The Philadelphia 76ers needed some help at the backup center spot and landed on 7-foot big man Ariel Hukporti. The No. 58 pick of the 2024 NBA draft out of Germany has spent his first two seasons with the New York Knicks where he averaged 2.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks.
Hukporti has averaged only 9.1 minutes per game in his career and will have to prove himself to earn minutes in Philadelphia, but the young big man is looking to help Joel Embiid and Co. move forward.
"A great guy," Hukporti said of Embiid. "A great player, obviously. What I've seen offensively, what he can do is actually incredible. It's quite impressive. He can do it all with that size. He can get to his spot, to his post, he can shoot 3s, he can get to the basket, so that's a lot of things that he can do."
Embiid is, obviously, one of the better talents the league has ever seen. As he heads into another season, the big fella will be looking to remain healthy and get back to the level that allowed him to win the MVP award in 2023, but Hukporti is around now to help him in some areas after he averaged 2.1 bocks per 36 minutes in New York.
"One thing that really stood out for me is that maybe I can help him defensively more when it comes to that," Hukporti explained. "I'm quite an athletic guy, can crowd a lot of bigs. So, when it comes to that, maybe we play together on the court, but that's not my decision. I'm gonna help him defensively and he can help me offensively."
While still a bit raw offensively as his game is mostly limited to dunks and layups, Hukporti will be looking to help defensively where he feels his game is helpful and can help Philadelphia in that respect.
"I feel like defensively, I'm a pretty good defender, when it comes to 1 through 5," he finished. "Just defending 1 through 5. Being able to work on the defensive end. When it comes to the offensive end, obviously, we got great guards, setting screens, roll. Especially, I like to park it for my float (floater). Just stuff like that. Just the little things that make a big impact when it comes to winning."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Ariel Hukporti discusses helping Joel Embiid, 76ers after signing deal
