It feels like a make-or-break year for Adem Bona.
With all the excitement and anticipation around the 2026-27 Sixers squad on top of the fact that he is entering his third year as an NBA center, there is going to be a lot of pressure on Bona’s shoulders this season to actually solidify himself as rotation-worthy at this level.
With two years in the NBA under Bona’s belt, there have been ups and there have certainly been downs. That feels like the crux of the issue for Bona, actually. There have been moments
that he shows incredible promise to be an impactful player with his high level of energy… but other times, he has looked completely lost, making more than his fair share of unforced errors. The balance, as it stands, is not exactly in Bona’s favor.
For what it’s worth, the 23-year-old has likely featured more heavily in NBA play than he might have ever expected to as a young center (making 71 appearances and 18 starts in 2025-26) simply due to the context of being on the Sixers. The backup five position in Philadelphia in the era of Joel Embiid has been and will continue to be an absolutely critical one. Even at his healthiest, Embiid is simply not going to be out there every game. Even if he was, he can’t be out there every minute. Having someone reliable to step in off the bench and even to start in those Embiid-less moments has been a continuing story (and struggle) for this team for years.
And going into this campaign, he’ll have some competition for the role with 7’0”, 246-pound Ariel Hukporti, whom the Sixers signed with a portion of their bi-annual exception this offseason, joining the squad.
And to this point, Bona hasn’t exactly found the footing to really establish himself as the reliable backup big for Philadelphia by any means. He is an energetic young player and is one of the best shot blockers you could ask for, but he’s virtually inconsequential (at best) on the offensive end minus a few dunks, struggles with defensive rebounding and is no stranger to unforced errors like moving screens and silly fouls.
The one most puzzling (and I think most detrimental to his value overall) won’t necessarily show on a stat sheet, but you know it’s true if you’ve watched him play: Bona cannot catch a basketball at times. His hands seem to suddenly lose the ability to grip, and instead become two completely flat surfaces for the ball to bounce right off of. That is a really bad quality in a 6-foot-10 center (with a 7-foor-4 wingspan) that you’d hope could make up for some of the Sixers’ lack of rebounding, especially on the defensive end.
It’s an especially bad quality when Bona’s game has so many other weaknesses. Now, that might sound harsher or meaner than intended, but it actually just displays something that — if Bona could do it just a bit better — could really balance out his value on the floor even against some of his sloppier moments. As it stands right now, he just doesn’t do enough well.
That being said, I can’t imagine there’s anything that motivates quite like the idea of playing alongside LeBron James, and Bona is going to have to establish himself quickly to earn the trust of the likes of LeBron… or he may fall out of the rotation fast and find himself replaced by the February trade deadline.
I think a large key for Bona is going to be not trying to do too much, which is when he seems to get out of sorts and commits questionable mistakes, and instead work on improving some seemingly-small but hugely-impactful fundamentals — like defensive rebounding — to solidify himself as a guy Nick Nurse can really trust to help stem the tide of the Embiid-less minutes on the floor.
They say pressure is what turns coal into diamond. Enterting year three with more at stake than ever personally and for the Sixers team, it’s up to Bona now to try to make that happen.
(A final note that Bona is currently dealing with a left foot sprain suffered during World Cup qualifiers, but is reportedly expected to return within the first two weeks of camp.)
