Biggest Philadelphia 76ers overreactions from 2025 NBA Summer League

1. Justin Edwards will be just fine

Conventional wisdom suggests that second-year players, fresh off a full season against NBA talent, have a massive advantage in the Summer League. On paper, it makes sense, right? These players are used to NBA spacing, have spent a year in the conditioning room, and are just generally older than the youngsters they are playing against, which is a decided advantage when most Summer League participants don’t actually make it to the NBA.

If Edwards pulled a Furkan Kormaz and turned in an insane outing, drawing headlines for his impressive play, fans would be over the moon, as the pride of Kentucky fits a clear player profile Nick Nurse and company desperately need moving forward. But thus far, that just hasn’t been the case, with everyone from Edgecombe to Judah Mintz overshadowing the UDFA.

What gives? Is Edwards just not that good? Was last season a fluke? Or is he simply not the kind of player who shines in the summer, with his game more designed for a complementary role, as opposed to taking things over as an ISO scorer?

For Philadelphia’s sake, let’s hope it’s the latter, as Edwards is a vital part of the team’s future.

After failing to make a massive impression in Utah, Edwards has remained quiet in Las Vegas, averaging just 10 points and 1.5 rebounds in 25.5 minutes of action per game. He’s made four of the 12 3-pointers he’s attempted, neither of which is particularly impressive, and hasn’t gotten much done around the edges either, averaging an assist, no steals, and no blocks to go with three turnovers and 3.5 fouls per game.

Would it have been nice to see Edwards put on a show? You bet, but in the end, Edwards seems to work better in a team context than as a focal point of an offense, as his efforts with Edgecombe in Utah helped to show, so why not bet that he will look better back in South Philadelphia?

2. Johni Broome can be an NBA player

When the 76ers selected Johni Broome in the second round out of Auburn, some fans wondered if Charles Barkley’s favorite college player was a good enough athlete to stick on an NBA court.

While Broome dominated during his lengthy run at Auburn, he did so as an under-the-rim undersized five, which isn’t exactly a player type that typically dominates at the NBA level.

And yet, so far, Broome has shown that he isn’t just an undersized five who does damage in the painted area but a player who can nail outside shots as a floor spacer, with the War Eagle knocking down 80 percent of his outside shots in Las Vegas while bringing in four rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Like recent signee Tra Waford, Broome has shown he can not only score but also space the field and contribute as a playmaker, where Philadelphia clearly wants to improve, considering they have a backcourt filled with combo guards but no clear pass-first floor general.

While Broome likely won’t get too many minutes early on because Nurse will undoubtedly opt to play his veterans to start out the year, if Broome can set up his teammates, grab rebounds, and hit open 3s on offense, he will become a fan favorite with the 76ers’ Big-3 and play more often as a result.

3. It’s Summer League: the score doesn’t matter. 

And last but not least, some fans have been worried by the 76ers’ lack of success in Summer League, losing more often than their 2024-25 counterparts, but guess what? It’s just Summer League. The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t win Summer League last year, the Boston Celtics didn’t win it the year before, and whichever team wins it this year probably won’t win it this year either.

The 76ers’ lack of exciting prospects playing in Summer League? Now that is worth worrying about, but the team’s actual record has no real impact on the regular season, so no need to worry one way or the other.