May 23, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Andre Drummond has had a volatile pair of seasons with the Sixers since rejoining the organization.
Now that the 2025-26 Sixers season is complete after a thrilling first-round series comeback and a jarring second-round sweep, it is time to reflect on the year that was.
Welcome to Sixers year-in-review, where each player's campaign will be analyzed with a combination of statistics, film and reporting.
Up next: Andre Drummond, whose third year (second full season) with the Sixers was an up-and-down adventure. Drummond provided some terrific highs early and late in the season. He added a few stellar playoff moments, too, but other than that struggled mightily in both rounds of the playoffs.
As helpful as Drummond was in the opening and closing portions of the regular season, he had a very long stretch of rough production in between. He remains a playable NBA center, but to what degree?
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Tyrese Maxey | Paul George | Andre Drummond
Drummond is somewhat of a stretch five now.
For years, Drummond has flirted with adding some three-point shooting to his game. It is a notion most people have mocked and ridiculed. He tried to incorporate it early on in 2024-25 upon returning to Philadelphia; it did not last. As he lined up a few preseason corner threes in the preseason before this season started, it became clear that the Sixers were behind him this time around.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was a genuine believer heading into the year that Drummond could make enough corner threes when left open that, if the ball found him there with little avenue for a better shot, Drummond had the green light to fire away. That confidence was empowering for Drummond, who all year long expressed his appreciation for Nurse, the rest of the coaching staff and his teammates having faith in what proved to be a wild example of skill development for a 14-year veteran.
Andre Drummond made a career-high three three-point shots in the Sixers' win over New York on Friday: pic.twitter.com/IZrmv8brnu
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 20, 2025
Early in the regular season, Drummond's success from three-point range was shocking and comical. By the end of the season, it was slightly less shocking and still comical. Reactions from road crowds when Drummond lined one up always told the story of how stunning of a development this was for his game. Nurse eventually requested that Sixers fans stop gasping when Drummond set his feet in the corner.
Drummond shot 4-for-6 from three-point range in the Sixers' seven-game first-round triumph over the Boston Celtics. And after shooting 18-for-140 from long distance in his first 13 regular seasons, he made 32 of his 90 three-point tries in 2025-26 – good for a perfectly respectable 35.6 three-point percentage.
"He wants to shoot that corner three despite all of the other years and what he's been told," Jabari Walker said in November. "Like, he looks for that shot. Seeing how he plays his game with confidence, doesn't let anybody get in his head too much – you need that to be successful. I try to take that away from [being around] him."
MORE: Adem Bona and Drummond's flaws were costly in playoffs
Drummond's total rebound percentage: 23.6.
Drummond is one of the best rebounders in the history of the NBA – he believes he is the single greatest of all time on the boards. This is a terrific mark, but considerably below the outstanding standard Drummond has set for himself throughout his career.
When it comes to cleaning the glass, Drummond's last two years in Philadelphia have not compared favorably to the two years he spent with the Chicago Bulls before returning to the Sixers:
| Season | Team | Offensive rebound percentage | Defensive rebound percentage | Total rebound percentage |
| 2022-23 | Bulls | 18.7% | 40.2% | 29.6% |
| 2023-24 | Bulls | 21.5% | 37.4% | 29.3% |
| 2024-25 | Sixers | 15.8% | 31.6% | 23.4% |
| 2025-26 | Sixers | 17.5% | 29.8% | 23.6% |
Drummond remains one of the stronger individual rebounders in the NBA, but he no longer rebounds at a rate that is unparalleled across the league. He is the all-time NBA leader in career defensive rebound percentage (33.6 percent) and total rebound percentage (25.0 percent), and that skill will be his primary utility for whichever team signs him in free agency this summer. But for a player whose value is reliant on his strongest trait as much as Drummond's is, even a slight dip in that area is meaningful.
Adem Bona to PhillyVoice on Drummond's impact on him during his first two NBA seasons, April 12:
"It's awesome to have someone like that, someone that [has] the experience. He's done it over years and years. His rebounding skills are amazing; that's something I really want to pick from him or learn from him. To have someone like that right in front of you every day, it's a really good example of – you cannot ask for anything better than having somebody [to learn from] that's done it over the years, so I think that's really good for me. And also him being supportive about it – we're technically competing for the same position, but him being supportive about it helps, and it does a lot."
MORE: Trading Tyrese Maxey to start over would be crazy... right?
How easily can the Sixers upgrade from Drummond?
Drummond made $5 million in each of the last two seasons after wisely picking up his player option for the 2025-26 season. It represented a modest bump from the veteran's minimum salary. Now, as he heads back to unrestricted free agency, it stands to reason that Drummond is going to be a minimum player again.
So, as the Sixers evaluate their options as far as backup centers for Joel Embiid go, how easy will it be to find a more cost-effective option than retaining Drummond at that price point? The organization has had plenty of success on the minimum market over the years, from Drummond's first deal with the team to Kelly Oubre Jr. a few years later. The backup center spot behind Embiid is such a uniquely scrutinized spot in the rotation, though, and given how frequently the former NBA MVP misses games it is imperative that the Sixers have multiple trustworthy options there.
Really, the case for keeping Drummond boils down to trust. There is no question that with Bona on the floor, Nurse had more optionality schematically and the Sixers had more upside. But as the youngster continues to find his footing in the NBA, Nurse often went with the veteran Drummond instead because, even though he has very noticeable limitations, he is more reliable to play within himself and avoid unforced errors.
The Sixers will not have considerable spending power in free agency this summer, though their appetite to sign free agents above the minimum tier of players would expand if one or both of Oubre and Quentin Grimes depart. How much of their available resources are they ready to contribute to the backup center spot when they have other holes to fill with bigger-minute roles? The answer to that question could determine whether or not Drummond returns.
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