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The 76ers want to leave last season, when they finished with fifth-worst record in the NBA, behind them. Tonight, the start of a new chapter begins, as they’ll tip off the 2025-26 season against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, and for the first time since February, Joel Embiid will play. It’s hard to know whether these Sixers will continue to be the product they fielded a season ago, when Embiid and Paul George spent more time in street clothes than jerseys and Tyrese Maxey struggled to score enough points to produce wins without a consistent costar. However, there’s been a mandate for change and a new identity. Maxey has felt responsible for setting that standard. To do that, the 24-year-old point guard has made an effort to connect with his teammates outside the facilities. And to play freely. And to speak up. “My spirits have to be high for this team and for this organization and for my game as well,” Maxey said. “I think that’s what I’ll do this year, and we’ll be better.” And in case you missed it, Gina Mizell broke down seven questions for the Sixers this season, which include VJ Edgecombe’s impact and Embiid and George’s health status. — Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com. If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here. ❓Can the Sixers be successful without Embiid and/or George playing every game? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter. Brandon Graham is eyeing Week 10 against the Packers as his first game back after the 37-year-old defensive end announced Tuesday that he’s coming out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles. Howie Roseman reached out to Graham’s agent about returning to the team earlier in the season, but Graham wasn’t ready. Then came the news that Za’Darius Smith, whom Roseman signed to help bolster the edge rusher corps, was retiring. It led Graham to reconsider how he would respond if he was approached with another opportunity. Plus, the veteran feels like he has some “juice left.” What do you expect from Graham? We’ve seen in the past — from Reggie White to James Harrison to Tom Brady — that not all unretirements are created equally, and rejoining the NFL doesn’t always mean you pick up where you left off. Forty-five years ago this week, the Phillies won their first World Series. At the center of it all, Michael Jack Schmidt. Schmidt went 8-for-21 with two homers and seven RBIs against the Royals and was named World Series MVP, a crowning achievement in his Hall of Fame career. But he badly needed that performance to change the narrative after several years’ worth of playoff disappointment, individually and for the team. On a recent edition of Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball show, Schmidt discussed how the 1980 Phillies finally got over the October hump. He also shared some thoughts on Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Rose’s potential Hall of Fame candidacy. Travis Konecny had heard enough of the questions about being “snakebit” and the fact that he had no goals through five games. So what did he do? He ended them by scoring his first goal of the season Monday night in the Flyers’ 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken. But while he hadn’t scored until Monday, Konecny’s presence has been felt in other ways, as Jackie Spiegel writes. Speaking of that 5-2 win, the power play wasn’t the only positive for Rick Tocchet’s men. Here are our full takeaways, including a nod to a surprising combatant. Sports snapshot It would be a fitting twist if this was the year the Sixers finally lived up to the hype of the last decade. Daryl Morey has taken the brunt of the blame for the last couple of seasons, mostly because it was his name on the marquee. But for the first time, in a long time, the Sixers have the makings of a team that is, at the very least, a fun team to root for. How well that translate into wins is a different story, writes columnist David Murphy. Who said it? The Sixers are entering this season with confidence behind a younger roster. Which player said this about their mindset? 🧠 Trivia time answer Who is the Phillies’ career leader in postseason RBIs with 33? B) Ryan Howard — Steven A. was first with the correct answer. What you’re saying about Alec Bohm We asked: Should the Phillies follow through on an Alec Bohm trade this offseason? Among your responses: For whatever reason why would you want to trade Alec? He hits, he runs, he fields and he’s a great locker room guy. There are way too many others that should get their walking papers. Kepler, Castellanos,half of the bull pen just to mention a few. We have a good team but just not good enough to beat the Dodgers. Money buys talent and no team will ever outspend them. — Ronald R. I don’t think so, he is still young and once he came back from injury he was great. He should stay, get rid of Castellanos. — Stephanie M. Moving on from the best hitter we have seen in years. We should go all in on him for what he has done. Sucks we will probably lose hm, as money is going to be an issue going into this offseason. — Nicholas C. No. He’s a solid .280-.290, 90 rbi, 15 home run guy who plays a decent third base. Not that easy to replace. — Richard V. The biggest downside of trading Alec Bohm is that it’s questionable if the Phillies would improve themselves with any player in return. I say we stick with Bohm and my hunch is he’ll pay a higher dividend than expected next year. — Peter S. Absolutely not! What is with this obsession with trading Bohm? He’s still young, is a clutch hitter and nowadays .287 hitters don’t grow on trees. With everyone wanting to hit homeruns in today’s game a good contact hitter who can hit for average is somehow considered to be under-performing. The Phillies need to let him know he’s not going anywhere so he can 100% focus on continuing to improve his game instead of worrying about where he’ll be playing it. They also need to re-sign Ranger. The old axiom is true that good pitching beats good hitting and Ranger was one of the best this year. The Phillies are expecting him to get very high offers in the free agent market. There’s a reason for that. He’s a consistent proven winner. Pay him like he deserves and stop bringing in re-treads like Romano. — Bob A. Trading Bohm would be a huge mistake. For his performance on the field and at the plate, he is perhaps the best value on the team. And unlike the big three at the top of the lineup, he didn’t completely choke in the postseason. While he might be extra sensitive when he doesn’t play well, at least he seems to care! No complaining that the game is a grind and he’d rather at be home! Bohm has been - and will be again - an all star. — Beth B. I do not understand why they would even consider trading Bohm. He plays solid defense at third and is a consistent contact hitter. They certainly have issues to address with other players where an upgrade would make sense. — Kathy T. I really like Alec Bohm and think he has greatly improved his fielding over the years as well as becoming a good clutch hitter, but yes I would trade him in any attempt to bring in a power hitting right handed player. Matt Snell and others have shown time after time how vulnerable we are to good left handed pitching. Bohm only played 120 games and had 11 home runs and 59 rbi’s. This team definitely needs more than that from their right handed hitters. — Everett S. We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, Scott Lauber, Olivia Reiner, David Murphy, Jackie Spiegel, Jeff Neiburg, and Jonathan Tannenwald. By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
