![\"Philadelphia](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/philadelphia-76ers-media-day-camden-new-jersey-september-28-ariel-hukporti-e1791002986241.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 28: Ariel Hukporti #55 of the Philadelphia 76ers poses for a portrait during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex on September 28, 2026 in Camden, New Jersey. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The New York Knicks<\/a> are going into the 2026-2027 NBA season with some noticeable changes at the center position.<\/p>\n While Karl-Anthony Towns remains with the team, ready to run it back after being a primary contributor to the team\u2019s title victory, two backups walked.<\/p>\n Mitchell Robinson was a notable loss, as he landed a raise in free agency with the Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for Ariel Hukporti, the young center was able to hit free agency as an unrestricted prospect at the Knicks declined to extend him a qualifying offer.<\/p>\n Hukporti joined the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> on a one-year deal, worth $3.4 million.<\/p>\n Early Injury Scare For The Former Knicks Center<\/p>\n On Monday, the Knicks paid a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers for their first preseason action of the year. Hukporti suited up, but ended up leaving the court with an injury scare.<\/p>\n As the veteran center played defense, he had an awkward landing, and needed to exit to the locker room with what turned out to be a non-contact injury.<\/p>\n Sixers depth center Ariel Hukporti just left the game after this non-contact injury\u2026 Not speculating but it doesn\u2019t look great. <\/p>\n Hukporti\u2019s status is unclear moving forward.<\/p>\n \n For Hukporti, he benefited financially from the Knicks declining to send him the offer. He would\u2019ve landed a $2.6 million salary. Instead, the Sixers will pay him out $3.4 million.<\/p>\n A primary backup spot behind Towns wouldn\u2019t have been guaranteed for Hukporti in New York. He won\u2019t be Joel Embiid\u2019s backup on the Sixers by default, but he\u2019s got a fair shot at winning the role in training camp.<\/p>\n \n So far, the Sixers have experienced multiple setbacks, which have directly benefited Hukporti early on.<\/p>\n Before training camp started, Hukporti found out that the third-year center Adem Bona would miss the start of camp due to a foot injury. And although Tacko Fall is on a non-guaranteed camp deal, he\u2019s another competitor at the five who suffered a setback. The veteran center will be out for multiple weeks.<\/p>\n \n It\u2019s unclear if Hukporti has shown enough to earn the primary backup spot through the first week, but the former Knicks center was getting a fair shake.<\/p>\n Now, Hukporti\u2019s availability in training camp comes into question.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJustin Grasso<\/a> Justin Grasso is an NBA\/NFL reporter, covering trending league news, transactions, injuries, and player developments. He is a credentialed journalist with nearly a decade of insider access. More about Justin Grasso<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 28: Ariel Hukporti #55 of the Philadelphia 76ers poses for a portrait…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806],"class_list":["post-851780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-knicks","tag-basketball","tag-knicks","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkknicks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117390980599873241","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/brooklyn-nets-v-new-york-knicks-new-york-new-york-january.jpg\")
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK \u2013 JANUARY 21: Ariel Hukporti #55 of the New York Knicks in action against the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> at Madison Square Garden on January 21, 2026 in New York City. The Knicks won 120-66. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/new-york-knicks-v-cleveland-cavaliers-game-four-cleveland-ohio.jpg\")
GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO \u2013 MAY 25: Jose Alvarado #5 and Ariel Hukporti #55 of the New York Knicks celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> 130-93 in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 25, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/new-york-knicks-v-indiana-pacers-indianapolis-indiana-december-18-t-j.jpg\")
GettyINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA \u2013 DECEMBER 18: T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers<\/a> loses control of the ball while being guarded by Ariel Hukporti #55 of the New York Knicks in the first quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on December 18, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n