Dominick Barlow could surpass his career minutes total before this season by the All-Star break. In his first year in Philadelphia, Barlow has seemingly encountered the biggest opportunity of his career. With Joel Embiid, Paul George and Trendon Watford all injured to start the season, Barlow is one of the few frontcourt players still standing, so Nick Nurse has no choice but to play him.
That sounds more like desperation than anything, but what if Barlow breaks out? It’s not as crazy as you might think. Barlow has played three NBA seasons, but only played in 96 games before this year – barely more than one full season. He’s also only 22 years old as he went straight from high school in Philadelphia to Overtime Elite.
It’s pretty hard to convince NBA teams that you’re draft pick caliber by playing in OTE (unless you’re the Thompson Twins), so Barlow went undrafted, played sparingly for the Spurs, played sparingly for the Hawks, and then ended up in Philly. I’m not saying he’s a hidden superstar, but he’s still largely a mystery who hasn’t been given the full chance to show what his game is all about.
Dominick Barlow is still a largely unknown player
I’m shocked that a player who went straight from high school to the Overtime Elite to the NBA needs some time to develop his game. Barlow was almost in the top 100 high school players, so the talent has been there for years. And he wasn’t even there bad in limited NBA action it was just, well, limited. He has not averaged more than 15 minutes per game in any of his NBA seasons, nor has he played more than 35 games in any of those seasons.
All of which makes Barlow quite an intriguing prospect at 22 years old. In the Sixers’ season opener, Barlow bounced back extremely well, playing solid defense all night, finishing through contact and playing like a guy still trying to earn a roster spot — or a guy making the most of his opportunity. NBA players fall through the cracks far more often than we realize. If nothing else, root for the Sixers for taking on someone who could fit that description.
Most Sixers fans probably didn’t know who Dominick Barlow was before last night. That’s not their fault: Barlow has flown under the radar his entire NBA career. But with a fairly clear skill set at the NBA level and a real chance to get more than just spot minutes, he could become a household name. And “Dominick Barlow” is a name that will sound great with a Philly accent.
And for the record, VJ Edgecombe is also going to break out. But that was clear all along.
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