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USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Guerschon Yabusele posts goodbye letter to Philly after leaving Sixers
Guerschon Yabusele spent one productive season with the Philadelphia 76ers after five seasons overseas. The Dancing Bear played two seasons with the Boston Celtics before heading back overseas and then returning to the NBA with the Sixers. Yabusele averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.1% from the floor and 38% from deep in 70 games. He had to play a number of different roles from power forward to center to starter to a reserve in a season that tested him in a variety of ways. As Yabusele now moves on to the New York Knicks in free agency, he took to Twitter to post a goodbye letter to the city of Philadelphia after his one season with the Sixers. The Sixers will look to continue building their roster after losing a key piece like Yabusele. He will now look to help the Knicks while Philadelphia will look to new addition Jabari Walker to pick up the slack.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Guerschon Yabusele opens up on why he left Sixers to join Knicks
The Philadelphia 76ers suffered their first loss in free agency when Guerschon Yabusele left to join the New York Knicks. After five seasons overseas, Yabusele returned to the NBA and averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.1% from the floor and 38% from deep in 70 games for the Sixers. One would have expected that he would return to Philadelphia, but instead, he signed a 2-year $12 million deal with the Knicks in free agency. The Sixers now must find a way to replace his production on the frontline and find a player who can play multiple positions the way Yabusele did. In an interview with SKWEEK, Yabusele explained why he left the Sixers and signed with the Knicks: Leaving Philly was not a major key. I was thinking to myself, 'Oh my God', like, 'I could go back'. You know? I didn't really have any issues over there, like, I wanna leave, you know? I was like 'OK, if they wanna re-sign me and then, they give me something good, I will come back, for sure'. And if they want me to leave, then I will leave. I didn't have any hard feelings or hard times, you know? But they almost didn't make really, like, an offer. It was really, really low to be really transparent, so, I felt like 'Oh, my God. You guys, it seems like you guys don't really want me to stay' kinda so it was a situation, but no hard feelings, you know? I'm always thankful for them. They gave me a second chance, you know? It's everything goes from them. I will always be thankful. To be able to be part of their franchise and play the season, you know? Yabusele had himself a terrific season with the Sixers when considering everything they asked of him. He had to play out of position at the center spot when he is more so a power forward and he did it without any complaints. The Dancing Bear will now look to help the Knicks get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.
USA Today
30-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
3 viable power forwards who make sense for Sixers in free agency
The Philadelphia 76ers will enter free agency looking to take care of their own in Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. One has to believe Grimes will return, but as far as Yabusele is concerned, there is a lot of smoke out there that the San Antonio Spurs--among other teams--will have a lot of interest to bring in The Dancing Bear. With that being said, the Sixers could use a power forward even if Yabusele is to return. The Sixers need another option they can turn to off the bench to step in and produce when coach Nick Nurse calls his number. While the resources for the Sixers are limited--especially, since the focus is to bring back Grimes--there are some viable options within Philadelphia's resources. Here are three that make sense: Marvin Bagley III Bagley was limited to 30 games in the 2024-25 season split between the Washington Wizards and the Memphis Grizzlies. The former No. 2 overall pick rebounds well for his position and is a lob threat in the pick-and-roll when it comes to the half-court offense. Looking to stay in the league, he would come cheap and Philadelphia could focus on adding him to a bench unit that could use an athletic big man. When considering he used to be a former top pick, that could be of interest to President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Trey Lyles Lyles averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Sacramento Kings in 2024-25 while shooting 34% from deep. He can step out and knock down a 3 while also being a reliable rebounder at the power forward spot. He played a big role in Sacramento ending its 17-year playoff drought in 2023 when he helped the Kings with his 3-point shooting and physical play. Lyles can be an option for Philadelphia and give it somebody who can be a reliable source of offense for the bench unit. Chris Boucher A member of the Toronto Raptors for the previous seven seasons, Boucher developed nicely under coach Nurse during his days in Toronto. He can shoot the ball a bit at 33.9% for his career and rebounds well enough to earn minutes at his position. His defense is a bit spotty, but he plays with such a high motor that he isn't a complete liability on that end of the floor. He can be a nice floor spacer for Philadelphia and give Nurse some options with his lineups.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Boston big man Guerschon Yabusele on what's changed since Celtics stint
A lot of things have changed for former Boston Celtics big man Guerschon Yabusele since he returned to the NBA to after going back to Europe to play. The most obvious, of course, is that he is back in the league that Boston drafted him into with the No. 16 pick of the 2016 draft, having signed with the Philadelphia 76ers for a reserve role that ended up turning out to be much bigger than expected thanks to a litany of injuries besetting the Sixers last season. And we can add to that in that this time around, Yabusele has a good shot at landing with an NBA team for the 2025-26 season as well on the strengths of his play with Philadelphia. The 6-foot-8 Frenchman put up a very solid 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game with the 76ers last season, shooting 38.0% from beyond the arc as well. That's a big jump from the pedestrian 2.3 points and 1.4 assists per game he logged with Boston in his first, two-season NBA stint -- and the growth as a player has him well-positioned to continue playing in the league. What's changed for Yabu as he hits free agency? The Dreux, France native recently sat down with HoopsHype's Cyro Asseo de Choch for a wide-ranging interview that touched on that stint with the Celtics -- and another thing that has changed for the Dancing Bear. "It was a completely different mentality ... when I was in Boston, because ... I was drafted first round, 16th pick, so my standards and what I was hoping was completely different from right now," he explained. "I didn't have that much experience, too." Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle "I was really just young, and I wanted just to play," recalled Yabusele. "And when I didn't have that chance to play, my reaction to it was more and more frustration, because I couldn't understand why I was not playing." What went wrong with the Celtics? The problem, according to the former Boston big was, surprisingly, "nothing -- It just happened," per Yabu. "Boston is an organization and a team that (had) a lot of players. That was my situation. I had Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Al Horford in front of me. Those guys have been around in the league for so long, and they're experienced players." "I couldn't take it the wrong way, saying, 'Oh, I should have been in front of him.,'" he added. "No, that's not true. I was really just hoping that the situation could be a bit different, maybe that they can use the bench a little more, playing me and a couple of the guys that were there." What did he learn from that experience? "I played through it," said Yabusele. "And even though I was not with Boston anymore, I learned so much from that season ... it helped me for the second part of my career after that. It really pushed me." "I had that mentality of loving that basketball, because I know I love basketball," recalled the Celtics center alum. "But if you're in a situation that you don't play, it's hard. I missed it. And I was like, 'You know what? I want to play now'. I want to be somewhere where I always play, so I always try to pick the right situation now for me." In the end, that mentality worked out for Yabusele, with a return playing real minutes for the Sixers checking off that particular -- but critical -- box for the former 16th pick. And after the season he had with Philly, he might just have a shot to do it again, but with a contender.
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Guerschon Yabusele explains what he's looking for in free agency
Guerschon Yabusele explains what he's looking for in free agency The Philadelphia 76ers found themselves a steal in the form of Guerschon Yabusele. Out of the league for five years, Yabusele put on a show in the 2024 Olympics while playing for his native France and put himself on the NBA radar for his next opportunity. The Sixers swooped in and signed him to a 1-year deal worth only $2.1 million. The Dancing Bear then put on an impressive performance as he averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 38% from deep. Yabusele averaged 27.1 minutes per night playing in 70 games with 43 starts playing both the power forward and the center spots with so many injuries. When it comes to free agency, Yabusele will demand a big market. The Sixers want him to return, but one has to wonder if they will have the cap space to do so. In a sit down interview with HoopsHype, Yabusele discussed what he's looking for in free agency: Now that I've been on the team where I played and a lot of minutes too, I want to be in a situation where I can play too. I'm not asking to play 40 minutes a game. That would be crazy. But just to be in the right situation for me, for the team, having a goal that we can achieve and have a bunch of guys looking to the right direction. And if it's with the 76ers, I'll be more than happy. This has been a great, great season and time for me. the fans have been showing me nothing but love, even the organization. If I have to go back there, I'd be more than happy. And then if you've got to be somewhere else, I'd be happy, too. I just want to be on a team where we compete and we have the same goals. Yabusele is going to be a coveted player when free agency begins on June 30. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens with him and his future, but one has to believe that Philadelphia will find a way to clear some cap space to bring him back. The Sixers have some easily tradeable contracts to clear the way to bring back both Yabusele and Quentin Grimes.
