NBA Draft 2024: 3 options for Philadelphia 76ers to pick at No. 16

Jaylon Tyson - Cal Bears

The 16th pick in the draft may be early to draft Tyson, but if the Sixers decided to trade down and recoup some assets, Tyson should be there. Personally, Tyson should be a top 20 pick but the consensus seems to be he’s more likely to be picked in the 25-30 range of this year's draft. After talking about Da Silva, the same thing can be said for Tyson he’s a Swiss-army-knife type player but doesn’t have one true elite NBA skill despite being proficient across the board.

Tyson is a true wing, standing at 6’5” with a 6’8” wingspan and he has an excellent IQ for a player his size. He’s always in the right position, whether it’s standing near the three-point line, cutting to the basket, or making the right read with the ball in his hand. He’s also consistently moving, which makes him very difficult to cover. 

On defense, Tyson is extremely versatile and switchable, a type of player Nick Nurse would love. He throws some bad passes or causes some bad turnovers, but given his advanced IQ, those issues should resolve itself. Additionally, playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, Tyson will not have the ball in his hands as much as he did at Cal, so the turnover issues should alleviate themselves. His touch also seems inconsistent which could be worrisome given the Sixers need him to shoot at a high clip to be playable alongside Embiid and Maxey. But Tyson shot 37.2% from three in his college career, so my fear could be overblown. 

Overall, the Sixers are way more likely to take an impact player that can contribute from day one, as they have two all-stars, max cap space, and ambitions to make the conference finals for the first time since 2001. The Sixers don’t need to hit a home run on this pick like they did with Tyrese Maxey at pick #21 in 2020. But they also can’t afford for this pick to flop similar to 2021 first-round pick, Jaden Springer.