Joel Embiid Tests Positive For COVID-19

11:52am: Embiid has tested positive for COVID-19 and is expected to miss several games, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).


11:30am: Sixers center Joel Embiid, who was scheduled to be rested for Monday’s game vs. New York, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Embiid is the fourth Sixers player to enter the league’s protocols so far this season, joining Tobias Harris, Isaiah Joe, and Matisse Thybulle. If he has tested positive for COVID-19, the All-NBA center will miss at least a handful of games.

While Embiid’s troublesome right knee could perhaps benefit from a week or two of rest, it’s still an unfortunate turn of events for an increasingly short-handed 76ers team. Besides having four players in the health and safety protocols, Philadelphia has been missing Danny Green (hamstring) for the last three games and is playing without All-Star guard Ben Simmons.

Despite all the absences, the Sixers have been the best team in the Eastern Conference so far this season, with an 8-2 record. With Embiid sidelined, the club figures to turn to Andre Drummond as its starting center for the short term.

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