4 Potential Philadelphia 76ers Draft Targets

With the 2025 NBA Draft only a few weeks away, there’s an overwhelming assumption that the Philadelphia 76ers have shortlisted the prospects they’re considering taking with the third overall pick. That is, if they refrain from making a draft night trade, which remains possible. Assuming that they do keep the pick though, here are four potential targets.

4 Potential Philadelphia 76ers Draft Targets

Derik Queen

The Sixers already have Joel Embiid, Adem Bona and Andre Drummond at center. However, none of them can help Philadelphia quite like Maryland’s proficient freshman Derik Queen, who averaged 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in 2024-25.

Embiid is an MVP-level performer when healthy, there are big question marks about how his knees will hold up in the short- or long-term. Drummond, who has a player option for 2025-26, is more of a rotational big than a starter at this stage of his career. Bona, who picked up steam towards the end of his rookie campaign, has limitations as a scorer.

Queen could be the most skilled center in his draft class. With that being said, this may be the Sixers best chance to replace Embiid with another center capable of being a featured scorer. After all, if all goes as planned, they won’t have a potential lottery pick next summer.

Tre Johnson

When thinking about long-term potential, Texas freshman Tre Johnson is an archetypal top-three pick. In 2024-25, the 19-year-old averaged 19.9 points per game, shooting 39.7 percent from 3. Those numbers aside, he’s not the perfect prospect.

He’s a superb shot-maker but his shot-selection needs work. He has the potential to become a solid defender but his technique and intensity need to improve. He has nascent passing ability but needs more reps to make that a hallmark of his game.

Still, when taking the good with the bad, Johnson is a worthy candidate at No. 3. The fact that he can play off-ball and at either wing position with his length and athleticism only helps.

After the season combo guard Jared McCain had, the Sixers will want to maximize him as much as possible. Yet, starting point guard Tyrese Maxey may need to take the reins from Embiid.

Ace Bailey

Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey, who averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steal per game in 2024-25, is one of the more polarizing prospects.

His detractors are not fans of his shot diet or playmaking instincts, to put it mildly. Those who are in his corner have compared him to NBA stars Tracy McGrady, Paul George and Kevin Durant. The truth usually being somewhere in the middle, the question is just how high is Bailey’s ceiling, really?