Tacko Fall’s Philadelphia 76ers tryout stalled Thursday, when an MRI revealed a left hip strain that will be reevaluated in two weeks for the 7-foot-6 former Boston Celtics fan favorite, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY.
The setback lands in the middle of the race for Philadelphia’s open two-way slot, and a non-guaranteed deal leaves little room for lost practice time.
Fall left practice about halfway through Wednesday’s second day of camp in Camden, New Jersey.
“Hip thing,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said, as quoted by The Sixer Sense. The strain and the injury timeline were confirmed by PHLY‘s Derek Bodner. No report has described a specific play or collision that caused the injury to Fall, 30.
Fall signed an Exhibit 10 training-camp contract with the 76ers on Sept. 1, according to ESPN.
Philadelphia’s frontcourt was already thin, with Adem Bona sidelined by a sprained left foot, according to The Sixer Sense.
“Just look at him and see what happens,” Nurse said of Fall, one of several candidates for the spot.
Tacko Fall’s Boston Celtics Fan-Favorite Run
Boston Celtics fans embraced Fall from the start. The undrafted center signed July 25, 2019, converted to a two-way contract in October and debuted Oct. 26 at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, scoring four points in four minutes on a standing dunk. He wore No. 99.
Fall’s role stayed small, yet he remained beloved in Boston. He played 26 regular-season games and made three playoff appearances across 2019-20 and 2020-21, nearly all in garbage time, and led the Celtics in field-goal percentage both seasons. With the Maine Red Claws, he averaged 12.9 points and 11.1 rebounds in 2019-20 and made the G League All-Defensive Team. The Celtics did not bring him back after 2020-21.
Born Dec. 10, 1995, in Dakar, Senegal, Fall was discovered at 7-foot-3 by coach Ibrahima N’Diaye in 2011 and moved to the United States at 16, according to a Forbes report.
At Central Florida, he averaged 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks over 115 games and won AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2016-17. In 2019, he helped the Knights win their first NCAA Tournament game, over VCU.
Tacko Fall’s Path Back to the NBA From China
Cleveland waived Fall on January 9, 2022, after 11 games. He finished that season with the G League’s Cleveland Charge, then left for a full-time contract in China that August, according to Hoops Rumors.
He played abroad almost continuously for four years, with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association, the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s NBL, and in China again with the Ningbo Rockets, where he ranked among the CBA’s blocks leaders in 2026.
Across those four years, Fall averaged 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 18.1 minutes, according to Associated Press stats.
The 76ers’ Exhibit 10 offer on Sept. 1 brought him back on a non-guaranteed look at a two-way spot. It also reunited him with former Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown, who posted a goat emoji after the signing.
“An opportunity of a lifetime that I shall not waste,” Fall said, as quoted by Basketball Network.
At 7-foot-6, Fall ranks as the third-tallest player in NBA history, tied at that height with Shawn Bradley, who played for multiple NBA teams between 1993 and 2005, and Yao Ming, an NBA Hall of Famer who played eight years, all with the Houston Rockets, retiring in 2011.
Ex-Celtics 7-Foot-6 Fan-Favorite Handed Bad News at Training Camp