The Philadelphia 76ers were already short on centers before Monday night’s preseason opener. Within minutes, their depth took another potentially significant hit.
Ariel Hukporti suffered an apparent non-contact lower-body injury in the opening minutes against his former team, the New York Knicks, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Hukporti went down while moving up the floor and immediately reached toward his lower leg. He remained on the court as play stopped before eventually being helped back toward the 76ers’ bench.
The most striking part of the scene was who helped him get there.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Hukporti’s former Knicks teammate, wrapped an arm around the injured center and helped support him as he made his way toward the Philadelphia bench. A Sixers staff member assisted from the other side.
Curiously, none of Hukporti’s new 76ers teammates appeared to accompany him during the portion of the walk captured on the broadcast. Instead, it was Towns — the All-Star center Hukporti backed up in New York last season — who remained at his side.
76ers Suddenly Thin at Center
Hukporti’s injury could be particularly consequential for a Sixers team already navigating uncertainty behind Joel Embiid.
Adem Bona, Hukporti’s primary competition for the backup-center job, missed Monday’s game because of the left foot sprain he suffered while playing for Turkey. Bona averaged 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season and had his $2.3 million salary guaranteed for 2026-27.
Bona’s absence had opened the door for Hukporti, who signed a one-year, $3.4 million deal with Philadelphia after spending his first two seasons with the Knicks.
Coach Nick Nurse had praised Hukporti’s training camp, describing the 7-footer as athletic and long while noting how hard he plays. With Bona unavailable and Tacko Fall sidelined by a hip injury, Hukporti entered Monday as Philadelphia’s only traditional center available.
Then his night ended almost as quickly as it began.
Sixers Have Options if Hukporti Faces Long Absence
The severity of Hukporti’s injury was not immediately known, but The Athletic’s Tony Jones raised the possibility of a significant absence while outlining Philadelphia’s alternatives.
“If Hukporti is out for the season, it will be interesting to see what the Sixers do,” Jones wrote.
Jones added that Philadelphia is comfortable with Bona as well as Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker, two forwards capable of handling small-ball center minutes. He also noted that the 76ers had been encouraged by Fall before the 7-foot-6 center suffered his hip injury.
That depth could allow Philadelphia to absorb a Hukporti absence without immediately looking outside the organization. Barlow and Walker were already considered Nurse’s primary small-ball center options entering the preseason.
Still, Hukporti was supposed to provide something different: a legitimate 7-footer who could protect the rim, rebound and absorb traditional center minutes when Embiid sits.
Monday was supposed to be his first real opportunity to make his case against the team he left behind.
Instead, only minutes into his 76ers preseason debut, Hukporti needed help getting back to the bench — and it was one of his former Knicks teammates who helped him get there.
76ers Get Brutal Injury News Minutes Into Knicks Game