Former Gonzaga big man Filip Petrusev signs contract with Philadelphia 76ers
Add one more name to the group of former Gonzaga players who’ll be on rosters when the 2023-24 NBA seasons begins in October.
After three seasons playing professionally in Europe, former GU big man Filip Petrusev has signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, Director of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced Monday.
Per team policy, the terms of Petrusev’s contract were not disclosed in a 76ers press release published Monday morning.
Petrusev was selected by Philadelphia with the 50th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, but the Sixers elected to stash the Serbia native overseas the last two seasons, giving him a chance to play against high-level European competition before making a full-fledged transition to the NBA.
During his third Las Vegas Summer League stint with the Sixers, Petrusev averaged 12.5 points while shooting 61% from the field. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds in two appearances.
Petrusev also had a solid showing in three games at Salt Lake Summer League, averaging 9.0 points and 7.3 rebounds.
During an interview with The Spokesman-Review after Petrusev’s first game in Vegas, the former Gonzaga standout said he was feeling “pretty confident” about his chances of landing a spot
“I think I’ve played in Europe the last three years and especially this last year, I played in the highest competition after the NBA which is Euroleague and I showed what I can do and I had a really good season,” he said.
Petrusev left Gonzaga after his sophomore season, signing with Serbian club KK Mega Basket, where he earned league MVP honors while claiming the league’s Rising Star award as the top player under the age of 22.
The 6-foot-11 forward struggled during his lone season with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish League, and playing sparingly during Philadelphia’s 2022 Summer League schedule, but Petrusev found his footing last season with Serbian club Crvena Zvezda.
He played in 72 games, including 34 in the Euroleague, and averaged 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 57.3% from the field.
Petrusev trimmed down during the 2022-23 season in Serbia and said he anticipates less physicality in the NBA, as opposed to the European basketball style he’s become accustomed to over the last three seasons.
“In the NBA it’s less physical I think, so I just feel like you need to be fast, you need to be in the right spots at the right time,” he said. “You don’t have to be big, you just have to be strong and you have to be ready to hit somebody when you have to and that’s all it is.”
Philadelphia also signed Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis to a two-way contract on Monday. Tubelis, similar to Petrusev, is another European-born big man who was coached by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, who just completed his second season as the Wildcats’ head coach.