The Philadelphia 76ers were entering the 2026-27 season with a rotation of three legitimate centers: Joel Embiid, Adem Bona, and Ariel Hukporti. They do have Tacko Fall on a deal, but it seems that he is not a massive part of their plans.
Now, the 76ers are short one big man because Hukporti might have suffered one of the worst injuries a professional athlete could have. Of course, imaging is being done on the injury to see if there is a chance that it’s not a torn Achilles tendon, but at the moment, it is not looking good.
Ariel Hukporti’s non-contact injury has 76ers fans worried about the center rotation
In the preseason game against the New York Knicks, Hukporti was guarding his former teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, at the perimeter. Hukporti was going to close out, but he unfortunately felt something on the back of his foot.
It was a non-contact injury, so people have been worried since his injury. Some reporters said it was a ruptured Achilles, but since he has not gotten imaging on it just yet, there might be a chance that it could be another injury.
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This is a massive blow to the 76ers’ center rotation because everyone knows about Embiid’s injury history. Bona is a fantastic athlete and rim protector, but he does not provide something like Embiid’s impact on the offensive side of the game. That is why Hukpori’s injury is a big blow, and why people are praying for the imaging that head coach Nick Nurse announced to go well.
“They’re going to do the imaging tomorrow. Right Achilles they are going to look at,” Nurse said in his press conference after the preseason game vs the Knicks.
It is not looking good for the 76ers because the most likely event is that Hukporti will be missing the season. If there is a miracle that he is not dealing with a ruptured tendon, he could return sometime in the season. However, it does not look good, especially with how he fell.
