76ers sign G League star amid injury woes
03/26/2025 09:27 PM
The Philadelphia 76ers have been hit with a wave of injuries this season with both Joel Embiid and Paul George being ruled out for the remainder of the year. Amid the injuries the 76ers have been dealing with, they’ve been granted an injury exception from the league to temporarily exceed the 15-man maximum on the roster. The 76ers have been rotating players on 10-day contracts for that extra roster spot with the latest signing being G League star Phillip Wheeler, as per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.com.
Prior to the 76ers’ signing of Phillip Wheeler, they had been rotating other players for the roster spot with Chuma Okeke, Oshae Brissett and Marcus Bagley having earned 10-day contract call-ups during the month of March.
In addition to Embiid and George, the 76ers are also without Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV. For a team that had contending aspirations in the Eastern Conference this season, the year quickly went south with all the injuries they’ve dealt with.
In Wheeler, the 76ers get immediate help in the backcourt. Wheeler’s journey to the NBA was an uncommon one. He opted to forgo his senior year in high school and instead began playing professionally in Italy. When he was eligible for the NBA Draft in 2022, he went undrafted.
He was signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of the 2022-23 season, but was cut during training camp. He also played for the Wolves during NBA Summer League in 2023.
Aside from playing in both Italy and Puerto Rico, Wheeler has extensive experience in the G League, which is where he was playing before being signed by the 76ers.
This season, Wheeler had split time between the Texas Legends, the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks, and the Maine Celtics, the affiliate of the Boston Celtics.
He had played in 38 total games, at a little over 28 minutes per game. He had been averaging 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists with splits of 49.9 percent shooting from the field, 36.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 61.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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