Veteran official Bill Kennedy, noted for his entertaining explanations during coaches challenges, left the court in a wheelchair on Friday after suffering an apparent right leg injury during the first quarter of the Sixers–Magic game, according to The Associated Press.
Kennedy started limping as he was running down the court during a Sixers fast break. He was seen hopping on the baseline as Paul George made a layup. Kennedy then called for assistance as the Magic called a timeout. The two other officials, James Williams and Michael Smith, handled the remainder of the game.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Monte Morris suffered a left leg injury during a EuroLeague game and will miss 3-4 weeks, according to Eurohoops.net. Morris signed with Olympiacos last month after the Pacers waived him on Nov. 21. Morris appeared in six games with Indiana, averaging just 10.8 minutes per contest.
- BYU wing AJ Dybantsa sits atop Sam Vecenie’s latest draft board for The Athletic. Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer hold the next two spots. Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance has moved up to No. 6 due to his defensive potential.
- Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo remain the leaders in their conferences among fan voting for the All-Star Game, NBA Communications tweets. In the second round of returns, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama are also among the top five vote-getters in the West. Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Cade Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell round out the top five in the East. Fan votes count for 50 percent of the selection process. Voting will continue through Wednesday.
- Many of the game’s elite players will not meet the 65-game threshold for postseason awards. The Athletic’s John Hollinger examines the unintended consequences of that rule, plus the 20-minute requirement, which were established during the last CBA negotiations.