A former top blue-collar player, he changed to 6 teams in 5 years. He was once predicted to leave the NBA, but he ushered in the second spring of his career!

Compared with last season’s slump, the 76ers this season are definitely eye-catching. Although Joel Embiid and Paul George are still playing intermittently, after all, they have the backcourt combination of VJ Edgecombe and Taylor Maxey. With the help of the two, plus With the help of some strong players, they once reached the top of the Eastern Conference. Even though their current record has declined, they still remain in the top six in the Eastern Conference. If George and Embiid can recover in the future, then they will still be one of the teams in the Eastern Conference that may enter the finals this year.

In the lineup of the 76ers, there is a figure that we are very familiar with. He is "Dragon God" Andre Drummond. After entering the NBA in 2012, Drummond quickly showed great potential and became the top blue-collar center in the Pistons. Not only did he win the rebounding title 4 times, he was also selected to the All-Star team twice, and even entered the All-NBA Third Team.

Unfortunately, due to the advent of the small ball era, traditional centers like him have begun to decline. In the past five years, he has changed teams a total of 6 times. However, just when everyone thought he would fade out of the NBA, he completed reverse growth and became a regular rotation of the 76ers. Let us take a look at how he achieved his second spring!

has developed three-point shooting, and his offensive role has increased.

First of all, the most unexpected thing about Drummond is that his role on the offensive end has increased a lot. In the past, the biggest impression he gave fans was probably that he had good pick-and-roll quality and his ability to eat cakes under the basket was relatively good. Of course, this is also in line with the characteristics of a traditional center. During the Pistons, Drummond was once the team's main offensive point, and he had a top performance of 17.8 points and 15.8 rebounds in a single season.

In this season, he still maintains a good output under the basket. At the same time, the most surprising thing is that he has developed the ability to shoot three-pointers. So far, he has averaged 8.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, shooting 59.7% from the field and 43.8% from the three-point range. Although the output is not much, with only 7 hits, before this season, he only made 18 in total, which is a very remarkable improvement.

It is precisely because of his increased three-point shooting that the team's offensive space has been infinitely enlarged. This allows Maxey and Edgecombe to launch tactics more calmly on the offensive end, and can even share the defensive pressure faced by Embiid. Therefore, Drummond deserves the team's current trust in him, and his current playing time and role positioning.

The defensive role is obvious, protecting the frame under the basket.

Then, let’s talk about Drummond’s other value in this team, which is his strong defensive ability. When he entered the NBA, Drummond's biggest selling point was his ability to protect the frame and rebounds. Before that, he was able to withstand the wave of the small ball era and was not eliminated from the NBA like his old teammate Greg Monroe because he relied on his own defense.

This season, he can still contribute 9.6 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, including an astonishing 3.2 offensive rebounds. If the time is unified to the standard 36 minutes, Drummond's rebounding efficiency can actually rank among the top three in the league. This is where his value lies.

Not only that, although he is 32 years old, Drummond's lateral speed and flexibility are still the best among all centers. This allows him to guard the basket on the defensive end, as well as help and supplement defense. He can even rely on him during offensive transitions. Relying on fast breaks to score points, Drummond's fast break shooting percentage has reached 100%, so so far, Drummond's plus-minus value is a very impressive +3.6. With his excellent defensive ability, even if Embiid is still playing in a stop-and-go state, Drummond can give the team a certain lower limit guarantee.

The contract is very cost-effective and there will be no shortage of buyers in the future.

Finally, there is another point that needs to be mentioned, and that is Drummond's contract. Although he received a high salary when he was with the Pistons, he was never able to help the team get out of trouble, so he also encountered a lot of doubts. But for Drummond today, salary is no longer a problem for the team. The contract he completed with the 76ers in 2024 has a total contract value of only 10 million U.S. dollars over two years, and his salary this season is only 5 million U.S. dollars. Based on his performance and performance, this is the most cost-effective contract in the NBA.

And as long as he maintains this performance, even if Drummond's contract expires this season and he becomes a free agent in the offseason, he will still not lack a new partner. Looking at Drummond's outstanding performance now, one can't help but think of Brook Lopez during the Bucks. Although his role is not as obvious as Luo Luo's, he is slowly moving closer to Luo Luo's direction. Therefore, Drummond's efforts are definitely worth everything he got today. If he can really develop a more stable three-point shooting, he may even become a top-notch championship puzzle piece.