Sixers' Johni Broome discusses chip on his shoulder amid 2nd round slip

USA Today

a day ago

Asked Johni Broome about falling to the 2nd round despite a decorated college career at Auburn. The big man is ready to prove some people wrong #Sixers: pic.twitter.com/67YREc8mtE
CAMDEN, N.J. -- When one looks at the college career of Philadelphia 76ers rookie big man Johni Broome, one cannot help but be impressed. After two seasons at Morehead State, he transferred to Auburn and dominated in the SEC.
He averaged 16.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.2 blocks in his three seasons with the Tigers and took home a handful of awards including the 2025 SEC Player of the Year. He was named to AP All-American Third Team in 2024 and then made First Team in 2025.
Broome is Auburn's all-time leader in offensive and defensive rebounds, No. 1 in Box Plus-Minus, third in blocks, eighth in total field goals, and first in offensive win shares. However, he slid in the draft to the Sixers at No. 35 in the second round. That has to be a big chip on his shoulder.
"I don't really put too much where I got picked at vs. who picked me," Broome said succinctly. "Obviously, the 76ers felt like I was the right pick for their team so I'm always gonna have a chip on my shoulder wherever I got picked at so I'm ready to work and prove people wrong."
Broome is a burly 6-foot-10 and is strong as an ox. Despite not being the most athletic or biggest guy on the floor, he is a super talented big man who can make plays with his passing as well as a scorer. He averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds per game in 2024-25 as he just knows how to make winning plays. That type of winning pedigree is what will make him successful in the NBA.
"I think we're here to play basketball," Broome said. "They (the Sixers) thought I was a good basketball. All the things that go inside of it can be taken however you wanna take it, but at the end of the day, we're still playing basketball so I think I contribute to winning. I'm a good teammate. I'm a good guy to have in an organization so I think that's why they chose a guy like me."
Some rookies enter the NBA at 18 or 19 years old after one, maybe two years in college. Broome will be 23 years old when the season starts so combine that with his five years at the collegiate level and he has a level of maturity that other rookies just don't have. Playing all of those years in college helped him mature as a person and as a basketball player.
"I think it just matured me in ways that my game needed to grow," Broome added. "There were areas that needed improvement, but I think it allowed me to kinda face adversity so maybe when times get tough or I've been through times where I'm not shooting well or I've lost a game or two in a row so I know how to kind of overcome that and bounce back so you can't just get in your head too much."
Your 2025 Philadelphia 76ers rookie class #Sixers pic.twitter.com/DEjX1J0W6L
Early in his collegiate career, Broome--like every young player--needed to grow and mature. Those five years in college helped him in that department and will allow him to carry that maturity to the NBA level.
"I think that's mainly what those years have helped my game with," Broome finished. "Because when I was a little younger, I was maybe, I don't know, took it a little differently I'll say."
He may have slid to Round 2 of the draft, but Broome is ready to prove everybody wrong with the Sixers.