November 13, 2026
John Jones/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Tacko Fall made his home Sixers debut on Thursday night.
PHILADELPHIA – The chants on Thursday night were nothing new to Tacko Fall, but a 7-foot-6 center was most certainly something new to the fans packing Xfinity Mobile Arena. And so Fall heard three words very familiar to him.
"We want Tacko," the crowd enthusiastically chanted. And as Sixers head coach Nick Nurse began shuffling his deepest reserves into the Sixers' home win over the Toronto Raptors, the crowd got its loudest when Fall checked into a game that had been decided. He logged all of 53.8 seconds in his home debut. He contested a three-point miss, committed a foul at the rim and was the recipient of an errant pass stolen by Toronto. The Sixers' final possessions were dominated by screams from the crowd to throw the ball to the Sixers' two-way center.
After the win, PhillyVoice asked Fall how he feels about the "We want Tacko" chants, which have followed him in every stop of his NBA career.
"Can I give you an honest answer?"
"I appreciate it – a lot. Obviously, I think it's all love. People want to see me play. Obviously, I haven't really played in a very – they haven't seen me play in a long time. There's a level of excitement that comes with that. But the flip side of that is... it looks more like a foster kid, Make-A-Wish kid, just gets a couple minutes at the end. Which, I'm more than that. Especially now. I'm just a pretty good basketball player. So that's the conflicting [part]."
Tacko Fall makes his Sixers debut and the crowd goes wild 😂 pic.twitter.com/FadYQZyGH3
— Drew Peltzman (@dapeltz13) November 13, 2026
Just days into training camp, Fall suffered a hip injury, and despite missing all of preseason and being unavailable for the first handful of regular-season games, the Sixers bet on the 30-year-old by converting his contract to a two-way deal. He made his Sixers debut at the end of a blowout loss last week in Cleveland before his home debut on Thursday.
Fall once played in Cleveland, where Cavaliers fans chanted that they wanted Tacko. So did Boston Celtics fans during Fall's first NBA stop. But dating back to 2022, Fall had been honing his craft overseas. He had three different stops in China, plus one in New Zealand. His goal all along was to make it back to where he started in the NBA. The Sixers gave him that chance, with a close friend of his just a few lockers away.
"It’s a testament to him and his work, man. And his character," Jaylen Brown said on Thursday night. "Being able to have a character that kind of beats you through the room. People know what type of guy he is and what he can bring to a locker room. So it's a joy to be on the team with him again. I love it."
Brown said that his bond with Fall is rooted in their desire to help people.
"Tacko's a great human being, humanitarian, all about the community, all about giving back to where he's from," Brown said. "So me and him, we like to spend our time thinking about how we can help different parts of the world. So I think that's where our friendship is based."
Fall is indeed a gentle giant. But he is tired of that being the entirety of his public-facing image. He wants to be judged like any other athlete.
"It's normal, right? I'm a nice guy," Fall said. "People describe me as Tacko, being very nice, which I am. And that's how I've always been, and I don't want that perspective to change. But at the same time, I think that with the work that I've put in, I want to be seen more as Tacko, the basketball player."
Ever since he got to camp, Fall has exuded confidence. Has he had it this entire time?
"No, I did not," Fall said.
When did he become so sure that, when given the chance, he will prove he can play at the NBA level?
"I think my time away [from the NBA]," Fall said. "Obviously, I think in my younger years, just coming into the league, it's a big thing, right? So you have all those emotions. It’s almost like you’re just happy to be there, so you don't really mind that. But as the years went by, I went away, I think I put in a lot of work into my craft and my body where now, I've taken another step – like a huge step – as a player. And I want to be seen more [for] that."
MORE: Fall, Brown, Jabari Walker went to Morocco together before becoming teammates
Fall has a long way to go to prove he can keep up with the heightened speed of the NBA game. Basketball is only getting faster and it is only becoming harder for hulking bigs with limited mobility to remain parked at the rim. He is eager to show that his past troubles at this level are indeed in the past.
"I think, one, the game has slowed down a lot for me," Fall said. "I've also worked on a lot of my weaknesses, and a lot of those were just body-wise. Just learning to control my body better. Worked on my speed. I mean, I think for a guy my size – you'll see. I mean, when I get the opportunity, comparing where it was to now, it's night and day. And just IQ-wise, being able to see the game a lot differently and being a dominant force on both ends of the floor. I've always been a great shot-blocker, but now I think my foot speed allows me to keep up more in the perimeter than I used to be able to in the past."
That the Sixers' many frontcourt injuries have not yet prompted head coach Nick Nurse to mention Fall as an option to eat up center minutes is at least somewhat telling. And while Fall is well aware of the skepticism that comes with his jaw-dropping listing – 7-foot-6 and 311 pounds – he is genuine in his certainty that all he needs is a chance. Maybe this team will give it to him.
"It's good to see him out there," Brown said. "He’s just got to be ready. He's been hurt a little bit, but it'd be great – we need some more tall people. It'd be great to see Tacko get an opportunity. So he’s just got to stay ready, keep working, keep building off the injury he had. And you never know, he might get in there and make a contribution for us."
