With the NBA’s calendar year reset, the Sixers have announced all of their standard free-agent signings and trades of the 2026 offseason so far. As Anfernee Simons talked to the Philadelphia media for the first time over Zoom Tuesday, he explained how their recruiting pitch stood out from the rest.
As he was sorting through potential suitors, Simons did feel that the Sixers offered a good blend of positional need plus the chance to compete for a championship. That was even before Philly added his
All-NBA running mate from Boston last season in Jaylen Brown.
What put the Sixers ahead of the rest was the phone call executive VP of basketball operations Jameer Nelson to Simons’ parents.
“Obviously, I was taking a few calls from different teams,” Simons said. “I got a call from Jameer, Jameer called my parents. I talked to Nick [Nurse], and I just felt like at the time, that was probably the best fit for me.”
A lot of that sounds like the standard reaching out that takes place when bringing in a player to a new team, and it is. Simons clarified that reaching out to his family was a step that went above and beyond. He described that it set the Sixers apart in their pursuit of him.
“That’s one thing that other teams didn’t do,” Simons said. “That was pretty much one of a good selling point of me coming here and me feeling like I’m needed here and I’m wanted here.”
Much has been made of the hooper resume the new Sixers’ front office boasts. When he addressed the media in town for the first time, Dean Wade highlighted Mike Gansey’s Division-1 basketball career and how that competitiveness has shaped him as an executive.
Now it appears Nelson has used his experience as a player as he looks to bring players into Philadelphia. They’re still a ways away from their finished product taking the court, but the Sixers’ new brass has certainly made their first impression.
