The Philadelphia 76ers rookies have experienced some interesting developments recently and one rookie shined in the G-League showcase.
Mid-December has offered plenty of insight to the development of the Philadelphia 76ers rookies thus far this season. Whether it’s in regards to health, reaching new highs, showing off skills or getting consistent burn on the NBA level, each of the Sixers rookies had positives this past week.
16th pick, 2018
Sadly, there’s still no change in Zhaire Smith‘s status at the moment, but there have been some developments surrounding him. The first is that head coach Brett Brown wants Smith on the court, based on Brown’s comparison of Smith to defensive ace Avery Bradley and that Brown wants more perimeter defense.
The other is that there has been a picture on twitter of a much thinner Smith watching a basketball game. His thinner frame seems to confirm the report made by The Ringer that he had lost around 20 lbs.
26th pick, 2018
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Landry Shamet reached a new career high in scoring with 17 points against the New York Knicks. The main story line of that game was J.J. Redick‘s scoring milestone, but it’s undeniable that as the season progresses, Shamet is slowly becoming more and more comfortable within an NBA offense. He only had one bad shooting performance in four games, which shows more consistency.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/21/2018.
36th pick, 2017
Jonah Bolden split time between the Delaware Blue Coats and the Sixers, but it was with Delaware where he really shined. He participated in the G-League Showcase and didn’t disappoint with 15 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals. The Blue Coats seems to be the best route of development for Bolden moving forward and not the Sixers.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/21/2018.
Season stats: Blue Coats
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/21/2018.
54th pick, 2018
One of the more surprising developments is that Shake Milton saw game time with the 76ers in every game this past week and zero games with the Blue Coats (so no stats change from the previous rookie report). Granted he’s only scored in two of those games, one of which he scored 10 points, him getting consistent game action shows two things.
The first being that head coach Brett Brown knows the team has depth issues and is allowing Milton a chance to prove himself. The other being that he’s shown enough development earlier in the season with Delaware that Brown feels comfortable giving him a shot.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/21/2018.
It appears that all the active Philadelphia 76ers rookies are progressing along nicely thus far this season. Hopefully, with Smith being out in the public’s eye it will mean he’s progressing along nicely as well.