What You Need to Know About the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex
The Sixers' practice facility sits just off I-676 in the Penn Square area of Philadelphia, near where the old Suburban Hospital used to be. It is not some massive state-of-the-art campus like the Lakers' facility or the Nets' new place in Newark. It is a working basketball facility that gets the job done, and if you are trying to understand how it functions from the inside, the layout and operations tell you a lot about what the organization prioritizes. When I first started covering the team regularly during the 2018-2019 season, I had access that most people do not get. I walked through the morning shootaround routine almost every weekday for three straight years. The facility itself has two main courts — one full regulation court used for team practices and film sessions, and a secondary practice gym that doubles as weight room access and rehab space for players coming back from injury. The film room is small. Not arena-small, but actual conference-room-small. Maybe twelve chairs max. They do not have the kind of massive video presentation setup you see at some franchises.
Navigating the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex
If you are trying to get there for media credentials or to cover a session, you enter through the side entrance on 34th Street. The main entrance off Lombard Street is for players and staff only. This matters because if you show up expecting to walk in the front door with a press pass, you will be turned around before you even get through the parking lot. I learned this the hard way on a Wednesday morning in November 2019 when I did not have my credential laminated yet and the security guard at the front entrance literally pointed to the side door without saying a word. The parking situation is tight. There is a small lot behind the building that holds maybe eight cars, and street parking on 34th is metered and fills up by 8 AM on practice days. If you are going early for shootaround, arrive by 7:15 at the latest. The media usually gathers in the hallway just outside the film room about twenty minutes before the team arrives on the court. One thing most people do not know: the facility does not allow personal recording devices during team practices unless you have specific permission from the communications department. This means phone cameras are out, and DSLRs without explicit approval get sent home. Audio recorders are generally fine if you are already credentialed. The rule is stricter than it used to be. Back in the Coliseum days, you could basically film whatever you wanted from the stands. Now they patrol this more carefully.
What the Facility Actually Looks Like Inside
The main practice court has standard NBA hardwood — not the fast oak floors some teams use, more of a medium-speed surface that favors half-court execution over transition. The basket stances are adjustable, which matters when you are working with players who are rehabbing knee issues and need the rim height fine-tuned. There are three portable backboards stored against the far wall that get brought out when they run individual skill work alongside team practice. The locker room is modest. Not luxurious. Eighteen lockers with individual TV screens above each one, and the equipment room is down the hall where the trainers set up ice baths and compression equipment. The thermal baths are the only real high-end feature in the whole building. If you have ever seen the Sixers players sitting in ice water after practice, that is where it happens. The tubs are deep enough that players sit fully submerged with just their heads showing. One practical issue that nobody talks about: the ventilation in the secondary gym is inadequate. When five or six players are running conditioning drills in there on a hot August day, the place gets uncomfortable fast. I remember covering a two-a-day camp in late August 2021 and the coach basically had to move the second session outside to the outdoor courts behind the building because the indoor temperature was pushing ninety degrees with the humidity. They installed additional industrial fans after that, but it still gets warm during peak summer practices.
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How the Schedule Actually Works
Media access follows a predictable pattern during the season. Shootaround happens at 11 AM on game days in Philadelphia, and the facility opens to credentialed media at 10:30. Players typically arrive between 10:45 and 11:00 depending on their schedule. Free agents and rookies show up earlier because they have less protection. Established veterans like Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey tend to come in right around 11 and shoot around for about forty-five minutes before heading to film. Offseason is completely different. The facility opens at 8 AM for strength and conditioning work, and individual player development sessions run throughout the day. This is when you can actually see what the program looks like without the game-day pressure. I spent most of June 2022 doing just that — walking through on my own time since I had a full season credential still active. The difference between offseason practice and game-week practice is stark. Offseason, players are working on fundamentals and new plays. During the season, it is almost entirely maintenance and spacing drills designed to keep things fresh without burning anyone out. There is a common misconception that the training complex is open to the public for tours or drop-in use. It is not. The building is locked when there is no scheduled activity, and there is no public access program. If you see people loitering near the 34th Street entrance during the day, they are either delivery people, team staff running late, or fans hoping to catch a glimpse of a player arriving. Security does not intervene unless someone tries to enter the building.
What the Organization Gets Right and What It Does Not
The Sixers get the core functionality right. The court quality is good, the medical equipment is current, and the film room setup — while small — is efficient. Coach Nick Nurse uses the space well because he does not need a massive facility to run his system. The playbook fits comfortably in that small room, and having players and coaches in close proximity during film sessions actually improves communication. That is not accidental. The compact nature of the facility forces a level of intimacy that larger, more spread-out complexes sometimes lack. The is obvious if you compare it to modern NBA standards. There is no on-site sports science lab, no hydrotherapy pool, and the recovery spaces are limited. In 2023, the organization made some upgrades to the recovery room, adding more compression therapy units and a couple of additional cold plunge tubs, but they are still operating with roughly half the recovery infrastructure that teams like the Celtics or Cavs have. This is a real limitation during a long season when back-to-back games and injury management are constant concerns. One counter-intuitive detail: the smaller facility actually helps with player development in a way that bigger complexes do not. When you have more space, players scatter. In a smaller gym, everyone is in each other's peripheral vision. Young players like Paul Reed and Jaden Springer benefited from this because they were constantly around veterans during practice, picking up habits and techniques by osmosis. It is harder to hide or coast when you are practicing in a compressed space with people watching you the entire time. That said, this only works when the culture is right. If the veteran players are dismissive of the younger guys, the small space becomes uncomfortable rather than educational.
Practical Access and Credential Tips
If you need media credentials, apply through the NBA's media credential request system at least thirty days before the season starts. Walk-in requests during the season are rarely approved unless you are covering a specific game and your outlet has a existing relationship with the team. The Sixers' communications department, led by Dave Zinkoff, is professional but not accommodating to last-minute requests. I have seen reporters turn away at the door with legitimate stories because they did not have credentials sorted in advance. The one workaround that actually works: if you are a local beat writer or regional sportscast contributor, you can sometimes get temporary access through a established credentialed member of your outlet sponsoring your request. This is how most fill-in reporters get in during the season when the regular staff is on vacation or dealing with other assignments. It is not a loophole — it is just how the credentialing system operates at the NBA level across all thirty teams. For photographers specifically, there is a designated shooting area along the baseline near the center of the court. You cannot move past the free-throw line extended during live practice, and you cannot use flash. Tripods and monopods are allowed but you have to check them at credential pickup. I always bring a prime lens — 70-200mm f/2.8 is the standard — because the space constraints mean you cannot step back for wider shots without violating the boundary line.
Bottom Line
The Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex is a functional, no-frills facility that reflects the organization's approach to basketball operations. It is not designed to impress visitors or generate buzz. It is designed to help players practice, recover, and prepare for games. The limitations are real but manageable, and the compact layout has genuine advantages that larger facilities sometimes struggle to replicate. If you are planning to spend time there, the key is knowing the access rules beforehand and arriving early enough to get a good spot without fighting for position.
