2. Tyrese Maxey
Tyrese Maxey broke out last season en route to a Most Improved Player plum. Not playing under James Harden's shadow anymore, he quickly thrived as the 76ers' lead guard and turned in a wildly impressive campaign depsite adjusting to a full-blast point guard role –– something he never fully assumed before.
With another All-Star season in the cards and a new max contract behind him, Maxey will remain as Philadelphia's resident Robin. Even better, he still has a lot to improve as a playmaker, and should he fully realize that part of his game, the 76ers should be in for a hell of a treat this season.
1. Joel Embiid
Coming off a very productive summer as part of the US delegation in Paris that won gold, Joel Embiid is poised to approach the season while firing on all cylinders. He was easily the favorite to win Most Valuable Player last season before coming down to a knee injury, and as long as health permits, he's pretty capable of bagging his second MVP trophy with the 76ers expected to win more during the regular season.
There are urgent calls for the coaching staff to shave off a chunk of his minutes and responsibilities on both ends, but even a reduction in minutes may not be enough to throttle him numbers-wise. He sat out a lot of fourth quarters last season due to his dominant play, and should the 76ers be in the position to afford that luxury, they could be hitting two birds with a stone by resting their best player while still handily winning games.