The 76ers were built for playoff success, but they’re closer to the No. 1 draft pick

It would be hard to dispute that the Philadelphia 76ers had a great offseason.

Coming off a disappointing first-round loss to the New York Knicks, the 76ers underwent a makeover in the summer.

They signed nine-time All-Star Paul George — coming off the most efficient shooting season of his career — away from the Los Angeles Clippers. They signed forward Caleb Martin, a role player with experience in major playoff games, away from the Miami Heat. And they re-signed franchise cornerstones Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to extensions, keeping them with the team for the foreseeable future.

Philadelphia, it seemed, was finally built for the kind of deep playoff run that has eluded Embiid — who has never made the conference finals. George once led the Clippers there without Kawhi Leonard. And Martin made it to the Finals with the Heat.Embiid, the face of the team since his debut in 2016, made it clear that the playoffs were the priority. Embiid, a seven-time All-Star and MVP winner, said individual awards were not important to him for this season.

"This year, there’s no agenda — All-Star, All-NBA, there’s none of that," he said before the season. "For basically every single year of my career, I’ve been hurt in the playoffs. I think that’s the goal. It’s all about doing whatever it takes to get there."

While the regular season seemed to be deprioritized, no one expected things to be this bad.

The 76ers have been one of the worst teams in the NBA through Thanksgiving. After an overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Philly has a 3-14 record, second-worst in the NBA. And the team’s net rating, which subtracts a team's defensive rating from its offensive one, is -8.5, the league's fourth-worst.

The issues start with Embiid, or, more specifically, his left knee.After he played with Team USA at the Paris Olympics, Embiid didn’t participate in any five-on-five scrimmages during the 76ers’ training camp, hoping to keep his knee fresh for the season. But then he was ruled out for the team’s first game, and his availability has been spotty. He has appeared in only four of Philadelphia’s first 17 games.

To make matters worse, George missed the start of the season with a bone bruise and has since hyperextended his left knee. He has played in only eight games.

And for the icing on the cake, Maxey has played only 10 games after a hamstring injury cost him time.

Hailed as the league’s newest big three, Embiid, George and Maxey have played only six minutes together all season.

And that will be a long-term concern considering Embiid’s and George’s histories. Embiid has battled multiple issues in both knees throughout his career, while George has played in over 60 regular season games only once since 2020.

In addition to the injury troubles, Embiid and George also haven’t lived up to their standards when they’re actually on the floor.

Embiid is shooting only 37.9% from the field and averaging 19.8 points per game, laboring to make it through his minutes. That’s a massive drop-off from last season, when he averaged 34.7 points on 52.9% shooting.

George has been even worse, shooting 38.3% and scoring 14.9 points a night. Last year, he put up 22.6 points on 47.1% shooting.

On top of all the on-court struggles, the team has been a circus off it.

The league fined the 76ers $100,000 in October for making public comments inconsistent with the status of Embiid’s knee.

Head coach Nick Nurse has been terse with reporters seeking clarity about Embiid’s status.

Embiid was suspended for three games for shoving a local columnist in the locker room after the columnist referred to Embiid’s son and late brother in a column critical of Embiid.

The details of a team meeting after a loss to the Heat were leaked, revealing Maxey called out Embiid for repeatedly being late to team activities. (Embiid is reportedly trying to find the leaker. George, meanwhile, discussed the incident on his podcast.)

The entire season so far, from the moment the ball was actually tipped on opening night, has been a disaster.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Eastern Conference is so uninspiring that Philly may be only one sustained run of normalcy from being right back in the thick of things. Even with their struggles, the 76ers are only 3.5 games out of 10th place, which would give them a spot in the play-in tournament.

Philadelphia does need to decide soon whether it’s going to compete or pack it in, though, because it owes its 2025 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder unless it falls in the top six. That means there’s a scenario in which the 76ers both miss the playoffs and trade away a lottery pick.

If Embiid and George both return to full health, it’s possible these first 17 games are merely a blip on the radar. A core of Embiid, George, Maxey and impressive rookie Jared McCain would be very difficult to go up against in a seven-game series.

But Philadelphia would have to get to the postseason first. And as good as they look on paper, the 76ers so far have been that bad on the court.