The Sacramento Kings snap the Philadelphia 76ers’ four-game winning streak on Thursday after a late surge by De’Aaron Fox to come back from behind and seal the win. Although Philly lost a matchup they could have won, given that they were up big in the final five minutes, Sixers fans are still glad about their team’s performance in the past month.
8-4
In the last 12 games, the Sixers have won 8 games while only losing 4. In comparison, their first 12 games of the season were a nightmare, winning only 2 out of 12. At the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season, the Sixers became the laughingstock of the league with Joel Embiid not wanting to play back-to-backs and Paul George getting injured again.
Their last few games showed how great they can be, especially when Embiid is on the floor and when he puts his 100%. Although they’re still far from getting a spot in the playoffs as they are currently in the 11th seed in the East, people can’t deny how much they’ve recovered from being 2-10 to now 13-18.
37, 32, 27
Embiid’s last three outings showed his impact on the Sixers. The 2023 MVP scored 37 against Portland on December 31st, 32 points against Utah, and a 27-piece against Boston.
All of those resulted in a win, and when he didn’t play against Sacramento, it went downhill and eventually snapping their four-game winning streak. This only meant one thing—Philadelphia needed Embiid to win. The Sixers’ meltdown against the Kings, despite George and Maxey tearing it up on offense, definitely proves that point.
118-114
On the day after Christmas, the Sixers faced their biggest adversary in the East—the Boston Celtics. However, Embiid, George, Maxey, and Caleb Martin overcame the firepower of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It’s one of their best games this season and showed that they can still compete at a high level if they’re healthy.
Bottom Half
Even with the roster they have now, the 76ers are surprisingly in the bottom 5 in terms of offensive and only 15th in defensive rating. On paper, they look trash, but that does not tell the whole thing. Winning 7 of their last 10 games just shows that they can negate the stats.
Maxey and McCain
The future of the Philadelphia 76ers is bright. With Tyrese Maxey breaking out as a star and Jared McCain probably going to be rookie of the year, they already have two of the best studs in the game. Although McCain is out due to a meniscus tear and this could be a setback to his first year in the league, he’s going to be a threat once he recovers.
