The Philadelphia 76ers have yet to fully tap into the tantalizing upside of the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons pairing. The Sixers hope that new head coach Doc Rivers will be able to bring out the best in the star tandem.

The Sixers' sideline boss has expressed a lot of optimism that they can find success with Embiid and Simmons leading the way in Philly. But the one-time champion coach believes they must first have the utmost belief that they have the ability to do something special.

Via David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The world would run out of sterling silver if the NBA handed out Larry O’Brien trophies based on coaches’ preseason opinions of their teams. So take it for what it’s worth when 76ers coach Doc Rivers uses the word “special” in reference to his team’s potential. At the same time, Rivers has taken more than a few jaunts around the block, and he surely knows that the implications of such an adjective extend far beyond the usual platitudes. That he chose to invoke it on Tuesday after the Sixers wrapped up their final practice ahead of Wednesday’s opener against the Wizards is something that is worth noting.

“I think we have to believe it,” Rivers said, “and I think you have to feel special to be special. I don’t think I need to make a forecast or anything like that. I do believe that, though. … We have Ben Simmons on our basketball team, and we have Joel Embiid on our basketball team. And right now, teams that have two NBA All-Stars and two all-defensive players tend to fare well. And so I think we are special in that regard.”

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As Doc Rivers noted, both Embiid and Simmons have the potential to be All-NBA and All-Defensive players with their two-way ability on the floor. Embiid is a beast on the post and is one of the best interior defenders in the league. Meanwhile, Simmons is a dynamo in transition, an excellent floor general, and one of the top perimeter defenders in the NBA.

With those two as the Sixers' franchise cornerstones, there's no reason why Philadelphia can't succeed with them leading the way. Fit issues aside, there's certainly a way they can co-exist and Rivers should be able to help them figure that out. But as the former Coach of the Year said, they must believe in themselves first.