Former Sixers’ Two-Way Guard Grant Riller Ready for a Return

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2021-2022 NBA season with former Charlotte Hornets draft pick Grant Riller on their roster. Following his rookie season with
Former Sixers’ Two-Way Guard Grant Riller Ready for a Return
Former Sixers’ Two-Way Guard Grant Riller Ready for a Return /

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2021-2022 NBA season with former Charlotte Hornets draft pick Grant Riller on their roster.

Following his rookie season with the Hornets and their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, Riller hit the free agency market as the former 56th overall pick didn’t have a long-term commitment from the organization that brought him on originally.

Riller landed another chance in the NBA with the Sixers as he garnered a two-day deal. Unfortunately, Riller’s run with the Sixers was loaded up with physical setbacks.

During Philadelphia’s first preseason game, Riller left the matchup with a knee injury in the second half. As it turned out, Riller suffered a torn meniscus. The second-year guard decided to undergo surgery to repair to his knee tear, which kept him off the floor for a while.

When Riller was finally cleared to return to action, he debuted with the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Riller appeared in just four games for the Blue Coats. During that small stretch, he averaged five points while shooting 40-percent from the field in 11 minutes per game.

Before he even had a chance to hit his stride in Delaware, Riller suffered a shoulder injury, which took him off the floor again. Eventually, Riller and the Sixers decided to part ways as the young guard underwent another surgery to repair his shoulder.

Riller missed the remainder of the 2021-2022 season as he worked on recovering. At this point in the offseason, Riller is fully recovered and is expected to work out for teams ahead of the 2022-2023 season, according to HoopsRumors’ JD Shaw

Considering the Sixers found decent replacements in Myles Powell and Charlie Brown Jr following Riller’s departure, it’s unclear if Philadelphia would give the former second-rounder another shot. Either way, Riller is working on getting back to the NBA one way or another. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA