CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers wrapped up mini camp on Thursday in preparation for the summer league as they get set to open against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The Sixers will play three games in Utah before heading to Las Vegas on July 10.
Summer league is the time for experimentation. The Sixers will be looking to see what they have in their young pieces so they will have them play plenty of different roles on the floor. For example, VJ Edgecombe will likely play a lot of point guard while Johni Broome will be playing a handful of positions.
Broome, especially, will be looking to make his impact at the power forward and center spots so the Sixers will look to pair him with second-year big man Adem Bona who was productive as a rookie. He was able to get a first-hand look at his new teammate.
“He’s great,” Bona said of Broome. “I got to meet him for the first time a couple days ago, and I felt like I already have a good connection with him and all the new guys that was there. He has a really unique skill set. He has a good touch, good passer out of the post, to be able to play. I’m excited to see what we can do together sharing the floor.”
The Sixers selected Broome, the 2025 SEC Player of the Year, with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft and will have him play the 4 and the 5 to see what he can do at this level. One believes he is more of a 4, but the Sixers will experiment with the two-big lineup. When one looks at the success the Oklahoma City Thunder had with it on their way to winning the title, it makes sense.
“I feel like our skill sets complement each other,” Bona said. “Me and Johni, we cannot wait to be able to share the floor together, to be able to operate on the low block together, high low, sometimes pace the floor. So I think that’s the goal. To work together, to be able to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and try to complement each other while we’re on the floor, and my goal is always to be able to help the team and even if I share the floor with Joel (Embiid). I’m gonna do my part. That’s my goal, to complement any other big I’m playing with on the floor.”
The Sixers will face off with the Jazz on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers big man talks playing with Johni Broome in summer league camp