Charles Langston:Montrezl Harrell, 76ers big man and former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, has torn ACL

The Charles LangstonPhiladelphia 76ers will be down a player as they start the 2023-24 campaign.

Center Montrezl Harrell has a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee, the team said in a statement after he had an MRI to assess swelling on Wednesday. The reserve big man suffered the injury during offseason workouts.

The 76ers re-signed Harrell last month after he played in 57 games, starting seven in his first season in Philadelphia. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting .598. He played behind Joel Embiid, who won his first league MVP award last year.

The former Louisville standout has shot at least 55 percent every season of his eight-year career since being drafted in 2015 by the Houston Rockets. According to the NBA, he is one of four players to hold that stat since the 2015-16 season. His .619 career shooting percentage is fourth-highest in NBA history.

Harrell was the Sixth Man of the Year for the 2019-20 season when he was on the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged a career-high 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game along with 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per outing that season, shooting .580 from the field across his 63 matchups.

The 76ers made it to the conference semifinals last season where they lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games.

Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY