Breakout Guard Makes History for 76ers After Performance Versus Rockets
Quentin Grimes has proven to be an elite addition to the Philadelphia 76ers’ backcourt after the franchise acquired him for Caleb Martin at this season’s trade deadline. The guard has looked like a true starter in the NBA over his time in Philly and recently made it into the 76ers’ history books after his performance against the Houston Rockets last night. Grimes put up a career-high 46 points to go along with 14 rebounds on 15-of-27 shooting from the field and eight-of-14 shooting from three-point range. With this performance, Grimes now becomes the first player in franchise history with 45 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, and five or more three-pointers made in a single game. Additionally, Grimes became the first Sixer ever to score 45 or more points with eight or more made three-pointers in a single game. The new 76ers guard is proving his worth in the NBA and is certainly increasing his payday, which will come this offseason.
Since joining the 76ers, Grimes has been an absolute machine. In his 17 games as a member of the franchise, the sixth-year player is averaging 21.4 points per game. He hasn’t averaged more than 11.3 points per game in a season in his career, and his career-high scoring average came in the 2022-23 season. Beyond that, Grimes has been playing like one of the best guards in the NBA over his last several games. Over Grimes’ last five contests, he’s averaging a ridiculous 32.6 points per game on 52.3% shooting from the floor and 42.8% shooting from beyond the perimeter. He’s played under 30 minutes in a game just once in March and is taking over as the star of the 76ers as the team continues to tank. With Joel Embiid and Paul George, both ruled out for the remainder of the season, Grimes will have plenty of time to continue his elite play and earn himself a big new contract this offseason.
Grimes is still on his rookie deal, which expires this offseason. Philadelphia does have the opportunity to re-sign the guard to anything up to a max contract before the end of the season, but no deal has been put in place yet. Philadelphia will have some interesting names that will be hitting free agency this summer that it will have to decide to bring back or not, such as Guerschon Yabusele, who’s been one of the best surprises in the league this season. The Sixers brought Yabusele in this season on a minimum deal, but the big man is expected to earn a multi-year deal after the season’s conclusion. The Sixers have now lost 16 of the team’s last 19 games and sit in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 23-45 record. The Sixers are now six games back from the final spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament, and it looks like the franchise is committing to the tank after shutting George down. However, with Grimes’ play as a member of the squad, Daryl Morey and the rest of the front office will have some interesting conversations about whether they want to bring Grimes back on a bigger deal or not.
