One Historic Statistic Explains Why the 76ers’ 2024–25 Season Fell Apart

Almost every season, the passionate fans in Philadelphia believe they might finally cross the finish line and deliver a campaign to remember. But every time, they fall short of their own expectations, and the 2024-25 season felt worse than ever.

Injuries, as always, were a concern. Joel Embiid’s presence on the court felt like a myth, Paul George never quite found his rhythm, and there was only so much Tyrese Maxey could do on his own. Head coach Nick Nurse was in a constant dilemma trying to field five players almost every other night.

This brings us to a particular statistic that shows just how difficult things were for Nurse and the 76ers, one that contributed to a woeful 24-58 record.

The famed franchise set a league record by trotting out 52 unique starting lineups over the year, according to a tweet from NBA University on X. This broke a previous mark held by the 23-24 Grizzlies. That number tells you immediately that this wasn’t just shuffling off the bench.

Obviously, the reason behind that madness is pretty obvious: the Sixers simply couldn’t keep key guys on the floor. Embiid, George, Maxey, and McCain all missed 30 or more games.

Embiid, in particular, was shut down midseason due to knee issues, appearing in just 19 games before being ruled out for the rest of the year. Each time a player went down, head coach Nurse was forced to dig deeper into the roster and reconfigure the rotation.

The injury woes didn’t stop there. Only two players suited up for 65 or more games, and just three reached the 60-game mark. When your best players can’t stay on the floor, even depth becomes a liability. It’s no surprise, then, that team chemistry was shaky and the results inconsistent.

The Sixers’ offense ranked 22nd in efficiency and their defense 26th, a brutal mix when you can’t rely on your stars. Every night felt like a roster experiment, and the lack of continuity showed.

Will things change for Joel Embiid in 2025?

Heading into the 2025-26 season, Philly is taking a more cautious load-management approach with Embiid, who also slimmed down in the offseason in hopes of preserving his knees. Still, he has never played 70 games in a season.

The question is, will he do it next year? Tim Legler doesn’t think so. The retired NBA star broke down why, even after losing weight, he still thinks Embiid doesn’t make it to 65+ starts.

“He falls too much,” Legler said on the All-NBA podcast. “There’s too many things that go wrong when you’re on the ground as much as he is for a variety of reasons. The guy plays hard defensively, and that’s part of it.”

He’s always going to attack everything at the rim. He gets himself off balance, but he falls a lot offensively, too. He falls five, six, seven times a game. At healthy, he’s like at 60. Unhealthy, he’s like, at 23,” he added.

Now the Sixers head into another offseason filled with familiar questions. Can Embiid stay healthy? Can Maxey continue developing into a true No. 2 option? And can Nick Nurse finally get a full season with his core? There’s still plenty of talent on this roster, but after a year like this, Philly fans are tired of hearing about potential. They want results.