The Sixer Sense
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Should the Philadelphia 76ers Keep Hollis Thompson?

By Michael Bronson

Mar 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Hollis Thompson (31) dribbles the ball as Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (5) chases during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets won 100-85. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Hollis Thompson (31) dribbles the ball as Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (5) chases during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets won 100-85. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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If the Philadelphia 76ers keep Hollis Thompson on the roster for the upcoming season and can he become a useful member of the team for years to come.

I’ve never been a fan of Hollis Thompson, but I have usually been okay with him being part of my favorite team. When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Thompson during the 2013 NBA offseason, I was initially supportive of the signing. I’m not going to lie to you and claim I saw potential in a player that went undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft and spent most of the 2012-13 season playing for the Tulsa 66ers, a NBA Development League team that’s affiliated to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I liked the signing of Thompson because I wanted the Sixers to lose as many games as possible to increase their chances of winning the 2014 NBA Lottery and this player I’ve heard of would likely increase the chances of that happening. Whether Thompson lived up — or down in this case — to my expectations is debatable. Thompson, a 6-8, 206 pound shooting guard/small forward, with the ability to make 3-pointers at a high percentage, averaged 6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game during the 2013-14 season.

While those stats don’t look good, Thompson was clearly better than many of the other D-Leaguers that filled the Sixers’ roster that season. James Nunnally, Lorenzo Brown, and Elliot Williams are a few members of “NBA’s Least Wanted” that played worse than Thompson as members of the 2013-14 Sixers.

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While one could categorize Thompson’s three years with Sixers as managing to avoid becoming the biggest loser on teams filled with many contestants competing for that honor, Bryan Colangelo’s decision to pick up the team option on Thompson’s contract means that he will likely be on the Sixers next season. I would have never imagined that Thompson would be part of the Sixers longer than Sam Hinkie, but unless he becomes a throw-in in a Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel trade, Thompson will outlast Hinkie as part of the team’s transition from trying to lose games to get a better draft pick to trying to win games by slowly adding players to complement Ben Simmons.

Thompson only averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per for his entire career, but his 39 percent 3-point shooting is likely the reason Bryan thought he was worth keeping on the team.

Any NBA player that is capable of making 35 percent of his 3-point shots is considered an average 3-point shooter, so Thompson shooting 39 percent for his career is pretty good. Last season Thompson was the Sixers best 3-point shooter among players that shot enough threes to qualify to be part of the NBA’s 3-point shooting percentage leaders, and was ranked 51st out of the 152 players that qualified last season.

The Sixers shot 33 percent as a team from the 3-point line last season and were ranked 24th out of 30 NBA teams for that category, so Thompson’s shooting was needed.

With Nik Stauskas shooting 32 percent from behind the 3-point line for his career and making $2.9 million next season compared to Thompson’s $1 million, it’s possible the Sixers would rather have Thompson coming off the bench after signing Gerald Henderson to be the starting shooting guard.

Anyone that has seen Thompson play several games knows his shooting can be very hot or very cold on any given night. Some games Thompson will shoot the lights out making three after three when the Sixers get one of their rare victories, while other games the lights might as well be out in the Wells Fargo Center because no one can see Thompson contributing in any positive way.

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While Thompson might have more negatives than positives as an NBA player, he is a good 3-point shooter with a dirt cheap contract. I agree with the decision to keep Thompson on the Sixers for the upcoming season and would accept the Sixers keeping him for seasons past the upcoming one as the tenth-to-twelfth man on the team.