The Sixers' new strategy is turning fans against them
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Joel Embiid. Photo: Chris Coduto/Getty Images
A new Sixers strategy is deflating fans' spirits — and ticket prices.
Why it matters: The promising trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey had Philadelphia buzzing at the start of the season. But the stars are sitting out, fans are howling, and season ticket holders are paying the price.
The big picture: The Sixers (2-10) are deploying a load-management strategy for injury-prone Embiid and George in an attempt to keep them healthy.
- That means Embiid and George likely won't play two nights in a row — often sitting out the second game of a back-to-back.
Case in point: Embiid made his long-awaited season debut last week against the Knicks.
- But neither he nor George nor Maxey suited up for the team's next-day home game against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers.
The intrigue: Fans are aware of the pattern. Several season ticket holders tell Axios they can't resell their tickets on the secondary market or are hawking them at steep losses every time the team's dynamic trio isn't in the lineup.
🤯 Stunning stat: An average ticket to last week's Cavs game sold for $46, a Vivid Seats spokesperson told Axios.
- That was 55% cheaper than the average home ticket price this season ($103).
What they're saying: "The math isn't mathing," Bryan Woodward, a longtime season-ticket holder, tells Axios.
- Woodward fetched a $12.50 resale price for a pair of tickets to last week's Cavs game. He usually gets about $40-$50 per ticket for games he can't attend.
- Instead of selling them next time, the sports card shop owner says he's giving them away to customers.
Tracey Ulrich-Matalon, a season ticket holder since 2019, pays about $26,000 a year for season tickets behind the Sixers' bench — one of the high-end sections where fans are waited on hand and foot.
- She attends most games but has sold tickets in the past for between $800 and $1,500. The times she tried to sell them this year? No interest.
"The mood has definitely shifted," Ulrich-Matalon tells Axios, noting that she attends most games to make the most of it.
- "It feels like, 'God, I have to keep that night open.'"
Driving the news: The Sixers' star trio hasn't played together all season — and that's unlikely to change Monday against the Heat. Maxey is still nursing a strained hamstring, and Embiid is questionable with an illness.
Catch up quick: Embiid was held out at the beginning of the season to give him more time to rest his balky knee.
- The NBA later fined the Sixers $100,000 for making "inconsistent" statements about his availability.
- Embiid then got himself suspended three games for shoving an Inquirer columnist. The locker-room confrontation came after the journalist penned an inflammatory piece about Embiid's professionalism.
Meanwhile, George has talked openly about his injury-prone career. He's managing a left-knee injury this season.
Flashback: Load management worked out for current head coach Nick Nurse in Toronto with then-star Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors to a championship in 2019.
What's ahead: The Sixers have 14 remaining back-to-backs, including five that fall at home, per an Axios analysis of their schedule. The Sixers play the Magic at home in the second leg of the Dec. 3-4 stretch.
- Axios' Jacque Schrag created a "Joel-odex" (below) for Philly, projecting games Embiid and George are likely to miss based on the team's back-to-back strategy.
Yes, but: It's unclear if the Sixers will stick with the plan all season. And even Embiid has suggested he could "at some point" play consecutive games.
What we're watching: Some ticket holders told Axios they're considering not renewing their packages next season. Andrew Bell, a lifelong Sixers fan who shells out $13,000 a year for his package, is among them.
- The 53-year-old tells Axios the strategy is souring morale among fans. "I'm not rich. That kind of laissez-faire approach to it, it's not cool."
The other side: The trend has also opened up the floodgates for non-season ticket holders to score great seats at a bargain.
People like this Axios reporter, who paid $55 (plus fees) for a seat at the Cavs game that was about 10 rows from courtside.
- Or the mother next to me who hadn't been to a game in years, getting me-time away from the kids.
- And the guy who was so excited about his seat that he FaceTimed peeps showing them how close he was to the action.
The bottom line: Supply and demand, baby. It's a beautiful thing when it works in your favor.
What's next: Tipoff Monday is 7:30pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
- The Sixers are back home Friday against the Brooklyn Nets.