The Philadelphia 76ers organization has been fined $100,000 “due to violating injury reporting rules” with the status of Joel Embiid in his return against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Embiid was initially ruled out for the game but instead made his heavily anticipated return to the court since suffering a meniscus injury over two months ago.
The Sixers are repeat offenders in this case
This is the second time this season that the Sixers have received a fine like this, and that was noted in the statement from NBA Communications posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The statement says, “The fine takes into account the 76ers’ prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules.” The first time the Sixers were fined was back in February after Joel Embiid was unable to suit up due to an injury against the Denver Nuggets in Denver. The Sixers were fined only $75,000 at that time.
While the fact that the Sixers have had to pay this fine twice this year alone isn’t ideal, I think the 76ers are more than willing to pay it, given just how important Joel Embiid’s return to the lineup was. Against the Thunder, Embiid scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out seven assists, and totaled three steals, including the strip that sealed the game for Philadelphia in the 109-105 victory. Since his return, the Sixers are 2-0 after defeating the Miami Heat last night, with Joel Embiid averaging 26.5 points per game.
