76ers front-court solution is right in front of them with emergence of this rookie

With V.J. Edgecombe, Justin Edwards, and Adem Bona sidelined for the Philadelphia 76ers’ matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, there wasn’t much for us to look forward to. That was until Johni Broome nailed his first couple of triples, and with each make, the more I started to see Philadelphia’s long-term vision. His two-way prominence led it to a 90-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Broome had his best game yet

When the 76ers selected Broome with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, I was a bit skeptical due to his limited athleticism and questionable floor-spacing. While we still need to see how he translates to the NBA, he’s displayed more good than bad throughout the Summer League. Broome finished with 22 points on 8-19 shooting from the field, 14 rebounds, and three stocks (steals and blocks).

He shot 4-11 from beyond the arc, which marks his highest amount of perimeter attempts in the summer. As of late, Broome has seemed more confident as a spot-up shooter, especially off pick-and-pops. He appears to like to pull it from the top of the key rather than the corners, which is something to note depending on whether he plays more center or power forward next season. Broome also found success attacking the basket, whether off drives or rolls. 

The 76ers’ Summer League offense has been questionable to say the least, but one thing that they’ve done well is utilize Broome. He’s had a strong mix of roll-man actions and possessions where the offense has run through him as a dribble hand-off hub. If Broome can be even a hair below a league-average three-point shooter, he can contribute in his rookie campaign. Not to mention, his rebounding – although not flashy – has been very convincing for the most part.

Where does he fit with the 76ers?

Originally, I viewed him as more of a four, but with his niche skill-set, he’d also be impactful as a five who can initiate some offense and attack the glass. Of course, this depends on his shooting and how his defense will look in an NBA setting. Tonight, his defense was solid. He kept up well enough laterally, executed drop coverage well, and provided adequate close-outs, which is all you need.

Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all butterflies and rainbows from Broome this summer. He looked concerningly slow-footed while running the floor and defending off the point-of-attack in some matchups. His off-the-dribble scoring left a lot to be desired on more than one occasion and his shooting simply wasn’t there a few times. 

Still, he’s having a strong finish to the Summer League and if he can maintain effectiveness as a pick-and-pop threat while remaining a capable defender and board-cleaner, Philadelphia has an intriguing element it can add to its front-court. 

The 76ers will face the Brooklyn Nets on July 18th at 6 p.m. EST on NBA TV.