With the Boston Celtics set to once again be the top team in the eastern conference next season, we have been ranking the team’s biggest foes in the East over the last few weeks. If the Celtics are going to return to the finals, they will first need to take care of business closer to home.
The bottom of the conference will be tanking all season to try to land Cooper Flagg in the 2025 draft. There will be a healthy middle class of teams that probably have a limited ceiling, but will do what they can to compete with the Celtics when the playoffs roll around. Only a select few clubs should really be considered risks to Boston’s title aspirations. And of that group, one team has the right blend of talent, scoring, and defense. At the top of our list of the toughest competitors the Celtics will fast in the East next season, we find the Philadelphia 76ers.
Let’s look at why the Sixers will be so formidable during the 2024-25 season and how they match up with Boston.