The Philadelphia 76ers added a couple of new members to the roster over the last few days. While the former Brooklyn Nets guard Tyler Johnson technically isn't a member of the Sixers roster just yet, Philly's newest two-way signee Myles Powell made his debut on Monday night against the Boston Celtics.
For Powell, his NBA debut was always going to be special. As the former Seton Hall standout went undrafted last year, he found himself as a member of the New York Knicks' developmental squad, the Westchester Knicks.
However, Powell never found himself garnering any minutes with the Knicks' main roster. This season, Powell missed the start of the 2021-2022 NBA G League season but made his debut last Friday. Ironically, he played against the team that would eventually scoop him up.
The Sixers waived the second-year guard Grant Riller on Saturday. They brought in Powell to replace him. While Powell is technically new to the Sixers and their organization, the Trenton, New Jersey-native knows a lot about the team as he grew up watching and rooting for the Sixers.
A Dream Come True
As Powell prepared for the 2020 NBA Draft, the former Seton Hall guard talked about how much of a dream come true it would be to play for his favorite team.
“Me growing up really close to Philly when A.I. [Allen Iverson] was there, just wanting to be like ‘The Answer,’” he said. “My favorite football team was the Eagles, my favorite baseball team is the Phillies. Philadelphia, that stadium is 30 minutes from my home ...
That would be a dream come true, like wow, the Sixers, and it’s so close to home, but anywhere that would want to take a chance with me that feels it’s the perfect fit for me, I would love it.” via NJ.com
To no surprise, Sixers legend Allen Iverson was an inspiration to Powell growing up. And on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after making his NBA debut with the 76ers, Powell shared a throwback photo of himself wearing an Iverson jersey.
Powell came off the bench for a little over eight minutes in his Sixers debut. While he didn't log any statistics as he missed both of his shots from the field, the young guard was still grateful just to have an opportunity to take the court for his first NBA game on Monday. And the circumstances couldn't be better for him.
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