Sixers’ backup center role is ‘competitive’ with Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, and others in the mix
Bona and Drummond had their turns manning the center role in Joel Embiid's absence last season. Now Johni Broome, Jabari Walker, and Dominick Barlow are also vying for the backup center spot.
When asked to describe the 76ers’ backup center competition in the early going, Nick Nurse listed his options.
“It’s competitive,” the Sixers coach said. “There’s three, four, five of them, depending on how far you want to go with it. … It’s [Adem] Bona. It’s [Andre Drummond]. It’s [Johni] Broome. It’s [Jabari] Walker. [Dominick] Barlow maybe a little bit, too. He just looks comfortable enough at the four.”
Drummond and Bona are the candidates to back up Joel Embiid and start when the 2023 MVP rests his surgically repaired left knee.
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Second-round pick Broome and free-agent acquisition Walker could be utilized as small-ball centers.
“I think they know they’re in a battle,” Nurse said of the reserves. “If you came to watch practice and you were watching that position, you’d see a lot of competition going on between that whole group.”
Drummond returned to the Sixers in the summer of 2024.
The 6-foot-11, 279-pounder was supposed to serve as the insurance policy for the often-injured Embiid. That’s the role the 13-year veteran had with the team during the 2021-22 season before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in the Ben Simmons/James Harden deal on Feb. 10, 2022.
Drummond was supposed to start at center last season when Embiid was unavailable and assumed that role early on, starting in 23 of the 40 games he played. Drummond missed the final 17 games of the season primarily because of a sprained left toe, but the Sixers also rested players while they were tanking.
The two-time All-Star’s scoring average of 7.3 points was the second-lowest of his career. His 7.8 rebounds per game were his third-fewest. However, he compiled those numbers in 18.8 minutes per game.
He was one of the league leaders in rebounds per 36 minutes at 14.9, a significant indicator that Drummond excelled in his role.
Drummond, 32, came into training camp with last season’s injury behind him.
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“He’s also come in better shape,” Nurse said. “ … I think he’s at least 20 or so pounds lighter than he was a year ago at this stage. So that’s a good start. He can probably keep going on that just a little bit more. But it’s helping him, and his toe feels good.
“That’s obviously helping him. He’s moving a little bit better, and he’s been playing very good.”
Bona is undersized at the center position, standing 6-8 and 235 pounds. He averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 15.6 minutes and shot 70.3% in 58 games last season as a rookie.
But those numbers don’t come close to describing his level of play with the Sixers resting most of their core players in late March and April.
Bona averaged 13.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 29.1 minutes while shooting 72.7% in the final 11 games of the season.
His most memorable game came against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 3. He had a career-high 28 points on 13-for-15 shooting against two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the Sixers’ 126-113 loss.
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“I expect it to be a great competition for that spot,” Nurse said. “I just really want to see it all play out and just watch them kind of fight it out in the next month or so.”
Meanwhile, Broome (6-9, 244) and Walker (6-7, 235) will play the power forward and center positions primarily.
The Sixers drafted Broome out of Auburn with the 35th pick in June. Walker signed a two-way deal in July after spending the last three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.