Sixers: Ranking every bench player in order of importance

Ranking every Sixers bench player — 3. Furkan Korkmaz

Furkan Korkmaz re-signed on a team friendly three-year, $15 million contract and should resume a similar role next season. He’s still the most important shooter in the second unit, with unshakable confidence and gradually improved secondary skills.

Last season, Korkmaz went from unplayable to bad on defense. He still has a long way to go, but his 6-foot-7 frame and improved efforts gives him some wiggle room. Especially when he’s a legitimately consistent and reliable sharpshooter. Korkmaz can spot up, or hit shots on the move. That shooting versatility is essential when paired next to Embiid, a DHO master.

The Sixers get more from Korkmaz than just shooting, too. He can pump fake into a pull-up jumper, and has even showed some passing chops off drives to the rim. Korkmaz was billed with playmaking upside out of Turkey, and he’s starting to deliver on many of those ancillary skills. At just 24 years old, he still has time to grow alongside Philadelphia’s competitive core.

There are undoubtable limitations to Korkmaz’s game, and it’s not necessarily ideal that he’s a clear No. 3 on this list. Even so, he is on a bargain contract and has earned Doc Rivers’ trust — so much so that it was Korkmaz, not Thybulle or Milton or Maxey, who started in the playoffs when Danny Green got hurt.