How do you even grade a season like the one Joel Embiid just had?
So, obviously the season grade for these guys is supposed to come at the end of these things, but there’s no other reasonable way to categorize Joel Embiid’s 2024-25 season other than incomplete.
Fighting swelling in his left knee, he was never able to play more than four games in a row, appearing in just 19 total. A season after averaging more points than minutes played, he dropped to 23.8 points per game. His free throw attempts per game dropped to 8.9, the lowest they’ve been since 2019-20. It wasn’t just a regression in his ability to create advantages for himself, even jump shooting was a struggle. He shot 44% from the field and 29% from three, both career lows.
The constant swelling was something he had to deal with as soon as the season started, unable to participate in any of training camp or preseason. Not only did he miss the beginning of the season because of this injury, but he was also suspended before he even took the court this year.
Everything that could have gone wrong for Embiid did, whether it was in his control or not. That suspension was the result of an altercation with a reporter who wrote a wildly out of line column which has since been edited. When Embiid finally was able to get on the floor, his closest teammate called him out for the tone his poor habits were setting.
The team itself seemed caught off guard by his absence to start the season and wasn’t able to keep the ship afloat, falling to 11 games under .500 by Thanksgiving. Even in December, when he played in seven of the 12 games that saw the team go 9-3, he wasn’t able to get through it without interruptions. He suffered another fracture in his face, the third of his NBA career, in a Dec. 13 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
After another bout of swelling caused him to miss nearly all of January, he returned in February looking like a shell of himself, particularly on defense. Mercifully, the decision was made to pull the plug on his season as for the first time ever, the Sixers were playing better with him off the floor than with him on it.
The only takeaway from what Embiid was able to do on the floor this year is just: man, what a bummer. If there’s any blame to go around, it’s on the front office, coach and roster for not having a Plan B after conclusively “winning the offseason.”
Not only did this year cement the fact that the Sixers will only go as far as Embiid takes them, but a sober reminder of being that reliant on someone with that extensive of an injury history.
After the season, Embiid underwent arthroscopic surgery, the second procedure he’s had on his left knee in 14 months. Though even that came after some reported discord between Embiid and the front office over treatment options.
How Embiid looks coming off this surgery is anyone’s guess. The franchise sure hopes his condition will improve as they invested another three years and $192 million dollars that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2029.
There is some hope he can transition into being a helpful player even if he’s no longer capable of carrying a team on his back throughout the regular season. In those seven games in December, he averaged 26 points on a 52.4 effective field goal percentage.
No one will know what the franchise cornerstone will look like though until he takes the court again, leaving his future and the future of the Sixers very unclear.
Season Grade: Incomplete