Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid has endured an NBA career overshadowed by one looming crux: injuries. Now, as he and his Sixers team prepare for a new season, Embiid shed some light on his outlook for his squad while opening up on his health, teammates, and urgency to win this season.
76ers All-Star Reflects on Team’s Winning Window Urgency
76ers All-Star Joel Embiid Opens Up Winning, Health, and Age
With the 76ers about to embark on a new NBA campaign, Embiid, a seven-time All-Star, recognizes his and his teammates’ current situation. Philly brought in one of the off-season’s most prominent free agents in Paul George. They also acquired 16-year veteran Eric Gordon. Aside from those two summer signings, Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. returned to the 76ers on new deals.
On paper, the 76ers have a rather elite squad when you add Tyrese Maxey to the mix. However, a couple of things seem to be on Embiid’s mind. During a press conference, the oft-injured center spoke about the urgency he feels to win, given that his history is rife with ailments. Regardless, Embiid reassured everyone that his mindset is focused on winning more than anything.
“Whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point and I’m ready to go,” Embiid said. “Basically every single year of my career, I’ve been hurting in the playoffs. So I think that’s the goal. And it is all about doing whatever it takes to get there.”
Joel Embiid Is Willing to Doing Whatever it Takes
Embiid knows that his body has a penchant for getting in his way, especially come playoff time. However, even with last season’s injuries, he still averaged 34.7 points per game and kept Philly hanging around in their first-round series against New York. Embiid alluded to a lighter workload this year to combat injury threats. However, he did not shy away from being willing to step up and put his team in a position to win.
“I will [score] when I have to,” Embiid said. “If it means I have to score some points at some point, then I’m going to do it. But most of the time, I really want to focus on just really let the game come to me. I think in previous years I’ve had to do it because we didn’t have necessarily the manpower for me to take that step back and to put us in a position to win.”
The former MVP is walking into this season focused. His summer Olympic experience has aided him in keeping perspective and relishing a chance to win again—something he alluded to while speaking with reporters.
Can the 76ers Old Guys Make A Difference?
The 2024-25 iteration of the 76ers is up there in age. George (34), Gordon (35), and Lowry (38) are all past their primes. As for Embiid, he is just 30. However, given his injuries, as many as they have been, they certainly add a few extra years to him, at least in the physical sense.
Still, GM Daryl Morey has put together a championship contending core in Philadelphia. Several NBA analysts and media pundits are putting the 76ers in the 2-4 seed range in the Eastern Conference. Suppose Embiid can finally make it to the playoffs on both legs this year and be relatively healthy entering them. Not to mention the addition of George, as well as Maxey continuing to get better every single year. In that case, the 76ers are in good position to be a team to beat in the East.
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