76ers' Ariel Hukporti out for season after rupturing right Achilles tendon in preseason opener

Philadelphia 76ers center Ariel Hukporti will miss the entire 2026-27 NBA season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon less than five minutes into the team's first NBA preseason game against the New York Knicks on Monday, the team announced Tuesday .

Hukporti, who left the Knicks to sign a one-year, $3.4 million deal with the 76ers in free agency this summer, got the start in Philadelphia on Monday in place of Joel Embiid, who joined LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey among several other Sixers who didn't suit up for the preseason opener. With the score tied at 10 and just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, Hukporti stepped out to guard former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns at the 3-point arc. As Jalen Brunson curled around a Towns screen, Hukporti dropped back toward the paint to cut off the passing lane.

When Towns held onto the ball and rose up to shoot it, Hukporti planted on his right foot and tried to sprint out to contest the shot. He immediately stopped in his tracks, though, turning to look behind him as he reached for his right ankle and fell to the floor.

After the Knicks scored on the possession, Hukporti remained seated, holding onto his right heel. The Sixers called a timeout, as players and coaches from both teams circled around the fallen big man. Hukporti would need help to get to his feet; seemingly unable to put any weight on his right leg, he leaned on Towns and a member of the coaching staff to help him hop off the floor and back to the locker room. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game, which the Sixers won, 120-97 .

"I just saw him for a little bit during the game and gave him a big hug," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after Monday's game, according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia . "He's been a joy to coach in the short time he's been here. Really a good dude. We'll just hope for the best."

Hukporti left the arena on crutches and in a walking boot , leaving both his former and current teammates fearing the worst. Follow-up imaging on Tuesday confirmed those fears, ending the young center's season before it ever really got started.

"Definitely heartbreaking," Brunson said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post . "When I came back in the locker room, I went to go check on him. Sad to see. Obviously, we'll pray for him."

"Damn, that messed me up, honestly," a "visibly distraught" Jabari Walker said, according to Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice . "Yeah, that messed me up. That's tough [...] I met him early on, and he was just one of the guys right away that was just super cool, outgoing. If you know him, you know he's going to talk to you. He's lively, same version every day. So it's a deeper connection when you already know somebody on that level. It's more investment. So when I heard that news, it's tough. Much love to Ariel."

A second-round pick out of Germany in the 2024 NBA Draft, the 7-foot Hukporti averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across two seasons in New York. The 24-year-old served as a third-string center on the team that won the 2026 NBA championship behind Towns and Mitchell Robinson before joining Philadelphia to pair with Adem Bona in backing up Embiid — an opportunity for an increased role that has now been dashed.

Losing Hukporti, who will undergo surgery on Tuesday, deals a significant blow to a Sixers team that is already without third-year center Bona, who has missed the start of training camp after suffering a left foot sprain playing for the Turkish national team this summer.

Philadelphia signed Hukporti specifically to help bolster its backup center spot behind the oft-injured Embiid, who has missed 150 games over the last three seasons. Replacing him could prove tricky for the Sixers, who sit just $1.83 million below the first apron , at which they're hard-capped after using their nontaxpayer midlevel exception to sign Cavaliers forward Dean Wade in free agency.

That's not enough space to sign a player to a veteran's minimum-salaried contract at this point; come December, according to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports , they'll be able to sign someone to a pro-rated deal for the rest of the season. Until then, though, unless they make another roster move, Nurse and Co. will have to find other options to fill the void, including playing smaller with Walker, Dominick Barlow and perhaps LeBron at the 5 — all while crossing their fingers and hoping that the notably slimmed down Embiid can stay healthy and fully ambulatory until new Sixers general manager Mike Gansey can find a way to bring in some reinforcements.