Joel Embiid has spent this summer doing something unfamiliar: staying healthy long enough to actually train.
The Philadelphia 76ers center posted workout clips online this offseason – no dramatic announcement, just a guy in Sixers gear working. The videos circulated quickly. LeBron James, who signed a two-year deal with Philadelphia on August 9 for his 24th NBA season, reacted to one of them on Instagram with a caption that landed harder than most celebrity comments: “Trust The Process!”
76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey confirmed what the footage suggested. “This is like the first summer I think in a while that he’s been healthy,” Gansey told ESPN. “He’s been in the gym working out. He’s been lifting weights. He’s extra motivated. He wants to play a lot of games, and he’s excited about the group we’ve built.”
That group includes Jaylen Brown – traded from Boston in one of the offseason’s biggest moves – who averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists en route to an All-NBA selection last season, and LeBron himself, who posted 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists at 41. Tyrese Maxey runs the point. VJ Edgecombe rounds out a starting five that looks like a problem for everyone else in the East.
Why Embiid’s Health Changes Everything
Embiid averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 2025-26, but missed significant time with injuries. That’s been the defining tension of his career in Philadelphia: when he plays, the 76ers are a legitimate contender; when he doesn’t, no supporting cast is enough.
A body transformation that holds through 65, 70 games changes the math entirely. LeBron doesn’t need to carry the scoring load if Embiid anchors the offense. Brown can operate without being the alpha every night. And Maxey gets the spacing that only a healthy Embiid-at-the-elbow creates.
A Contender Nobody Saw Coming
The New York Knicks are the defending champions. The San Antonio Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama, made the Finals. Oklahoma City is a consensus co-favorite heading into 2026-27. Six weeks ago, Philadelphia didn’t exist in that conversation.
Now it does. If Embiid’s first genuinely healthy summer in years holds through training camp, the 76ers won’t just be part of the title discussion – they’ll be driving it.
“Trust The Process” started as a slogan for a tanking era nobody fully understood. LeBron pulling it out on Instagram in August 2026 has a different weight to it.
