Guerschon Yabusele joining Sixers after breakout performance for France in Paris Olympics
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are filling a position of need.
French power forward Guerschon Yabusele agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million minimum salary contract with the Sixers, sources confirmed Sunday. This came after the 6-foot-8, 271-pounder helped to lead his national team to a silver medal in the Paris Olympics.
Yabusele, nicknamed the dancing bear, is a low-risk addition for a Sixers team that only had one power forward– KJ Martin – on the roster.
The 28-year-old resolved his $2.5 million contract buyout with Spanish team Real Madrid of the Liga ACB and EuroLeague to set up his NBA return.
Yabusele was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 draft. Instead of initially joining Boston, he signed a one-year deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.
He then played for the Celtics during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds and 6.6 minutes in 73 games with five starts.
Afterward, Yabusele headed back overseas.
He spent a season with the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA before joining ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A in 2020. And Yabusele signed with Real Madrid in July 2021.
He averaged 9.6 points while shooting 43% from three-point range this past season in Spain.
Yabusele went on to average 19.6 points in France’s three games against Canada, Germany, and Team USA in the medal round. He shot 66.7% — including making 20 of 34 three-pointers (58.9%) — in those three games.
