September 19, 2026
Scott Wachter/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Ariel Hukporti was the third-string center for the title-winning New York Knicks last season.
Welcome to PhillyVoice's series of Sixers player previews ahead of the 2026-27 season.
After two years of volatility, Sixers fans entered this offseason teetering on apathy. Then came new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey, the architect of what became a dream summer. Gansey traded Paul George away, landing five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics. As Gansey accumulated depth around Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the door opened for an unfathomable addition.
LeBron James is a member of the Sixers, rounding out one of the most talented starting lineups in recent NBA history. And suddenly, the Sixers have cultivated more local and national interest than ever before. Games are not won on paper, but the Sixers are built to be full-blown championship contenders for however long James remains in Philadelphia.
As Sixers Media Day on Sept. 28 nears, our player preview series will focus on two key questions surrounding each member of the team's 14-player standard roster.
Up next: Ariel Hukporti, signed to a one-year, $3.4 million deal early on in free agency to add some more youth and athleticism to the Sixers' center depth chart. After two seasons of being a little-used understudy with the New York Knicks, Hukporti is entering a situation in which he will be relied upon for minutes much more often. Can he emerge as the Sixers' primary backup center and pay off their investment in him?
SIXERS PLAYER PREVIEWS
Joel Embiid | Labaron Philon Jr. | Dean Wade
Dominick Barlow | Adem Bona | Tyrese Maxey
VJ Edgecombe | Jaylen Brown | Ariel Hukporti
This question can be interpreted in many different ways; all of those interpretations are valid. From the physical aspect of playing on a nightly basis to the basketball side of being a rotation big, there is so much unknown about Hukporti with only 715 NBA minutes under his belt. (For reference: Trendon Watford played 864 minutes in 53 games for the Sixers last season.)
Hukporti is a massive athlete – a true seven-footer weighing in at 246 pounds – and, for a player of that stature, can really move. In some ways, he is a ball of clay the Sixers can try to mold into their ideal backup center. But for a team that will be focused on winning a championship, having that degree of uncertainty in what a player can actually be in the NBA is unusual.
One way the question above can be interpreted: Does Hukporti have the requisite endurance to hold up over 30-plus minutes in a game Embiid is sitting out? Hukporti and Adem Bona are both prone to experiencing foul trouble; either one of them picking up too many personals could lead to the other playing significant minutes. How will Hukporti handle a night when Sixers head coach Nick Nurse leans on him as much as possible?
Really, though, this question pertains to basketball – because Hukporti has just not played enough of it at the NBA level for his strengths and weaknesses to be clearly defined.
Hukporti has averaged 14.6 rebounds per 100 possessions, a fairly strong mark, and also committed a horrifying 3.7 turnovers per 100 possessions. But when a player has only exceeded 22 minutes in five individual NBA games, it is hard to say with any sense of confidence that rebounding is a strength of his or that he is completely unreliable with the ball.
For every team, scouting the players already in the building is just as important as evaluating players in other organizations. From practice performances to every regular-season appearance, the Sixers need to keep a watchful eye on Hukporti as they try to develop him into a long-term bench big.
SIXERS FILM STUDIES
Jaylen Brown's strengths | Jaylen Brown's weaknesses
Anfernee Simons | Dean Wade | Ariel Hukporti
Hukporti is not the only backup center this team hopes can answer this question in the affirmative. But for players with roles like the ones Hukporti and Bona will inherit on this team, having the trust of the quarterback of the operation is essential.
There is a chance that the majority of Hukporti's minutes will come as a screen-and-roll big partnered with James, a basketball savant capable of making every read a split second earlier than anybody else. Will Hukporti be able to get on the same page as James and start to detect those passes a tick early, too?
More importantly: When James puts the ball on a silver platter for Hukporti, will he take advantage of the opportunity or squander it? Bona having unreliable hands is a significant cause for concern when it comes to his fit with James because, even if Bona has chances to roll hard to the rim with open space, James will simply not make the pass if he calculates that Bona is unlikely to make a clean catch and finish.
The same questions linger for Hukporti. As James' legendary career winds down, does he want to be showing the ropes to his pick-and-roll partner? Hukporti and Bona have until the trade deadline to prove they are deserving of consistent minutes and the trust of their new superstar teammate. If they cannot pull it off, there will likely be a new backup center behind Embiid for the stretch run of the season.
SIXERS SIGN LEBRON JAMES
James' decision | Projecting Sixers' rotation | James' impact, on and off the court
