Philadelphia 76ers All-Decade Starting Five
Power Forward: Thaddeus Young
By: Stuart London
The biggest attribute about Thaddeus Young was that he was solid and you could count on him with a franchise where you could count on little else. Young, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward, played seven years for the 76ers (2007-2014).
His averages during that span was 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds were not eye-popping, but his impact was much more than on a stat sheet. He was sort of the Sixers equivalent of Al Horford in the early part of the decade.
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During his Sixers tenure, he never had an injury that caused him to miss a lot of time. He was available, always worked hard and had a good attitude. That explains why he is still in the NBA today, currently with the Chicago Bulls. It also explains why former general manager Sam Hinkie kept Young around for the first year of “The Process” before dealing him to Minnesota in August, 2014.
Young was more than a “locker room guy”, he could ball. In the 2012 NBA playoffs, he helped the Sixers win the first round over a heavily-favored Bulls team and then battled potential Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett inside to help take the Boston Celtics to seven games in the second round.
Following that playoff run came the disastrous Andrew Bynum trade, which meant Young really was the only frontcourt player of quality they had for the next couple seasons. He never took a game off and you could always depend on Young to contribute. He is by far the best power forward the Sixers had this decade.