76ers penalized $100K for Joel Embiid injury reporting breach

On Friday, the NBA imposed a $100,000 fine on the Philadelphia 76ers for violating the league's injury reporting regulations following Joel Embiid's return to the court on Tuesday night.

Embiid, who had been listed as out for Tuesday's game for 24 hours, was suddenly upgraded to questionable just before 76ers coach Nick Nurse spoke around 5:45 p.m. before the home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Embiid was then declared available and placed into the starting lineup at 7 p.m.

The league cited Philadelphia's previous fines for similar violations when determining the penalty.


Two years prior, Philadelphia incurred a $50,000 fine for a similar incident involving Embiid's return to the court during Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. Similar to this week's situation, Embiid was making a comeback from a knee injury.

With Embiid back on the court after an absence of over eight weeks due to a procedure on his left knee's lateral meniscus, Philadelphia not only secured a victory against Oklahoma City on Tuesday but also triumphed on Thursday in Miami. This success positions the 76ers to potentially secure the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings and avoid the play-in games.

As of Friday night, ESPN's Basketball Power Index predicts that the three teams contending for the sixth, seventh, and eighth spots—Philadelphia, Miami, and the Indiana Pacers—are all expected to finish with 46 wins.

Philadelphia's win against Miami determined that the tiebreaker will be based on the better conference record, given that the two teams split their four games this season. However, Indiana holds the tiebreaker and can secure it over Miami with a victory against the Heat on Sunday.

In his two games back, Embiid has made a significant impact, scoring 24 points, which included a game-clinching steal and crucial free throws, against the Thunder. He followed this with a 29-point performance in 32 minutes during Thursday's win in Miami.

It is improbable that Embiid will play in both Saturday's game in Memphis and Sunday's game in San Antonio to complete Philadelphia's final road trip. The team is expected to rest him for one-half of the back-to-back as he continues his recovery. Assuming no setbacks, he should be available to play in each of the final three regular-season games next week at home against the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Brooklyn Nets.

Source ESPN : 76ers fined $100K for violating injury reporting rules with Joel Embiid