Out of the three players that the Philadelphia 76ers made in the 2021 NBA Draft, I was the least high on Charles Bassey. I made reference that the Sixers should trade or waive him during the preseason.
The rookie center didn’t play in the NBA Summer League which didn’t help his case. The other thing to consider is that the Sixers had bigs like Andre Drummond, Paul Reed, and Georges Niang that could play backup center. There didn’t appear to be a need for Bassey and those were the reasons why I wouldn’t have blinked if the 76ers would have moved on from Bassey.
That position looks extremely poor now based on Bassey’s breakout performance against the Denver Nuggets. I was wrong about Bassey and he appears to be a steal for Philly who bought the rights for his pick from the New Orleans Pelicans, via the Dallas Mavericks.
The Philadelphia 76ers appear to have a steal in Charles Bassey.
Against the Nuggets, Bassey ended the game with 12 points, seven rebounds, one steal, three blocks, three fouls, and a plus/minus of plus-20. He also shot 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from the foul line.
Up to this point, Bassey hadn’t played more than nine minutes in any other game prior to the Denver matchup. Against the Nuggets, he logged 19 minutes. This was an ideal matchup for the 6-foot-11 and 235 lb, Bassey to play in as reigning MVP Nikola Jokic who is a physical big man. Having a thinner Paul Reed defending Jokic could have been problematic for the Sixers so Bassey made more sense.
Bassey played very good defense in this tough matchup and has earned himself an opportunity for more minutes while Joel Embiid is out due to health and safety protocols. Before this game, it was clear Bassey was the number four center on the depth chart, however, now there can be some debate between him and Reed moving forward.
To be clear, this is just one game and this isn’t doesn’t mean that Bassey is going to be a part of the regular rotation this year. However, considering that he was the 53rd pick and the potential he has shown thus far, it’s fair to the rookie big man was a steal for the Philadelphia 76ers in this past draft.