Michigan State Basketball: Aaron Henry’s outlook promising with 76ers

To the surprise of many, former Michigan State basketball star Aaron Henry didn’t hear his name called during the two-round 2021 NBA Draft. He will surely use this disappointment as motivational fuel to prove his doubters wrong.

The Philadelphia 76ers quickly picked him up moments after he became an undrafted free agent. They signed him to a two-way contract where he will more than likely split time between the Sixers and their G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats throughout the course of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Henry carried the Spartans to an NCAA tournament berth as a junior standout. The 6-foot-6 Indianapolis native averaged 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game and several mock drafts projected him to be selected in the late first-round or early second.

The fact that his three-point percentage dipped below 30 percent may have scared teams away. Some of that can be attributed to him being gassed for logging heavy minutes for an MSU team that lacked firepower after losing Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman the year before. If Henry can improve his accuracy rate from deep, he has a chance to be an excellent contributor for years to come in the NBA because he is so versatile as a small forward who can do so many things well.

He’s a terrific defender thanks to his explosiveness, instincts, and strength. He thrives in transition thanks to his fantastic athleticism and leaping ability. His floater is one of his best offensive weapons and he is solid in the mid-range game. He is a hard worker and a wonderfully capable complementary playmaker (as evidenced by his nearly four assists per game rate in college).

Henry has a real chance to stick in Philadelphia thanks to their lack of an elite bench and the fact that the 76ers weren’t aggressive in pursuing free agent forwards. They also did not draft or sign much competition for Henry (only two players on the Sixers’ Summer League roster are listed as forwards and they did not draft more).

The 76ers have a “big three” that is formidable in big man Joel Embiid, point forward Ben Simmons (who desperately needs to regain his confidence and develop a jumper), and the ultra steady Tobias Harris. Doc Rivers surrounds this trio with sharpshooters such as Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Kormaz, and Shake Milton. Outside of these eight, no other player averaged more than 4.3 points per game for the 76ers last year. In other words, roster spots are up for grabs.

NBA teams can have active rosters as large as 15 which leaves the door wide open for Henry to claim at least one of the four remaining slots — three more will be taken by newly signed center Andre Drummond, first-round pick Jaden Springer (who plays off guard), and defensive stopper Matisse Thybulle.

Summer League will be Henry’s first audition and his chances of getting a good look from Philadelphia are encouraging with a lot of unproven players ahead of him taking up space on the end of the Sixers’ bench. He has a golden opportunity to stick with this franchise if he impresses the Philadelphia brass in August and throughout fall camp.