Free agent forward Jabari Walker has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Sixers, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The son of former NBA forward Samaki Walker and the 57th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Colorado, Jabari Walker has spent his first three professional NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers. He played a significant role for the team in 2023/24, averaging 8.9 points and 7.1 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game across 72 total outings (23 starts).
Walker’s minutes were cut back in ’24/25 following the arrival of Deni Avdija and the emergence of Toumani Camara, but he was a positive contributor in a more limited role, setting career highs in field goal percentage (51.5%) and three-point percentage (38.9%) as he averaged 5.2 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 60 contests (12.5 MPG).
The Blazers had the opportunity to make Walker a restricted free agent by issuing him a $2.58MM qualifying offer over the weekend, but chose not to do so, allowing him to become unrestricted.
Given his age (23 later this month) and experience as a rotation player, I’m a little surprised Walker will end up on a two-way contract, but it’s a nice get for the Sixers, who have made it a priority to get younger this summer. On his two-way deal, the 6’7″ forward will be eligible to be active for up to 50 NBA regular season games. Exceeding that limit – and playing in the postseason – would require a promotion to the standard roster.
Walker will fill Philadelphia’s third and final two-way slot, joining Alex Reese and Hunter Sallis.