After officially signing early Tuesday morning, Reggie Jackson went through his first workout as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Shortly thereafter, Jackson addressed the media, making sure to shake hands and get the name of every single person in the room en route to the podium.
Joining Jackson, both in the gym and for the presser, was Sixers center Andre Drummond. The two played nearly 300 games together while they were with the Detroit Pistons and are now reunited in Philadelphia. The pair of former Pistons have few teammates they’ve played more games with. Jackson only played more with Serge Ibaka and former Sixer Marcus Morris, while Drummond has only played more games with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Drummond joked both about him working security and joining the media to interview his once again teammate.
Once there, Jackson was soon asked about what drew him to Philadelphia, to which he immediately pointed at Drummond before breaking down his answer in more depth.
“Being around familiar faces, getting to come back. It’s definitely great to play with Andre again, [and] PG,” Jackson said. “I think the deck looks pretty cool. So that was a big part of my choice is just an opportunity to try something special.”
Jackson continued on his relationship with Drummond and how that relationship can translate on the court.
“That’s my brother, so it makes it easy. We’ve stayed in touch ever since our Detroit days. He knows my highs and lows, and it’s the same here. [Our] families [are] connected, so yeah, I was excited to be able to play Andre again, and hopefully, the connection looks well on the court.”
Jackson has been vocal over the years voicing his gratefulness for those who have stood by him and helped guide him through his basketball career. This was seen as Jackson thanked Paul George by name after joining the Los Angeles Clippers following a buyout with the Detroit Pistons.
Trust and family run deep for Jackson, who now enjoys a family reunion of sorts with both George and Drummond, a curious running trend for the Sixers after Kelly Oubre referred to himself as the triplet of the Martin twins when speaking of the Sixers’ signing of Caleb Martin.
So far, it seems that chemistry is running deep for this Sixers team despite their offseason of change. The addition of Reggie Jackson is just the latest example.
After Jackson finished with his media availability, both he and Drummond remained behind, just chopping it up with local media members, discussing their Detroit days and, once again, Jackson shook every last person’s hand before exiting the room.
It’s clear that Jackson is enthused to not only be back with Drummond and Paul George but to be in Philadelphia:
“It’ll be fun. I played in Detroit, so I kinda understand a little bit of the fan base; I know what they expect: hard work, and they want to see a good team,” Jackson said. “Honestly, just trying to represent the name on the back and do all I can to help the name of the front, the organization that gives me what’s possible, and try and make it a fun season.”
Philadelphia has not historically been known as a free agent destination, but this season, the Sixers continue to welcome players who not only want to be paid by Philadelphia but want to play for this team, with this team’s players, under Nick Nurse, and for this fanbase.
Once is a coincidence, but this looks to be a new era of excitement buzzing around the Philadelphia 76ers.
