The Sixers have been fined once again for an injury reporting violation with Joel Embiid.
The NBA announced Wednesday that the team has been fined $100,000 because it “failed to accurately disclose the game availability status” of Embiid before his return Sunday night vs. the Hawks.
Embiid was first listed as out and later upgraded to questionable, then ultimately played 30 minutes in the Sixers’ double-overtime loss. He’d missed the prior nine games with a right knee injury.
The Sixers have previously received Embiid reporting fines for games during the 2022 playoffs vs. the Heat, January 2024 against the Nuggets and April 2024 vs. the Thunder.
Embiid sat out the 11-9 Sixers’ blowout win Tuesday night over the Wizards with a “right knee injury recovery” designation. He posted 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block against Atlanta in his seventh game of the season.
“When you miss a month and you’ve only had about two court sessions going up and down … it feels like the first game of the season,” he said. “You build on it. I’m not even mad about it. I’m just happy I got to play the game of basketball. Next game, whether shots fall or not, I don’t really judge myself on that.
“It’s all about how I move laterally, jumping and all that stuff. Tonight was a good step toward that. I felt good in the first half. Obviously, in the second half it was a little rough, but you build on what that first half looked like and go from there.”