76ers' Norvel Pelle is Making the Best of Orlando Scrimmages

Before the 2019-2020 NBA Preseason started, Norvel Pelle was a journeyman in the G League. As he's spent quite some time down in Delaware over the last few seasons, Pelle wasn't a familiar name with Philadelphia 76ers fans.

But a preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center changed that this past fall. Pelle's rim protection was on display -- and he sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Before tip-off that night, Pelle was just a body on the Sixers' offseason roster. After that, though, he remained on the team's radar as he signed a two-way deal with the Sixers.

For the most part, Pelle didn't have to work with the Sixers too much. As the team employs notable bigs such as Joel Embiid and Al Horford, the 27-year-old rookie was more of a depth option. After appearing in a handful of games throughout the year, though, the Sixers decided to offer Pelle his first NBA contract after the trade deadline.

Pelle might not crack the team's rotation when the regular season rolls around but the rookie big man sure is making his case to become the next option if either Joel Embiid or Al Horford has to miss time. Down in Orlando, Pelle and the Sixers have participated in two scrimmages so far. 

During the first matchup, Pelle picked up just under ten minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies. During that time, he blocked two shots and drained all four of his field-goal attempts -- including a surprising three with the shot clock running down. During the second matchup against the Thunder, Pelle picked up 15 minutes of playing time as Horford's backup with Embiid out. While he only accounted for six points, Pelle shined on the defensive side of the ball with four blocks.

Following the game, the rookie's head coach Brett Brown had nothing but good things to say about his show-stopping rim protector. "I thought he was excellent," Brown said following Sunday's afternoon matchup. "I thought that Norvel, when he was in the game, played really well. We decided to go with KO [Kyle O'Quinn] down the stretch and give him some minutes -- but I thought Norvel was good."

Depending on the status of Joel Embiid, Pelle could realistically see the fewest amount of minutes he's seen this summer during Tuesday's scrimmage against Dallas. Even without a third-straight standout game, Pelle could still be in favor of becoming the third center on the depth chart behind Embiid and Horford. That's not a bad situation for a guy who has spent his entire career in the G League.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_