Getty Puerto Rico's Gian Clavell (R) fights for the ball with Serbia's Filip Petrusev during the FIBA Mens Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
One of the many prospects who competed for the Philadelphia 76ers Summer League team is Filip Petrusev. After being drafted late in the second round of the 2021 draft, the team has opted to stash him overseas.
In the four Summer League matchups Petrusev appeared in, he averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG. Following his small stint with the Sixers, the 22-year-old signed a deal with Crvena Zvezda of the ABA Adriatic league. The last time Petrusev competed in this league, he posted averages of 23.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG.
During a recent interview, Petrusev touched on his working relationship with the Sixers. He said they have a plan for him, and it’s trending in the right direction.
“I went to the Summer League with Philadelphia, the team that drafted me,” Petrusev said, per Google Translate. “Being there, talking to everyone. They have a plan for me and everything is going according to that plan.”
NBA Scout Weighs in on Filip Petrusev
While he prepares for another professional season overseas, many believe there is a future for Filip Petrusev in the NBA. Shortly after Summer League, an NBA scout told Heavy’s Sean Deveney that the young prospect has the intangibles to find a home on a roster down the road.
He has a good feel for the game, he is definitely an NBA player, you can see it just watching him, he stands out. Good finisher at the rim, excellent in the pick-and-roll and he is still developing as a stretch-big. Defense is an issue, though, so if he is not a polished shooter yet, there are still too many red flags. But he’ll be in the league soon.
The main development the scout cited for Pretusev’s future is putting up the necessary muscle to compete against NBA athletes.
He overestimated where he was in his career, the scout told Deveney. He was so good in Serbia two years ago, he thought he was ready for the NBA then but the Sixers didn’t. He made the move to Turkey last year and he was not ready physically, he is not ready physically for the NBA right now. He was playing against the second-best competition in the world and he was outmatched.
Petrusev appeared in 13 games in the Turkish Super League last year and averaged 15.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG.
Tyrese Maxey Back in Philly For Training
Coming off a breakout year last season, Tyrese Maxey wasted little time getting back to work after the Sixers were eliminated in the postseason. All summer, there have been countless videos of the 21-year-old working hard to improve his game. Maxey even spent some time in the lab with James Harden and assistant coach Sam Cassell.
After bouncing around for most of the offseason, Maxey is back in Philly as he continues his training ahead of next season. The Sixers posted a video on their Twitter account of him getting work in at six in the morning.
early bird gets the worm. 🐛
cc: @TyreseMaxey
Aside from his diligent training, Maxey is also taking time to give back to his community. It was recently reported that he is hosting three free basketball camps in Philadelphia, Lexington, and Dallas.
.@TyreseMaxey announces that he will host 3 free camps this month for boys and girls, in Philadelphia, Dallas, and Lexington.
Maxey on his mission for the free youth camps:
“Every day I get 1% better at my craft, because I put in the work, time and effort to improve my skills.”
