Tacko Fall has been away from the NBA for four years. He does not sound interested in treating his return as a novelty.
The 7-foot-6 center signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this week, earning a training camp invitation and, with it, a chance to fight his way back onto an NBA roster.
Fall understands exactly what Philadelphia has given him.
“It is an opportunity of a lifetime that I shall not waste,” Fall told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
The contract guarantees Fall little beyond a place in camp. But after spending the past several seasons playing overseas, the 30-year-old has an NBA doorway open again.
And there will be at least one familiar face waiting for him.
Tacko Fall Reunites With Jaylen Brown
Fall also told Robinson he is “really looking forward to playing alongside JB and doing whatever it takes to help the team.”
That would be Jaylen Brown, Fall’s former Celtics teammate from 2019 through 2021 and one of Philadelphia’s marquee offseason additions.
Their relationship predates this reunion. In a 2022 interview with Robinson, Fall called Brown “very disrespected” and praised his focus amid outside criticism.
Now Fall gets an opportunity to join him again on a Sixers roster with championship expectations.
The question is whether he can make himself useful enough to stay.
Fall has not appeared in an NBA regular-season game since the 2021-22 season with Cleveland. Since then, his career has taken him through China and Australia, where he continued to provide the same combination of size, finishing and rim protection that made him a fan favorite in Boston.
With the New Zealand Breakers during the 2024-25 NBL season, Fall averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 18 games. He flashed more than novelty value, including a 28-point, nine-rebound, four-block performance against Perth.
Fall Faces Real Competition for Sixers’ Roster Spot
Philadelphia is not bringing Fall to camp on reputation alone.
An Exhibit 10 contract is non-guaranteed, and the Sixers already have Joel Embiid, Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti among their frontcourt options. NBA.com lists Fall as six inches taller than Embiid and Hukporti, underscoring just how unusual his physical profile remains.
He also arrived alongside Jameer Nelson Jr. and Saint Thomas on camp deals, with all three effectively auditioning for a longer stay in the organization.
Fall, however, has been preparing for the opportunity. Robinson reported that he played in the Maconomics Celebrity Basketball Game in Chicago over the weekend as he continues working toward camp.
At this stage of his career, there is no mystery about what he must provide: screen, rebound, protect the rim, finish efficiently and prove he can survive defensively when teams pull him away from the basket.
The Sixers have not promised him a comeback.
They have given him a chance to earn one.
Judging by Fall’s first reaction, he knows the difference.
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