The Philadelphia 76ers have the pieces to make a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference, though health has been an Achilles heel for the club in recent years.
Despite having a star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia hasn’t made it past the second round of the postseason since 2001. The Sixers signed Paul George to a four-year, $211.6 million deal last offseason, raising expectations for a long-awaited deep playoff push.
However, injuries derailed those hopes, and the 76ers ultimately failed to reach the playoffs. Embiid appeared in just 19 regular-season games, sidelined by a lingering knee injury, along with a sprained left foot and a sinus fracture.
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Still, the 31-year-old big man remains a dominant force when healthy, which is why Shaun Powell of NBA.com ranked him as the sixth-best player in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
“Here are the facts: Embiid has never played 69 or more games in a season and played just 58 combined the last two,” he wrote. “His conditioning is a perpetual issue, and his height — combined with his weight — could cause availability problems the rest of his career. That said, he’s an MVP candidate when fit and motivated and can take over games at both ends.”
Embiid underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April and is hopeful to be ready for the start of the season. However, concerns about his availability will persist.
The Eastern Conference appears wide open ahead of the 2025-26 season, and a relatively healthy Embiid could push his way back into the top three. That’s a big if, but his dominance when healthy is undeniable.
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