Philadelphia 76ers Big Man has Career Night vs Indiana Pacers

On Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers kicked off their three-game road trip with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. As they continue to deal with an array of injuries, Nick Nurse has had to rely on the roster’s younger talent to fill the void.

Among those who has seen a sizable uptick in playing time in this recent stretch is big man Adem Bona. With Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond sidelined, he’s been tasked with filling the backup center minutes. He’d do so again against the Pacers, this time replacing Guerschon Yabusele.

A returning Drummond was placed in the starting lineup, leaving Bona to anchor the second unit. He’d put together one of the best outings of his young NBA career, posting a career-high 12 points to go along with six rebounds. What stood out most from Bona in Indiana was his efficiency, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

When the Sixers drafted Bona in the second round of the 2024 draft, the expectation was that he’d focus on development behind the scenes with the long view in mind. However, due to the team’s unwanted injury circumstances, the young big man has found himself learning the NBA game on the fly. Bona has appeared in 25 games so far for the Sixers and is averaging 2.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG.

Even with Drummond returning, Bona will likely still seem some playing time for the foreseeable future. It remains unclear if Yabusele will be back in action the next time the Sixer take the floor, and Embiid has already been ruled out for at least another seven days.

Despite being slightly undersized for the center position, Bona has managed to have success in the early stages of his career as an energy guy.