The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Philadelphia 76ers will be the latest National Basketball Association team to host part of their training camp here in The Bahamas.

The 76ers, featuring Bahamian descendant Eric Gordon, announced on Monday that they will hold their camp from Tuesday to Saturday, October 1-5, at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. The camp would have also included Grand Bahamian Chavano “Buddy” Hield, but he moved from the 76ers to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade in July.

Gordon and Hield, along with Deandre Ayton, now with the Portland Trail Blazers, teamed up for Team Bahamas at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Valencia, Spain, in July. However, The Bahamas got to the final, losing to Spain, who advanced to play in the Olympic Games in Paris, France, from July 17 to August 11.

Eugene Horton, president of the Bahamas Basketball Federation, said it’s a golden opportunity for The Bahamas to get the exposure and to showcase those players who are a part of the Bahamas.

“It is a privilege to see that our Bahamian pro players build upon the momentum of our national team and foster relationships in The Bahamas with their teams,” he said.

“This will provide opportunities for NBA players and other team members to visit and learn more about The Bahamas which, I am sure, will be economically beneficial.”

This is the third consecutive training camp that the 76ers, coached by Nick Nurse, are staging away from home. They went to Charleston, South Carolina in 2022 and Fort Collins, Colorado last season in head coach Nick Nurse’s first year on the job. 

“‘I really put a lot of stock in training camp,” Nurse said on July 23. “I think that we’ve normally come out of training camps fast. It’s really the crux of your practice time and I would expect this to be no different. We are going to be prepared to get every ounce of time used wisely to get our guys ready to go.”

The Sixers, centered around Joel Embird, who played on the USA team that won the gold medal at the Olympics, will be showing some new talent in their line-up, including Paul George, whom they acquired from the Los Angeles 

On their return from the Bahamas, the Sixers will begin their pre-season on October 11 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Des Moines, Iowa. Their final game will be played on October 18 in Orlando against the Magic.

Their regular season will begin on October 23 with a matchup at Wells Fargo Center Milwaukee Bucks as the Sixers attempt to win their first NBA title since 1983.

It was the third title for one of the storied franchises, who won previous titles in 1955 and 1967, but have been to the NBA finals on nine occasions and are considered to be one of the top contenders coming out of the Eastern Conference this year.

The last NBA team to host their training camp here was the Miami Heat, who did it three times in the past decade. 

Their initial trip took place in 2013 and again in 2016 at Atlantis. But on their last visit here in 2022, they staged their training camp at the Baha Mar Convention Center on Cable Beach. 

The Heat also took advantage of the close proximity from Florida to the Bahamas to hold some individual team bonding here in between their training camps.