Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will not play in the Sunday night All-Star Game due to the contact tracking of COVID-19, the NBA announced.
Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Sixers’ stars were in contact with a barber who tested positive for the coronavirus. Wojnarowski reported that the barber then returned an additional positive test.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who will coach Kevin Durant’s team, told reporters that “it was not great” for Simmons and Embiid to play just before the league announced that their two All-Stars would not participate. Simmons and Embiid’s scheduled media sessions have been canceled.
“Extremely pitiful,” said Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine. “From what I heard, they did everything right. I think they had close contact with their barber, and the barber was being tested daily. as if they were trying to hide or do something wrong. They did everything right and still (were) in the wrong place at the wrong time. Extremely unhappy and sad, but I think, with the time we live in now, you can’t be too sure. “
As the NBA press release notes, Rivers and his Sixers coaching staff will still lead Team Durant on Sunday night because no individual other than Embiid and Simmons has been exposed to the positive test individual in Philadelphia. Pelicans’ Zion Williamson will replace Embiid as a starter, the league announced.
After announcing last November that this year’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis has been postponed, the league decided to move on with a game in Atlanta, Georgia, during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite stars like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo do not agree with the idea.
“I think, in general, this All-Star game is kind of forced and played on us,” said James Harden on Sunday.
The Sixers had a game postponed in the first half of the season, a road clash scheduled against Thunder due to contact tracking. The team was reduced to the games on January 9, January 11 and January 12 after Seth Curry tested positive for COVID-19 and other players were later discarded by health and safety protocols.
Next on the regular season schedule for the Sixers is a March 11 game in Chicago against the Bulls. Up to 3,100 fans will be allowed to return to the Wells Fargo Center for the Sixers’ game on March 14 against the Spurs.
Simmons and Embiid’s status for these games is uncertain. Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton lost three games of the Sixers between 7 and 14 January after, according to Rivers, they sat at the table with Curry over a team meal.
Embiid, who has positioned himself strongly in the MVP race, pledged on Saturday to donate his $ 100,000 All-Star winnings to organizations that help combat homelessness in Philadelphia. The Sixers organization also matched its donation.
Embiid and Simmons expressed that they were looking forward to playing against the league’s top talents in Atlanta.
“I can never ignore these occasions,” said Embiid on Wednesday night. “It feels great to be part of the best players in the world. I’m just looking to get out, stay safe – the first thing – and just have fun in the best game of basketball. “
A source confirmed Sunday night to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia that Simmons and Embiid traveled back to Philadelphia after a negative test for COVID-19. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the news for the first time.