National Basketball Association

The Best Non-Athletic Quality for Each Philadelphia 76ers Player

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:40 a.m. ET

Fansided, Lucas Johnson/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

Basketball requires so much athleticism it becomes hard to distinguishes between skills and athletic gifts. Each player on the Philadelphia 76ers has one key skill.

Occasionally it is hard to look at basketball players and see the artisan behind that athlete. Some players in the NBA are not as athletically gifted than others. That is when a player has to craft a skill and turn it into a weapon. Each player on the Philadelphia 76ers as a go to non-athletic attribute of there game that can be clearly identified.

Point Guards

T.J. McConnell has been a revelation at the starting point guard position in the month of January. It is good to start out with McConnell, because to be honest, he is the least athletic player on the Sixers roster. The best thing that McConnell brings is his unselfish play to the team. Yes, it is a bit tacky to say a point guard is unselfish. However, in today’s NBA a starting point guard is expect to score so much, it is nice to see a point guard that is more interested in passing. His ability to make a spot on point pass is one of the reasons why the team has been able to make a run as of late.

Sergio Rodriguez ranks tops in NBA when it comes to basketball experience. His playing resume is too long to list. With that comes a high basketball I.Q. Rodriquez’s I.Q. helps steady the team in rough stretches and help mentor the other young guards on the team. His high I.Q. helps him execute pin point passes which help the team play at a fast pace. He helps control the pace the team plays at, which is why the Sixers are much better this in part due to the pace they place.

Chasson Randle is relatively new to the franchise and might not be with the team that long. With that in mind, one thing that Randle does bring is depth at the point guard position for the short term. It is yet to be determined of what he brings in the long term. If evaluating what he has brought to the Sixers so far, it would have to be his score first mentality. This is not common among the rest of Sixers guards.

Jerryd Bayless is sadly injured for the rest of the season and will not be providing much of anything to the team this season. Next season however, he will offer plenty of floor spacing spacing with his shooting ability. He also has been in winning environments and can help shape the culture of winning in Philadelphia.

Shooting Guards

Gerald Henderson is yet again is one of the savvy veterans that the Sixers have on their roster this season. He brings the mental toughness and tough style of play on the perimeter that the Sixers lacked in recent seasons. Henderson is only an average NBA athlete, so he has to be a tough player on both ends of the floor in order to thrive in the Association.

Nik Stauskas is slowly ripping away the label of “bust” in front of this name. He is doing it by playing smart basketball. It is a learned skill for Stauskas, but his smart shoot selection and ability to sneakily get to the basket is what benefits the Sixers the most.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is still a very raw talent that head coach Brett Brown has the time to mold. Raw is the word to describe Luwawu-Cabarrot. However, rawness is not an attribute that really can be described as a quality. High energy is though, whenever he enters the game he goes a 110 percent. Now that he has more playing time thanks to president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo waiving of Hollis Thompson. With that trade Luwawu-Cabarrot more playing time and can give the team much more of a boost in energy whenever he is on the court.

Small Forwards

Ben Simmons has a lot of potential and it will be great when everyone can see what he can do when he is finally cleared to play. With Simmons most of skills are based on the physical gifts that he was born with. However, if one review his college and summer league games closely there are some aspects of his game that are not based in his athleticism.

Like McConnell and Rodriguez, Simmons’ most valuable skill is passing. This skill is even more emphasized basket of Simmons’ 6′ 10″ frame. Fellow The Sixer Sense writer Owen Nelson wrote a comparison of Simmons to other great passer of bigger frames. One other player that Simmons could be compared to the Nelson didn’t mention was Hedo Turkoglu.

Turkoglu to Simmons is not completely fair, but when Simmons gets older and loses most of his athleticism it is not as hard to see the comparison then.

Robert Covington is a great shooter, albeit not as much this season, that is not the skill that is his most valuable at this point of his career. His defense in particular his ability to steal the ball. According to ESPN NBA stats, he ranks thirteenth in the league averaging 1.71 steals per game. He also is tied at sixteenth in the league in total of 60 steals. Coach Brown has helped Covington turn the learned skill he has and made him into one of the steal masters in the NBA.

Power Forwards

Ersan Ilyasova has been one of the best trades for the Sixers that have fruition for the franchise in recent years. He has provided a solid veteran leadership for the young big men on the roster. A mentor for is almost irreplaceable as was seen with the retired Elton Brand last season. The only difference this season is that Ilyasova is actually contributing at very high leave. Flooring spacing is best attribute he brings to the court. In an other article, I highlighted how effective Ilyasova is at the stretch four position. Offensively Ilyasova is one of the main linchpins that keep the Sixers running smoothly.

Dario Saric will eventually take Ilyasova’s place in the starting five, just not for the foreseeable future. Saric has a lot of skills one could point to shows his none athleticism skills. His shooting and passing skills are strong skills, but not the strongest. After seeing him playing in person, the strongest skills I would say it is the energy he brings into a game especially with his rebounding. He attacks the boards with so much tenacity. In the future he will be key in bringing in a championship for the Philadelphia 76ers, but until then the Sixers and fans must hope he continues into the player we all see he can be.

Centers

Joel Embiid is just amazing. The season he is having has already ranked him as one of the top five centers in the league. He is ranked one of the best while on a minutes restriction. Embiid has so many non-physical gifts. We could talk about his smooth jump shot or his ability to defend the paint. His defensive presences is certainly something to be admired, but still half of what he can do on defense is based on physical gifts.

Honestly there has slowly been a culture change in Philadelphia that started when Embiid jump balled against Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder on opening night. With that in mind, he has brought back enthused basketball back to Philly for the first time since Allen Iverson did during his heyday. It is more than a hope that Embiid represents, but rather a revelation of “The Process ” set fourth by former general manager Sam Hinkie. Yes, the man was far from perfect, but he got the team Joel Embiid and made the team so bad to allow current Colangelo to select Ben Simmons with the first overall pick. Embiid most unique none athletic attribute is that he is now become Philadelphia basketball.

Nerlens Noel is either loved or hated depending on who you ask. Besides adding off court drama to the Sixers, Noel does add plenty for the Sixers on the court. Besides proving to be a steller back up for Embiid, his offense has seemed to improve drastically from last season. Anyone that follows the NBA knows that Noel can defend but it seems this season he is playing smarter overall basketball. Especially on the defensive end he has become especially focused.

Jahlil Okafor has kept a low profile compared to last season. He has not fueled flame to the drama of the big man situation around the franchise, which is great. He has been very patient with the Sixers’ front office during this whole situation. Okafor plays with the same patience on offense. He is very methodical. It is a true characteristic a throwback center. Which would be great if Okafor played 10 to 15 years ago. Now it is more debated if it is a good skill to have, but in the right system it can be deadly.

Richaun Holmes is the forgotten sibling of the Sixers front court dilemma. The second round pick from a season before has not played often, but when he has been a wonderful back up. Back on December 5th, 2016 the Sixers faced off at who against the Denver Nuggets. I witnessed the game in person and one positive aspect that I took away from Holmes’ game was that he has developed a nice floating hook shot he had used against the Nuggets’ front line. Last season he had a defensive presence and this season fans are seeing him develop very rapidly. Besides solid depth at the center position, Holmes can provide high energy plays on both sides of the ball.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of players just ready to work hard and provide enormous contributions on and off the floor. Some players contribute in more subtle ways than others, but make no mistake that the Sixers are making the NBA notice them.