Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons out for All-Star Game due to contact tracing

ByADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI
March 7, 2021, 12:09 PM

Philadelphia 76ers teammates  Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have been ruled out of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, the league has announced. The two had contact with a barber who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, sources told ESPN.

The barber, located in the Philadelphia area, tested positive after undergoing additional testing Sunday because of an inconclusive positive test, sources said. 

Embiid is on Team Durant, while Simmons is on Team LeBron. There are no plans to replace them in the All-Star Game at this point, a source told ESPN.

Both Embiid and Simmons traveled to Atlanta on Saturday night in private planes and have remained in quarantine, which was the protocol for every All-Star participant. The NBA has feared an outbreak involving the league's best players in Atlanta and has significant precautions in place to isolate the players on the way in and out of Atlanta for the game.