Philadelphia 76ers sign Mo Bamba

Philadelphia 76ers sign Mo Bamba

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed free agent center Mo Bamba to a one-year deal for the league minimum, first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski Wednesday evening.

Free agent C Mo Bamba has agreed on a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, @PrioritySports’ Mark Bartelstein and agent Greer Love tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2023

Bamba averaged 6.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game on 48.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from behind the arc last season. In his career, Bamba has averages of 7.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game on 47.6 from the field and 35.9 percent from the perimeter.

Bamba will join his third team in two seasons after spending the 2022-23 season with the Magic and Lakers. He was dealt to the Lakers at the trade deadline from Orlando in a four-team trade also involving the Nuggets and the Clippers.

Bamba appeared in nine games for the Lakers last season because of ankle injuries. Injuries have been a consistent issue with Bamba, including back injuries that have held him to under 50 games played in four of his five career seasons.

What does Bamba bring to the 76ers?

For Philadelphia, Bamba will provide serviceable rebounding, rim protection, floor spacing and some much-needed size for the 76ers’ bench.

Bamba shot 41.6 percent on his catch-and-shoot attempts last season. Among players with 2.5 or more catch-and-shoot attempts per game, Bamba had the 44th-highest field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts.

Last season, Bamba had a contested rebounding percentage of 40.9 percent. Among players with five or more rebounds per game, Bamba had the 40th-highest contested rebounding rate in the NBA last season.

The 76ers will likely slot Bamba in the rotation as the backup center behind Joel Embiid, taking over for Dewayne Dedmon from last season.

The former lottery pick has yet to really catch on with any franchise. His time in Orlando was disappointing, as he started just one entire season and failed to average more than 20 minutes played per game in five seasons with the Magic. In his one full year starting in 2022, Bamba averaged 10.6 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game on 48 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three.

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