The re-tooled Philadelphia 76ers are primed to be a contender in the Eastern Conference this season following the trade for Jaylen Brown and the free agent signing of LeBron James. But every contending team needs adequate depth, and the 76ers are hoping that big man Adem Bona, set to backup All-Star Joel Embiid, will be ready to go by the start of the regular season after suffering a foot injury, as per Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice.

Adem Bona apparently suffered a foot injury recently, and the 76ers’ backup center will be sidelined in the meantime before being re-evaluated closer to the start of training camp. The third-year big man is projected to play a crucial role this season as the 76ers lost last year’s backup center, Andre Drummond, to the defending champion New York Knicks via free agency.

Having a consistent and reliable backup to Embiid is going to be key in terms of managing his health and keeping his knees fresh throughout the season and for a potential playoff run. The seven-time All-Star has been hampered by injury concerns, and has been limited to under 40 games in each of the past three years.

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Bona was the No. 41 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of UCLA, and he’s coming off a solid showing for Turkey during the recent FIBA World Cup Europe Qualifiers.

This past season, he appeared in 71 games, including 18 starts, at a little over 17 minutes per game. He averaged 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots with splits of 59.5 percent shooting from the field and 70.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.