BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Former Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. was picked No. 22 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.Philon officially becomes the fifth first-round pick under Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats, joining Kira Lewis Jr., Josh Primo, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. The latter two players were the last two drafted from Alabama, as the Tide didn't have a player selected in 2024 or 2025.The 20-year-old is also the seventh overall player drafted in the Oats era, with second-rounders Herb Jones and J.D. Davison being the remaining two. With this selection, Oats still has the third-most draft picks in the history of Alabama basketball, as Wimp Sanderson (16 draft picks) and C.M. Newton (nine) are ahead. That said, Oats has only been UA's coach for seven seasons, while Sanderson and Newton each held the role for 12 years.Nevertheless, Philon's journey to the draft is a bit different than the previous 48 Alabama picks. He declared for the 2025 NBA Draft after an All-SEC Freshman season, but after competing at the NBA Combine and hearing from scouts and front office members, he wasn't satisfied with his late-first to second-round projection and announced his return to Alabama about an hour before the withdrawal deadline.It ended up being the right choice for the Mobile, Alabama, native. Philon was named the SEC Player of the Week four times this past season, as he finished the regular season third in the conference in points per game (21.5 on 50.7 percent from the field) and fourth in assists per game (4.8). He went from shooting 31.5 percent from deep in Year 1 to 39.9 percent in Year 2.The All-SEC First Team member became the third player in program history with 700 points in a single season and the 57th with 1,000 career points. Philon is the first power-4 player since 2000 who averaged 21-plus points, 4-plus assists and shot over 50 percent from the field. These accolades helped him become named a Third Team All-American by all four NCAA outlets (AP, USBWA, NABC and Sporting News)."It's been everything [to play for Alabama]," Philon said after losing to Michigan in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. "Ever since I came back, I told coach Oats last year, and our whole plan was about getting 100 percent better, getting better every day. I felt like I got better every day."Just staying at Alabama and not going anywhere else, really. For me, just playing with these guys — the clique, the group as a whole — it was so special. Lost for words. We've been through a lot and we fought through adversity throughout the whole season. That right there means a lot about this team."Alabama Players Selected in NBA Draft(Player, Year, Overall Pick)Carl Shaeffer, 1949, No. 13Bryant Ivey, 1952, No. 39Paul Sullivan, 1952, No. 76Jerry Harper, 1956, No. 19Jim Fulmer, 1958, No. 33Bob Andrews, 1965, No. 86Wendell Hudson, 1973, No. 30Charles Cleveland, 1975, No. 41Charles Russell, 1975, No. 74Leon Douglas, 1976, No. 4T.R. Dunn, 1977, No. 41Ricky Brown, 1977, No. 63Anthony Murray, 1978, No. 151Reggie King, 1979, No. 18Robert Scott, 1980, No. 71Eddie Phillips, 1982, No. 21Phillip Lockett, 1982, No. 66Norm Anchrum, 1982, No. 75Ennis Whatley, 1983, No. 13Mike Davis, 1983, No. 42Terry Williams, 1984, No. 52Eric Richardson, 1984, No. 100Bobby Lee Hurt, 1985, No. 42Buck Johnson, 1986, No. 20Derrick McKey, 1987, No. 9Jim Farmer, 1987, No. 20Terry Coner, 1987, No. 44Mark Gottfried, 1987, No. 157Michael Ansley, 1989, No. 37Robert Horry, 1992, No. 11Latrell Sprewell, 1992, No. 24James Robinson, 1993, No. 21Antonio McDyess, 1995, No. 2Jason Caffey, 1995, No. 20Roy Rogers Jr., 1996, No. 22Eric Washington, 1997, No. 46Gerald Wallace, 2001, No. 25Rod Grizzard, 2002, No. 38Mo Williams, 2003, No. 47Jermareo Davidson, 2007, No. 36Richard Hendrix, 2008, No. 49Collin Sexton, 2018, No. 8Kira Lewis Jr., 2020, No. 13Joshua Primo, 2021, No. 12Herb Jones, 2021, No. 35J.D. Davison, 2022, No. 53Brandon Miller, 2023, No. 2Noah Clowney, 2023, No. 21Labaron Philon Jr., 2026, No. 22Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow