Guerschon Yabusele still productive — and available — down the stretch of resurgent NBA return with Sixers

Guerschon Yabusele drove past Rudy Gobert during Saturday’s second quarter, then finished the layup through contact. And when the 76ers’ big man landed on the floor following the whistle, Jared Butler stood over his teammate and mimicked Yabusele’s chest-pounding celebration.

The makeshift Sixers now receiving minutes as this disappointing season winds down are primarily young players, and/or players who recently joined the team, and/or players who are fighting for their spots in the NBA. Then there is Yabusele, who, in a 114-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Wells Fargo Center, played in his 70th out of 78 possible games to remain on pace to finish the season leading his team in that category. And his 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals were representative of the versatile big man’s resurgent return to the NBA — and a bright spot during a mostly disastrous, injury-plagued Sixers season.

Yabusele has been available. And productive. And a respected teammate.

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“He’s got the right kind of attitude to kind of lead and help the guys that are playing now,” coach Nick Nurse said of Yabusele after the game. “I think he makes some tough plays. He seems to find himself in the right places for some transition or drives. …

“So, just kind of that spirit, that fight that he played with tonight, [is what we want from him to] finish up the last four [games].”

On Saturday, Yabusele took advantage when the lane opened up, barreling downhill for dunks. He flashed his playmaking by delivering a bounce pass around his body to Marcus Bagley for a dunk and, later, snagging a steal and kicking the ball ahead to Butler for a fastbreak finger-roll layup. Though he missed all four three-point attempts, Nurse highlighted how important Yabusele’s threat to stretch the floor as a pick-and-pop big man is to the Sixers offense.

And Yabusele stayed on the floor even after getting hit again in the right knee while going for a rebound, and while feeling fatigued because he had not played 35-plus minutes in consecutive games since early March. He missed two games earlier this week with a knee sprain.

“You can’t ask for more [than] what he’s doing,” said teammate Quentin Grimes, who is being tasked with initiating more of the offense.

Added fellow newcomer Lonnie Walker IV: “Definitely happy to just have somebody who has just terrific energy, day in and day out.”

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It is fitting that a late-season example of Yabusele’s value to the Sixers came against Gobert, his “French fellow” from that national team. Yabusele’s performance during last summer’s Olympics reignited his NBA dream, after originally getting drafted by the Boston Celtics, in 2016, and then slipping out of the league and spending about five years playing overseas. By Saturday, a signed Gobert jersey sat on the chair at Yabusele’s locker, then eventually moved to his son’s arms while dad conducted his news conference.

That piece of memorabilia symbolized the journey for a player who Nurse concedes did not have a solidified rotation role entering training camp.

Yet during a Sixers season defined by injuries, Yabusele did not miss a game until mid-January — and has only been sidelined eight times. He exited Saturday averaging 11 points on 50.1% shooting, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 70 appearances with 43 starts. Saturday night, his was the final name called during pregame introductions and was visibly vocal while aiming to organize teammates on the floor — even if the grinning 29-year-old said he thinks he is “still pretty young.”

“Try to encourage everybody to play their game, to feel comfortable, to just compete,” Yabusele said. ”At the end of the day, even though this season isn’t going our way, we still have players that [have] a lot to prove and a lot to gain from this experience.

“I’m just trying to push them out there and make sure everybody understands what we’re trying to do and try to compete in a game like tonight.”

Those traits are why contenders had interest in Yabusele at the February trade deadline, before the Sixers opted to keep him on the roster. Suitors are sure to resurface once Yabusele, who is on a veteran minimum contract this year, hits free agency this summer. He has consistently praised his experience with the Sixers and in this city, sporting a Phillies cap after the game.

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Before that looming decision about his future, however, Yabusele gets the opportunity to play in four more games with these makeshift Sixers. And when asked what he would consider a satisfying ending to such a resurgent personal season, Yabusele echoed his coach.

“Competing, in general,” Yabusele said. “When I go out there, I’m really not worried about the stats or what’s going on. I’m just worried about giving everything that I can on the court, make sure everybody’s happy.

“And when we get a loss like tonight, at least we played hard. At least we tried and we gave ourselves a chance.”