The Philadelphia 76ers are entering the 2026-27 season with championship expectations, and team president Mike Gansey believes a healthy Joel Embiid will be at the center of it all.
“Joel is great,” Gansey said in an interview with ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi on Thursday. “This is like the first summer I think in a while that he’s been healthy, so he’s been in the gym working out. He’s been lifting weights. He’s extra motivated. He wants to play a lot of games, and he’s excited about the group we’ve built now.
“Even before these trades and LeBron, I think he was excited. So he’s motivated to have a good year and he’s ready to go.”
Philadelphia’s roster looks dramatically different after adding LeBron James in free agency and acquiring Jaylen Brown in a blockbuster trade, giving the Sixers one of the league’s most talented starting lineups. Gansey believes the challenge will now be making sure everyone sacrifices for the greater goal.
“Any given night, anyone can be the guy,” Gansey said. “So I think sacrifice will be big for us. But Joel is arguably the best and most talented big I’ve ever been around. … He’s going to be a huge piece to our success. We have LeBron and Jaylen, but Joel’s going to be as important as those guys.
“LeBron’s had a lot of usage his whole career, but last year [with] the Lakers with Luka [Doncic] out, he was the guy. Jaylen last year with [Jayson] Tatum out, he was the guy. VJ and Tyrese did a lot outside of when Joel plays or doesn’t play. So everyone’s been used to that for their career, but I think getting them all together, in camp, in practice, they’re all going to benefit from each other.”
One of the biggest questions surrounding Embiid remains his availability after he played just 38 regular-season games last season before battling through multiple injuries during the playoffs.
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