The Philadelphia 76ers have officially signed forward Dario Saric. Due to team policy, further details of the signing have not been released. The 76ers acquired Saric from Orlando on draft night. The Croatian forward was drafted 12th overall by the Magic in 2014.
Philadelphia 76ers Sign Forward Dario Saric
After the 76ers acquired Saric, he spent two season’s playing in the Turkish Basketball Super League for Anadolu Efes. During the 2015-16 season, Saric averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds over a 37 game period. Saric also shot 48% on the floor. He played a pivotal role in the Anadolu Efes making an appearance in the Turkish Basketball Super League Finals.
Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo had this to say on the Saric signing, “We are thrilled to finally announce the highly anticipated signing of Dario Saric to an NBA player contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Our Basketball team stands to benefit from both the on-court development and physical maturation of Dario as a professional player in Croatia and Turkey over the last few years.”
European Accomplishments
Colangelo is clearly excited to welcome Saric to Philadelphia and so should the fans. Saric is one of the most accomplished young players in all of Europe. Saric is a two-time recipient of the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award (2013/2014). An award previously won by current NBA talents Ricky Rubio and Jonas Valanciunas.
Saric is still only 22 years old and has loads of potential for both club and country. We will have to wait and see what he does for his new club in Philadelphia, but his form Croatia has been excellent. Saric was named MVP of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, after averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists. His most impressive performance came against Italy, a game which saw Saric fill the stat sheet. Putting up 18 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists in a 84-78 overtime victory against the Italians, in the Tournament’s finale in early July.
76ers fans should be excited about this signing. They will be hopeful the team can better it’s woeful 10 win season of last year. There is also the addition of No.1 overall pick Ben Simmons to look forward to. He is a player who looks set to be the face of the franchise for many years to come.
Main Photo
Dario Saric of Croatia (L) vies with Kimmo Muurinen of Finland during the FIBA Eurobasket second round Group F qualification match between Finland and Croatia at the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, on September 12, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)
