The Philadelphia 76ers are the biggest winners of the NBA offseason this year. Fresh off an appearance in the East Semi-Finals, they added to their star-studded core with moves for Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Anfernee Simons, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Now, with a stacked rotation from top to bottom, most experts predict a massively successful future.
Former NBA point guard Jason Williams, however, is the exception. While everyone else may be ready to crown Philadelphia as the new team to beat, he has doubts they are better than the other elite teams. Notably, he mentioned the Knicks, Heat, and Magic as franchises who will have a better overall season than the 76ers in 2026-27.
“The Knicks are going to be better, Miami is going to be better, Orlando Magic will finish higher than the Sixers. Bulls won’t, Pacers won’t. They’re like 5-6, right in there,” said Williams on the ‘Hoopin’n Hollerin’ podcast.
On paper, the 76ers got better in multiple positions, but Williams is not convinced. He went on to explain that while the Sixers have plenty of talent, it’s not balanced enough to keep up against the true title contenders. In his mind, their defense and rebounding leave much to be desired.
“Are they better off with V.J. off the bench, or trading V.J. and getting rebounding and defense? 76ers are better with Simons and LeBron on the floor as opposed to V.J. and LeBron,” Williams added. “To me, they’re better off trading him and getting defense and rebounding.”
Williams knows what it takes to win at the highest levels. With career averages of 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game on 39.8% shooting from the field, he enjoyed a prosperous career that was headlined by his championship victory in 2006 with the Miami Heat. He played his role to perfection, making his living as a streetball-style playmaker with an explosive scoring burst.
So when he implies that the 76ers will have a worse record than the Magic (who went 45-37 last season), it’s enough to draw serious attention, especially since it contradicts LeBron’s thinking. He specifically chose Philadelphia because he believes they give him the best chance to win. Following the Jaylen Brown trade, you could argue they had the best starting five in the league (including Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and V.J. Edgecombe), and LeBron’s choice only confirms it.
Still, we have yet to see this 76ers team play a game together, and there are questions about how the pieces will fit. Specifically, there are some doubts that V.J. Edgecombe will be able to adjust. After such a promising rookie season, he’s become essential to their success, and it’s possible that adding two proven stars to the lineup could slow or disrupt his development.
Only time will tell how the 76ers perform, but one thing that supports Williams’ argument is how stacked the East has gotten. Between the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Cleveland Cavaliers, it will be a race to the top six, and the teams that can’t keep up will be sorely left behind. For Philadelphia, it means their margin for error is that much slimmer as they look to achieve glory in LeBron’s final run.
