September 11, 2024
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How does rookie center Adem Bona fit into the Sixers' short-term plan, if at all?
Welcome to our Sixers player preview series! Between now and Sixers Media Day on Sep. 30, we will preview each one of the 14 players on the team's standard roster, posing two critical questions that will help determine their fate in 2024-25 before making a prediction about the player's season to come.
Today, let's take a look at rookie center Adem Bona, who the team drafted No. 41 overall in June's NBA Draft.
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When Bona can harness his energy in the right way -- not getting overzealous -- his excellent athleticism and 7-foot-3.75 wingspan combine to make him an outstanding shot-blocker who is capable of single-handedly wrecking possessions on the defensive end of the floor. The most complimentary comment one can make about Bona: he is the exact kind of player who you want in the foxhole with you.
What a ridiculous block by Adem Bona down the stretch pic.twitter.com/Ipym6GBfmL
— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) February 26, 2023
However, outstanding tools and effort do not preclude a player from having problems as a defender. And for Bona, fouling has been a massive issue. Across two collegiate seasons, he averaged 5.6 fouls per 40 minutes. Despite Bona showing plenty of tantalizing flashes during NBA Summer League in July, his propensity to foul opposing players somehow got considerably worse. Bona averaged 4.8 fouls per game while only averaging 21.6 minutes played per contest. That is just over nine fouls per 40 minutes.
In case you haven't heard, you only get six fouls in the NBA. And while Bona is not going to play enough to foul out on a consistent basis, if he continually puts opposing players on the free throw line and opposing teams in the bonus, it will be much harder to manage his lack of offensive utility. Cutting down on the fouls is an absolute must for Bona to become a rotation big at the next level.
There is a ton of value that can be extracted from a role player with a high motor in the NBA, particularly when that player is an athletic big like Bona. It can manifest itself in many ways: a late contest that alters a shot, a revival of a possession on the glass, or beating your man down the floor in transition for an easy bucket.
But it goes without saying: as a player advances in their sport, the size, physicality and athleticism are dialed up several notches at each level. The NBA is the pinnacle. Bona is a terrific athlete, and players with far worse physical gifts have been effective through similar relentless styles.
The real question becomes how much that motor actually enables Bona to succeed at the NBA level, where he will be going up against larger bodies occupied by stronger, quicker and more athletic players. At the collegiate level -- and even in many of his Summer League appearances -- Bona was able to overwhelm many of his matchups based on athletic tools and length alone. Not only will he have physical advantages less frequently in the NBA, but the ones he does enjoy will be far less advantageous than he is used to.
Bona will log more minutes of G League action as a rookie than non-garbage time NBA minutes.
This prediction should not be seen as a condemnation of Bona, nor should it be misconstrued as a form of criticism of the Sixers' decision to select him. The makings of a quality backup center are obviously apparent to anyone who watches Bona play. But, so are his limitations.
Bona has genuine upside as a defender, but his fouling problem makes it harder to envision him having a notably positive impact on that end of the floor in the aggregate right now. And Bona's offensive limits are severe enough that he needs to be a major positive as a rim protector and switchable big to be a viable rotation player.
Those offensive limits are drastic. Bona is a total non-shooter, subpar from the free throw line and has not exhibited any passing or playmaking chops. His utility on that end of the floor is limited to screening and rolling for the time being, with the occasional alley-oop or put-back dunk being the most noteworthy manners in which he can contribute.
I believe Bona would be served best if his rookie season was largely treated as a redshirt season, with 2025-26 becoming his first opportunity to become a rotation center for the team. The Sixers can go small-ball at the five with players like KJ Martin and Guerschon Yabusele when necessary, and add a reliable third-string center midseason should they deem that appropriate.
For Bona, getting some seasoning with the Delaware Blue Coats and learning as much as he can under an NBA coaching staff could do wonders. The Sixers have the ability to be patient with Bona's development, and that is what they should do.
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