Grant Riller calls return to Sixers’ summer league team a ‘no-brainer’ after recovering from surgery
Riller was on a two-way contract with the Sixers last season before a torn meniscus and torn labrum ended his second professional season.
LAS VEGAS — Grant Riller’s knee had healed enough for him to join the 76ers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. But four games into his 2021-22 season, Riller got tangled with another player, tearing the labrum in his shoulder and igniting another frustrating health setback.
Following surgery and about six months of rehab, Riller cleared an important benchmark during the last two weeks. The Sixers’ summer league stints in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas marked Riller’s first game action since the calendar turned to 2022 — and have come with the inner peace of feeling much healthier.
“I’ve kind of used it as a stepping-stone to kind of get my feet wet again and confidence back,” Riller told The Inquirer following Tuesday’s practice at UNLV.
» READ MORE: Malik Ellison takes every opportunity to smile as he lives out his NBA dreams at summer league
Riller’s recovery timetable explains why his workload has been more limited than others with the status of a former two-way player with two NBA teams.
The 25-year-old combo guard scored 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 14 minutes of the Sixers’ first game in Salt Lake City against Memphis on July 5. He totaled four assists in 13 minutes the following day against the Utah Jazz. But then Riller did not play in the Salt Lake City finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played less than six minutes apiece in Saturday’s Las Vegas opener against the Toronto Raptors and in Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Riller’s shoulder surgery was the most recent example of his unfortunate injury luck.
He suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2015, before his freshman year of a standout career at the College of Charleston. After his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets, Riller tore his meniscus in the waning minutes of the Sixers’ first preseason game at Toronto in early October. His shoulder injury occurred in late November and, after multiple tweaks when he attempted to ramp back up, he opted for surgery. He added that the operation revealed “other issues” in his shoulder that were also repaired before the lengthy recovery.
“It just builds mental toughness,” Riller said. “… You’ve got to look yourself in the mirror, kind of pick yourself up off the mat, because you’re the only one going through it.”
Riller’s situation also was a reminder of the NBA’s ruthless business side. With the omicron COVID-19 variant surging last winter, the Sixers waived the sidelined Riller in order to free up a two-way contract to use on Myles Powell. But Riller said the Sixers gave him some time to try the non-surgery rehab shortly after the injury, then stayed supportive and in contact even after he became a free agent.
So when Riller was cleared to return to five-on-five work in June, he said it was a “no-brainer” to accept the Sixers’ invitation to return for summer league.
“[They] gave me the opportunity to come out here and try to prove myself again,” Riller said. “It’s an organization I’m definitely grateful for and appreciative of.”
Riller played in pickup games following his clearance but conceded that those did not compare to the intensity of summer league. Nothing is guaranteed for Riller at the end of the Sixers’ time in Las Vegas, especially because their two-way contracts are currently occupied by Charlie Brown Jr. and Julian Champagnie.
Yet Riller wants to prove he still has quickness and that he can still get to the basket and finish through contact. And that his knee and shoulder are finally healthy.
“I have a lot of injury history, but this time I kind of had to take care of everything,” Riller said. “... Just all the stuff I was doing pre-injury, [I want] to show that I can still do it. I feel like I still can.”