Fantasy Basketball Breakouts, Busts, And Locks - Philadelphia 76ers

October 13, 2023

Alex Fischbein looks at the fantasy basketball breakouts, busts, and locks from the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2023-24 NBA season.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another installment of fantasy basketball breakouts, busts, and locks! This series aims to point out one or more players that fit the role of an emerging fantasy contributor, one failing to meet expectations, and one that is a surefire value that you can count on. Sometimes there are obvious signs that point to one of these three categories, but most of the time each player shows subtle details. That's where RotoBaller comes in to help!

The Philadelphia 76ers still could look very different at some point this year. James Harden is the big domino that has yet to fall. When we finally figure out what happens with that strange situation, it could bring a plethora of fantasy implications along with it. So, what we're going to do is take a look at the team and how it's currently constructed.

So, let's get to those breakouts, busts, and locks for the Philadelphia 76ers!

Philadelphia 76ers Fantasy Breakout - Tyrese Maxey

Look, everyone is well aware that Tyrese Maxey is an excellent basketball player by now. I'm not going to parade him around as if he's all of a sudden going to be good this season when he already has done that. This breakout is one that sees him ascend into a legitimate co-star and a player who can contribute in multiple facets of the game.

As mentioned before, James Harden is a big domino that needs to fall. If he does get shipped out to the Los Angeles Clippers, or any other team, that only increases the value of Maxey. For argument's sake, let's say that Harden somehow works everything out with Daryl Morey and stays on the team. Well, Maxey still has to improve if this team is going to take another step and get out of the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The 22-year-old has spent three seasons in the league so far and he's improved his scoring output each time. Last year, he averaged 20.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 48.1% from the floor and 43.4% from deep. This happened while playing as the third option behind both Harden and Joel Embiid.

Enter Nick Nurse, a new scheme, and remove Harden from the equation since reports suggest that he won't be taking the floor until he's traded. Doors are now open for Maxey to take on the lead guard role. He can score at every level on the floor, which makes him an even bigger threat in the pick-and-roll. When Harden isn't dribbling the air out of the ball every possession, it affords more opportunities for Maxey to get out into transition and use his speed as a weapon in more ways than just scoring.

Let's also not forget that Nurse preaches defense in his basketball philosophy, which is the biggest part Maxey needed to improve. What all of this means is that everything is primed for Maxey to make a leap into the upper echelon of fantasy players and join the top 50 or even top 40, instead of hovering around the good-but-not-great barrel.

Philadelphia 76ers Fantasy Busts - Mo Bamba and Kelly Oubre Jr.

One of these two names is likely less surprising than the other for most people. Both of them, however, have been hyped up as quality signings by the 76ers. Two things can be true though: they are good signings and they are bad for fantasy basketball.

Mo Bamba is currently in a position battle for backup center behind Joel Embiid. Paul Reed is going to receive more minutes and reports have said that he'll even play with Embiid at times. That leaves P.J. Tucker, Tobias Harris, Filip Petrusev, and even Kelly Oubre Jr. as potential pieces that could slot into the power forward role at any given time. That doesn't equate to enough opportunities to make him a worthwhile fantasy asset.

Through two of their preseason games, Bamba has played 15 and 16 minutes, respectively. In 17.0 minutes per contest with the Orlando Magic, he averaged 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game. All of those took a dip when he was moved to the more competitive Los Angeles Lakers and he saw just 9.8 minutes per game. While he'll probably see a bit more time than that, fantasy managers shouldn't expect his output to increase enough.

Then, we get to Kelly Oubre Jr., who's always an enticing fantasy player due to his three-point shooting and scoring in general. He was an excellent plug-and-play streamer who probably jumped between half of the teams in every fantasy league, especially when it comes to point formats. Once he joined the 76ers, however, that outlook changed very quickly.

20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 2.3 threes, and 1.4 steals per game is a stat line that will make any fantasy manager jump for joy if they're getting it from one of their late-round or waiver wire additions. That happened to also come with Oubre's biggest usage percentage in his career. In his 48 games, it hovered at 26.5%, which is not going to happen with the talent that the Sixers have compared to the Hornets.

Just let both of these guys live on the waiver wire until something drastic happens to the Sixers roster.

Philadelphia 76ers Fantasy Lock - Joel Embiid

Here we are at the no-brainer pick of the day! By now, everyone should know that Joel Embiid is a must-roster and must-start every time he's on the court.

Embiid is ranked in the top three, top four at the very least, in every fantasy format heading into this year. We're talking about a center that led the league in scoring the past two seasons, won the league MVP last year, and boasts averages of 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks while knocking down 54.8% of his 20.1 shots per game. These are video game numbers!

Now, he's entering a season where the team needs him to put up similar numbers with Harden's status in flux while playing in a new system that promotes moving the ball around. Embiid even said himself that he would like to get his teammates more involved, so adding some assists into the mix could make him even more valuable.

Be on the fun side of an Embiid free-throw fest and lock him into your roster!

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