The Sixers selected Auburn fifth-year senior Johni Broome with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft on Thursday.
Broome was listed at 6-foot-9.25, 249 pounds with a seven-foot wingspan at the Draft Combine. He's a seasoned interior scorer with defensive chops and a 1.81:1 assist-to-turnover ratio that backs up a notable passing aptitude for a big man.
Broome accomplished quite a bit in his college career, including 2025 SEC Player of the Year, 2025 Karl Malone Award and 2025 first-team All-American honors.
Nonetheless, the concerns are clear. He lacks athletic pop and shot below 28 percent from three as a super senior. Speaking of being a super senior, Broome will turn 23 this summer, so it's fair to question how much upside he has left. So, you have an older senior who is a positional tweener and non-shooter, and is deficient of the athletic juice to be a vertical spacer.
While not exactly what you want out of a big in the modern NBA, Broome represents a contrast in flavor of big man behind Joel Embiid. The passing chops and interior scoring prowess gives the Sixers optionality beyond/ human pogo stick Adem Bona.
Broome has the experience to help now and did quite a bit of winning at the collegiate level.
According to Jonathan Givony, the Sixers will keep and roster Broome.
