The Philadelphia 76ers have received some awful injury news regarding one of their offseason additions. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, 76ers center Ariel Hukporti has suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon and will be out for the entirety of the 2026-27 season. This is just brutal news for Hukporti, as the 24-year-old was getting ready to kick off his 76ers tenure.
Yet, with this injury, his 2026-27 campaign is over before it had the chance to truly start. Hukporti suffered his injury during the 76ers' recent preseason game against the New York Knicks. The 7-foot center fell while defending and was in noticeable pain before being helped off the court by former Knicks teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
Hukporti just played for the Knicks last season, where he won his first NBA championship. In 54 appearances last season for New York, the 76ers center averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. In 79 games over two NBA seasons, Hukporti has averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Overall, he has been a solid depth player early on in his career, so it is tough to see him already be done for the season with the 76ers. It will be interesting to see if Philadelphia adds a new center with Hukporti being out for the year.
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