San Antonio Spurs Impressed With Former 76er Charles Bassey

Former 76ers center Charles Bassey is making the most of his time in San Antonio and Austin so far.

The Philadelphia 76ers freed up a roster spot following the preseason by cutting two former draft picks loose. While it seemed the 15th and final spot on the team’s roster would come down to Isaiah Joe or Charles Bassey, the Sixers let both go and kept the final spot vacant for the time being.

Shortly after getting waived by Philadelphia, Isaiah Joe inked a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. A couple of weeks later, Charles Bassey landed with the San Antonio Spurs on a two-way deal.

Being that Bassey’s on a two-way deal, Bassey appeared in two games with the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin. Averaging 26 minutes on the floor over those two games, Bassey drained 65 percent of his shots and put up 26 points per game.

Along with his scoring on the offensive end, Bassey averaged 12 rebounds and four blocks as well. Knowing what he accomplished in such a short amount of time with the Austin Spurs, Bassey earned the interest of San Antonio’s head coach, Gregg Popovich.

Pop on Charles Bassey: “He came in and played a couple of G League games, scored a thousand points, it was like, well, maybe we're dumb, we should be playing this guy.”

Says he looks the part, isn’t scared, aggressive, good defender. Caught on quickly.

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) November 10, 2022

“He came in and played a couple of G League games, scored a thousand points,” said Popovich, according to Tom Petrini of KENS 5 in San Antonio. “It was like, well, maybe we're dumb, we should be playing this guy.”

Being that the Spurs are a young team that’s in rebuild mode, they have the luxury of being able to offer young players with little experience an opportunity to prove they belong on the floor.

Bassey didn’t get much playing time with the Sixers over his rookie season last year, so his sophomore effort with the Spurs became his first legitimate shot to prove he belongs. So far, Bassey is taking advantage of the opportunity offered to him.

“Honestly, he’s impressed me with his athleticism,” said former Sixers forward and current Spurs standout Josh Richardson. “He knows how to play. I’ll tell him a play, and I’m like, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got it.’ He picks up on things quick. He plays coverages well, and he has good feet. …. He can shoot a little bit. I don’t think anybody has seen it that much, but I’ve seen his shot, and it looks nice. I think he has big things ahead of him if he stays focused."

In his San Antonio debut, Bassey checked in for 12 minutes against the Toronto Raptors. The former second-round pick went 3-5 from the field and 2-2 from the charity stripe to produce nine points. He also came down with four rebounds and blocked two shots.

After going inactive for the Spurs’ next two games, Bassey picked up playing time in two more outings this week. He averaged 15 minutes on the floor and put up 6.5 points per game while averaging seven rebounds. 

Bassey will likely continue to split time between the Spurs’ G League affiliate and the main roster, but it seems the organization is intrigued with what the big man brings to the table. Considering they remain in a rebuilding phase, Bassey could continue to garner notable playing time as the season progresses. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.