LAS VEGAS – No different than any Gonzaga fan, Hunter Sallis was deeply invested in the recent NBA Finals series pitting the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Indiana Pacers.
On one end, he found himself pulling for a college roommate, Chet Holmgren, who signed with Sallis, a fellow five-star prospect, as part of Gonzaga’s heralded 2021 recruiting class. Sallis erupted with every Holmgren rejection or dunk, then faced the same conundrum every member of Mark Few’s staff did when former backcourt mate Andrew Nembhard and the Pacers took the ball down the floor.
“It was huge just seeing them,” Sallis said. “Chet was my roommate at Gonzaga. Andrew Nembhard, he was our starting guard. He was a really good dude as well. Just seeing them at the highest level playing on the biggest stage, it was great.”
Three years removed from sharing the court with both, Sallis is now embarking on his own journey into the NBA – a path most assumed he’d take at some point after leaving Omaha’s Millard North High School as one of the top 10 players in the 2021 recruiting class.
Although it may have been “Wake Forest” and not “Gonzaga” attached to Sallis’ his name when the 76ers announced they’d signed the undrafted guard to a two-way contract, he still maintains a strong connection to former coaches and teammates in Spokane, not to mention reverence and appreciation for the two years he spent there.
“My time at Gonzaga was great, playing for coach Few was awesome and amazing,” Sallis said after Philadelphia’s first game at NBA Summer League. “I met some of my best friends that I still talk to til this day and I still keep in contact with some of the coaches there. The driving factor definitely (in transferring) was more so just me wanting to go out there and play basketball and I feel like that was the biggest thing I wanted to do. I was blessed enough to be able to do that and have success with it.”
Sallis credits both chapters of his four-year college journey for giving him the tools necessary to make a difficult transition into the NBA.
Gonzaga is where Sallis learned the ins and outs of the game from one of the country’s most respected coaches, developing into a pesky defender capable of guarding three to four positions in most matchups.
Wake Forest is where he accelerated his progress on the offensive end, learning how to thrive as a ball-dominant guard who was the top player on opposing ACC scouting reports every night.
“I think Gonzaga really taught me the game, learning how to be a good cutter, learning how to defend at a high level, just different ways to play off the ball, how to be a good rebounder as a guard,” Sallis said. “There was a lot of intangible things I learned at Gonzaga, then being at Wake Forest I just learned how to really score the ball, had the ball in my hands a lot more, learned how to facilitate, different things like that. I think it was good.”
After two years as a reserve at Gonzaga playing behind veteran guards like Nembhard, Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith, Sallis made a decision that surprised some in the Gonzaga sphere by entering his name in the transfer portal. With Strawther and Bolton on the way out, Sallis was seemingly on track to earn a starting role in 2023-24, but the guard didn’t want to take a gamble with two years of eligibility remaining.
“Definitely it was hard for sure,” Sallis said of the decision. “You’re leaving a great program like that, coach Few, he’s established a very good culture around there and that was something I was blessed to be a part of. But ultimately I just wanted to go somewhere and play basketball. Going to a conference like the ACC, playing for coach (Steve) Forbes, that was definitely I’d do the same thing if I could do it all over again.”
Sallis found what he was looking for in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was named the ACC’s Newcomer of the Year and became the first Wake Forest player since Tim Duncan (1995-97) to earn consecutive All-ACC First Team nods in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The guard went from averaging 4.4 points in roughly 14 minutes per game at GU to 18.1 points in 35-plus minutes at Wake Forest.
Sallis expanded his offensive skillset with the Demon Deacons, but the guard still thinks his defensive acumen will be what gives him a chance to see early minutes with the Sixers.
“I think that’s the biggest thing that’ll help me get on the floor,” Sallis said. “Defending, guarding the ball. Then also just knocking down open shots. I think every team wants that, so I’ll say those two are definitely the main things and anything else will just come with time and experience.”
When the NBA Draft ended, Sallis was considered the best player still available by ESPN’s Jay Bilas, sitting one spot ahead of Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard on that same list.
An ankle injury prevented Sallis from going through many pre-draft workouts, but Philadelphia expressed interest in the guard when he went through the same process the year prior and jumped at the chance to offer a two-way contract after using its third overall pick on Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe and taking national player of the year runner-up Johni Broome, of Auburn, at No. 35.
“It was kind of like a mutual interest, ”Sallis said. “I feel like I had an interest in them and they had an interest in me, just seeing their past history with undrafted guys.”
Sallis’ instincts on the defensive end immediately stood out during a five-game sample at Summer League. He averaged 1.6 steals in 25.4 minutes while scoring 5.8 points and totaling 3.0 rebounds.
“He’s very active on defense, he’s very long, can get in the passing lanes, stuff like that,” Broome said of Sallis. “Offensively he’s very crafty, he can kind of create his own shot, create for others a little bit so I think he’s doing well for the team.”
Philadelphia’s coaching staff urged Sallis to be more aggressive looking for his shots. The guard averaged just 7.8 attempts per game in Vegas, scoring a Summer League-high nine points to go with five rebounds against former GU teammate Nolan Hickman and the Dallas Mavericks.
“Hunter’s doing everything we ask him to on defense and every game he’s getting better like that,” 76ers Summer League coach T.J. Dileo said. “I think just finding a little confidence offensively, I think he can shoot a couple more shots. He’s open. The past couple years in college we’re like ‘you would’ve shot those, right?’ He’s like, ‘heck yeah.’ So I think we’ve got to get him to that point, because that’s what he can do.”
Not unlike any other rookie, Sallis faces an uphill learning curve adapting to the NBA’s length and quickness. Summer League was a taste of what he’ll encounter on a nightly basis over the next eight to nine months.
“Especially guys go under a screen, we’re like shoot that thing Hunter,” Dileo said. “You’re a great shooter. Catch-and-shoots, I think it’s just a little of the NBA speed and athleticism, those closeouts are coming quicker. But my thing is, that’s an open shot in the NBA sometimes and I think he’s adjusting to that.”
Sallis faces stiff competition in Philadelphia’s backcourt from a handful of veterans and current/former All-Stars like Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, Quentin Grimes and Eric Gordon. The 76ers also have young talent in Jared McCain and now Edgecombe, who was limited at Summer League with an injury.
Positional versatility could help Sallis slide into either guard spot if Philadelphia needs, but the 22-year-old will likely spend a chunk of his rookie season with the 76ers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.
“Just taking it day by day, me being a rookie coming into this league, just trying to figure out ways to win,” Sallis said. “That’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to and just learning from the other guys.”