The Philadelphia 76ers are currently 0-3 this preseason, losing both games in Abu Dhabi to the New York Knicks and, most recently, their matchup against the Orlando Magic. While this isn't necessarily cause for concern, since the Sixers have been shorthanded all preseason, this has given the Sixers some time to explore their depth options on the team.
Two-way forward Dominick Barlow has been impressive in both of his appearances. Exhibit 10 contract signee Kennedy Chandler has shown flashes in his 27.8 minutes a night so far. However, if the Sixers really want to give their depth a chance to shine, they should look to play Malcolm Hill more, whose road to the NBA has been nothing less than impressive.
Who is Malcolm Hill?
High School
Malcolm Hill attended high school in Belleville, Illinois, playing basketball at Belleville East. At Belleville East, Hill played 112 games on varsity and led his team in scoring for three years straight, accumulating 2,004 points, 450 rebounds, 236 assists and 193 steals in his high school career.
His senior year featured Hill leading his squad in points, rebounds and steals per game en route to being a four-star recruit. He ultimately committed to the University of Illinois alongside future NBA player Kendrick Nunn.
College
At Illinois, Hill played four seasons and started 112 games. For his career, he averaged 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds a night and as a senior led his team in scoring, averaging 17.2 a night while shooting 43.4% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc.
Hill then entered the 2017 NBA draft as the third-highest scorer in the University of Illinois' history, but ended up going undrafted. He would catch on to the Oklahoma City Thunder's summer league squad, but ultimately did not make the roster.
Overseas
After Summer League, Malcolm Hill decided to take his talents overseas, first joining the Star Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Following his time in the PBA, he played for two seasons in the Basketball Bundesliga, a high-level German league, for both the Telekom Baskets Bonn and Ludwisburg before jumping to PBC Astana of the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship league the next year, another professional league, scoring 20.2 points a night.
From there, Hill decided to join the Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club before finally finding his way back to the United States.
G-League and NBA
In the 2021-2022 season, years after going undrafted, Malcolm Hill was back in the states, appearing in games for both the Birmingham Squadron, the G-League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Windy City Bulls, the G-League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls.
During this season, Hill also made his NBA debut for the Atlanta Hawks on a 10-day contract, playing 2 minutes in a 101-87 loss to the New York Knicks. He finished the season with 19 games played, averaging 3.8 points on 46.2/36.1/78.6 shooting splits.
In the 2022-2023 season, Hill had very limited playing time in the NBA, appearing in only 5 games with the Chicago Bulls, where he averaged 1.0 points per game. He did spend time with both the Windy City Bulls and the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G-League, averaging 15.3 points a night that season.
Hill spent the entirety of the 2023-2024 in the NBA G-League and had by far his best professional season. Hill averaged 23.4 points per game for the Squadron, shooting 51.0% from the field, 44.2% from beyond the arc and 92.2% from the free throw line. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals a night.
What Hill could bring to the Sixers
While it isn't common for a player on an Exhibit 10 contract to be looked at as a possible contributor to a playoff-contending roster, Hill isn't a typical Exhibit 10 player. At 29 years old, with tons of experience both overseas and in the United States, Hill is, in some ways, a veteran-level player, and he showed that against the Knicks in their second preseason game.
Hill only played for 15 minutes in the loss, but made quite an impact in the fourth quarter. With the Sixers still trying to fight their way back into the game, Hill impressed by scoring 15 points in the quarter. He went 3-5 on threes and 5-8 overall, also adding in a steal.
Hill was not as impressive during the Sixers' other two preseason games, but he also did not receive the same opportunity and regardless, graded out as a net neutral in Floor Impact Counter (FIC) between those two games.
While one fourth-quarter preseason game overseas isn't a big enough sample size to justify giving a standard deal, the Sixers should absolutely give him a chance to prove himself as a possible two-way guy for this season. There's just one game left to do so on Friday, Oct. 17, against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
