NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia 76ers are a team filled with superstars who need the ball and that means there must be connectors and glue guys on this team in order to make all of this work. All of this was probably going to work anyway when considering the talent they possess, but having those connectors makes life easier.
Meet Dean Wade. The Sixers brought him in with their first move of free agency back in late June and he had some good moments in Thursday's preseason loss to the Brooklyn Nets. He knocked down two triples, finished with seven points, four rebounds, and he played well on the defensive end of the floor. He is a guy the Sixers will need and his star teammates are noticing.
"He fits on any basketball team on the planet," LeBron James
said of Wade. "Gotta have guys like that in order to win, but I mean he can play for any basketball team on the planet, and he'll fit right in."
LeBron James on Dean Wade: “He fits on any basketball team on the planet.” #Sixers pic.twitter.com/JMv2KBJhIV
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) October 9, 2026
James, an elite playmaker, found Wade for one of his two 3s just by seeing Wade posted up in the corner and the Nets just leave him open in order to focus on the stars with the basketball. That's where Wade comes in as he doesn't need the ball to be productive on this team.
"I love Dean," added Jaylen Brown. "I love Dean. A high character guy. He does a lot of the little stuff. He's gonna be big for us all season long."
The Sixers will continue the preseason against the Boston Celtics on Saturday on the road.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers' LeBron James, Jaylen Brown give praise to big man Dean Wade
