The Philadelphia 76ers injury report for Sunday’s afternoon contest against the Miami Heat is out.
There is a handful of names on it — some expected, some not so expected. Let’s go through it.
The biggest surprise of the injury report is the appearance of rookie VJ Edgecombe, who is questionable for Sunday afternoon with left calf tightness. Edgecombe has played in all 15 of the Sixers’ contests so far this season and is racking up some serious minutes. The 2025 No. 3 overall pick is averaging 37.4 minutes per night, second highest in the NBA trailing only teammate Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging 40.7 minutes.
Under the “fully expected” injury designation category is Kelly Oubre Jr., who has already been ruled out for a few weeks due to an LCL sprain in his left knee.
Still unavailable for the Sixers come Sunday are Joel Embiid and Adem Bona. Bona, who sprained his ankle last week, was able to do some on-court work but the team said at practice on Saturday that he will be out at least another two games and he’ll be re-evaluated.
Embiid, still considered day-to-day by the team, will miss his seventh game in a row on Sunday, having been sidelined for the past six contests due to soreness in his right knee (not the knee he had surgery on). The Sixers said at practice Saturday that the doctors believe he needs more time, but that he’s progressing. He has not played since Nov. 8.
The Miami Heat are feeling the effects of injuries as well. Tyler Herro (ankle surgery), Nikola Jovic (hip impingement) and Andrew Wiggins (hip flexor strain) are all out for Sunday. Norman Powell is probable with hip irritation. Terry Rozier is… well… not with the team.
The Sixers and the Heat tip off on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Ahead of Nick Nurse’s pregame availability, the Sixers ruled out Edgecombe for this contest as well. Nurse said that this calf tightness first popped up right after the overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
He also added that Edgecombe “got the imaging [done], it’s all clean, just precautionary.”
So it’s certainly good that this isn’t anything major, and it’s good that the Sixers are being cautious with a calf injury to their 20-year old rookie who plays 37 minutes a night. Stars trying to fight throw that and tearing their achilles has been the story throughout the league in 2025.
