Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz set goals for 2018-19

The Philadelphia 76ers’ core is setting expectations for next season.

Most would consider the Philadelphia 76ers favorites in the Eastern Conference to some extent. Boston and Toronto are both talented teams, but the Sixers will at least be in the conversation. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz are the reason why.

No team in the league has a more talented trio under the age of 25. Embiid has established himself as a top-10 NBA player, dominating both ends of the floor with unrivaled physicality and skill at 7-foot-2.

Simmons will soon join him at that level, standing 6-foot-10 and flashing Magic Johnson-esque court vision. He needs to become a more well-rounded scorer, but the athletic gifts and basketball I.Q. are already in place.

Fultz is coming off the weirdest rookie season in recent memory. The consensus No. 1 pick essentially forgot how to shoot, dealing with a mysterious shoulder injury that limited him to just 14 games. Now he’s entering his second season in hopes of redemption.

At Sixers media day, all three took the podium to announce goals — both personal and team-wide — ahead of the 2018-19 season.

Joel Embiid

Embiid cycled through several different storylines, detailing his excitement entering his first healthy offseason, as well as his disappointment after four brutal losses in the conference semifinals.

The big fella also talked about improving his game, noting that turnovers were a primary focus this summer.

"“It’s all about making the right decisions. I felt like, at times, last season I made a lot of bad decisions. [It’s about] simplifying the game, letting the game come to me … I think that’s going to be the biggest key.”"

As for what would make the season successful, Embiid has one goal in mind: an appearance in the NBA Finals.

Ben Simmons

Simmons made his goals simple, noting that the team should be looking to get past the second round and build on their successful 2017-18 campaign. He also went in-depth on improving his jump shot and rounding out his skill set, which will be important as he looks to reach his ceiling.

"“It’s going to take a lot of time, you know. I’m not going to come in hitting threes this season, that’s not what I’m going to do … there are a lot of little things I’ve got to correct [with the shot], which have just been created by bad habits, which takes time to get away from.I’ve never been on a team where I have to take shots, you know, it’s always been really easy for me to get to the rim, and for me to want to be great, I have to be better at the little things. It’s obviously not going to be an overnight thing … but over time, as things progress, I’ll get better.”"

Simply put, Simmons understands the process behind adding a jump shot. He has already made slight mechanical adjustments, but expecting him to shoot threes in bulk next season is ill-advised. It sounds like he’s more willing to attempt mid-range shots, though.

Markelle Fultz

Fultz might have had the most intriguing interview of the day. He answered several questions about his shot and confidence heading into next season, to which he had positive responses.

"“This summer was really just me working to get my mechanics back, my confidence back, my swagger back, and it was a very productive summer … [Drew Hanlen and I] put up a lot of shots, a lot of hours in the gym and I’m happy with where I’m at right now heading into training camp.”"

He also talked about the adversity he faced last season and his goals heading into year two. He primarily focused on happiness, confidence and contributing to the team, which are proper goals for someone who went through what Fultz endured at 19 years old.

You can keep up with more media day content on the Sixers’ Twitter page.