Nicolas Batum’s time in Philadelphia was brief, but it clearly left a mark.
After 18 NBA seasons, Batum has officially retired, taking himself out of free agency before training camp arrives. Even with just 57 regular-season games in a 76ers uniform - the fewest he played for any team mentioned here - the veteran forward made it clear he’ll still be watching Philly in 2026-2027.
“Sing the song!” Batum wrote on X.
“Philly, I’ll be rooting for you! My son is the number 1 Maxey fan!”
That affection makes sense considering what Batum had said months earlier about his biggest regret in the league. He pointed to not spending more time alongside Tyrese Maxey, especially earlier in his career.
Maxey was Batum’s favorite player, and Batum believed they would have been a strong fit together in their primes. He at least got a taste of it.
The 76ers had reasons to value Batum, too. He arrived in the deal with the Los Angeles Clippers that sent James Harden, PJ Tucker, and Filip Petrusev out of Philadelphia. Once in town, Batum started 38 of his 57 games and gave the Sixers exactly the kind of steady, useful veteran minutes they were hoping for.
His numbers backed that up. Batum took 3.1 threes per game and hit 39.9% of them, while averaging 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. The quick release from deep and the passing touch that sneaks up on you were enough to impress both fans and the front office, and it helped explain why the Sixers wanted to keep him beyond the limits of his contract.
Philadelphia tried to do just that during the 2024 offseason, but the Los Angeles Clippers had the advantage. Batum was late in his career and didn’t want to leave Los Angeles, and the Clippers were willing to bring him back. That left the Sixers empty-handed in free agency.
Still, this clearly wasn’t a case of Batum slipping away with any bitterness. The retired forward sounds like someone who will keep an eye on the new-look Sixers, who added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to a roster that already included his former teammates Maxey and Joel Embiid.
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