The journey for Norvel Pelle was not an easy one. Born out of Antigua and Barbuda, the path to the NBA was arduous and it was not a straight path. It was filled with a lot of twists and turns.
So when he got the news on Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers were converting him from a two-way deal to a guaranteed contract, one can understand the excitement.
“It was a sigh of relief,” said Pelle who’s NBA days on his two-way deal expired on January 22. “Like everything I put in actually worked and it got me here. So it’s a sigh of relief.”
Pelle has been all over the basketball map. He started when the Delaware Blue Coats were still the 87ers and it wasn’t even the G League yet, it was still the D League. He then went overseas for a few years before coming back to the Blue Coats in 2018 and he put in the work to earn himself a two-way deal for the 2019-20 season and now, he’s on a guaranteed deal.
“I started in the D League at the time, the 87ers when they first started, and just traveled across the world,” Pelle explained. “Then came back last year, did what I have to do and now I’m sitting here in the Sixers’ locker room.”
Norvel Pelle details his journey a bit to this stage of the game and having a contract with the team now #Sixers pic.twitter.com/PJHHOTLX7m
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) February 7, 2020
Sixers general manager Elton Brand, who started out as the general manager down in Delaware, has seen Pelle grow up and develop from the very beginning so he had a sense of pride when Pelle signed his first deal at the NBA level.
“It was a proud moment,” said Brand. “You always want to develop and you want to have young players in the pipeline that develop and can succeed in the NBA, especially when it’s on your squad. To see where he’s come from, it was a proud moment. It was good to see his mom and dad and his family with him to sign his first NBA contract.”
Pelle’s story is inspiring when considering what he has been through, but he kept his faith and he continued to push forward and now he has his opportunity with the Sixers.
“It was more of like every opportunity comes,” he explained. “Sometimes you might hit a roadblock, but just keep pushing though. I’ve had a lot of obstacles in my life so it was just another one. I just stayed ready, focused, and just stayed humble.”
He had five points and three rebounds in his first seven minutes on a real NBA contract in Friday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies and one can assume that it will be just the beginning for the young shot blocker. Even if things are hectic for the young man right now.
“Hectic, just real hectic, but humbling,” he sighed. “Every moment, every second I’ve been appreciating it. Last year, I appreciated it, this year it’s like a dream come true. I’m just taking it all in.” [lawrence-related id=25238,25229,25218]