The Philadelphia 76ers are taking a swing on Tacko Fall.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Philadelphia is signing Fall to a two-way contract, giving the 30-year-old a chance to stick with a roster that suddenly has very little size to spare. With the Sixers short on true big men, the path to the main roster looks unusually open for someone in his spot.
That opening matters. Before camp even got underway, the Sixers had already decided to keep their third two-way slot vacant, setting up a competition among several Exhibit 10 players.
Fall was the only center in that group, and that immediately boosted his case. By the time the preseason opener was underway, the Sixers had already lost two centers.
Adem Bona went down first, suffering a foot injury in training camp. He was expected to miss at least two weeks, and although he has returned to the practice court and is taking full sessions, he sat out the entire preseason because of the injury.
Then came the bigger blow. Ariel Hukporti entered camp as a possible primary backup to Joel Embiid, depending on how things unfolded, but he suffered a non-contact injury just minutes into the preseason opener against the New York Knicks. He was later diagnosed with a torn Achilles and will miss the entire 2026-2027 NBA season for the 76ers.
Fall, though, never got his own preseason audition. Just two days into training camp, he suffered a hip injury that was expected to keep him out for multiple weeks. He missed every preseason game, including the Blue x White scrimmage that was open to the public, so no Sixers fan has actually seen him play for the team yet.
That leaves Philadelphia leaning on what Fall has done before. He joined the Boston Celtics in 2019 and spent two seasons there. In 2020-2021, he played in 19 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.2 minutes per game while putting up 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.
After Boston let him go, Fall spent the 2021-2022 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He appeared in 11 games, averaged 5.4 minutes, and posted 1.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Since then, he has had stints in the NBA G League, Summer League, and outside the NBA.
In Other News...
Sixers Just Addressed A Frontcourt Concern With Opening Night Near
With opening night drawing closer, the 76ers made a quiet but practical move to shore up their frontcourt depth by converting Tacko Falls Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal. The 7-foot-6 center gives Philadelphia another big body to work with as the roster takes shape, and the move fills the teams open two-way slot while keeping a player with previous NBA experience in the mix.
Fall has not been able to get on the floor in the preseason because of a strained hip, but his presence has still been viewed as a positive inside the locker room. Under the new deal, he can be active for up to 50 regular-season games and will earn a salary of $678,882, leaving the Sixers with one less open question as they finalize the edges of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Preseason Finale May Have Clarified Two Key Opening Night Roles
Joel Embiids final tune-up before the regular season looked a lot more like the version the Sixers need. In Philadelphias 125-120 overtime loss to Boston to close the preseason, Embiid finished with 27 points and chipped in across the board, giving the team a much cleaner glimpse of how the offense can function when he is moving with rhythm and purpose. The Sixers wrapped exhibition play at 1-3, but the bigger takeaway may have been how the rotation started to take shape around him.
One of the steadier constants was LeBron James, who led the team in assists in both preseason games, a sign the Sixers may have found a reliable connector for the regular season. Jabari Walker also helped his case with a strong showing in the finale, and his play looked good enough to lock in a spot in the opening rotation. Between Embiids sharper finish and Walkers push, the preseason finale may have answered a couple of the most important early questions for Philadelphia, even if the broader picture is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
VJ Edgecombes Absence Still Leaves Sixers Fans Wondering One Thing
The Sixers chose to sit VJ Edgecombe for their preseason finale against the Celtics, a move Nick Nurse said was tied to an intense week of practice rather than anything injury-related. It was a sensible reset for a rookie who had already logged three preseason games and shown enough to make the early returns look promising, averaging 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
VJ Edgecombes absence, though, still leaves Philadelphia with the same question it has been asking all month: how quickly can his preseason momentum carry over once the games count? The team expects him to be available next against the Knicks, which should finally give the Sixers another chance to see where he fits as the rotation tightens and the evaluation shifts from summer looks to real stakes. [Read more 🡒]