The 76ers’ big-man curse struck early. Philadelphia hosted the reigning champion New York Knicks in a preseason exhibition on Monday night, but the game took a turn for the worse in the opening frame. Newly acquired center Ariel Hukporti went down with an apparent lower-leg injury, leaving his current and former teammates devastated by the sight.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Starting at the five in place of resting superstar Joel Embiid, the 24-year-old big man pulled up awkwardly on a non-contact defensive play. He was immediately clutching at his right foot and lower calf area before going down to the floor.
Clips shared on social media showed Hukporti attempting to shadow his defender on the perimeter before suddenly hobbling and collapsing in pain – a non-contact injury. Remarkably, opposing Knicks players rushed to him before the Sixers players could check on the young center. Karl-Anthony Towns and a Knicks staffer helped him off the hardwood.
Hukporti was completely unable to place weight on his right leg as he was ushered down the tunnel toward the locker room for further evaluation. The game was paused at halftime with the Sixers up 72-58 over the Knicks. Hukporti only played five minutes and tallied a single assist.
The broadcast crew immediately captured the gravity of the non-contact incident as replays rolled. “Back in Philly, Hukporti had to be helped off the floor… couldn’t put any weight on the leg, came off hobbling. Watching here defensively,” the play-by-play announcer detailed.
Analyzing the sequence, the color commentator observed, “That’s on his screen. He just inadvertently slips.”
The lead announcer then highlighted the sportsmanship shown on the court with Knicks players helping their former teammate, “Grabbed that right foot, which looked like the right ankle… Knicks players came out. Hukporti is going to get a rank for his role off the bench with the Knicks last year.”
The non-contact tumble leaves the Sixers’ frontcourt rotation in an incredibly precarious position heading into the rest of the exhibition schedule and the regular-season game at MSG, particularly given the franchise’s ongoing management of Embiid’s workload.
Hukporti’s sudden injury strikes at Philadelphia’s thinnest position group on the roster. The 76ers signed the former Knicks prospect to a one-year, $3.4 million contract in free agency after the Knicks declined to issue him a qualifying offer. He came off the championship season as Karl-Anthony Towns’s backup and Mitchell Robinson’s backup.
With Mitchell Robinson departing Manhattan for the Boston Celtics and New York resetting its bench, Hukporti landed in Philadelphia with a prime opportunity to capture the primary backup center role behind Embiid under head coach Nick Nurse.
That path widened further during the first week of training camp due to a wave of frontcourt setbacks. Third-year big man Adem Bona, who was expected to compete directly for rotational minutes, was sidelined at the start of camp with a foot injury. Meanwhile, veteran 7’6 center Tacko Fall, who signed to a non-guaranteed training camp contract, suffered a setback of his own that is set to keep him out for multiple weeks.
With Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and LeBron James all sitting out Monday’s exhibition for rest and load management, Nurse deployed a starting unit featuring Hukporti alongside VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Dean Wade.
Hukporti’s exit leaves 2024 second-round pick Bona as the default option once he returns to full contact, though his missed preseason reps could complicate his early-season integration.
For a franchise already managing the health of its frontcourt centerpiece, Joel Embiid, losing its primary backup in the opening quarter of a preseason game creates an unexpected and immediate roster challenge for the front office.