The Sixers have already signaled that rookie guard Labaron Philon Jr. is expected to be part of the regular rotation, and that makes the backcourt picture a little more crowded now that Anfernee Simons is in the mix.
Philon and Simons are separated by roughly an inch in height, and both are slated to come off the bench behind Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.
Philadelphia has put real resources into both guards, just in different ways: Philon as a first-round draft pick, Simons with a piece of the mid-level exception. That creates a natural comparison, even if the bigger question may not be which one wins out, but how Nick Nurse chooses to use them.
Nurse has already shown he leans toward defense when he’s sorting out his rotation. Last season, his decision to go with Quentin Grimes over giving Jared McCain steady minutes said plenty about what he values.
McCain eventually found his offensive rhythm late in his time in Philadelphia before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Grimes was a black hole on that end of the court. Still, the older guard earned Nurse’s trust by being more dependable defensively.
Neither player will be on the Sixers next season, but the point remains: Nurse’s preference matters here. Simons has a reputation as a poor defender, while Philon showed he could pressure the ball as a freshman at Alabama before shifting toward a bigger offensive role as a sophomore.
That’s why this doesn’t have to be framed as Philon versus Simons. The more revealing comparison is Philon against Maxey.
Maxey’s game is built on speed. That burst has powered his scoring for years, and he’s also grown into a lethal perimeter shooter.
This past season, his floater became another weapon, helping him take another leap. But the way he attacks ball screens is its own thing.
Maxey likes to come off picks at an open angle, hunting deep pull-up 3s rather than forcing a straight-line drive into the paint.
There’s nothing wrong with that approach, especially when the shooter is as dangerous as Maxey. The key is that he doesn’t overwork the possession. If he isn’t opening wide off the screen to create space, he’s usually getting the shot off quickly.
Philon, though, brings a different rhythm. He’s already a more advanced change-of-speed ballhandler than Maxey was at the same age, and the contrast shows in how he handles screens. Instead of Maxey’s wide, open-faced angle, Philon tends to take a straighter path to the rim, using pace rather than pure burst to get there.
He isn’t blazing quick, and that’s part of what separates him from Maxey. But Philon is smooth and balanced, and he knows how to work a defender onto his back while probing into the paint and drawing the big to the ball. Unlike Maxey, who only became truly comfortable with his mid-range game this past season, Philon already uses that area regularly.
That mid-range touch gives him another layer. He’s comfortable going at smaller defenders with the goal of getting to that jumper, and he has enough control to create the space he needs. In one clip, he pauses just long enough to force the big man to step out and tag Johni Broome, which opens the lane for Philon to separate into a baseline jumper.
He can also beat defenders with more than one move. Another clip shows a double crossover into a lefty floater, and that’s part of what makes him so tricky. His comfort with his off hand gives him options in either direction, and his herky-jerky pace can leave a defender a step behind.
That matters because Philon is likely to see a lot of single coverage as a rookie. If he can consistently unsquare a defender’s hips and get into the paint, the rotations will follow. That’s where his ability to manipulate defenses with a live dribble starts turning into higher-value shots.
So the real issue isn’t whether Philon and Simons can coexist as much as how their different skill sets shape the second unit. Simons adds shooting.
Philon adds a different kind of pressure. And when Maxey sits, the Sixers may be choosing between two very different looks rather than two players doing the same job.
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