The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 112-106 at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 4 in Detroit, pushing their record to 8-1 and their winning streak to five games, basketballking.jp reported. The victory left Philadelphia alone atop the Eastern Conference and with the best winning percentage in the NBA, 88.9 percent, through nine games.
Joel Embiid led the way with 26 points and 15 rebounds, Tyrese Maxey added 19 points and seven assists, and LeBron James finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound, 8-assist line. Rookie VJ Edgecom chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
An 8-1 start puts Philadelphia first in the Eastern Conference
Nine games into the 82-game regular season, the 76ers are the only team in the East with a single loss. The win in Detroit also marked the franchise’s fourth road victory to open the season, something Philadelphia had not done since the 2000-01 campaign, according to basketballking.jp.
That 2000-01 team reached the NBA Finals. Over the past 50 seasons, the 76ers have opened with four straight road wins in four different seasons, and in every one of those four seasons the team advanced to the Finals, the report noted.
For a franchise that has not reached the NBA Finals since 2001 and whose last championship dates to 1983, the 8-1 start is a notable beginning to a season chasing a fourth title in team history.
LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to make 16,000 career field goals, finishing a left-handed banked layup against John Collins in the second quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 112-106 on Wednesday, the NBA reported. James needed two… pic.twitter.com/tFZy90FSRw
LeBron’s fifth 7-1 start — and the Finals history behind the other four
James is in his 24th NBA season, and this is the fifth time a team he plays for has gone 7-1 in its first eight games. In all four previous instances, the team reached the NBA Finals, and three of those four ended with a championship, basketballking.jp reported.
| Season | Team | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | Miami Heat | Won NBA title |
| 2015-16 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Won NBA title |
| 2016-17 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Reached NBA Finals |
| 2019-20 | Los Angeles Lakers | Won NBA title |
The pattern is the reason the 8-1 start carries weight beyond the standings: a 7-1 beginning has historically been a reliable indicator of a deep playoff run for James, not just a hot November.
James keeps the focus on November, not June
Asked about the Finals implications after the Pistons game, James pushed back on the framing. As of Nov. 4, he said, it is too early to talk about the NBA Finals; what matters is believing in the basketball the team wants to play and continuing to do it. He described the 76ers as a good team whose players mesh well, like one another and enjoy being together, according to basketballking.jp.
That caution fits the calendar.
Eighty-two games stand between now and April
The 76ers’ 8-1 record is real, and it is the best in the NBA through nine games. What is confirmed is where Philadelphia sits right now — first in the Eastern Conference, on a five-game winning streak, with James in the middle of a start that has preceded Finals appearances every previous time it has happened.
