PHILADELPHIA — If anyone in Philadelphia is surprised about the early contributions by Guerschon Yabusele, Nic Batum would’ve been able to set them straight.
The French forward who spent 57 games with the 76ers last year has spent recent summers with Yabusele for the national team, including 2024’s run to a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
When Batum re-signed with the Clippers in the offseason, he lobbied on behalf of Yabusele with the organization. When his teammate said the 76ers had expressed interest, Batum’s advice was concise.
“When he told me the 76ers were willing to give him a deal, I told him to go,” Batum said. “You have everything here. The coach is great, teammates, city, fans, arena, everything, you will love it. I’m glad he chose the Sixers for sure.”
Yabusele drew the start Sunday night, his third of the season, against the Clippers. In a dour 3-12 start, his 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game have been a revelation among injured stars, as is his 41 percent 3-point shooting.
Yabusele played 74 games for the Celtics from 2017-19 as the 16th overall pick in the 2016 draft, then embarked on a long global career that included winning titles for Spanish giant Real Madrid. He bet on himself to break back into the NBA after a standout performance at the Olympics, a move Batum knew he was capable of.
Batum, the elder statemen on the French team that gave Team USA all it could handle in the gold-medal game, was certain of Yabusele’s value.
“I said that after the Olympics, obviously Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) was the most important player we had, but Guerschon was the best player we had for the last two years,” Batum said. “So he deserved a spot. He deserved a second chance.”
Batum was one of a corps of former 76ers who now call the Clippers home, in part because of the 76ers’ trade to offload James Harden last year. Westtown product Mo Bamba and the injured P.J. Tucker are among them.
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Nick Nurse stuck with Yabusele in the starting lineup, despite pregame explaining a need for height against Ivica Zubac and the Clippers that seemed to hint at a start for Andre Drummond.
The Clippers entered fifth in the NBA in rebounding, the 76ers’ 28th. Zubac had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half for LA, which at one point owned a 25-11 rebounding edge.
With a chance to extol the professionalism of Drummond, who has struggled this season and hasn’t started since Joel Embiid returned Nov. 12, Nurse demurred to the chaos of the moment.
“I think that most of us realize that we’re in a juggling-of-everything situation right now,” Nurse said. “We try to make that clear to those guys all the time about trying, with Kelly (Oubre), with Caleb (Martin) … that there’s a bunch of things that can happen night to night, week to week. So it’s going to be ever-changing.”
Yabusele started for the third time this season and second straight game.
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Nurse said Sunday that both Paul George (knee) and Embiid (knee) are “progressing OK.” They are scheduled to be revaluated on Monday.
George has played eight games this season, reinjuring a left knee he first hyperextended in the preseason on Wednesday in Memphis. An MRI showed no structural damage, and George worked on the court Saturday.
Embiid, who had a flareup in management of his left knee soreness, said the swelling is down, per a conversation with Nurse.
