Category: Sixers/NBA

For the first two days of 76ers training camp, coach Nick Nurse was installing defensive concepts. This was especially exciting for Nurse, whose eyes lit up when talking about what this roster allows him to do on that end of the floor.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been able to get into my bag of defensive stuff nearly as much as I would like to,” Nurse said of his previous years as Sixers coach. “And I think now we’ve got a little bit more depth, size, athleticism. It may take us a minute, but I think I’m most excited about that.”

A young, inexperienced team might not have the bandwidth to execute multiple coverages like switching one through five, drop coverage, or a high wall without some miscommunication and needing an extra beat to remember which is the current coverage.

A team lacking size and athleticism limits the kinds of coverages that could be deployed for the sake of ending up in unfavorable mismatches. What the Sixers seem to have is a good mix of that experience, athleticism, and basketball IQ to make it all work.

That they don’t have to just play one way throughout the course of a game, and Nurse can do different things with different lineups and match up better against specific opponents.

“We have so many defenders and athletes and good players that can do so many different things; we can really go deep inside the playbook and rotations and do things that other teams really don’t have the ability to do,” forward Dean Wade said. “That’s what’s going to separate us on the defensive end, too. We have so many great defenders, great help side defenders and great on-ball defenders.”

The Sixers were 17th in defensive efficiency a season ago, which speaks, perhaps, to the limited upside of what Nurse could do, especially with Joel Embiid only playing 38 regular-season games. But even when Embiid does take off games to maintain his health, the Sixers have a deeper roster that should still give them flexibility on defense. Wade figures to play a significant part in the team’s defensive success off the bench, while VJ Edgecombe said he will continue to burnish his reputation as a point-of-attack defender after getting “faster and stronger” from where he started a season ago.

“I’m just trying to make sure I’m in top-tier shape so I can do that,” Edgecombe said. “Obviously, that’s important. The league is full of great guards. And, like you said, that’s important to be that point-of-attack defense because that’s what kind of starts it with most of the possessions. And I want to be able to set that tone for us defensively, and we go from there.”

Then there’s LeBron James, who still can dial up the intensity defensively when needed. James relayed Monday that Tyrese Maxey previously said Jaylen Brown also was taking on primary defensive responsibilities and trying to set a defensive tone.

“What’s stood out to me so far is his communication and he’s willing to pick up the ball defensively, kind of just do whatever coach needs him to do right now,” Maxey said.

Brown mentioned Thursday that he was getting used to the terminology the Sixers use. One thing that might mean a certain coverage when he was in Boston might mean something different with the Sixers.

“It’s just getting him through it and getting him comfortable,” Nurse said. “I think we’ve covered a lot and probably calmed down on putting more stuff in and really started repping this out, so everybody gets comfortable with what the plays are called.”

The more Nurse can take out of his “bag,” the more versatility the Sixers can have defensively.

Up and down the roster, the Sixers have talked about the importance of that side of the ball. Nurse mentioned on Day 1 that James was “extremely loud” on defense, trying to set an example for the rest of the roster, while Brown said, “We’re focused on defense for a couple days, and I like that because that’s where the game is going to be won or lost.”

The 76ers’ practice court was empty as the team began to cycle through interviews following their second day of training camp Wednesday afternoon.

Then, a shirtless Jaylen Brown emerged for an individual workout with new assistant coach Phil Handy, plus a player development coach bumping Brown as the All-NBA wing executed post-up moves.

Teammate Tyrese Maxey still used the term “foreign” to describe how it must feel for Brown to be inside the Sixers’ facility.

After spending his first 10 NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics, where he developed into a five-time All-Star and Finals MVP, Brown in July was shockingly traded to the Sixers team he was “trained to hate, probably,” Maxey said. The timing was particularly “crazy,” Maxey said, after the Sixers’ dramatic seven-game, first-round playoff upset of the Celtics less than five months ago.

“I feel like I’ve played against Jaylen so many times,” said Maxey, an All-NBA point guard who is entering his seventh season with the Sixers. “But when you’re with somebody every single day, it’s different.”

Brown is coming off his best individual season, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while star teammate Jayson Tatum recovered from Achilles surgery. Maxey said he has immediately been impressed with Brown’s communication and willingness to guard the ballhandler. Maxey also called Brown an “awesome cutter,” a valuable skill on a team with several top-notch ballhandlers and shot creators.

And, physically, Maxey called Brown a “freak of nature.”

“He’s just stronger than you,” Maxey said. “He jumps higher than you. He’s faster than you, and he’s very talented. Those are the things that you see every single day.”

Asked to clarify if that meant Brown is faster than Maxey — who is regarded as perhaps the NBA’s speediest player — he quipped, “Nah, no chance.”

“I wasn’t talking about me,” Maxey said.

Sixers ready to run

Media attending the Sixers’ first two practices did not get an in-person glimpse of all-time great LeBron James partaking in any team or individual on-court work. But the Sixers’ social media team posted a video clip from Tuesday’s session of a fastbreak that began with the ball in Maxey’s hands, before he kicked it to James, who then found VJ Edgecombe for an alley-oop dunk.

“I was on their team [with the starters], it was so fun to play,” new forward Dean Wade said. “I played against them when they were in that flow, and there was nothing you [could] do. It’s unbelievable.”

The immediate success with — and emphasis on — the transition game is no surprise. Last season, the 41-year-old James led the NBA in fastbreak points (5.7 per game), while Maxey was third (5.5 per game). Brown ranked 14th, at 3.6 per game. And Edgecombe is regarded as one of the league’s more electric athletes.

So coach Nick Nurse already has been sending a consistent message of “pitch it ahead,” Maxey said.

“I dribbled a little bit more [last season] than I probably will this year,” Maxey added. “So I’m just trying to get it ahead, no matter what, or I’m trying to run ahead or I’m trying to figure it out.”

Last season, the Sixers ranked ninth in fastbreak points, at 16.9 per game. Getting into the open court is a way for the team to capitalize on forced turnovers, one of Nurse’s prime defensive philosophies. It also is a way to get easy buckets even while figuring out offensive schemes and roles, now with a loaded roster featuring four players who have been All-Stars and offensive focal points in their careers.

Those open-court opportunities still come with nuance. Maxey said he has spent these early days learning where new teammates want the ball in such scenarios, or who might pull up for a three-pointer.

“And then, at the end of the day, we also have No. 21 [Joel Embiid] trailing in,” Maxey said. “So that’s a pretty good option, too.”

Embiid ‘looks amazing’

The Sixers’ biggest positional question mark entering 2026-27 has been shorthanded at the start of training camp.

Adem Bona, the Sixers’ backup center for most of last season, has been nursing a sprained foot sustained while playing for the Turkish national team during the summer. The 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract and a contender for the team’s final two-way deal, had a hip issue that took him out about midway through Wednesday’s practice, Nurse said.

Not on the injury report? Embiid, a noteworthy tidbit given the former MVP’s injury struggles in recent seasons.

Embiid arrived at Monday’s media day noticeably slimmer and said that he was finally able to work on his game during the offseason. Maxey added Wednesday that Embiid, his longest-tenured teammate and close friend, has looked “amazing” — and happy — during initial practices.

“When you’re healthy and you’re happy and you’re at peace with your life and basketball,” Maxey said, “that’s when you’re at your best. He’s been great. He’s Joel.”