PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers are nearing the finish line of what has been a season that will fall well short of the title expectations placed upon them after a busy offseason. They have dealt with a ton of injuries and that has derailed everything in Philadelphia.
With that being said, the injuries have given an opportunities to young players such as rookie big man Adem Bona who continues to take steps forward in his game.
In his last two games, Bona has had stat lines of:
- 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks on March 30
- 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks on March 29
"His work ethic," Lonnie Walker IV said of what stands out about Bona. "I mean, the times that I'm in the gym, at night he's in the gym. We see each other every single night when we're both in the gym, and he works terrifically hard, and his energy transfers onto the game, onto the court as well, and it's contagious."
Bona is a tireless worker who just wants to be great. He is continuing to take steps forward as a young rookie and his teammates are noticing. The work he puts in continues to impress everybody around him and the Sixers are looking to help him grow in this league.
"It makes everyone else want to go," Walker added. "Every time he's jumping for a rebound or trying to get a block, and you hear him talking, you hear him running, you hear him screaming. You gotta love players like that who each and every game, he's gonna give it 110% so he's only gonna continue to get better and better. I mean, he's a super athlete. His ability to run and jump. The sky‘s the limit for him."
For a point guard like Jared Butler, who loves to run pick-and-roll action, he is happy to have a guy like Bona who he can throw lobs to and have success with on the offensive end. It makes his life easier on that end.
"I mean, energy is great," Butler said of Bona. "Willingness to do the dirty work, which is, you always love to have a big as a point guard. So it's been great."
Both Butler and Bona were able to run some two-man action in recent games which is something Butler himself has been looking forward to on the floor.
"Yeah, I think it's long overdue," Butler said. "I feel like we haven't had too much opportunity to play together, but I think that's something that could be really special. He's a tough one, really tall. Yeah, so, but it's coming along."
With seven games remaining, the Sixers will be looking to continue developing Bona and setting him for a bright future.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Rookie big man Adem Bona drawing praise from multiple members of 76ers
