NBA Training Camp 2026: Labaron Philon Impresses, and the Minutes Spreadsheet Does Not Lie

On Tuesday, at the Philadelphia 76ers' training facility, head coach Nick Nurse told The Athletic's Tony Jones that he was "super impressed" by Labaron Philon Jr. Set beside that quote are three numbers that must be read together: Philon's 22.0 points per game at Alabama last season; a draft slot that fell lower than projected; and a landing spot widely rated as the deepest roster in the NBA. Being impressive in one practice does not grant anyone minutes. It only opens a door, and behind that door is a filing cabinet full of names.

I have covered NBA training camps long enough to know one thing: October is the cheapest month of lies on the calendar. Any coach can say a rookie is "making huge strides." Minutes do not lie. A Tuesday practice does not build a career; it produces one line of notes, and that line has to be checked against the minutes spreadsheet before anyone rushes to buy in.

Philadelphia enters the season with the deepest perimeter rotation in the league. Tyrese Maxey is the hub, and this team's ball-handling spot is not an empty chair for a rookie who wants to jump the line. The roster also holds established names, and every rotation slot has to be won on production, not potential. Philon fell in the draft for familiar reasons: modest height, turnover rate, and questions about whether he can absorb NBA contact. But Philadelphia did not draft him because he is perfect. They drafted him because he is cheap, young, and coachable.

Across three summer league games, the picture was clear enough. In one, Philon scored inefficiently but kept applying pressure to Indiana's defense off the dribble, finishing with six assists and two turnovers. The 76ers lost 87-62, and the rookie's outing was one of the few bright spots. In another, he played efficiently, shot the ball well, committed just one turnover, and added defensive production. In the last, his shooting was off, but he hit a clutch three late that helped seal a win. The pattern is not new for guards out of Nate Oats' system. It says only that Philon plays with pace, creates for others, and needs time to settle.

At 20, he did not come to Philadelphia to save the team. He came to learn the trade, and his first season should be read by that standard.

At Alabama last season, Philon was one of the most productive guards in college basketball. He earned multiple All-America honors, averaging 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.5 three-pointers per game. He shot 50.1 percent from the field and 79.8 percent from the line. More important for the NBA: he shot 39.9 percent from deep as a sophomore. That is the decisive number. A lead guard who cannot shoot will be ignored by defenses. A guard who shoots 39.9 percent from deep forces defenders to chase him, and that is the one skill Philon needs to survive at the next level.

The weakness is turnovers. Oats' system plays at high speed, and high speed produces errors. Philon must cut that number if he wants to survive in the NBA. But pace is also an asset: it trains him to make decisions quickly, something coaches like Nurse value highly. The chance to learn from Maxey — one of the best-paced guards in the league — is a bonus Philadelphia does not have to pay for.

Based on my experience watching his college games, the pattern repeats for nearly every guard from a high-tempo system: they arrive in the NBA with quick read-and-react instincts, but they need a season to learn how to cut errors. The data does not say Philon will become a star. It says he owns one skill good enough to translate upward: outside shooting. Everything else is a minutes equation, and that equation is not decided by Philon.

This is where the official story needs rereading. The Athletic called Philon a "must-roster" player in dynasty leagues. I do not dispute that — in a format that keeps players long term, Philon's upside is real. But two things are being blended: long-term value and this season's value. In standard redraft leagues, Philadelphia has too many guards for Philon to hold steady minutes. A rookie needs the ball in his hands to prove value, and in Philadelphia the ball lives in Maxey's hands.

The spreadsheet does not lie — only the person too lazy to read it fools himself. And the spreadsheet here shows a familiar October paradox: "impressed in practice" reports tend to surface exactly when a team needs a positive story.

But there is a bigger variable than Philon, and it is scattered across NBA training camps. Here is the week's injury board. Larry Nance Jr. is practicing in a limited capacity with a hamstring injury, doing only 5-on-0 work, and Indiana hopes he is fully cleared within one to two weeks. Moses Moody is still limited to light on-court activity after a ruptured left patellar tendon ended his 2026-26 season in late March, with no concrete return date; the team hopes for January or February. Jimmy Butler III has not been cleared for full speed or contact, though he says his testing numbers are "off the charts" and he is ahead of schedule after a torn right ACL. Zach Edey is cleared for full-speed activity after March ankle surgery and could be ready for opening night. Josh Giddey has no restrictions after May right ankle surgery, and he averaged a career-best 9.1 assists last season. Charlotte waived Dillingham just two days after acquiring him from Chicago. Luka Dončić has no restrictions after an early-April hamstring strain, with the Lakers entering the season without LeBron James. Donte DiVincenzo says he expects to play this season after a ruptured Achilles, opening the door for Ayo Dosunmu. Micah Peavy will be unavailable when Memphis opens camp.

Reading this list as separate news items is the wrong method. This is a system. Teams are managing soft-tissue and ligament injuries more cautiously than ever, and every cautious decision creates a minutes vacuum. Moody's absence opens the door for Gui Santos and Yaxel Lendeborg — Santos started 26 of his final 29 appearances last season. Butler's continued absence also funnels minutes to Lendeborg, whom Golden State needs to contribute immediately, whether he starts or comes off the bench. Numbers do not interrupt the story — they tell a different one, and they are rarely wrong.

Philon sits on the opposite side of the same system. He benefits from no vacuum. Philadelphia's perimeter is healthy, and that is why his praise struggles to convert into real minutes. This is the blind spot of every training camp report: people read the compliment and skip the structure.

I trust numbers more than people — because people know how to lie, and numbers only know how to be wrong. Philon owns a real skill, and that skill will outlast any season. But I am setting a verification date: if by the end of November Philon has not had a single game reaching 20 minutes, then his ceiling this season is a short bench role, not a rotation spot. I will reopen this file on December 1 and publish the result, right or wrong.