At this stage of the NBA offseason, Adem Bona has to feel good about his chances of winning the backup role behind Joel Embiid at the start of the 2026-2027 NBA season.
Still, there's enough pressure applied to the third-year center, forcing him to want to show more to Nick Nurse and the coaching staff in training camp just a couple of months from now. In a recent workout video he posted on Instagram, Bona teased some improved shooting range. He could be taking a page out of Andre Drummond's book.
Adem Bona wants to show more value
If the season started tomorrow, Bona would likely be the team's backup. He's been with the Sixers for two full seasons now, and despite joining as a second-round pick, Bona earned plenty of playing time from his early days due to injuries piling up for the team.
As a rookie, Bona appeared in 58 games, averaging 15.6 minutes of playing time. When he returned for his sophomore effort, Bona averaged 17.4 minutes on the court, playing in 71 games. He even started 18 of those games as well. Then, come playoff time, Bona was involved for 10 games (three starts), seeing the floor for 9.6 minutes per game.
Bona showed enough promise to convince the Sixers that he's worth keeping around to continue developing. However, there were also enough questions to be concerned about the depth behind Joel Embiid, when the Sixers' starting five clearly suggests that winning a championship is a realistic goal for this upcoming season.
Nick Nurse has embraced centers with range from the moment he joined the 76ers. When Paul Reed was his initial backup, Nurse was pretty vocal about being open to allowing Reed to let it fly when the opportunity presents itself. And when a total non-shooting center in Andre Drummond entered the picture and said he wanted to take a stretch-five role for a spin, Nurse gave the green light.
From 2012 to 2025, Andre Drummond attempted just 140 threes in 904 games--coming to an average of 10.8 per season. In 2025-2026, Drummond attempted 90 threes. He was surprisingly solid too, hitting those shots at a 35.6% clip. Bona just might be following in Drummond's footsteps after taking only seven threes through his first two seasons.
Don't get comfortable
It's exciting when a young homegrown player can unlock new areas of their game, but it's going to take more than 1.4 threes per game to convince the Sixers that Bona is the guy.
The veteran center still needs to improve in the traditional role and work on tightening up from fouling so frequently. That work will come when the Sixers get back in the gym ahead of training camp. This fall, Bona will compete against the newly signed Ariel Hukporti and the second-year center, Johni Broome.
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