The Sixers’ summer in Las Vegas started with promise and ended with a hard reset.
Philadelphia opened by winning its first two games, and for a stretch it looked like the group had found a rhythm behind Labaron Philon Jr. and Johni Broome. But once opponents adjusted and the lineup started shifting, the slide came fast. The Sixers dropped their final three games and finished with a much clearer picture of who helped themselves - and who still has work to do.
The clearest takeaway belongs to Philon. The 22nd overall pick wasted no time announcing himself in the opener, helping account for Philadelphia’s first nine points in a 101-93 win over the Detroit Pistons.
From there, his calling card held up: smart ballhandling, patient reads, and real shot-making from all three levels. He looked comfortable beyond the arc, dangerous in the mid-range, and calm when defenses tried to take away the paint.
Teams did their best to keep him out of the lane by blitzing him and meeting him at the screen, but Philon handled it without getting rattled. More often than not, he found the screener and kept the offense moving.
The one thing Philadelphia didn’t always give him was enough help. With few other ballhandlers around him, the pressure kept landing on his shoulders.
That didn’t lead to reckless basketball. Across four games, Philon forced the issue only once.
He finished Las Vegas averaging 18.5 points on 38.2% shooting from the field, plus 5.8 assists and 2.5 turnovers. The shooting flashed, the defensive effort showed up, and the overall package looked like a player ready for a bigger stage.
The Sixers also didn’t sign a veteran backup point guard to sit behind him, which reads like a strong sign of trust. Philon’s path to helping Anfernee Simons anchor the second unit looks very real.
Broome, meanwhile, left the kind of mixed impression that has followed him for a while.
It has now been 13 months since Philadelphia took him 35th overall, and the questions around him haven’t gone anywhere. He came into summer league with 11 brief regular-season games already on his résumé, plus a strong showing with the Delaware Blue Coats before a torn right meniscus in February. Even so, the same concerns about his athleticism, shooting, mobility and how his game fits the NBA were still front and center.
There were reasons for optimism early. Broome posted double-doubles in his first two summer league games, scoring 19 and 23 points.
He worked as a playmaking hub from the perimeter and meshed well with Philon in those spots. On the glass, he was a force at both ends.
And even with a slow release, his 3-point shot showed some progress.
But the problems were just as visible. When teams put him into actions, his lack of mobility and athleticism stood out.
At times, he got pushed around on the boards. His jumper is still slow, and it’s difficult to see that translating cleanly at the next level.
His post game, too, looks like something that won’t always hold up against NBA frontcourts.
The most realistic read is that Broome can help in specific situations, especially if Philadelphia needs a boost on the glass. But there doesn’t seem to be a strong case for him to be ahead of Adem Bona or Ariel Hukporti. His place in the long-term picture may need to be revisited before the trade deadline.
Two other names at least made themselves part of the conversation for the Sixers’ last two-way spot.
Duke Miles, who signed an Exhibit-10 deal, started slowly but finished strong. The undrafted guard scored 24 points over Philadelphia’s final two games and showed perimeter shooting and floor vision that could earn him more looks in training camp and possibly the preseason.
Isaac Johnson also gave the Sixers something to think about. He opened with 20 points and four 3-pointers against Detroit, which was a strong first impression, even if he didn’t sustain that level afterward.
What stands out with Johnson is the floor spacing he offers as a center - something Philadelphia doesn’t really have in its center group outside of Joel Embiid. That alone could keep him in the mix.
So the picture is pretty simple now: Philon helped himself the most, Broome gave the Sixers a complicated read, and Miles and Johnson pushed their way into the two-way discussion alongside Caleb Love and Rayan Rupert. Whether Philadelphia fills that final slot or looks elsewhere is still up in the air as free agency winds down.
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The numbers and context make it a tricky argument to settle cleanly. Brown came off a strong regular season that put him in All-NBA and All-Star territory, while Georges recent seasons have been clouded by availability concerns, including a 2025-2026 campaign in which he played only 37 games. Add in the way the series unfolded, with Jayson Tatum unexpectedly ruled out for Game 7 after the Celtics had said he would not miss time, and it is easy to see why Tuckers view has stirred conversation without closing the book on anything. [Read more 🡒]