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Sixers’ Rookie Curse Continues! Zhaire Smith To Likely Miss Season After Life Threatening Allergic Shock

The curse of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first round picks continues.

Somehow, none of their new potential stars are able to play in year one! Last year, it was Markelle Fultz. The year before, Ben Simmons. In 2014, Joel Embiid. This year, it’s Zhaire Smith.

On August 6, Smith fractured his foot at a summer development camp. The team remained hopeful for Smith to be active again at the beginning of 2019. That has changed now. The broken foot apparently was only a minor issue compared to what followed.

The rookie had to undergo a thoracoscopy in September to “address an issue that stemmed from an allergic reaction to a food product”, which is believed to be an allergic reaction to sesame. If it was anaphylactic shock, he easily could have died from the allergic reaction. But even as it is now, the situation isn’t good.

The Ringer’s John Gonzalez reports that Smith has lost “upward of 20 pounds” and may not play at all during the 2018-19 NBA season.

“I was also told that he had more than one procedure to address the issue, which is evidently what the Sixers meant by the fuzzy “additional medical treatment” line. (The team had no comment, according to a spokesperson.)…

…Several reports stemming from the November 9 background briefing mentioned that Smith had “lost weight” over the past month and a half, but I was told that he lost “upward of 20 pounds.” For someone who’s listed at 199 pounds on the team website, that’s significant. As is the difference between Smith not playing in 2018, as reported, and “being in danger” of not playing at all this season, which is how it was explained to me.”

We will have to wait and see how this situation plays out, but as the end of the day, the only important thing is that Smith will fully recover.