76ers Fined For Forgetting The Most-Important Rule Of Load Management Era

The NBA has fined the Philadelphia 76ers for what very well could be the most ridiculous yet unsurprising reasons in league history.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that it was fining Philadelphia $100,000 "for violating league injury reporting rules."

Reading that note, one would likely assume that the 76ers perhaps failed to properly report that one of their players would be inactive. After all, we're in the golden era of load management and NBA players taking nights off on a very regular basis.

But in this instance, the 76ers were fined for doing the exact opposite; they were dinged $100k for actually having their star player take the court.

READ: Joel Embiid Immediately Calls Out NBA After Being Fined $50k For Doing The Crotch Chop

According to the NBA, Joel Embiid was listed as "out" in Philadelphia's initial injury report, but ultimately played against the Atlanta Hawks on November 30. 

The NBA fined one of the most-followed teams in the league for having its superstar player play. You simply can not make it up.

Joel Embiid on the floor. (Kyle Ross-Imagn Images)

Embiid played 30 minutes for Philadelphia and recorded 18 points in what was a 142-134 overtime loss to Atlanta. He had missed the team's previous nine games while dealing with a knee injury.

To add insult to injury – pun absolutely intended – Embiid sat out Philadelphia's next game on Tuesday, a 121-102 win over the Washington Wizards.

The grey area the NBA has been operating in when it comes to injuries, injury reports, and late scratches has been a major issue for years now. While it may seem ridiculous that the league would fine an organization because a player decided to suit up, the league has to set a precedent to get things back on track and put a better, more consistent product on the floor during the regular season.