76ers Make Major LeBron James, Joel Embiid Decision Before Hornets Game

The Philadelphia 76ers ruled out LeBron James and Joel Embiid for Saturday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets, who will again be without Kon Knueppel, Coby White, and Grant Williams.

Both teams played Friday night, so it is the back end of a back-to-back on each side when the ball goes up at 6 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center.

James is listed out for lower back and sciatica management on the 76ers' injury report. Embiid is out for management of a right foot plantar fascia injury. Each played Friday night in an NBA Cup win over the New York Knicks, and Saturday will be the second game each has missed this season.

Jaylen Brown, acquired from the Boston Celtics in July, is questionable after sitting out Friday. His left knee started bothering him after Wednesday's 114-109 win at Indiana, and he could not take part in Friday's shootaround. What the team first listed as soreness is now left patellar tendinopathy.

How soon he plays again comes down to "treatment and pain tolerance," according to 76ers coach Nick Nurse.

Tacko Fall (quad) and Jabari Walker (knee) are also questionable. Dominick Barlow is out with a back injury. Ariel Hukporti has been out for the season since rupturing his Achilles.

Philadelphia is 5-1, second in the Eastern Conference, and 2-0 on the road.

Knueppel (left hamstring), White (left calf), and Williams (right hamstring) are all out again for Charlotte, now 3-3.

The Hornets announced Knueppel's injury on Sept. 25, saying it happened during an offseason on-court workout, and White's calf strain from training camp on Oct. 5. Neither played in the preseason.

"I think there's still no timeline on those guys," Hornets coach Charles Lee said on Oct. 18. "They're making really good progress, I think day by day they've kind of stepped up what they've been able to do on the court, adding some level of contact to their workouts as well."

On Oct. 20, a day before the opener in Brooklyn, the Hornets said all three had returned to individual work on the court, though none of them played in the opener.

"No timeline, as far as I know right now," Lee explained on Oct. 26, with a road trip to Detroit and Washington next. "I hope that during this road trip, or after the road trip, we'll get a little bit more information."

Charlotte lost both games on that trip, at Detroit and then 95-79 in Washington. Knueppel was in Greensboro for part of it, assigned on Oct. 29 to the Swarm, the Hornets' G League affiliate, to keep rehabbing.

Knueppel, taken fourth out of Duke in 2025, played 81 games as a rookie. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists and shot 42.5% from 3.

White's calf also delayed his Charlotte debut last season, after the trade from Chicago. Before this year's opener, Lee could not put a timeline on his return either.

Dennis Schröder is off the report after playing through a foot injury in Washington on a questionable tag.

Friday's 79 points and the 81 against Atlanta on Oct. 23 are the two lowest totals any NBA team has put up this season. Brandon Miller scored 19 in Washington, four days after a career-high 39 against the same Wizards.

Detroit, which beat the Hornets on Wednesday, visits Spectrum Center on Monday.