76ers in significantly better position after learning from destructive mistake

The Philadelphia 76ers have been trusting the process for as long as Stephen Curry has been winning MVP awards and championships. It's a haunting way to provide perspective, but it's the truth about how long the Joel Embiid project has been worked on in Philadelphia.

As Embiid enters his 10th on-court season and the 76ers prepare for the 11th campaign since he was drafted, the front office appears to have finally learned from past mistakes.

When healthy, Embiid has been one of the most dominant players in NBA history. The 2022-23 NBA MVP has won two scoring titles, earned five All-NBA nods, and recently added an Olympic gold medal to his Hall of Fame résumé.

Unfortunately, even a healthy Embiid has faced the reality that the front office has surrounded him with mismatched pieces—no matter how talented they may have been.

It's the brutal reality that seems to have driven the 76ers' last-ditch effort to help Embiid, now 30, win a championship during the remaining years of his prime. More specifically, it's the driving force behind Daryl Morey's stunning shift in roster-building philosophy.

After previously going all-in on stars who all but exclusively excel at playing with the ball in their hands, Philadelphia has seemingly acknowledged the need to move away from those who struggle without it.

76ers finally moving away from players who need the ball to be effective

Past iterations of the 76ers have been built around Embiid and a facilitating point guard. It's an understandable strategy, as dynamic duos such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, and Karl Malone and John Stockton have provided blueprints for sustained success.

Unfortunately, the type of players Philadelphia has brought in have ultimately struggled to help the team get over the hump for a specific reason: An inability to thrive without the ball.

Ball-dominant point guards such as James Harden and Ben Simmons have provided undeniable value, no matter their flaws. Harden is one of the most productive players in NBA history, boasting elite scoring and distributing prowess, while Simmons was one of the best on-ball defenders of his era.

For as profound as their impact could be at times, one of the glaring issues come the postseason was how much Philadelphia struggled to get them going when they weren't playing with the ball in their hands.

The 2024-25 roster has shifted away from that philosophy, with no more profound example of this change than the addition of Paul George. George, much like All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, is one of the best scorers in the NBA.

Unlike Harden and Simmons, however, George has proven capable of thriving in an off-ball role—much as Maxey has showcased the ability to do.

This past season, George shot 45.4 percent on 4.5 catch-and-shoot three-point field goal attempts per game. Maxey wasn't too far behind at 44.4 percent on 3.1 attempts of that same variety per contest, thus giving Philadelphia two elite off-ball shooting threats.

That only scratches the surface of how George and Maxey can complement Embiid in ways Harden and Simmons struggled to, but it speaks to both willingness and ability.

By surrounding Embiid with two star-caliber players who don't need the ball in their hands to be effective, the 76ers have kicked the window back open on their title aspirations. Embiid can now operate within a free-flowing offense rather than a system that prioritizes one player creating for everyone around them.

It's a simple change, but it could ultimately prove to be the key to giving Embiid his best chance yet at reaching the Conference Finals and truly contending for a championship.