The expectations going into this Sixers‘ season are at the highest they’ve been since Allen Iverson‘s prime days in Philadelphia. They have a well-fitting and competent roster behind Joel Embiid, the second-best coach in the league per Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, and years of playoff demons that need to be exercised. Right in the middle of that is second-year guard-forward Ricky Council IV, who, if his development continues as expected, should figure to play a very significant role for the team this upcoming season.
When Council debuted last season, his unique combination of hyper-athleticism and fearlessness immediately endeared him to Sixers fans. Council is the exact type of person and player this fanbase loves. He’s never short on effort when he is on the floor and plays with extreme urgency. A little hair-on-fire, a little bull-in-china-shop, but usually for good reasons. If his jump shot continues to develop, it will allow for his true strengths to shine, and he will be impossible to keep out of the rotation.
Council shot just 27.0 percent from distance in his lone season at the University of Arkansas, his final year of college. But he rose that number 38.4 percent in his time spent with the Blue Coats and Sixers, which expedited his position on the team. The more respectable he becomes as a shooter, the more his plus skills will be accentuated on the floor- and those are skills that nobody else on the roster can bring to the team.
Council’s abilities as a downhill driver and finisher through traffic are pretty rare for someone who went undrafted. Couple that with defenses having to pay him more respect from behind the arc, and you get a player who is capable of swinging games and series in the Sixers’ favor. Just being able to put defenses in rotation by attacking close-outs and drawing fouls at the rim puts so much pressure on the opposition.
The key to Council earning his consistent place in the rotation will be how he takes to guarding up in size. Council certainly has all the tools to defend threes and fours. Even though he is only listed at 6’6″, he has a 6’9″ wingspan, and his athleticism allows him to play above the rim when need be. He is physical and tough, does not shy away from contact, and will never back down or give in to anyone. How he manages these defensive assignments will go a long way in dictating his role on the team. Having Caleb Martin around to learn from in those situations will be paramount to his success.
It is no guarantee that Council will factor into Nick Nurse’s playoff rotation either. There will be speculation all season long about the Sixers adding a more traditional power forward at the trade deadline, and as rotations shorten in the postseason, that could make Council’s role obsolete in the short term. After all, this is someone who has played just one NBA game thus far on a standard contract- there are growing pains to come. Allowing him to work through those growing pains will serve the team better in the long run, assuming he is not actively sabotaging the team on the court.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines an X-Factor as “a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome.” Does that mean Ricky Council is going to win Finals MVP? Absolutely not. What it means is- if everything comes together for him- that he provides the Sixers with something they have never had before in pursuit of that championship goal. And that something could ultimately determine the true ceiling of the 2024-25 Philadelphia 76ers.
