The Philadelphia 76ers reunited with one of their former draft selections by proximity, but he isn’t who most expected.
The Delaware Blue Coats acquired Charles Bassey’s G-League rights from the Texas Legends–the Dallas Mavericks’ G-League affiliate–for Emoni Bates, the team announced on Thursday afternoon. With those rights, the Blue Coats will roster Bassey if he decides to play in the G-League. That doesn’t prevent him from signing with any NBA team of his choosing, however.
A fully fledged reunion is unlikely
The center’s next NBA team is uncertain, but it’s reasonable to assume that the Blue Coats wouldn’t have acquired him if he didn’t intend on spending some time in the G-League. His talents as a rebounder, rim protector and roll-man will notably benefit Delaware or any NBA team in need of a low-end reserve big man in a pinch. Bassey is averaging 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds through three G-League seasons.
It’s unlikely that he and Philadelphia will fully reconvene, nevertheless.
Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker and Hunter Sallis occupy all three of the 76ers’ two-way contract slots. These deals don’t expire until the end of the regular season, which is April 12th. Unless it cuts someone, Philadelphia won’t have another two-way slot until the possibility of converting Barlow or Walker to a standard NBA deal. Even then, the 76ers would likely fill that vacant two-way spot with a higher-upside player.
How Bassey got here
Philadelphia drafted Bassey with the 53rd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to invest in its long-term front-court depth. He averaged three points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks, logging 7.3 minutes through 23 games in the 2021-22 season. The rookie primarily spent his first season in Delaware, but his further development would occur elsewhere.
The 76ers waived him and Isaiah Joe for salary-cap relief on October 13th, 2022–a transaction that the fandom loathed. But, the second-year center agreed to a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs nine days later.
Bassey spent three seasons in San Antonio, tallying 4.7 points on 63% shooting from the field and 4.7 rebounds. The 25-year-old totaled 90 games as injuries plagued his Spurs tenure, most notably in the 2023-24 season when he suffered a torn left ACL.
Between injuries and San Antonio’s front-court upgrades, Bassey remained an unsigned free agent until September 10th. The Atlanta Hawks signed him to an Exhibit-10 deal, but waived him on October 18th, just three days before the 2025-26 season began. But, the Memphis Grizzlies, who saw injuries deplete their roster, signed Bassey to a 10-day contract that expired on November 6th.