half of the Sixers’ dozen games to begin the season, has not appeared in a game since Nov. 8, his best and longest performance of the campaign to date. The next day came his fourth absence of the season; all four of those missed games came as planned rest days as the team managed his troubled left knee. But he has missed the Sixers’ last two games because of soreness he reported in his right knee, though imaging confirmed there is no structural damage. His designation has changed from “right knee soreness” to “right knee injury management.”

    Elsewhere, the Sixers said on Sunday afternoon that Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona would both be out for Monday’s game. Oubre suffered a left knee hyperextension during the team’s loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday, missing the second half of the game. The Sixers said on Sunday that Oubre’s injury involved his LCL and his return timeline was unclear. His official designation on the injury report: “left knee sprain.”

    Bona, meanwhile, suffered a right ankle sprain in Detroit and will miss at least three games, beginning with Monday’s contest. The earliest Bona could return is on Thursday night in Milwaukee, the second leg of the team’s next back-to-back.

    Jared McCain, who missed the Sixers’ last game because he was on assignment in the G League, has been recalled to the team, practiced with the group on Sunday and, according to Nurse, is going to be part of the rotation on Monday. He is officially available.

    MORE: McCain makes progress with Delaware Blue Coats: ‘I’m getting there’

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Trendon Watford continues breakout by posting triple-double in first start as Sixers beat Raptors on debut throwback night

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    In need of their first momentum-shifting victory of the 2025-26 season, the Sixers whipped out their throwback black jerseys for the first time on Saturday night. Some good fortune came in tow.

    The Sixers defeated the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, 130-120, to improve to 6-3 on the season and avoid a three-game losing streak. While the stars were star-like – Tyrese Maxey managed 31 points to lead all scorers while Joel Embiid had the easiest 29 points of his season on 16 shots in 26 minutes – the story was Trendon Watford, who received his first start of the season and responded with a 20-17-10 line to mark the first triple-double by a Sixers player this season.

    With those three stellar showings, another strong performance from Kelly Oubre Jr. and helpful efforts from VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, the Sixers had enough to overcome their disastrous defensive start, take control of the game and eventually land the knockout blow in the fourth quarter.

    Everything that stood out from a night that most will remember for the jerseys, the court and the return of an old friend:

    Trendon Watford keeps on getting better

    As if a three-game stretch averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists off the bench was not enough of a statement for Watford, the soon-to-be 25-year-old had the best game of his NBA career on Saturday in his first start as a member of the Sixers.

    Inserted into the starting five ahead of Jabari Walker, Watford had his fingerprints all over this game from the start. He followed up a surprisingly strong scoring performance on Wednesday night in Cleveland with an even better one on Saturday; 11 of his 20 points came in the opening frame. Watford knocked down an early triple once again. He is shooting accurately and confidently from beyond the arc, and even on low volume that will be a major help.

    “I’ve been putting in work all summer, all year on it,” Watford said after the Sixers held a practice on Friday morning. “…Obviously being able to do a lot of things on the court, I think that me shooting the ball at a high level can play to my advantage a lot. But I’ve got all the confidence in my shot, all the confidence in my game.”

    But even at 6-foot-9, everyone has learned that with Watford it is the passing and playmaking to really watch out for. He collected a career-high 10 assists; a staggering six of them went to his close friend Maxey. The two of them predictably have already put together some stellar two-man work:

    After a hamstring injury forced Watford to miss training camp and preseason, Watford has found a way to seamlessly fit into his new team’s offense despite a lack of familiarity and an unconventional style.

    Watford looks like a significant weapon moving forward, especially enticing on top of the Sixers’ terrific group of young guards. On Saturday, what was just as notable as Watford’s scoring and facilitating was another career-high: 17 rebounds, rounding out the first triple-double of his NBA career.

    Watford is generally not considered a particularly strong rebounder for a player of his size, but he certainly is one for a player with his level of ball skills. And time and time again, as he snares a defensive rebound and leads his team into transition offense, the value of having a jumbo-sized ball-handler is on display.

    The Sixers might have a new backup center

    It certainly feels like Andre Drummond has officially taken the Sixers’ primary backup center job from Adem Bona. Drummond has just been better early on in 2025-26; the veteran’s rebounding has been a stabilizing force for a team struggling to string together stops. On Friday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse more or less acknowledged that things could be headed in this direction.

    “Yeah, I think so,” Nurse said. “…I think it’s always something we’re looking at. More than anything, I’m trying to put the guys on the floor than can best help us, period. If that moves around a little bit, it moves around, and it’ll probably move around again and all that kind of stuff. Ride the guys who are playing well, ride the better matchups.”

    Exhibit A: Saturday’s game. Bona checked in for Embiid halfway through the first quarter and the Sixers allowed Toronto to score 28 points in six minutes. Trailing 43-33 after one quarter, Nurse decided that once Embiid needed more rest it would become Drummond’s game. Drummond paid it off by going +8 in 18 minutes the rest of the way while Bona sat for the remainder of the action.

    Given Embiid’s constant availability issues, Drummond and Bona are both crucial pieces to this puzzle. And if Bona is demoted to the third-string center spot, it will still be the most important third-string center spot in the NBA. Embiid will sit on Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons, and Bona very well may start. But it is hard to imagine that Drummond has not clearly separated himself from the player he has taken under his wing.

    The Sixers have been better with Drummond manning the middle than Bona. It is not an inherent statement about their individual abilities; it is clear that Bona can hang in plenty of matchups in which Drummond’s lack of mobility makes him unplayable. But when Nurse has a chance to roll with his bruising big off the bench, for now that looks like the plan.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Jared McCain was listed as available for the Sixers on Saturday, but ended up not playing. The guess here: Nurse planned on using McCain at the start of the second quarter, but after his team opened the game with a horrid defensive frame he opted to keep McCain on the bench in hopes of turning things around defensively and saving the 21-year-old guard for the second leg of this weekend’s back-to-back.

    • Drummond’s quality minutes were especially important because with McCain not in the mix, the Sixers were awfully thin. Drummond (16 minutes) and Grimes (28 minutes) were Nurse’s only reserves to reach double-digit minute totals. Justin Edwards played seven minutes and Jabari Walker logged five minutes in addition to Bona only playing eight minutes. That forced Maxey into a 43-minute night, with Watford, Edgecombe and Oubre all surpassing 36 minutes.

    • Edgecombe did not have a good scoring night; he is in a bit of a slump on that front. Edgecombe only made five of his 15 shot attempts in this game, but once again found other ways to leave his mark. Edgecombe grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and nabbed three steals. Plus, he helped put the game away by finally finding some scoring juice and getting three consecutive buckets down the stretch.

    • Embiid’s scoring outburst felt casual in a familiar way. To be fair, perhaps Embiid should be expected to have a relatively easy time against a team like this one: Toronto started wing Scottie Barnes at center; their only true big in the rotation was Sandro Mamukelashvili, who logged 17 minutes off the bench. Embiid made the most of his size advantage on many occasions.

    Up next: The Sixers will get right back to work on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons – once again wearing their throwback jerseys. Embiid will be out of action, but McCain should be available.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers fall to Cavaliers, lose both legs of second back-to-back

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    As they stepped onto a throwback court in Cleveland on Wednesday night, the Sixers were a team not even 24 hours removed from beginning a game in Chicago that had been fast-paced, physical, grueling and heartbreaking. There were signs of fatigue in Chicago, where all of the Sixers’ best players had either played significant minutes against the Bulls or already been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers.

    All of that was immediately evident on Wednesday night. With an energized arena behind the Cavaliers and star guard Darius Garland in his season debut, the Sixers blinked and found themselves trailing 17-4. It immediately seemed clear that it would be one of those nights.

    The Sixers, to their credit, refused to let go of the rope. They made some spirited pushes, particularly during a strong two-way effort in the second quarter. But by the time the final buzzer sounded with the Sixers on the wrong side of a 132-121 final score – and an explosion from Cavaliers superstar guard Donovan Mitchell – it was clear that chances to rest Thursday and Friday will be very helpful for an undermanned group with another back-to-back on the docket over the weekend.

    Notes and observations from Wednesday’s action in Cleveland:

    Sixers show some fight in loss

    Nobody would have been remotely caught off guard if the Sixers let Cleveland’s three-point barrage in the opening frame cause them to throw in the towel early and begin thinking about their flight home. But they really hung in there, and after being on the wrong side of a 41-27 deficit in the first quarter outscored the Cavaliers 40-29 in the second quarter. They had tied the game by the 10-minute mark of the third quarter, when Kelly Oubre Jr. knocked down a corner three right in front of Cleveland’s bench and blew several Cavaliers a kiss:

    That second quarter represented the best basketball the Sixers played on Wednesday by far, and it was a collaborative effort. Tyrese Maxey had his least impactful first quarter in recent memory, but then exploded in the final minutes of the half. His underwhelming half, in just a few moments, turned into an 18-point, four-assist, three-rebound line on excellent efficiency. Maxey continues to play tremendous basketball, but it was his close friend Trendon Watford who got the Sixers’ comeback effort started.

    Watford gave the Sixers a stellar jolt of offense in the first half, scoring 13 points on six shots. Watford’s ability to grab a rebound and immediately initiate offense – oftentimes in transition – has been a boon for the Sixers, who have been able to quickly integrate the 6-foot-9 point forward despite him missing all of training camp and preseason with a hamstring injury.

    Meanwhile, Andre Drummond fully surpassed Adem Bona on the center depth chart for at least one night. Bona had a brutal first stint on the floor to begin the game as the Sixers’ starting five, and it was Drummond on the floor during their strongest pushes. Drummond was one rebound away from recording a double-double off the bench in one half of play; he has reverted back to his previous historic rebounding numbers early on this year after merely being very good on that front last season. Best of all for Drummond, the veteran center knocked down a corner triple in the third quarter, minutes after Bona missed one.

    Things fell off the rails early in the third quarter for the Sixers; Oubre’s game-tying shot turned out to be somewhat of a last gasp. But the Sixers at least showed a level of resilience and determination that eluded them on many occasions last year, including in a 27-point blowout in Cleveland in December.

    Can Justin Edwards finally get settled in?

    Even with Paul George still sidelined by a knee injury, Edwards played himself out of the Sixers’ regular rotation with a brutal preseason after a disappointing Summer League. Edwards looked like such a stable wing presence as a rookie, a player capable of fitting into any lineup and one whose ability to impact winning was not reliant on having the ball. He was able to frequently manufacture chances to make positive plays.

    In 2025-26, that ability has nearly been entirely nonexistent. Edwards has received sporadic rotation chances, not just because Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is a big fan but because the Sixers have never been fully healthy in the frontcourt even without considering George’s absence. Far too often Edwards has just been out there, fading into the background without being noticeable in any way. Even if he is more well-rounded than someone like Trendon Watford or Jabari Walker, those players have clear traits they can hang their hats on; Edwards is still searching for a signature skill.

    Perhaps Wednesday can be a launching point for Edwards, who looked like his 2024-25 self early on in Cleveland. Edwards’ night was not perfect – he was defending Mitchell, who was able to draw three fouls on the 21-year-old. But Edwards crashed the glass and grabbed a timely offensive rebound to eventually net the Sixers an extra basket. Then he hit a spot-up three off a drive and kick from Maxey. Moments later, Edwards had Mitchell defending him and faked a cut so convincingly that Mitchell fell to the floor, creating an advantage for the Sixers. The ball ended up swinging to Edwards in the corner and he cashed another three.

    Such a stretch would have been commonplace last season, but it represented one of his finest moments of 2025-26 to date despite his fouling issues. Will this be a night Edwards can build on, or just a short-lived outlier?

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • With an early triple, Oubre reached 1,000 made three-pointers in his NBA career:

    • Jabari Walker remained in his role as a low-minute starter in this one, opening each half at power forward. Walker appeared to hurt his back on a collision and ensuing fall early in the third quarter, but ended up returning for the final minute and change. Dominick Barlow, the Sixers’ other NBA-ready two-way forward, has missed six-plus games due to an elbow laceration.

    • This game was clearly over late in the third quarter, but Maxey and Oubre both played the entirety of the fourth quarter. Nurse is a proponent of riding his best players for as many minutes as possible, and in games that are close that will often swing contests in his team’s favor. But it is harder to do that successfully without being able to identify the right times to pull the plug. An opportunity to save his guys some minutes was staring Nurse in the face on Wednesday and he failed to take it.

    Up next: The Sixers will return home with a pair of days off before beginning another back-to-back. They will host the Toronto Raptors on Saturday while wearing their black throwback jerseys before welcoming the Detroit Pistons to town on Sunday.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers mount another comeback but drop NBA Cup opener to Celtics

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    PHILADELPHIA – Maybe 82-0 was just a bit unrealistic.

    For the first time in 2025-26, the Sixers lost on Friday night, dropping the opener of their NBA Cup Group Play slate, 109-108, to the Boston Celtics. They fell to 4-1. 

    The Sixers attempted to stage yet another remarkable comeback, and they did completely erase a 24-point deficit at one point. But on Friday, their defense was not good enough to win without out-of-this-world offensive production, and they did not have another scoring masterclass in them. They fought until the very end – again – but this time, they did not have enough. They never led despite bringing themselves to one shot away from stealing it at the end.

    Takeaways from Friday night’s action:

    Sixers’ significant defensive struggles continue

    There is no way around it: the Sixers have fielded a competitive NBA-caliber defense in just a small number of quarters out of the 20 they have played in this season. For the most part, opposing offenses of varying calibers have been able to accomplish everything they want against this team. Boston initiated a three-point shooting barrage early in the game that might have taken place no matter how the Sixers defended, but on Friday night the Sixers’ lack of defensive aptitude in the first half sunk them. Boston scored 68 points in the first half, and the Sixers turned out to have dug themselves too deep of a hole. It was a continuation of everything they had already put on tape.

    Even after they improved to 4-0, it was clear that the Sixers were not doing enough guarding to keep winning at this pace. To some degree, it is a testament to how incredible their offense has been that the Sixers were even competitive in four consecutive games.

    “We’ve got some challenges, there’s no doubt about it,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the team’s practice on Thursday. “We’re trying to play to our strengths and cover up some of the challenges as best we can. I think there’s going to be a lot of room for improvement… We’re still learning about it. The games really help speed that learning process up. So there’s lots of tweaks, lots of polish, schematically, there’s lots of things we’re seeing we need to add and subtract as we go.”

    Among those key challenges is the team’s tendency to rely on undersized lineups. Three of the five best players on this team right now are guards; at full strength it will be four of the six best players who are suited for backcourt roles. And to be fair, three-guard lineups with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes were outstanding in the team’s first four contests because there is so much offensive firepower within those units. But a balance is going to have to be struck, because scoring a lot of points does not mean all that much without getting stops.

    Of course, the eventual return of Paul George will help here, particularly as the Sixers look for infusions of size without disrupting their floor spacing. If the nine-time All-Star is willing to cede much of his responsibility as a scorer and ball-handler to the aforementioned guards (plus Jared McCain) and buy into a defensive-oriented mindset, he could be enormously valuable to this group, even if it restricts his ability to make a salary exceeding $50 million look all that wise.

    But ultimately, the Sixers have to maximize their talent level, and that is going to lead to a lot of smaller lineups. It is up to the players and coaches to find ways to make it a manageable fit on that end of the floor, because otherwise their tremendous offensive exploits will not be maximized.

    VJ Edgecombe finding so many ways to impact winning

    What is even more impressive than Edgecombe’s outstanding scoring production through five NBA games is how many ways he has proved capable of helping the Sixers outside of putting the ball in the basket. Edgecombe’s on-ball prowess has been such a revelation that perhaps many have forgotten that he came into the NBA expected to immediately help a team in other facets of the game. That has held true.

    Edgecombe’s passing is far more advanced than anticipated, and his absurd athletic capabilities have enabled him to soar in for critical rebounds time and time again. His rebounding numbers look good and still likely do not tell the full story; so many of his boards have been contested and in important moments. Edgecombe has been reliable as a spot-up three-point shooter, and his transition scoring has been tantalizing; this finish was a favorite of Friday’s crowd:

    He is an engaged, energetic defender and Nurse has had no qualms about putting him on some very good offensive players and asking him to turn the water off. Edgecombe turned in plenty of good defensive possessions on Friday night against each member of Boston’s excellent guard trio of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons.

    While it was jaw-dropping to watch Edgecombe dominate the ball and prove he has earned the right to do so early on, it is just as impressive for a 20-year-old rookie to immediately pivot to an off-ball role and show they have so many different pathways to impacting any given possession on either end of the floor.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Jared McCain (thumb) was one of three Sixers sidelined in this game – George and Dominick Barlow were the others – but the 21-year-old guard continues to make strides in his recovery after his surgery about a month ago. The latest indication of progress: McCain went through an intense pregame warmup routine on Friday.

    • After 20 horrid minutes to begin this game – the Sixers’ offense was merely okay and their defense was dreadful – Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond provided some life. Edgecombe knocked down a triple and finished an acrobatic and-one layup in transition, Oubre converted multiple impressive rim finishes and Drummond knocked down a corner three, and a terrific four-minute burst to close the half enabled the Sixers to shrink the lead to 11 points at intermission. That run provided what was far and away the most excitement in the building during the first half.

    • It very much feels like Nurse’s plan at backup center when Embiid plays is to ride the hot hand. On basically any occasion in which Drummond or Adem Bona has started producing, Nurse has just opted to ride them for a while. Nurse has talked before about empowering his situational pieces when he can find the right spot for them to play for a prolonged stretch. It is part of the give and take that comes with players in roles that might limit their playing time.

    Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on the road on Sunday evening when they take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers overcome dreadful defense and stage their greatest comeback yet to improve to 4-0

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    For six months, very few people would even entertain the prospect of the 2025-26 Sixers season being encouraging, enjoyable or successful. And yet the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers have found a way to win once again. They are 4-0.

    After three victories to begin the season ranging from thrilling to chaotic, the Sixers dug themselves a hole against a lowly Washington Wizards team but once again staged a double-digit turnaround, notching a 139-134 overtime victory on the road.

    Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid were brilliant right away, but their early barrage of baskets was met by a greater one from the Wizards. The Sixers had a strong offensive night behind Embiid’s best scoring performance of the season, but for much of the game their defense was so putrid that it did not matter. Then the comeback crew did it again, erasing what was a 13-point deficit inside of the five-minute mark of the final frame as Maxey got hot down the stretch again while Quentin Grimes posted an outstanding stretch of two-way play. Adem Bona closed the game with Embiid at his minutes limit and blocked shot after shot. The Sixers found a way to force overtime, found themselves on the wrong end of a five-point deficit right when it started and still had enough to mount another comeback and emerge victorious, with Bona’s shot-blocking and offensive rebounding taking center stage.

    This team just keeps one-upping itself. Takeaways from, amazingly, another winning night of Sixers basketball:

    Sixers’ horrid defense creates a hole, then Quentin Grimes and Adem Bona lead the final comeback

    Even during their wildly successful three-game stretch to begin the season, the Sixers did not defend well enough. They are undersized right now, and to some degree that will remain the case, but it is also not an excuse to struggle as much as they had been struggling. It is perhaps now the most important area where nine-time All-Star Paul George will help them.

    Embiid has been one of the best defenders in the NBA for several years, but at this juncture he is a burden on that end of the floor as he manages every movement closely. It is easier to understand the Sixers’ struggles on defense when he is in the game just because his mobility is so limited. When he is off the floor, they have been unable to contain drivers and it puts undue stress on whichever player is filling in as a rim protector.

    Many things can be pointed out here – that Washington made a ton of difficult shots; that the Wizards have so much youth and energy; that the Sixers were on the second leg of their first back-to-back of the year; that head coach Nick Nurse’s team was simply due for a rough night – but again, these defensive issues were not exclusive to Tuesday’s action. They just became so egregious that no talent advantage or individual scoring heaters could make up for their lack of cohesion.

    It was not for a lack of trying offensively. Embiid was outstanding in tandem with Maxey; the two cornerstones of this team went all-in on embracing their lethal two-man work early and often in this one. It took away from VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and others’ chances to get shots up, but it was hard to argue with this:

    Offense was never the Sixers’ problem in this game; they played more than well enough to win on that end of the floor. Embiid posting season-highs in points (25) and minutes (23) was an important benchmark. But Sixers’ defense went from very bad to dreadful in this one. It will have to be addressed moving forward, because even in their victories the Sixers were not doing nearly enough to provide resistance toward opposing offenses. It places too large of an offensive burden on the team’s stars.

    Finally, down the stretch the Sixers started playing decent defense, with Bona’s five blocks at the center of it all. He also had the go-ahead basket, a jam off an offensive rebound:

    Bona provided jaw-dropping plays time and time again, with Grimes serving as the perfect two-way role player in the clutch. The Sixers’ marvelous offensive attack suddenly had a chance to lead the way, and it did just that. Maxey ended up with an enormous 39-point performance, but the value Grimes and Bona gave in the biggest minutes of this game cannot possibly be overstated.

    Trendon Watford makes his Sixers debut

    After missing all of training camp and the preseason, the Sixers finally got a look at their lone external addition to the team’s standard roster via free agency over the summer. Watford, the 6-foot-9 point forward with a unique set of skills, was available in a limited role off the bench after being sidelined for the team’s first three games in the regular season.

    Watford kicked off his Sixers career by bullying Wizards rookie Tre Johnson en route to an easy left-handed jump hook:

    The 24-year-old forward’s minutes were largely encouraging, particularly given his unusual style. Watford is not exactly an easy player to drop into a preexisting rotation; he does a lot of things that most players at his size are never asked to do when it comes to ball-handling. His first stint lasted about eight minutes, which was a pleasant surprise in itself.

    Watford moved a lot better than one would expect for a player who was returning from such a longstanding hamstring ailment, and even without a jaw-dropping box score line his overall utility on this roster was evident right away. Watford made plenty of nifty passes, and his very first possession with Embiid was a picture-perfect pick-and-pop resulting in an Embiid triple. The Sixers were looking for him as soon as they grabbed defensive rebounds so he could initiate transition offense.

    For Watford’s fit to not look particularly shaky right away is a major win for the Sixers, and it bodes well for his ability to carve out a niche within this offense moving forward.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Nurse made a change to his starting lineup with Dominick Barlow (elbow) still sidelined. Instead of starting Jabari Walker at power forward, Nurse plugged in Justin Edwards as a small-ball four. Washington started two small guards, two wings and one big, so Nurse did not feel compelled to be as big against one of the tinier starting units in the NBA. Of course, the other change was Embiid starting over Bona.

    • Jabari Walker’s best stint as a member of the Sixers came in the first half on Tuesday; he scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds (two offensive) in a six-minute burst while also nabbing a steal. But he was not part of the rotation in the second half. Walker has some competition for frontcourt minutes moving forward; Watford has joined a mix that will once again include Barlow soon. George’s eventual return looms large as well.

    • This was Edgecombe’s quietest NBA game yet from an offensive perspective, yet the rookie still managed to convert two separate four-point plays. He really is fearless:

    Edgecombe handled the ball much less than usual, but was just as ambitious as a spot-up three-point shooter and had plenty of success, knocking down four triples. Clearly, the Sixers needed each one of them.

    Up next: The Sixers will have two days off before returning to action at home, where they will play host to the Boston Celtics in the opening game of NBA Cup Group Play.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Finally, Sixers look like they have an identity without Joel Embiid – and a 3-0 record to show for it

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    PHILADELPHIA – For the first time in 2025-26, the Joel Embiid-less Sixers took the floor on Monday night, looking to upend the Orlando Magic without their franchise cornerstone. On the front end of a back-to-back, the Sixers opted to sit Embiid, while also missing starting power forward Dominick Barlow. They still felt they had enough to win.

    In terms of manpower, the Sixers were at a clear disadvantage against a very good Orlando team. But for the first time in Embiid’s career, when he sits the Sixers look like more than capable of maximizing their available personnel. So, the Sixers were right. They had enough. It is the complete opposite of how things have always been here, and it was on full display in a 136-124 win on Monday.

    Once again, No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe dominated in the opening frame, and his scoring was the headliner early on. Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes’ hot starts made up for a poor opening frame from Tyrese Maxey, but the sixth-year star guard erupted as soon as the second quarter began and was on a tear for the remainder of the game, flashing signs of superstardom as a scorer and facilitator. Maxey and Edgecombe combined to score 69 points, and filling in many of the gaps for a depleted frontcourt was Kelly Oubre Jr., whose all-around production was a total godsend. The Sixers held a healthy lead for much of the game and got a remarkable closing effort from Maxey in his second 40-plus-point night of the season. It was their first true wire-to-wire victory over the season.

    The Sixers, unbelievably, are 3-0. Observations from a wildly successful night of basketball in South Philadelphia:

    The Sixers finally look like they have an identity without Joel Embiid

    For the entirety of Embiid’s career, the Sixers have outperformed their talent level when he is on the floor and drastically underperformed it when he was not, whether that meant Embiid was resting during a game or sidelined for all 48 minutes. In the first three games of this season, the non-Embiid Sixers – both during his 28 minutes of rest in the opening two games and Monday’s complete contest – have displayed an ability to be more than the sum of their parts. Save for successful management of Embiid’s left knee, there is perhaps no greater revelation that the organization could experience.

    The Sixers have had more than enough talent to stay afloat without Embiid in the past, from stars like James Harden, Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons to players paid as stars like Tobias Harris. But each iteration of the Embiid-led Sixers has talked a big game about not needing Embiid to carry the load, and failed to prove that it was actually true.

    At its core, the issue was a lack of identity. The Sixers knew they could not throw the ball to Embiid in the post or at the nail, and they knew they could not anchor their defense. But they were constantly grasping at straws looking for alternatives. It was not Simmons and shooters; not even Harden and a rim-running center could truly stabilize the non-Embiid minutes.

    Now, there is a clear focus and identity here, and it revolves around pace. The Sixers have tremendous guard play, and they have devised a scheme that brings out all of the best qualities in players like Maxey, Edgecombe and Grimes. The team has been adamant since the offseason began than with the way NBA basketball is trending, having as many ball-handlers on the floor as possible is optimal. It is more than a theory; the Sixers’ optionality in terms of offensive initiation has given them an enormous amount of leverage.

    It is not just that the Sixers have guards out there. Last year Nurse used many three-guard lineups; the guards were not good so the units were also not good. But Nurse has clearly found something in terms of maximizing a roster that lacks balance. When they reach full health, four of the six best players on this team will be guards. Even with Jared McCain on the shelf due to a torn UCL in his right thumb, this guard rotation is humming, and it is hard to imagine a collective backcourt playing better team basketball.

    The best version of the Sixers will always include Embiid, as Nurse himself stated before Monday’s game. But for them to know who they are and what they are about when he is not on the floor is absolutely paramount. The Sixers, finally, seem to have a brand of basketball they can rely on when the going gets tough.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Nurse said before Monday’s game that McCain, who was seen at the team’s morning shootaround with a much smaller brace on his right hand, is on his second day without the more restrictive cast, which means he is allowed to shoot normally now. McCain still has to be reintroduced to contact work, with many other steps still to come before his return to NBA action, but he is making progress. A more official update will likely be provided by the team in the next week or so. 

    • Nurse also said pregame that Bona needed to provide more rim protection and shot-blocking in an expanded role than he had during limited minutes behind Embiid in the first two games of his sophomore NBA campaign. Bona responded with two emphatic rejections in the first quarter, sandwiching one from Oubre. Bona’s first swat created a transition opportunity for Edgecombe. It was a promising sign and created a whole lot of buzz in the building:

    However, minutes later Bona picked up his second personal foul and had to check out of the game. It is the dichotomy of a player whose motor and risk-taking are hallmarks of his game, but has to find the right ways to maintain composure.

    • Nurse went with an eight-man rotation for much of the first half, then inserted veteran Eric Gordon, not a huge surprise. But seconds later, undrafted rookie two-way guard Hunter Sallis checked in, and that was a bit of a stunner. Sallis played less than a minute, checked out and then returned for a 33-second stint.

    • Oubre had a very good game on Saturday night against Charlotte. But he was on another level on Monday, and his early-season contributions should not go unnoticed. Oubre is shooting the three-pointer well right now, and if teams continue to respect him as a threat from beyond the arc he will only become a stronger driver. Oubre has never been much of a passer, but made some intriguing strides as a playmaker last season. He totaled four assists in the first half alone on Monday while also making himself a force on the glass. It was huge in a game in which he had to play small-ball power forward quite a bit out of necessity.

    Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on Tuesday in the nation’s capital, facing off against the young, 1-2 Washington Wizards. 

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid returns to action as Sixers stage dress rehearsal in preseason finale

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    PHILADELPHIA — Never has an exhibition carried more weight in the Sixers universe than Friday night’s preseason finale, a home contest against a Minnesota Timberwolves team sitting just about every key player.

    For the first time since Feb. 22, Joel Embiid has played in an NBA contest. While Minnesota was not suiting up many rotation players, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse led his team into a dress rehearsal, with a previously stated goal of having “main guys playing as long and as much together as we can.” Embiid was part of that, as were Quentin Grimes and VJ Edgecombe. Paul George, Jared McCain, Trendon Watford and Kyle Lowry were the only players unavailable on Friday.

    Tyrese Maxey and Edgecombe started in the backcourt for the Sixers, with Kelly Oubre Jr. filling in the last spot ahead of Embiid and Adem Bona, a massive surprise even after Nurse unveiled that two-big combination and expressed interest in using it last weekend at the Blue X White Scrimmage.

    Everything that stood out from Embiid’s performance, plus a tremendous showing from Edgecome and a batch of other notes regarding Nurse’s rotation in the Sixers’ 126-110 win over Minnesota: 

    Joel Embiid returns to action

    It was hard to do much complaining about Embiid’s first stint on the floor, which lasted just over six minutes. He scored three baskets, was noticeably active defensively – steals do not necessarily indicate this, but he did also have a pair of early steals – and each time he grabbed a rebound, Embiid was quickly looking to initiate a transition possession with a hit-ahead pass.

    Embiid scored the first basket of the game, and it was thanks to the two-man game he and Maxey have mastered over the years:

    Maxey is not the only player with a chance to develop that sort of rapport with Embiid. McCain is the most obvious candidate, but Grimes has more than enough ball-handling and pull-up shooting chops to be dynamic in those actions. Defenses have to pay close attention to Grimes, and that much was evident the first time he and Embiid flowed into a two-man action. A roaring success here:

    Above all else, it was clear from the outset just how impactful Embiid’s presence is. When 10 eyeballs are always focused on one offensive player, all of their teammates’ lives become a whole lot easier. Everyone experienced it, from Maxey on down. But Embiid also seeks out chances to utilize the leverage he has for his teammates’ collective benefit. He looks bought-in as far as scaling down his scoring workload to conserve his energy and provide some additional energy to his teammates in the form of chances with the ball.

    Embiid’s second stint, the first three minutes of the second quarter, was less inspiring. He did not move nearly as well and struggled to establish positioning against 18-year-old rookie, Joan Beringer. It led to a few Sixers turnovers. Embiid hit the bench, but was set to return for the final three minutes of the half and redeemed himself then.

    Closing the half, Embiid’s movement was much better – specifically going from end to end – and he continued to create scoring chances for his teammates. Embiid totaled seven assists in his 13 minutes prior to intermission to go with nine points, five rebounds and three steals.

    The most interesting aspect of Embiid’s offensive usage in the first half was probably his work as an inbound passer. The Sixers scored off of sideline out-of-bounds passes by Embiid three times prior to intermission; one of those came from Embiid himself, when he threw the ball to Maxey and quickly came off screens for a triple:

    Nurse said before the game that he expected Embiid’s minutes to extend into the second half, and he indeed played the first six minutes or so of the third quarter – but not without a scare. Embiid barreled into the paint and was whistled for a charge. He took a hard fall in traffic, with all sorts of limbs flying in different directions. It was the exact play that has given Sixers fans hundreds of scares during Embiid’s career. 

    After about five seconds on the ground, Embiid shot up and made a point to hustle down to the other end of the floor and show he was fine. He played for another minute or so before his fourth and final stint came to a close, ending his night at just under 20 minutes with 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three assists to his name.

    No matter how Embiid looked on the floor, the following was going to be true: the absolute most important part of Embiid’s appearance on Friday night will be how he feels when he wakes up Saturday morning. There is little doubt that even a limited version of Embiid can impact winning at the NBA level; where skepticism exists is whether or not Embiid’s knee is strong enough to handle the rigors of NBA action. Last year, it was not.

    Other rotation notes

    While all of the focus was understandably on Embiid, this game also offered plenty of hints into what Nurse’s rotation might look like when the Sixers open their 2025-26 regular season in Boston on Wednesday. Some takeaways:

    • The combination of Embiid and Bona starting was a shock, and it was jarring to see a Sixers team that was forced to play so small last season absolutely tower over Minnesota’s undersized starting five, featuring a tiny point guard, the aforementioned 18-year-old center and three wings in between. Nurse is enthusiastic about the idea of being able to punish opposing teams with force and power; this arrangement gives him the chance to do that.

    • However, Nurse did not start three guards as a result. That forced Grimes, clearly a starting-caliber player, to the bench. Grimes is a better player than Edgecombe right now, but developing Edgecombe figures to be a higher organizational priority. Grimes provides much more ball-handling than Edgecombe, whose ball skills are very much a work in progress. Bringing Grimes off the bench does make it easier to stagger him with Maxey and ensure there is always ball-handling on the floor, but nobody should be surprised if Nurse eventually opts to start the 25-year-old alongside Maxey and Edgecombe. Grimes would be the small forward in that scenario.

    • Bona’s opening stint alongside Embiid only lasted three minutes, and then Nurse gave two-way signee Dominick Barlow a chance to play a more traditional power forward. If Bona does not start on opening night and Nurse keeps Grimes on the bench, Barlow would be the favorite to help Embiid out in the frontcourt. It is a remarkable rise for a player whose training camp has turned a whole lot of heads. It is worth noting that Barlow opened the second half next to Embiid with Bona on the bench.

    • Edgecombe has started in all three of his preseason appearances, and Nurse acknowledged before Friday’s game that it is fair to assume he will keep that spot for Wednesday night’s season opener. He appears willing to embrace the bumps in the road that come with throwing a rookie into the fire. He said a successful season for Edgecombe would be one in which he logs plenty of minutes. “That’s what playing in the league and gaining experience is all about,” Nurse said.

    Interestingly, a ton of the Maxey-plus-Edgecombe minutes early on featured the rookie handling the ball and Maxey being used away from it. Weaponizing Maxey off the ball is a clear priority for Nurse, but Edgecombe is going to have to show major strides as a ball-handler relative to where he was at during his lone collegiate season at Baylor. Edgecombe got a whole lot better as the game went on, and by the fourth quarter the 20-year-old looked like the best player on the floor. It was a tremendous home debut for Edgecombe, whose final line was stellar: 34 minutes, 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals while making 10 of his 18 shots.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid plays in first public live action since February at Sixers scrimmage: ‘Good progression day for him’

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    WILMINGTON, Del. — Normally, the Sixers’ annual Blue X White Scrimmage isn’t much more than a glorified warmup period, with extremely lax runs of five-on-five at an event more about engaging fans at the Chase Fieldhouse, home of the G-League Delaware Blue Coats. But on Sunday afternoon, it became the first major public checkpoint in the recovery of Joel Embiid.

    The Sixers conducted a practice in Wilmington before the doors opened to media and fans, and when spectators began trickling in, Embiid was part of an active game, leading a team also including Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dominick Barlow.

    Quentin Grimes shuffled in for Team Blue, and interestingly enough, so did Embiid’s primary backup, Adem Bona. Team White was made up of most of the players on the fringes of head coach Nick Nurse’s regular rotation. Paul George, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry, Jared McCain and Trendon Watford did not play, but everyone else on the roster stepped onto the floor at some point during the two 10-minute periods.

    What was more notable than any lineup combination or schematic choice, of course, was the mere fact that Embiid was out there in plain sight.

    And once the official Blue X White Scrimmage was underway — Edgecombe and Johni Broome each served as public address announcers for their teams, almost certainly as a form of rookie duties — Embiid was still out there. The mood in the building was somewhere between shock and amazement; Embiid has done live five-on-five work in practice but has not played a basketball game in public since February.

    Sunday’s event was suddenly the first chance for anybody other than those around Embiid and the Sixers to get a sense of where the former NBA MVP is at physically after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in April. The results were largely encouraging based on how dire things were at this time a year ago. Nobody looks particularly explosive in this setting (other than Bona, it turns out), but Embiid routinely had opposing defenders — namely Broome and Andre Drummond — at his mercy.

    Embiid constantly drew double-teams and found teammates for open looks. “He’s even more of a willing passer than I thought,” Jabari Walker said after the scrimmage, soon after praising Embiid by saying he “knows what he wants, and he just makes the game easy.”

    There were even some vintage Embiid moments as a one-on-one scorer at the nail. It all began to feel normal, which these days is awfully abnormal.

    “Today was a good progression day for him,” Nurse said after the scrimmage. “Lots of running, lots of five-on-five, lots of early practice stuff, lots of drill work, lots of five-on-zero, just lots of getting him caught up to speed. And then he went out there and did his thing: he shot the ball well, he scored well, he orchestrated the offense well. I thought he ran pretty good as well [in] both directions.”

    What fans and media watched on Sunday afternoon was, more or less, the final portion of a standard Sixers practice this time of year. That this work for Embiid is so newsworthy speaks to the constant mystery that has surrounded him for years more than anything else. But after eight months of wondering what Embiid would look like if he stepped onto a basketball court with nine other players, there was finally some visibility on Sunday.

    The new terminology being associated with Embiid’s recovery is “checking boxes,” and as of last week, the Sixers were intimating that there are still boxes for Embiid to check before a timeline for his return to NBA games is established. There is still no indication either way about his status for the team’s first regular season game on Oct. 22.

    Whenever Embiid does play, do not be shocked if he shares the floor with Bona. It is a combination Nurse used quite a bit during the scrimmage, and after it concluded he confirmed it is a combination he is intrigued by. The Sixers have a clear hole at power forward; Embiid and Bona coexisting help fill that vacancy. Bona could be an indirect solution to the team’s issues at the four.

    “There’s kind of an open position at the four, especially right now with Paul not being quite ready yet,” Nurse said. “There’s a number of guys that we’re trying to work into that spot, [Bona is] just another one… He’s probably going to be more the five. He’s going to play down towards the basket and rim protect and things like that. There’s certainly some drive, dump-offs to him; hit Joel [or] Joel hits him type of situations that are high-percentage plays. I like that part. I think he’ll help the rebounding, he’ll help the rim protection. We’ll see how it goes.”

    Embiid defending modern power forwards certainly does not sound ideal, and the Sixers have always made concerted efforts to keep him closer to the rim as much as possible. If Embiid and Bona end up sharing the floor, expect Nurse to get quite creative with his defensive coverages as he attempts to utilize a massive frontcourt without subjecting Embiid to much perimeter responsibility. If there is anyone pining for this partnership to expand, it is Bona.

    “I think it would be awesome,” Bona said after the scrimmage. “That has been my goal since I got here, since I got drafted: at some point, I want to be able to share the floor with Joel. I’ve been working towards developing my game to be able to complement his game while I’m on the floor with him. So, yeah, I’ve been working towards that and I’m really excited to see how that’s going to pan out.”

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    Adam Aaronson

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