Guerschon Yabusele, a worldwide journeyman, is now with the Knicks. But he admitted ‘it felt weird’ to face the Sixers.
NEW YORK — When Guerschon Yabusele arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, he was delighted to see his former 76ers teammates so soon.
But “at the same time,” Yabusele added, “it felt weird.”
“I’m looking at them, like, they’re going this way,” a grinning Yabusele told The Inquirer Monday night. “And I’m like, ‘OK, no, I’m not with them no more.’”
Yabusele’s “friendly” reunion with the Sixers coincidentally arrived early in the preseason, after the big man left Philly in the summer to sign with the New York Knicks as a free agent. Now, Yabusele is on a quest to acclimate to a Knicks team with championship aspirations, following its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years last season. Yet he said he will carry the mentality he honed with the Sixers, when he rejuvenated his NBA career and became a rare positive in his team’s horrific 2024-25.
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“You’ve got to compete. You can’t let go. You can’t give up,” Yabusele said Monday from the Knicks’ locker room, following their preseason loss to the Washington Wizards. “You’ve got to go out there and do your job. That’s what we get paid for. That’s one thing that I learned from [the Sixers] …
“My energy and my rhythm just come from there. From never giving up. Just [tried] to give my best over there [in Philly].”
Yabusele averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 70 games with the Sixers, an impressive reintroduction to the NBA after the 2016 first-round draft pick slipped out of the league and spent five years playing overseas. He also experienced personal milestones in Philly, welcoming his third child late in the Sixers’ season and attending his first (American) football game at the Eagles-Commanders NFC championship game. The Sixers kept the 29-year-old Frenchman — who signed a one-year, veteran minimum contract after a fantastic 2024 Olympics performance — on the roster when he drew trade-deadline interest. Yabusele then expressed an openness to return on a new contract in 2025-26.
But when free agency opened in late June, Yabusele told Skweek TV, which covers European basketball culture and lifestyle, that the Sixers’ offer was “really, really low, to be really transparent.”
“I felt like, ‘Oh my God. It seems like you don’t really want me to stay,’” Yabusele added during that interview.
So Yabusele instead signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the rival Knicks. At summer league in July, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said his team offered Yabusele “the most we could that wouldn’t limit us and our ability to retain Quentin [Grimes].” But a long-term deal with Grimes also did not materialize, when he took his one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
“It’s never personal. It’s a business,” Yabusele said during a news conference as Knicks training camp began. “ … I never hold a grudge. I want to thank them, for sure. They [gave] me a second chance. They’re the team that really [believed] in me. This [counts]. This really means something for me.”
Yabusele was intrigued by the Knicks’ spirit and toughness during the postseason. He has joined a locker room that already features the ‘Nova Knicks trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, along with two fellow Frenchmen in Pacôme Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Yabusele is expected to play more power forward with the Knicks, where he can complement traditional center Mitchell Robinson and the versatile All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. But when every Knicks starter sat out Monday’s preseason game, Yabusele spent the bulk of his minutes at center — a position he heavily occupied with the Sixers while former MVP Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond were sidelined with injuries for much of the season.
Yabusele finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists against the Wizards. He went 2-of-5 from three-point range, drove baseline for a little hook shot, and got underneath to finish through contact for an and-1. At one point during the second quarter, new Knicks coach Mike Brown subbed Yabusele out to have a conversation at the scorer’s table, then immediately put him back in the game.
Consider that evidence of Brown’s belief that Yabsuele and Towns have the steepest learning curve for New York’s new offensive system. Those big men must know all five positions while running set plays, the coach said, and when they read and react when things break down. Following Monday’s game, Brown said Yabusele was overthinking in the first half, which “kind of brought his game to a halt,” but looked far more comfortable after the break.
“Try to be a solution, not a problem,” Yabusele said. “ … I feel like my position will be the best position that I can help the team. If it’s at the 4, then I will try to give my best. If it’s at the 5, then I will try to do my best, too.”
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Because adapting to new coaches and playing styles is nothing new for Yabusele, a worldwide basketball journeyman. His path includes his initial NBA stint with the Boston Celtics, playing for teams in China, France, and Spain, and representing the French national team, most recently in this summer’s EuroBasket.
Perhaps Yabusele will someday regard his one season with the Sixers as a career pit stop. But it is what got him back to the NBA, and why it felt happy and weird to see his former teammates again so soon.
“Wish them nothing but the best,” he said.
