Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS \u2014 Last summer, Dominick Barlow joined the 76ers on a two-way contract in the middle of the NBA Summer League, and jumped right into game action. <\/p>\n
Barlow was back in a nondescript, off-the-Strip gym Friday afternoon to work out while the 2026 summer Sixers practiced. A \u201cfun year\u201d unfolded between these two trips to the desert, when Barlow became a part-time starter, earned a standard contract, and had his $3.4 million team option for the 2026-27 season picked up before free agency began.<\/a><\/p>\n Now, Barlow is an example \u2014 and available resource \u2014 for the players hoping to impress the Sixers (and other teams) in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Labaron Philon Jr. shines in Sixers\u2019 first summer league game: \u2018He\u2019s a gamer\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cJust to show the organization [that] we don\u2019t just care about ourselves,\u201d Barlow said of why he came to Las Vegas this year. \u201cWe care about everyone, whether it\u2019s Summer League, G League, and our team. We care about every step it\u2019s going to take. <\/p>\n \u201cYou never know, one of these guys can be playing and helping us win, so you want to establish a relationship.\u201d <\/p>\n Once Barlow joined the summer Sixers last year, coach T.J. DiLeo immediately praised the forward for crashing the glass \u201call the time,\u201d running the floor, switching defensively, and providing instant leadership as a player with NBA experience. Barlow then enjoyed the best season of his four-year career, averaging 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists and thriving as a cutter and high-energy player in 71 games with 59 starts. <\/p>\n The 23-year-old\u2019s role could change in 2026-27. Though forwards Paul George<\/a> and Kelly Oubre Jr. have departed the Sixers, Jaylen Brown<\/a> and Dean Wade have arrived as projected starters. LeBron James\u2019 decision still looms, with the Sixers reportedly in the mix.<\/a> Barlow said Friday that he had not yet spoken to Brown, but is \u201csuper excited\u201d to add the All-NBA second-teamer to the established group headlined by electric guards Tyrese Maxey<\/a> and VJ Edgecombe<\/a> and former MVP Joel Embiid<\/a>. The blockbuster trade could vault the Sixers into contender status. <\/p>\n \u201cThings happen fast,\u201d Barlow said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s something that we expected to happen, but here we are. It\u2019s exciting. Obviously he\u2019s an elite player. MVP candidate this year. His team [the Boston Celtics] was really good without [injured Jayson] Tatum, so I thought [Brown] did an excellent job leading that group.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Bron-O-Meter: What are the current chances of LeBron James joining the Sixers?<\/a><\/p>\n Balow said he has worked extensively this offseason on his shooting, a clear weakness in an otherwise well-rounded game. He has added weight and strength to his 6-foot-9 frame. He said he now has full range of motion back in the elbow he injured last season.<\/a><\/p>\n Barlow has brought that offseason routine to Las Vegas, and sat courtside for the Sixers\u2019 win over the Detroit Pistons Thursday afternoon at Cox Pavillon<\/a>. Barlow was impressed with rookie Labaron Philon Jr., noting the crafty guard plays with a \u201cswag about him that you really can\u2019t teach.\u201d Barlow also has chatted with new two-way signee Caleb Love<\/a>, offering a message of, \u201cDo what you\u2019re supposed to do, and you\u2019ll get a chance to play.\u201d <\/p>\n Barlow\u2019s advice holds weight. He is an example of how to turn a Sixers Summer League opportunity into a career season, and is now back in Las Vegas as a resource to the 2026 squad. <\/p>\n \u201cBe around,\u201d Barlow said. \u201cJust establish a culture.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min LAS VEGAS \u2014 Last summer, Dominick Barlow joined the 76ers on a two-way…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,373366,590,85],"class_list":["post-793327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dominick-barlow-sixers-summer-league-success-story","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}