CAMDEN, N.J. -- Philadelphia 76ers rookie Labaron Philon Jr. is, obviously, going through his first NBA training camp. The No. 22 pick of the draft is looking to showcase his skills and eventually crack the rotation under coach Nick Nurse.
However, he is also going through a training camp while also being a teammate of LeBron James'.
James is set to enter his 24th season in the NBA. Philon is 20 years old himself. It has to be hard to wrap one's head around the current situation Philon finds himself in.
"The first play of training camp, LeBron was coming at me full speed and I was backpedaling," laughed Philon. "That's when the moment really hit. I was like, 'Alright, it's here now.' But I would say just being able to stand my ground, knowing that
I can compete against these guys at a high level."
When asked what he tried to do when James is coming at him like a locomotive, Philon tried to get a stop, but James made life easy for him with a pass out.
"I tried to go for the strip!" Philon smiled. "He passed the ball. Trying to get it out of his hands, definitely, because he was running at me. I was like, 'Alright.'"
Not only can Philon learn from somebody as successful as James, but he can also lean on 2024 finals MVP Jaylen Brown as well. The rookie has gravitated toward Brown a bit and is learning as much as he can from him.
"Jaylen’s been making me work, every day, all day," Philon added. "So going against guys like that, I can feel more comfortable guarding my teammates in a great way. Those guys (are) trying to do their best to go at me, and as a young guy, that's what you want, because if I can guard these guys I'm going to feel like I'm going to be able to guard anybody across from us or the next opponent. So it’s been great."
One of the bigger lessons Philon is taking from camp thus far is what it's going to take in order to succeed at this level. The NBA is not a walk in the park. It's time to really get after it and that's something Philon is learning from both James and Brown.
"The way they compete," said the rookie. "Everybody’s competing really hard. We’ve had great days. Like, everybody’s just going at each other. I feel like that’s the only way we can sharpen each other’s iron, by just going at each other. When I see Bron going at JB and VJ (Edgecombe) going at Tyrese (Maxey), that kind of sparked me a little bit to push somebody else on the team."
Attention to detail will be the operative word for this group as they move forward. Philon learning from some of the best in James and Brown as well as proven veterans like Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will go a long way in his career.
"I feel like that connection right there is gonna get us better as a whole, and we’ve been seeing it ever since training camp started," Philon finished. "So it’s been a great process. Then Coach Nurse taking his time to try to explain things and harping on our defense, for sure. Definitely that. Everybody trying to put more effort on that side of the ball has been great."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Rookie Labaron Philon Jr. talks training camp with LeBron James, 76ers
