Less than five minutes into his preseason debut with his new team, Sixers a great man Ariel Hookporti suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg and left Monday’s game early. While guarding former teammate Knicks Karl-Anthony TownsHuckporty fell to the floor and immediately grabbed the bottom of his right leg, raising concerns about a possible Achilles injury (video link via NBA.com).
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenaminhead coach of the Sixers. Nick Nurse told reporters after the team’s 120-97 victory that Hookporty will undergo an examination on his right Achilles on Tuesday. While there is no diagnosis yet, the club is clearly concerned that the third-year center could tear his Achilles, with several teammates showing their support in the locker room after the win.
“He’s like a brother to me” forward Jabari Walker said. “It’s especially hard for me because I see the work he’s been putting in. He just came into training camp and his energy was great. He’s a great guy in the locker room. Man … it blew me away, honestly.”
“I just saw him briefly during the game” The nurse added. “Give him a big hug. He’s been a pleasure to coach in the short time he’s been here. Really good dude. So we’ll hope for the best.”
Huckporty, who spent his first two NBA seasons in New York, played in 54 regular-season games for the Knicks last season, averaging 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game. The 24-year-old German made 10 appearances on the bench during the club’s season-long run that culminated in the championship.
Hookporti signed a one-year, $3.4 million contract with Philadelphia this offseason in hopes of competing with Adem Bono to the backup center role behind the starter Joel Embiid. With Bono suffering this fall from a sprained left foot, Hookport had a great opportunity to make his case for rotation minutes during the preseason meeting. However, if the scan shows that he has torn his Achilles, his 2026/27 season is likely to be over before it begins.
While the 76ers hope to avoid a worst-case scenario, it’s safe to assume the front office is already considering contingency plans. The team has an open two-way contract slot and could fill that hole with a center. Camp invitation Thank you, autumnwhich is on unsecured Annex 10 of the transactionis one of the potential two-way candidates, although he is dealing with an injury himself, resulting from a strained left hip last week.
As McMenamin notes, while Philadelphia has cap space on its standard 15-man roster, the team currently lacks the first-apron hard cap space to sign a 15th man. Barring a cost-cutting move to create more cap flexibility, the Sixers won’t be able to fill that final roster spot with a prorated veteran minimum signing until Dec. 4.
walker, Dominic Barlowand Dean Wade all of which are more natural for a forward, but Nurse could experiment during the preseason with using them at the five.