The fine comes after Joel Embiid's unexpected return to the court on Tuesday night, despite being listed as out for the game just 24 hours earlier.

76ers coach Nick Nurse announced that Embiid's status had been upgraded to questionable just before the home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shortly afterwards, Embiid was deemed available and was placed in the starting lineup.

The NBA stated that the fine took into consideration Philadelphia's history of violating injury reporting rules. Two years ago, the team was fined $50,000 when Embiid similarly returned to the court during the second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat while recovering from a knee injury.

Philadelphia's recent victories over Oklahoma City and Miami have provided a significant boost to their chances of securing the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings and avoiding the play-in games. As of now, ESPN's Basketball Power Index projects that Philadelphia, Miami, and the Indiana Pacers will all finish with 46 wins, making it a tight race.

The win against Miami gave the 76ers the tiebreaker advantage due to a better conference record, having split their four games this season. However, the Pacers hold the tiebreaker over Miami and have an opportunity to solidify their position with a win against the Heat on Sunday.

Since his return, Embiid has made a remarkable impact, scoring 24 points against the Thunder including a game-clinching steal and winning free throws. He followed it up with an impressive performance of 29 points in 32 minutes during Thursday's victory over the Heat in Miami.

As Embiid continues his recovery, it is unlikely that he will participate in both games of the team's upcoming back-to-back fixtures against Memphis and San Antonio. The team is expected to rest him for one of the games to ensure his continued healing. However, if there are no setbacks, Embiid should be ready to play in the final three regular-season games next week against the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Brooklyn Nets at home.

Although the 76ers have been penalized for their violation of injury reporting rules, their strong performance upon Embiid's return has bolstered their prospects in the race for a higher seed in the Eastern Conference.