As we continue to inch closer to the 2025 NBA Draft, it’s time to take a look at some second-round targets for Philadelphia. Today’s featured prospect is one of the most decorated college basketball players of his generation.
Before the 2025 NBA Draft, we’ll take an in-depth look at different prospects here at Liberty Ballers and try to figure out which players would be the best fit for the Sixers at Nos. 3 and 35. Next up in this series is Auburn’s Johni Broome.
There have been some solid hits in the early portion of several previous second rounds in recent NBA Drafts. The Sixers would love to add to that list with this year’s 35th overall selection. From the moment Philadelphia got the third overall selection in last month’s draft lottery, there’s been lots of discourse about whether the Sixers should select the player that most fits with their current roster or opt for the best player available.
At three, it’s arguably organizational malpractice if you do anything other than take the best player available. However, at 35, the conversation changes. You can tier the first round of different drafts in different ways depending on the depth of the class. But once we get to the second round, there are going to be flaws with all of the available prospects. A lot of times the NBA success or failure of these prospects hinges on the team that drafts them and its ability to coach up the prospect into becoming a viable rotation player or not. Therefore, it makes more sense to prioritize your current roster with later picks who need to be coached up properly anyway so you might as well have your coaching staff work that role in based on what you already have in place.
Player development was definitely a silver lining that Sixers fans can take from what was otherwise a dreadful 2024-25 season. Adem Bona and Justin Edwards made some nice strides as rookies considering Bona was a second-rounder and Edwards was undrafted. While Guerschon Yabusele was not a rookie, he seemed to assimilate back into the NBA well after five years overseas. So, it’s reasonable to expect the player the team drafts at 35 to at least be somewhat serviceable in a small role in 2025-26. Auburn’s Johni Broome appears to be polished enough to be able to come right in and do just that.
Profile:
2024-25 Stats: 36 games, 30.3 minutes, 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 2.1 blocks, 51.0 FG%, 27.8 3P%, 58.7 FT%
Team: Auburn
Year: Super Senior
Position: F
Height and Weight: 6’10’’ 240 lbs.
Born: July 19, 2002 (Turns 23 next month)
Hometown: Plant City, FL
Strengths
If you’re into intangibles, Broome’s your guy. The Florida native was an All-Conference selection in all five of his years in college. He was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team in both his freshman and sophomore seasons at Morehead State. He then made the All-SEC Second Team in his first season at Auburn before closing out his collegiate career with back-to-back First-Team All-SEC selections. He also took home many national awards, most notably the Sporting News Player of the Year award in 2025 and the SEC Player of the Year in the same season. What we’re trying to say is, Broome did nothing but improve in all five of his years in college and was in a very deep conference in his last three years. His work ethic seems to be fantastic.
When it comes to the tactical Xs and Os and how Broome can help an NBA team, he’s going to make the most of his NBA ready frame. He was an excellent shot blocker in college thanks in large part to his timing as an interior defender. He also dominated on the glass which was also a testament to his strong positional skills as he seemed to be in the right place very frequently which helps combat some of his athletic hindrances.
Offensively, Broome is a menace down low and his strong work ethic definitely translates to his ability to score inside. When he got the ball down low, Broome was determined to finish at the rim in whatever way he needed to. His jump shot needs improvement, but he’s a willing outside shooter which will only make him more coachable with the right shooting assistants on an NBA staff.
Weaknesses
Any time we see these high-level college achievers going towards the end of the first round or falling into the second round, it does feel like there’s one common concern that pushes them down boards. Most of these prospects are not always viewed highly in the scouting community because their athletic ability is subpar and a lot of their college production was due to being bigger and stronger than most of their competition. Sure enough, Broome’s athletic testing at the NBA Combine was not good. His standing vertical leap of 24.5 inches was a full 14 inches lower than VJ Edgecombe’s, someone Philadelphia might select third overall. For what it’s worth, Broome’s basketball IQ should help him deal with his athletic deficiencies more easily, but it’s still not a good sign for his stock. It’s a lot easier to be smarter, bigger and stronger than college competition. A good chunk of all NBA players will have high basketball IQs and also be physically developed.
We mentioned Broome being willing to shoot from the outside, but as you can see above, the numbers were pretty ugly in his final season at Auburn. The 27.8% from three-point land might get even more concerning for some teams considering the year prior Broome shot 35% from beyond the arc. His free throw percentage also dropped last year as well.
When you combine these two chief concerns with Broome’s game, it’s easy to see why he’s projected to go in the second round. His lackluster athleticism is going to make it harder to both block shots and rebound at the levels he did in college. It’s also going to be more difficult for Broome to finish around the rim against more athletic defenders and considering his jump shot is still very much a work in progress, how much is he going to be able to score in the NBA?
Potential Fit with the Sixers
I do find Broome to be an excellent target for Philadelphia in the second round. The Sixers desperately need to add bodies to their front court to make the time they don’t have Joel Embiid on the floor be more manageable. Even if Broome struggles to block a lot of shots in the NBA, Adem Bona displayed quite a bit of shot-blocking in his rookie season and I think Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse would love if Bona can become Embiid’s primary backup in 2025-26.
If you had Embiid and Bona playing the majority of the minutes at center, that would allow Broome to play mostly power forward with Philly. At 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, Broome fits in OK at this spot because the players that are his height and more athletic are probably playing center. Therefore, as a power forward, Broome would likely be matched up with similar 6-10 players who lack top-end athleticism or players who are a little shorter but more athletic. Either way, power forward seems like a more natural fit for Broome in the NBA and he would likely play at that spot as a Sixer.
The other thing working in Broome’s favor when it comes to potentially winding up in Philadelphia was that he seems to be durable. Broome played a ton of games in college and was never hurt all that seriously. Availability is always going to be something that matters for the Sixers, particularly with frontcourt prospects, considering Embiid’s health will always remain a question mark.
Draft Projection
ESPN Mock Draft: No. 45 to Chicago Bulls
It feels like Broome will be there for Philadelphia at 35.
For what it’s worth, I don’t find Broome’s weaknesses to be that bad and I would bet on him becoming an NBA rotation player. Sure, he’s not the best athlete, but if he can make up for that with heads-up plays on both ends of the floor at 6-10, he’s still going to be able to score some in tight and he’ll still block a shot here and there while also rebounding adequately.
Also, we’ve mentioned his work ethic being high, which it’s going to need to be. He’ll need to make more hustle plays than most other players his size to make up for what he loses athletically. It’s also worth noting that sometimes athleticism can negatively correlate. If a player is super athletic but doesn’t have a good work ethic, in part because that player keeps hearing how much God-given ability he has, that player probably isn’t a good bet to hit his ceiling. Broome is that opposite of that prototype. He’s going to come in and work hard where ever he goes and figure out how to best make a living for himself at the next level.
Also, there was a clear pattern on Broome’s behalf to develop a jumper in college. He did not attempt a three-pointer in his freshman season at Morehead State and only took five in his second season there. When he transferred to Auburn, he started shooting more threes, taking 31 in his first year as a Tiger followed by 79 and 90 three-point attempts in his final two seasons in the SEC. The percentages might not look great, but a good argument can be made that an NBA team would rather have the big who took a good amount of threes in college even without making them, over the big who just did the bare minimum as a jump shooter. The right NBA team can get Broome back to 35% from three-point land which we mentioned was the figure he shot from distance in his penultimate college season.
Whoever drafts this guy is getting a gamer who was an outstanding college player and will be coming into the NBA with a chip on his shoulder. That seems like a good bet to make in the early second round.