Spurs to sign former Sixer Charles Bassey on two-way deal

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, former Philadelphia 76er Charles Bassey will sign a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Philadelphia selected Bassey 53rd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. He appeared in 23 games with the Sixers as a rookie, averaging three points (66 percent true shooting ) and 2.7 rebounds. The best game of his young career came in a Nov. 18 win against the Denver Nuggets. With Joel Embiid sidelined, Bassey tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal, all while frustrating MVP Nikola Jokic into some difficult shots and misses. In 17 regular season G League games with the Delaware Blue Coats, the 21-year-old averaged 18.9 points (72.2 percent true shooting), 10.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks.

After trading away All-Star guard Dejounte Murray this summer, San Antonio is in the midst of its first true rebuilding season, headlined by the likes of Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan.

With Philadelphia’s logjam at center and win-now context, Bassey’s path to playing time there was incredibly hazy. But the Spurs enjoy the benefits of patience, a youthful environment, and the absence of an MVP-caliber center. He’ll compete with Jakob Poeltl, Zach Collins and Gorgui Dieng for minutes, while also presumably spending a good amount of games in the G League for the Austin Spurs.