Two Finals MVPs in One Summer: How the Sixers Went All-In

I grew up in Camden watching the Sixers break my heart in more creative ways than I thought possible. So understand what I mean when I say I have never seen an offseason like this one in Philadelphia. In a matter of weeks, this franchise added two former NBA Finals MVPs — and one of them is the best player of my lifetime.

The question isn’t whether the Sixers got better. They obviously did. The question is whether they built a contender or an expensive fantasy, and that’s the one worth breaking down honestly.

The move that set the table

Start with the move that set the table. On July 6, the Sixers pried Jaylen Brown out of Boston, sending Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks to the Celtics to get him. Read that again. They turned a 36-year-old Paul George into a 29-year-old, two-way wing who was the Finals MVP just two years ago. Brown is the exact archetype this team has chased for a decade: a big, physical wing who can guard the other team’s best perimeter scorer and get you 25 on the other end without needing the ball in his hands every possession. ESPN graded Philadelphia’s summer an A-minus and called it a top-five offseason in the league, and the Brown deal is the reason why.

Then came the earthquake. On Friday, LeBron James — after publicly flirting with retirement — signed with the Sixers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, calling it his “last decision.” Let’s be clear about what that number means. Eight million dollars for LeBron James is not a market rate; it’s a man taking a massive discount to chase one more ring. Whatever you think is left in the tank at his age, a four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP choosing Philadelphia, at that price, tells you the locker room and the front office sold him on something real.

How the pieces fit

So how do the pieces actually fit? That’s where this gets fun. Tyrese Maxey remains the engine — a downhill blur who punishes any defense that relaxes for half a second, and now he gets to play next to grown men instead of carrying the offense alone. Joel Embiid, when healthy, is still the best true center in basketball, the interior anchor everything is built around. Brown gives them a wing who can create his own shot and defend at the point of attack. And LeBron — even a 41-year-old LeBron — is the connective tissue: the playmaking hub who makes everyone’s life easier.

The front office wasn’t done, either. They signed Anfernee Simons to a two-year, $12.3 million deal — a career 38 percent three-point shooter who put up 14 a night last season. They added Dean Wade for three-and-D forward minutes and Ariel Hukporti for center depth, and drafted Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. at No. 22. That matters more than it sounds, because this team finished 23rd in the league in three-point percentage last year. The single biggest weakness — spacing — is the thing they most directly addressed.

The part a real fan can’t skip

Now the part a real Sixers fan can’t skip, because I’m not here to sell you a parade in July. This entire thing rides on two health charts. Embiid has never given this city a fully healthy postseason, and no amount of star power around him changes that if his knees don’t cooperate. LeBron will be 42 before this season ends, and even the greatest engines lose horsepower. Fitting four ball-dominant scorers together takes sacrifice that looks easy in a press conference and gets hard in February. And they gave up two first-round picks and a Finals MVP-caliber talent in George to do it — if this doesn’t win now, there’s no soft landing.

For the first time in a long time, they built something worth the risk of caring. Around here, that’s how it starts.Samuel Banks

Here’s what I keep coming back to, sitting here in South Jersey where this team is inheritance, not entertainment. For years the knock on the Sixers was that they never went all-in, never took the real swing. This summer they took it. Two Finals MVPs, a discount from the best player alive, and a roster built to win a championship in the next two seasons or not at all. It might break our hearts again — they’re very good at that. But for the first time in a long time, they built something worth the risk of caring.

Contender or expensive fantasy? Tell us where you land on the all-in Sixers.

Based on reporting from ESPN, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NBA.com, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Yahoo Sports, and Bleacher Report.