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The Sixers have a bona fide big three. How do they match up across the league?

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Basketball

With the addition of Klay Thompson, the Mavs now have a big three of their own with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. But Thompson, a five-time All-Star and Golden State Warriors legend, has lost a step because of injuries.

Meanwhile, the Sixers have balance with Maxey at point guard, George on the wing, and Embiid on the block. George is also in a phase of his career in which he wants to win and play the right way. And the Sixers believe George to be a solid passer who can help with some of the ballhandling duties.

In addition to being a nine-time All-Star, George is a six-time All-NBA selection, and four-time All-Defensive pick. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals this season. He shot a career-best 41.3% on 3-pointers in his 14th season.

Maxey averaged career highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.2), steals (1.0) and minutes (37.5) this season. He scored a career-high 52 points in a double-overtime road victory over the San Antonio Spurs on April 7. Maxey had two other 50-point outings: 51 points in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1 and 50 points in a home win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 12.

And, when healthy, Embiid is arguably the league’s best player. He has averages of 27.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 3.4 turnovers in 488 career games. Embiid is a two-time scoring champion, five-time All-NBA selection, three-time All-Defensive pick, three-time Eastern Conference player of the month and 12-time player of the week.

 

But he has missed 336 games — the equivalent of four seasons — since being selected third in the 2014 NBA draft. And his health could be the Sixers’ biggest Achilles’ heel.

This past season, he averaged 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks while playing in just 39 games as he battled a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Injuries aside, he’s one of the NBA’s rare annual MVP candidates. When you combine that with Maxey’s up-and-coming stardom and George’s elite two-way status, one has to strongly consider them as one of best trios.

But again, we’ll have to wait and see because of the unknowns.


©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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