After leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the best first-half record in the NBA, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were ruled out of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta on Sunday night after a barber they recently visited tested positive for COVID-19.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported that Embiid and Simmons entered contact-tracing protocols because of the personal barber, whom they visited before heading to Atlanta for the All-Star Game.
Neither Embiid nor Simmons were exposed to any other NBA players upon their arrival inside the All-Star Game’s bubble considering they traveled on a private plane separate of any other participants.
Embiid is in the midst of a career year, averaging 30.2 points per game. It helped him garner the third-highest vote total of any Eastern Conference frontcourt player, behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.
Durant, who was a team captain, selected Embiid, who only trails Bradley Beal (32.3 ppg) in points per game.
Simmons’ all-around play garnered him a reserve selection to Atlanta where he was chosen by LeBron James’ squad. It was his third-straight All-Star Game selection.
