The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million deal with forward Guerschon Yabusele, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, after he helped France win a silver medal at the Olympics earlier this month. Yabusele turns 29 this December.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele has appeared in 74 games of the NBA regular season.
The 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward was born and raised in Dreux, France, to parents from Zaire. He was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. The Frenchman played two seasons (2017-19) with the Celtics before joining the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
In 74 NBA regular season games (five starts), Yabusele averaged 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 6.6 minutes per contest while shooting 44.2% from the field, 32.3% from the range 3, and 68.2% from the free throw line.
Free agent F Guerschon Yabusele has agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million minimum deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. Yabusele rejoins the NBA’s Eastern Conference after leaving the Boston Celtics for Real Madrid in 2019. pic.twitter.com/imZ6yfYYMe
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 18, 2024
In Boston’s 110-97 regular season finale win over the Brooklyn Nets on April 11, 2018, he recorded a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (60%) from the floor, and a 3-pointer one and three made for free.
However, Yabusele was waived by the Celtics in July 2019. He then signed with the CBA’s Nanjing Monkey Kings. In 15 games with Nanjing, he averaged 17.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 27.7 minutes.
After a season in China, he played in France with EuroLeague and LNB Pro A club ASVEL – a team owned by Hall of Famer Tony Parker – before signing with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021.
Yabusele will compete for minutes for the Sixers
Yabusele spent the last three years with the Spanish team. He helped them win the EuroLeague title in 2023 and make the final four of the tournament each season. In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 9.6 points per contest while shooting 43% from 3-point range on 2.6 attempts per game.
Yes, Yabusele has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2018-19 campaign. This makes his signing with the 76ers even more interesting. He made his Olympic debut at the 2021 Tokyo Games and scored 13 points against the United States in the gold medal game.
He averaged just 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 16.8 minutes per game. However, the former Celtic were always on the move. At the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he was also France’s second leading scorer, averaging 10.8 points and 22.7 minutes per game.
AI is crazy 🙄🧸✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/MOrMeutTdp
– Guerschon Yabusele (@yabusele28) August 14, 2024
In addition, Yabusele has a chance to compete for minutes in the 76ers rotation this coming season. Philadelphia’s biggest move of the summer was signing Paul George to a massive four-year contract. The Sixers also retained Kelly Oubre and Kyle Lowry as free agents and signed Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, and Andre Drummond.
Yabusele was also a standout player during France’s run to the Olympic gold medal game. He scored 22, 17, and 20 points against Canada, Germany, and the United States, respectively. In those three games, Yabusele shot an impressive 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the field.
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