Tacko Fall returns to NBA as Philadelphia 76ers sign 7-Foot-6 center to exhibit 10 Camp deal

The Philadelphia 76ers have given one of basketball’s most recognizable big men another shot at the NBA. The team announced Tuesday that it has signed 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall, along with Jameer Nelson Jr and Saint Thomas, ahead of training camp. Notably, all three are on Exhibit 10 contracts and will report to camp in Camden, New Jersey, later this month.

Exhibit 10 deals are non-guaranteed camp contracts. They let a team evaluate a player cheaply and can later convert into a two-way deal or send the player to the G League affiliate with a bonus attached.

Four years away, then a Sixers invite

Tacko Fall last appeared in an NBA game during the 2021-22 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played 11 games. Before that, he spent two seasons with the Boston Celtics after going undrafted in 2019. Across those three years, he appeared in 37 regular-season games, mostly in short bursts.

The Senegal-born center first became a fan favorite because of his size. At 7-foot-6, he is still one of the tallest players ever to suit up in the league. That height made him a spectacle in Boston. It never quite turned into a stable NBA role.

Since Cleveland waived him in 2022, Fall has bounced between China and New Zealand. He also played for the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s NBL. Overseas, he was used as a finisher and rim protector rather than a novelty act.

If he sticks in Philadelphia, even for a two-way or a handful of minutes, the look will be familiar: a giant in the paint on a roster already built around stars.

Who else signed, and why it matters

Nelson Jr is the son of Jameer Nelson, the Sixers’ executive vice president of basketball operations. The younger Nelson averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 25 G League games with the Stockton Kings last season. This is his third straight year signing an Exhibit 10 deal after earlier camps with San Antonio and Sacramento.

Thomas is already inside the organization. He spent last season with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate, and averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He is a known quantity for the coaching staff.

None of the three is guaranteed an opening-night roster spot. The Sixers have used Exhibit 10 deals in recent years to stock the Blue Coats, but they also have an open two-way slot. A strong camp could change a player’s path.

A long-shot big on a title-chasing roster

Tacko Fall is walking into a very different Philadelphia team than the one that missed the playoffs in recent years. The 76ers added Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics and signed LeBron James in free agency to join Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. That group is built to win now.

That also means minutes will be scarce. Embiid still occupies the center spot. Fall’s best chance is as a short-burst rim protector, a practice-body who can occupy space, or a two-way player who shuttles between Camden and the Wells Fargo Center.

For Sixers fans, the signing is part depth move, part curiosity. For Fall, it is a door that had been closed since 2022. Training camp is where he has to prove the door should stay open.