The NBA screwed the Philadelphia 76ers again. Time and again, the league has not shied away from manifesting its stated agenda against the franchise in its own way, and that trend seems to be carrying over into the current season as well. Well done, Adam Silver and company!
The NBA got its first break from ESPN’s Shams Charania fined the 76ers $100,000apparently because the team violated the league’s injury reporting rules during their recent game against the Atlanta Hawks when they initially listed Joel Embiid as “out” for that game. As everyone knows, the superstar, the big man, was ultimately suited for that matinee.
It’s true that people expected Embiid to be sidelined for that game, especially since he had missed nine straight games before that. In fact, at the most recent injury update just hours before tipoff, Embiid was still listed against the Hawks, and the 76ers surprised many when they made the decision to activate him.
Still, this punishment reflects poorly on the league, not only for once again belittling the 76ers, but also for strictly endorsing a rule that has no rhyme or reason.
The 76ers are hit hardest by the NBA’s bizarre rule
The 76ers have long been among the most punished teams in the league for excluding players due to tax management. They’ve largely done it for Embiid, perhaps the league’s most high-maintenance star, and the NBA hasn’t been very magnanimous with that attitude.
That makes it all the more frustrating that the NBA is suddenly taking the hypocritical route when it comes to the approach teams are taking to preventing injuries. Now, when these players are all ready to suit up, does the league suddenly drop the hammer?
Defenders of the league will point to the fact that this injury reporting rule was designed precisely for tactical reasons beyond being a transparency mechanism, but it doesn’t feel right when a team is penalized for last-minute changes in player status when health-related concerns are as temperamental as they can be and are often left in the hands of the experts.
What’s even more puzzling is that the 76ers weren’t even planning to fool the Hawks by suddenly drafting Embiid when he was initially listed as inactive. Embiid’s status has long been an everyday issue, but the league appears to have completely glossed over that fact and relied solely on the optics of the situation.
Do better, NBA. The 76ers are in delicate circumstances with their struggling star player, but you’re making things unfair.
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