Sixers film study: How big of an upgrade will Andre Drummond be?

The Sixers' backup center position has been a revolving door to such an extreme degree that it now has repeat customers. Andre Drummond, who spent the first half and change of the 2021-22 season with the team before being part of the trade that netted the Sixers James Harden, returned to Philadelphia on a two-year, $10 million contract that contains a player option in the second season.

Drummond will replace Paul Reed, who served admirably as the team's backup center for the better part of two years before becoming a cap casualty of sorts. Drummond is a clear upgrade over Reed and will make less money than Reed, who is now on the Detroit Pistons.

But just how helpful will Drummond be in the Sixers' pursuit of a championship? Diving deep into the veteran's film and stats helps paint the picture:

Statistical / Athletic Profile

Drummond, who is entering his age-31 season, played in 79 games (10 starts) for the Chicago Bulls last year, logging 17.1 minutes per contest and averaging 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Drummond shot 55.6 percent from the field in 2023-24 — a significant decline from his prior two seasons, but above his career mark. He is one of the worst free throw shooters in recent league history, though he has "improved" in recent years and shot 59.2 percent from the line last season. He is a non-shooter on the perimeter, with 12 total made threes across 15 NBA seasons.

Drummond is a massive human being, listed at 6-foot-11 and 279 pounds with a spectacular 7-foot-6 wingspan. He is not quite as bouncy now as he was when he came into the league, but he is athletic enough to serve as a rim runner on the offensive end.

Rebounding

Anyone who has followed the NBA for years knows that rebounding is the hallmark of Drummond's game. He is legitimately a Hall of Fame-caliber rebounder, posting obscene numbers on the glass as an offensive and defensive rebounder in just about every year of his career, regardless of the situation.

One of the reasons the Sixers fell to the New York Knicks in the first round of last year's NBA Playoffs is that their defensive rebounding was horrid for games at a time. New York centers Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson punished the Sixers on the glass. Something had to change.

"I think that's why I'm here," Drummond said earlier this month.

Indeed it is. No one player can turn a team from a poor rebounding unit to an excellent one — especially when that player is going to be a reserve — but Drummond being in the fold will help uplift the team's collective ability in that department, raising their floor.

But part of becoming a better rebounding team is reviving possessions with offensive rebounds, something Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is passionate about. The team finished ninth-best in the NBA in offensive rebounding on a per-possession basis despite suboptimal personnel because Nurse's scheme emphasized crashing the grass. Nurse has spoken at length about wanting to maximize his team's amount of possessions, and the easiest way for it to do that is to rebound its own misses. Drummond is a dominant presence in that area:

Here, Jarrett Allen — one of the league's most formidable interior forces — stands little chance of moving Drummond, who overpowers him for the offensive rebound and easy bucket:

It is hard to quantify just how outstanding Drummond's rebounding is, but this may just do the trick. Advanced stats website DunksAndThrees.com shows percentile ranks for each player under the stats their profiles display. Drummond has not finished below the 98th percentile in offensive or defensive rebounding percentage since his second NBA campaign — the 2013-14 season. Look at his percentile ranks in each of the last seven seasons (percentiles in green):

Again, Drummond cannot singlehandedly fix the team's rebounding issues. No player can do such a thing; rebounding is a collective effort in all respects. But he can do quite a bit to help lessen the possession disadvantages the team often found itself facing last season.

Defense

Drummond's best asset as a defensive player is his ability to end possessions by grabbing a rebound — and defensive rebounding is a significantly underrated aspect of a center's production on that end of the floor. But in terms of traditional defensive tools that people seek out in bigs, he underwhelms a bit.

Drummond is not a frequent shot-blocker despite sporting a remarkable 7-foot-6 wingspan. For his career, Drummond has averaged just 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes. A high block total does not automatically make someone a plus defender at the center position, but a very low one likely means they are not very effective as a rim protector. When Drummond does block a shot, though, it is often one that many players would not be able to get their hand on:

Teams often hope that their backup center is either a stout rim protector or a versatile defender who can hold his own on the perimeter. Drummond is not a high-quality rim protector, but he also is exploitable in space. Whether or not Drummond can be a viable playoff player is absolutely up for debate, because his lateral quickness is very much lacking. That makes him liable in multiple respects.

Drummond has trouble getting out to contest three-point tries by stretch bigs he has to defend. It is fair to wonder how he would hold up in a theoretical series against a Boston Celtics team with two high-quality stretch bigs. Here, a simple slip of the screen against Drummond — who both naturally inclined and schemed to stay as close to the basket as possible — renders his late contest fruitless:

If Drummond is forced to switch and defend a guard on the perimeter, he lacks the mobility to keep up. Watch how quickly he is dissected here:

Drummond's rebounding proficiency gives him a reasonable floor in terms of overall defensive impact in the regular season, even if it comes in an unorthodox manner. But it is very fair to question how he will hold up on that end of the floor when the stakes are high.

Scoring

Drummond is a non-shooter who will not space the floor in any capacity and lacks quality touch around the rim. The Sixers hope he will frequently revive possessions with his rebounding, but his primary function on offense will be simple: set a good screen, and roll to the rim.

A surprisingly low amount of alley-oop finishes popped up on Drummond's film, but that might speak more to Chicago's ball-handlers than it does to Drummond's ability to make himself an aerial target on the roll. His athletic and physical tools are more than satisfactory, and his wingspan gives him a strong catch radius.

Tyrese Maxey and Paul George are going to draw the attention of defenses when Drummond is on the floor, and it should free him up for many more opportunities to throw down lobs like this:

Passing / decision-making

This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Drummond's game — and it was certainly the one that I enjoyed most during his brief stint in Philadelphia the first time around. Doc Rivers — then head coach of the Sixers — would often quip about Drummond's tendency to make a brilliant pass on one possession before throwing the ball into the sixth row on the very next play.

The Sixers are never going to run any offense through Drummond. He is not Nikola Jokić, and he is not even 10 percent of Jokić as a passer. But every now and then, he will make a smart read when a lane opens up for a cutter and throw a nifty pass:

Meanwhile, there will be times when Drummond does something like... this:

Drummond does not impress as a passer so frequently that it is a distinctive feature within his repertoire. But he has enough chops there that every now and then he will do something that makes you do a double-take.

Conclusion

Drummond is going to be the best rebounder in the NBA on a per-possession basis, and that alone gives him a terrific floor as a backup center. The defensive versatility is lackluster, as is his general offensive utility, but he does just enough to be passable in those areas and allow his signature skill to grab the headlines.

Can Drummond meet the massive challenge that no Sixers backup center has ever done behind Embiid and keep the team afloat during the playoffs? There are many factors working against him, but he also has much more going for him than many of his predecessors.

Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam

Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice