RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe Philadelphia 76ers figure to be at or near the top of the Eastern Conference after a busy offseason that brought in Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and a slew of others to join Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe on a talented roster. The Sixers now have one of the best rosters in the league and should be contending for a title in the upcoming season.
That doesn't mean it will be a walk in the park. The East is tough with a number of teams that have the talent to reach the finals. The New York Knicks are the defending champs. The Detroit Pistons won 60 games. The Indiana Pacers are getting Tyrese Haliburton back from injury. The Miami Heat have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. The Toronto Raptors acquired Kawhi Leonard and so on, and so on.
With that being said, the Sixers should still be at the top of the East. However, when asking former champion Jason Williams, he isn't buying the Sixers:
The Knicks are going to be better. Miami is going to be better. Orlando Magic will finish higher than the Sixers...Atlanta will finish higher.
Please be advised that the clip below contains language that some might consider offensive.
“The Knicks going to be better, Miami is going to be better, Orlando Magic will finish higher than the Sixers.” - Jason Williams (h/t @NBA__Courtside ) pic.twitter.com/WFZb5SWImp
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 28, 2026 One has to wonder if Williams is just trolling, but he does have a point about a team like the Knicks, for example. That's a team that has been together through all of the playoff wars and just won a championship. The Sixers will have to eventually match up with them in terms of chemistry and such.
However, the Magic is a big stretch. Orlando has a ton of talent led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and have a new coach in Sean Sweeney, but that duo has yet to really figure it out. They probably have more chemistry, but the Sixers are the supremely talented team. It's hard to really envision the Magic finishing ahead of the Sixers in the 2026-27 season.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Former NBA champion has Magic, other teams finishing ahead of Sixers
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