As a lead-up to their active part in the league’s annual excursion abroad for the preseason games, the Philadelphia 76ers have just conducted their own Media Day to address the media for the first time as a collective. After a long while, fans have finally gotten some much-needed clarity on numerous fronts, from injury concerns and season outlooks from players and coaches alike.
Of course, the elephants in the room were the discussions about the playing status and health of the team’s biggest stars in Joel Embiid and Paul George. The turnouts have been mixed with the former hinting at suiting up earlier than expected while the latter expressly stated that he will not be actively in the loop during the preseason to start things off.
But beyond those big names, the 76ers have also gotten some very welcome news, again on the health department. Andre Drummond, who returned to the team this summer when he exercised his player option for this season, revealed to the media that he has finally recuperated from his toe injury from last season, which bugged him all year long.
In fact, the former All-Star even shared that he has resorted to toe yoga to rehab his injured toe, which seems to have benefited him as he has been a constant in the practice clips and workout images released by the social media team just recently.
Andre Drummond is now healthy and looks ready for a big bounce back season with the 76ers
Thanks to that injury, Drummond was a huge disappointment last season. While his counting stats did not really decline that much, his effectiveness on both ends greatly waned. Outside of his expectedly high-caliber rebounding, he was lackluster. He was a complete non-factor as a rim deterrent nor was he a viable finisher above the rim.
Many were already projecting Drummond to languish on the bench this season with Adem Bona and perhaps even Johni Broome coming for his spot as Embiid’s primary backup. A healthy Drummond, however, could change that equation.
If the veteran center can return to the level of play he exhibited during his final year with the Bulls when he was a double-double machine despite logging just approximately 17 minutes per game, that would be colossal for the 76ers. Embiid will definitely rest and miss games here and there, and having someone like Drummond who will not be a liability on both ends despite his massively different dynamic would allow the team to actually survive not having its best player.
Hopefully, Andre Drummond does end up proving that last season was an aberration for him, and that the 76ers can completely trust him as their backup center and proxy starter when needed.