March 25, 2026, 4:09 p.m. ET
PHILADELPHIA — When Trendon Watford joined the Philadelphia 76ers at the outset of free agency, he knew he was going to have a shot at making the playoffs for the first time in his career. In his previous four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Brooklyn Nets, he was on rebuilding teams that didn’t have the postseason in their sights.
Normally around this time, Watford is looking ahead to the offseason. The March calendar in the NBA is filled with teams either getting everything in order for the playoffs or looking ahead to the summer and the draft lottery.
For the first time in Watford’s 5-year career, he is in the middle of a playoff race and he is looking forward to making an impact in these final 10 games.
“Man, it’s a different feel for me,” Watford laughed on Wednesday. “(Expletive), I’m used to looking up summer vacation around this time. So everything new for me. I’m looking forward to it. Like you said, 10 games left and then postseason. So, I’m looking forward to it. Everything’s pretty much big from here on out.”
Right now, the Sixers are in the play-in tournament as they sit at the No. 7 seed in the East. They are just a game back of the Atlanta Hawks for the final guaranteed playoff spot, but the Hawks own the tiebreaker so Philadelphia will have to find a way to finish ahead of them in the standings.
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“We know how big these last 10 games are,” Watford finished. “Every game counts. Tough team to play last game (Thunder). So, we look forward to bouncing back tonight and then get on this road trip and going to get three.”