Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has undergone knee surgery, ending his hopes of retaining the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
Embiid, 29, will miss at least four weeks after surgery.
He is the current MVP, but to retain that title he needs to play at least 65 games this season, and this absence makes that impossible.
The Cameroonian will miss what would have been his seventh consecutive All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18th.
Embiid, who injured his left knee in last Wednesday's 119-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors, underwent an MRI that revealed a problem with his knee.
He has already missed 15 of the 76ers' 49 games thus far.
With four weeks remaining, Embiid will miss 11 more games, bringing his total number of regular-season games to 56.
The center averaged 33.1 points per game and was named MVP for the 2022-23 season.
He is the NBA's leading scorer this season, averaging 35.3 points per game and more than one point per minute.
With this record, he would become the second player in NBA history to average at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game over a full season, after Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62.
The 76ers had a 26-8 record in the 2023-24 season with Embiid, but were just 4-11 without Embiid.