RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesLeBron James is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers , and they have assembled a team that is as talented as any people can remember in recent NBA history, at least on paper.
In addition to James, they have Tyrese Maxey, one of the game's deadliest and most dynamic guards who averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists a game last season. They have newcomer Jaylen Brown, the five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA wing who was the MVP of the 2024 NBA Finals. And, of course, they have center Joel Embiid, who has won two scoring titles and was named the 2023 regular-season MVP.
There are those who are already proclaiming the Sixers the beasts of the East. But others are preaching patience and even caution, especially since the Sixers have so many new players and no one knows right now how things will turn out.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Byron Scott, who won three NBA titles with the Lakers in the 1980s, knows that Philly's talent won't automatically equal success, and he cited one failure in Lakers history as an example.
“We can go all the way back to the early parts in the 2000s,” Scott said on his “Fast Break” podcast. “You got Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal), and you still got D Fish (Derek Fisher). You still got an unbelievable starting lineup and on paper, everybody said, ‘Oh, they gonna win a championship.’ What happened? They played Detroit Pistons, who was a team. A much better team. A much better cohesive group of guys who wanted nothing more than to win.
“And you had friction on that Laker team with Gary Payton and some of the other guys. And then you had the peacemaker being Karl Malone and then Karl got hurt, which really killed their chances of winning the championship and Detroit went through them four games to one, right? So talent on paper don’t mean a whole lot. It means you got talent, that’s about all it means. It doesn’t mean or guarantee that you going to win the championship.”
When the Lakers signed Malone and Payton in the summer of 2003, the expectation was that they would be heavy favorites to win it all, and some even predicted that the team would win at least 70 regular-season games. But Malone missed a big chunk of the season with a knee injury and was never the same after he returned, and several other key players, including Bryant and O'Neal, also missed time with significant injuries.
That 2003-04 Lakers team also suffered from poor roster construction. It lacked functional depth, and overall, its roster was old and unathletic.
The question with the 76ers may not be about depth or even the fit of its four big stars. It may be about the defensive end, or whether those four stars will each make enough sacrifices, especially on the offensive end. There is also the question of whether the brittle Embiid will be available for enough games, especially in the springtime.
Even if all those questions resolve themselves, there is also the chance that even the optimal version of this Sixers squad simply won't be good enough to get past the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder or the world champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven when it matters most.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Lakers star gives warning about LeBron James' new 76ers squad
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