Two players the Philadelphia 76ers are still waiting to roll out during the preseason are Adem Bona and Anfernee Simons.
Both preseason debuts are anticipated for different reasons. Will they come later this week, when the Sixers return home for the preseason finale? It's too early to tell.
It seems that progress has been made on Monday, as Bona and Simons were both announced as "partial participants" for the latest training camp session, but that doesn't do anything to show knowledge of the timeline.
The Sixers are running out of time
Adem Bona suffered a foot injury weeks before the 76ers fired up training camp. It was an unfortunate development, considering the 76ers wanted to see Bona and Ariel Hukporti battle it out for the backup center spot behind Joel Embiid.
The initial reports regarding Bona's setback suggested he could miss about two weeks of training camp action. It seems his recovery has already surpassed that mark.
At this point, the Hukporti-Bona battle is over, since the former player suffered an Achilles injury, which derailed his season. Bona will certainly get a look to play a rotational role whenever he returns, but he's got a lot of ramping up to do before the season opener.
As for Anfernee Simons, the Sixers simply want to see him make his debut with the team. While Simons has plenty of NBA experience, he hasn't taken the court with the Sixers in a public setting. Since suffering a hamstring injury during the first week of training camp, the 76ers held Simons out of their public Blue x White scrimmage after their first week of training camp.
Over the first three preseason games, Simons was ruled out in advance. While the Sixers haven't suggested that Simons' setback is severe enough to cut into his regular season run, he sure seems to be cutting it close. The 76ers have just one more game left on the preseason schedule before all of the focus is on the New York Knicks for the first game of the regular season.
Similar to Bona, Simons will have a spot in the rotation by default. With eight years of experience and over 400 appearances on the court since 2018, Simons is on pace to play a key role for the Sixers' bench in 2026-2027. Last season, he appeared in 49 games for the Boston Celtics. He averaged 24.5 minutes per game, while shooting 39.5% from three, and producing averages of 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
The Sixers should certainly do what they can to get both players on the court for the preseason finale on October 16 against the Boston Celtics. If not, then they'll be eyeing next Tuesday against the New York Knicks for the opener.
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