Sixers sign former Temple great Dionte Christmas

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Hours before Monday's 5 p.m. NBA deadline to finalize rosters for opening night, the Sixers signed former Temple guard Dionte Christmas.

Christmas, now 30, hasn't played in an NBA regular-season game since 2013-14, when he appeared in the only 31 contests of his career with the Suns.

He was a standout at Temple, where he averaged 15.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 130 games, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring in three consecutive seasons.

Christmas played in the NBA Summer League six years in a row after going undrafted in 2009. He was originally signed by the Sixers in September 2009 after playing with them that summer in Orlando.

Christmas has also spent seven seasons overseas, most recently with Torku Konyaspor Basket in Turkey.

He had been planning to return overseas and play this season in Athens. On Sunday, he and his agent discussed the Sixers' interest and he decided to give the NBA another go in his hometown.

"Anytime I get a chance to come and represent for Philadelphia and get a chance to play with these guys, play in my city, I’m always going to take that shot," Christmas said after practice Monday. "This is me taking a chance at my dream and trying to stick in the league."

"[He's] Philly, can score, great guy," Brett Brown said. "We've had touches of him in the past, ticks a lot of boxes. He can come in and we can give him a look. Maybe he ends up part of our D-League program. He can score. So he's here on his own merits. He's a legitimate name."

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