Simons and Bona to sit out Sixers' preseason finale vs. Celtics

Simons and Bona to sit out Sixers' preseason finale vs. Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ final dress rehearsal is on deck.

The team will host the Celtics on Friday night in its preseason finale. After that, the regular-season opener next Tuesday against the Knicks is on the calendar.

As far as their stars, the Sixers have had a healthy preseason so far. Two key bench players will sit Friday, though. 

The Sixers ruled Anfernee Simons and Adem Bona out vs. Boston. Both were full participants in practice, a team official said, and they joined Exhibit 10 and two-way contract players in a full-court, post-practice scrimmage.

Post-practice Anfernee Simons jumpers: pic.twitter.com/6vGonbFtxh

— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) October 15, 2026

Simons has been out with a hamstring injury, Bona a left foot sprain. They’ve each been sidelined for the full preseason. Same with Dominick Barlow (back). 

“They’re going through good portions of practice,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said Thursday of Simons and Bona. “Listen, the coaching staff was obviously hoping to get them in a game before the opener just because it’s nice … to see where they’re at in that kind of game rather than see where they’re at in a real live one. 

“But it is what it is. Long season ahead. Hopefully, we’ll get them back sooner rather than later.”

Ariel Hukporti suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in the Sixers’ preseason opener, meaning Bona appears set to be the team’s clear primary backup center. The sharpshooting Simons seems poised to be the first guard off the bench. Over his last six seasons, Simons has averaged 16.9 points and 3.6 assists in 28.8 minutes per game and shot 38.6 percent from three-point range. 

“I’m super excited about Ant,” Tyrese Maxey said. “The little bit we’ve seen of him, just the way he shoots the ball, it’s going to open up so many different things. He can play with so many different groups, so many different lineups because of the way he shoots the ball. I’m excited to get on the court with him.”

Nurse indicated the Sixers plan to roll with their first-choice starting five in the preseason finale.

The unit of Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid played its first game together last week in a loss to the Nets.

“(The plan) is always a bit fluid and flexible, I think,” Nurse said. “We would like to get the majority of them into the second half. I think it’s now time to play, go in at halftime, come back out and get ready to go again. … And then it’s probably fairly short after that, but going through that part of it.”

In past preseasons, injury troubles have hindered the Sixers’ efforts at building a stable foundation.

They’re hoping for a relatively smooth start this time around. 

“A lot of guys are pretty healthy,” Maxey said. “I think that’s different. And then the preseason last year, it was kind of hard to get (Paul George) in. He was going through some (injury) things. Joel was going through some stuff. 

“Our first five has been pretty healthy and we’ve been out there pretty much every day. That helps.”

Nurse called this year’s training camp “a lot of fun.”

“The guys have been amazing as far as attitude and just coaching them,” he said. “Really fun couple of weeks. Their energy and their focus and their desire to get better (quickly) has been great, and that’s always really fun to coach. We’ve been healthy. That’s been much more fun than it has been. 

“There’s been a lot of things that have made it enjoyable. Just keep on working, keep on getting better.”