What I'm Watching From Labaron Philon Jr. This Preseason (And How It Impacts Sixers)

There's a lot of excitement around the Philadelphia 76ers this season, as is to be expected with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in the lineup.

Let's not forget about the rookie that will be making his Sixers debut this season -- Labaron Philon Jr.

The first-round pick (No. 22 overall) was selected before the Sixers traded for Brown and signed James, but he was expected to contribute off the bench long before the the offseason acquisitions came to Philadelphia.

Are there high expectations for Philon in year one? Not really, since he's a rookie coming off the bench for a star-studded team. The Sixers are going to need Philon at times this season, especially in a grind of an 82-game campaign.

Philon will be a player to watch this preseason, but what should we be watching for?

What I'm watching from Philon in the exhibition slate

The Sixers are playing four preseason games this month, and Philon will see time in a lot of them. Philon is getting a lot of minutes as teh Sixers want to see his offensive skillset against professional talent, seeing if that 62.6% true-shooting percentage translates to the NBA.

Philon averaged 22.0 points per game for Alabama last season, showcasing the ability to create a shot and play on the ball. The Sixers need backup guards behind Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, which is where Phion comes into play.

He'll get minutes in the rotation just so Maxey -- who averaged 38.0 miniues per game last season (which led the NBA) -- doesn't have to carry the load. At 20 years old, Philon will be a welcome addition to a bench that struggled to get consistent play form the guard spot in 2025-2026.

So what should we watch in the minutes Philon plays? His hustle on the court will play a factor, his Philon is undersized at 6-4, 176. Watching him with the ball in his hands had how he creates a shot is going to be a factor to see how he fits into this rotation.

Philon upped his shooting percentage on the 3-ball from 31.5% to 39% from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. How will that translate to the NBA 3-pointer?

The Sixers are going to rely on Philon as the No. 4 guard, the second one off the bench behind Anfernee Simons. How many minutes Phion gets onc ethe regular seaosn starts will be interesting.

In the preseaosn, it wouldn't be shocking if Philon plays 25+ minutes. Get him on the court as much as possible and see what he can do.

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