The Philadelphia 76ers dipped into the SEC talent pool on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, using the 22nd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to grab Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. The move, the first draft selection announced under new president Mike Gansey, drops a proven college bucket-getter into a backcourt that already features Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. Philon heads to Philly fresh off a breakout sophomore year that turned him into one of college basketball’s most efficient offensive creators.
Philon's college résumé
According to Alabama Athletics, Philon averaged 22.0 points and 5.0 assists in the 2025–26 season while shooting 50.1 percent from the field. He piled up 725 points, which ranks among the highest single-season totals in Crimson Tide history, and turned that scoring binge into All-American honors along with a spot on the Naismith late-season team. Numbers like that explain why he stayed planted on front-office draft boards all year.
Official confirmation and pick history
The league’s official draft results list Philon as the No. 22 pick to Philadelphia, making the pairing fully on the books. Per NBA.com, the selection arrived in the Sixers’ hands by way of Houston and Oklahoma City, the final product of offseason trades the franchise lined up earlier in the year. The NBA’s draft page was updated after the selection became official late Tuesday night.
First pick of the Gansey era
Philon is the first player publicly attached to Mike Gansey’s front office since Daryl Morey’s departure earlier this offseason. CBS Philadelphia reported the choice and framed it as Gansey’s opening draft swing, while coverage of Gansey’s hiring, including reporting from NBC Sports Philadelphia, set the stage for a new era of roster building. This pick gives Gansey a fresh young guard to put under the microscope in summer workouts.
What Philon brings to the Sixers
Scouts highlight Philon’s three-level scoring, his knack for splitting defenses and his playmaking instincts, while also pointing to his frame and the need to add strength as swing factors for his long-term NBA staying power, according to a draft breakdown in Sports Illustrated. In Philadelphia, he slots in as a scoring-first guard who can juice the bench and provide secondary creation while the organization continues to sort out the long-term puzzle around Joel Embiid and the rest of the core. How fast he can turn that potential into reliable minutes will be one of the main questions in Summer League and training camp.
Next steps
Philon is expected to plug into the Sixers’ offseason program and be tracked closely through Summer League and the preseason as the team decides how aggressive to be with his early role. Official transaction notes and roster moves will appear on both team and league sites as paperwork is completed, and fans can keep an eye out for contract details and Summer League assignments in the coming weeks.
