PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced Sunday that the team has exercised the fourth-year contract options on center Joel Embiid and guard Nik Stauskas, as well as the third-year contract option on forward Jahlil Okafor.
The Sixers selected Embiid with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. After missing the first two seasons while he fully recovered from an injury, Embiid appeared in all seven of the Sixers preseason games this season. He posted averages of 11 points, six rebounds and one block in only 15 minutes per game. He enters the 2016-17 season as a leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year.
Stuaskas, selected eighth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2014 NBA Draft, was acquired by the Sixers as part of a trade on July 10, 2015. In his first season with the Sixers, he appeared in 73 games (35 starts) and averaged nine points, three rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes per contest.
Okafor was selected by the Sixers with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, after averaging 18 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block on 51% shooting from the field in 30 minutes per game. Additionally, Okafor was selected to participate in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
