NEW YORK - The Sixers’ locker room got a little more familiar for Jabari Walker in a hurry.
Back in June, while on a National Basketball Players Association trip to Morocco with a mix of NBA veterans and hopefuls, Walker ended up spending time with two players he barely knew: Jaylen Brown and unsigned center Tacko Fall. A few days before Philadelphia’s offseason took its biggest turn, that overseas trip suddenly carried real meaning.
Brown was traded to the Sixers in July. Fall later signed an Exhibit 10 contract. Just like that, Walker had two new teammates he already knew from halfway across the world.
“As soon as [those moves] happened, I was excited about it,” Walker told PhillyVoice last week at his new locker - which happens to be two seats in between those of new teammates Brown and Fall.
Walker and Brown had crossed paths before, since they share a trainer, but Walker said the relationship was still “nothing too crazy” before Morocco. Now, the conversations come much easier, and the two have found common ground in boxing.
“Just a very cerebral, cerebral guy,” Walker said. “Always thinking.
Quick to help, quick to share advice. Just a great person.”
That connection matters as the Sixers sort through a backup center picture that became even more unsettled after Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending Achilles tear. One possible answer is Walker at small-ball five, especially if his outside shot keeps trending in the right direction.
Walker had reason to feel good about that on Monday, when he knocked down 3 of 5 from deep in the preseason opener. He sounded almost relieved talking about the work behind it.
“Man, can't really even explain how much work has gone into it. But a lot of mental work has went into it as well, just the confidence to shoot it.
My teammates have seen me do it a lot of times, and now it's just about me understanding that it's the best shot for our team sometimes, and I'm a good shooter. I deserve to shoot that.
So I think I just kind of took the pressure off myself this offseason. I said, ‘I'm going to go in here and just be confident, let the work show,’ and I continue doing that...
It is [gratifying]. But it's tricky because you don't want that success to make you comfortable.
So it's just another day for me, and I'll be in the gym tomorrow trying to figure out ways to get better. But it's cool to see that it's paying off that early.
Now I’ve got to take it to another level.”
That kind of stretch-big profile could fit neatly next to Brown, whose shot creation thrives when the floor is open. If the Sixers need to lean into a five-out look, Brown’s ability to attack one-on-one would make Walker’s spacing especially valuable.
Walker was the team’s most productive reserve in Monday’s preseason opener, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds while showing a quicker three-point release than he had a year ago.
“I love Jabari," Brown said on Monday. "Jabari has been great.
He’s been awesome. He’s been doing his job.
He’s been hitting shots. He’s been rebounding defensively and offensively.
He’s been doing what the coaches have asked him to do. So, he’s been great and he’s been doing really well since training camp.”
Fall’s path is different, but the bond is just as real. He’s still fighting for a place in the backup center mix, and eventually for a shot at the Sixers’ available two-way spot alongside the other E-10 signees and whoever else becomes available in the coming weeks. A hip injury suffered a few days into camp will sideline him for at least two weeks, which hurts his chances.
Still, he said the presence of familiar faces has helped keep things steady.
"It's really helpful," Fall told PhillyVoice on Thursday. "It helps with building the chemistry and all of that."
Fall’s history with Brown goes back to their Celtics days, when he appeared in 26 of his 37 career games during a two-year stint in Boston. That relationship has grown into something deeper than a simple NBA connection.
"Jaylen, I've known for many years," Fall said. "He's a really close friend of mine."
So while the Sixers were getting ready for their second preseason game on Thursday night, the scene in the locker room looked like a reminder that NBA friendships can take strange, fast-moving routes. Fall, who is from Senegal, and Brown, who is from Marietta, Georgia, were trading jokes like old friends.
And for Fall, that bond runs even deeper than basketball.
"We're very similar in the way our minds work," Fall said. "And that's really how it started.
We started to hang out a lot and we just got really close. He's one of my daughter's godfathers, too.
So it's like family."
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