July 01, 2025
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Guerschon Yabusele's NBA return was one of the only enjoyable subplots of the 2024-25 Sixers season.
Guerschon Yabusele has agreed to a two-year deal with the New York Knicks, according to a report from Shams Charania of ESPN:
Free agent center Guerschon Yabusele has agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with the New York Knicks, plus a player option, sources tell ESPN. The Knicks negotiated the new deal with agents Olivier Mazet and Richie Felder for the big man on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/gmYODgPkau
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
This deal represents the full taxpayer's mid-level exception, which the Sixers were also capable of offering Yabusele. Because Yabusele was a non-Bird free agent after playing on a one-year, veteran's minimum contract, the Sixers had very limited resources to retain him. And after plenty of speculation that his market would be too rich for their capacity, Yabusele signed with one of the Sixers' fiercest Eastern Conference rivals at the exact same price point that the Sixers could have offered him.
Yabusele, 29, was a first-round pick of the Boston Celtics in 2016, and after a pair of underwhelming seasons he fell out of the NBA. Yabusele spent a half-decade overseas in hopes of eventually returning to the NBA, and finally accomplished that goal after a stellar run in the Olympics for Team France. The Sixers' final acquisition of the offseason on a veteran's minimum contract, Yabusele was expected to vie for backup power forward minutes.
Then something unexpected happened: with Joel Embiid sidelined, Yabusele started playing small-ball center. And it worked. Yabusele made massive strides as a three-point shooter during his time away from the NBA, which paid dividends in a major way, as the Sixers fielded their best Embiid-less offense with Yabusele playing the five. In the brief moments when Embiid was available, Yabusele was able to slide down to his natural position on a more consistent basis and take advantage of smaller defenders.
In all, Yabusele played 70 games (43 starts) for the Sixers in 2024-25, logging 27.1 minutes per game and averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from beyond the arc on 3.9 three-point attempts per game.
MORE: Why did Sixers let Yabusele walk?
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