Philadelphia 76ers Reach Agreement to Sign Rayan Rupert to Two-Way Contract for 2024-25 NBA Season
Key keywords: Philadelphia 76ers, Rayan Rupert, two-way contract, 2024 NBA free agency, NBA G League, Delaware Blue Coats, French basketball guard, New Zealand Breakers, Nick Nurse, 3-and-D wing
Per exclusive reports from top NBA insider Shams Charania, the Philadelphia 76ers have officially agreed to sign 21-year-old French guard/wing Rayan Rupert to a two-way contract ahead of the 2024-25 regular season, adding high-upside defensive depth to their roster at minimal cost.
Selected with the 43rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Rupert spent his rookie season splitting time between the Blazers and their G League affiliate the Rip City Remix. He appeared in 19 NBA games last season, averaging 2.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 steals in 9.8 minutes per contest, while posting far more impressive numbers in the G League: 13.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, shooting 36.2% from 3-point range on 4.8 attempts per outing. Standing 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Rupert has long been lauded for his elite multi-positional defensive ability, capable of guarding positions 1 through 4 at the professional level thanks to his length, lateral quickness and high basketball IQ.
Under NBA two-way contract rules, Rupert will be eligible to play up to 50 regular-season games for the 76ers in the upcoming campaign, while spending the rest of his time developing with the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. The deal will not count against Philadelphia’s 15-man standard roster salary cap, making it an extremely low-risk move for a franchise looking to supplement its core of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey with cheap, developmental talent.
76ers head coach Nick Nurse, who is famous for his flexible defensive schemes that rely on switchable perimeter players, personally pushed for the signing, per team sources. The franchise’s scouting department has tracked Rupert for over two years, dating back to his 2022-23 season with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL’s Next Stars program, and believes he can develop into a reliable 3-and-D rotation piece as early as the second half of the upcoming season if he continues to refine his outside shot and decision-making.
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As a diehard 76ers fan, this is my favorite low-key signing of the entire free agency period! Nick Nurse’s system is made for guys like Rupert – long, switchable defenders who play with nonstop energy. If he can keep his 3-point percentage around 36% like he did in the G League last year, he’ll be getting regular rotation minutes by December. Total no-brainer low-risk, high-reward move.
This is such a smart front office call for Philly. Rupert was a steal in the 2023 draft and never got a real chance to shine in Portland’s rebuild, where they were prioritizing minutes for their higher draft picks. The two-way contract lets them develop him without wasting a standard roster spot, and his defensive profile fills a huge hole in their second unit that their veteran signings didn’t address.
I watched Rupert play for the Breakers during his NBL season, and his work ethic is second to none. He stayed after every single practice to work on his jump shot, and you could see the improvement week over week. 76ers fans are going to fall in love with him the second they see him dive for loose balls and lock down opposing team’s top scorers off the bench.
As a French basketball fan who’s followed Rayan since he was playing youth ball in Paris, this is the perfect landing spot for him. Playing alongside Embiid and Maxey means he’ll get tons of open catch-and-shoot looks, and Nurse will give him the freedom to play to his defensive strengths instead of forcing him to create offense like Portland did. I’m 100% sure he’ll earn a full roster spot before the All-Star break.