Nick Nurse ran through his center options this week and ended up naming his 41-year-old forward. The Philadelphia 76ers head coach has already pointed to LeBron James as a possible option at the five after Ariel Hukporti was ruled out for the season.

“I think LeBron is another candidate. I think he’s played some small-ball 5 as well,” Nurse said.

Hukporti, the 7-foot German center Philadelphia signed in July on a one-year $3.4 million deal, ruptured his right Achilles tendon with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter of the preseason opener against the New York Knicks on Monday, 5 October. The injury was non-contact. He was helped off the court by Karl-Anthony Towns, his former Knicks teammate. An MRI confirmed the tear the following day, with surgery to follow.

Hukporti had been signed specifically to spell Joel Embiid in the center rotation. He will miss the entire 2026-27 season.

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Nurse was still digesting the loss

“Super tough. I mean, it’s tough for anybody, but we were super excited by what we’d seen,” Nurse said at the press conference confirming the diagnosis.

“It’s always a bigger blow for him personally, but certainly a blow for the team, especially this early on.”

The injury report going into Friday’s preseason game at Boston ran five deep. Hukporti joined Anfernee Simons (hamstring), Adem Bona (foot), Dominick Barlow (back), and Taco Fall (hip) on the sidelines. Four of those five are rotation players Nurse was counting on in October.

LeBron’s own injury file

James has been Philadelphia’s whole offseason story. The 41-year-old agreed a two-year, $8 million contract on 24 July, a fourth NBA team and a record 24th season on the horizon. He suited up for the first time alongside Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, and Embiid at Barclays Center on 8 October, logging 10 points, five assists, and four rebounds in 18 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets.

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He is also managing chronic arthritis in his left foot and the sciatica that cost him the opening month of last season in Los Angeles. Asking him to absorb emergency minutes at center is not a plan the medical staff would have drafted in July.

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