National Basketball Association

Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel Better Than People Think

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:25 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ti Windisch/FanSided via Hoops Habit

He might be the third-most talked about center on the Philadelphia 76ers, but Nerlens Noel is worth his own conversation.

Almost all of the time spent talking about the Philadelphia 76ers right now is centered around Joel Embiid. That’s fine–Embiid is a basketball revelation and his social media game is simply outrageous.

Still, that doesn’t leave much time to talk about the other two young centers in Philly, aside from which of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel should be traded to open up more space for Embiid. That’s a shame, because one of those centers is having a surprisingly good offensive season.

No, it’s not Okafor, who was billed as a score-first (and only) center coming out of Duke. Nerlens Noel, known primarily for his defense, has become much better at putting the ball into the basket while maintaining his ability to keep it out of the basket on the other end of the floor.

Noel isn’t scoring much because of his lack of playing time, but in just 17.6 minutes per game he’s posting 8.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks this season.

If Noel were playing 36 minutes per game, his numbers would look downright impressive: 16.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.1 blocks.

It’s easy to look at a role player’s per 36 minutes numbers and be impressed–it’s more rare for said role player to actually put up numbers close to the projections. Noel has done just that in some recent games where Embiid has not played.

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Philly played the Los Angeles Clippers last week and Noel carried the 76ers to victory. He dominated DeAndre Jordan, posting 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. He shot 80 percent from the field, missing just two of his 10 attempted shots.

Remember, for all the injuries the Clippers are dealing with, Noel did this against a healthy DeAndre Jordan. That’s a first team All-NBA center who was also on the All-Defensive first team last season and Noel straight-up owned him.

Jordan scored 10 points and his Clippers fell to Philly, 121-110.

One game doesn’t mean everything in the world, but Noel followed up that performance with another strong game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Noel put up 16 points, 13 boards, one steal and one block in another Sixers win without Embiid.

Plenty of Noel’s points come from layups and dunks, but he’s started making some baby jumpers when the situation dictates it as well.

Noel is not better than Embiid, that much is obvious. He is good though, and his recent play suggests that he could serve as a starter on his own team someday.

That day may be coming soon, as Noel reportedly is frustrated with all of the centers currently on the roster in Philadelphia.

It’s easy to frown at any player publicly lashing out at his team, and Noel probably could’ve found a way to voice his opinions in a better way. Still, he’s got a point. He should be playing more, and his recent performances as the starter in Philly prove it.