The Philadelphia 76ers could win the “championship” this season
Bedeviled by noise all offseason long, the Philadelphia 76ers kick off the 2023-24 NBA season penciled in by many as a team doomed to reprise its previous finish. While the team remains loaded with talent, the rest of their competitors in the Eastern Conference have loaded up — a stark contrast to the franchise’s current reality.
That being said, the unanimous opinion that the 76ers will still be a force to be reckoned with stands so long as the reigning MVP in Joel Embiid continues his stellar play and Tyrese Maxey continues his growth as a potential All-Star guard. And jumping over context, it’s actually quite easy to see why Philadelphia can win the championship this season.
The Philadelphia 76ers could win the “championship” this season
Just to cover the bases, that last statement isn’t farcical — unless you’ve been living under a rock. That’s because there will technically be two championships to be won this season — the actual one and the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament title.
Philadelphia will be in Group A of the East bracket along with Cleveland, Atlanta, Indiana, and Detroit. On paper, the 76ers (with robust competition from the Cavaliers) should be the favorites to come out of this bracket and proceed to further rounds.
Naturally, rivals Boston, Milwaukee, and Miami could be favored in a matchup with the 76ers, but those would be knockout games. Unlike in the playoffs, a singular contest will decide everything, giving some leg room to those clubs hoping to pull off upsets.
A Western Conference powerhouse will be awaiting the team that comes out in the East bracket, but with the 76ers having posted more wins last season than any team out West, that should give fans some backing about how Philly is still at par, if not better, than their cross-conference counterparts.
Given how it’s still tethered to the regular season, not all teams may be jotting the in-season tournament down as a must-win escapade, but for the Philadelphia 76ers, clinching the inaugural title would mean a lot to the team’s confidence and stability — at least for this year — as they seek to prove themselves yet again to the rest of the league.
