With the All-Star break officially underway for the Sixers, now is as good of a time as ever to zoom out and reflect on what each player has shown and proven in what has been a disastrous season for the team so far. During All-Star weekend, we will be handing out player grades for each Sixer to start the season with the organization and remain in Philadelphia beyond the trade deadline.
Up next: five veteran role players brought in to help the Sixers fill in the gaps this season who have done so with varying degrees of success.
MORE: Grading the Sixers' young pieces, including Jared McCain
Kelly Oubre Jr.: B+
There appears to be a vocal contingent of folks frustrated with Oubre's play of late, which is confounding. One of the only encouraging aspects of this season has been the veteran swingman putting together the longest and most impressive stretch of impactful two-way play of his NBA career, all while struggling from beyond the arc.
One of the many ways Oubre has stepped up this season: becoming a force on the glass, a major boon for a Sixers team which has spent the majority of the season playing undersized lineups. Oubre is a stellar athlete with a nose for the ball and the length to go get contested rebounds. And, by his own admission, he wants the ball. One surefire way to have the ball is to go rebound a missed shot. Oubre is a stellar driver and can score at will in transition, grab-and-go plays like this one are common for him:
Kelly Oubre Jr. on December 12, 2024 about his renewed focus on becoming a force on the glass:
"I want the ball, man. Any way I can get the ball…" pic.twitter.com/7pVB69wFu1— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 11, 2025
Perhaps the most transformative part Oubre's evolution this season has been his reliance on being a two-foot driver. Instead of barreling towards the rim without much control, Oubre has mastered the art of controlling his long limbs to get to the exact spot he seeks out before rising up and finishing. Once a very poor finisher around the rim, Oubre has become one of the better players in the league at converting near the basket. Improved body control which he gained as a result of playing off two feet has been paramount to that success.
That Oubre could be making fewer than 30 percent of his long-range tries (the reason he is not graded in the A-range) and still put together such a strong season is a testament to the all-around ability he has developed.
Guerschon Yabusele: A
No matter what the Sixers have asked Yabusele to do in his first NBA season in a half-decade, the 29-year-old has come through. He has done it as a power forward and a center, as a starter and a reserve, as an offensive player and as a defensive player.
Yabusele has earned himself a lot of money and the definitive status of a rotation-caliber NBA player despite rarely getting to play the four, his natural position. Yabusele was forced to slide up to the five to help fill in for Joel Embiid during an extended absence to begin the season and never looked back. His three-point stroke improved even more than anticipated, making him a very real floor spacer for the Sixers while also being capable of attacking overzealous closeouts and finding ways to manufacture shot attempts at the end of the shot clock:
Guerschon Yabusele is thrown the ball in the corner with five seconds left on the shot clock. He immediately forces his way downhill, creating a massive amount of separation with a bump of Jonathan Kuminga before stepping through and laying the ball up: pic.twitter.com/zlKsyP0Fma
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 3, 2025
If Embiid is able to stay on the floor moving forward, many of Yabusele's minutes will come at power forward where he can play alongside Embiid. That pairing has gotten a lot better in recent weeks, with Yabusele being utilized as a post-up scoring threat who Embiid finds on high-low passes due to advantageous physical matchups:
When the Sixers have Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele on the floor together, Yabusele will often be defended by a much smaller player at a major strength disadvantage. Some high-low stuff from Embiid to Yabusele like could be a terrific source of offense for those units: pic.twitter.com/DZw2Sq0sWb
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 11, 2025
"When we're on the floor together, we have a tendency of actually having him be in the low post because he's guarded by smaller guys," Embiid said last week.
MORE: Checking in on former Sixers moved at trade deadline
Eric Gordon: C+
The Sixers signed Gordon to a veteran's minimum contract and asked him to knock down threes. On 3.5 long-range attempts per game with the team, the 36-year-old has shot 40.9 percent — his highest clip since 2021-22. How, then, can Gordon only get a C+? Well, even as someone who is thought of as a three-point specialist at this stage of his career, Gordon's production in all other facets of the game has been unimpressive. He still has good enough hands to make good defensive plays, but on a possession-to-possession basis is a weaker link because of his diminished burst.
That reduced athleticism has given Gordon immense trouble leveraging his reputation as a long-range sniper to create scoring opportunities inside the arc. His process is often good, but his physical capabilities lag behind.
And while 40.9 percent from three-point range is a strong season-long mark, it feels fair to knock Gordon's grade due to the fact that his shooting numbers have actually been disastrous outside of one month of the season.
| Month | Games Played | 3PA/G | 3P% |
| October | 4 | 3.3 | 23.1 |
| November | 12 | 2.4 | 24.1 |
| December | 3 | 3.0 | 44.4 |
| January | 17 | 4.6 | 52.6 |
| February | 3 | 2.7 | 12.5 |
As brilliant as Gordon was in January from beyond the arc, he was not a rotation-caliber player beforehand and struggled mightily in his first three appearances in February before missing time with a wrist sprain leading up to the All-Star break.
Andre Drummond: D+
Drummond has perhaps been the most disappointing Sixers veteran role player of them all, because it was difficult to envision him struggling so much in his return to Philadelphia. Drummond has never been a skilled offensive player or scorer, but his 52.9 true shooting is well below his career average and an abysmal mark for any center. Even on the boards, where he has been better than anyone in the NBA for more than a decade, Drummond is having one of the worst seasons of his career.
Defensively, Drummond has been unable to protect the rim and does not provide any sort of positional versatility. He is not a floor spacer in any capacity, has not displayed any of the passing chops which boosted his value during his first run with the team. All of this has coalesced into Drummond falling out of favor and falling out of head coach Nick Nurse's consistent rotation. With Yabusele emerging as a far superior option at the five and rookie Adem Bona hoping to ascend, this season has very much clouded Drummond's future with the Sixers.
Kyle Lowry: D+
Lowry was brought back to be the Sixers' first guard off the bench, capable of logging minutes at either spot in the backcourt and give the Sixers doses of defense, passing and spot-up shooting. But he has run into the issues which often come around for players his age. Lowry, who will turn 39 years old in March, no longer has the foot speed to create any separation as a ball-handler. He cannot generate advantages because he has no on-ball juice, and it renders him a non-threat on the offensive end of the floor:
Kyle Lowry has only attempted six two-point shots in 2024-25 (159 minutes). His assist rates are continuing to reach drastic lows.
Lowry's explosion has continued to decline, rendering him incapable of creating off-the-dribble advantages: pic.twitter.com/sBooZ15Rgm— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 7, 2024
After a brilliant stretch of red-hot three-point shooting to begin the season, Lowry has also gone ice cold from beyond the arc since the first six games of the season. That has coincided with significant injury issues, as a bad right hip has plagued Lowry consistently dating back to November.
Lowry remains absolutely brilliant, competitive and well-liked among his teammates. He should be in the Hall of Fame one day. But for the 2024-25 Sixers, he cannot be consistently relied upon, for reasons related to both his inability to stay healthy and his lack of production when he is on the floor.
MORE: How can Sixers retain Yabusele, Oubre, other core role players this summer?
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