The Philadelphia 76ers made an early statement on Tuesday in primetime, dethroning the reigning champion New York Knicks on ring night with a 106-100 victory. It was our first (real) taste of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown as Sixers.

Philadelphia shot just 11-of-40 from deep (28 percent), but also generated 28 assists on 37 made field goals, so there was no lack of ball-sharing. The Knicks won the rebounding battle, especially on the offensive glass; that's classic Philly. Where the Sixers made up ground, surprisingly, was their activity level on defense, with 18 stocks and 15 forced turnovers, which led to 24 fast-break points.

Let's now grade each starter individually in what was a true collective effort.

Tyrese Maxey

Grade: A+

Through a handful of preseason games and most certainly last night, it feels like Tyrese Maxey will be the one to lead this "superteam" in scoring. Maxey is probably the most optimized star on the new-look Sixers. This team is going to play extremely fast; Maxey is the most dangerous transition scorer in the NBA.

He is also one of the most dangerous off-ball guards in the NBA — perhaps the most dangerous, behind Stephen Curry. So much was made this summer of "taking the ball out of Maxey's hands," which was framed as a negative. Maxey is not a very proficient isolation scorer, though. You don't want to burden him with creating from scratch. It's much better to get him running off of screens, working DHOs and attacking a tilted defense with his unmatched speed.

On top of leading the charge in the points column last night (28), Maxey dropped five assists and kept a lid on turnovers (two). Perhaps even more impressive than his scoring was his defense. Maxey came up with three steals and three blocks, which in turn generates — that's right! — transition offense. Maxey is one of the more absurd run-jump athletes in the NBA, especially at the point guard position. He made defensive strides last year, but Philly would really benefit if Maxey can become an outright positive on that end of the floor.

VJ Edgecombe

Grade: C-

A simple truth about this Sixers setup is that folks must sacrifice. That's the word that will define a season. It applies especially to VJ Edgecombe, who took a backseat on opening night. There will be games where Edgecombe catches a spark and pops off, but he's generally relegated to dirty work duty this season — cuts, screens, rebounds, defense.

Edgecombe did that dirty work fairly well on Tuesday night, in fairness. He only scored nine points, but he came up with a couple important buckets in crunch time, working mismatches and using his athleticism out of the dunker spot. The rest of his stat line — four rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block in 35 minutes — does not provide much to write home about, but he took on the Brunson assignment for extended stretches and made hustle plays.

Edgecombe missed his spot-up 3s and was mostly blending into the background offensively until the very end; folks hoping for Edgecombe to break out in a big way this season were probably a bit bummed out, but it's Game 1 of 82, and so much more basketball lies ahead. Edgecombe will have his moment in the sun eventually.

Jaylen Brown

Grade: B

Jaylen Brown is adjusting to a very new situation in Philadelphia. Last season, he was basically dragging Boston to the finish line by sheer force of will and volume of scoring. This season, he's trying to fit into a complex web of equally talented shot-makers and creators, all of whom like to attack the paint and work from the elbows (especially Embiid and LeBron).

Admittedly, Brown got off to a poor start on Tuesday. There was some severe fish out of water energy in the first quarter or so. As the game progressed, however, Brown got his licks in with the second unit. He got out in transition, threw down a few ferocious dunks, and started to find his footing (he also did his best D-Wade impression on a lob to LeBron, which is such a crazy sentence to be typing about the Philadelphia 76ers).

Brown finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, plus a couple stocks. He shot 50 percent from the field and only committed two turnovers. The ball-stopping qualities that, at times, rendered him predictable in Boston, should be less prevalent when he's finishing off of actions with LeBron or Embiid, rather than creating everything from scratch. Brown led the Sixers in plus-minus (+17), hilariously enough, and played some truly sick defense on Brunson down the stretch. All in all, it was a very impressive debut.

LeBron James

Grade: B+

LeBron James put his willingness to sacrifice on full display Tuesday night. He moved around postionally on defense, spending much of the second half on Karl-Anthony Towns while Embiid roamed off of Josh Hart. He scored 14 points on 13 shots, but also dropped seven assists with only one turnover. James very much looks willing to sit back and distribute. He's going to score in transition and attack the occasional mismatch, but in his Sixers debut, the focus was more on setting the table and getting the ball to his teammates in their favorite spots.

Folks aren't used to LeBron deferring like this. It could take a while for folks to adjust their expectations. That said, it's difficult to overstate just how valuable an elite tablesetter is for this specific team. Joel Embiid has never played with someone who can deliver an entry pass as cleanly and consistently as LeBron. Maxey has never played with someone who fires the ball up the floor and pushes tempo like LeBron. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum found harmony in their overlapping skill sets in Boston; LeBron is going to get Brown whirring in transition and help him to create easy advantages out of two-man actions. The theme: LeBron makes life easier on everyone.

His defense was far and away the most commendable aspect of LeBron's debut, however. LeBron has spent many a regular season coasting on the defensive end while he carried the Lakers offense. Now, at age 41, the Sixers may allow him to balance out those efforts. James' versatility and adaptability, on both ends, was on full display in the season opener. It's hard not to be extremely encouraged.

Joel Embiid

Grade: C+

Joel Embiid has basically never been "healthy" on opening night, but he is always rusty early in the campaign. It's therefore easy enough to hand-wave four turnovers and an inefficient 13 points on 15 shot attempts. That said, it does feel like Embiid, perhaps, faces the steepest adjustment of all. This is a team built to play fast, whereas Embiid likes to slow things down. He is also used to being the sun around which Philadelphia orbits.

Plenty of Sixers possessions still ran through Embiid in the opener; his ability to draw two in the post, or command a blitz out of the pick-and-roll, creates easy numbers for LeBron, Brown and Maxey. Still, the were several instances on Tuesday night where Embiid forced the issue when he does not need to force the issue. Some of the clunkiest offensive possessions all night were Embiid isos and Embiid post-ups. That will change once Embiid gets his feet wet, probably. But he also needs to accept that on some nights, 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists is all it takes.

Where Embiid really shined against the Knicks, however, was on defense. This was the best Embiid has looked on the defensive end in years. He was guarding at the level on screens, hedging on Jalen Brunson, sticking with guys in space, and making swift recoveries on the interior. He came up with three blocks and two steals in the process. Who knows how long "skinny Embiid" can remain healthy, but after the game, he told reporters that he plans to return to All-Defense form this season. That would radically change the perception — and the ceiling — of these Sixers.

The optimal version of Joel Embiid this season is an elite rim protector who buys into a connector role on offense, using his gravity to set up the likes of Maxey, Brown and LeBron. He will still get to cook mismatches and lead the team in scoring on occasion, but the Sixers need Embiid to do more with less, maybe for the first time ever. If he can keep Embiid, LeBron and Maxey can all defend at this level on a regular basis, Philadelphia becomes a real humdinger.