Ranking the 5 teams most likely to win the 2019 NBA Finals

4. Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid is just scratching the surface of his potential now that can stay on the court, Ben Simmons just submitted one of the finest rookie seasons in NBA history and this young Philadelphia 76ers team just reached the second round of the playoffs in its first “fully healthy” season together.

The Process is in full swing now, and what’s scary is it got approximately zilch from the most recent No. 1 overall draft pick, Markelle Fultz (who is the only reason “fully healthy” came in quotation marks). Dario Saric is one of the league’s most underrated players, Brett Brown tells the happy story of a coach who gets to see a rebuild through, and if you surround this core with 3-point shooters, there’s no telling what it can accomplish with another year under its belt.

Whilte it’s alarming that floor-spacers intrinsic to Philly’s success like Marco Belinelli, Ersan Ilyasova and especially J.J. Redick are free agents this summer, the Sixers will have a fair amount of cap space to reload with, starting with the biggest fish in the free agency pond.

There are questions about how LeBron James would function on a team whose second-best player is also ball-dominant and can’t shoot outside of the painted area. There’s too much talent for it to not work, but even King James’ improved touch from the outside hasn’t turned him into a catch-and-shoot marksman, and anytime the ball were in James’ hands, Simmons would immediately become an offensive liability.

With that being said, even if LeBron didn’t join perhaps the scariest courter for his services in the East, the Sixers — barring more injury setbacks — are on a rapid upward trajectory. They’ll probably be in the running for other star free agents if they don’t get LeBron too. (Paul George? Kawhi Leonard trade?)

If they can retain (or adequately replace) Redick, this versatile, young core could take massive steps forward sooner than anyone’s expecting.