The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the top teams in the East since Joel Embiid stepped onto the floor for them in the 2016-17 season. The big fella has been the transcendent star that the franchise really needed to get back to relevancy in the league.
The biggest issue has been the backup center spot. The Sixers have not been able to really settle on one guy who can properly give good minutes behind Embiid so the big fella can get his rest out on the floor.
In Embiid’s six seasons with the Sixers, there have been a variety of backup centers Philadelphia has employed and Sixers Wire will list those big men as it looks like there will be a new backup in the 2022-23 season in the form of young Paul Reed.
Jahlil Okafor
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Okafor was the starting center in his rookie season before Embiid returned from his injury and he got lost a bit in the shuffle. He averaged 8.6 points as a reserve in the 2016-17 season compared to 13.4 points when he was a starter again Embiid’s rookie season was cut short after 31 games.
Richaun Holmes
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Holmes received some starts as well in the 2016-17 season after Embiid was injured, but he was mostly a backup and filled the role of the energy guy off their bench. He is now a starter with the Sacramento Kings.
Amir Johnson
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Johnson was signed in the 2017 offseason and the veteran big man filled the backup role admirably. He averaged 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in the 2017-18 season and he started a game in the playoffs after Embiid had to miss time with the original facial fracture. He was also the backup in the 2018-19 season.
Greg Monroe
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Monroe was signed late in the 2018-19 season as another backup to Embiid and he even started a game in the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets in Round 1. Alas, he and Johnson were not much help in Round 2 as the Sixers were a minus-90 when Embiid wasn’t on the floor against the Toronto Raptors.
Al Horford
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The plan was pretty simple. Horford would start next to Embiid and then be the backup center when Embiid would miss games. Instead, the experiment blew up in Philadelphia’s face as Horford couldn’t find his fit with Embiid and Ben Simmons and he was…
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