In the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took former Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the No. 22 overall pick.

Philon Jr. was ranked as ESPN’s 18th-best prospect and eighth-best guard in this year’s draft class. In Jeremy Woo’s final mock draft on ESPN, he had the 6-foot-4, 176-pound guard being selected with the N0. 21 overall pick by the Detroit Pistons.

That said, if you’re new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jameer Nelson, you have to be excited to land a prospect such as Philon Jr., who was one of the best available prospects on the board, and gives Philadelphia a legit point guard.

This past season with the Crimson Tide, Philon averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game (33 games). He also shot 50.1 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from beyond the arc on 6.2 attempts per game.

For his efforts, Philon was named the third-team AP All-American and first-team All-SEC. These numbers were a vast improvement across the board for Philon, who only averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game as a freshman in 2024-25.

What are the Sixers getting with Labaron Philon Jr.?

The Mobile, Alabama native is a crafty point guard who can be a playmaker for others, as evidenced by his 31.9 assist percentage this past season, which was ranked second in the SEC.

Philon won’t wow you with his athleticism, but he can score at all three levels, which is a good option for the Sixers to have when they want to take Maxey off the ball. Now, his defense will be a question mark at the NBA level as he shows some inconsistencies on that end and has a slight build.

Philon’s DRtg (defensive rating) went up from 107.5 as a freshman to 115.1 as a sophomore. But defense is something that can be improved on, and it is all about effort at the end of the day.

The former Crimson Tide guard won’t be a starter in Philly. However, there’s no reason to think that Philon can’t play the sixth man role as a rookie, and hopefully take some minutes off the plate of Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, who averaged 38.0 and 35.0 minutes per game, respectively.

Grade: A+