The Philadelphia 76ers are listing Joel Embiid as out for Wednesday’s road game against the Atlanta Hawks due to swelling in his left knee.
It will be the second straight game Embiid has missed after sitting out Saturday’s loss against the Utah Jazz.
Embiid has missed eight games this season. In 27 games, the reigning MVP is averaging a league-leading 34.6 points, along with 11.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
The new collective bargaining agreement requires players, in most instances, to play in 65 regular-season games to be eligible for awards such as MVP or the All-NBA teams.
Wednesday’s game will be the sixth game in the team’s last eight that Embiid has missed due to injury. He sat out four straight with an ankle injury before returning for two games. He then injured his knee Friday night against the New York Knicks.
Philadelphia has lost three of its last four games, though Embiid is riding streaks of 16 straight 30-point games and 15 in a row of 30 points and 10 rebounds.
After Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, the Sixers are home for games against the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and a showdown against Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.