For years, the Philadelphia 76ers have gone as far as Joel Embiid has taken them.
It’s not just because the former third overall pick is a seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, three-time All-Defensive selection, two-time scoring champion and 2023 NBA MVP; a Hall of Fame talent. He’s capable of scoring from every area of the floor, using his scoring gravity to create for his teammates, and using his physical gifts to dominate in the paint. In other words, he’s the team’s offensive engine and defensive anchor.
Consequently, the Sixers simply haven’t shown that they can win consistently when he isn’t available. In fact, they’re just 104-163 without Embiid since his rookie season but 295-157 with him. That’s why any update on his injury status has people on edge.
‘Things Look Good’ For Sixers Centerpiece Joel Embiid
This week, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse agreed to an exclusive interview with talkSports reporter Brian T. Smith. The most significant quote provided insight into Embiid’s recovery process. Underneath the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year’s optimism was a sobering nugget about the 31-year-old’s training camp availability.
“I know he’s working very, very hard and I think things look good,” Nurse tells Smith. “Whether he’s ready for training camp or not, I think there’s maybe a lot more decisions than that to make before we get there.”
“But our main thing is that he’s healthy to play and play to his nearest capabilities, because he’s awesome, no doubt about that.”
A Walk Down Surgery Lane
The Initial Injury
Embiid has played just 58 games over the past two seasons due to myriad injuries. The most significant of these was a meniscus tear he suffered in Jan. 2024 when Golden State Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga was going for a loose ball. After he underwent knee surgery, Embiid returned to the court in April.
The Re-Aggravation & Resolution
Then he seemingly exacerbated the injury in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Surprisingly, he decided to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics that summer, putting even more strain on his knee. At no point after his return did he ever truly look like himself. The general consensus is that he didn’t give himself proper time to heal. His knee was such a problem that –heading into the 2024-25 season –he planned to stop playing both legs of back-to-backs for the rest of his career.
Embiid then skipped out on preseason and missed the first nine games of the regular season. In the first 15 games he played, he averaged 24.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.0 block per contest. However, he was moving gingerly, if not timidly. This contributed to him shooting just 45.4 percent from the field, a woeful number for a true seven-footer.
The Follow-Up Surgery
He’d soon admit that he needed another surgery. Philadelphia decided to shut him down for the season two weeks later. After considering radical treatments to preserve his career, Embiid opted for an arthroscopic surgery, a more commonplace procedure. Entering the offseason, he told ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye: “We’re not going to push anything.”
“We don’t have a timeline… Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
The Last Word On Sports
Following Day 1 of the 2025 NBA Draft, 76ers president Daryl Morey said that Embiid was “on track to be ready” for training camp (h/t the Associated Press). In mid-July, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that Embiid hadn’t yet “returned to full on-court basketball activities.” However, he had “resumed partial basketball activities…”
As a result, Morey and Co. have remained “optimistic” their face of the franchise will be ready for the 2025-26 season opener. Per the NBA’s schedule release, that evening will see the Sixers facing their division rival; the Boston Celtics.
With all due respect, none of this matters if Embiid doesn’t look like himself though. It’s one thing for him to be medically cleared. It’s another for him to be able to dominate possession after possession, night after night.
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