Jaden Springer

Lauren Rosen

The 76ers (25-15) will seek their 14th win in their last 17 games Thursday, hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-23) in South Philadelphia.Thursday’s game marks a rematch of New Year’s Eve in Oklahoma City, when the Sixers took home a 115-96 victory to close their four-game road trip.Tobias Harris was the Sixers’ leading scorer in that victory, finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Joel Embiid notched a 16-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in 28 minutes.The Thunder visit Philadelphia for the second stop on a four-game trip, most recently falling narrowly to the Miami Heat, 112-111, Tuesday.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to lead Oklahoma City in scoring this season, averaging 30.8 points per game (4th in NBA).

The Sixers won Tuesday’s matchup in dominant fashion, scoring a season-high 147 points in their 147-116 win over the Detroit Pistons (11-33).Six Sixers finished in double-figures for the eighth time this season - the team is undefeated when at least six players finish with 10-plus points.Tuesday’s win marked just the seventh time this season that the Opening Night starting lineup of Embiid, Harris, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and P.J. Tucker started together.“Clearly, it’s a good offensive lineup,” Doc Rivers reflected postgame. “We know that, so if we can be a good defensive lineup as well with that lineup, that can be really good for us. Hopefully we can keep that going.”No starter played more than 27 minutes (Harris) in Tuesday’s win, leaving opportunities for youngsters to thrive in the game’s final phases.Jaden Springer came off the bench in the final frame to score a career-high 10 points, including six points in his first two minutes.“I thought tonight he had a great game,” Harris said of Springer postgame. “I’m extremely proud of him. He’s gonna be a hell of a player in the NBA in my opinion, just because of his ability to defend. I’m always proud when he gets opportunities to get in the game and be able to play like he played tonight.”“He was great,” Rivers said of Springer. “I think he’s going to be an elite defender. I really do.”Springer appreciates his teammates and Rivers’ support.“Being around guys like that every day… you see how great they are,” Springer said. “Doc’s been around the game for a long time, so to be able to hear words like that, it’s amazing.”

Thursday’s matchup is a 7:00 p.m. ET start.

Quote to Note:Tobias Harris on Joel Embiid’s 36 points in 24 minutes:“I thought he did great. I mean, you know, he’s been out, getting himself as healthy as he can be, but he just came out and he was his dominant self as he always is, and you know, obviously, 36 and 11 is a pretty good effort.”

Follow Along:Watch: NBC Sports PhiladelphiaListen: 97.5 The Fanatic

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76ers Set for Thunder Rematch | Gameday Report 41/82

Matt Murphy

The 76ers’ next game is a meeting with a familiar opponent - their last, in fact - the Atlanta Hawks. The two-game series shifts to South Philadelphia for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Saturday.The Sixers (5-7) fell to the Hawks (8-4), 104-95, in Atlanta on Thursday.Joel Embiid matched Trae Young of the Hawks as the game’s leading scorer with 26 points. Tyrese Maxey, who scored 15 points, said postgame that Embiid continues to encourage him throughout the early stages of the new season. For Maxey, decision-making remains a focus.“I feel like I’m doing a good job of getting other guys involved, getting guys shots,” Maxey said. “I think I can do a better job of that when I get into the paint. Teams are so focused on my driving [ability] to where I can find a lot of shooters and find a lot of dump-offs, so I’ve got to keep doing that as well.”Back at the start of the season, Georges Niang discussed heading into the campaign with teammates composing a group that he’s confident can handle adversity.“Like any relationship or partnership, there’s a Day One,” Niang said. “And Rome wasn’t built in one day. It’s going to take some time. There’s going to be some ups, there’s going to be some downs. But I think we have the right guys — that have great character — that are going to continue to build whether it’s through the tough days or the easygoing days. I think we have a strong-knit group.”

James Harden (right foot tendon strain) remains out, while Paul Reed was listed Friday as questionable for the next game due to a right knee contusion.

Saturday’s rematch between the Sixers and Hawks in South Philadelphia is a 7:30 p.m. start.

City Edition:The Sixers announced their 2022-23 City Edition uniform on Thursday:

The debut of this year’s City Edition uniform and themed court will be Sunday, when the Sixers welcome the Utah Jazz for the second game of a home back-to-back after hosting the Hawks.

Thursday’s Top Performances:Joel Embiid

Opponent Outlook:The Hawks (8-4) utilized a 12-0 run to end the third quarter in Thursday’s win over the Sixers, propelling the home team to an 80-66 lead.In addition to Trae Young’s 26 points in the 104-95 victory, the Hawks received an 18-point, 20-rebound double-double performance from Clint Capela.Capela scored all 18 of his points in the first three quarters.Bogdan Bogdanović (right knee injury recovery) remains out.

Quote to Note:Matisse Thybulle on second-year Sixer Jaden Springer:“I mean, Jaden…when we came back this summer, he was one of the players that everyone was talking about that got better – noticeably better. His body changed, which is a really big deal for him and the coaches. And then also his skill level got a lot better. He’s such a strong and mobile dude – I think he can be a really great defender in the NBA. I think he’s finding that and learning ways. He’s so young and every day is a new learning opportunity for him, and I think he’s taking advantage of it.”On assignment with the Blue Coats for their home opener on Thursday night, Springer poured in a G League regular season career-high 28 points with five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a blocked shot. He shot 9-for-15 from the field, 2-for-6 from 3-point range, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

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76ers and Hawks Shift Matchup to Philadelphia | Gameday Report 13/82

76er P.J. Tucker was once a 14er.At the onset of what has evolved into a more than decade-long NBA career, Tucker was a member of the NBA Development League’s Colorado 14ers. The year was 2007. Since then, a great number of NBA players have honed their skills at the very same level, including the majority of Tucker’s current teammates.The NBA Development League, or D-League, was then what we now know as the NBA G League (PSA: There’s no hyphen anymore).The 2022-23 Philadelphia 76ers’ roster includes 10 players with G League experience, ranging from the 37-year-old Tucker to Jaden Springer and Michael Foster Jr., who are not yet 21.Overall, a record 234 players, making up a record 47-percent of opening night NBA rosters, have G League experience.“That’s impressive, to be honest,” said Foster Jr., who last season made the notable jump from high school to the G League as a member of NBA G League Ignite — a-first-of-its-kind team dedicated to developing top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft. “It shows you that the [NBA] really wants guys to succeed. You’ve got a lower level that develops you for the next, where guys on the floor are All-Stars, superstars, Hall of Famers. I didn’t know that [number]. That’s actually impressive, for sure.”Foster Jr. weathered a stretch during his rookie professional season in which his G League matchups included the likes of NBA veterans Serge Ibaka and Greg Monroe, as well as his current Sixers teammate Paul Reed.

So what does Reed, the 2021 G League MVP with the Delaware Blue Coats, think about that 234 number?“That just means the G League is really producing athletes — basketball players — that’s like that,” Reed said. “If you’re going down to the G League, you should look at it as a great opportunity to get better because you’re going to be playing against guys that are really in the NBA.”76ers wing Georges Niang, a 50-game G League veteran, theorized that the ability for young players to learn what works – and what’s needed –&nbsp; strongly factors into the growing number of alums.Basketball potential meets opportunity all over North America, in markets stretching from Wilmington, Delaware to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Santa Cruz, California (Niang raves about the beaches there), and more recently, Mexico City.Both Reed and Niang were once on Two-Way Contracts, directly connected to an NBA team as a member of the roster and able to showcase their skills with any available practice or game reps.Beginning in the 2017 offseason, NBA rosters expanded from 15 to 17 players with the addition of two spots for players under those two-way contracts. A two-way contract allows for an NBA-rostered player to also play for their organization’s G League affiliate.The Sixers converted Foster Jr.’s contract to a two-way deal on October 16.

Coaches’ PerspectiveAwesome. Fantastic. Significant.These are words used by 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich to describe the current state of the NBA G League.Last season, Popovich became the all-time wins leader in NBA history.The two coaches boasted a combined 2,396 NBA victories through October 2022.“I think it’s awesome,” said Rivers, who eclipsed 1,000 career wins last fall. “I think the G League is fantastic. The fact that, when I first started, there was the CBA. We had a team in Michigan when I was in Orlando. I think at one time we had three [NBA] teams with one [D-League] team. Now, you can build stuff. And it’s not just the players. It’s also coaching, it’s staffing, it’s PR – it’s everything. I think the G League has been absolutely fantastic.”“It’s been very significant in a lot of people’s lives,” Popovich said of the G League.“We’ve had a lot of players go through there, play for us, move on to other teams, and I think that’s the case with a lot of the teams in the NBA. The G League has been very important in that development. We take it very seriously… It's a great way to have extra time with people that you think may matriculate later into a situation where they can help you. For them, it’s great. You can’t keep everybody. Development-wise, I think the people in the G League are doing a great job of advancing careers.”

Look no further than Niang and Reed.“I mean, it’s the reason why I’m back in the NBA,” the 29-year-old Niang said. “I got cut by Indiana and I wasn’t able to figure out what would get me on the court. The G League showed me that if I could space the floor, shoot, and use my IQ, that I could find a way to play in the NBA.”“I feel like without me being able to showcase my talents and what I can do, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” Reed said. “You know, there’s no telling. It gave me an opportunity to go out there, get some reps, and let the team know that I can actually hoop a little bit.”

Cold Maybe, But Not SweetThe 19 games that P.J. Tucker played for the Colorado 14ers – now the Texas Legends – in 2007 were likely much different than the 19 games played by Jaden Springer for the Blue Coats during his rookie season one year ago.Danuel House Jr. and Georges Niang played 60 games and 50 games, respectively, in the G League from 2016-19. That qualifies as the most such experience among the current Sixers. Their teammates with a shared résumé section include: Shake Milton (33 games), Paul Reed (24), Springer (19), Tucker (19), Michael Foster Jr. (13), Montrezl Harrell (12), Furkan Korkmaz (nine), and De’Anthony Melton (eight).

Ironically, House Jr. suited up for Delaware before they were the Blue Coats.“Cold. It was so cold,” House Jr. said with a laugh while reflecting on his handful of games at the University of Delaware in 2017. “It was cold, man. I felt like they ain’t want to turn the heat on for us, you know, being at the G League level. But hey, it was a fun time. I had really good teammates. I had a really good experience.”The Blue Coats, previously called the 87ers, moved into the state-of-the-art Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington two years after Danuel was in the house.With the advent of two-way contracts, as well as NBA players being assigned to their affiliate teams much more frequently, the level of competition has skyrocketed.&nbsp;Take it from Foster Jr., who joined the G League Ignite team as a five-star recruit and one of the top-10 high school players in the Class of 2021:“It’s not sweet down there… Man, those guys were probably one of them guys on their high school team that gave you 40, every night. It ain’t sweet. I don’t want people thinking that. It’s not easy.”Years prior, future NBA All-Stars Khris Middleton and Rudy Gobert famously played there – as a Fort Wayne Mad Ant and a Bakersfield Jam(mer?).Pascal Siakam, now an All-NBA player with the Toronto Raptors, was the 2017 NBA D-League Finals MVP.Then vs. NowFormer first-round pick Tyrese Maxey is not one of the 10 Sixers with G League experience.Neither is Tobias Harris, 30, who was just 18 years old when Milwaukee drafted him in 2011. A coach there brought up the possibility, but it never came to fruition.It was also, as Harris explains, a much different time.“The G League has transformed and it’s good to see the progress of young players,” Harris said. “I know when I was a rookie, it was kind of like a demotion if you went to the D-League, you know what I’m saying? When I was a rookie, I was like ‘Man, I’m not trying to go to the D-League.’ Vets used to be like ‘Yo rookie, don’t let them send you to the D-League.’ And I was like ‘Man, I hope they don’t.’ It was one of those things.”But now?

“But now it’s beneficial for young guys to go there, play, have a system and whatnot,” Harris added. “I think it’s cool now. But years ago, there were not many guys going. Like, if you saw guys go, especially top picks, it was kind of like –&nbsp; It wasn’t as attractive as it is now to go to hoop, to play.”

Two of Harris’ brothers, Tyler and Terry, were G League players in recent seasons.

“Playing through my mistakes was the biggest thing for me,” Georges Niang said. “I was able to get down there, get a feel for what the game was, the help schemes and different things like that, but also have the ball in my hands and see what roles different guys can play. It was just a huge learning experience for me. I think every player that doesn’t come in as a superstar should experience the G League, even when it comes down to the travel and all the stuff that’s really humbling.”Having overheard Niang’s G League tales from a nearby locker, the ever-supportive Maxey called out to his teammate.“Yo, you were dope.”NBA G League success stories are dope, indeed, and there are more than ever before.Two-hundred and thirty-four, to be exact.The 2022-23 NBA G League season tips off on Friday, Nov. 4.Visit the Delaware Blue Coats Schedule page to see all upcoming games.

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Call-Ups, Two-Way Contracts, and more: How the NBA G League Helped Advance the Careers of Numerous Sixers and their Peers

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The Philadelphia 76ers selected Jaden Springer (No. 28) from the University of Tennessee, Filip Petrušev of Serbia (No. 50) and Charles Bassey (No. 53) from Western Kentucky University tonight in the 2021 NBA Draft. 

 Springer, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, led the Volunteers in scoring as a freshman at 12.5 points per game, while also pacing the team in three-point percentage at .435 and total free throws made with 81. His .810 free throw percentage ranked ninth in the SEC and is the highest-ever mark by a Tennessee freshman with at least 100 attempts. In 25 games during his lone collegiate season, the SEC All-Freshman Team selection posted a team-best six games of at least 20 points, also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. He is the son of Gary Springer, who was selected by the 76ers in the 1984 NBA Draft, and the cousin of current NBA player DeAndre’ Bembry, who played collegiately at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. 

Petrušev, the 2019-20 West Coast Conference Player of the Year, spent two seasons playing collegiately at Gonzaga before heading overseas to play in Serbia’s Adriatic League for the 2020-21 season. During his final year with the Bulldogs, he averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting .562 from the floor. This past season, he appeared in 21 games for KK Mega Basket, averaging 23.7 points, which was the highest average in the Adriatic League in 14 years, while also hauling in 7.6 rebounds per contest. During his lone season competing professionally in his home country of Serbia, he shot .580 from the field and .419 from three-point range. His averages led to league MVP honors along with the league’s Rising Star award as the top player under the age of 22. 

Bassey played three collegiate seasons at Western Kentucky University, averaging a double-double with 15.9 points and 10.5 rebounds over 72 career games as a Hilltopper. As a junior this past season, he tallied 18 double-doubles, which were the second-most in Division I. Following the 2020-21 season, Bassey was named the Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, after posting 17.6 points, 11.6 rebounds (fifth in NCAA) and 3.1 blocks (fourth in NCAA) per contest, while shooting .590 from the field. He was the fourth player in C-USA history to earn POY and DPOY honors in the same season, while also earning a C-USA record seven Player of the Week awards over his career. Originally from Nigeria, Bassey moved to San Antonio in high school, where he continued his basketball career. 

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76ers Select Jaden Springer, Filip Petrušev, Charles Bassey in NBA Draft

With the 28th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Jaden Springer.

As one of the youngest prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft, Springer brings two-way talent, defensive intensity, and plenty of potential to the 76ers.

Get to know the newest Sixer a bit better…

Related Links:2021 NBA Draft: Quick Facts About Filip Petrusev

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Jaden Springer | Quick Facts

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