(Christopher A. Vito)

The 76ers’ Nerlens Noel put on quite a display after Thursday’s practice.

The rookie center worked out with assistant coach Greg Foster, in front of reporters for nearly a half hour. He dunked and took hook shots with both his left and right hands, took passes from assistant Billy Lange and backed down Foster, tossed in a few spin moves and practiced his free throw form.

Enough for fans to get excited over? Not so fast, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. Noel, who has yet to play this season while continuing rehab from a February 2013 knee surgery, isn’t close to a return. His next step is 5-on-0 scripting, in which he can make sharper cuts and graduate to a workout beyond “shadow-boxing,” as Brown called it.

“The message is two-fold: Yep, you’d be as excited as I am to project out what could be in Nerlens Noel. But don’t get tricked,” Brown said. “There’s a long ways to go. When it happens is anybody’s guess right now. Those are the two messages.”

Check out the videos below and pick up Friday’s Daily Times for more on Noel.