If it isn’t already clear, the Philadelphia 76ers have not had a great start to the 2025 season.

At 3-14, it’s the Sixers second worst team in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA. To make matters worse, the Sixers owe the Oklahoma City Thunder a top-six protected pick in 2025, thanks to the Al Horford trade. It’s been bad enough that the thought of throwing the season in hopes of keeping the pick has already been addressed.

It’s fair to say the Sixers’ hopes of getting a high seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture are all but out of the question. That doesn’t mean the Sixers’ hopes of making the playoffs aren’t completely dashed. In fact, it seems that despite the struggle, the Sixers are not panicking.

Sixers Will Keep Things As They Are (For Now)

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported that despite their poor start, The Sixers won’t start tanking in hopes of keeping their pick in the loaded 2025 NBA draft.

“Sources told ESPN they don’t expect Philadelphia to turn to an all-out effort to keep their pick, especially after an opening month when Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have played six minutes together,” Bontemps wrote.

It’s really hard to judge the Sixers because their best players have literally barely played together. What makes it more difficult, however, is that when George and Embiid have played, they haven’t looked like the players they once were. Given their injury rap sheet and performance thus far, there is some cause for concern.

Obviously, the Sixers aren’t worried about their play just yet and plan to keep this core together going forward.

Even if the Sixers can keep things the way they are, if they continue to play at this rate in January, it might be hard for them not to consider throwing in the towel. Good for them to stick to their guns, but there has to come a point where they realize they can’t stick to them for too long.

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