Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft picks from last five years: Where are they now?
Philadelphia 76ers’ 2016 NBA Draft Class
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Ben Simmons, No. 1 overall
The Australian became the Sixers’ first top pick since Allen Iverson in 1996, and although the Fresh Prince may not have the swagger and confidence of the franchise legend, he has all the talent in the world, and he demonstrated that in his first season.
He broke his foot before the 2016-17 season and missed all of it, so he came back for his true rookie season, took out a lease in Donovan Mitchell’s conscience, and put up Embiid-like numbers in his debut year.
Simmons kept up the trend of the Sixers’ high lottery picks missing a season due to injury, but he, like Embiid and hopefully Markelle Fultz, proved worth the wait. The LSU product averaged a stellar 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists as a rookie and established himself as one of the best passers and most versatile defenders in the league.
He narrowly missed out on an All-Star appearance because Adam Silver hates the Process, but he did manage to swipe the Rookie of the Year award away from Mitchell.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, No. 24 overall
TLC showed some raw potential in his two seasons with the 76ers, but he had not developed enough by the end of the 2017-18 season to earn a spot on the team for the upcoming season, where the Sixers will expect a conference finals appearance at least. The Frenchman posted a stat line of 5.8 points, 1.4 boards, and one assist per game, and each of those numbers decreased from his rookie year stats.
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The 2016 first-round pick started seven games last season amidst an injury crisis, and he did well to fill J.J. Redick‘s shoes while he missed time: TLC put up 10.6 points, 1.7 boards, and 2.3 assists in those games.
In late July, Brett Brown flipped the Frenchman to Oklahoma City in the three-team deal where the Sixers landed Mike Muscala from the Atlanta Hawks, which proved that Brown does not think the 23-year-old has the skill to earn minutes for a team contending for a place in the NBA Finals.
Furkan Korkmaz, No. 26 overall
The Turkish Kevin Durant stuck around with the 76ers for most of the season as opposed to playing with the G-League team, and he saw action in 14 games, averaging 5.7 minutes per contest. He still looks raw, and an inconsistent showing in Summer League play makes him an even more intriguing prospect entering the 2018-19 season.
Korkmaz averaged 16.7 points in 24.8 minutes per game in his six Summer League games, and a 40-point outburst in a loss against the Celtics made the hype around him rise. He went 8-14 from three-point range in that game, and his performance excited Le’Veon Bell so much that the running back Tweeted his admiration of the Turkish wing.
He fell back to earth quickly and never came close to replicating that level of play in his other five games, but that performance gives Sixers fans some optimism when wondering if he will crack the rotation or not.