Ranking the Sixers' Preferred Opponents in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament

After their loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the Sixers are back to being the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference for now. If they don't go 3-0 over their final three regular-season games, there's a real chance that they'll be battling for their playoff lives on Tuesday or Wednesday next week in the play-in tournament.

The Sixers can still wind up anywhere from fifth to 10th (!) in the East, although fifth is a long shot. The Atlanta Hawks are two games up on the Sixers with three games left, and the Hawks also hold the tiebreaker over them. They'd have to go 0-3 over their final three games and the Sixers would have to win out to jump them.

The Sixers are currently tied with the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic at 43-36 and are a half-game behind the sixth-seeded Toronto Raptors (43-35). The Miami Heat aren't far behind at 41-37, either. Plenty can change over these final six days of the regular season.

If the Sixers aren't able to secure the No. 6 seed, they should at least hope to stop their fall at No. 7. That would guarantee them a home game in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup, and if they lost to the No. 8 seed, they'd have another home game next Friday against the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup.

Finishing as the No. 6 seed would be the ideal scenario, as the teams in the Nos. 7-10 range could all end the Sixers' season before the playoffs even begin. Some would be scarier opponents than others, though.

With that in mind, we've ranked the Sixers' potential play-in opponents from least favorable to most favorable, although that's a relative term. Even the No. 1 team here would not be a pushover.

5. Atlanta Hawks

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson dribbles into Sixers center Adem Bona — Mar 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dribbles into Philadelphia 76ers forward Adem Bona (30) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

On Monday, the Hawks dropped a home game to the New York Knicks, 108-105. It was only their fourth loss since the All-Star break.

The Hawks' decision to trade Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert has paid off in spades. Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have flourished in Young's absence, while McCollum, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu have rounded out a well-balanced starting five.

Since the All-Star break, the Hawks have the fourth-best net rating in the league (plus-11.5), trailing only the Spurs (plus-13.6), Hornets (plus-13.1) and reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder (plus-11.8). They've feasted on plenty of tanking cupcakes over that stretch, but they also beat the Sixers in all four of their matchups this year.

Granted, Joel Embiid and Paul George missed two of those games, and Tyrese Maxey missed one of the two that Embiid and George did play. The one time that the Hawks faced the Sixers with all four of Embiid, George, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the game went to double overtime, and Embiid, George and Edgecombe were all limited in terms of their minutes.

Still, the Sixers would be best off avoiding the Hawks in a single-game elimination setting. Luckily, the Hawks seem likely to finish with a top-six seed.

4. Charlotte Hornets

Sixers center Joel Embiid shoots over Hornets forward Grant Williams. — Mar 28, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center/forward Joel Embiid (21) shoots over Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2) during the fourth quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

Not only do the Hornets have the second-best net rating since the All-Star break, but they also have the league's best net rating since the calendar flipped to 2026. The gap between them (plus-11.5) and the Spurs (plus-10.5), Thunder (plus-9.5) and Boston Celtics (plus-9.3) is fairly wide, too.

Prior to Cooper Flagg's eruption this past weekend, Kon Knueppel had established himself as the clear front-runner for this season's Rookie of the Year award. He recently passed Kemba Walker as the Hornets' single-season all-time leader in three-pointers, and he smashed the previous rookie record for made treys as well.

While the Hornets might not have a first-team All-NBA player on their roster, they're well-rounded. All four of Knueppel, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball are averaging between 17.4 and 20.2 points per game this season. Their trade-deadline acquisition of Coby White made them that much more dangerous, as he's averaging 15.7 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in only 19.7 minutes per game off the bench for them.

The Hornets lead the league in made threes, are second in three-point attempts and are third in three-point percentage. The Sixers, whose approach to three-point shooting remains in the 20th century, are 21st, 21st and 23rd in those categories, respectively.

Losing the math battle on any given night is bad enough. Being at a clear disadvantage in that regard in a win-or-go-home game would be devastating.

3. Miami Heat

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey passes the ball against the Heat — Mar 30, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) passes the basketball as Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) defend during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Speaking of teams that can take advantage of the Sixers' mediocre three-point shooting…

We just saw this play out last week. The Sixers had no answers for the Heat's zone defense, so the Heat spammed it more than they had in almost any other game this season.

Miami also won that game without Norman Powell, who's missed the past four games with an illness. He's listed as available for Tuesday's game against the Raptors, so he figures to be fine for the play-in tournament.

Between Powell, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, the Heat have three players averaging at least 20 points per game. Pelle Larrson has been a revelation for them as well, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. put his disappointing sophomore campaign behind him to become a leading contender for Sixth Man of the Year this season.

Add in Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Kel'el Ware, and the Heat could have a clear depth advantage over the Sixers. Head coach Erik Spoelstra is also well-renowned as one of the NBA's best coaches and would surely cook up a diabolical scheme meant to goad Embiid into a ton of careless turnovers that lead to easy runouts.

The Sixers would have the top-end talent advantage over Miami, but that might not be enough to stave off defeat.

2. Toronto Raptors

Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley drives against Sixers forward Paul George — Jan 12, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) drives to the net Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) during the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Could a Nick Nurse Revenge Game be on tap?

The Sixers and Raptors split their season series two games apiece. The Raptors had no good answer for Maxey, who averaged 31.5 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds against them while shooting 53.1% overall, 45.7% from deep and 85.7% from the charity stripe. Granted, all four of those matchups came before he jacked up his pinky finger again.

Like the Hornets, what the Raptors lack in top-end talent, they make up for in depth. All four of Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley are averaging at least 16 points, four rebounds and three assists per game this year.

A back injury sidelined starting center Jakob Poeltl for nearly a two-month stretch leading up to the All-Star break, but he's missed only three games ever since. The Raptors are getting solid contributions from Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja'Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead, too.

However, the Raptors also aren't a great three-point shooting or rebounding team, which are the Sixers' two main Achilles' heels. A play-in game between them might be a return to Stone Age basketball, and the Raptors' size could prove problematic for the Sixers, but they're a better option than the alternatives.

1. Orlando Magic

Magic forward Paolo Banchero dribbles against Sixers forward Jabari Walker — Jan 9, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) is guarded by Philadelphia 76ers forward Jabari Walker (33) in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Some might prefer the Raptors to the Magic as the Sixers' best choice for a play-in opponent. That's fine. They have the same weaknesses (three-point shooting, rebounding) and arguably less high-end talent.

However, the Magic haven't played together at full strength all that much this season.

Franz Wagner has missed a majority of the season due to a high ankle sprain. He returned at the beginning of April, but he's still playing limited minutes and doesn't have much time to ramp back up before the play-in tournament begins. Jalen Suggs has also missed 20-plus games, as is tradition.

Heading into Tuesday, the Magic's preferred starting lineup of Suggs, Wagner, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. has played exactly 161 minutes together all season. Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva emerged in the absences of Suggs and Wagner, but the Magic don't have much in the way of depth behind them.

The size of the Banchero-Wagner-Carter trio could prove problematic for the Sixers, although none of them have the heft to counter Embiid one-on-one. Suggs' defense on Maxey could be an obstacle as well, although Maxey has averaged nearly 31 points per game in his three outings against Orlando this year.

The Sixers' Big Three also hasn't had a ton of time to develop chemistry with one another due to injuries, so it might behoove them to face a team dealing with a similar challenge.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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