Philadelphia 76ers

The NBA is likely to look into the Philadelphia 76ers' management plan for star center Joel Embiid, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Embiid missed the entire preseason and the team announced Tuesday he'll be sidelined for the first week of the regular season.

The 2022-23 MVP has battled injuries throughout his NBA career. Most recently a torn meniscus sidelined him for nearly the entire second half of last year.

Embiid, who turned 30 in March, told ESPN's Tim Bontemps he and the Sixers plan to be even more proactive to keep him as healthy as possible.

He showed up to training camp around 25 to 30 pounds lighter in order to ease the pressure on his knees. In terms of his workload, he signaled his intention to avoid playing on back-to-back nights.

"If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career," Embiid said.

President of basketball operations Daryl Morey also told Bontemps the Sixers are "going to be smart about it" in terms of load management, and that could include limiting Paul George on back-to-backs as well.

Especially since the NBA instituted new rest rules starting last year, an investigation into the Sixers' handling of Embiid was inevitable, and the inquiry itself isn't evidence Philadelphia is doing anything wrong.

There are various exceptions that allow players to sit out without their team getting penalized. The Sixers will obviously try to argue that Embiid's injury history allows him to fall under that category.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss the team's opener Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks and the remainder of their games this week.

The Sixers said Embiid "is responding well to his individualized plan and is expected to ramp up his return to play activities this week, including scrimmaging." He'll be re-evaluated over the weekend.

Paul George will be absent against Milwaukee as well because of the bone bruise he suffered in the preseason. His status for Friday's matchup with the Toronto Raptors is unclear.

Embiid didn't appear in any of the team's six preseason contests. After he was out for their first three games, the Sixers confirmed they were resting him to manage his surgically repaired left knee.

It's not as though Embiid would've benefited all that much from the preseason, but it would've been nice for him to log some minutes with George before opening night.

The 2022-23 MVP's health was a much larger concern.

A meniscus injury limited Embiid to 39 games in 2023-24. He returned ahead of the playoffs and also represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It looked as though the knee was no longer too troublesome, only for the issue to resurface with the regular season on the horizon.

Thanks to Tyrese Maxey's emergence as an All-Star guard and the signing of George, the Sixers can afford to ease some of the burden on Embiid. Philly's performance shouldn't significantly suffer on a given night, either, when the team decides to rest him.

But nobody doubts that the franchise's championship hopes rest firmly on the 7-footer's broad shoulders. Whether he can avoid the injury problems that have derailed the Sixers' past title quests is the single biggest storyline surrounding their season.

Paul George has played for several great coaches throughout his 15-year career, from Frank Vogel in Indiana to Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.

Now with the Philadelphia 76ers, the veteran had high praise for his new head coach Nick Nurse.

On his podcast, Podcast P with Paul George Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, George explained how Nurse is unique as a coach and gave a look into Sixers' practices, which apparently feature a DJ who travels with the team.

Yeah, bro it's different. It's all different," he said (12:00 mark). "His coaching philosophy, his environment that he creates. It's crazy…We have a personal DJ that travels with the team and plays like [during practice] when we shoot free throws. So I love that you have to be locked into what's going on. We'll be doing practice and then this free throw song plays and right away you understand, all right, it's time to shoot free throws. We could be doing five on five, we can be scrimmaging, going live but then this song comes on and it's straight to free throws. It's little cues to just keep you locked in and focused to what's going on. Every team has maybe similar plays but different calls, different terminology and I'm still, it is crazy. I'm year 15 but I'm still like, alright, what do I do here? Or what are we doing here? Or what's this called or what is this play? I'm reprogramming what it is with these certain plays. But man, Nick Nurse is awesome, bro. He's really created a great environment to practice and get better and he's a great leader man. He's a great leader. I've been enjoying being a part of the Sixers organization man, with him being at the helm.

It's not much of a surprise to hear George speak so highly of Nurse given the success he's had over the years. He won a championship in just his second season as an NBA coach with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and was named the NBA's Coach of the Year the following season.

He's now entering his seventh year as a head coach and second season with the 76ers and hoping to repeat some of his past success.

Adding George to a roster that already features Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey should make winning games a little easier after last year's first-round exit in the playoffs, but the Eastern Conference still has plenty of stacked teams looking to reach the NBA Finals.

George has plenty of accolades to show for at this point in his career, but a championship is not included on the list. With a new team and a new head coach, George is finally looking to cross a title off the list.

Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond clarified his viral comments regarding his rebounding approach, explaining that he was joking in a Saturday post on X.

During a Wednesday appearance on the Run Your Race podcast, Drummond was asked if he ever intentionally missed shots earlier in his career in order to grab a rebound (h/t ClutchPoints' David Yapkowitz).

"Yeah," the veteran center responded.

While Drummond has primarily operated as a reserve center in recent years, he was dominant on the boards to open his career and made two All-Star appearances as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

From his 2015-16 season through his 2019-20 campaign, he averaged 4.8 offensive rebounds and 15.0 total rebounds per game.

Drummond ranks No. 33 on the NBA's all-time rebounding leaderboard and has the second-most among active players, only trailing Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

While the 31-year-old's role has diminished, he's still proven that he can clean the glass at an exceptional rate. In 79 appearances with the Chicago Bulls last season, Drummond averaged 18.9 rebounds per 36 minutes.

He then signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the 76ers in free agency. He's expected to serve as depth behind Joel Embiid during the 2024-25 season and could receive extended playing time, as Embiid is unlikely to play in back-to-backs.

It's safe to say NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett is not a fan of Joel Embiid's strategy of not playing in back-to-backs during the upcoming season.

"Eighty-two games, man. This is what the f--king job calls for," Garnett said. "You're not practicing, you're not even playing a whole f--king, you don't play in the summer? … I don't want to hear that s--t, man. I don't want to hear none of that s--t. Motherf--ker can sit out of back-to-backs?"

The comments come after Embiid and Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said the big man likely won't play in back-to-backs, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps in a story published Monday.

"If I had to guess," Embiid said, "I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career."

Morey added, "We're going to be smart about it. Part of being smart about it is having both Paul [George] and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any."

Injuries have been a constant theme in Embiid's career, as he has never played more than 68 games since entering the league as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft. He also sat out his first two seasons with a foot injury and appeared in just 39 games last season.

With the NBA's rule requiring players to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for major awards such as MVP, it will be difficult for Embiid to add significant individual hardware to his resume moving forward if he doesn't start playing in more games.

As for Garnett, he played all 82 games in four different seasons and appeared in at least 71 in 12 of his first 13 seasons. He was known for his durability during his peak and became one of the best players of his generation as a result.

There is no questioning Embiid's status as one of the best players in the current game, but the NBA legend is among those wishing the 76ers big man was on the court more often.

The Philadelphia 76ers appear to have avoided the worst with the health of Paul George.

During the latest episode of Podcast P with Paul George Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, the 76ers forward revealed the extent of his injury and said that he will be back "sooner than later."

"It wasn't nothing major. No concern," George said. "I didn't damage a ligament. I didn't damage a tendon. It was just bone on bone bruising from a hyperextension.

"I should be back hopefully sooner than later. It won't be a long timetable."

George suffered the hyperextension during the 76ers preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks when he knocked the ball away from Hawks forward Jalen Johnson. He is set to be re-evaluated on Tuesday, prior to the 76ers first game of the regular season.

He signed a four-year, $211.5 million contract with the 76ers in the offseason and will be relied upon to help lift the franchise to new heights. Philadelphia has reached the postseason in the last seven consecutive seasons but have failed to advanced past the second round.

George, who averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 74 games in 2023-24, should help the team contend in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey exited Friday night's preseason finale against the Orlando Magic with a thumb contusion and will not return to the game, per PHLY's Derek Bodner.

PHLY's Kyle Neubeck reported he believed Maxey's exit to be "just a precaution."

Maxey had recorded one assist and missed one shot in five minutes on the court prior to exiting the game.

The 76ers open the regular season on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Maxey made four preseason appearances, averaging 14.3 points in 20.3 minutes per game, heading into the contest in Orlando.

His exit from Friday's game marks the continuation of preseason injury woes that have been plaguing the Sixers heading into the 2024-25 campaign.

The 76ers announced last Sunday that Sixers veteran Joel Embiid would not play during the preseason due to left knee injury management. Embiid was limited to 39 games last year after hurting his knee in January.

Star offseason signing Paul George then suffered a bone bruise after hyperextending his left knee during Monday's preseason win at the Atlanta Hawks.

Most recently 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain suffered a pulmonary contusion, or bruised lungs, after a hard fall during Wednesday's preseason action against the Brooklyn Nets.

These preseason injuries have left the Sixers with Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin as the only healthy starters with five days left until the season opener.

Should the Sixers stars remain sidelined, reserve players like Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond and KJ Martin will be called on to step up in their absence. The trio started on Friday against the Magic with Embiid, George and McCain out of the lineup.

Given the potentially precautionary nature of Maxey's exit, 76ers fans can hope to see him back in action on Wednesday. Maxey's return would mark a huge boost for the potentially injury-strained Sixers offense following his 25.9-point-per game campaign as the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2023-24.

The jersey worn by "Dr. J" Julius Erving in his first-ever NBA road game is expected to be sold for over a half-million dollars at auction in the coming months.

According to TMZ Sports, the jersey is being put up for sale by Grey Flannel Auctions, and it is believed the sale price will surpass that of a Virginia Squires jersey worn by Dr. J during his ABA rookie season of 1971-72, which sold for $522,000 more than 20 years ago.

The jersey, which was photo-matched and deemed to be legitimate by Sports Investors Authentication, was from an Oct. 23, 1976, game between Erving's Philadelphia 76ers and the Buffalo Braves at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Dr. J finished with 13 points and three assists in a 108-105 loss to the Braves one day after he made his NBA home debut in a 121-118 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

After starring collegiately at UMass, Erving spent his first five professional seasons in the ABA with the Squires and the New York Nets, winning two ABA championships and three ABA MVP awards.

Erving joined the 76ers after the ABA-NBA merger, and he went on to spend his entire 11-year NBA career in Philly, earning 11 All-Star selections, one NBA MVP Award and one NBA championship.

For his NBA career, Dr. J averaged 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. When taking his ABA stats into account, he is eighth on the all-time scoring list with 30,026 points.

Erving is considered one of the greatest basketball players in history as a result, and he was honored with an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

In addition to wearing the aforementioned jersey during his first NBA road game, Erving also wore it multiple other times during his NBA rookie season, which adds even more value.

The jersey has yet to officially hit the auction block, but bidding for the one-of-a-kind item is set to end on Dec. 1.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced Thursday that rookie guard Jared McCain was diagnosed with pulmonary contusions and "has not displayed symptoms consistent with a concussion" in connection to the fall he suffered in the team's 117-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Sixers are keeping him out for Friday's contest against the Orlando Magic, which is their last of the preseason.

In the fourth quarter against the Nets on Wednesday, McCain jumped to collect his own rebound and lost his footing as he was coming down. As a result, he landed on his back on the hardwood.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey reported the 20-year-old suffered bruising on his lungs and was due to undergo further evaluation for a potential concussion. He wrote that the team was "optimistic that he avoided serious injury."

The 76ers selected McCain with the 16th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. As a freshman at Duke last year, he averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 46.2 percent overall and 41.4 percent from the perimeter.

First-year players on a championship contender often struggle to make a big impact out of the gate because head coaches prefer leaning on more experienced veterans. In the case of McCain, he should provide backcourt depth behind starters Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. once he's cleared to play.

The Sixers open the regular season Oct. 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain was discharged from the hospital on Thursday after suffering an apparent injury on a scary fall during Wednesday night's preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, there's "optimism" McCain "avoided a serious injury" after he experienced pulmonary contusions. He'll reportedly be reevaluated on Thursday for a concussion.

McCain had trouble breathing after the fall and possibly had the wind knocked out of him, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said.

"He's fine," Kelly Oubre Jr. told reporters. "It was very scary. He caught himself luckily. He didn't fall flat on his back. He's gonna feel it tomorrow. That's kinda what we were telling him. He's just gotta kinda take it easy and make sure he's 100 percent for opening night."

The Sixers have had a fascinating offseason, with much of the talk centered around the massive free-agency addition of Paul George, creating a talented big three of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers also added a number of solid complementary pieces, giving Embiid arguably the best shot at a title in his career.

The 20-year-old McCain, the team's No. 16 overall draft pick in this year's draft, has proven to be a positive addition to that roster over the summer and through training camp, impressing players and coaches alike.

"Probably our best player has been Jared McCain, which is pretty good," Embiid told reporters during training camp. "... He competes. He is tough, competes, (is) a shot-maker. He has been shooting the ball extremely well; great energy. He has a pretty good chance. I don't want to put expectations out there, and I got to see more, but so far, he has been good."

Whether McCain plays a major role this season remains to be seen. The Sixers have Maxey and George starting in the backcourt, while Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon will likely be the first two guards off the bench. Reggie Jackson may also see some run with the reserves.