Sixers leave training camp in the Bahamas with positive vibes and confidence: ‘I think we have it all’

NASSAU, Bahamas — The 76ers, in what was their final day of training camp, had a spirited practice inside Imperial Ballroom A in The Coral at Atlantis.

Music blared, and players could be heard having a good time on Saturday morning as they ran through drills. After four days of practices and team bonding, it was obvious why this team has lofty expectations.

» READ MORE: Paul George believes the Sixers have the potential to be great. That starts with their big three.

“We’re good,” Ricky Council IV said, pinpointing the biggest takeaway from training camp. “We had everything that we needed. I feel like a lot of teams can say that. But I feel like last year one of our main things was like that third punch, at times.

“We knew we had Tyrese [Maxey]. We knew we had Joel [Embiid]. But who was going to be that next punch? Who was going to be that defensive stopper? All those types of things. And I feel like we have all that and some this year.”

He’s right.

The Sixers acquired nine-time All-Star swingman Paul George to deliver that third punch. And based on teammates’ and coaches’ comments throughout training camp, the future Hall of Famer should be as good as advertised.

“So I feel like our depth is good,” Council said. “Our talent is there. We’re going to play hard. So I think we have it all.”

The positive vibes displayed this week aren’t surprising.

Several players began to gel over the summer during workouts in Los Angeles and at the team’s practice facility in Camden. And there was a different vibe from last season’s training camp, when players had to deal with James Harden’s distraction.

» READ MORE: Paul George thinks the Knicks ‘made a splash in an epic way’ with Karl-Anthony Towns trade

Harden vowed in August 2023 to never be a part of an organization that included Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations. Harden did, however, report to last season’s training camp after missing media day in Camden and the first training camp practice at Colorado State University.

No longer having to worry about that, Sixers coach Nick Nurse was asked Monday if the Sixers were ahead of where they were last year heading into training camp. Nurse said he wouldn’t answer until later on in the week.

So he was asked again Saturday.

“I feel like we are way ahead in some aspects, for sure, and most of them, I think,” Nurse said. “I think you’ve got to maybe look back, and it doesn’t really matter why, right?

“But if we are, I think there was more practice time without having to worry about a game.”

Last preseason, the Sixers held training camp at Colorado State from Oct. 3-6, 2023. Afterward, they flew to Boston and practiced on Oct. 7 before facing the Celtics in an exhibition opener on Oct. 8 at TD Garden.

However, on Saturday, the Sixers flew to Philadelphia following Saturday’s practice. They’ll have off Sunday before reporting to shootaround Monday morning. Then the Sixers will entertain the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League that night.

“But I’m really happy,” Nurse said. “I think we got put in a lot of situations that happened organically this week, which, again, I think helped. We bought a big number to camp, which I think helped. I liked the energy, the enthusiasm for the youth. I think that helped.

“Lots of stuff. So, yeah, I’d say it’s a big two thumbs up for sure.”

» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele is ready to ‘bring the energy’ for the Sixers in his second NBA stint

KJ Martin said the biggest takeaways from training camps is that the Sixers have a lot of lineups they can use, depending on the opponent.

He believes the Sixers can feature Joel Embiid and backup center Andre Drummond on the floor at the same time. Martin also believes the team can use him, Guerschon Yabusele, Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin, and Tyrese Maxey for a small-ball lineup.

“There’s a lot of variables that could be used,” he said. “So that was probably the biggest takeaway from camp is just seeing what works and trying it, doing it and seeing what we can accomplish out of the different units and stuff like that.”

In other words, the Sixers found out that they could be more versatile than they even imagined.