2 Things We Learned About the 76ers on Thursday vs. Raptors

Philadelphia benefitted from a couple of impactful bench performances in the game.

Oct 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Jabari Walker (33) reacts after a score against the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

No LeBron James, no problem for the Philadelphia 76ers, who were able to pull out a 123-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night without the services of their most accomplished player.

It was a nice bounce-back win for the Sixers after they were bested by Boston earlier in the week. Here's a look at two things we learned about Philadelphia in the win.

1. Anfernee Simons is invaluable for Philadelphia

Consistency has been a bit of an issue for Anfernee Simons early on in his 76ers tenure, but the game against the Raptors on Thursday night hammered home the fact that he is invaluable as a weapon off of the bench for Philadelphia.

Simons hit five three-pointers and scored 17 points off of the bench for the Sixers in the game, and his production completely swung things in Philly's favor in a game that was probably a little closer than it should have been.

that's 5 triples from @AnferneeSimons tonight 😤 pic.twitter.com/APrqYyxnSH

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 13, 2026

It was Simons' fourth game this season with at least five made triples off of the bench, and his offensive output was a major catalyst for Philly in all of those games. Thus, it's no surprise that they won all four of those games. Without Simons' shooting, they very well could have dropped all of them.

Simons obviously isn't a perfect player, and he has off nights, but for Nick Nurse and the Sixers, to be able to bring in a guy off of the bench who can casually drop five triples in any given game is a huge boon, and it has greatly helped the team stack some early wins with the starting group continues to work out the kinks offensively.

2. Jabari Walker deserves a consistent role

Jabari Walker turned in another productive performance against Toronto on Thursday night. In 16 minutes of action, Walker scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. He also added an assist.

Walker has been on the receiving end of increased on-court opportunity over the past several games due to the absence of Adem Bona, but it's become clear that he's deserving of a consistent role, even when Bona returns. Walker's effort, ability to finish around the rim and impact on the glass are all things that the Sixers could use more of, and Nick Nurse simply needs to find more minutes for Walker moving forward.

Walker doesn't provide the rim protection that the Sixers are likely looking for in a backup center behind Joel Embiid, so that's still an issue that needs to be addressed, but Walker can absolutely help to fill in some of the cracks in Philadelphia's second unit.

Get 76ers On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.