Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s most exasperating franchise, and that is saying something in a league where exasperation is the default emotional state of half the fanbases. Three championships, a legacy featuring Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson, and yet the dominant narrative of the modern Sixers is “Trust the Process” — a slogan that asked fans to endure years of deliberate losing in exchange for future greatness that has stubbornly refused to materialise. Founded in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals before relocating to Philadelphia in 1963, the 76ers play at Wells Fargo Center, a 20,478-seat arena in South Philadelphia where the boos are as legendary as the cheesesteaks.

The 24-58 finish in 2024-25 was not merely disappointing — it was an indictment. Injuries and chemistry issues are the official explanation, but a roster with this much talent producing this few wins suggests problems that go deeper than any injury report. Joel Embiid’s availability remains the skeleton key to Philadelphia’s championship hopes, and the fact that the franchise’s entire future depends on the health of a player whose body has repeatedly betrayed him is not a strategy so much as a prayer. Under Nick Nurse, the 76ers must regroup, but regrouping requires the pieces to be on the court, and that has been the one thing Philly cannot guarantee.

Philadelphia’s fanbase is the most demanding in professional sport — they booed Santa Claus, they will absolutely boo a franchise that promised them a process and delivered a punchline — and their fury is entirely justified. The tradition, the market size, and the committed ownership ensure the 76ers will remain a significant force in the NBA landscape. But significant and successful are different words, and Philly has been the former far more often than the latter.

Club Information

Club Profile

The 76ers enter 2025-26 with the same question that has defined every season of the Embiid era: will he be healthy? If the answer is yes, Philadelphia has the talent to compete with anyone in the East. If the answer is no — and recent history suggests the odds are not encouraging — then the Sixers will produce another season of frustration, blame, and the slow erosion of a championship window that was never as wide as the front office believed. Australian fans will see the 76ers regularly on ESPN broadcasts, because Philadelphia’s market size and storied history guarantee the airtime. The franchise needs to start guaranteeing the results. The Process was supposed to lead somewhere. The fans are still waiting to arrive.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com