NBA fines 76ers $100K for violating injury reporting rules in Joel Embiid's return
Joel Embiid's return to the Philadelphia 76ers' lineup came at an avoidable cost.
The NBA is fining the 76ers $100,000 for violating injury reporting rules surrounding the reining league MVP's return to the floor on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"Embiid was listed as 'Out' in Philadelphia's initial injury report and subsequently played in the game," the NBA said in a statement released Friday. "The fine takes into account the 76ers' prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules."
League rules mandate each team to disclose the status of any player that could potentially be impacted by injury no later than 5 p.m. local time the day before a game, unless it's the second game of a back-to-back. From that point, the injury report is updated periodically.
Embiid's status was changed to questionable shortly before Tuesday's game. The move led to speculation that he would make his return to the court, with additional reporting from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski confirming the big man was back. But the 76ers apparently failed to relay that information to the NBA.
In the 109-105 76ers win, Embiid recorded 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and six turnovers in 29 minutes. It was his first game in more than two months. His 29-game absence was due to a left lateral meniscus injury in his left knee that he underwent successful surgery to address on Feb. 6.
The NBA's statement cited Philadelphia's previous history of fines, and the most recent instance wasn't too long ago. On Feb. 1, the team had to pay $75,000 for another failure to adhere to league rules surrounding Embiid's availability. That time, the Sixers didn't include Embiid on the injury report accurately ahead of a game he missed against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 27. That matchup came three days before he sustained the knee injury that required surgery.
