Jaden Springer left the 2022-23 season as a champion. While the Philadelphia 76ers were gearing up for a playoff run that ultimately ended in the second round once again, Springer helped lead the Delaware Blue Coats to the G League championship. The Sixers' 2021 first-round draft pick won the G League Finals MVP award after tallying 64 points and 18 rebounds while shooting 8-13 from deep over two games in the best-of-three series.
One day after winning the G League title, Springer was called up to the Sixers, who were resting their key players after locking in the Eastern Conference's third seed. He led the undermanned squad to a shocking road victory, making numerous key plays against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’m telling you, he’s going to be an elite defensive player in our league,” former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said of Springer in March.
The veteran Sixers all really like what they see from the young guard. Although his time with the big-league club has been scarce, Springer's two-year stint with the Blue Coats has fostered his development. Not being a role player at the NBA level yet gives off the impression that the Sixers drafting him was a mistake, but Springer could squash that narrative this upcoming season.
Consider the fact that Brandon Miller and twins Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson — three of the top prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft — are only a few months younger than Springer. He's still a very raw player who isn't even close to his prime and has spent two of his formative years as a basketball player surrounded by older professionals. The fact that he has spent so much time in the G League should not be a huge cause for concern. It's simply the byproduct of Philadelphia having too many quality, veteran options ahead of him.
One of the biggest reasons the Sixers should prepare Springer is that a spot ahead of him is likely to open up. Shake Milton is a free agent and after falling out of the playoff rotation, he's likely to find a new home and more secure role elsewhere. Plenty of good teams could use a bench guard like Milton. The Sixers will likely prioritize other free agents, allowing room for Springer, who is owed $2.2 million next season and has a $4.0 million player option after that, to step into a rotation role.
In his second G League season, Springer bumped his points per game up from 15.0 to 18.7. His true shooting percentage rose from 56.9 percent to 61.8 percent. However slight it may be, and not to dismiss his assist numbers dipping between years one and two, he has clearly gotten better offensively while remaining a tough, rugged defender. Philly stashed Springer in the minor league so that he could be ready the moment the team needs him, one that could very well come in 2023-24.
At 6-foot-4 with a nearly 6-foot-8 wingspan and a frame resembling a football player, Springer projects as a plus defender at the NBA level. He moves his feet and keeps his hands in passing lanes. The stout guard isn’t someone most players will be able to power through and is great at keeping his hands up against players who manage to work him into their shot range.
Springer's handle definitely needs some tightening up, though, and is perhaps one of the key weaknesses that has limited his playing time thus far. The Sixers probably won't task him with being a traditional point guard, but it will certainly be tough to give minutes to a guard with a shaky handle. Still, there's a role for Springer to play with Philadelphia that doesn't require him to handle the rock a ton.
Undersized but athletic guards have found success with other NBA teams in roles where their tasks are to defend, take open shots and make hustle plays. Gary Payton II and Bruce Brown (more so when he was on the Brooklyn Nets, but also at times with the Denver Nuggets) are the two prominent examples of guards who don't always handle the ball and instead are used as rollers, spot-up shooters and point-of-attack defenders. Their strength, explosiveness and coordination allow them to play like de facto bigs.
However, those other guys have a leg up on Springer. Brown is a good shooter who can handle the ball and Payton's shooting percentages are at least good, even if his long-range volume is lacking. Playing alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson makes his lack of scoring/floor spacing easier to stomach, too.
Shooting is the swing factor for Springer. The good news is that he's improving, but the bad news is he's not starting with a proven track record, even at lower levels. His shooting numbers in the mid-range are solid — 52.3 percent shooting between five and 14 feet from the hoop with Delaware last season — but he's going to be expected to shoot threes somewhat reliably.
Across 30 total regular-season and showcase games in the G League last season, he shot 31.6 percent on 3.6 threes per game. Those numbers are up from 25.3 percent on 3.0 attempts per game (while bumping up his minutes slightly) and he improved his free-throw shooting from 67.0 percent to 78.8 percent on roughly the same volume. He's not a reliable shooter yet, but Springer is making progress toward getting there.
Springer can still be an impactful player as he gets his shooting legs under him. As is tradition for the NBA offseason, a video of his shooting workout made the rounds on Twitter as Sixers fans hope his hard work translates to live-game situations. The answer there is obviously TBD and while he does start his shot with the ball a bit too low, his release looks repeatable and more fluid.
New head coach Nick Nurse loves a tough, strong, switchable guard at the point of his defense. This isn’t to say that Springer will definitely become a starter at any point in his career, let alone 2023-24, but it should put him in a good position to earn minutes next season. Stopping Joel Embiid will be defenses' primary goal no matter what happens with James Harden, leaving role players like Springer ample room to launch open threes and attack open space driving close-outs and cutting to the paint. Don’t be surprised to see him putting his hops to good use by cleaning up misses or catching the occasional lob.
The Sixers need depth now more than ever. If Springer isn’t used as an asset in a trade, Philly will need him to be a rotation player. The pieces are there for the young guard. The only question left is whether Springer and Philadelphia's player development staff can put them together.