Sixers: Ranking every player on the 2022-23 roster

The NBA season is upon us! Sixers basketball is back, and with it comes a whirlwind of expectations and high hopes. This might be the best team of the Embiid era. Philly is deeper and more dangerous than they’ve been in decades.

Every year, we rank the Sixers’ roster from top to bottom (or, more accurately, from bottom to top). Normally there are 17 players on an active NBA roster, but Philly only has 16 players under contract after waiving Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey (presumably in the interest of financial flexibility and potential buyout candidates down the road). So, we have 16 players to rank.

Ranking every player on the Sixers roster

16

Julian Champagnie

Julian Champagnie enjoyed a fruitful college career up the road at St. John’s, where he averaged 19.2 points and 6.6 rebounds as a junior. The Sixers signed him to a two-way contract early in the summer and began to reap the rewards in the preseason. He scored 15 points in 18 minutes against the Nets, hitting three of seven attempts from deep and looking the part of a real NBA prospect.

The results weren’t that impressive every night, but Champagnie clearly has the tools to succeed at the next level. He’s a good athlete at 6-foot-8, capable of sliding his feet on the perimeter and guarding multiple positions. His 3-point track record is spotty, but he’s clearly confident in taking them. That’s important for someone who will have to space the floor for Philadelphia’s core creators if he has any hope of earning minutes.

Given Philadelphia’s immediate competitive goals and the sheer volume of quality wings on the roster, Champagnie faces an uphill battle for minutes. He could stick around — we will soon talk about Philadelphia’s returning two-way contract — but the burden of proof is on him to show that he’s more than a G-League staple.