NBA Player News

Okongwu isn't part of the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against Toronto.

Okongwu started Atlanta's preseason finale while Jalen Johnson rested, but with Johnson available Wednesday, Okongwu will rejoin the reserves. The 24-year-old center will operate as the Hawks' secondary center, and could even share the floor with starting five Kristaps Porzingis at times.

Boucher is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the 76ers, Justin Turpin of WEEI.com reports.

Boucher started in all of Boston's preseason games, so while he'll come off the bench in Wednesday's opener, he could still find his way back into the first unit at some point. That said, as a reserve player in Boston, he's not the most attractive option in standard formats.

Head coach Nick Nurse said Embiid will have a minutes restriction during the 76ers' season opener Wednesday, Zack Cox of the Boston Herald reports.

After playing in only 19 regular-season games during the 2024-25 campaign, Embiid will be closely monitored when the team's season gets underway on Wednesday. The coaching staff is taking a cautious approach with the often-injured superstar big man.

Ware (ankle) is available for Wednesday's season opener against the Magic, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports.

A sprained ankle won't be enough to keep Ware from playing Wednesday. The second-year big man wouldn't figure to have a noticeable minutes restriction, but he will come off the bench, with Nikola Jovic starting at power forward. Last regular season, Ware averaged 10.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest in 36 games as a starter during his rookie campaign.

Towns (quadriceps) has been cleared to play in Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports.

After having his status change multiple times Wednesday, Towns will suit up for the regular-season opener. Although this injury is clearly a concern, it's a good sign from a fantasy perspective that the veteran big man will be on the floor to start the 2025-26 campaign.

Hukporti is expected to be in the starting lineup for Wednesday's season opener against Cleveland, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports.

Mitchell Robinson is getting the night off for load management Wednesday, so this will likely be only a spot start for Hukporti. The big man averaged just 8.7 minutes per game over 25 regular-season contests a year ago, but Hukporti carries some streaming appeal against the Cavaliers.

Towns (quadriceps) has been upgraded to questionable to play in Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers, Shams Charania of ESPNreports.

Towns' status for the regular-season opener has changed multiple times, going from questionable to doubtful and now back to questionable. He's been dealing with a quadriceps injury since Oct. 16, which kept him out of the preseason finale.

Jackson-Davis didn't play in Tuesday's 119-109 win over the Lakers.

Jackson-Davis was outside the Golden State rotation in the season opener, playing behind Draymond Green, Al Horford and Quinten Post. With a back-to-back set looming Thursday against Denver and then Friday against Portland, however, Horford is in line to rest for one of those contests. That means Jackson-Davis should enter the rotation on occasions when Horford is getting the night off.

Zikarsky (face) is available for Wednesday's season opener against Portland.

Minnesota included Zikarsky on the injury report because he'll be wearing a face mask Wednesday. The two-way player is behind Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Joan Beringer on the depth chart at center, so Zikarsky likely won't take the court against the Trail Blazers.

Towns (quadriceps) has been downgraded to doubtful for Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.

Towns was previously listed as questionable, so this could be a huge blow for the Knicks, but it sounds like the talented big man still has a chance to play, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The team is already shorthanded, as Josh Hart (back) and Mitchell Robinson (load management) have already been ruled out. Guerschon Yabusele could be poised for a sizable workload as a result of this news.