Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are currently trying to find a way to break past the second round barrier that has spelled their downfall in several recent postseasons. Perhaps the closest the Sixers ever got to the conference finals in the Embiid era was during the 2019 season, in which the Sixers lost on a heartbreaking Kawhi Leonard buzzer beater in Game 7 of the semifinals.

Recently, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas spoke on his Gil's Arena podcast about that Sixers team and just how close they were to breaking through.

“[Sixers] had Jimmy [Butler], [Joel] Embiid, Tobias [Harris], JJ Redick was still there, and Ben Simmons,” said Arenas. “… That was your championship team… From there it just went downhill.”

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Although the Sixers have returned to the conference semifinals multiple times since 2019, including Game 7 of that round on two occasions, they arguably haven't had a more talented locker room than that squad in the years since. Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons were never going to be a hand-in-glove fit with one another, but that still didn't stop a sour taste from being left in Sixers fans' mouths after the Leonard buzzer beater did them in.

Now, the Sixers are firmly entrenched beneath the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference hierarchy, despite Embiid's recent MVP campaign. The team is currently dealing with trade drama surrounding guard James Harden. The Sixers are slated to tip off the 2023-24 campaign against the Bucks on October 26.