It’s hard to believe that anyone could look at this Philadelphia 76ers season and think they’re pulling some sort of ruse over the NBA for their own benefit.
Apparently, though, that’s what the association itself believes. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday that the league has begun an investigation into the Sixers, particularly regarding recent injury-related absences of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George.
(Of course, because things have been going so well for the Sixers this season, they’re clearly doing something illegal!)
First of all, this entire investigation is operating on a basis that gives the Sixers’ organization way too much credit for strategy. This is the franchise that played a visibly-hobbled Embiid for 19 games this season, never more than four at a time, before finally shutting him down over 50 games in. George has played games with a splint on a pinky tendon injury that made him unable to move part of his hand while playing. Maxey has played games through a finger issue of his own that was clearly affecting his ability to shoot before he fell on his back midgame in his last contest. This all was happening when the Sixers’ season was already a lost cause. I’m honestly not sure the Sixers’ organization in its current form is even capable of the level of strategy involved in pulling off some big tanking conspiracy.
And if they were able to do so, don’t you think they might have done it sooner than the last 20 games of the season? If the Sixers’ tank starts a few weeks earlier, the team would have had a real shot at an even higher lottery position than the ones within grasp now? The reality is the Sixers have been pushed to a tank because of injuries.
But let’s put that aside for a moment and just look at the specifics of the policy that would trigger this investigation in the first place.
The NBA’s player participation policy outlines the rules for absences of so-called “star players”, which the league defines in the policy as any player who has been named to an All-NBA team or All-Star team over the past three seasons. Automatic league investigations are triggered in situations such as multiple stars on the same team missing the same game or a star player missing a nationally televised or in-season tournament game. It also mandates that teams must avoid any long-term shutdown (or near shutdown) whereby a star player ceases participating in games or begins to play a materially reduced role in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game. Non-“stars” do not face the same scrutiny.
Three “star players” for the Sixers? Embiid, George and Maxey, who have all missed recent games with injuries. OK, that’s all well and good so far.
However, the logic of launching an investigation in this specific case that wasn’t immediately open and shut is an embarrassment on behalf of the NBA for a number of reasons, the main one being that these were injuries that occurred during games, which happen to be recorded and televised!
If anyone needs further evidence that Embiid was not healthy enough to be playing at any point this season, let alone the final few games, the only explanation can be they did not watch him play. After less than a year removed from meniscus surgery, Embiid was struggling with visibly being in pain and experiencing physical limitations every time he was on the floor this season. Jumping, pivoting certain ways and sometimes even just minor movements were resulting in Embiid wincing in pain, grabbing at his knee and struggling to go on. He was finally shut down after 58 games into the Sixers’ campaign. Fifty-eight, within which he could only manage to appear in 19.
But, sure, it was just all a long con. Evil geniuses, the Sixers are.
George has fallen victim to a number of injuries that occurred in plain view during games, from hyperextending the same knee twice earlier in the season and preseason to suffering that pinky tendon injury when the finger came in contact with a opponent’s arm midgame. Despite all of that, George had appeared in 41 of 61 possible contests despite battling these as well as a lingering groin problem throughout the season before finally missing the last four Sixers’ games. These four games apparently are suspicious to the league — 62 games into the team’s season and after George was even reportedly getting injections on his injured pinky just to be able to play not long before.
Shams on Paul George playing through pain:
"Im told its to the point where he has gotten injections to play and compete over the last 4 or 5 games. Thats something players do come playoff time, not necessarily in the regular season" pic.twitter.com/dRqZuwd1zk
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 13, 2025
Then, there was this report from Charania that came out this past Thursday afternoon.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George is consulting with doctors this week on treatment options for his groin and knee injuries, including a possible procedure, sources tell ESPN. A decision is expected early next week. pic.twitter.com/tHyDDzDyLn
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 13, 2025
That’s some serious commitment to the bit! Good thing the league is looking into this.
Finally, we have Maxey. The young guard was already struggling to get shots to fall for games on end while he was dealing with a finger sprain — an injury he was playing through, arguably beyond logic to begin with. During a March 3 contest hosting the Portland Trail Blazers, Maxey took an awkward fall onto his back attacking the basket.
Tyrese Maxey, who was already playing through a finger injury, appeared to hurt his back on this play.
Maxey was slow to get up and off the floor, did so with the help of medical staff and went right back to locker room. pic.twitter.com/auTLA8XGip
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) March 4, 2025
There it is, live and in color — an already hampered player falling from the air onto a hard surface and being removed from the game with a back injury. Maxey, after playing in 52 of 60 possible games to that point, has missed just the last five games for those back and finger injuries.
Even before the visible fall onto his back, let’s just look at the context. This was the Sixers’ 60th game of the season. They were already 21-38 and Maxey was still on the floor playing despite having an injury affecting his ability to shoot. Does his or any of these scenarios sound like a team that is holding their star players off the court unnecessarily? They don’t even do it when it arguably has been necessary for days or even weeks!
Another note: Nick Nurse indicated postgame Friday that Maxey would likely play on the team’s upcoming six-game road trip.
To put it simply, I would imagine the league is not and will not be investigating Dallas Mavericks’ star Kyrie Irving being ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL after injuring his knee in a game against the Sacramento Kings. Even though the Mavericks’ season is all but over and they might actually benefit from losing at this point and holding onto a draft lottery position, common sense says we don’t need to investigate the star that is missing games after suffering an injury on live television.
That common sense is not outlined in the player participation policy, though, it seems.
Now, keep in mind that as this is all happening, another pattern has developed in the NBA that I would argue is a much more clear-cut, flagrant disregard for any sort of respect for integrity of the game or player participation — tanking teams ruling out healthy, young players for rest.
You may remember that, this past Wednesday night, the Toronto Raptors ruled out Immanuel Quickley to face the Sixers for “rest”. Quickley is 25-years-old, is not coming off a recent injury (though he missed significant time to start the season) and the Raptors were not playing a back-to-back.
Last Saturday, before that, Quickley was ruled out for rest with the Raptors set to take on the Washington Wizards. That game was a least the second leg of a back-to-back, but still a questionable pattern to have suddenly developed in a young player that didn’t have any issues playing plenty of minutes for weeks on end prior. Apparently, no issue for the NBA.
The perpetrator of this getting the most attention right now, though, is the Utah Jazz, who haven’t had much of a shot at anything beyond tanking all season. Walker Kessler, the Jazz’s 23-year-old center, has had a rest designation five times already this season as of Friday morning, with three coming in the last two weeks. No injury. Not even a back-to-back every time. Just rest, like all 23-year-old NBA players suddenly need, conveniently as the season comes down to the wire.
So, the league finally fined the team $100,000 this week, coincidentally as Kessler’s rest days were becoming more of a topic of conversation online and around the league. (Though the fine stemmed from star forward Lauri Markkanen missing time.)
That’ll show ‘em!
Wait... it didn’t show them?
That’s right. Now the 23-year-old, 7-foot center that averages a double-double — 11.5 points and 12.3 rebounds — for a 15-win team is technically available, but simply did not participate at all due to a coach’s decision in a close game against the Raptors. I’ll be waiting to see how the NBA handles that one.
The Jazz, second in lottery position at time of writing, and the Raptors, in seventh, undoubtedly both have motive to sit perfectly healthy guys in pursuit of more losses and ultimately the best possibly lottery position. And I want to be clear: I’m sure the Sixers’ organization is not exactly disappointed that they are losing games right now. I’m also sure they won’t be terribly upset if they end up being able to hold on to their first-round pick that is protected for picks one through six.
That being said, it does not mean that they are illegally sitting three players that have been playing through documented, debilitating injuries through the majority of the season. This investigation into the Sixers coming under the guise of combating tanking and ensuring participation when players are able falls completely flat when the same league is seemingly allowing young, healthy guys on obviously tanking teams to miss games for “rest”.
I do believe the NBA has a tanking problem. However, if the league genuinely thinks this 2024-25 Sixers’ season is the best example of the problem, then they really don’t have a clue.
If the league ends up fining the Sixers for any of the trio’s absences considering all of these facts, it’s borderline a farce. And if these seemingly-arbitrary policies end up forcing teams like the Sixers to play hurt stars in the future to avoid these investigations and fines while blatant tanking measures involving healthy players are allowed to continue, then it’s just flat-out malpractice.