Joel Embiid’s return to the lineup cost the 76ers a cool $100,000.
The NBA fined the Philadelphia franchise for failing to properly disclose the status of its star center before Tuesday’s game against the Thunder.
Embiid was listed as “out” in the 76ers injury report for the game after missing the morning shootaround, and he was later upgraded to “questionable” 90 minutes before tip-off.
The seven-time All-Star made his return after a two-month absence following knee surgery, logging 29 minutes and scoring 24 points with seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in the 109-105 win.
Teams are required to list the status of a player whose participation may be affected by injury by 5 p.m. local time the day before a game, unless they are on a back-to-back. The injury report is then updated throughout the course of the day.
The flurry of status updates caught the eye of the NBA, which investigated the Sixers’ handling of the situation.
For the 76ers, it was the second time this season they were fined over an injury report violation regarding Embiid — they took a $75,000 hit on Feb. 1 for failing to include him on the injury report “in an accurate and timely manner” ahead of a game against the Nuggets.
The league took that into account in its assessment of this week’s incident.
Embiid, the reigning MVP who isn’t eligible to repeat after the length of his injury absence, was simply glad to be back after admitting this injury took its toll on him.
“Usually, when I have injuries, I just tell myself, ‘Move on to the next one. Get better and fix it,’” Embiid said. “This one, it took a toll mentally. Being depressed. It was not a good one. Still not where I’m supposed to be, especially mentally. But I just love to play. Love basketball and I want to play. Any chance that I can be out there, I’m going to take it.”
— With AP