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Following the conclusion of the 2023 NBA season on Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and James Harden officially made history. They became the first teammates to lead the NBA in scoring and assists in 41 years.
Embiid finished the season averaging 33.1 points per game while Harden averaged 10.7 assists per game. The last pair of teammates to lead the NBA in both categories were NBA legend George Gervin (32.3 ppg) and teammate Johnny Moore (9.6 apg), who did so back in the 1981-82 season with the San Antonio Spurs.
Embiid also made franchise history, becoming the first Sixers player to lead the NBA in scoring in back-to-back seasons since Allen Iverson, who did so in the 2000-01 (31.1 ppg) and 2001-02 (31.4 ppg) seasons. Embiid, on the other hand, averaged a league-leading 30.6 ppg last season before upping his scoring average to 33.1 ppg this season.
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Embiid is also the first center to secure consecutive scoring titles since NBA legend Bob McAdoo. McAdoo did so three straight years from the 1973-74 season through the 1975-76 season.
However, most fans would agree that Embiid and Harden’s statistical accomplishments will be diminished if they don’t lead to playoff success. Entering the playoffs, the star duo now have a prime opportunity to lead the Sixers past the second round for the first time since 2001.
Joel Embiid and Sixers set for 3 vs. 6 first-round matchup with Nets
The third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers will be taking on the sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs this year. The team’s matchup has been set since Friday when the Nets clinched the sixth seed with their win over Orlando. Both teams have had extra time to prepare. They also got an additional chance to face off against each other on Sunday, however, both teams rested their stars with nothing to play for.
As for their playoff matchup, most analysts would agree that the Sixers have a very favorable first-round opponent. This comes as Brooklyn hasn’t played like a playoff team since trading away stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant ahead of the trade deadline.
The new-look Nets, led by rising star wing Mikal Bridges, have gone just 12-15 since Bridges’ first game for Brooklyn. Their season-long record (45-37) has been buoyed by the cushion they had at the time of the trade deadline. However, if the Nets had their current roster all season, they would likely be a play-in team at best.
In addition, Philly is 4-0 against Brooklyn this season. This includes two games before the deadline and two after. However, one was the Sixers’ reserves' aforementioned 134-105 blowout win over the Nets’ reserves on Sunday.
Nonetheless, assuming Philadelphia stays healthy, they should be able to knock off Brooklyn fairly easily in round one, barring any shocking upset.
