September 15, 2024
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How will Ricky Council IV respond to additional pressure and ecxpectations in 2024-25?
Welcome to our Sixers player preview series! Between now and Sixers Media Day on Sep. 30, we will preview each one of the 14 players on the team's standard roster, posing two critical questions that will help determine their fate in 2024-25 before making a prediction about the player's season to come.
For the last two days, we have focused on members of the highly-anticipated training camp battle for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's last rotation spot -- Guerschon Yabusele and KJ Martin. Today, let's take a look at the third and final player expected to be in the running -- the player most fans want to see given more chances to shine after an impressive rookie season.
It's time to talk about Ricky Council IV:
Sixers player previews
Jared McCain | Adem Bona | Reggie Jackson | Guerschon Yabusele | KJ Martin
On the surface, little to none of Council's strong first impression in 2023-24 was centered around his improvement as a three-point shooter, but his significant progress there is what enabled him to flash tons of potential as a driver, foul-drawer, at-rim finisher and overall athlete on the wing. But in reality, the stride Council made as a long-range shooter was the most crucial factor in his breakout rookie season -- it gave him a baseline of sorts, raising his floor, while also helping to accentuate his real strengths.
In his final collegiate season, Council shot just 27.0 percent from beyond the arc on 3.5 attempts per game. But between his time with the Sixers and the Delaware Blue Coats in 2023-24, Council shot 53-138 on three-point tries -- earning an impressive 38.4 three-point percentage -- and it did wonders for his long-term outlook. Nobody expects Council to become an elite three-point shooter -- in part because of mechanics that are not aesthetically pleasing -- but the Sixers have continued to rave about his work ethic, particularly when it comes to becoming more of a threat from long range.
What is working in Council's favor is that he never needs to become above-average as a shooter to be a quality NBA player. If he is respectable enough that teams do not leave him wide open and that a simple pump fake can enable him to attack closeouts like most other players, he can rely on his outstanding skills as a downhill driver.
Council being consistently competent as a three-point shooter would not be his signature trait, but it would open the door for him to utilize his greatest skills more frequently.
If Council does win the training camp battle that has frequently been the subject of speculation during the summer, the vast majority of his minutes would likely come at power forward to begin the season. The Sixers have plenty of quality contributors at the two and three who are ahead of Council within the team's pecking order, and while inevitable injuries will open up time for Council there on occasion, his clearest path to a nightly role in Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's rotation is going to come at the four.
Council does not have the full frame of a prototypical power forward. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, though, which is enough to get by at the position against most units that opposing teams will put out in today's day and age.
What helps Council here is his ferocious and physical style on both ends of the floor. Council never shies away from contact; he relishes it and thrives on it. He has all of the requisite tools to guard above his size: toughness, physicality, strength, mobility and a high motor.
On paper, Council defending power forwards in most of his minutes does not seem like a particularly problematic situation for the Sixers. But there will be no way to know with certainty that it can work until he proves it on a consistent basis.
It may not be a smooth ride for the entire season, but Council will end up logging more playoff minutes than Martin and Yabusele.
The hopes for Council are sky-high among many fans, and I get it: his flashes last season were tantalizing, and it is encouraging that the Sixers found a diamond in the rough when they signed Council as an undrafted free agent last summer. He has the necessary physical and athletic gifts to thrive in the NBA, and shown more than enough skill and ability to improve to earn the expectations he now faces.
I think that by the end of the year, Council will at the very least receive serious consideration for playoff minutes. I see the Sixers adding a reliable power forward option via trade at some point, so I hesitate to outright predict Council will be part of the team's playoff rotation. I believe in the way he works and the manner in which he can create chaos in the best of ways whenever he sees the floor.
But I think it might do everybody a bit of good to just pump the brakes a little bit. All of these sample sizes are small, and Council still enters 2024-25 with very little NBA experience under his belt. This is someone who has played at least 10 minutes in an NBA game on only 11 occasions, and has only played one game on a standard deal (Council was on a two-way contract until April 13, the day before the Sixers' regular season finale).
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Council short- and long-term outlooks. But everybody -- the Sixers in particular -- must ensure they don't put too much on his plate.
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