Sixers pre-camp questions: How many young players will earn minutes?

Sixers pre-camp questions: How many young players will earn minutes? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers‘ new era is on deck.

With LeBron James and Jaylen Brown on board and training camp set to begin in late September, we’re taking a look at key questions for the 2026-27 Sixers.

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We’ve asked:

Next up: How many young players will earn minutes?

Let’s start with the numbers.

The Sixers have eight players 25 years old or younger on their standard roster. That goes up to 10 if you include two-way contract players Caleb Love and Rayan Rupert. On the other side, five Sixers will be at least 30 years old by the end of the season. James is easily the oldest of the bunch at 41.

Here’s the full list of the Sixers’ youngsters, with ages as of mid-September:

Deep discussion isn’t required for Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers’ expected starting backcourt. What about Philon, the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft?

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Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s initial read was that Philon has the tools to play as a rookie. The Alabama product tallied 22.0 points and 5.0 assists per game his sophomore season. His ball handling shiftiness shined in summer league, too.

“He’s a really talented scorer,” Nurse said on draft night. “He’s really fast and explosive and can really get it in the bucket. And I think with a lot of guys that can score, there’s the mentality. The swagger or confidence or something that he has is obviously one of his traits that has served him well. He played in a system at Alabama that is very pro-style. … And I think he’s certainly got two-way capability. I think he can guard.”

Philon’s defense will likely play a large role in whether or not he snags a spot in the Sixers’ rotation. As a rookie who weighed 176 pounds at the draft combine, Philon won’t be anywhere near mistake-free defensively. Nurse will care about focus, effort and attention to detail. And he’ll expect Philon to watch and learn from fellow guards Maxey, Edgecombe, Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The blueprint for Edwards securing a rotation place appears simple. If he sinks a fair share of…

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Publish date : 2026-09-21 13:11:00

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