Philadelphia 76ers NBA CHAMPION COACH, “Doc Rivers”, is happy that the team has signed nine-year NBA veteran Andre Drummond.
The 6-11 Drummond, a two-time All-Star, brings elite rebounding and rim protection to the 76ers.
let’s share some real estate @AndreDrummond @JoelEmbiid pic.twitter.com/tgwVGxEDSK
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 4, 2021
Learn more about the newest 76er’s journey…
- The 27-year-old Drummond was born in Mount Vernon, New York and grew up in Connecticut, where he would play both his high school and college basketball.
- A top-ranked recruit, Drummond led St. Thomas More to the 2011 Prep National Championship.
- Drummond played collegiately at the University of Connecticut for one season (2011-12), in which he appeared in 34 games and averaged 10.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
- Drummond was named to the 2011-12 Big East All-Rookie Team.
- The Detroit Pistons selected Drummond with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
- Drummond has appeared in 645 career games (594 starts) with Detroit, Cleveland and the L.A. Lakers.
- He holds career averages of 14.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
- Drummond’s average of 13.7 career rebounds per game leads all active players and ranks seventh all-time in NBA history, among players who have appeared in at least 250 contests.
- Drummond is a decorated international player with USA Basketball, earning Gold Medals at the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship and 2014 FIBA World Cup.
- Beginning with his age-19 season (2012-13), Drummond played his first seven-plus seasons with Detroit. He was named an All-Star during the 2015-16 and 2017-18 campaigns.
- Drummond is Detroit’s franchise leader in offensive rebounds, while ranking second in both total rebounds and defensive boards.
- He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2012-13 and All-NBA Third Team in 2015-16.
- He’s led the NBA in rebounding four times (2015-16; 2017-20).
- On Feb. 6, 2020, the Pistons traded Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Brandon Knight, John Henson and a 2023 second-round draft pick.
- Drummond split the 2020-21 season between Cleveland and the L.A. Lakers.
- He appeared in 46 total games (all starts) last season, posting averages of 14.9 points and 12.0 rebounds along with 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 27.0 minutes per contest.
Drummond will wear No. 1 for the 76ers.
Andre Drummond
 Drummond with the Detroit Pistons in 2014
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| No. 1 – Philadelphia 76ers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 10, 1993 Mount Vernon, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 279 lb (127 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Connecticut) |
| College | UConn (2011–2012) |
| NBA draft | 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall |
| Selected by the Detroit Pistons | |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| 2012–2020 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2020–2021 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2021 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2021–present | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Andre Jamal Drummond (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick. A two-time NBA All-Star, he has led the league in rebounding four times and also been named to the All-NBA Third Team.
Drummond was one of the top-rated basketball players in the high school class of 2011, and played one season of college basketball with the Connecticut Huskies before declaring for the draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with Detroit in 2013, and was named an All-Star for the first time in 2016. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020. After reaching a buyout agreement with Cleveland in 2021, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. Drummond has perennially been among the league leaders in rebounding. He was a member of the 2014 U.S. national team that won a gold medal in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
High school career
Born in Mount Vernon, New York to Jamaican parents, Drummond moved to Middletown, Connecticut as a 7-year-old with his mother and sister, then went to Woodrow Wilson Middle School before starting high school at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut. During his freshman year, he averaged 12.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game. He improved during his sophomore year at Capital Prep, averaging 20.2 points, 16.6 rebounds, 7.2 blocks and 4.5 steals per game. After two years at Capital Preparatory Magnet School, he transferred to St. Thomas More. At St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Connecticut, Drummond was one of the most dominating centers in high school basketball. He spent two years at St. Thomas More and led the team to the national prep championship in 2011. He graduated in the spring that year.
Drummond was rated as the No. 1 player in the class of 2011 by ESPN and NBADraft.net, while being ranked No. 2 player by Rivals.com and Scout.com. In the summer of 2010, Drummond was a member of the gold medal winning United States team at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. He helped lead team USA to a 111–80 victory over Poland in the gold medal game.
College career
Drummond initially declared he would spend a post-graduate year at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in 2011–12. Two weeks later on August 26, 2011, he announced via Twitter that instead he intended to attend the University of Connecticut. According to ESPN, the decision “created a media frenzy due to the sheer surprise.” Drummond had also been considering attending Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown, or West Virginia.
Drummond appeared in 34 games as a freshman at UConn, starting 30 times. He averaged 28.4 minutes of playing time per game, during which he scored 10.0 points and grabbed 7.6 rebounds. He led the team in rebounds per game, blocks per game (2.7) and field goal percentage (.538). He scored 20+ points in 2 games during the season, including a 24-point performance against Holy Cross, in which he shot 11-of-12 from the field. Drummond’s collegiate career ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as the ninth-seeded Huskies fell to eight-seed Iowa State. The freshman center scored two points before fouling out in 26 minutes. A month later, Drummond announced his decision to enter the 2012 NBA draft.
Drummond also said the decision to play for the Sixers was heavily influenced by the presence of Doc Rivers, whom he’s known since he was in high school.
“I think for me, making the decision to come to Philly was based off Doc really having the faith in me to really help this team do something special. Whatever my role is, me coming off the bench in the prime of my career, it doesn’t really matter. I can still be effective coming off the bench and backing up Joel.
“I think it was a no-brainer. I’ve always wanted to play for Doc. When I got the chance to play for him, I took the chance.”
Drummond on relationship with Joel Embiid: “I think for me, there never was any real beef. It’s the game of basketball. We’re both competitors in the way that we play….”
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“I think for me, there never was any real beef,” said Drummond, who signed a one-year veteran minimum salary contract for around $2.9 million with the Sixers on Wednesday. “It’s the game of basketball. We’re both competitors in the way that we play.
He noted they’re on the same team now, and that the past trash talking isn’t really something he’s thinking about or going to let bother him.
The nine-year veteran was named to his second NBA All-Star team as recently as 2018. He’s also a four-time rebounding champion.
“I think for me, making the decision to come to Philly was just based off of Doc [Rivers] really having the faith in me helping this team do something special despite whatever my role is,” he said. “You know of me coming off the bench being [in the prime] of my career doesn’t matter.
“I think I can still be effective coming off and backing up Joel. I think it was a no-brainer. I’ve always wanted to play for him since I was kid.”
At St. Thomas More School in Connecticut, Drummond was teammate of Rivers’ legally adopted son, Adam Jones.
“So we’ve always had that relationship,” Drummond said of Rivers. “So to have the chance to play for him, I just took the chance.”
Drummond had hoped to get a lucrative deal in free agency.
There was some thought that he would re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, which he played 21 games for last season. But Los Angeles made changes to their roster via trade and in free agency and it didn’t make sense for Drummond to return. (One of the Lakers moves involved signing former Sixers center Dwight Howard to a veteran minimum deal. Howard was a member of the Lakers’ 2020 NBA title team.)
“So I just took the next best thing after that,” Drummond said. “It was come to Philly. I think it’s a great fit.”
The 6-foot-10, 280-pounder didn’t disclose if he received offers for a bigger role in free agency, but he did provide details on his mindset as a backup center.
“In life, things change and it’s nothing that is affecting me at all or making me feel any type of way,” Drummond said. “That’s the role that has been given to me, and it’s something I have accepted and willing to do if it’s in the best of the team.
“It has to get done.”
Drummond has career averages of 14.5 points, 13.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 645 games with 594 starts.
He was having an All-Star caliber campaign in Cleveland this past season before the Cavs acquired Jarrett Allen in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in January. Drummond averaged 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 25 games played with the Cavs. Cleveland, however, took him out of the lineup to give Allen more playing time.
Drummond last played for the Cavaliers on Feb. 12 and the team was unsuccessful in finding a trade partner. Part of the holdup was finding a team willing to take in his $27.9 million salary for last season.
So following the trade deadline, Cleveland bought him out of his deal and he signed with the Lakers.
In Philly, Drummond is a good insurance policy for Embiid, who has yet to play a full season since being drafted third in 2014.
Embiid could miss around 20 games this season because of load management and injuries.
Drummond could be a force as a backup center. He’ll also be a quality replacement for Embiid in the starting lineup on the night’s the MVP runner-up doesn’t play.
Drummond, who turns 28 on Tuesday, is excited to team up with Embiid.
“Joel is already one of the best centers in the NBA,” he said. “To be alongside of him, I think it is going to be a long night for a lot of teams, just getting beat up in the game between he and I. There’s not much that we can’t do.”
