Newly hired Philadelphia 76ers player development coach Roy Hibbert strongly believes that today's big men should learn how to adjust if they want to stay relevant in the NBA.
Over the past couple of years, the league has seen a decrease in the number of traditional centers. With the introduction of a small-ball playing style, teams have opted to sign mobile big men who can shoot from outside the paint to space the floor. The increasing emphasis on position-less basketball also didn't help centers in the modern-day NBA.
Hibbert, who was recently hired by the Sixers, told Ben Standig of The Athletic that players need to adapt in order to compete and remain valuable for teams.
“You have to roll with the punches. (In today’s game) you have to be able to space the floor, be mobile, defend the 3 on pick and rolls to make sure Steph Curry doesn’t get a shot off,” Hibbert explained. “You just have to tell (centers) now to work on that type of stuff. I was a product of the era of big-guy centers. It’s a new era now so those young guys know they aren’t going to be posting up as much as they used to, be able to space the floor and move.”
One could argue that this was something that Hibbert failed to do. After surprising everyone with a couple of impressive seasons with the Indiana Pacers, he suddenly faded when the style of play became fast-paced. He turned from an All-Star caliber player to a free agent that nobody wanted to sign.
Hibbert was talented, but his inability to adjust his game was what killed his career. Now, the Sixers coach wants to make sure that other NBA bigs won't make the same mistake he did.
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