Sixers' Andre Drummond talks play of Adem Bona, sharing backup center

PHILADELPHIA -- As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the postseason with a play-in matchup with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, they will once again rely on the play of big men Andre Drummond and Adem Bona in place of the recovering Joel Embiid.

Drummond played 63 games in the regular season and averaged 6.4 points and 8.4 rebounds while starting 25 of those games. The 14-year veteran out of UConn shared backup duties with second-year big man Bona who averaged 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 71 games with 18 starts.

Bona also averaged 1.2 blocks per game as he continues to show what he can do as a rim protector. The Sixers will continue to look to him to give them that type of ability as time moves on into the postseason and takes steps forward as a player in this league.

"His poise," Drummond said of Bona. "He’s slowed down a lot more. His focus is a lot different now. He's not sped up. He's reading the game a lot better on both ends of the floor, and he's growing. I mean, it's fun to watch, and it's fun to be a part of his success and watching how well he's been playing."

If there is one area in which Bona can take big steps forward in, it's his rebounding. He averaged 4.2 as a rookie so it was about the same in his second year in the league. His field goal percentage also dropped from 70.3% as a rookie to 59.5% in 2025-26. There are still steps for him to take as he navigates his way through the league.

"I think just more so just continue to lock in on details of the game, and where he needs to be on the floor," Drummond added. "His aggression on both sides of the floor, rebounding, obviously, a huge thing that we need, and I think he can be a little bit better with that as well, but he's learning, and he's doing great. So nothing negative to say."

As far as sharing the backup center job, it can be hard for players when their playing time and role is so up and down. Drummond has had stretches where he doesn't play and other stretches where he may not play until the fourth quarter. The same goes for Bona, but they both have handled it with professionalism and Drummond continues to root for his younger teammate.

"At the end of the day, I'm not here to stop anybody from being great," Drummond finished. "Obviously, I'm a competitor. I want to play. I didn't come here to sit on nobody's bench. I want to play, so I'm going to try to—I'll beat him and vice versa. He's going to do the same, too. So that's what makes our team better, too, because we have that type of mentality to compete against each other alongside of trying to help our team win."

The Sixers will begin the play-in tournament on Wednesday when they host the Magic in the 7 vs. 8 game.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers' Andre Drummond talks play of Adem Bona, sharing backup center