Sixers

Setting the Odds for the Debilitating Injury or Ailment that Will Surely Keep the Sixers’ #3 Overall Draft Pick Sidelined for Some or All of his Rookie Season

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 13th, 2025 · 12:00 PM EDT

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They say that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, but “they” obviously were not Philadelphia 76ers fans, because another certainty is the feeling of emptiness when a rookie draft pick misses all or some of his rookie season due to a debilitating injury or ailment.

It’s happened five times in the past decade, with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Zhaire Smith, and Jared McCain being sidelined during their debut campaigns.

With the Sixers picking #3 in the 2025 Draft, we’re setting the odds on the next affliction to befall a highly-touted prospect:

• leprosy: -250
• thoracic outlet syndrome: -150
• bubonic plague/black death: -125
• allegedly hit by a car: even money
• broken navicular bone: +120
• jones fracture: +125
• undiscovered sesame seed allergy: +135
• displaced flap of the meniscus: +150
• gastroenteritis: -70000
• stubbed toe: +175
• injured fingernail packing boxes, like Matt Strahm: +180
• player turns out to be an anti-vaxxer and gets measles: +190
• fell into a manhole: +200
• pirate scurvy/not enough Emergen C: +250
• trench foot: +275
• malaria: +300
• myocarditis: +350
• the norovirus that recently wiped out every Pre-K in the Philadelphia region: -10000000000
• broken face after teammate accidentally runs into him: +450
• drank Bryce Harper’s raw milk latte and got Listeria: +500
• flesh-eating bacteria: +600
• staph infection that just won’t heal: +700
• freak bowling injury: +750
• inhaled all of the pollen in the Delaware Valley, sneezed, threw out his back: +800
• food poisoning after eating a BOGO dog: +900
• Oregon Trail-esque dysentery: +950

Laugh or cry, but can you pick out how many from this list that actually happened? The number is seven or eight, depending on whether or not Kelly Oubre Jr. was actually hit by a car. Not saying it DIDN’T happen, we just never got video confirmation and Oubre didn’t talk much about it after the fact. That led to a lot of hemming and hawing among fans, some who still believe, to this day, that it was a cover story for something else.

Anyway, if you’re feeling lucky, hop on the Crossing Broad sports book and place those bets. Then you can take your winnings to NJ online casinos or PA casino apps and earn even more money for yourself! We’re going higher than Jeff Bezos’ space rocket, and we’re gonna kiss the ground when we get back to Earth.

Play the song!