Former Sixer Noel Suffers Concussion Following Scary Injury

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Staff 

Oklahoma City big man and former Sixer Nerlens Noel took a scary fall on Tuesday night in a heated game between the Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves. With the Thunder leading 81-77 a little past the midway point of the third quarter, Noel went up for a block of Andrew Wiggins' layup. Nerlens took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Wiggins and he fell hard to the ground with his head hitting the court, knocking him unconscious. 

Noel was down on the floor for a few minutes before being taken off on a stretcher and transported to the University of Oklahoma's OU Medical Center. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nerlens was diagnosed with a concussion. Imaging did not show any fractures.

After scary fall last night, Oklahoma City Thunder center Nerlens Noel has been diagnosed with a concussion — and tests showed he avoided any fractures, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 9, 2019

Wiggins told reporters post game that he didn't mean to hurt Noel, but rather make an aggressive move and dunk.

Shortly after Noel's fall, there was a brief pushing/shoving exchange between Minnesota's Jeff Teague and Oklahoma City's Dennis Schroder. The two were former teammates in Atlanta. 

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Wiggins said of Schroder, per ESPN's Royce Young. "He was acting crazy for no reason. I looked right through it. He's not someone I see as a problem. Not at all."

Minnesota ended up winning the game 119-117 after Russell Westbrook missed both attempts at game-winning shots.