NBA veteran and Sixers’ backup center Andre Drummond is as confident as ever in his abilities to help his team.
NBA veteran Andre Drummond began the career transition from starting center to an off-the-bench role in Philadelphia back in 2021. Back then, the Sixers were looking to bolster the backup center position in the offseason after being knocked out in the second round of the playoffs. A wild concept, indeed.
The team landed Drummond as a free agent that summer with the intention of using the two-time All-Star to come off the bench to spell Joel Embiid. Before then, Drummond had started 594 of 595 games he played in since first becoming a starter toward the end of his rookie year in 2012-13. The only game he didn’t start in that stint was due to missing morning shootaround for the Detroit Pistons back on Dec. 23, 2019—ironically, against the Sixers. But I digress.
Drummond took the career shift in stride, and the situation at backup five finally started to improve for the Sixers. For the 2021-22 season, he ended up second on the team in rebounds per game (8.8) as well as third for total rebounds (433)—and he did it in just 49 games averaging 18.4 minutes per night. Then, a midseason blockbuster that brought James Harden to Philadelphia sent Drummond to the Brooklyn Nets.
It especially stings now knowing how both the Harden situation ended up as well as having to watch the Sixers return to mediocrity at backup five over the last season and a half.
Drummond left the Nets and spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Bulls where he started just 10 of 146 appearances. Despite averaging just 15.1 minutes per game across the two seasons, Drummond has been second-best for the Bulls in both rebounds per game and total rebounds each year, trailing only Nikola Vučević in both categories.
After signing a two-year, $10 million deal with the Sixers this past summer, Drummond’s ready to pick back up in Philadelphia alongside Embiid and the rest of the members of the Sixers’ squad, both young and old.
“I’ve built a relationship with Tyrese (Maxey) when I first got here, my first year here. Just to see his growth as a player has been incredible,” Drummond said. “He’s taken that leap from the day he became the starting point guard to present day … he’s only gotten better. To watch his growth and see him be rewarded for that has been amazing and I’m happy to be back here.”
That confidence in Maxey is high praise coming from a league veteran like Drummond. And as far as confidence in himself, Drummond’s not lacking there either.
“I think that’s why I’m here. I’m the best rebounder to ever play the game. I’m here just to do one job, and that’s to help this team win,” Drummond told reporters at the Sixers’ Media Day earlier this week. “You want me to say that again, you want to record that? Yeah, I’m the best rebounder ever. Ever. But I’m just here to be a veteran guy to our young guys, really help this team win, take the load off of Joel. Really just help our young guys grow.”
I can just hear people sighing as they read Drummond call himself “the best rebounder” of all time, and I’ll leave it to them to argue his point back and forth in the replies of aggregation pages’ posts. But he is undeniably a damn fine rebounder at the very least. He has led the league in rebounds per game four different seasons (most recently 2019-20). Last season, Drummond was fourth in offensive rebounds (335) and 14th overall in the league for total rebounds (708) despite playing hundreds of minutes less than others around the same ranking. In fact, every other player in the top 50 for total rebounds in 2023-24 had more time on the floor than he did.
Sixers’ coach Nick Nurse thinks rebounding is just one of many things that Drummond will bring to the table for Philadelphia in his 13th season in the league.
“I want him to play to his strengths, right? His strengths are, obviously, rebounding. That’s the one that everybody knows and that sticks out when you play against him,” Nurse said. “He’s also a great roller on offense and pretty good roll defender. He’s got good hands. He gets a lot of deflections and things like that. He does put pretty good pressure on the rim for us as far as screen-and-roll game, which is really good and he needs to do. Listen, I think he’s a really talented dude. I think there’s more than seeing him as a 10 defensive rebound (per) game guy. I think there’s more he can do.”
So, is he the best rebounder ever? Who knows… or in fact, if you’re the Sixers, it should be “who cares?” because a more important fact is certain: Drummond will be a massive improvement on the boards at backup center for Philadelphia. Paul Reed and Mo Bamba both struggled to fill the void left when Embiid would head to the bench—the Sixers would concede endless rebounds which would ultimately mean conceding endless points. It was a massive factor in the Sixers going 11-17 in February and March last season when Embiid was injured.
Now, optimally, Philadelphia won’t have to worry about sending Drummond out to start for 28 games in a row. But having Drummond at backup center should help mitigate the rebounding issues when Embiid needs a moment of rest midgame, as well as provide a tested, reliable option to start a game here and there when Embiid needs a night off.
And, if you ask him, Drummond is steadfast that he’s ready to bring it, no matter what the scenario may be, for the good of the Sixers and Philadelphia.
“For me, I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder. I still believe to this day I’m a starter in this league and that’s the mentality that I walk on the court with, regardless of if I play 15 (minutes) or I’m starting. With that mentality, you’re going to get the best out of me each and every night.
“That’s why I’m here, to bring that energy and that force.”