With the 2024-25 Sixers season officially in the rearview mirror, the time has come to evaluate the few highs and many lows of a disastrous campaign in which the team only managed 24 wins. We will do so in "Sixers year-in-review," a series assessing each individual Sixers player's performance this year based on numbers, film and quotes, while also looking ahead to the future.
Up next: Lonnie Walker IV.
Walker, a native of nearby Reading, PA, spent much of 2024-25 playing in Lithuania. But he returned to the United States for the final months of the season, suiting up for the Sixers in an attempt to prove he is deserving of an NBA roster spot moving forward.
After a successful 20-game stint, Walker will await a team option decision from the Sixers. Did he do enough in a barren situation to prove he can produce for a winning team?
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Guerschon Yabusele | Paul George | Jared McCain | Tyrese Maxey | Andre Drummond | Quentin Grimes | Jared Butler | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Justin Edwards | Ricky Council IV | Eric Gordon
What we learned in 2024-25
Walker's three-point volume is far and away his strongest asset.
When the Sixers signed Walker on the final day before he had to commit to finishing his season in Lithuania, their season had not quite gone into the tank yet. This may be hard to believe, but Walker played in a game alongside Embiid, Maxey and George (Walker's team debut turned out to be Embiid's final appearance of the season). And when the signing became official, Walker's hypothetical role on the somewhat-healthy Sixers was clear: bolstering an offense desperate for a jolt with major three-point volume.
That he did. Walker averaged 23.9 minutes with the Sixers and hoisted up 6.4 three-point tries per game, a career-high without any competition. He attempted 13.1 threes per 100 possessions, an astronomical number which was actually a tick behind the 13.3 attempts per 100 possessions he posted with the Brooklyn Nets last season.
Unless you are Stephen Curry, it is nearly impossible to blend that kind of volume with high-quality efficiency. But Walker's 35.4 three-point percentage with the Sixers was unquestionably a satisfactory mark; his 37.4 three-point percentage over the last two seasons combined is even more impressive.
Number to know
Walker's assists per 100 possessions in 2024-25: 5.2 (career-high).
To be fair, Walker was probably in an environment tailored to boost his assist numbers — he had the ball quite a bit, and by the end of the season he was somehow one of the longest-tenured players on the team tasked with keeping everyone organized. But Walker believes his time playing overseas helped him make serious improvements as a playmaker after he was empowered to operate with the ball in his hands more frequently than ever before.
"It was the first time I really had a lot of control as far as bringing the basketball up, running plays, doing pick-and-roll," Walker said last month after a loss to the New York Knicks. "…Making the instinctual, .5 [-second] decision or deciding where to pass it and knowing where your players are, it's definitely something that I improved on."
While the Sixers will never rely on Walker to consistently create shots for others, his ability to make those quick reads — particularly after attacking a hard closeout — could prove very valuable. And for what it's worth, Walker did seem to be growing considerably more comfortable as a passer according to the eye test.
MORE: Jared McCain year-in-review
Important film
In the last week of the season, Walker had a pair of games in which he was just unconscious from three-point range and posted gaudy scoring numbers. One of those performances came in Miami on April 6, a dazzling shot-making display:
Lonnie Walker IV in the Sixers' loss to Miami on Monday night:
29 points
10-18 FG
6-13 3P
All of Walker's made baskets against the Heat: pic.twitter.com/wgevb3oCuc— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) April 8, 2025
Walker taking and making shots at this scale is not something that will carry over to any version of the Sixers that is even remotely healthy, but Walker has more than enough scoring chops to take over a game for a spurt and even swing games in his team's favor if he has a hot night.
Salient soundbite
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse on what he saw from Walker this season and how it could translate to a different team context:
"I think the three-point shooting’s pretty legitimate, right? I like the choices, I like the percentage, I like the ability to not have to be wide open — he can make them with a contest, he can kind of create his own a little bit, too. I like that, I think that's important…So he's been good, he's been solid and we're giving him some defensive assignments and he's done solid on those as well."
MORE: Possible targets with No. 35 pick
Question heading into the future
Can Walker consistently provide the defensive aspect of the "3&D" skillset?
There is no question Walker is capable of not just connecting from beyond the arc, but also getting those shots up at an extremely impressive clip. If Walker does return to a team that hopes to have more consistent availability from Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, that skill should be very easy to apply in an off-ball role. Decisiveness as a shooter is often at least as important as accuracy from three-point range when playing alongside ball-dominant stars, and Walker brings that in spades.
The question, then, is whether he can be an impact defender. Walker had his moments on that end of the floor for the Sixers, and as Nurse said the difficulty of his assignments did increase later in the year. But in a scheme and under a coaching staff which encourages all sorts of risk-taking for the sake of forcing turnovers and winning the possession battle, Walker's defensive playmaking was unreliable.
Perhaps with a more limited offensive workload and more credible defenders playing alongside him, Walker will feel emboldened to take more gambles for steals and find a groove. But Walker has 342 NBA games under his belt in the regular season and has never stood out much defensively.
Contract information
Walker has a team option in his contract for 2025-26 worth a projected $2,940,876, and the Sixers will have until June 29 to make the call on it. That figure is about $650,000 more than the projected veteran's minimum salary. If the team declines the option, Walker will be an unrestricted free agent, but could be re-signed for less money and/or more years.
MORE: Predicting Sixers' team/player option choices
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