76ers' Biggest Surprises Through Opening 3 Weeks of 2021-22 NBA Season

The 2021-22 NBA season has already thrown a few haymakers at the Philadelphia 76ers, from Ben Simmons' trade request to Joel Embiid's knee injury to multiple players sidelined by the health and safety protocols.

Yet the Sixers seem in no danger of falling to the canvas.

They are throwing a few knockout punches of their own, and they look every bit the championship contender they were expected to be. However, their path to this point took some unexpected turns and has been buoyed by the following three surprises.

Is it shocking that the Sixers are playing better offense without Simmons? Not entirely. His lack of shooting spoiled their spacing, and he isn't the most clever creator in the half-court.

Is it surprising that Philly is playing better offense than the rest of the NBA? No question.

The Sixers have had only two players appear in all 12 of their games and just five who have played at least 10—a group that doesn't include Embiid or Tobias Harris. Embiid, by the way, is averaging more than seven fewer points than last season (21.4, down from 28.5) and seeing an even bigger decline in field-goal percentage (43.5, 51.3).

This doesn't make a ton of sense, other than the Sixers have been great at shooting from everywhere. Entering Wednesday, they rank first in field-goal percentage (47.8), second in three-point percentage (38.0) and third in free-throw percentage (82.5). For context, they didn't rank better than eighth in any of those categories last season and were 20th at the foul line.

Tyrese Maxey had an interesting debut season.

He had some encouraging games, but there were at least as many wherein his inexperience showed. He could score, but he didn't always do it efficiently, and he never moved the needle much as a playmaker.

He looked like a 20-year-old rookie. And that's what he was.

Now, he's a 21-year-old sophomore, and he looks like a rising star.

His shooting rates have spiked from the field (49.0 percent, up from 46.2) and from three (38.5, 30.1). He has greatly increased his role and responsibility and managed to keep his turnovers under control (1.4 per game). He has grown more disruptive and consistent on defense.

More than anything, he is reliable. That might have been the hope for his sophomore season, but it certainly wasn't the expectation.

Sixers fans might have been a little fuzzy on who Georges Niang was when the team opted to make him its only non-minimum addition in free agency. Embiid was familiar, though, as the two crossed paths in the Big 12 Conference when Embiid was at Kansas and Niang at Iowa State.

"We go way back to the college days; I played against him," Embiid told reporters. "Before we got him, I used to think he sucked. He did a pretty good job in Utah just making threes and all that stuff, and obviously, on this team he's asked to do way more than that."

Niang's primary role is three-point splashing, and he's doing that better than ever. His 2.6 threes per game represent a career high, and his 41.3 three-point percentage is the second-best he has posted.

He is more than a spacing specialist, though. His career-high totals reach nearly across the board and include 12.9 points, 4.4 field goals, 1.5 free throws, 1.6 assists and 0.5 steals.

"What I'm impressed with is he's a competitor," Embiid added. "Defensively, he goes after it. He plays with so much energy. He brings so much joy to all of us on and off the court. He's a funny guy. I'm just glad I have him."