The new-look Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a blistering start to the 2026-27 NBA season.

The Sixers won eight of their first nine games, despite facing an extremely tough early schedule, and they currently sit atop the standings in the Eastern Conference. Their only loss so far came to the Detroit Pistons, who currently have the second-best record in the conference. That game also happened to be the second night of a back-to-back for the Sixers, who were missing two starters in Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe.

This strong start has inevitably led to some suggesting that the Sixers are the "team to beat" in the East, or that an NBA Finals appearance is a foregone conclusion for the team. But LeBron James, who knows a thing or two about what it takes to make the Finals, is pumping the brakes on such speculation at this still-early stage of the season.

LeBron James' leadership on full display for 76ers amid hot start

Following Philadelphia's 112-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, James made it clear that it's far too early for anyone, especially the Sixers themselves, to be thinking about the Finals.

In his eyes, putting the cart before the horse would be a mistake, as the Sixers have to continue to build and develop championship habits. They can't expect to just make it there on talent alone.

"It's too early to be talking about the Finals and things of that nature on Nov. 4," James said. "So we'll continue just to buy into what we want to do. ... We got a good team. Guys vibe with one another, guys like each other, guys enjoy being around each other."

If they want to eventually make it to the Finals for the first time in a quarter-century, James laid out what the Sixers need to do moving forward, and it consists of stacking good days and incrementally improving over the course of the campaign.

"We know we got a long way to go, but we want to just try to get better each and every day, each and every game and not take too many steps backwards," James said. "It could happen because we're a new group. We have to understand [that] and have to give ourselves some grace, but at the end of the day, we have to pick it back up and find ways to not take steps backwards as much as possible throughout the course of the season."

This is where James' leadership and two-plus decades of experience is invaluable for Philadelphia. He knows that the Sixers can't get swept up in their own hype, and that they must concentrate on the small things as they continue to build chemistry and cohesion together over the course of the campaign.

By the way, James is completely correct in saying that it's entirely too early for Finals talk for the 76ers. But, that doesn't mean that fans in Philly can't be encouraged, and excited, about what they've seen from the team so far.

It'll also be on the players to take these words to heart. Guys like Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, who've been here for years and are eager to reach the Finals milestone, can't get too ahead of themselves even if this is the best roster they've ever played with. New arrivals like Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons also can't stop working on their games even if coming to Philadelphia has already turned out to be a roaring success for them.

Luckily, it seems James is here to keep everyone on the rigth track while managing growing expectations.