87ers Coverage: Tiny Gallon’s Possible Return to NBA

The man with the best name in the D-League is starting to heat up. Tiny Gallon signed with the Sevens at the beginning of the new year, without much hype. However, his recent play should be catching the eyes of NBA GM’s looking for a serviceable back-up big man.

In the month of February, Gallon has had one game scoring under 20 points and only two games grabbing under 10 boards. For the month, he’s averaging 19.8 points and 11.7 boards. But, there’s something else about his game that has impressed me.

The other night, I was watching the Sevens and Tiny Gallon was on the court. Out of nowhere, Gallon received the ball at the three-point line and stepped right into a three. BANG. It dropped through like he was Ray Allen. In the past three games, Gallon is shooting three-for-five from deep, after not hitting a shot from deep in his first 17 games with the Sevens. If this can become a regular part of his game, Gallon will attract more and more attention from the big league. We reported the other day that Gallon turned down six figures from a team in China to keep playing with the Sevens, proving that he’s committed to attempting to return to the NBA.

Tiny Gallon’s shot chart from this season is quite impressive. He shows the ability to knock shots down from all over the court, not just in the paint. Plus, he’s converting on 64 percent of his shots in the paint.

Gallon recently spoke to dleaguedigest.com about his impressive performance lately and said the following:

"“It’s been really good , I feel like my team is starting to trust me. I know that I have to show everyone more consistency, but I think I’m doing that now. I’m showing everyone that I’ve been putting in the time on the basketball court, and that I’m a young man now.”"

Gallon sure looks like a different person from the one that left basketball two years ago, not sure if he would ever return. Just like Michael Jordan, we learned that they always come back at one point or another. Gallon is now fighting for a call-up and is making it hard for NBA teams to not give him a chance.

Playing for the Sixers D-League affiliate is also interesting, as they have showed a lot of interest in the D-League this season. Besides using the D-League as a chance to give bench players like Lorenzo Brown minutes, the Sixers gave a pair of 10-day contracts to D-League standout, DeWayne Dedmon. Could this be a possibility for Gallon?

I don’t see why not. The Sixers need help in the front court — like they have all season. Giving Tiny Gallon a chance is worth it, because he’s actually motivated to perform. He’s not like a lethargic Lavoy Allen or Spencer Hawes that are uninterested in playing in a league that Tiny Gallon would kill for. If the Sixers give Tiny Gallon a chance to play, you would undoubtedly see the most motivated player on the court.

The Sixers are obviously in a state of flux and the team just seems defeated as a whole. Tiny Gallon could shine on a team, just by showing his determination and hustle to earn a spot in the league.

If Tiny Gallon continues to impress, he deserves a shot in the NBA. Even if it’s just a 10-day contract. A team like the Sixers has NOTHING to lose and everything to gain from taking a shot on Tiny Gallon. Best of luck to Tiny.