CAMDEN, NJ – Ricky Council IV will be eligible for the NBA playoffs in his junior year.
The Sixers announced Saturday that they had signed Council, who had a two-way deal, to a standard contract.
The Council’s new agreement is for four years and $7.4 million, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.
Undrafted after his junior season at Arkansas, Council began this season with the Delaware Blue Coats. The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists overall in the G League while showing significant improvement with his jump shot.
After improving 28.4 percent from three-point range over his final two college seasons, Council made 38 percent of his threes in the G League and attempted 6.0 per game.
“I just believe in myself and stay focused,” Council said Jan. 2 after making his debut with the Sixers. “A few months ago, no one thought I could even touch the rim. Now I’m back to my old self. I just want to stay consistent with it and the sky is the limit.
Council exuded both confidence and maturity in the NBA. He expects him to be great while recognizing that the Sixers don’t want him to do everything. The 22-year-old generally provided solid, physical defense, committed fouls at a high rate and avoided rash decisions. The Council committed just four turnovers in 281 total minutes.
In his first extended chance in the NBA outside of trash time, Council was fantastic. He had a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Sixers’ Feb. 10 road win over the Wizards and played with exceptional toughness.
“I feel like a dog,” Council said that evening. “A lot of people say it, but few people talk about it. When I’m there… I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. I see nothing but the goal and my teammates. It doesn’t matter — LeBron (James), the best players in the world. Lots of respect for them, but I just try to help my team win when I’m out there.
Other Council highlights this season include game-clinching free throws against the Cavs and plenty of late-game excellence in the Sixers’ double-overtime win Sunday against the Spurs.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was full of praise for the Council after the team’s practice on Saturday. And without any prompting, he raised the possibility of the Council being summoned for significant playoff minutes.
“First of all, I think it’s a heck of an accomplishment for him,” Nurse said. “I would have said yes, we were excited on draft night when we got him to agree to come play for us. I thought his summer league was so-so. But since then, man, he’s really done a great job. He absolutely earned this spot with everything he did. I keep saying this: He’s competitive. Every day he works hard here. …Walkthroughs or whatever, he does them hard.
“His shot has improved. He has a unique type of athleticism that allows him to drive and foul. He is a bit versatile in defense. He can guard the perimeter. He can guard, once again thanks to his athleticism.
“I would say there were at least three times last night (against the Magic) where I almost pulled the trigger to put him in the rotation. So it’s on the edge, depending on what we see, who’s there, what the problem is and all that kind of stuff. We feel like, just like in the San Antonio game, he’s a little bit of an X-factor guy. He can go out there and sometimes just change the energy and change the pace or make some plays. So I’m really happy for him.