Sixers big Tony Bradley eager to learn, believes he can be a stretch big
When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Tony Bradley in a trade with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, they knew they were getting a young big man in need of development.
He played in 58 games with the Utah Jazz in the 2019-20 season, and he averaged 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench playing behind one of the better big men in the game, Rudy Gobert. He learned a lot from the two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner and that helped him along his path.
“It was great just learning from him,” Bradley said of Gobert. “The things that he did on the floor, the advantages of having him on defense, things he’ll do by altering shots, his presence, just learning different things like that. I’ve learned a lot.”
As he heads to the Sixers, he will learn from h as Joel Embiid and Dwight Howard which will help further his development.
“I love learning and try to grow and doing different things to just improve, especially defense,” he added. “Coming to Philly now and Joel Embiid and guys like Dwight Howard, I look forward to continuing to grow, watching what they’re doing, see what I can take from them to improve my game, especially defensively.”
With the way the game is played, there needs to be more shooting from all over the floor, and Bradley believes he can be that guy who can help with shooting off the bench.
“I believe I can be a stretch,” he said confidently. “I shot three 3s this past season, and I made all three of them. I believe I am a stretch 5. I think that I can get the rebound and push it, take a couple of dribbles. I don’t have to go all the way to the basket; I just believe I can push the ball. Those are the things I’ve been working on especially stretching the floor, pick-and-pop, things like that.”
Bradley will get his first chance to show coach Doc Rivers what he can do when the team convenes for training camp on Dec. 1 to prepare for the season.
