NBA fines the 76ers for Joel Embiid sitting against the Nuggets

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid didn’t play against the Denver Nuggets last weekend.

And the NBA isn’t too happy about.

Embiid was a bizarre late scratch, literally minutes before the game started, after not being listed on the injury report. Apparently his knee was sore and the medical staff didn’t like what they saw in warmups, keeping him out of the game.

The Nuggets crowd relentlessly mocked Embiid, as he hasn’t played in Denver since 2019. Basketball fans across the country and the world were robbed of a matchup between him and Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

On Thursday, the league handed down a substantial, but not huge, $75,000 fine to the 76ers organization.

The NBA has fined the Philadelphia 76ers $75,000 for violation of injury reporting regarding Joel Embiid’s absence Saturday vs. Denver. But no violation of player participation policy due to Embiid’s confirmed injury.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2024

The wording is interesting, because it sounds like the Sixers got in some trouble, but perhaps not the maximum. They failed to put Embiid on the injury report, but the knee injury was deemed legitimate.

Embiid sat out Philadelphia’s next contest against Portland, before returning Tuesday night against the Warriors. He left that game against Golden State in the fourth quarter after having his knee landed on awkwardly, and is expected to miss some time.

Regardless, this whole thing was handled poorly by the 76ers. They should’ve listed Embiid on the injury report against Denver, and a lot of this could’ve been avoided.

Now, he might be more hurt than he was, due to unnecessary pressure to come back too soon. $75,000 isn’t going to put too much of a dent into Philly’s bottom line, but it’s a statement from the NBA they’re not pleased how this whole situation played out.