NBA Draft: Sixers select Auburn big man Johni Broome

After the expected run on youth at the top of the NBA Draft Wednesday, the 76ers went about as far as they could go in the other direction Thursday night.

With the 35th overall pick, the Sixers selected Auburn center Johni Broome to add to a frontcourt that could use some fresh bodies.

Broome turns 23 in July. The native of Plant City, Fla., stands 6-foot-9, 249 pounds. He played two seasons at Morehead State and three at Auburn for a total of 168 college games and 2,696 points. The super senior averaged 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocks per game in his final college campaign. (That latter figure was his lowest since his freshman year; he averaged 3.9 in his second season at Morehead State.)

Broome averaged 16.8 points in five NCAA Tournament games for Auburn, which made the Final Four and won 32 games.

Only three seniors – Cedric Coward at 11, Walter Clayton Jr. at 18 and Nique Clifford at 24 – went in the first round along with two juniors. Broome was third in a run of consecutive seniors, behind Duke’s Sion James at 33 and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner at 34. Thursday night’s second round of the draft began with a junior, Saint Joseph’s Rasheer Fleming, picked at No. 31 overall.

The 76ers have done well at identifying talent in the late first round and early second. Adem Bona, the 41st overall pick in last year’s draft, looks like he has NBA upside as a rim protector. Jaden Springer was taken with the 28th pick in the 2021 draft. The 76ers grabbed Isaiah Joe, an NBA champion in Oklahoma City this year, and Paul Reed in the second round of the 2020 draft.

The Sixers had reinforced the backcourt with the third overall pick on Wednesday, selecting VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor. Their frontcourt depth is a question mark. Guerschon Yabusele, who was excellent last year, is a free agent and can likely fetch a richer deal elsewhere. Andre Drummond, who played just 40 games last year as the back-up center, holds a player option for 2025-26. Bona is in the fold at the pivot, as depth behind Joel Embiid, who is recovering from a now 16-month-old knee injury.

Source: Berkshire mont