As reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, former Indiana Pacers two-time All-Star Roy Hibbert has joined the Philadelphia 76ers organization in a player development coaching role.
Roy Hibbert is back in the NBA. While the 7’2″ former Indiana Pacers stud unofficially retired from playing basketball in 2018, he’s found new life in the league in a new role: player development coach.
The Philadelphia 76ers have hired nine-year NBA center Roy Hibbert — a two-time All-Star with Indiana — to a player development coaching role, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 9, 2019
As reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Philadelphia 76ers have hired Hibbert to take on a role in player development as the team enters its 2019-20 campaign. Details on what the role will entail have yet to be announced, but the logic makes sense for Philadelphia.
As Pacers fans remember, Hibbert was the shot-block king during Indiana’s era of Eastern Conference Finals appearances. His peak with the team included three straight years of averaging 2+ blocks a contest, while picking up two All-Star honors, making an All-Defensive Second Team, and finishing runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.
The 76ers, meanwhile, added a second seven-footer to their starting lineup with the acquisition of Al Horford this summer. Between Horford and Joel Embiid, there’s a lot of shot-blocking power in Philadelphia’s frontcourt. Hibbert working with Embiid as he enters his fourth season could take his rim protection to an even higher level.
With plenty of kinks to work out in the twin towers duo, Hibbert has work cut out for him. Just a season removed from playing in the NBA, he should be able to provide rigorous reps in practice as well.
While his playing days with the Indiana Pacers are long gone, it’s good to see Hibbert step into a role that works for him, and even better to see him be able to stay around the NBA. His performance as a player post-Indiana wasn’t stellar, so it should be interesting to see how he’s able to produce in a different kind of role.
After all, he gave LeBron James headaches for years. The 76ers made a bold, but likely very smart hire.