PJ Tucker Praises Sixers’ ‘Bulldozing’ Youngster

PJ Tucker likes what he sees out of one of the Sixers' young guards.

The Philadelphia 76ers have acquired their fair share of young talents through the draft over the years. In 2019, the Sixers snagged a defensive star in Matisse Thybulle.

When Daryl Morey and the revamped front office took over in 2020, the Sixers picked up Tyrese Maxey, who is dubbed as a future All-Star around the league.

Then last year, the Sixers snagged the young Tennessee guard Jaden Springer. Considering Springer was 19 years old and coming off of a lone season in the NCAA, it was clear he had a lot of development ahead of him.

Springer appeared in just two games during the regular season with the Sixers. He averaged fewer than five minutes on the court during those outings.

So he wouldn’t be buried on the depth chart throughout his rookie year, the Sixers allowed Springer an opportunity to play with Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. 

Springer appeared in 19 games with the Blue Coats last year. He averaged 26 minutes on the court and scored 14 points per game while draining 46 percent of his field goal attempts.

Offensively, Springer showed flashes with the Blue Coats, but the young six-four guard has also been praised for his perimeter defense a lot at the developmental level as well.

The second-year guard will likely find himself playing in the G League again throughout the 2022-2023 NBA season, considering Philly’s backcourt depth has grown this year. However, Springer is playing with a chip on his shoulder and impressing his older teammates at training camp in Charleston, South Carolina, this offseason.

Following Philly’s third training camp practice on Wednesday afternoon, new Sixers veteran PJ Tucker discussed Springer’s game. As a prominent physical presence on the basketball court himself, Tucker has been quite impressed with Springer so far through a few practice sessions.

“He doesn’t even know how to play yet; that’s the crazy part,” said Tucker. “He’s just out there bulldozing, and I love it. I’ll hype him up every day — I love it. He plays really hard, and he’s learning. He’s a kid, and he doesn’t even know yet, and he’s already giving that effort and that energy every day, and he doesn’t even talk. That’s the crazy part. He don’t communicate, he just does things. Guys like that, especially during these times in the dog days of training camp, you love to have him.”

Clearly, the 20-year-old guard still has a lot to learn at the NBA level, but Springer is garnering a lot more praise this offseason, which signals that he’s been developing a lot with the Sixers’ organization. It’s unclear how high Springer’s ceiling is right now, but gaining praise from a seasoned veteran like PJ Tucker is definitely an encouraging sign for the former first-rounder. 

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