March 01, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Cam Payne has some familiarity with the Sixers, but there have still been major adjustments to make for the 31-year-old guard.
CAMDEN, N.J. – Cam Payne is still just trying to get his bearings.
The 31-year-old point guard, who was on his team's bench in Serbia when he found out from his agent that the Sixers wanted to acquire him for the second time in three seasons, is beginning to finally adjust to the difference in time zones. And after many years of having more or less the same role, Payne had a much different one in his time outside of the NBA. He is hoping to get back to being the player who gave the Sixers important lifts two seasons ago, capable of heating up in an instant.
Meanwhile, Payne is learning how to play with new teammates like Adem Bona, a similarly energetic player whose best moments are captivating and whose worst moments are frustrating. Bona, looking to firmly establish himself as Joel Embiid's primary backup heading into the stretch run of the regular season, has given the Sixers high-quality minutes of late.
In the return of Sunday stats, diving into Payne's unique adjustment and Bona's continued evolution:
Cam Payne's field goal percentage in five games since rejoining the Sixers.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse threw Payne right into the mix upon his arrival in Philadelphia, and the results have not been good on paper. Payne has only made six of his 25 shot attempts in his five games; his 2-for-6 shooting line in Thursday's win over Miami – all of those shots came from beyond the arc – was his most efficient shooting performance since his return. Nurse is not making much of it.
"I think it took him a minute here," Nurse said after Saturday's practice. "I really like him. I really believe in what he brings. He brings some pace, he gets off the ball, seems to create his own threes quite a bit, and he just wasn't making any. And that gets painful... But I don't ever get that worried about that. I think it's reasonable for a guy to come into the league and need a few games to kind of settle back into the speed and size and what's going on."
These two weeks have been a complete whirlwind for Payne, from a game day in Serbia to a connecting flight thtrough Amsterdam and a long journey to Philadelphia, a physical, a contract signing, a practice and an immediate foray into NBA action. He has been trying to learn as many things as he can, on and off the court, about a roster that is mostly comprised of players he did not team with in his first stint with the Sixers. Payne's positive energy is infectious; Tyrese Maxey and Kyle Lowry are both fond of him and have helped Payne and his new teammates learn who each other there.
Payne feels like his body is just starting to acclimate to the situation he is now in. That will help. But he also has spent an NBA lifetime thriving in short bursts. He could sit on the bench for hours, then check into a game and provide an instant spark. He did exactly that in a Play-In Tournament game against Miami two years ago, not playing until the third quarter and knocking down a crucial triple on his only shot attempt.
Payne was so good at that extremely specific role because it was his life for so long. But after playing most of the season as a high-usage starter for Partizan, he is trying to get used to sitting for those lengthy stints again. He is confident will he find it, but it has been a challenge early on.
"I'm kind of trying to get that feel back, being straight to it as soon as I get out there, knowing my time is not that great," Payne said Saturday. "So I have to be real precise with what I'm doing... Moving the ball, feel like I need to touch the paint a little bit more, get everybody involved a little bit more and then look for mine at the end."
If Payne can heat up soon, the Sixers' surging offense will have another quality source of secondary scoring and become more versatile.
"We obviously changed a lot of stuff from when he was here last, so he had to kind of learn a whole bunch of new stuff on top of getting [his] body right and getting the rhythm right and all that stuff," Nurse said. "But I think he's ready to go... I think we'll probably get here pretty soon one of his big games where he really gets it going."
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Adem Bona's plus/minus across the last four games.
Bona, the No. 41 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has 108 games of NBA experience under his belt entering Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics, when he will almost certainly be the center on the floor for the majority of the game.
For much of his young NBA career, questions pertaining to Bona have been about his next steps. Early on, it was just trying to find a way to get on the court. Then, he had a find a way to cut down on his preposterously high fouling rates; that has been the most consistent point of emphasis for Bona. He still fouls a lot, but that comes with the territory as an aggressive and potent shot-blocker.
Given how many questions Nurse has fielded about Bona's development over the last 18 months, his answer when asked about the 22-year-old's next steps once again on Saturday was telling.
"I don't know if there is [a next step]," Nurse said. "Obviously, there's maybe a little more offense in there that you could add here and there, but to me he makes good decisions: he dunks the ball when he's supposed to dunk it, he's finished a couple that aren't dunks, those tougher shots. I guess handling the ball out of blitz situations would be one that would be a step forward. But from his disruptiveness and rim protection and stuff like that, it's been pretty good. Just want him to keep doing those things at a high level consistently. Wouldn't mind him on the offensive glass a little more I guess, and then make sure he takes care of the defensive glass."
In four straight games, the Sixers have won Bona's minutes; those outings have combined for the +53 mark. It includes the best game and the fifth-best game of his career by plus/minus, a +28 masterclass inside of 15 minutes in Indiana last week and a +20 inside of 20 minutes the game before in Minnesota. In the win over the Pacers, Bona was at the center of two prolonged runs of Embiid-less dominance:
Adem Bona had his best game in a long time in the Sixers' win over Indiana on Tuesday, providing excellent energy and earning a +28 in just under 15 minutes.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 25, 2026
Bona's full highlights: pic.twitter.com/vhXMb8AjFo
Bona has benefitted from the simplification of his role – set screens, crash the glass and protect the rim – and also from veteran Andre Drummond continuing to struggle. But he looks like the most complete version of himself right now. Even as he still racks up plenty of fouls, those fouls feel more timely. He has cut down on fouls away from the basket and been more aggressive near the rim. Bona said on Thursday that he feels much more comfortable deciding when to be aggressive and when to be cautious now, though striking that balance remains the toughest part of the "learning process."
When Bona is going well, he is changing the tenor of the game with his hustle and determination. Payne can relate – and he is working with Bona on pick-and-roll reads so the two players tied to second-unit lineups can develop more chemistry. Payne and Bona watched pick-and-roll film together on Saturday.
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"He brings a lot of energy," Payne said. "Man, he's going to get almost every block, any opportunity he can get. He's kind of the anchor of the defense when Joel's not in, and that's huge. He stays in the [dunker's spot and is a lob threat] and that's huge. We've got to get a little bit better continuity on the pick-and-rolls, but I mean, man, he's a big-time defensive anchor for us."
