Star center Joel Embiid did not participate in the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, a game that was nationally televised. The team categorized his absence as “left knee injury management,” which seems to have raised concerns with the NBA.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the league is likely to launch an investigation into how the 76ers handled Embiid’s situation, which could result in a $100,000 fine for the team. This scrutiny follows the NBA’s new player participation policy aimed at reducing the number of games star players miss. Under this policy, a star player is defined as anyone who has been selected to an All-NBA team or an All-Star team in the last three seasons—meaning Embiid qualifies.
The policy stipulates that teams must ensure their star players are available for nationally televised games unless they provide an approved reason for their absence. Additionally, teams are expected to manage their rosters so that no more than one star player is unavailable for the same game. Given that another star player, Paul George, also missed the game due to a preseason knee injury, Embiid’s absence has drawn the league’s attention.
The policy requires investigations whenever multiple star players miss the same game or when a star sits out a nationally televised matchup. However, there are exceptions for situations involving bona fide long-term injuries or other medical conditions.
