A trio of MVP center Joel Embiid, nine-time NBA All-Star forward Paul George, and rising All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey is a dream core for any franchise. It was for the Philadelphia 76ers as well, as they handed out big money last offseason to assemble it. However, everything has gone wrong for the Sixers since last offseason.
Injuries to Embiid and George, one after the other, reduced the pair to a combined 60 games, while Maxey was also shut down late in the season to boost the chances of a lottery pick. The 76ers did end up with the No. 3 pick and selected VJ Edgecombe, but the onus lies on the star trio to get it done for the franchise next season.
Kendrick Perkins Sets Goal for 76ers’ Big 3 To Salvage Disappointing 2024 Season
While Embiid has been a franchise star for the 76ers since arriving via the 2014 NBA Draft, he has played less than 60 games in the last two years due to persistent injuries. The 2023 MVP was reduced to just 19 games last season and ended up averaging 23.8 points per game, his lowest since the 2019/20 season.
George arrived in Philadelphia on a four-year, $212 million contract but was limited to just 41 games due to various injuries, including a preseason left knee bone bruise that sidelined him for the first five games and a season-ending left adductor injury in March. The 35-year-old averaged a decade low of 16.2 points on 43% shooting, along with 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Maxey was comparatively better but still limited to just 52 games. He, however, posted a career high of 26.3 points and 1.8 steals per game and will need to keep delivering similar numbers throughout the whole season if the Sixers want to have a shot at the playoffs.
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins believes Embiid and George will be under the most intense pressure going into the 2025-26 season. Perkins anticipates the duo looking for redemption and challenges them to show their worth by making an appearance in the Eastern Conference at a minimum.
“I believe Joel Embiid is going to come back on a revenge tour. I believe so. This is going to be a revenge season for Joel Embiid,” he said on the latest episode of Perk Unplugged. “I believe he’s going to come back on a mission. Well, he should. He should because him and Paul George are probably, in my opinion, not probably, they are, when it comes to pressure, they’re the top two for as most pressure in the NBA to get something done.
“Nobody wants to hear nothing else. You got to get it done. You got to get that sh*t done. Period. No other way around it. Conference Finals minimum with that Big Three with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid.”
This offseason, rumors were running wild that the 76ers planned to break up this star trio and potentially trade George to free up cap space and build the team around Maxey. However, they have decided to run it back with the star trio while also drafting Edgecombe and Johni Broome, who are solid backups but also potential candidates to replace the stars George and Embiid when the Sixers deem it fit.
The two stars have at least one season together to show the franchise they are capable of winning the NBA Championship, or at least getting close to hoisting the trophy. But if a similar season like that of 2024-25 ensued, George and Embiid may no longer be Sixers at this moment next offseason.