*Update
Just one day after the Sixers’ season officially began, the NBA’s investigation became official, according to Shams Charania.
Ahead of the team’s season-opening matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, head coach Nick Nurse was asked about the investigation and his thoughts on the League’s decision to investigate.
“Listen, I don’t have any thoughts on it,” Nurse said. “Nobody from our organization has said anything to me about that. So, as far as the investigation, I don’t really know.”
The first day of the season. A day of excitement, opportunity, and celebration for many fans across the league. For Sixers fans, opening day held none of this. Despite Philadelphia adding nine-time All-Star Paul George this offseason, re-signing Tyrese Maxey, extending Joel Embiid, and the addition of a litany of veterans to support the team’s new Big 3, a series of events in the weeks leading up to opening day became the prime story instead.
The chief story amongst those is the continued absence of former MVP Joel Embiid, who has been working with the team on a plan to maximize his potential come playoff time in hopes of finally securing a championship. Embiid has missed the entire preseason, the season opener, and likely the first entire week of the season. This comes after Embiid stated the unlikelihood of him ever playing in back-to-back games.
All the while, as news has trickled out from the Sixers’ side, the exact picture around this “individual treatment plan” continues to become ever more foggier.
The response from Sixers fans has understandably not been warm. The fans are the ones spending their money with the expectation of seeing the team’s stars. While Paul George’s injury is an understandable, unforeseen circumstance, the same cannot be said about the situation surrounding Joel Embiid.
While the plan itself has been described as “fluid,” as head coach Nick Nurse told Philly Sports Network, the team certainly did not go out of their way to set expectations for fans.
That is bad for business; hence, the League has decided to step in.
In what has been described by ESPN’s Shams Charania, who initially broke the news, as a “likely” possibility, the NBA will begin an investigation of the Sixers sometime next week around the absence of Embiid.
This is not the first time that the League has investigated the Sixers. They have previously fined the organization multiple times for injury-reporting violations regarding Embiid.
Philadelphia will be forced to prove the legitimacy of his absence, or they will face yet another fine from the league office.
Happy opening day, everyone.
This story is continuing to develop. Be sure to check back with Philly Sports Network for further updates.
