After patiently waiting two and a half hours for the No. 22 pick to come on the clock, Adam Silver announced the newest member of the Philadelphia 76ers: Labaron Philon Jr., out of Alabama.
A Daryl Morey special even though he’s no longer the man making the picks, a speedy guard with sub-6-foot-4 size, Philon may not have perfectly fit a need in Nick Nurse’s offense right away but in the opinion of CBS’ Matt Norlander, when NBA fans look back at this year’s draft in a few years, the Alabama guard’s talent may just look like a mid-lottery selection based on his ceiling.
“Just rewind the clock a year. He was expected to be in the draft a year ago, and Nate Oates had, like, fully moved on, and then the last minute, he goes, ‘Nope, I’m coming back for my sophomore year.’ Gets picked higher this year than I think he would last year, but his stock did take a knock here over the past month or so. There was a time when I thought his camp probably believed they would be somewhere in the top-16 or so, and said they followed a really good situation, honestly. I do like the fit here. Mike Gansey is now running the show in Philadelphia and did extensive work on him,” Norlander said.
“I’m of the opinion that if Philon puts it all together, I do think he’s going to be one of the 10-12 best players in this draft class when we check in five years from now. I like how he handles. I’ve seen him in person plenty of times. He can be a blur with the ball, and knowing what his role is going to be, like, there’s some really established pieces there in Philadelphia, and being a wingman to Maxey amongst other players, I think it’s a really good value pick, and I think the upside’s tremendous.”
Unless someone has a serious growth spurt, the 76ers likely won’t be able to play their three best young guards, Maxey, Philon, and VJ Edgecombe, on the court together too often in 2026-27, especially when the playoffs roll around. But after watching Maxey and Edgecombe routinely record playing time numbers that began with a four, getting a third, high-upside guard who can shoot, score, and set up his teammates is a solid use of a non-lottery pick, even if Jared McCain fits that mold too.
"I do think [Labaron Philon Jr.] is going to be one of the 10-12 best players in this draft class when we check in 5 years from now."@MattNorlander pic.twitter.com/AROixyXAqa
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 24, 2026
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