The Philadelphia 76ers have re-signed former Auburn forward to a 10-day contract, marking his second such deal with the team this season, the organization announced Sunday.
Okeke initially signed a 10-day contract with the 76ers on February 7, appearing in one game and recording one rebound in 2 minutes and 11 seconds of action during a 125-112 loss to the Detroit Pistons. At that time, Philadelphia had roster spots available following trades at the NBA deadline.
This time, however, the 76ers already have a full roster of 15 players under standard contracts. Okeke’s signing was made possible through the NBA’s hardship exemption, which permits teams to add players when multiple team members have missed at least three consecutive games and are expected to be out for at least two weeks.
Philadelphia has been dealing with numerous injuries, with guard Jared McCain sidelined for 43 games, wing Eric Gordon and guard Kyle Lowry missing the past 14 games, center Joel Embiid out for the last 10, and forward Paul George absent for six games.
Okeke rejoins the 76ers from the NBA G League’s Westchester Knicks, where he returned following his previous stint with Philadelphia. In 42 games for Westchester this season, he has averaged 17.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
After playing for the Orlando Magic last season, Okeke signed with the New York Knicks as an unrestricted free agent on August 2 but was waived on October 19 before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.
During his two seasons at Auburn, Okeke posted averages of 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In his final collegiate appearance, he tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds in Auburn’s 97-80 NCAA tournament victory over North Carolina before suffering an ACL tear in his left knee on March 29, 2019.
The injury sidelined Okeke for the entire 2019-20 NBA season after he was selected 16th overall by the Magic. Early in his rookie season, he sustained a bone bruise in his left knee, causing him to miss 16 games, and later missed the final 10 games of the 2020-21 season due to a sprained ankle.
Okeke played in 70 of Orlando’s 82 games in the 2021-22 season but saw limited action the following year, appearing in only 27 games. In December 2022, he underwent a chondroplasty procedure to repair cartilage in his left knee.
Last season, Okeke averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game across 47 appearances for Orlando. Over five NBA seasons and 190 regular-season games, he has posted career averages of 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
