Ricky Council IV Dazzles in Sixers 1st Summer League Game
Ricky Council IV is currently 1 of just 4 Sixers returning from last season, the other 3 being Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Kelly Oubre Jr. But when you line up all 4 of them, Council clearly sticks out. Not only is he not a projected starter, he doesn’t even have a guarantee for playing time yet.
He played in just 32 games last season, at 9 minutes per game. Despite that limited playing time, he did earn the praise of Sixers fans. Especially with this pass in the 2nd OT against the Spurs that helped an Embiid-less Sixers team secure the win.
The rookie never saw the floor in the playoffs. But now that he dipped his toes into the NBA waters, he might have more of a chance to stick out in 2024. The start of that is what he can do in the Summer League. 1 game in, Ricky Council IV is already sticking out.
A Dominant Night For Ricky Council IV
Council wasted no time in making his mark on the Summer League. In the Sixers 1st game, he dropped 29 points on the Thunder, on 9-18 shooting, including 5 of 10 from deep.
It did not start out that well though. Council was 0 for 4 from deep, likely giving Council flashbacks to his 2023 Summer League performance where he went 1 for 17 from deep. But despite being cold out of the gate, he kept shooting and eventually found his rhythm.
All 5 3s came in the 4th quarter. He even pulled out a stepback 3 from his bag, showing his game grew a bit to the point he can get off his own shot.
It is important to remember this is just the Summer League. He is not playing against proven pros, he is playing against rookies, and young players in the same situation as himself. Still, he flashed the kind of skills the Sixers could use off the bench. It is a good first step to earning a larger role.
The 2 Rookies Impress As Well
But Ricky Council IV was not the only young Sixers player turning heads. Both Adem Bona and Jared McCain impressed as well in their 1st Summer League action.
Adem Bona probably had the play of the night. In the 2nd quarter, McCain threw up a lob in traffic to Bona, who finished it with authority.
Bona finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. More importantly, he showed the motor you want out of a backup center. He was actively boxing out, crashing the boards, playing tough defense, and was running the pick-and-roll well with McCain.
With Drummond on the team, he likely won’t see much playing time most nights, if any at all. We know that Embiid is not going to play 82 games though. So on the nights Embiid rests, or misses, Bona will get the chance to backup Drummond. Our 1st glimpse of him gives us good reason to be optimistic about his chances to fit in.
McCain meanwhile struggled a bit with the thing he is most known for, 3-point shooting. He made up for that with everything else he was doing. We already showed you the nice Alley Oop pass to Bona, but all night he was showing his ability to create off the dribble. Not just for others, but for himself.
He might have finished 0 of 6 from 3, but he was 6 of 9 from everywhere else. McCain finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Like Ricky Council IV, it was also impressive to see him not go away from his 3. After missing 4 straight, it would be reasonable to expect a rookie to lose his confidence. But he kept shooting, which is what you want to see. You don’t want to see them force shots, but you want to see the fearlessness to keep taking open shots even when they are cold.
All in all, it was a good night for the Sixers. Again, it is Summer League, so take everything we saw with a grain of salt. But we saw good signs from the 3 players out there with the best chance to see any minutes this season.
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