Philadelphia 76ers
No surprise here. The Philadelphia 76ers bursted onto the scene last seasons in which they made the huge jump from 28 to 52 wins and an Eastern Conference Semifinals appearance. Even though they lost to the Celtics, with relative ease, in the second-round of the playoffs, this Sixers will certainly build off last season’s success.
Even though Philly is relatively young, or at least their core, they have already proved they’re not your everyday inexperienced team. Even without that “veteran leadership” – with the exception of J.J. Redick – the team played a lot like a seasoned squad when it mattered most.
Joel Embiid is probably the best center in the NBA already, and has a limitless ceiling. If Ben Simmons ever develops a consistent jump shot, he’ll even draw deeper comparisons to LeBron James.
Oh, and they managed to accomplish all that without Markelle Fultz even being in the rotation. If he even offers just the tiniest of production, this team automatically gets better. Insane.