By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY marked the start of the Philadelphia 76ers’ training camp, hosted for the first time in The Bahamas in the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis resort, in preparation for the upcoming 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) season.  

The Eastern Conference team added a number of key players to their roster this offseason, including nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George, former NBA champion Reggie Jackson, backup big Andre Drummond and Bahamian pros Eric “EJ” Gordon and Isaiah Mobley.

Local and international media outlets got the opportunity to gauge the team’s mindset ahead of the upcoming season on day two of their training camp.

Gordon, a member of The Bahamas men’s national basketball team, expressed what it is like working along with head coach Nick Nurse so far.

“It has been really good, really intense drills and practices and a lot of high energy stuff and it is really good for this group. We have a lot of talent and it has been going well so far,” he said. 

The Bahamian sharpshooter was signed to the 76ers’ roster on a two-year deal during the NBA offseason. He joined his newest home on the East Coast after playing one season with the Phoenix Suns.

He was happy to return home and was thrilled about the opportunity to train on home soil since getting the news this summer.

“This is great. When I first signed here they told me about it and I mean how can I not be happy being here. This is great and I get a chance to see family and friends while I am out here,” he said. 

Coach Nurse told reporters it is important to try out different schemes during the training camp to determine what will work during the new season. 

The Sixers made a big splash during free agency when they acquired George on a four-year $212 million max contract. The move immediately put them in conversations as frontrunners for the NBA title, on paper. 

With that being said, newcomer Gordon is expecting team chemistry to play a major role in that process.

“The good thing is you got a lot of guys that have had a lot of experience as far as playing in the playoffs. We have a good combination of older guys and young guys that are able to play good basketball. Chemistry is gonna be important with all of the new people here so chemistry is going to be the big thing early on and see if we can propel ourselves down the season,” he said

Gordon was not the only Bahamian excited about returning to home soil. 

Mobley, who participated at the men’s national team training camp this summer, was picked up just before training camp on an exhibit 10-day deal.

“I went through a little bit of a free agent process and I am happy I ended up here with the 76ers but I feel like it was an even better match made in heaven that we started training camp here in The Bahamas. I have some family ties here and look forward to being with the national team going forward so it is exciting to be out here,” he said. 

The 2022 no 49 draft pick logged averages of 2.5 points per game and 1.4 rebounds in 22 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He expressed that he has plans to check out Junkanoo Beach and spend some time with family but will strike a balance because it is a business trip.

Sixers starting point guard Tyrese Maxey is in The Bahamas for the first time and he described the experience as one word- amazing.

“Amazing. This is my first time in The Bahamas. It is beautiful as soon as I walked out of the plane onto the bus and onto the resort it has been great. Humidity is amazing and it is hot but coming from Philly you know you need some type of heat sometimes,” he said.

The Sixers training camp will come to an end on Saturday.

The team completed the 2023-24 season with a 47-35 win/loss record as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Their season concluded with a 4-2 loss against the New York Knicks in round one of the NBA postseason.