Andre Drummond’s opening-night start part of career ‘rebirth’ he feels in return to Sixers

Andre Drummond grabbed the offensive rebound and converted the putback — then unleashed a scream — during the third quarter of the 76ers’ season-opener Wednesday night.

It was a flash of Drummond’s dominant skill as part of a Game 1 performance that coach Nick Nurse later characterized as “OK” and “solid.” Drummond compiled a double-double, with 10 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes, while stepping into the starting center spot in place of ramping-up superstar Joel Embiid in the Sixers’ 124-109 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. And it was an outing that, like his team’s, left Drummond feeling there was plenty to evaluate and fine-tune in his return stint with the Sixers.

“I wouldn’t say it was much different,” when asked about starting the regular-season opener versus the preseason. “Now obviously that it counts, there’s a little more intensity to the game. … But nothing changed in my mindset. Just go out there and try to do the same thing on a nightly basis.”

Drummond and Nurse still consider the big-bodied 31-year-old — and two-time All-Star — a starting-caliber center. He will need to be that while occupying that role for at least the rest of this week, and periodically throughout the season as Embiid manages his surgically repaired knee on the way to the playoffs.

» READ MORE: Sources: NBA likely to investigate Sixers’ decision to sit Joel Embiid for season opener

Wednesday’s performance arrived about a week after Drummond visibly lit up while sitting courtside before the Sixers’ shootaround in Atlanta. He said he felt like his career was undergoing a “rebirth” of sorts, because of the way Nurse believed he could contribute beyond rebounding.

He has the green light to fire open three-pointers, taking one in Wednesday’s first half. He also has more freedom to handle the ball and make plays out of the pick and roll, to run the floor in transition, and to pressure and switch defensively. Nurse also plans to experiment with placing Drummond in different spots on the floor, after “most of his career, people just kind of parked him along the baseline and wanted him to go rebound the ball,” the coach said.

Nurse got such ideas following the Sixers’ preseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Des Moines, Iowa, he said. Drummond added that his coach even recently referenced film he had studied from Drummond’s 2017-18 All-Star season with the Detroit Pistons.

“Guys are starting to figure out, when I’m out there, we’ve got to move,” Drummond told The Inquirer from Atlanta. “I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to stand around and do nothing, because you’re not going to get the most out of me. …

“It’s good to be here now, and really have somebody really have faith in my game and really want to see me be great.”

Drummond said he found out Tuesday that he would start the season opener, hoping to “seize the moment” and “show that I’m capable of being a starter in this league.”

He gobbled up five rebounds in the game’s opening six minutes, and had nine by halftime. But he battled foul trouble throughout the game, including one on the offensive end when he got a drop-off pass and went up strong against Brook Lopez. A successful challenge by Bucks coach Doc Rivers overturned what was originally called a defensive foul. In the second half, Drummond went 3-of-4 from the field — including an alley-oop finish from Kelly Oubre Jr., and a late follow dunk — and totaled four rebounds.

The Bucks also offered a unique defensive challenge for Drummond because of the way Lopez stretches the floor by popping out to the three-point line following a screen. Drummond picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes into the third quarter, then his fifth early in the final period. But he insisted those whistles did not alter his approach.

“I still play the same way,” he said. “Still ball-pressure. Still try to go after the rebounds. No matter if I had four fouls or five fouls, I’m still going to play the same way. When you play the right way, the game will reward you, so I wasn’t trying to take the pedal off.”

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers praises Andre Drummond, whom he still regrets trading in the Ben Simmons deal: ‘He’s just a good guy’

Drummond said late Wednesday that he was eager for the film session to review the details — such as his and teammates’ floor positioning, and if they completed game-plan assignments — of his first official game back in a Sixers jersey.

He began the 2021-22 season with the team, before becoming part of the package in the Ben Simmons blockbuster deadline trade with the Brooklyn Nets. It’s a move that Rivers, who was the Sixers’ coach at the time, said “was a tough one for me,” and from which the team struggled to recover. The Sixers torpedoed during the minutes Embiid rested in their first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks, eventually leading to Embiid reportedly calling Drummond to make a recruitment pitch.

“We already know, once Jo comes back, what type of offense we’re going to play,” Drummond said. “But we’ve got to have a difference between he and I when we’re out there, different styles of play. …

“Obviously, when [Embiid is] healthy, we need him the entire year. But being able to step up whenever he does have those moments of rest and needs to sit out, knowing that there won’t be any drop-off.”

Still, Drummond acknowledged last week that it would “take me a minute to get myself back into that gear again.” But Wednesday marked a “solid” first start of this crucial 2024-25 Sixers season, with many more expected to come.

“It’s going to be a very fun year,” Drummond said. “I feel I got drafted again, like I’m the new kid on the block and I get to showcase myself all over again.”