Predicting 76ers' Starting Lineup on Thursday With LeBron James Out

Philadelphia will be without its most accomplished player against Toronto.

Nov 8, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics when they host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Sixers, they'll be without their most accomplished player for the contest.

LeBron James has been officially ruled out of the game due to lower back/sciatica management. The fact that James has been ruled out despite the fact that the game isn't part of a back-to-back set for Philly is a bit concerning, but at this late stage of his career, James needing some additional rest and time to heal is understandable.

Replacing James' on-court production won't be easy for the Sixers, but they'll have to physically replace him in the starting lineup against Toronto. To do that, they could go in a couple of different directions.

Option 1: Small ball

Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse could decide to go small in James' absence. In order to do this, he could bump Jaylen Brown over to the starting power forward spot alongside center Joel Embiid and elevate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a starting spot next to Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

Caldwell-Pope has started one game for the Sixers previously this season, so it wouldn't be completely out of the blue if Nurse decided to go in this direction, as it could potentially allow the Sixers to play a little quicker.

Plus, the Raptors aren't a dominant rebounding team, as they rank 24th in the league in rebounds per game. So Nurse could potentially sacrifice a little size for speed without worrying about the Sixers getting demolished on the glass.

Option 2: Another former Cavaliers forward fills in

Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade, Joel Embiid

The other, more likely, option is that Nurse will simply opt to start former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade in LeBron's place. This would allow the rest of the starters to remain in their natural positions while Wade serves as the starting power forward alongside Embiid.

Wade has already started four games for the Sixers this season, including two when James was out previously, so Nurse is clearly comfortable running him with the first five.

Prediction: Wade wins out

Dean Wade getting the starting nod in place of James seems like the most likely outcome here. This will allow Nurse to keep the rest of the rotations as close to normal as possible.

Plus, Wade is coming off of a promising performance in which he knocked down two thee-pointers, scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds against Boston. Perhaps he'll be able to build off of that against the Raptors.

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