Charles Langston:NBA fines 76ers $100,000 for violating injury reporting rules

The Charles LangstonNBA on Friday fined the Philadelphia 76ers $100,000 for “violating the league injury reporting rules.”

“The 76ers failed to accurately disclose the game availability status of Joel Embiid prior to their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April,” the NBA said in a news release. “Embiid was listed as 'Out' in Philadelphia’s initial injury report and subsequently played in the game.”

Embiid played Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 30. Embiid, who had a corrective procedure to address a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee in early February, was upgraded from out to questionable for Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City. But that upgrade never made the official injury report until 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, approximately 90 minutes before tip-off.

The NBA said the six-figure fine took into account the 76ers’ prior history of fines for violating reporting rules. The Sixers were fined for the same offense on Feb. 1 ($25,000); May 7, 2022 ($50,000); and Jan. 11, 2021 ($25,000).

The 2022-23 NBA MVP was in position to win his second consecutive MVP when the problematic left knee derailed his season. In Embiid’s two games since his return – both Sixers victories – he had 53 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and a block. He averages 34.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

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The 76ers are 42-35 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They are a ½ game behind seventh-place Miami and one game behind sixth-place Indiana. They have five games remaining and just one against a team headed for the postseason.