Andre Drummond wears a lot of hats for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He’s a prolific rebounder, an occasional playmaker, and quite possibly the best value center in the entire NBA, as his play has well exceeded his $2.4 million veteran minimum contract.
But what Drummond isn’t about, by his own admission, is Twitter slander, as Bulls Talk, the official basketball arm of NBC Sports Chicago, learned all too well after attempting to throw some shade his way midway through the Sixers’ Sunday afternoon win at the United Center.
And do you want to know the best part? Drummond wasn’t even tagged in the post; he sought it out after watching his Philadelphia 76ers give the Bulls the business once more.
Andre Drummond brings it for the Philadelphia 76ers on and off the court.
Alright, alright, alright, before we get too in the weeds about Andre Drummond’s maiden voyage with the Philadelphia 76ers, let’s take a look at the tweet in question.
https://twitter.com/AndreDrummond/status/1490771235776741381?s=20&t=l_ytmxQfjCGnjh4pWx1-5g
Did Drummond spell “76ers” correctly? No, there’s an extra “s” in there, but hey, you can’t knock that passion both on the court and in the internet clap back game.
In a way, the word “effort” actually describes Drummond’s season pretty well. After getting a bad rep in Los Angeles for his half-season of play alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and company, Drum’s options weren’t particularly expansive in free agency last summer. Sure, there were a few teams interested in his services, some of which might have even offered up a starting role, but after playing out the final season of a five-year, $127 million contract, few teams were willing to give Drummond a multi-year, 10-figure contract, let alone one worth more than a portion of the mid-level exception.
Enter your friendly neighborhood 76ers, who had an ace in the hole of Drummond’s pre-existing relationship with their head coach, Doc Rivers. Sure, Drummond and Joel Embiid had a bit of a history for their on and off-court beef but the prospects of taking a lighter load while playing for a coach he’d known since high school was simply too good for the UConn product to pass up.
No offense to Dwight Howard, but Drummond has unquestionably been an upgrade.
According to Statmuse, Drummond is averaging 14.3 points, nine rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game in the 12 starts he’s earned this season, which is slightly better than his numbers with the Lakers and on-par with the totality of his performances in 2020-21 split between LA and Cleveland. Granted, the Sixers record over those 12 games is a not-so-good 4-8, but hey, the Sixers were hit hard by COVID back in November, so that artificially impacts the team’s win percentage with Drummond at the five.
And in games with both Drummond and Embiid active? Well, Drummond has been similarly effective, even if his stats don’t quite show it. Per 36, Drummond is having one of his best statistical seasons ever, with new career-highs in assists, rebounds, and steals per game. While his offense hasn’t been as effective in 2021-22 as in previous campaigns, his field goal attempts per game are at an all-time low both in measured stats and Per 36, so some of that is by design.
Heck, fans in Philly have even been afforded nine gloriously weird minutes of Drummond and Embiid on the court together, which helped the team get to a second overtime versus Minnesota on November 27th and turned the tide in a deceptively tricky contest versus the Orlando Magics’ supersized frontcourt on January 5th.
For months Rivers joked about playing both of his centers together, but in that Magic game in particular, it really worked… and highlighted how much the Sixers need another power forward who can shoot, rebound, and play off of Embiid more than once in a blue moon.
Andre Drummond could have signed anywhere over the offseason at the vet minimum. He could have signed with a team like the Boston Celtics or Brooklyn Nets where he could have started or could have instead chosen with a rebuilding team like, say, the Houston Rockets in the hopes of maximizing his income both now and in the future. But instead, Drummond took a route few other former All-Stars in their prime would take and accepted a much smaller role behind one of the best players in the world. Even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, Drummond’s efforts have helped the Philadelphia 76ers win games both on the court and on Twitter too.