Sixers Roll Out Absurd Superteam Lineup for Season Opener Against Knicks
The Philadelphia 76ers are starting Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid against the New York Knicks, creating a video-game-style superteam for the season opener.
HotTakes Editorial Team2 min read
Finding live odds…

The Philadelphia 76ers are officially rolling out a starting five that looks like a glitch in a video game franchise mode. According to Underdog NBA, Philadelphia will start Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid on Tuesday night.
This is not an All-Star Game fever dream. This is the actual lineup the Sixers are deploying for their season opener against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Sixers will start Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, LeBron, Embiid on Tuesday.'"
Building a roster like this sounds like it was done by a teenager who figured out how to turn the salary cap off. You have LeBron entering his 24th NBA season, Jaylen Brown suddenly wearing a Sixers jersey, and Embiid miraculously listed as fully healthy to start the year.
The offensive firepower here is objectively hilarious. Maxey is coming off a massive campaign where he averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists per game. Throwing him next to two primary creators and a reigning scoring champion means opposing defenses are going to have to pick their poison every single trip down the floor.
Then there is Edgecombe, the young guard who proved he could handle the spotlight during last year's playoff run. He logged heavy minutes against these same Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and now he gets to be the ultimate luxury role player next to four future Hall of Fame candidates.
For anyone staring at the betting board tonight, trying to project player props for this group is going to require a whiteboard and a prayer. There is only one basketball, and figuring out the usage rate hierarchy between LeBron, Embiid, Brown, and Maxey is a puzzle the sportsbooks are going to struggle to solve early on.
The Sixers tip off against the Knicks tonight to officially launch the season. If this superteam clicks immediately, the rest of the Eastern Conference is already playing for second place. If they look clunky, the body language experts on the internet are going to have enough content to last until Christmas.
Key stats
Tyrese Maxey averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists per game in the 2025-26 season.
LeBron James is entering his 24th NBA season.
What's next
The Sixers face the Knicks on Tuesday night, where the basketball world will see if this collection of stars can share the ball effectively or if growing pains will emerge.

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