After concluding their most disappointing season in franchise history, the Philadelphia 76ers were bound to receive heavy criticism in the next few months. Because Philadelphia’s supposed big three only played 15 games together, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George’s stocks have plummeted heading into the offseason. However, The Ringer’s latest iteration of the top 100 players of the 2024-25 season has taken the disrespect to a new level.
Tyrese Maxey (39th)
Maxey was ranked 39th described as a “bullet train-fast guard trying to make the leap from spark plug to star.” That’s a fair analysis, although many would rightfully argue that he’s much more than a spark plug at this point in his career. The real controversy stems from the fact that players such as Derrick White and Ivica Zubac were ranked ahead of him. While both players made valuable impacts on their teams’ respective success, neither has the floor-raising ability that Maxey possesses.
If someone wants to rank Maxey as a top 35-ish player, that’s fine since he had somewhat of a down season in terms of efficiency. However, it’s essential to realize how much of a burden he had to carry for long stretches of the season with Embiid and George going in and out of the lineup on what felt like a weekly basis. Granted, Zubac had a career year and White is one of the best supporting players in the NBA, but if you inserted them in Maxey’s situation, Philadelphia is finishing with even less than 24 wins.
Joel Embiid (84th)
The most enraging placement is that of Embiid, who was ranked as the 84th best player this season. If injuries are going to impact this list, which I presume they did, then there has to be a games-played requirement. If there isn’t, that’s when inferior players such as Christian Braun, De’Andre Hunter, Josh Hart, and more have a higher ranking than someone who looked like the best player in the world a little over one year ago.
The Ringer detailed Embiid as “a former MVP winner whose career has been derailed by injuries.” Unfortunately, this is an accurate description of his disastrous 2024-25 campaign. I’m not claiming Embiid played at a high level this season, but due to his circumstances, there’s no logical way he should’ve been eligible to make this list. Assuming Embiid is as healthy as can be next year, he’ll surely catapult his way into the top 20-25 at minimum.
Paul George (90th)
Injuries and underwhelming production also impacted Paul George, who was placed 90th. The Ringer noted him as “the template for the modern two-way wing, in a fight for his NBA life against rapid decline.” This is yet another brutally accurate description of one of Philadelphia’s core players, but despite his disappointing season, this ranking feels a bit low. Some notable players put higher include Tari Eason, Brandon Ingram, and Alex Caruso.
Again, if availability is seemingly a factor, then why include a player like George at all, who was limited to 41 games this year due to a series of lingering injuries? While players likely don’t put much stock into these lists, nor should they, this was truly a wake-up call for how deeply the 76ers have fallen from whatever grace they had within the past year.