Sixers’ Filip Petrusev Joins Serbian FIBA World Cup Prelim List

It’s been a successful summer for Philadelphia 76ers center Filip Petrusev. After hoping to play in the NBA right after getting drafted, Petrusev bounced around a bit in Europe for some time.

Soon enough, he’ll play his rookie season in the NBA, as the Sixers officially inked the Serbian-born center to a standard NBA contract last week after he spent the previous season playing for Crvena Zvezda.

During the 2021 NBA Draft, the Sixers made Jaden Springer their first of three selections. In the second round, they double-dipped on centers by taking Charles Bassey out of Western Kentucky and Petrusev, who was coming off a run with Gonzaga. 

While Petrusev hoped to land with the Sixers right away, he took his talent to Anadolu Efes in Turkey. After a 22-game run there, Petrusev played his next 34 games with Crvena Zvezda the following season. Soon enough, he’ll make his official NBA debut.

Before joining the Sixers this offseason, Petrusev reportedly landed on the Serbian FIBA World Cup preliminary roster. According to Sportal’s Christos Tsaltas, Petrusev joins a few other NBA prospects in landing on the squad, as a few other key names have recently been dropped off.