The Sixers selected Labaron Philon with the 22nd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, drafting one of the most creative players in the class who showed tremendous growth after returning for his sophomore year at Alabama.

Philon is small at 6’2.5” without shoes and weighs just 176 pounds, but he has a plethora of skills and green flags to make up for it. One of the best indicators of future growth and success: Philon meaningfully improved on a few of his major weaknesses last season, showing a level of focus and skill development that can indicate even bigger leaps in the future.

The big-ticket item was Philon’s shooting improvement, with his percentages climbing by over eight percent from three as he nearly doubled his volume from downtown. By showcasing the ability to make shots off the catch and as a pull-up threat coming out of ball screens, Philon quieted concerns about his ability to work on and off the ball. All of Philon’s touch indicators are strong, with good free-throw numbers and a developed runner/floater package suggesting he will hurt teams from deep for years to come.

But the more meaningful indicator for NBA success may have come at the rim, where Philon went from a pretty dismal half-court finisher as a freshman (45%) to a very good one as a sophomore (64.8%). Philon’s driving approach is pretty special, and his secret sauce is an electric handle that keeps teams guessing and flows naturally from one move to the next. By keeping the ball on a string, Philon creates openings where none appear to exist, waiting for his man to lean ever so far in one direction before zipping back the other way into space. The at-rim improvement this year provided proof of concept that he can make it work against bigger, more athletic defenders, and he was crafty enough to earn six free throws per game this past season.

Still, you can’t throw out the size concerns completely. Most unsettling for me is the fact that Philon hardly put on any weight between year one and two, suggesting it might take a while for him to fill out his frame and get meaningfully stronger. If he had dynamic top-end speed that might be less concerning, but it will get much tougher for him to consistently shake defenders at the next level, so a bit of inside-the-arc durability is needed. And while Philon is a good and unselfish playmaker, he’s not an elite one, which means his scoring has to be high-level for him to “make it” as a prospect.

Defensively, your hope is that Philon will be closer to who he was as a freshman on defense, when he was a higher-energy point-of-attack defender who would embrace the challenge of shutting down his man. As the offensive engine his sophomore year, Philon took a noticeable step back with his effort, which highlighted preexisting concerns about his off-ball decision-making and ability to defend anyone other than other small guards. That last bit probably won’t change at the next level, and is the most limiting factor in drafting him at 22. Philon can probably only play with one of Edgecombe or Maxey at any given time, and really it’s probably just Edgecombe, relegating him to a small sixth-man-type role.

However, I think there’s considerable value in that type of role, and Philon has a sliver of potential star upside if things break right for him. I respect that the Sixers were willing to overlook fit issues, set aside the previous front office’s trade of Jared McCain, and lock in on the guy considered the best talent available.

Mike Gansey and Bob Myers are ready to establish an identity for the Sixers, and it’s going to start on offense.