Sixers

The Sixers Have Drafted Well Under Daryl Morey

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jun 25th, 2025 · 9:51 AM EDT

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The NBA Draft is tonight at 8 p.m. Whatever happens, you have to feel comfortable with Daryl Morey and this front office making the right decision with the #3 overall pick.

That may sound very stupid considering the Sixers’ history of selecting guys who didn’t pan out, like Markelle Fultz and Jahlil Okafor, or making trades that ended up biting them in the ass, such as Mikal Bridges (and Fultz again via Danny Ainge fleecing). But the fact of the matter is that they’ve been very good in this department since Daryl Morey came to town in 2020. Say what you will about every other move he’s made, but the drafting has been solid.

Sixers picks during the Morey era:

• Tyrese Maxey
• Theo Maledon
• Tyler Bey
• Isaiah Joe
• Paul Reed
• Jaden Springer
• Filip Petrusev
• Charles Bassey
• David Roddy
• Adem Bona
• Jared McCain

Maxey was the 21st overall pick and went to become an All Star and one of the key pieces on this team. McCain had himself in the Rookie of the Year conversation before his meniscus tear in the first half of the 2024-2025 season.

Springer was a late first rounder and didn’t have much of a path to NBA minutes here. He was traded to the Celtics and then wound up with the Jazz. Paul Reed had a decent run here as a backup center and is now with the Pistons. Isaiah Joe won a ring with the Thunder a few days back and Bassey played 36 games for the Spurs this season. Petrusev was part of the James Harden/Clippers trade and Roddy was included in the swap that brought back De’Anthony Melton. Bey and Maledon are currently in Europe and Bona showed some flashes during his rookie season.

No outright busts in there, and a couple of guys who maybe could/would still be here if used differently by Doc Rivers.

What’s notable is Daryl Morey has never drafted this high in his GM career. Some of his notable first round picks, pre-Philly, are Aaron Brooks, Nic Batum, Marcus Morris, Jeremy Lamb, Clint Capela, and Isaiah Hartenstein, but none were top-10 picks. Hartenstein was a second rounder and the others were in the teens or twenties of the first round. Before starting with the Sixers, Morey’s last first round selection was Sam Dekker way back in 2015.

So it’s new territory for Daryl, but at the same time he typically does well when he actually does draft. The fact that he’s never drafted inside the top-10 lends some credence to the belief that maybe the Sixers trade back and acquire additional assets, but you never know. We’ll find out soon enough.