For the next month before the 2026 NBA Draft, we’ll take an in-depth look at different prospects here at Liberty Ballers and try to figure out which players would be the best fit for the Sixers at No. 22. Next up in this series is Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr.
By this point, we’ve all been frustrated with the rotating door of failed attempts at front court depth behind Joel Embiid from the Sixers. In recent years, it’s been a lot of players who are at best good on one end of the floor but a liability
on the other end. With Embiid’s lack of availability only increasing, Philly could use a big that could not only solve its problems when he’s not on the floor, but also potentially play next to him. The good thing is, the answer to that problem might be staring them in the face next week.
Profile
2025-26 Stats: 37 games, 24.8 minutes, 9.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.5 blocks, 48.5% FG, 33.3% 3P, 62.1% FT
Team: Houston Cougars
Year: Freshman
Position: PF/C
Height & Weight: 6’11” | 240 lbs
Born: January 31, 2007 (19 years old)
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Strengths
Let’s start with the most obvious thing Cenac has going for him, which happens to be a great fit for Philadelphia. He’s a very good rebounder having averaged close to eight rebounds per game is just under 25 minutes per game. Per 40 minutes in college, he was averaging a robust 12.7 boards. Simply put, when Cenac is on the floor, offenses aren’t getting second chances off of missed field goals and free throws. His productive rebounding can be traced back to strong instincts, physicality and a relentless motor. That’s the kind of stuff that not only earns you more playing time, but endears you to a fanbase as a rookie. At 6’11” and 240 pounds, he’s certainly ready to come in and start grabbing rebounds off the bench for an NBA team at the very least.
Next is his athletic ability. Cenac isn’t just a halfcourt player who hauls in defensive rebounds. He can run the floor and finish as a lob threat while also finishing off the dribble in pick-and-rolls when he is in halfcourt sets. While a lot of his athletic ability did not necessarily translate to a lot of blocked shots in college, he certainly possesses the traits to be a good rim protector and he’s also athletic enough to guard on the perimeter when drawn out that way.
Speaking of things that you have to watch in Cenac’s game more than simply look at the stats for, he’s a willing jump shooter with enough fluidity in his mechanics to make you think those percentages above can improve. He took about 2.5 threes per game at Houston so it’s certainly not foreign to him to get shots up from deep and in some of his highlights, he looks pretty comfortable already as a face-up jump shooter in the midrange area. He’s not just one of those guys who gets drafted in the first round purely on athletic ability who has a broken jumper. It looks fixable but the encouraging thing here is that he seems cognizant of the importance to continue to develop his jump shot.
Weaknesses
Whether it was taking too many outside shots in certain games with an underdeveloped jumper or just making some bad decisions, at nearly seven feet tall, you’d like to see a better field goal percentage than 48.5%. While he’s ready right now to rebound in the NBA, he could probably afford to add about 20 pounds of muscle which would likely make him a more viable post scorer and make finishing in the paint in halfcourt sets a little easier.
Another problem that likely kept his minutes per game average around 25 is his tendency to pick up fouls. He averaged 2.3 fouls per game in the 25 minutes per game that he played last season at Houston. That’s about one foul in every 10 minutes of action. Do the math and while Cenac has the upside to become an NBA starter, if he’s fouling at the same rate that would have him averaging four fouls every 40 minutes which could mean some foul outs on certain nights.
He could also benefit from good coaching that boosts his basketball IQ. In watching a lot of his film, Cenac appears to drift into midrange areas too frequently offensively instead of cutting to the rim. That’s perhaps one factor that led to a lower field goal percentage than you’d like from a big man in college. Defensively, he would occasionally get mixed up with the other big man who he was playing with on who was guarding the stretch big and who was hanging around the rim.
Positional Fit
Cenac could come right into the NBA and play power forward today. He’s certainly comfortable enough guarding the perimeter and runs the floor better than a lot of NBA centers, which makes him more of an instant fit at the four. However, he’s certainly the kind of player that could grow into more of a center during his rookie contract. Perhaps by year two or year three in the NBA, Cenac is strong enough to score in the interior and defend just about any NBA center. He fits into an NBA frontcourt one way or another. Whether that’s as a power forward or a center likely depends on the team that drafts him.
Draft Projection
SB Nation Mock Draft: No. 20, San Antonio Spurs
Cenac lands at 20th overall in this mock draft, so he’s a very viable target for Philadelphia in the first round. Often times, teams in the late teens and early 20s are in that tier below the league’s true contenders drafting in the late 20s. Therefore, do certain teams prioritize their current rosters a bit more in hopes of landing more immediate help? As that school of thought pertains to Cenac, would a team that likes its power forwards opt not to take Cenac due to some concerns that he could come in and play center right away?
The fit with the Sixers is good enough to make me wonder if Mike Gansey and company would consider moving up for him to ensure he lands in Philadelphia. If Cenac had a strong rookie season, you could certainly argue starting him next to Embiid by the end of the regular season and in the playoffs would make a lot of sense. Embiid’s athleticism has dwindled and so having a big man on the court with Embiid who could defend the perimeter adequately and rebound well should raise the team’s floor defensively. Regardless of how quickly Cenac could become a starter for the Sixers, he could be someone that could play with Embiid in the short term and replace Embiid in the long term and that should have everyone in the organization interested.
