Joel Embiid will miss the 76ers’ game on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks with right shin soreness, the team announced Wednesday evening.
Embiid, the 2022-23 NBA MVP, reported the soreness while participating in a right knee injury management program during the All-Star break, the team said. Following a consultation with doctors, the team added, Embiid has received daily treatment while progressing through on-court work and strength and conditioning. He will be reevaluated before the Sixers play back-to-back road games Saturday at the New Orleans Pelicans and Sunday at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Before this shin issue, Embiid had missed the Sixers’ last two games leading up to the break to manage that right knee.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Embiid participated in “a little bit” of the Sixers’ Wednesday practice and was scheduled to meet with team doctors later that afternoon.
“He looked pretty good,” Nurse said of Embiid.
Before those unscheduled absences last week, Embiid was in the middle of a dominant stretch. He averaged 33.1 points on 52.9% shooting, along with 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, in his last 10 games, putting him in the conversation to be named an All-Star reserve. Overall this season, he’s averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 31 games.
Embiid’s left knee, not his right, is the one that has undergone multiple surgeries in recent years.
Jabari Walker and the 76ers have agreed to a two-year standard contract, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer Monday night.
The standard deal comes after Walker, a 6-foot-7 forward, exhausted his 50 active NBA games allowed while on a two-way contract. As a result, Walker was unable to play in the Sixers’ last four games before the All-Star break.
Before then, Walker had been in the Sixers’ rotation for the bulk of the season. He is averaging 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes across 45 games and has been praised for his high-energy playing style.
Walker’s contract conversion comes on the heels of the Sixers agreeing to a rest-of-season deal with veteran guard Cameron Payne, who spent part of the 2023-24 season in Philly and had been playing in Serbia. The moves help shore up the Sixers’ roster following the trade deadline, when they dealt away 2024 first-round draft pick Jared McCain and veteran guard Eric Gordon. The prorated deals will also keep the Sixers under the luxury tax threshold.
The Sixers also converted starting forward Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard deal on Feb. 5. Dalen Terry and MarJon Beauchamp currently hold the Sixers’ other two-way slots.
Once Walker’s contract is converted, the Sixers intend to sign forward Tyrese Martin to the vacated two-way roster slot.
Martin, a 26-year-old Allentown native, last played for the Brooklyn Nets before being released to free up a roster spot at the trade deadline. The 6-6 Martin has averaged 7.2 points, three rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 113 career NBA games across three seasons.
Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes will miss their second consecutive game when the 76ers host the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Embiid reported right knee soreness following Saturday’s 109-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. The center will be reevaluated following the seven-day NBA All-Star break, which begins Thursday.
Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (left) will miss his second consecutive game with an illness.
Embiid’s knee “is bothering him enough that he’s not playing,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think it is improving a little bit. But it’s not quite there to get out there tonight.”
The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one block against the Suns. The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star is averaging 29.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in his last 17 appearances.
The Sixers (30-23) have lost five of the last six games that Embiid has not played. Their lone victory during that stretch was a 113-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at the Chase Center. Overall, the Sixers are 11-11 without Embiid and 19-12 when he plays.
“Anybody that’s a little bit sore and signed up has a chance here to get some treatment for a week, and off their feet for a week,” Nurse said. “He would certainly be included in that for sure.”
Nurse added that there’s not a lot of concern that Embiid’s right knee soreness has reemerged. Embiid missed several games earlier this season because of it. He was also sidelined with left knee soreness.
“This is probably what we’ve expected to have happened, that there would be some soreness at times,” Nurse said.
Grimes is averaging 12.7 points and 3.6 assists in 48 games this season.
Dominick Barlow had to be helped to the locker room after awkwardly falling when his shot was blocked by Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley, 1 minute, 11 seconds into the second half.
The 76ers’ forward was diagnosed with a back contusion and did not return.
He had two points on 1-for-3 shooting and two rebounds in 8:04 of playing time before suffering the injury. The team would suffer a major loss if he were forced to miss considerable time. He has been the Sixers’ glue guy in the starting lineup while grabbing rebounds and playing solid defense.
NEW YORK — WNBA players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league.
The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the deadline a couple of times with the latest one set to expire Jan. 9. The move gives union negotiators another tool to use in talks.
“The players’ decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams,” the union said in a statement. “Time and again, the players’ thoughtful and reasonable approach has been met by the WNBA and its teams with a resistance to change and a recommitment to the draconian provisions that have unfairly restricted players for nearly three decades.”
The union said there was overwhelming support in the vote to allow the executive council to call for a strike when it sees fit. With 93% of players voting, 98% voted yes to authorize a strike if needed.
“The players’ vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one. Rather, it is an emphatic affirmation of the players’ confidence in their leadership,” the statement said.
A strike could delay the WNBA expansion draft and the beginning of free agency, which usually starts in late January. The season itself isn’t expected to begin until late April or early May. The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will begin play in 2026, with teams in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030) to follow.
Players and owners have been meeting regularly to negotiate. Increased salaries and revenue sharing are two big areas that the sides aren’t close on.
The league offered a max salary that would have guaranteed a $1 million base, with projected revenue sharing pushing total earnings for max players to more than $1.2 million in 2026, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Nov. 30 because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
“The league remains steadfast in its commitment to reaching an agreement as soon as possible and delivering a 30th season for the players, fans, teams, and partners,” the WNBA said in its own statement later Thursday afternoon. “We have negotiated in good faith and with urgency, and remain focused on finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement that not only meaningfully enhances player pay, benefits, and experience, but also does so in a way that ensures the long-term growth of the game and the league’s capacity to serve the next generation of WNBA players.”
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is on the executive board of the WNBA players’ union.
Napheesa Collier, who is on the executive council, said in a Zoom earlier this week that players are also fighting for childcare and retirement benefits. She acknowledged that revenue sharing remains the main issue, which is why other topics haven’t been talked about as much.
“I don’t think there’s fatigue,” Collier said. “Obviously, there’s frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we’re willing to do what it takes. We’re going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve.”
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark said at USA Basketball camp last week that this was the “biggest moment in the history” of the league.
“It’s not something that can be messed up,” Clark said.
“We’re going to fight for everything we deserve, but at the same time we need to play basketball. That’s what our fans crave. You want the product on the floor. In the end of the day that’s how you’re marketable, that’s what the fans want to show up for.”
WASHINGTON — We’re one step closer in learning which teams will head to Philly ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup.
A packed house inside the Kennedy Center featuring world leaders, celebrities, and the delegations of over 40 nations watched as their countries were pulled from pots and slotted into 12 groups in FIFA’s expanded 48 team tournament.
Lincoln Financial Field is scheduled to host six matches, five in the group stage of the tournament and a Round of 16 game on July 4. Those early-round matches will be in Groups C, E, I, and L.
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
The four nations in Group C were Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland.
Brazil, which earned its qualification following a win over Paraguay on June 10, kept its streak of qualifying for every World Cup intact. We certainly learned that Morocco, which qualified in September, brings the party, evidenced by the fanfare brought to Philly by fans of the country’s Wydad AC in this summer’s Club World Cup.
“We’re incredibly excited about the potential for what the match schedule is going to be,” said Meg Kane, host city executive for FIFA Philly 2026, which is coordinating the events in Philadelphia next summer. “I think as we look at the four groups that have the potential of coming through Philadelphia, there are some big name teams, [like] Brazil and Morocco. We got to experience their fans last summer during Club World Cup. We would welcome them back, and I think [fans would] really lean into the excitement of that.”
Moroccan fans of Wydad AC brought one of the most festive displays of celebration at the FIFA Club World Cup matches at Lincoln Financial Field earlier this year.
Possibly hosting Haiti and Senegal is exciting for Kane, too. It will be Haiti’s second World Cup appearance, and first since 1974. The Caribbean nation remains on the U.S.’s travel ban list under the Trump administration, however.
Haiti manager Sébastien Migné said he hopes President Donald Trump, who on Friday was awarded FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, will show diplomacy.
“[Trump] is a peace prize winner,” Migné said after the event. “Maybe he will continue, and it will open the possibility for our fans to come here.”
Kane is eager for Haitians living in the Philadelphia area to have the opportunity to see their country at the Linc.
“When it comes to Haiti, Ghana, and Senegal, I think that’s going to be potentially incredible when you consider the West African and Caribbean diaspora in West Philadelphia and across the region,” Kane said. “But looking at all the prospects, I think this has the potential to deliver [five incredible] group-stage matches. It’s really exciting.”
Philly’s group C match is on Friday, June 19, coincidentally on the day the U.S. men’s national team has a match in Group D in Seattle.
There will be two Group E matches at the Linc. That group features Germany, Curaçao, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. A match in Group E will kick off the series of World Cup games hosted in Philly on Sunday, June 14, with the second Group E tilt is Thursday, June 25 — another matchday on which the U.S. will have a Group D game in Los Angeles.
Curaçao, which is making its first World Cup appearance and is the field’s smallest nation by population, will be the first match for Germany, another popular team.
“I think we’re also excited to potentially see Germany appear in Group E,” Kane said. “That would be an incredible opportunity. France, in Group I, is huge, as well as England [in Group L]. I mean, really, when you think of major teams and the matches that we could have, the potential is there to really draw some of the top two teams.”
Along with France, Senegal, Norway, and the winner of a March playoff between Iraq, Bolivia, and Suriname could be in the mix for Philly’s Group I match, scheduled for Monday, June 22.
Finally, along with England in Group L, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama are together. The Linc’s Group L match, the penultimate in the series of games in Philly, will kick off on Saturday, June 27. England will open its World Cup campaign against Croatia in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal.
Brian Swanson, FIFA’s director of media relations, told the Inquirer that a decision to extend the draw an extra day to announce the venues was to “allow for greater discussion to take place on the exact locations.”
It already was known that no host nation will play group matches in Philly as Mexico (Group A1), Canada (B1), and the United States (D1) were predetermined.
Now, it’s a 24-hour wait before all 16 host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico find out the nations they’ll host. Kane said that’s when the work begins of outreach to the various federations and understanding accommodation needs while preparing to introduce “Philly to the world” in a little under seven months.
“Once we see where those matches fall and what comes out, it’s the outreach that we’ll need to start planning in early 2026, related to which nations are coming,” Kane said. “It would have been an amazing opportunity to be in D.C. and start to be able to do that, but given that we’re not going to know until tomorrow, a lot of that outreach will be planned for in January and February.
“Looking at this list [of potential nations], there’s not a team on here where I don’t go, ‘Wow.’ There’s a passionate fan base with ties to our area on every team, which I find fantastic and is going to really meet the moment incredibly well for Philadelphia.”
Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal, actor Kevin Hart, and former NFL player Tom Brady were among the big names at Friday’s draw.
Draw tidbits
Kevin Hart, who ended the event on stage with Heidi Klum, Tom Brady, and other celebrities gave a shoutout to Philly: “I know my guys back in Philadelphia are happy who could be coming to Philly next summer.” … Carli Lloyd, who was among the crowd at the draw noted how the men’s game coming to North America bodes well for the growth of sport — on the men’s and women’s side. The Delran native was the hero of the U.S. women’s national team’s women’s World Cup win in 2015 after her hat trick in the final cemented her legacy on the world stage. “I think it’s going to be great for both the men’s and women’s sides and we need to leverage that and harness it … to inspire girls and boys in our country,” she said. … The prize won by Trump is given to individuals who, through their unwavering commitment and their special actions, have helped to unite people all over the world, soccer’s governing body noted. Trump called the award “one of the great honors of his life,” and touted that peace accords he’s helped broker in the Middle East, Africa, and between Israel and Hamas have “saved millions and millions of lives.”
Trendon Watford exited Tuesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic after suffering a left adductor strain with 4 minutes, 7 seconds before the intermission. He will not return to the game, the 76ers said.
The Sixers’ reserve power forward grabbed the inner part of his left leg while passing the ball before falling to the court. After being helped up, Watford was assisted to the locker room.
