Get to know new Sixer Jacob Pullen

After logging one minute against the Jazz, Jacob Pullen has officially made his NBA debut. Let’s get to know the Philadelphia 76ers 28-year old rookie.

When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Jacob Pullen to a two-way contract before the 2017-2018 NBA season, the decision was met with very little fanfare.

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After signing high profile players like J.J. Redick, and Amir Johnson to lucrative free-agent deals, and adding draft selections like Markelle Fultz, and Furkan Korkmaz to an already loaded roster, the addition of Pullen, a 28-year old rookie, understandably flew under the radar.

But he shouldn’t have.

After playing four seasons at Kansas State University, and becoming arguably the program’s most beloved player, Pullen set his sights on playing basketball professionally, but he didn’t exactly follow the path that many of his peers took to the NBA.

After going undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft, Pullen bounced around the world, literally, playing for teams across Europe, Africa, and Asia in a never-ending quest to hone his craft. While far from a luxurious lifestyle, Pullen never gave up on his dreams and was ultimately rewarded for his hard work with an opportunity to join the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way contract.

With a pair of two-way contract now in play for every team in the NBA, Brett Brown‘s squad was able to add K State’s all-time leading scorer without taking up a spot on their 15-man roster. While Pullen can only appear in half of the 76ers’ games this season, he is able to be called up by the team at will and can continue to work on his game as a member of the team’s G-League affiliate the Delaware 87ers, and so far, he’s done just that.

In roughly 30-minutes of action per game, Pullen is averaging almost 17-points while shooting 33-percent from three-point range. While not earthshattering numbers, it is encouraging to see that the first year player can score from the one position.

And the 76ers may need his production sooner, rather than later.

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With Nik Stauskas, Justin Anderson, Jerryd Bayless, and Fultz all missing noticeable time over the month of November, Pullen often found himself on Brown’s bench and even recorded his first minute of NBA action in the 76ers’ blow out victory over the Utah Jazz in front of their home crowd.

While it’s incredibly unlikely that Pullen will ever become a starter for the team, it is entirely likely that he could fill a similar position to the one Chasson Randle filled last season.

At only 6-foot-1, 200-pounds, Pullen doesn’t exactly have position flexibility, but his ability to score at will, both as a slasher, and to a lesser extent from the outside, could come in handy down the stretch. Even though Brown’s bench has been playing far better as of late, the team could use an offensive sparkplug from time-to-time, especially when both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are out of the game.

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Even though Jacob Pullen likely won’t see consistent playing time due to the nature of his two-way contract, his ability to add some life to the 76ers’ offense when they need a boost could help to establish the Wildcat great as a player deserving of a place on an NBA roster.