Sixers a great man Ariel Hookporti he was diagnosed with a ruptured right Achilles tendon, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Link to Twitter). According to Charanya, the injury will rule Hukporti out for the entire 2026/27 season.
The team, after confirming that Hookporti suffered a torn Achilles during Monday’s preseason opener, announced that he will undergo surgery today. tweets ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The injury occurred less than five minutes into Monday’s game. How Hookporti Guarded Former Knicks Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns and defending against an inside pass, he fell to the floor and immediately grabbed the bottom of his right leg (video link via NBA.com). The 24-year-old left the game with the head coach Nick Nurse told reporters after the win that Hookporti would undergo imaging to his right Achilles. The results of that MRI confirmed the worst-case scenario for the third-year center and his new club.
Hookporty, the 58th pick in the 2024 draft, spent two seasons with the Knicks and was the third center behind Towns and Mitchell Robinson in last year’s championship list. He played in 79 regular season games for New York, averaging 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.
The 76ers used their two-year opt-out to sign Hookporty to a one-year, $3.4 million contract this summer and expected him to struggle with Adem Bono for backup center minutes behind Joel Embiid. However, with Hookporti injured, the team will need to look elsewhere for top five depth.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, as it is for us outlined earlier todaythey’re operating on just $1.83 million of their cap space in the first tax apron, which would keep them from finishing 15th on the projected regular-season roster unless they make a cost-cutting move. The veteran’s minimum contract should be around $2.45 million.
Making a trade would be one way to create some cap flexibility. Rejecting Jabari Walker would be different, as the forward’s minimum salary is only partially guaranteed at $250,000. But Walker could be one of Nurse’s own top-five solutions worth experimenting with Dean Wade, Dominic Barlowand Walker as small-ball centers.
Unless the 76ers clear the cap space needed to sign a free agent, they will have to wait until at least Dec. 4 to add a 15th man. By that point, the veteran’s prorated minimum contract would be around $1.82 million, which is just below the first apron.
Philadelphia also currently has a two-way slot open Caleb Love and Ryan Rupertso it would make sense to fill that hole with the center. Camp invitation Thank you, autumnwhich is on unsecured Annex 10 of the transactionis one of the potential two-way candidates, though he strained his left hip last week and may not be available at all during the pre-season.
The Sixers will be able to apply for a disabling disabled player for Hukporti and drawing to be awarded that DPE. But it would only cost $1.7 million, which is half of Hookporty’s salary, so it won’t benefit the team at this point. It’s possible that this will be needed later in the season if the club wants to sign a free agent until the end of the season for more than the prorated minimum.