Ex-76ers Guard Urges Team to ‘Shut Everybody Down’ Amid Struggles
The Philadelphia 76ers have now lost 10 of the franchise’s last 11 games following a 119-102 loss at home to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Philly now sits with a 21-39 record on the season, the sixth-worst record in the NBA. Philadelphia recently announced that they would be shutting star big man Joel Embiid down for the remainder of the season as the former MVP has had a disastrous 2025 campaign with knee issues lingering all season. Fellow 76ers star Paul George recently noted how the team has shown no sign of a squad equipped to compete for a playoff spot, and things have continued to go sour in Philly as the regular season has progressed. With shutting down Embiid, Philly now has shown some openness to potentially tanking their season and keeping their 2025 first-round pick, which currently belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but is top-six protected. Plus now, a former 76ers guard is urging the franchise to give up this disastrous season and prepare for 2026.
Lou Williams, who spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with Philadelphia, recently shared his thoughts on the disastrous season that the 76ers have had, and thinks it’s time to call it quits. Williams recently appeared on “Run It Back,” FanDuel’s flagship NBA show, and shared his thoughts on how Philly should move forward with the season. “Shut everybody down,” Williams said. “Give yourself a chance at the lottery and get ready for next season. This one’s been a disaster.” His appearance on the show came after Philadelphia announced that they were shutting Embiid down for the remainder of the season, hinting at the franchise’s potential decision to essentially throw in the towel. Williams seemed to encourage the decision and, like most Sixers fans, is tired of seeing the utter dumpster fire that’s been the 2024-25 Philadelphia 76ers.
As Philly continues to lose, the team increases its odds of keeping its top-six protected pick in a loaded draft class. The Sixers are now in 12th place in the East and two and a half games back of the Chicago Bulls for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament. The Sixers had a chance to push into the Play-In mix last week with back-to-back home games against Chicago and the Brooklyn Nets, but lost at the buzzer at the hands of Nic Claxton against the Nets and followed that up with a humiliating 142-110 loss to the Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers have won just two games over the past month, and playoff chances are slipping away more and more as the season progresses. Williams is one of many personalities around the NBA who are practically begging the Sixers to shut it all down, and it seems everyone around 76ers basketball is urging Daryl Morey to tank and push forward to 2026.
