Former NBA MVP Joel Embiid is hoping the Philadelphia 76ers can put together a strong championship run in the 2024-25 season.
The East Coast franchise ran another poor play-off campaign last term and were eliminated in the second round.
Nearly 12 months ago, James Harden had demanded a trade and Tyrese Maxey was yet to establish himself as one of the game’s best, but patience was echoed throughout the team and the puzzle is finally starting to piece together.
They lured in Paul George in free agency this summer and now have a star-studded trio, while also signing Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin.
It means they will have one of the strongest rosters when the new season begins in October, but Embiid was not always sure things would come together in Philadelphia.
Speaking to ESPN, he said: “I’d be lying to say that patience wasn’t tested.
“Because I’m at the point where there’s no awards, there’s no regular season or no All-NBA or All-Stars is going to change the way my legacy is.
Joel Embiid is set for his #USABMNT debut 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qbJkKzoSKd
— NBA (@NBA) July 7, 2024
“Well, there’s a few things that can change it, but the main one is the championship.
“So when you start thinking about what you want to be remembered as, you want to be remembered as someone that’s won.
“When you are presented with a plan, sometimes it goes wrong, sometimes it goes right.
“We’ve still got long way to go. On paper it looks great. But we still got to go on the court and make it work.”
All three of Embiid, Maxey and George were All-Stars 12 months ago and having dipped after trading Harden to the LA Clippers, they are now returning as a force to be reckoned with.
We do not know if all three of them will work together on the court, but there is no doubt on paper that the 76ers are the team to watch.
Embiid added: “Yeah, I think as far as the fit, it looks amazing.
“It is great, especially when you got a big … I don’t like to call myself a big, but when you got a player that posts up and that is quite a bit, you need to have willing shooters and guys that are not afraid to pull the trigger.
“PG, great shooter, 40%, 45 catch and shoot; Tyrese, we know great shooter, off the dribble, catch-and-shoot.
“On paper, and as far as the fit, it looks fantastic because you got both guys that can play off the ball, and they can play on ball and they’re great shooters and they can handle the ball, and then you also got me.
“So, yeah, it looks great.”
