CAMDEN, N.J. – On the very first play of his very first NBA training camp, 20-year-old Labaron Philon Jr. found himself backpedaling and preparing to pick up LeBron James during a downhill drive. Did he try to take a charge?

"I tried to go for the strip," Philon said with a smile. "He passed the ball. Trying to get it out of his hands, definitely, because he was running at me. I was like, 'Alright.'"

That is life now for a player whose childhood was spent watching many of the players he is now teaming with. But Philon's aptitude for NBA offense has been on Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's mind all week. After Friday's conclusion to the team's four-day training camp, Philon credited the pro-style system he was tasked with quarterbacking at Alabama.

"It helps a lot, just knowing the terms and knowing an NBA-style offense," Philon said. "That's why I've been able to tell guys where they need to go and just run plays on the fly – just because this is the kind of offense we ran back then. So it's kind of easy to me now to just remember things and just have that move on the fly. As a rookie I feel like that's an important skill, not messing up and just not messing things over more than once. I feel like if I can see it the first time, I can do it all the time. So it's been very helpful, and I've just been able to communicate and just run the point guard spot."

The final notebook of Sixers training camp details Philon's impressive start, Nurse's desire to use Joel Embiid in different areas of the floor and more:

Labaron Philon Jr. standing out

When the Sixers selected Philon with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, it was a bet on talent and offensive juice. Back in June, Nurse and Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey were adamant that he could compete for a rotation spot on a team with only two surefire presences in the guard rotation. Twice this week, Nurse made unprompted mentions of Philon "holding his own" in his first NBA training camp.

With James on board – plus Jaylen Brown replacing Paul George, giving the Sixers a more ball-dominant player – there are fewer touches to go around. Philon has to drive value without touching the ball, too, if he wants to stick on this team. Asked what he likes specifically about Philon on Friday, Nurse's response indicated the rookie point guard is doing just that.

"I talked about his compete level and his effort. His physicality has been good. I think that’s been excellent," Nurse said. "What's showing more is his ability to run an offense. Like, really takes command of getting people where they need to be, making a decisive play call or whatever it is and getting it executed and also he’s got a bit of a – when things are getting a little haywire, he’s got a little bit of an ability to break away and get some space and get into the paint and then create the offense that way.”

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The Sixers, for all of their offensive talent, only have two high-level passers for their position in their projected rotation. James and Embiid, the two players expected to receive forms of load management throughout the year, cannot be the lone carriers of the playmaking burden for this team. Perhaps that is Philon's lane to stand out.

"I would say I’ve always been a great passer," Philon said. "Just having the right guys and the right plays and the right mindset. I feel like, first, you’ve got to be unselfish. Second, you’ve got to have guys that want to move on the floor. And third, it just comes down to making the best decision. I would feel like, for me, the best decision is making the easiest play. Right now, I don’t really need no ‘showtime’ or flashy plays. The position I’m in right now, it’s like making the right play every time. It’ll be great for me, and I’ve been doing that, just seeing that has been good."

As for the defensive end of the floor, Philon said he aspires to be a "ball hawk" of sorts.

"Trying to follow the ball. Trying to find plays on the defensive end. I’ve been doing it very well, I think. I’ve been getting a lot of steals, getting into help in the right position," Philon said. "I would say being at the right spot at the right time will help you the most, just because... some guys you’ve got to double team. It’s really knowing where you’ve got to be on the floor. I feel like (every person), you’ve got to learn that quick, because you can be out of place and they can score. It might not be your teammate’s fault, but you’re supposed to help right there, if you get what I’m saying. Just being on a string. That’s all it is, and it takes commitment to do that. I think Coach Nurse, in his meeting, he was talking about just the commitment. I feel like the commitment is everything on that side of the ball."

MORE: Why Sixers believe 'dynamic' Philon is 'going to fit Philly'

Joel Embiid finding new areas to work

Embiid's leap from superstar to NBA MVP came when Doc Rivers began using him in the middle of the floor more often than in the post. Embiid still posts up, but his work at the nail is what catapulted him into the unstoppable offensive force he became.

That area of the floor is also where James and Brown like to operate. Does Nurse envision Embiid's typical spaces within his offense changing to account for his new costars?

"I think that we are trying to move him around the floor a little more frequently, right? I think that so far, so good," Nurse said. "It's up to us to figure out some movement patterns or sets – if you want to call them that, movement patterns – where he ends up in different places... We're going to have to because we're going to need to open up the middle, the nail, the top, for some other guys, too. So I think it's a really important step for our team."

What Embiid's new teammates have often learned quickly: he can be thrown into any role in any area of the floor and immediately dominate. Philon is the latest newcomer to witness this dynamic.

"[O]ffensively, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a big that can score, pass, and do everything at once," Philon said. "Being able to see him do that, it’s been really joyful to see, just because he’s got a smile on his face and he’s making plays and stuff like that."

Even more encouraging: in discussing what he felt was particularly strong chemistry being developed with his bigs so far, Philon made mention of Embiid's defensive performance in camp.

"Defensively, he’s been really good," Philon said. "Two-on-ones, three-on-ones, he’s been doing his job, stopping guys from scoring. And that’s kind of hard when you’ve got three guys coming at you. So he’s been putting big effort in on the defensive end."

MORE: Nurse aims to play starters in preseason; Maxey and Wade talk opening practices

Odds and ends

Some additional notes from Friday's camp finale:

• Justin Edwards said on Friday that he has been learning from veteran role player and two-time NBA champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

"I've been learning from KCP, especially on the defense end," Edwards said. "He’s an all-around defender, so I was just asking certain questions. Like, how he switches up his guarding schemes for different players and stuff."

After Tyrese Maxey said earlier this week that Caldwell-Pope is someone Edwards could benefit from teaming with, Nurse reiterated that the 33-year-old is a template of sorts for Edwards.

"[Y]ou can really sense that he has been around and has some good experience," Nurse said. "He knows his role as a defender, spacer, then kind of just a playmaker. I mean, like not with the ball. I'm just talking about – go get a rebound, go keep something alive, get a back cut, whatever. But mostly just to come down and dig in and start playing defense, and then keep the floor spaced and be ready. Be ready to pull it. And I think you guys have heard me say that 100 times about Justin. He can guard and try hard every time, which he does, and he needs to space and keep building that confidence to pull the trigger from the catch and shoot three. And that's enough."

• Edwards' mom was a diehard Boston Celtics fan before he signed with his hometown team, he said. So, she was extremely excited to meet Brown's mom on Thursday. "Everybody's hype," Edwards said. 

• The Sixers will hold their annual Blue x White Scrimmage on Saturday, and for the first time it will be at their home Xfinity Mobile Arena. Nurse said the team is still working through its specific plans for the scrimmage, which will take place after a practice.

"I need to work on that a little bit this afternoon," Nurse said. "But we do have a practice beforehand, so we'll get in there and get our work in. And then I think that normally we kind of do it in quarter segments, see how it's going, and probably plan on three to four, and hope to get to three. So we'll see how it goes. We'll see how that morning goes, and we'll see what everybody's energy levels are like. It's great, though. I'm assuming they moved to the arena because a lot of people want to come watch it, so it should be fun for the guys."

MORE: Sixers' star-studded starting lineup unveiled at Media Day