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76ers new big man thrilled after draft, excited to meet Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers used their second-round selection, the No. 41 overall pick, to add a big man who's flashed immense potential in former UCLA Bruins forward Adem Bona. The 21-year-old played two seasons for the Bruins and was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year following a season in which he averaged 12.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.
While Bona will likely need time to continue to develop his game before making an impact at the NBA level, his jump from year one to year two at UCLA was a positive sign. The 6-foot-10 big man, who has an impressive 7-foot-4 wingspan, improved his scoring average, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals during his sophomore season.
He also could barely contain his excitement over landing with the 76ers, detailing that his older brother is a fan of the franchise. And as James Herbert of CBS Sports detailed, Bona gave a candid response about one thing he's extremely excited about: meeting Joel Embiid.
“I’m so excited to be there. Actually, my older brother is a Philly fan. He’s really excited right now, probably. He’s back home in Nigeria watching. I can’t wait to be there, man. I’m also getting the opportunity to meet Joel Embiid," Bona said.
As Bona mentioned, he's a native of Nigeria, but at 13, he moved to Turkey to pursue a basketball career. From there, Bona played high school basketball in the United States at Prolific Prep in California and became a five-star recruit.
The 76ers' roster for the 2024-25 season is somewhat of a blank slate, with only Embiid and Paul Reed under contract and Tyrese Maxey expected to sign a long-term extension. Even still, Bona will likely be given plenty of time to fine-tune his game, but from a raw talent perspective, the 76ers could walk away as big winners in this draft by landing a major second-round steal with the athletic big man.
More must-reads:
- Sixers first-round pick has high expectations for rookie season
- Four NBA second-round picks who could prove to be steals
- The '1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers' quiz
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Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair hoping for pardon from Donald Trump
Sebastian Telfair is preparing to serve six months in prison but is hoping for some help from President Donald Trump. Telfair was among the former NBA players who were charged in 2021 with defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of approximately $358,000 in fake medical and dental claims. The former first-round pick was initially given a three-year suspended sentence that involved supervised release. But he violated the terms of his suspended sentence, which led to him being sentenced in June to six months in prison. Telfair was getting ready to report to prison and pleaded for the president to step in and pardon him. “Trump, go check in on my story and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me. You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail,” Telfair argued in comments to a reporter from TMZ. Telfair contends that his recent issue is due to a paperwork problem. He feels the resulting sentence he’s received is “super unfair.” Whether President Trump is able to hear his case and pardon him remains to be seen, but Telfair is definitely trying. Telfair, 40, is from Brooklyn, N.Y., and developed a big following as a teenager due to his strong basketball play. He was the No. 13 overall pick in 2004 by Portland and began his career with them as a 19-year-old straight out of high school. Telfair played 10 seasons in the NBA and spent time with eight different teams. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 assists per game during his career.
Chop Robinson injury update: Miami Dolphins star reveals severity after being carted off field
Dolphins fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief with the latest update on the injury to pass rusher Chop Robinson. The second-year defender had to be carted off the practice field Wednesday during a joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Robinson posted an update on social media a couple of hours later to let fans know he is “good” and the injury is “nothing serious.” It sounds like he avoided anything that would cause him to miss significant time, and the carting off the field was simply a precautionary measure. As a rookie, Robinson played in all 17 games for the Dolphins, starting one. He finished with 26 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. He finished fifth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Robinson was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He played two seasons for the Nittany Lions after starting his career at Maryland. Over the course of his collegiate career, Robinson finished with 60 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. Robinson had a career high 5.5 sacks in 2022. As a member of the Class of 2021, Robinson was a four-star recruit out of Gaithersburg (M.D.) Quince Orchard, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 5 EDGE in the class and the No. 62 overall prospect in the class. The Dolphins have their next preseason game on Saturday against the Lions. We might not see Chop Robinson play in that contest, but it doesn’t mean the injury is a serious one and would likely only be a precautionary measure from the team as it prepares for the regular season. Tyreek Hill trade rumors Multiple NFL teams reportedly monitoring future with Dolphins In addition to Robinson, there’s been drama with the Dolphins lately. There are now rumors that Tyreek Hill could fetch some trade requests from other teams. “So his status is uncertain, with an oblique injury right now, as for when he gets back in the lineup, is still up in the air,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Right now, I have talked to a few teams that are at least monitoring his future a little bit. Could he be a potential trade target? Now, I know the Dolphins earlier this summer were telling teams, no, we’re not trading Tyreek Hill, but they just, you know, wonder, is he going to be available? It could be wishful thinking. “Maybe they want him to be available, but he’s a player that when I bring up the teams and say, who’s sort of a trade target you’re watching? They bring up Tyreek Hill, so we’ll see. He’s a big option for Tua and that’d be a major move if they did move away from him.” On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur makes a telling comment about Jordan Love
The Green Bay Packers always had a vision for Jordan Love. That's why they shocked the world by taking him in the first round, even if that meant infuriating Aaron Rodgers. Fast forward to today, and Love has proved to be up to the task of being a starter, and he's even looked like a potential star at times. That's why, despite some inconsistencies and questionable decision-making, head coach Matt LaFleur still has the utmost confidence in him. "I’d hate to put a ceiling on him because I think he can be one of the elites in this league," LaFleur told The Athletic. Love took some pages out of Rodgers' book. He's been great at making the most of free plays, and his sidearm throws are just too similar to No. 12. What he didn't get from his mentor, however, was the consistency and the ability to take care of the football. Even so, Love knows he has what it takes to be among the best of the best. "What those guys do at such a high level is just consistency with everything," Love said. "I know I’m just as good as those guys and can be even better, so I think it comes down to going out there and making those plays on Sunday." Love is currently out with an injury that will most likely keep him sidelined until Week 1. The Packers wide receiver corps has been the most decimated in the league, and with sky-high expectations for the season, all eyes will be on Love in 2025.
Jaydon Blue injury update is bad news for Cowboys, preseason debut
The Dallas Cowboys are finishing up their business trip to Oxnard, California, with their final practice on Wednesday. On Thursday, the team will travel back to Dallas in preparation for meeting the Baltimore Ravens this Saturday in their second preseason game. The team was desperate to find some help in the backfield in their first preseason game with the Los Angeles Rams. The unit has been ravaged by injury. It looks like that could be the same issue for Saturday's game, too. Rookie running back Jaydon Blue missed practice again on Wednesday. Earlier in camp, Blue suffered a bruised ankle, which has the coaching staff being extra cautious for the rookie. Blue, along with Miles Sanders, both missed the team's first preseason game, so the franchise brought in Malik Davis, who had quite an impressive preseason debut against the Rams. The Cowboys are handling Blue's health correctly, but it is unfortunate the rookie has yet to make his debut on the field. In last week's game against the Rams, it was Davis and Phil Mafah who carried most of the load in the backfield. Although the team did not have a running play for the entirety of the first quarter. Getting healthy for September is far more important than pushing the limits for August. —
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