Philadelphia 76ers select Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. with 22nd pick in 2026 NBA draft

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the 22nd overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft Tuesday night.

Philon is the first pick of the Mike Gansey era after he replaced Daryl Morey as the team’s president of basketball operations.

Who is Labaron Philon Jr.?

Philon, 20, led the Crimson Tide in scoring last season, averaging 22.0 points on nearly 40% shooting on 3-pointers. He was the focal point of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, as Alabama led the country in points per game in the 2025-26 season. The Crimson Tide (No. 16) finished the season with a 25-10 record and went 13-5 against conference opponents.

Philon, who helped lead Alabama to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, earned Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors in his sophomore season.

In 33 games last season for Alabama, Philon scored 725 total points, which is ranked third-most by a player in a single season in program history.

Philon was the 34th-ranked basketball recruit in the country entering his freshman season at Alabama, according to 247sports. The four-star guard initially committed to playing at Auburn, but decommitted. He then signed a letter of intent to play at Kansas, but didn’t play there, either. He then committed to the Crimson Tide in April 2024.

Philon impressed as a freshman at Alabama and averaged 10.6 points in 37 games. He declared for the 2025 NBA draft but then withdrew and returned for his sophomore season, where he saw his scoring average jump more than 10 points.

Philon is a Mobile, Alabama, native and played at Baker High School in Mobile County, where he scored 2,334 points in three seasons. He was named the Class 7A Player of the Year twice. 

As a junior, he averaged 35 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists and was named Alabama Mr. Basketball, which is given to the best high school boys’ basketball player in the state. Philon transferred to Link Academy, a boarding school in Missouri, for his senior year of high school.

Philon now joins a backcourt headlined by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe heading into the 2026-27 season. Quentin Grimes could return to Philadelphia next season and add even more depth, but he’s an unrestricted free agent.

The pick the Sixers used to pick Philon was acquired in the deal that sent Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline.

Labaron Philon Jr. scouting report

CBS Sports had Philon ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the 2026 NBA draft.

Here are his strengths and weaknesses, according to CBS Sports:

Strengths

• On-ball creator who made an extreme leap as a sophomore, ranking in the 99th percentile in isolations (was 24th percentile as a freshman) and 94th as a pick-and-roll handler (was 32nd percentile as a freshman). Combines smooth attack with sudden change of speed and direction, dexterity, and finishing craft in the lane.
• Shot-maker who can make tough shots off both the catch (36% on contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointers), dribble (38% from deep), and has extreme gravity when he’s spacing the floor (46% on unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers).
• Shown pliability to thrive in different roles over the years and is a similarly versatile creator, because he’s a scoring threat at multiple levels and also an accurate, and somewhat creative, passer with both hands off the dribble.

Weaknesses

• Inconsistent defensive approach. Showed more engagement and potential as a freshman, but couldn’t maintain that as a sophomore when taking on a bigger offensive role.
• Lacks overwhelming physicality or highest level explosiveness, and didn’t add any notable muscle mass between his freshman and sophomore seasons (175 pounds at 2025 combine and 176 at 2026 combine).
• Unclear how well his creation scales to the NBA level when he will have less usage and volume coupled by more physicality in opposing defenders.