Why It Shouldn’t Matter Whose Team the Sixers Is

When a team is amid a blockbuster offseason like the Sixers are, they’re going to accumulate a lot of buzz from the national media—it just comes with the territory.

Eight days removed from LeBron James joining Philadelphia, it has dealt with more than its fair share, but there is one talking point that stands out for the wrong reasons.

Many—media and fans, alike—are curious whose team the Sixers are, between James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid. The inquisitiveness makes sense considering the amount of strong personalities and star power Philadelphia has. Rich Paul only added fuel to the fire by saying it’s Maxey’s team on his Game Over podcast.

Rich Paul on Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers:

“It’s his team.”

(via Game Over) pic.twitter.com/bcDFHc4VF7
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 31, 2026

But, honestly, who cares?

Maxey, Brown and Embiid all wanted James to sign with the Sixers, so their willingness to take on a role that overshadows their individual numbers should not be questioned. Philadelphia is aligned in its goal to win a championship and, as long as that remains the case, it doesn’t matter if it’s Brown’s team for a span, Maxey’s for most of the season or Embiid's for spurts.

Everyone is bought in

Even if the Sixers are Maxey’s team by definition, he has always prioritized winning above anything. The two-time All-Star fronted a culture shift that helped Philadelphia stay afloat during the regular season and erase a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2026 playoffs. There was a reason Paul starred his name on a whiteboard that listed James’ potential destinations on a previous episode of the podcast.

This also segways into the Embiid part of the conversation. Philadelphia relied less on his isolation talent in 2025-26 as he recorded a 33.5 usage rate—his lowest since 2019-20, via Basketball Reference. You can expect more of the same with Brown and James in town. Not to mention, Embiid doesn’t want to shoulder the scoring burden alone. He just wants to win.

“I think Tyrese [Maxey] is probably going to benefit the most… the 2nd most will be VJ Edgecombe.”

- Rich Paul on who will get the most out of LeBron James joining the Sixers 🤔

(h/t Game Over Pod, @NBA__Courtside) pic.twitter.com/QF1pLxAZXC
— Sleeper76ers (@sleeper76ers) July 31, 2026

The same could be said for James, who embraced being the third option behind Luka Dončic and Austin Reaves—and did it phenomenally. James' decision was all about happiness. If he wanted to step on toes and be the guy, he wouldn’t have chosen Philadelphia.

Dissecting other narratives

People have made a spectacle about V.J. Edgecombe’s growth potentially being stunted as well, which will be an overstatement. Will he have as many on-ball opportunities? Probably not, but he has the rare chance to learn winning habits on arguably the most talented team league-wide. Edgecombe has been about being competitive and winning—not chasing numbers.

Brown is the most interesting aspect of it all, though. He averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game as the Celtics’ first option in 2025-26, calling it the favorite season of his career. This led many to be wary about how thrilled Brown was about returning to Jayson Tatum's second fiddle. But Shams Charania of ESPN reported that he is excited about James and will not have any ego—that’s all anyone can ask for.

Jaylen Brown is reportedly approaching next season with no ego, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/ebgBCRmDJ4
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 28, 2026

Nick Nurse will have all the time in the world to figure out late-game scenarios about who takes the last shot or what closing lineups should be deployed. Could there be growing pains? Sure. But everyone must realize this is an incredible issue to have and if the Sixers’ stars are bought in, everything will be fine.

If Philadelphia reaches the Eastern Conference Finals or beyond, these concerns will all prove trivial. Everyone will be focused on the success this unit could bring Philadelphia for the first time since 2000-01.

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