Even though he’s staying overseas for at least another year, Jonah Bolden might be the Philadelphia 76ers‘ next second round steal.
The Philadelphia 76ers got lucky on draft night. After moving up to select Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick, the team went international with their next three selections — 25th, 36th and 50th.
At each of those slots, they got somebody who was projected to go off the board earlier. Jonah Bolden, who was their selection at 36, already looks better than a number of first rounders picked ahead of him.
Philadelphia 76ers
Using Summer League as a measuring stick for future success is a slippery slope. The competition level is miles below what players will see in the NBA, while the schemes on both ends of the floor are much easier in terms of execution. There are, however, some positives that you can take away from summer games, most of which boil down to fundamental skills.
Bolden showed either improvement or excellence in the areas where it matters most.
In a league that thrives on versatility, Bolden fits the mold perfectly. He’s 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, giving him the size to play center while boasting the mobility needed to play the four. He still has plenty of room to fill out his frame in the coming years, while his production in Summer League checked virtually every box a modernized big should fill.
He’s a capable shooter with smooth mechanics, which should translate into a reliable pick-and-pop game. The UCLA product-turned-Adriatic League star also has a surprisingly good handle on the ball, allowing him to attack closeouts and work his way into shots off the bounce, something not a lot of rookie bigs find much success in doing.
He may not be a fluid as Lauri Markkanen, but he’s also a far better athlete with most explosiveness in store. As he’s able to polish off some of his more advanced footwork and continues to add to his arsenal of moves on the interior, he could become a far more dynamic threat than your typical second round big.
His impact stretched to the defensive end as well, where he was one of Summer League’s most proficient bigs.
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Bolden is an impressive athlete at 6-foot-10, with a bounciness around the basket that should bode well moving forward. He gets off his feet quick, using his length to choke off bigs underneath while covering enough ground to dissuade driving guards on more than one occasion.
A large part of his defensive success at the next level will be dependent on his frame, but that shouldn’t pose much of an issue. He can switch screens, cover out to the perimeter and function as either the help defender or a primary shot blocker. How far into his career we’ll see him reach his defensive ceiling isn’t clear, but the potential for success is most certainly there.
Bolden will also have the benefit of staying overseas with an organization that has an impressive track record when it comes to success. After emerging as the Adriatic League’s best prospect with Red Star — and status that names like Nikola Jokic and Dario Saric have reached — Bolden will now spend next season with Maccabi Tel Aviv, which is one of the Euroleague’s most noteworthy programs.
Dragan Bender is the biggest name out of Tel Aviv in recent years, but Bolden’s situation is different. Rather than using Tel Aviv as the basis for his draft stock, he’s using the experience of high level play in Europe to further his development and better prepare himself for the rigors of professional ball in the States.
Bolden already has NBA talent, and now he has the chance to bump his stock up even further as a focal point for a historically relevant team. While many wanted to see his NBA debut in 2017, putting that off for another couple of seasons — with the situation Bolden is currently in — could be a net positive.
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He has a real chance to become the Sixers’ backup center from day one in a year or two. Allowing him to wait that out and continue his improvement while Richaun Holmes and Amir Johnson live out their shelf life in Philadelphia makes sense.