- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,171,092
- Reaction score
- 59
The Philadelphia 76ers added a dynamic scoring guard in Alabama's Labaron Philon with the No. 22 pick in the 2026 NBA draft on Tuesday night. The Sixers are bringing in a player who can get into the paint, create for himself and others, and knows how to attack when defenses load up on him.
In his sophomore season in 2025-26, he averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 50.1% from the floor and 39.9% from deep. He was terrific in every sense of the word and he now joins a Sixers team that features two other dynamic guards in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
"I would just say, just watching a lot of basketball, me personally, I feel like being selected by Philly, it's destined," Philon said over a Zoom call on Tuesday night. "Just because they got two good guards, and I feel like I fit in with those guards, and playing at that fast pace, and at that level of basketball."
A big part of Philon's game that will fit next to Philadelphia's young stars is his ability to shoot the ball. He made big strides with his 3-point shot as he doubled his attempts from 3.2 as a freshman to 6.4 as a sophomore and his 3-point shooting percentage went up from 31.5% to 39.9%.
"I would just say the ability to play on and off the ball, make the game easy for others around you," Philon said of his improvements. "I feel like I did that at a high level, and then just being able to play with that unselfishness, and just being able to score what you need to, being able to pass the ball, and like I said, having that mentality to do it on both sides of the ball."
His usage rate went up in his sophomore season as well from 20.9% as a freshman to 30.0% as a sophomore. He played next to Mark Sears as a freshman and when Sears moved onto to the NBA, Philon was able to take advantage.
"I would just say going back to the usage was definitely like important in these, because the first year playing with another great guard with Mark Sears, and then like the second year, me being a lead guard, it kind of helped me being able to adapt in any situation and adapting at the guard spot," Philon further explained. "So, like I said, I was just working on my shooting for sure, just being able to space, make the game easy for your teammates, really on the perimeter."
Time will tell if Philon can fit in well next to Edgecombe and Maxey, but on paper, his game is tailormade for Philadelphia to be one dynamic team with the rookie joining the two established players.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Labaron Philon reacts to joining Sixers, talks fit with star guards
Continue reading...
In his sophomore season in 2025-26, he averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 50.1% from the floor and 39.9% from deep. He was terrific in every sense of the word and he now joins a Sixers team that features two other dynamic guards in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
"I would just say, just watching a lot of basketball, me personally, I feel like being selected by Philly, it's destined," Philon said over a Zoom call on Tuesday night. "Just because they got two good guards, and I feel like I fit in with those guards, and playing at that fast pace, and at that level of basketball."
A big part of Philon's game that will fit next to Philadelphia's young stars is his ability to shoot the ball. He made big strides with his 3-point shot as he doubled his attempts from 3.2 as a freshman to 6.4 as a sophomore and his 3-point shooting percentage went up from 31.5% to 39.9%.
"I would just say the ability to play on and off the ball, make the game easy for others around you," Philon said of his improvements. "I feel like I did that at a high level, and then just being able to play with that unselfishness, and just being able to score what you need to, being able to pass the ball, and like I said, having that mentality to do it on both sides of the ball."
His usage rate went up in his sophomore season as well from 20.9% as a freshman to 30.0% as a sophomore. He played next to Mark Sears as a freshman and when Sears moved onto to the NBA, Philon was able to take advantage.
"I would just say going back to the usage was definitely like important in these, because the first year playing with another great guard with Mark Sears, and then like the second year, me being a lead guard, it kind of helped me being able to adapt in any situation and adapting at the guard spot," Philon further explained. "So, like I said, I was just working on my shooting for sure, just being able to space, make the game easy for your teammates, really on the perimeter."
Time will tell if Philon can fit in well next to Edgecombe and Maxey, but on paper, his game is tailormade for Philadelphia to be one dynamic team with the rookie joining the two established players.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Labaron Philon reacts to joining Sixers, talks fit with star guards
Continue reading...
