76ers Set Embarrassing New NBA Record
The Philadelphia 76ers have now lost its last nine games and 12 of its last 13 after a 105-91 defeat on the road last night to the New York Knicks. It’s been a disaster of a season for Philadelphia as the franchise has been riddled with injuries for the majority of it. All three of the team’s stars, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid have all missed extended time, and George and Embiid have both been shut down for the rest of the season. The Sixers have made 10-day contracts a sort of game as the season’s gone on, signing new player after new player and throwing out whatever jumble of players they could find into a starting lineup. As of today, the Sixers have now set a new NBA record, but not necessarily one the franchise should be proud of. Philadelphia has set a new record for most unique starting lineups in one season at 52. This means that the 76ers have had a different starting five in a staggering 68% of the team’s regular season games. Roster continuity matters, and Philly has had close to none of that through the 2024-25 regular season.
Additionally, last night’s loss to New York marked the 14th straight game for Philadelphia with a new starting lineup. The only other NBA teams to eclipse 40 different starting groups this season are the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Utah Jazz. 21 of the Sixers’ 28 rostered players this season have started and no starting combination has played more than five games together. It truly has been a mish-mash of new faces thrown onto the court all season for Philly. Again, the injury bug that bit the Sixers early on is the reason why. Besides the franchise’s three stars, Jared McCain and Eric Gordon suffered season-ending injuries and only three members of the Sixers’ roster have played 60 or more games in Guerschon Yabusele, Ricky Council IV, and Kelly Oubre Jr.
The bright side to this roster chaos for Philadelphia is that it’s aiding the franchise in continuing to tank to hopefully keep its 2025 first-round pick, which is top six protected. If the pick falls outside of the top six, it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 76ers sit with a 23-53 record with six regular season games to go, good for the fifth-worst record in the NBA, which rises Philly’s chances of keeping its pick astronomically. If Philadelphia finishes with the fifth-worst record in the NBA, its odds of landing the sixth or seventh pick in the draft are 19.6% and 26.7% respectively. If the Sixers finish with the sixth-worst record, those odds go to an 8.6% chance to earn the sixth pick and a 29.8% chance to earn the seventh pick. Again, the magic number is six or higher for Philly to keep its first-rounder in the 2025 NBA Draft. Philadelphia is currently a game and a half ahead of New Orleans for the fourth-worst record in the NBA, which would put the Sixers in even better draft position if the Pelicans jump them. New Orleans has won two of its last three games, so a potential winning streak to end the season could boost Philadelphia’s odds even more.
