Guerschon Yabusele’s latest poster dunk another example of the value he’s brought to the Sixers

PORTLAND, Ore. — Guerschon Yabusele believed he had two choices as he received the ball in transition and realized that Portland’s Deni Avdija would jump to challenge any attempt at the rim.

Go for a dunk or get blocked.

The 76ers big man chose Option 1. He elevated and punched the ball through the rim and then talked smack after Avdija’s contact sent Yabusele to the floor.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

As Sixers coach Nick Nurse noted, Yabusele is gaining a reputation for putting defenders on posters. Monday’s finish was one thunderous component of a second-quarter performance that Yabusele’s coach called “amazing,” when the big man scored 11 of his 16 points to help ignite the Sixers’ biggest rout of the season, 125-103 over the Trail Blazers.

It was further evidence of the value Yabusele provides. He was a late free-agency pickup and is back in the NBA for the first time in five seasons.

“I was just telling him, ‘You better not lose my number this summer,’” superstar teammate Joel Embiid said of Yabusele after the win Monday at the Moda Center. “Because he’s doing a great job for us.”

Yabusele made all four of his shot attempts in the second quarter, beginning with a go-ahead three-pointer at the 10-minute, 16-second mark. Later, he posted up for a turnaround hook shot. After that, another deep shot put the Sixers up by 15 points with 5:29 to go in the first half.

“Just everything he did was solid and physical,” Nurse said.

It was a reasonable sampling of the bevy of roles the Sixers have asked the 6-foot-8, 265-pound Yabusele to play during their first 30 games. All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey rapidly listed them late Monday, from starting and coming off the bench at both frontcourt spots to switching defensively to launching from deep and exploding at the rim.

“And every single time, he does it,” Maxey said.

Added Embiid: “He just knows how to play basketball. … He does the little things.”

This has not exactly been a revelation for Embiid, who said Monday that he has been vouching for Yabusele for “three or four years” because of Embiid’s familiarity with the French national team that won the silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Though Maxey immediately clocked Yabusele’s strength and defensive versatility when they became teammates, he was taken aback by Yabusele’s three-point accuracy during the preseason. Yabusele is averaging 9.8 points on 50.2% shooting from the floor, including 39.3% from beyond the arc, along with 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele rewrites his NBA story with Sixers, erasing ‘what-if’ feeling from Boston exit

Those steady contributions led into a bit of a personal reunion week for Yabusele.

The previous Monday, he scored 17 points in a win over the San Antonio Spurs, and was a key defender on fellow Frenchman and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. Then Yabusele totaled 12 points and four rebounds in a marquee Christmas victory over his former team, the Boston Celtics. Then he finished with 12 points and eight rebounds (five offensive) against a Utah Jazz team run by CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge, the former Celtics executive who waived Yabusele in the summer of 2019.

Yabusele did not initially realize the schedule lined up so fortuitously, but said he has “[enjoyed] every moment of it. I’m just glad and blessed and happy to be able to play this game.”

Yabusele’s surge followed a comparatively quiet four-game stretch, in which he saw his minutes reduced and never scored in double figures. Nurse took the blame, saying he was tinkering with lineups, especially when the opponent goes small and backup center Andre Drummond also is available (he has missed the past three games with a sprained toe).

But Yabusele has since gotten more familiar with playing power forward alongside Embiid, learning that constantly moving around the former MVP opens up scoring looks when opponents send an extra defender. Against the Jazz, Nurse said Yabusele “was making enough hustle plays [to] leave him out there,” even when it was time for Embiid to return to the game.

“We’re starting to figure it out,” Nurse said Monday. “I’ve got to make sure he continues to get minutes.”

And recently, Maxey said he and teammates had begun clamoring for Yabusele to throw down a dunk reminiscent of the one he detonated on LeBron James during the Olympics. Yabusele obliged during a Dec. 20 win over the Charlotte Hornets, putting DaQuan Jeffries on the deck.

Monday’s finish was even more emphatic, sending the Sixers’ bench into such a frenzy that injured 38-year-old guard Kyle Lowry picked up a technical while wearing street clothes.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s season-high 37 points leads Sixers’ 125-103 rout at Trail Blazers

Minutes after the final buzzer, Yabusele acknowledged he had already watched the clip of this dunk approximately 15 times. A few lockers down, Maxey recreated the way he had pounded his chest and screamed in celebration on the floor, before calling the dunk’s execution “beautiful” and “wonderful.” Caleb Martin, who zipped the pass to Yabusele in stride, gave a subtle affirmative nod when asked if he thought his teammate would go for the transition slam. Kelly Oubre Jr. added this: “Have you ever seen a bear runnin’ at you? Just get out the way.”

Embiid was equally matter-of-fact in his assessment of Yabusele’s latest big moment. Which is why he hopes Yabusele keeps his number, even after that one-year, veteran-minimum contract with the Sixers expires this summer.

“At this point, I don’t know why people are still jumping with him,” Embiid said of Yabusele. “Just the powerhouse, the aggressiveness. Why would you even take a chance? I know I wouldn’t.”