The Philadelphia 76ers are the early winners of the 2024 Free Agency after they bagged All-Star guard Paul George following PG's release from the L.A. Clippers.
With George, the Sixers will now have a Big 3 of Joel Embiid , Tyrese Maxey, and George, a significant upgrade from their previous trio of Embiid, Maxey, and Tobias Harris. But as the saying goes - 'To whom much is given, much is also required.'
For Embiid, who has been 'given' a third star in PG, that requirement is winning the NBA championship, no less. With that comes pressure, and according to NBA analyst Chris Broussard , it's the most pressure in the NBA right now.
"Embiid is under the most pressure of any player in the league," said Broussard. "Some people might say Dame, but Dame's not an MVP cuz it looks bad, going to Milwaukee, and now they're not good. Dame's not an MVP, though, and he's small. We know, we've talked about only Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry, maybe Gus Williams if you want to give him that with Seattle, have led teams to a championship, and Cousy way back."
No pressure on Dame
Lillard moved from Portland to Milwaukee last season, making the Bucks among the early-season favorites to win it all. But after firing head coach Adrian Griffin midseason, they struggled under Doc Rivers. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers with Giannis unable to play due to injury.
At 6'2", Lillard is listed at the same height as Williams, who led the Sonics to the 1979 NBA title, and Curry, who spearheaded the Golden State Warriors to four championships between 2015 and 2022. Dame is also an inch taller than Zeke, who was the main man on the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons team that won back-to-back titles from 1989-90, and Cousy, who was part of six Celtics title teams.
"So there's no pressure on Dame," added Broussard. "It would be nice if he would win, people would be happy. Yeah, there's some pressure but Embiid? Oh, it is pressure. The clock's ticking, that's number one. He's 30 years old, but he feels more like 35-ish because of his body…Everybody's getting their championship right now. When are you getting yours, Joel?"
Related: "Without Wilt Chamberlain, there might not be an NBA" - Walt Frazier insists Wilt should be the GOAT
The clock is ticking for JoJo
Meanwhile, 2023 NBA MVP Embiid is three years younger than Lillard, but Broussard argues that given his injury history, his body's metabolic age could easily be in the mid-30s right now. With the Sixers adding PG Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon while re-signing Maxey and Oubre, the expectations are very high next season.
With their early free agency moves, the Sixers have climbed the Las Vegas betting boards and now have the second-best odds to win the 2025 NBA championship, with only the defending champions Celtics having shorter odds than them. Embiid has also surged to third in the latest MVP odds boards, behind only Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.
Under Joel Embiid's watch, the Sixers have not made it past the second round of the playoffs. But with George replacing Tobias Harris as the team's third star, it's championship or bust for Embiid next season.
Related: “It’s a bad combo to be statue-less and ringless and oddly also the GOAT” - Kevin Wildes on the current status of Paul George’s NBA career
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