By now you have heard the 76ers are 4-1 for the first time since 2019. While a dynamic duo of guards and a plethora of wings have filled in for the limited Joel Embiid and absent Paul George, the 76ers have shown grit in multiple fourth quarter comebacks and impressive wins. A key factor in their near-perfect start has been offensive rebounding, and thirty-two year old Andre Drummond has been leading the charge. Drummond's 7.5 rebounds per game has astounded in such limited playing time.
Drummond's career in Philly has been up and down over the past five seasons. He showed what a competent Embiid backup looked like in 2021-22 before being included at the trade deadline, perhaps unnecessarily, in the first James Harden trade as part of the package alongside Ben Simmons. That team lost to an undermanned Miami Heat team largely owing, once again, to disastrous play from the backup center position paired with an injured Joel Embiid.
The Big Penguin returned to backup the MVP for the doomed 2024-25 season, logging only forty games played and appeared past his time as a productive NBA player. Drummond's season, like everyone other than Quentin Grimes, crashed hard. But if small sample sizes are to be believed, it seems the obituary might have come early.
The 76ers are seeing an unprecedented resurgence from Andre Drummond
By all accounts, Drummond was not supposed to have a large role heading into this season. Embiid's health was headed in the right direction. Coming out of training camp, it appeared the veteran's five million dollar expiring contract was more valuable as salary matching at the trade deadline than anything he could produce on the court. Drummond's role was likely filling in behind Bona for those too-often nights when Embiid's body flamed out. So far this has not been the case.
This season's 76ers are designed to play Drummond's best kind of basketball. Head Coach Nick Nurse has prioritized the offensive glass, after finishing in the bottom third of the league last season in spite of consistently poor shooting. Drummond's brief stints behind Embiid, especially paired with Adem Bona, allow relentlessness and consistency on the offensive glass, which have been staples of his fourteen year career. Drummond led the NBA in offensive rebounds in seven different seasons.
It's unlikely Drummond will maintain his torrid pace on the boards, (he is currently tied for 38th in rebounds per game while averaging the fewest minutes of anyone in the top fifty rebounders). The 76ers have started the year against three bad teams and a scuffling Orlando Magic squad. But even if he slows down statistically, his effort and locker room presence might make it harder than expected for Nick Nurse and Daryl Morey to let go of Drummond at the deadline.