After going undrafted, Michael Foster aims to seize NBA opportunity with Sixers’ summer league team

On Michael Foster’s first defensive possession in the Salt Lake City Summer League, he cut off a drive after switching onto Memphis Grizzlies guard Tremont Waters. Then Foster contested a hook shot by first-round draft pick David Roddy, before altering Roddy’s putback attempt at the rim from behind and snagging the rebound.

That epitomized the athleticism and versatility Foster hopes to flash during the next three weeks. After going undrafted following a season with G League Ignite, the former five-star recruit now has the opportunity to earn his NBA shot while playing with the 76ers’ Summer League team.

“The fire is there in my gut, the chip on my shoulder,” Foster told The Inquirer just before the Sixers began practice in Salt Lake City last weekend. “I’ve got to come in here and show what I’m really about.”

» READ MORE: Jaden Springer was easy to overlook as a rookie. He vows to be impossible to ignore this Sixers season.

At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds at 19 years old, Foster envisions himself as a big man who can stretch the floor and provide some wing skills.

He has primarily played backup center so far in Salt Lake City, finishing Tuesday’s debut with five points on 2-of-6 shooting, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 14 minutes. He followed that with five points on 2-of-5 from the floor, four rebounds, and one steal in Wednesday’s Sixers win over the host Jazz, including an early finish over a defender in the pick and roll and a third-quarter sequence when he collected a pass and muscled the ball through a double-team for a three-point play.

As a high-school player, though, Foster brought the ball up and had it in his hands often. He worked on his post moves and reading the game from the frontcourt while with the Ignite, averaging 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. He wants to be relied upon to defend every position, crediting his post-workout one-on-one games against personal trainer Chris McHenry with helping him guard smaller, quicker players.

Coincidentally, Foster has long modeled his game after P.J. Tucker, the veteran big man the Sixers just added in free agency.

“Mike, in his own way, dominated at a young age versus pros,” Ignite coach Jason Hart said. “I thought as the season went along, he understood where to score, how to score, and just to make the game easier.”

Foster took a path that is becoming more common for pro prospects. After growing up in Milwaukee, he finished high school at Hillcrest Prep in the Phoenix area, the same school that produced former No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton and 2022 first-round selection Dalen Terry. Foster then chose to play for the Ignite — the developmental team founded in 2020 that plays G League opponents — instead of college basketball. He became teammates with 2022 draft picks Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp, and Jaden Hardy, and immediately played against professionals.

In his first two games of the season, Foster matched up against Serge Ibaka, a formidable 13-year NBA veteran who was on an injury rehab assignment while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. Foster acknowledged Ibaka “got me” in their initial meeting by hitting tough shots and “bullying” him in the paint. But Hart commended the way Foster immediately adjusted for the next day’s game. Foster said Ibaka also shared some tips about fronting the post, sealing hard, and looking for the ball after a roll.

“That let me know that he was up for the challenge, and this kid is going to be a really good player,” Hart said.

When asked where he most developed with the Ignite, however, the more reserved Foster mentioned how that organization’s environment helped him express more of his personality. His agent, David Bauman, noticed that during a mock interview to prepare for pre-draft meetings with NBA teams. When asked if he would rather be Batman or Robin — a question Bauman has posed to prospects for two decades — Foster instead spent several minutes explaining why he prefers Marvel Comics over DC Comics and concluded that Iron Man is his top choice.

“Who wouldn’t want to have all them gadgets?” Foster said.

» READ MORE: De’Anthony Melton is ‘ready to be a dog’ and bring toughness to the Sixers’ win-now core

A weeklong trip to Memphis to work with fiery former NBA star Rasheed Wallace — who told Foster, “If I’m louder than you, you failed” — reinforced that quest to become more vocal. Foster also spent time there with Bonzi Wells and Penny Hardaway, two more former NBA standouts who are now college coaches and helped Foster stay low and aggressive with his ballhandling. Foster spent the bulk of the pre-draft process training in Las Vegas, and believes he moves “way better” after cutting Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles cereal (which he would typically snack on throughout the day) out of his diet.

Hart called it “mind-blowing” that Foster did not get drafted. The family members who gathered at a party in Milwaukee that night were also surprised. But Foster believes “it happened for a reason.” He chose the Sixers as the best of several free-agent options because they did not take a player in the draft after trading their first-round pick (and veteran wing Danny Green) to the Memphis Grizzlies for De’Anthony Melton.

“Everybody was like, ‘Mike, why [is] your name not getting called?’ ” Foster said. “I’m like, ‘It don’t really matter if your name gets called.’ It’s really what happens after the draft and once summer league comes, and how you’re going to perform when the bright lights [are] on you.”

That audition began earlier this week. Sixers summer league coach Tyler Lashbrook highlighted Foster following an early practice, saying his impressive blend of size and skill allowed him to work with the guards in some drills. When their summer league slate moves to Las Vegas, Hart said he will remind Foster that “your dreams are still in front of you.”

And that first defensive possession offered a glimpse of Foster’s potential.