The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Utah Jazz to begin summer league play on Saturday, 93-89. The standout for the Sixers was rookie VJ Edgecombe who impressed with 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks as he stuffed the stat sheet in his summer league debut.
However, Adem Bona deserves the spotlight a bit. The second-year big man out of UCLA had 16 points, eight rebounds, and a block and had some big moments against Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski. As he continues throughout the summer league, the Sixers will be looking for more of this.
Now’s the time to look at the good and the bad from Bona’s performance against the Jazz:
The good
His energy and soft touch around the basket was what stood out on Saturday. Bona is like a pogo stick at times and he skied for a big putback on the offensive end while showing off some dribble moves. He flashed some potential as a driver with the basketball in his rookie season, but there was one play, in particular, on Saturday when he jab stepped, took Filipowski baseline, and threw down a slam over his fellow second-year counterpart.
Another thing that stands out about Bona is he plays within himself. He knows what he can do and doesn’t try to do too much. His ability to finish around the basket and be able to keep the scoreboard moving is a helpful trait. He shot 8-for-11 from the floor against the Jazz and made winning plays all night.
Adem Bona was an interior force tonight for the 76ers in Summer League
16 PTS | 8 REB | 8/11 FG
Quick first step and did a great job angling for positioning. Shined in his matchup vs Filipowski pic.twitter.com/fEKe7qHKsG
— GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@greenlightbball) July 6, 2025
The bad
Bona had moments during his rookie season when he struggled with fouls and that continued in this contest. One is allowed 10 fouls in the summer league before fouling out and Bona got dangerously close to fouling out as he finished with eight. Some of it was just tough luck as he looks to make the big play on the defensive end to help his team, but a few of them were just silly fouls. If Bona wants to keep a rotation spot in the league, he will have to watch his fouling and give the Sixers a player they can rely on to stay on the floor in that respect.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Analyzing Adem Bona’s performance after summer Sixers fall to Jazz