By any objective measure, Jabari Walker’s first season with the Philadelphia 76ers was a success. Signed last July to a two-way contract after spending three seasons with Portland, Walker ended up playing an important role for a Sixers team that often found itself thin in the frontcourt. He appeared in 64 regular-season games for Philadelphia, averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds. Walker’s efforts earned him a standard NBA contract in mid-February; he is now set to make $2.58 million for the upcoming
2026-27 season, with $250k guaranteed and the deal fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2027.
Jabari’s calling card would have to be his rebounding, which was useful on a Sixers team that struggled mightily in that area. His mark of 9.1 rebounds per 36 minutes ranked 43rd across the entire NBA. With his work on the glass and ability to guard a couple positions, you see the makings of a glue guy in Walker. However, there are some holes in his game that bear examination.
First, Walker is not a shot blocker. He only blocked 13 shots total during the regular season and has never averaged even 1.0 block per 36 minutes across his NBA career. Nick Nurse played some minutes with Walker as a small-ball five, but if he’s not going to offer any rim protection, that can’t be anything more than a change-up option for limited minutes.
The likelier path forward for Walker is as a 3-and-D big at the power forward position, with particular scrutiny on the “3” part of that equation. Jabari was neither an effective, nor high volume shooter from deep during his season as a Sixer, shooting 32-of-95 (33.7 percent) in total. The team believes in him in that area and could point to a couple random successful nights during the season (4-of-8 against Milwaukee in December or 4-of-7 against Utah in March). However, Walker needs to be a lot more consistent from behind the arc, both in shooting it slightly better and pulling the trigger enough that opposing defenses won’t completely play off him and clog the lane to stymie his teammates’ attacks.
Finding Walker as a two-way guy on the proverbial NBA scrap heap undoubtedly counts as a win for former Sixers lead executive Daryl Morey. Having someone on a minimum contract capable of giving you reliable minutes in a pinch has real value for an NBA club. Mike Gansey and new decision makers will be in the front office, though, and might have a different opinion on Jabari’s value in Philadelphia. With only a partial guarantee next season, it’s no sure thing that he sticks around. It will be up to Walker to prove his worth and do more to remain with the Sixers and maybe progress towards being a full-time rotation player.
What did you think about Walker’s first season in Sixers’ red, white and blue? Are you excited to see more from him in the fall or ready to turn the page and find the next diamond in the rough? Let us know in the comments.
