The NBA ruled Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons ineligible to play in the All-Star Game on Sunday night due to exposure to an individual who recently tested positive for COVID-19.
The two 76ers stars faced contact tracing after exposure to a personal barber before they arrived in Atlanta.
“Prior to traveling to Atlanta, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had contact with an individual who is confirmed today to have tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result, Embiid (Team Durant) and Simmons (Team LeBron) will not play in tonight’s NBA All-Star Game,” the NBA said in a statement Sunday morning. “Participation for other All-Stars and members of the 76ers coaching staff in Atlanta is not affected because they were not exposed to the individual in Philadelphia.”
The NBA didn’t plan on replacing the two players for the game, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Embiid and Simmons each traveled by themselves on private planes.
76ers stars Ben Simmons (l.) and Joel Embiid (r.) could miss the NBA All-Star Game due to COVID-19 contact tracing. NBAE via Getty Images“Obviously something like that happening is something we all thought could possibly happen,” LeBron James said prior to the game. “I hate the fact that Joel and Ben would not be able to play today because of that. Best wishes to them obviously, even though they’re not the ones that tested positive, but with all the contact tracing and all that mess. But we’re here.”
Due to COVID-19 protocols, the NBA condensed All-Star weekend to a single day. The Rising Stars game was canceled and the Slam Dunk competition was moved to halftime of the All-Star Game, with the 3-point contest and skills competition taking place before the game.
“Obviously I love our league. I love the game of basketball at the highest level and doing what I love to do,” James said who was initially against playing the game. “I just think under these circumstances with what we’re going through still with the pandemic and everything with the season, I just thought we could’ve looked at it a little bit differently. But that’s out of my hands. I can only control what I can control.”
— Additional reporting by Marc Berman
