Adem Bona riding EuroBasket momentum into second year with Sixers: 'This summer was really big for me'

After greeting a number of teammates and coaches with unbridled excitement on Saturday afternoon, Adem Bona sat down in a private room and took a deep breath. The longest summer imaginable is coming to a close, and now Bona must prepare for his second NBA season.

“I'm still trying to get ahold of my bearings a little bit," Bona said with a smile.

A lot has happened in the last year for Bona, with a particularly long few months leading up to the beginning of his second NBA season.

When Bona's rookie season began, he was seen as a long-term developmental project expected to spend much of his season in the G League. Injuries forced him into a rotation role. Then the home stretch of a nightmarish season came, and Bona was the only big the Sixers could reasonably expect production from. He remains raw, but Bona is much more polished now than he was at this time last year. His development later in the season was one of the strongest positives of 2024-25 for the organization.

"In a normal year, he probably doesn't play last year, and it was just one of the positives of last year," Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said in July. "...I think Adem, especially at the end of the year, got the confidence of [head coach Nick Nurse] and his staff.”

Bona logged nearly 1,000 minutes before his rookie season ended. But the work did not stop there. Bona joined the Sixers in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas for his second run at NBA Summer League. Then, the main event: serving as the backup center for the Turkish national team in EuroBasket. Bona played behind Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün, the breakout star of the tournament. For Bona and Şengün, it was a long time coming.

“It was awesome. I mean, we've been sharing the basketball court for a long time, since we were were pretty young. Since like 16, 15, we've been playing against each other and with each other," Bona said. "And to be able to carry that all the way to the biggest stage in international basketball in Europe, that was really exciting."

They went all the way to the championship before falling to Germany. While the loss was crushing, the Turkish team still reached heights much greater than anything in the country's recent history. Bona already had significant experience in international competition, but EuroBasket was far and away the most important event he has ever participated in. He has more comfort in high-pressure situations now.

 “Those are like -- for me, those were big games. I mean, they're like the games that hold like a high stake, you know? That’s just like a preview, and when we're in the playoffs, [I will] already have a sense of what it feels like playing in a game that, like, everything matters," Bona said. "That just gives me a little experience boost. So I'm glad I was able to play in those games and experience, see what it feels like to play for something that really, really matters, that every play matters. So I feel like that was the greatest place for me.”

Of course, there is also the personal satisfaction that comes from a deep run in international play. Turkey had not earned a medal since before Bona was born.

"After the tournament, after we had the silver medal," Bona said, "we were like, ‘Oh my God, we really just -- we made history.’ Like, the Turkish team had never been in the quarterfinals in 24 years. So that was like -- we really made history.”

Bona's role for Turkey expanded as the event neared its conclusion. He played more than anyone would have guessed in the final game because Şengün ran into foul trouble. At Serving Up Empowerment 2.0, a fundraiser hosted by Morey, his wife, Ellen, and 13-year NBA veteran Shane Battier, the Sixers' lead decision-maker argued that Bona's progression in EuroBasket was reminiscent of his rapid improvement as a rookie.

“I think it gives him a lot of confidence. Obviously he had a really strong run for us towards the end of the year, an opportunity he may not have gotten without a lot of the injuries," Morey said. "But then to also do it on the highest stage in the offseason, I think just has him come in with a lot of confidence -- and the fact that just like our season, he improved and played more minutes and did more with the Turkish team as it went along. So it just shows his trajectory is up and up.”

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In terms of role within a team, Bona's trajectory has been all over the place. Just 12 months ago, he was a rookie pledging to learn as much as he could from a veteran-laden roster. In July, he was a de facto veteran for the Summer Sixers and took on a real leadership role. In August and September, he was effectively a rookie again.

“I think this summer was really big for me. I knew it walking in: Summer League, getting to know my new teammates, VJ [Edgecombe], Johni [Broome], Hunter [Sallis]. I think that was like the first step, then going to the summer playing in the EuroBasket, I think that's a lot of experience for me," Bona said. "...That's my first senior experience in playing in such a tournament... I got to play more games, like, even way before the season, way before preseason, I've got more games under my belt. I feel like I'm going to preseason ready. So it's pretty exciting. I'm pretty excited. And also, I've worked on so many things during the summer, and I'm so ready to apply them during the season.”

From an exhibition in Salt Lake City to a championship game in Latvia, the offseason has been a marathon for Bona. And even for such a stellar athlete, there has to be some concern about his fatigue... right?

Bona has been talking with the Sixers' medical staff all summer to ensure his workload is managed and he gets enough rest heading into the season. But after all, he is one energetic and excitable 22-year-old. Training camp is days away. Bona feels ready to capture a rotation role.

"I mean, I'm still young," Bona said. "I feel like I can do this over and over again. But obviously, I’ve got to listen to my body. I try to take my time to recover and get back to where my body needs to be. But I don't feel anything different. I feel I'm good to go right now.”