The Philadelphia 76ers brought back Andre Drummond this offseason as part of their team restructuring which also brought Paul George to the franchise. Drummond will be Joel Embiid‘s backup and allow Embiid to manage his health throughout the season instead of getting worn down and injured. Drummond opened up on his role on the 76ers, which includes pushing Embiid to be the best player he can be.
“I’m playing against the best center in the league every single day, so not only is he getting the best work out of me, vice versa — I’m getting the best work out of him because he’s challenging me, as well. And for me, he knows I’m not gonna ever back down from him.”
“And it’s been like that [since] I’ve been in Detroit. I think that’s really why he respects me, because no matter how good he is, he might have the upper hand on me but I’m gonna keep coming. I’m gonna push him to be great. I’m gonna push him to be the best player he can be, really to show the world why he is the best center to play this game.”
“He’s just a dominant player, he’s really just a super hardworking guy that really wants to be great. You can’t help but support a guy who is trying to do so much for a city or for a team. I’m glad I’m here to be able to alleviate some pressure for him and really win a lot of games.”
Drummond averaged 6.1 points and 8.8 rebounds in his last stint with the 76ers in 2021-22. He had a solid two seasons on the Chicago Bulls and was heavily pursued by teams in the winter for a trade, but the Bulls chose to keep Andre on their roster. He averaged 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds over the 2023-24 season.
Drummond left the Bulls as a free agent this summer to join the 76ers where he’ll hope to push Embiid and be his backup to maximize the chances for a title run.
The 76ers also added veterans like Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, and Paul George alongside retaining Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tyrese Maxey, which has raised the title hopes in Philadelphia by a lot.
Joel Embiid Loves The Fit Of The New 76ers
Joel Embiid is excited for the upcoming season after GM Daryl Morey managed to rebuild the roster into legitimate title contenders within one offseason after the James Harden experiment ended in ugly fashion.
Embiid commented on the fit of the new 76ers, especially the addition of an All-Star like George.
“As far as the fit, it looks amazing, it’s great. Especially… you need to have willing shooters and guys that are not afraid to pull the trigger. PG is a great shooter, 40%… Tyrese we know, great shooter, off the dribble, catch-and-shoot. So, I think we got a pretty good chance.”
Embiid averaged 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists last season but played just 39 games. The 76ers went 31-8 in those games, so his winning impact is unquestionable. But if he can’t stay healthy to show that impact in the postseason, Embiid will continue being a target of criticism as the only MVP to have never even made a Conference Finals.
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