The schedule on the day of a game is rigorous for an NBA player, but it typically straightforward: show up for morning shootaround and go over points of emphasis on that night's opponent, return to the arena for a pregame warmup routine and one more study session before tip-off.
Last Sunday, things were a bit more complicated than that for three Sixers players.
Two-way guard Lester Quinones, rookie center Adem Bona and rookie two-way wing Justin Edwards suited up for the team's G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, who played against the Westchester Knicks at 1:00 p.m. at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington.
The three players led Delaware to a 131-125 victory over the New York Knicks' G League affiliate, sending the reported attendance of 894 fans home smiling.
Five hours later and 28 miles away, the Sixers tipped off a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. 19,780 fans packed the Wells Fargo Center, and there were Quinones, Bona and Edwards in uniform on the bench.
Still looking to establish themselves as rotation candidates in the NBA, each one waited patiently. As the sputtering Sixers lost control and the Clippers initiated a blowout victory, all three were summoned to close out the game, capping off an unusual double-header of basketball.
Quinones, Bona and Edwards each spoke with PhillyVoice about their unusual journeys on Sunday and the value of their trips to Delaware early on in the season.
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Quinones had just led the Blue Coats to victory with team-highs in points (29) and three-pointers made (6). But punctuality remained of the utmost importance. He took matters into his own hands.
"So I actually drove," Quinones said. "I drove my car. I drive a little faster than the [team's] driver, so I got up here a little quicker than [Bona and Edwards]."
Bona said all three players were made aware on Saturday that their services would be required for two different teams the next day. The nightcap of the double-header — during which Bona logged nine fourth-quarter minutes — was on his mind during all 29 of his minutes that afternoon.
"I knew I had to go back and forth, so I was quick right after the game," Bona said. "It was five hours in between. I understood the Delaware game was going to take at least two hours, so I have two hours on between to get ready for the Sixers game. The team helped with the transportation a lot. That made the transition very smooth, but it was a quick turnaround… Got in the car real quick and got here."
Playing in two games at once is not an easy task, but each player had limited experience with a basketball double-header. Bona said he had played in multiple games in the same day a few times during his teenage years playing in Turkey. Quinones and Edwards each recalled memories of AAU tournaments, infamous for their exhaustive nature.
"It's kind of different. It's not AAU," Edwards said. "I'm playing against other grown men."
Edwards had been active for a few NBA games prior to Sunday's game, but he had never actually entered the action during the regular season. Then came the second game of his double-header. A day that started with Edwards scoring nine points in 33 minutes in front of fewer than 1,000 people ended with him making his NBA debut, scoring four points in front of nearly 20,000 people:
Right place, right time for Philly-native Justin Edwards with his first NBA points tonight. pic.twitter.com/YhIlkuDrpL
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) November 25, 2024
A former five-star recruit who spent his lone collegiate season at Kentucky, Edwards is expected to be handled as a longer-term, developmental project more than an NBA-ready piece. Edwards is still a few weeks away from turning 21 years old; he has more than enough time to grow. He has used his trips to Delaware as opportunities to do just that.
"I'm just finding myself down there, building my confidence, so everything is good right now," Edwards said. "[It helps] a lot because I get to play, so I get to work on what I'm doing in practice and stuff."
Bona, the No. 41 overall pick in last June's NBA Draft out of UCLA, is closer to consistent NBA run — even just because he is on a standard contract. However, the Sixers' center depth chart already has Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele. When Embiid plays, the few remaining minutes will be divided between Drummond and Yabusele. When Embiid is sidelined, his two primary backups are capable of carrying the workload on their own. Bona's lone extended rotation appearance this season came against the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month, when Embiid and Drummond were both in street clothes. Yabusele started and Bona played off the bench.
Given the roadblocks preventing Bona from becoming a rotation regular as a rookie, the Sixers made it clear well in advance of the season that some time in the G League was in his future. The 21-year-old has bought in on the value of in-game reps that he would not be getting at the NBA level.
"It has been fun, the little back-and-forth," Bona said. "Having the chance to put in work, everything I've worked on here, take it down there to try out there, to display myself, to put in everything the coaches want to see from me."
"I think it has been great for me," Bona concluded. "Getting some playing time, getting my heart rate going, running up and down a little bit. It's been fun."
Bona has continued to embrace his opportunities in Delaware, attacking them with the infectious energy which endears him to fans and appealed to Sixers scouts and decision-makers during the draft process. And speaking of getting his heart rate going, Bona threw down this monster slam early on in the first game of his double-header — only for the play to be challenged and overturned into an offensive foul, nullifying the poster slam:
GET OUT OF ADEM BONA’S WAY! 😤@sixers draftee runs the floor and throws down this ferocious poster on assignment with the @blue_coats. pic.twitter.com/Q8AU0ym7OA
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 24, 2024
"It took the points away, but I don't think it took the energy away," Bona said. "And that's what I live for: to get the fans going. I feed off the energy from the fans."
The electricity Bona is capable of injecting into a gym — and the adoration he quickly draws from those watching him play — has been noticeable for years, predating his time with the Sixers. Some players with NBA dreams who are already familiar with playing for a storied college program like that of the Bruins may struggle to carry that energy into a lower-stakes environment.
But not Bona. The enthusiasm is a genuine component of his existence.
"I think it's been natural," Bona said. "That has been in me my whole life. I'm always a high-energy guy. It's not an off/on button for me. It's always on. I'm always excited… I try to show the fans that that's what I bring to the table regardless of whatever is going on. I'm always going to be ready to go. I think that's just a trait that comes with me. It's the whole package, it comes like that."
Quinones just turned 24 years a handful of days ago. He went undrafted out of Memphis in 2022. Before signing with the Sixers, Quinones appeared in 40 NBA games for the Golden State Warriors. Yet he is the seasoned veteran among this trio. Quinones has spent the vast majority of his time in the NBA on two-way deals. He has already proven himself as an excellent scorer against G League competition and understands that will only take him so far.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse sat courtside during the first half of Sunday's afternoon game in Delaware, Quinones said — "Oh sh*t, Nick is courtside," he recalls thinking — and while he was happy to put on a strong scoring display in front of his coach, it is simply not Quinones' primary focus.
"He doesn't want to come to see you score a million points," Quinones said. "He wants to see you cut. Are you in the right spot on defense? Are you making the right reads on offense in the pick-and-roll?"
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Perhaps more than any member of the Sixers organization who splits time between Philadelphia and Delaware, Quinones must always stay ready to toggle between roles. On Sunday, he went from the primary scoring option of one team to the end-of-game reserve for another. Quinones hopes to eventually earn a standard NBA roster spot, but for the time being he, too, is looking to make the most of any G League appearances. As Nurse puts it: you won't get better at basketball without actually playing basketball.
"I love going down to 'The G'", Quinones said. "Knowing not to do too much because you don't want to go down there and then worry about scoring 50 or 60 points and breaking records, looking like this and that, because Nick is still watching…. Where a lot of people struggle with transition from 'The G' to up top is that people go down just thinking, 'I just have to go down and dominate and just look like the best player, better than everybody.' That's exactly what it's not."
Spending one day appearing in two separate professional basketball games in between a few lengthy drives — and with completely different groups of teammates — is a challenge. From a physical perspective, it is taxing. From a mental perspective, it requires immense focus and adaptability.
But Quinones, Bona and Edwards all embarked a unique journey on Sunday because of their shared desire to get better any way they can.
"I just took it as a blessing, man," Quinones said. "The fact that I could just get that opportunity to go down there and kind of play freely and be the guy down there in 'The G' and then come back up and have to play the right way and make the right reads and do stuff that Nick wants, it was kind of a blessing in disguise."
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