The Philadelphia 76ers have assembled a super team heading into this season. Adding both Jaylen Brown and LeBron James gives them two players with high usage rates. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid also have high usage rates already.
Bringing four players with that high of usage rates has not typically gone well. The old adage “there is only one ball” certainly rings true for this team. ESPN shows why the talent that the Sixers have brought in might struggle to find the right balance.
Having Too Many High-Usage Players Could Doom 76ers
ESPN insiders assembled a table of the 30 teams that had expectations of winning at least 47 games in a season, along with the roster’s career usage rate. All 30 teams had at least a 124% career usage rate going into that season, meaning that players had to sacrifice.
Adding in V.J. Edgecombe and the five starters for the 76ers have a 134% career usage rate. Of the 30 teams with the highest usage rate from the starters, 10 of them made the NBA Finals. Only four of them ended up winning a title, however. That doesn’t bode well for the Sixers.
13 of those teams include James as part of the starting five. 10 of those teams didn’t end up making the NBA Finals. Three of those teams did win the championship. However, James was the best player on each of the teams that did ultimately won a title.
James is at a much different point in his career. He might be the fourth-best starter on the team. His body has started to break down, and he has started to miss games. However, they will be counting on him to play more games than Embiid in the regular season.
Embiid’s lack of health could help skew these numbers in a positive direction for the 76ers. If they have to play a lot of games without Embiid, that will solve some of the usage issues. However, when all five starters are on the court at the same time, sacrifices will need to be made.
The Sixers Must Find Out Who Will Sacrifice Offensively for Team Success
It seems fairly certain that Edgecombe will be the one who has to sacrifice the most, despite a promising rookie campaign. His numbers will likely take a tumble for the next couple of years while James is on the roster. Whether that stunts his long-term growth remains to be seen.
James is reportedly going to be playing a lot of point guard. That means that Maxey’s numbers might take a dip since he is so used to having the ball in his hands. Embiid’s usage rate will likely still be high when he is able to play. Brown is the most durable player in the lineup, so he likely won’t sacrifice much.
Last season, the 76ers had the 16th-ranked offense in the NBA. In order to win a title, these players will have to push that number into the top 10.
History is not on 76ers’ Side as a Super Team