76ers Player Preview: Ricky Council IV eyes breakout season in Year 2

The trio composed of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and now, Paul George, will inarguably make or break the Philadelphia 76ers next season. That is pretty much a given in view of their sheer talent and upside given their complementary skill sets. However, winning a championship takes more than that. Typically, the teams with the best role players come out the biggest victors in June.

To truly cement themselves as a legitimate threat to unseat the reigning NBA champions and claim the Larry O'Brien trophy for themselves, the 76ers need a spreadeagled, all-out attack next season. And one player aiming to go for bigger and better things for the team in the upcoming campaign is Ricky Council IV.

Ricky Council IV goes for bigger and better for the 76ers in Year 2

Last season, the undrafted guard managed to convince the 76ers to sign him to a standard NBA deal late in April thanks to his strong play despite limited court time. That carried over to the Summer League, where he led Philly to a respectable finish.

The 23-year-old's role in 2024-25 remains to be seen at this juncture, but he's unlikely to remain tethered to the bench any longer. Heck, depending on how he fares during the preseason, a starting spot is not entirely out of the woods for the young wing.

Council's offense may be shaky at times and his outside shot may be a tad clunky with volume, but he is a pesky defender unafraid to take contact. He is a great rim-runner, and thrives in a low-usage role. For those reasons, he should be a rotation staple barring anything drastic happening to his discredit.

With the 76ers having a relatively old team, the infusion of youth and explosiveness that the Arkansas alum can provide should be a nice jolt, really, on both ends. The team clearly does not need more mouths to feed on offense, and to strike a better balance, they need players willing to do the dirty work, such as Ricky Council IV.