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Sixers Hard Cap Leaves Few Fixes After Losing Center Ariel Hukporti for Season
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- Sixers Hard Cap Leaves Few Fixes After Losing Center Ariel Hukporti for Season
The 76ers' preseason opener was supposed to be a victory lap for a star-studded roster. It turned into a lesson about depth. Center Ariel Hukporti ruptured his right Achilles tendon and will miss the entire 2026-27 season, the team announced Tuesday.
Hukporti was hurt in the first quarter against his old team
The 24-year-old signed with Philadelphia in free agency after two seasons with the Knicks. He was starting Monday night in place of the resting Joel Embiid when he went down early, per the Northeast Times . Newsweek reported that former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns helped him off the floor.
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He had surgery on Tuesday, and NBC Sports Philadelphia said it was successful.
It's his second Achilles injury
This is a cruel repeat. The Northeast Times noted that Hukporti also ruptured his left Achilles during the 2022 preseason while playing for Melbourne United in Australia's NBL. Newsweek said he averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 54 games for the champion Knicks last year. Those aren't huge numbers, but he was expected to have a real role in Philadelphia.
Also read: NBA's Off-Arm Push-Off Crackdown Is Already Changing Preseason Games
The backup center spot is now a problem
Hukporti was competing with Adem Bona for minutes behind Embiid, and Bona is currently out with a foot sprain. NBC Sports Philadelphia listed the other possibilities at the five: Dominick Barlow, Dean Wade, Jabari Walker and even LeBron James. That's a lot of undersized options for a team with title expectations.
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The injury also hits at a bad time. Embiid's workload will need careful management, and every minute he sits becomes a stress test.
The hard cap makes a fix difficult
Normally, a team would just sign another big. The Sixers can't easily do that. According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, as relayed by the Inquirer, they're hard-capped at the first apron .
Hoops Rumors, via Yardbarker, said they're about $1.83 million away from that limit, which blocks them from filling their open roster spot without a cost-cutting move. A disabled player exception is available, but it's worth only $1.7 million.
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What Philadelphia can realistically do
My read is that the Sixers will have to get creative. They could trade a contract to open space, or wait and use the exception later in the year for a rest-of-season signing. They could also lean on smaller lineups with James or Wade at the five.
Bona's return will matter just as much. If he's healthy by opening night against the Knicks on Oct. 20, the problem gets smaller. If not, Nick Nurse will spend the first weeks of the season experimenting, and the Sixers' loaded top end will have to make up for a thin bottom.
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This story was originally published by Lindy's Sports on Oct 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Lindy's Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
