It took a while for Dewayne Dedmon to make his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Following a trade from the Miami Heat to the San Antonio Spurs, which led to the veteran getting waived, Dedmon linked with the Philadelphia 76ers, filling up their final roster spot.
When Dedmon suited up for the Sixers for the first time, the team was headed into the All-Star break. A matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers came and went, with Dedmon staying on the bench.
In his first practice with the Sixers following the break, Dedmon suffered a hip injury. That led to the veteran missing a handful of games.
Dedmon went inactive for the Sixers’ first five games back from the break. While he suited up against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 4 and beyond, the veteran big man remained on the bench for four-straight games as the Sixers continued utilizing Paul Reed behind Joel Embiid.
Going into Sunday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that Dedmon would get an opportunity to play at some point during the final stretch of the season, but it was unclear when that time would come.
“We just want him to get healthy. We think he's pretty healthy right now, but we're in a big stretch,” Rivers explained. “We definitely are gonna play him at some point because we want him on the floor to see what he can do for us.”
Ironically, Dedmon’s debut would come just a couple of hours after Rivers’ pregame press conference. While the Sixers stuck with their original game plan of giving Reed the backup minutes behind Embiid, Dedmon collected some late garbage time minutes as the Sixers were on their way to a blowout victory.
“I liked him,” Rivers said after the game, discussing Dedmon’s performance. “He knows how to play, and you can see that. That little roll game, he seals guys, great passes, talks out on the floor. He’s just smart. He’s a veteran. Good hands, so it was good.”
Dedmon checked into the matchup late in the fourth quarter. He played for roughly five minutes. During that time, Dedmon made both of his shots from the field for four points, with his first make as a Sixer getting a humorous reaction from some of the guys in the locker room.
“He was great,” said Georges Niang. "Dewayne Abdul-Jabbar, right? That running hook, that was awesome. Great for him to get his feet up under him and hit that running hook. I think he got another layup and just got his feet up under him. I think that was huge for us.”
“Man, that running hook was, you know, I ain’t seen that since the 80s,” De’Anthony Melton added. “That slow, too? You could tell he’s an old man. That’s my OG. That’s my triple OG.”
After Dedmon’s five-minute shift in the fourth quarter, the Sixers closed out their matchup with a comfortable 112-93 victory over Washington.
It’s unclear if Dedmon will get an opportunity to play beyond garbage time as Paul Reed continues to give the Sixers quality minutes behind Embiid, but based on a small sample size from Sunday night, the Sixers like what the veteran big man brings to the table.
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