CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Philadelphia 76ers are littered with star power with the presence of LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey. However, the Sixers have a strong bench unit that will likely play a factor into any type of success the team has.
Philadelphia's second unit will feature 2-time champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an offensive dynamo in Anfernee Simons, a versatile forward in Dean Wade, rookie Labaron Philon Jr., and others. The Sixers will lean on them in order to give that first unit a deserved rest and coach Nick Nurse is liking what he's seeing so far to begin training camp.
"I think that each one of them kind of has something that's interesting," Nurse began. "I think Anfernee's maybe a prototypical off-the-bench
scoring guy. As soon as he comes in, for whatever reason if the shots aren’t going in or the offense isn’t in rhythm, he can be a sparkplug. He's got a very similar--He feeds off the pin-down (action) and doesn't need too much time (to get his shot off), that kind of stuff."
Simons averaged 14.9 points for his career as he has found a niche with the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls. He is an instant offense type of player and the Sixers can turn to him in any moment to provide a ton of offense when they need it.
Caldwell-Pope and Wade are players who can do it all and should give Nurse a number of different aspects whenever Philadelphia needs a different look on the floor.
"KCP's been great," continued Nurse. "It's been interesting to have him. I always say that you never really know these guys until you have them and he's just really a good (player). You can tell he's smart. He knows what he's doing. He plays both ends. He'll make the open shot. That's been great to see. I think Dean said yesterday, Dean just kind of played really hard, and if you kick one out to him wide open, he’s going to take it. Which is perfect, right?"
Nurse then pondered and brought up new addition Ariel Hukporti as somebody who has stood out to begin training camp. The Sixers brought in the 2-year man on a deal after he helped the New York Knicks win a title in 2026. With Adem Bona sidelined for now, the Sixers have leaned on Hukporti to step in and be that energy guy for this group in camp.
"Who else do you want to talk about? I mean, Huk has been athletic, long, plays really hard," Nurse finished. "He’s been awesome to see. And like I said yesterday (Wednesday), Philon is really competing, which is great to see."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers discuss, praise overhauled bench unit to begin training camp
