76ers center depth hit by Ariel Hukporti’s Achilles tear, raising questions about lineup tweaks including LeBron at the five

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2026-27 season with a familiar assumption and a new problem. The assumption was that Joel Embiid, their primary center, would carry much of the load. The problem arrived in the preseason when the team’s offseason backup center signing, Ariel Hukporti, tore his Achilles in the preseason opener and will miss the 2026-27 season.

Hukporti was expected to function as Embiid’s most direct relief at center. With him out, the 76ers are left evaluating whether their remaining depth can absorb the minutes and matchup demands that typically follow an Embiid absence. CBS Sports framed it as a center depth problem, and it is hard to overstate how central the position is for a team built around Embiid’s interior gravity on both ends.

The roster question becomes sharper because Embiid’s availability has been volatile in recent years. CBS Sports noted that Embiid has played 96 games over the past three seasons, a figure that underscores why the 76ers cannot rely on a single injury-prone variable. Depth is not a luxury at center in that context, it is a prerequisite. When the starting center is not reliably present, the backup group has to be more than a stopgap. It has to prevent the team’s defensive structure from falling apart and keep the offense from becoming entirely perimeter-driven.

The names still in play include Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow. CBS Sports reported that Bona remains on the roster and that Barlow, typically a power forward, could potentially slide to center if needed. That sort of adjustment can help with size and matchup flexibility, but it also comes with trade-offs. Shifting a forward to center typically changes responsibilities, footwork requirements, and communication in the paint, especially against NBA centers who live in the middle of the floor.

CBS Sports also raised a more unconventional idea: could LeBron James help at center if Philadelphia is forced into lineup experimentation? The question reflects how thin the 76ers’ internal center options are expected to be after Hukporti’s injury. It is not simply about whether a player can physically stand in the paint. It is about whether the team can sustain its overall scheme, with rebounding, rim protection, and defensive rotations still working as intended while maintaining offensive spacing and playmaking.

From a basketball perspective, the bigger challenge may be continuity. Even when a team has talent elsewhere on the roster, center minutes often dictate how the entire defense is organized. If Philadelphia uses more bodies at center, it must ensure that the team does not become overly reactive, giving up easy looks during transition or by losing assignments on secondary actions.

What to watch next is how the 76ers structure their early rotation plan: whether they lean more heavily on Bona and Barlow to cover center responsibilities, how often they experiment with LeBron in a central role, and how quickly they can stabilize defensive communication without the primary backup that was supposed to bridge Embiid’s absences. Until Philadelphia answers those questions in real games, the center depth issue will remain more than a preseason talking point, it will be a stress test for the team’s identity.