The 76ers have started strong thanks to a weak early season schedule and impressive production out of their starting backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. A reasonable case could be made for Maxey as the NBA's MVP so far, as the guard is averaging over 34 points, nearly five rebounds, over one steal, and one block per game, and a three-to-one assist to turnover ratio so far in his sixth season.
His rookie running mate, V.J. Edgecombe, adds a scoring punch and superstar athleticism while relieving some of the pressure to run the offense. The potent pairing have propelled the 76ers to an unexpected hot start, and the NBA media has started to take notice. Philadelphia has improved in numerous national power rankings, ranging from barely entering the top half of the league, in a probable play-in spot, all the way to the third spot and vaunted status as a championship contender.
76ers get some early love from various NBA power rankings
NBA.com had the 76ers listed at 18th heading into the year and as the eighth ranked eastern conference team. As the third week of the season kicked off, Philadelphia had risen to the 15th ranked team behind only five other eastern teams. These rankings accurately addressed the looming threat of future shooting variance, as so far the 76ers "have outperformed their shot quality (which ranks 28th, according to tracking data)." Should the 76ers shoot worse or their opponents shoot better, more losses might start piling up.
USA Today and NBC Sports both have the 76ers climbing to the 10th spot, although Vaughn Dalzell of NBC Sports wrote that were they to lose to Chicago this week, (they did) he would retroactively drop Philadelphia out of the top ten. Lorenzo Reyes, of USA Today, also mentioned the recent blown lead to the Bulls, though only as the reason the 76ers fell down to ten, not as a reason to drop them further.
ESPN's NBA insiders ranked the 76ers 6th overall, moving up three spots from their previous listing. Tim Bontemps even wrote that so far "Edgecombe is making all of the pain of last season's miserable campaign for the 76ers worth it." That lofty claim may prove accurate should Edgecombe sustain his early season form throughout his rookie campaign.
Two sites ranked Philadelphia in the NBA's top five teams, more or less confirming their status as November Contenders, whether or not that will remain true come playoff time. The Score's editorial team ranked the 76ers 4th, although they commented on Embiid's early struggles in the team's description. Ian Levy, of Yahoo Sports and Fansided, ranked Philadelphia 3rd overall and 1st in the East, behind only Oklahoma City and San Antonio, maintaining their spot from the previous week.