Three Key Takeaways From The 76ers' Win Over The Hornets

The Sixers took down the Charlotte Hornets, what were the takeaways?

Oct 25, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) drives against Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

On Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers welcomed their fans back into the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time in the regular season with a match against the Charlotte Hornets.

While the match started out strong for the Sixers, the Hornets were persistent in their scoring efforts, as the two sides swapped leads nine times throughout the 48 minutes.

However, thanks in part to an offensive surge for the Sixers late in the fourth quarter, they’d walk away with the 125-121 win, granting them their second win of the season.

1. Joel Embiid is getting back to his old ways

When Joel Embiid made his first appearance of the season, he looked to be miles ahead of where he was last season, while still looking somewhat skittish on the court, which could be reflected in his lackluster stat line, ending his 20-minute shift with only four points to his name, only converting on 11.1 percent of his shots from the floor.

big fella drills his third triple of the game! pic.twitter.com/2Z3yq8JGQr

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 26, 2025

While that could be chalked up to it being only his second game back in the Sixers lineup, he looked to be a lot more comfortable on Saturday night, leaving the match with 20 points and four rebounds. Many of these points came from shooting the ball, rather than driving in, which seems to be the only part of the Cameroonian’s game that has yet to fully recover.

2. Andre Drummond flipped the script

One area that the Sixers struggled with against the Hornets was rebounding the ball on both ends of the court, which was reflected in their team stats, trailing their opponents 40-45.

clean up aisle 1. 😤 pic.twitter.com/Cd6nqsoajL

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 26, 2025

One reason that the difference was shaved down was because of Andre Drummond, who after coming on late in the third quarter, would end up recording 15 rebounds in total, with nine of them coming on the offensive end of the court, allowing Philadelphia to get a second chance to score within those possessions.

Given the close nature of the match, it’s not crazy to think that Drummond’s boards on both sides of the game got the Sixers back into the match.

3. Justin Edwards snaps his cold spell

It’s been no secret that Justin Edwards has struggled throughout his second year in the NBA, whether it was being inconsistent at the Summer League or lacking success in the Sixers' preseason games.

a great sequence: @Jedwards3_ three@AndreDrummond steal@KELLYOUBREJR slam pic.twitter.com/3sV8gaRTS5

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 26, 2025

To be more specific, Edwards only converted on 11.5 percent of his shots throughout Philadelphia's four preseason games, which is a drastic step back from the 45.5 percent he was shooting during his rookie campaign.

However, these struggles from the floor weren’t seen against the Hornets, as Edwards drained three shots from beyond the arc. These efforts came at a pivotal time for the Sixers, who were struggling to spark a comeback in the third quarter.