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Former 76ers Pick Charles Bassey Sends Message to Doubters

Charles Bassey reacts to his historic night off the bench with the Spurs.
Justin Grasso|
Former 76ers Pick Charles Bassey Sends Message to Doubters
Former 76ers Pick Charles Bassey Sends Message to Doubters

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Philadelphia 76ersSan Antonio Spurs

Charles Bassey is finding his footing in the NBA. Unfortunately, he’s not doing so with the team that drafted him.

Last offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers made a call to the former Western Kentucky standout to make him the 53rd pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. 

After landing with the Sixers, Bassey entered a situation where he was in a tough battle to earn minutes right away as a rookie. Although he appeared in 23 games with the Sixers last year, Bassey averaged just seven minutes on the floor.

When the Sixers got past their constant COVID setbacks, Bassey found himself consistently assigned to the G League, playing with the Delaware Blue Coats.

Bassey was expected to get a fair shot at earning some minutes behind Joel Embiid during his sophomore effort, but the former second-rounder seemingly lost out in training camp and the preseason as the Sixers waived Bassey at the end of their preseason run.

The second-year center inked a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs weeks later. After getting some playing time for San Antonio’s G League affiliate, Bassey appeared on Gregg Popovich’s radar. Soon after, he garnered playing time on the main roster.

Leading up to San Antonio’s Friday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Bassey averaged seven points, six rebounds, and one block in three games while coming off the bench.

In the Spurs’ Friday night victory over the Bucks, Bassey made history off the bench. On Saturday afternoon, the sophomore center took to Twitter to send out a message, which many might assume could be aimed toward his former team.

“They didn’t believe in us GOD DID!!!” Bassey tweeted.

In 18 minutes of action against the Bucks, Bassey scored five points, draining two of his three shots, with one coming from beyond the arc. He also collected 14 rebounds while producing four assists and swatting four shots in 18 minutes. 

Bassey became just the second player in NBA history to have 14 rebounds, four blocks, and four assists in less than 20 minutes. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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