Sacrifice Was the Most Popular Word at 76ers Media Day. Will It Define Philadelphia’s Season?

CAMDEN, N.J.— By definition (the Merriam-Webster one, anyway) to sacrifice is to give up or lose something of value for the sake of something else. But everyone’s own personal definition of what it means to sacrifice is different—and how much they’re willing to sacrifice varies drastically, no matter the situation.

In sports, sacrifice and winning are inseparable concepts. This year’s 76ers team will learn that to an extreme degree after Philadelphia’s wild offseason—and it was apparent at media day that the whole roster, from the superstars to role players, understood that.

LeBron James set the tone in myriad ways, as expected, but his most passionate message revolved around sacrifice. What started as a standard exchange on media day gave way to an extended monologue from “The King” in his first appearance in a 76ers uniform, one that emphasized the importance of abandoning individual goals for the greater good.

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“I think with the group of guys, no one mentioned that everybody’s role will probably be different. And that’s for the greater good, if we want to accomplish something that’s really, really important,” James said. “If we say that we want to do something special, there will be a collective sacrificing in a good way. In sports, people hear sacrifice and automatically people start thinking negative about it. It’s not a negative thing.

“You sacrifice one or two more shots that gives you one or two more bursts of energy in the fourth quarter to slide over and take a charge, or give one or two more bursts of energy to grab the offensive rebound for an extra possession to kick out for a teammate or an extra burst of energy to run back on defense and get a chase down block. Some things that don’t show up in the boxscores. So it’s not a negative when people say, O.K., you have to make a sacrifice or your role may change. If we’re trying to do something special, which I believe we are, then that’s a positive.”

It was his most loquacious answer of the day, reflecting both his passion for winning at all costs and his extensive experience in this arena. James has learned the hard way how much he must sacrifice to win over the course of his career; in particular he possesses a deep understanding of what it means to make way for teammates nearly (but not quite as) talented as he in pursuit of a greater goal. He did that to championship-caliber success in Miami, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

Philadelphia will represent a unique challenge in that way, though. Even on James’s best teams there was only one, at most two other superstars who had to sacrifice This Sixers roster has four in LeBron, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey. Four incredible talents with long lists of accolades who have always been the second-best player on their teams at the absolute worst. They cannot go about this season like business as usual. They all have to give up more responsibility, more touches, more opportunities to make room for the other guys—all to a degree they never have before. It requires a complete resetting of expectations and zero room for doubt. Everyone has to buy in.

The role players of the NBA are significantly more familiar with that concept, naturally. The vast majority of the players that make up the league will not be the center of their team’s game plan. Instead a career can only be enjoyed if sacrifice lays at the heart of it, from minutes to shots to moving down the bench so the star can sit in his favorite seat. It is the natural hierarchy of sports and the experience of 99% of all professional athletes.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the most important sentiment about sacrifice came from Anfernee Simons, one of the key reserves for the 76ers this year. He has shared the court with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Brown. Even as an electric scorer in his own right, Simons was quick to acknowledge the need for sacrifice up and down the roster.

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“(Sacrifice) is going to be the word of the year,” he said earnestly to reporters. “There’s going to be some sacrifice from everybody on the team. If we want to be the team to win a championship and to be a great team, that’s what it’s going to take from everybody. It’s going to depend on the game. Some games might be this guy’s night, (that) guy’s night. We’re just going to have to roll with it. As long as we’re winning, as long as we’re rolling, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”

Maybe this doesn’t come as a revelation given the famous names dotting the roster. But it doesn’t change how important it is. And for these Sixers, it is going to be an indelible part of their identity. Because if nobody sacrifices? It’s not going to work. Talent aside, the pieces on this roster don’t fit neatly together like a puzzle. Brown, Embiid and James are all paint-dominant players with poor outside shooting numbers in recent years. Maxey and Brown were both ranked top-15 in usage rate, and most of James’s career has featured him dominating the ball. Everyone is going to be put in uncomfortable spots on the floor at times and must adjust accordingly.

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Ultimately, it’s that kind of sacrifice that will define the year. Not just the willingness to take a backseat but to continue to fine-tune their games in order to find the right balance for this group despite all the success these stars have found doing things their way. Can sacrifice become their version of the 2008 Celtics’ “Ubuntu” rallying cry?

“We have to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” James declared Monday, with a tone that left no room for argument. “That is the best way to expedite being great. You have to fall in love with doing things that’s uncomfortable.”

The air at media day suggests everybody is willing to do so. But intent is only half the equation. Sacrifice has to underline everything the 76ers do all season long. Or it’ll be mighty hard to reach the potential of this star-studded group.

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