The Philadelphia 76ers have a number of success stories, where late-round draft picks explode into NBA rotation players. Unfortunately, the franchise never put in the time with J.P. Tokoto, a second-round pick who never appeared in a game for the 76ers or any franchise. Instead, he took his talents overseas -- where he just secured a new team to play for.
Let's take a trip down memory lane for a 76ers draft pick even the most locked-in fans may have forgotten about.
Who is J.P. Tokoto?
An All-Defense selection in college for the North Carolina Tar Heels, J.P. Tokoto played during a season of UNC basketball where they were hardly churning out NBA stars. Instead they were sending bench options into the league, names like Brice Johnson, Marcus Paige and James Michael McAdoo, players who never turned into long-term NBA players.
Tokoto joined that movement, leaving school a year early to enter the 2015 NBA Draft. The Philadelphia 76ers owned the 58th pick in the draft from a previous trade and used the pick on Tokoto, who was billed as a versatile defensive jackknife the team could throw on opposing stars.
Whether or not Tokoto would have developed in that direction in the NBA, he didn't get much of a chance to prove himself. The 76ers brought him in for Training Camp and then waived him before the season. He did appear in five preseason games, scoring a grand total of 14 points, and apparently proved to the 76ers that he had little offensive upside.
In the age before two-way contracts, Tokoto was waived and went to what was then called the NBA's D-League, but was immediately traded to the Oklahoma City Blue, where he spent the season. He tried again to join an NBA team the following summer, spending Training Camp with the New York Knicks, but was again waived before the season began.
J.P. Tokoto made a career overseas
By 2017, Tokoto stopped playing the G League game. He spent summers in Las Vegas trying to get the attention of NBA teams, but in between, he took his talents overseas. He played a season in Australia for the Perth Wildcats, making the All-NBL Second Team playing alongside NBL legend Bryce Cotton. The next year, he was in Spain, playing for Burgos and continuing to fill the box score and play effective defense.
By 2020-21, Tokoto was in Israel with Hapoel Eliat and was an All-Star, leading the team to the Israeli League Final Four. He moved around the Israeli League, playing for multiple teams as a key transplant whose game translated well to the European game.
Now Tokoto is heading to a new location, signing with Veolia Towers Hamburg. A mid-tier German team, Hamburg had a down season last year and signed Tokoto with an eye toward improving up the standings. Adding a player who has driven winning at every stop seems like a shrewd move to make.
The 76ers never got to see if Tokoto could become something in the NBA. He never made it onto the court for an NBA game. Yet a small piece of Philly trivia has blossomed into an effective international player and will continue his career in Germany this season.