Philadelphia 76ers Player Rankings: Rookies stepping up

The Philadelphia 76ers had two of their rookies step up their production in a big way in the month of January which helped improve the bench’s play.

Before the trade frenzy of February, the Philadelphia 76ers had a positive month in January. The team went 11-4 in January and showed some positives in regards to the growth of some of the team’s rookies. It should be noted, that these rankings are for January only and does not reflect the roster’s current construction after the trade deadline.

17. Justin Patton

January Stats: None

Previous ranking: 16th

The young big man continued to make progress in his rehab. Rich Hofmann of The Athletic, tweeted that Patton was expected to return to action in February. The Sixers also assigned Patton to the team’s G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, to continue the rehab process.

16. Zhaire Smith

January Stats: None

Previous ranking: 15th

Smith didn’t have quite as much progress in his rehab like Patton did in January. He was shooting, but no practice for most of the month and like the recovering big man, was also assigned to the Blue Coats for continued rehab work.

15. Markelle Fultz

January Stats: None

Previous ranking: 14th

The former first overall pick was going through rehab for his thoracic outlet syndrome for January in Los Angeles. However, about half way through the month he rejoined the Sixers and continued his rehab process with the team. At the time, there was no timeline for his return.

14. Haywood Highsmith

January Stats: GP 2| MINS 4.5| FG% 50.0| 3P% 50.0| TRB 0.5| AST 1.0| PTS 1.5

Previous ranking: None

The undrafted rookie was the one new addition to the Sixers roster in January. Former two-way contract player Demetrius Jackson was released and the team filled his spot by signing Highsmith. The wing had showed potential as a 3-and-D player with the Blue Coats and it was enough that the Sixers wanted to give him a two-way contract. He hit a 3-pointer in his 76ers debut, but hasn’t done much with the Sixers in general.

13. Shake Milton

January Stats: GP 4| MINS 15.3| FG% 38.1| 3P% 41.7| FT% 66.7| TRB 2.5| BLK 0.5| AST 1.3| STL 0.3| PF 1.5| TO 0.5| PTS 5.8

Previous ranking: 11th

The 54th pick of 2018 NBA draft had some significant playing time in the four games he played in during January. Milton had two games where he played 20 minutes, which is a tie in career high minutes. He also scored a career high 11 points against the Denver Nuggets. It’s clear that Milton still needs more development, but at least he’s shown flashes of good play.