Sixers center Joel Embiid has had very limited availability for Philadelphia this season due to a lingering left knee ailment that he has been dealing with since last February.
A year ago, Embiid incurred a lateral meniscus injury against Golden State, underwent surgery, and made a hasty return in April for a playoff push.
His knee apparently hasn’t been right ever since. Embiid has played especially sparingly since the calendar flipped over to 2025, appearing in just five games amidst knee issues.
During Philadelphia’s nationally televised matchup with Milwaukee on Sunday, ABC’s Lisa Salters reported (Twitter video link) that the 30-year-old may require another knee surgery and an extended recuperation window.
“I asked Joel Embiid how that left knee feels and he gave a really long pause and just said, ‘It is what it is,'” Salters said. “He said to still be talking about it and dealing with it almost a full year after the injury first occurred has been frustrating and the most difficult thing he’s ever had to go through in his career. He said he wishes he could play in every game, but his body just isn’t allowing him to do that right now. When the knee swells up, there’s just nothing he can really do about it.
“Sixers GM Daryl Morey this week said the organization is hopeful that there will come a time that the knee isn’t an issue anymore, and Embiid said he believes that will be the case. But he said he thinks it will likely take another surgery and a long recovery period, something he didn’t have after the initial injury last February.”
In the 16 games he has managed to play for the 20-32 Sixers, Embiid has put up solid numbers, though they’re well below his typical All-NBA production since the 2020/21 season.
Across those 16 games, the Kansas alum is averaging 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals per game.
At least he has a gold medal.
An MVP I guess….
Get it done, sit out two years if you have to, and get praying.
As for Philly, they need to plan on not having Embiid at all. The constant cycle of comebacks and absences is too disruptive – rebuild, plan on not having him at all, and anytime he comes back, it’s a bonus.
Or just try trading him this offseason, get as much assets possible, to move on.
I would hope we didn’t have to give up too many assets to unload him. I didn’t dream of getting them in return. I like your plan, I just don’t think it’s realistic
Zach Lavine ……. played enough games to show some health, was productive – restored enough value to get traded.
SIXERS should follow the same playbook ……. trade Embiid in the offseason.
The difference of course being LaVine had ONE foot surgery with no lasting effects.
Kind of a different story for Embiid! This ain’t NBA 2K.
Zach Lavine was a permanent entry of any worst-contracts list in the NBA ……. there will always be that desperate team.
Listen, I know you feel like a genius spamming Zach LaVine’s name in the comments section every 2 minutes, but their situations (and money) aren’t remotely comparable.
The point is, anyone can be traded….. outside of lebron and Beal, that is
Hate to break it to you – NOBODY is trading for Embiid.
Dallas would have been willing byer, but now they have AD
I know this comment is made tongue and cheek, and obviously ignores the relationship Nico had with AD – there is a zero percent chance Embiid
If Dallas had a problem with Luka’s attitude and conditioning, Embiid is not exactly what I would call an upgrade there. Effectively a zero percent chance they would have swapped them.
At this point and at his age, if he sits out two years, retirement is more likely than a full fledged return.
Dude had a tonne of talent, but the injury history + his unwillingness to take his conditioning seriously will make Joel a “what if” at the end of his career.
Hardly shocking sadly
Just glad there wont be anymore embid vs jokic comparison
He’s had a rough couple years professionally and personally. Get the surgery now and take a year off.
Its all about the tank. Sixers owe Thunder the pick top six protected. Better pray if you tank. Or make sure you are bottom three.
Sixers were expected to do better than Knicks. Expected to be better than Cavs. Pre season favorite to challenge the Celtics.
You wonder why Mavs gave up on Luka. Worst thing any NBA team can do. Is invest in the wrong Star. Its called player management. Not to be confused with game management.
“Sixers were expected to do better than Knicks”
Most sportsbooks had the Knicks O/U for wins at 53.5, and the Sixers at 50.5
They are still the favorites to win the NBA Finals in 2025 at +300. The Denver Nuggets are next at +750. The 76ers slot in right after that, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder at +800.
After getting PG —- it was Sixers
link to sports.yahoo.com
Trust the process bro
None of this would have happened if Embiid didnt force his return to play 65 games and win MVP last season. He wasnt ready, ended up aggravating it, missed last season’s MVP and now might have ruined the rest of his career.
Olympics ???? No reason to play. Selfish move
What? Why did you bring the olympics up?
Possibly because, quoting the article: “A year ago, Embiid incurred a lateral meniscus injury against Golden State, underwent surgery, and made a hasty return in April for a playoff push. His knee apparently hasn’t been right ever since.”
Which means the knee wasn’t right during the Olympics. He knew it, again from the article, and should NOT have played in the Olympics, but instead concentrated on continued rehab out of respect for the organization that made him into a multi-millionaire.
Pretty sure Embiid is the one who made himself into a multi-millionaire. Philly is just the one cutting the check.
I’m sure you too would favor your job over the Olympics.
Atleast Philly fans have the Eagles….
Go Eagles !!!!!’
Everyone wonders why the Mavs gave up on Luka!
Especially since Anthony Davis injury history is actually closer to Joel Embiid than Luka’s is! If you ignore the past 2 years, AD’s career has been a season ending injury just waiting to happen!
At this point sixers are blatantly trying to tank and need to be investigated by the league. What a joke. The only injury to embiid is his ego because their record stinks on ice
They don’t own their own pick. They have a very slim chance of getting 1-6 to keep it. So what’s to investigate?
must be a day of the week
SIXERS fans should look at the bright side, at least Morey didn’t give Embiid a no-trade clause.
True, but it will still take a lot of maneuvering to unload him without taking back some bad stuff in return
who is gonna trade for an oft injured big man with a 2nd knee surgery?
Zach Lavine ……. played enough games to show some health, was productive – restored enough value to get traded.
SIXERS should follow the same playbook ……. trade Embiid in the offseason.
Zach LaVine is a big man? Derp.
You don’t seem to understand well, even for a kid.
Lay off the 2k, try to go outside of the house, maybe play some real hoops.
If only there were a way for you to articulate your point better, rather than regurgitating the same level zero nonsense ad nausea.
Ah yes, I know!
Would you care to remind us what LaVine got traded for?
And how many years / dollars are remaining on his contract?
Relative to Embiid?
“Play some real hoops”. Bruh you’re playing Armchair GM on the internet, and doing a **** job of it.
You might have missed the word “try” on my reply to the first post.
The first post suggesting a long recovery period …… I think try to trade him when possible (offseason) instead, will be the better way.
I used Lavine’s case since he was long considered a perennial injury risk and a bad contract …… it might not be the same severity/conditions as Jojo’s, but the gameplan remains the same – try to play Embiid as much as possible this season, hope he plays a good stretch, hope he performs (likely) and hope he built enough trade equity for some desperate team to want him this offseason.
Not too complicated set of words, right kid?
Unfortunately, what you can’t seem to comprehend, is a solid 2-3 month stretch won’t erase Embiid’s EXTENSIVE injury history in the mind’s of any NBA decision maker.
Not to mention such a stretch doesn’t even seem plausible.
No team is trading 55M in contracts (much less ASSETS) for Embiid, who has 250M left on his contract. A number you can’t seem to comprehend, because you keep parroting out LaVine w/o any consideration of what his actual return was, and how many YEARS it took to actually move his terrible deal INCLUDING WHILE HE WAS HEALTHY.
By all means, put your money where your mouth is and cobble something together! Rather than just yapping.
Guys its so easy to get value for an injured star!
Just look at Brandon Roy, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Andrew Bynum…. why didn’t those teams just trade them Mark Williams style after a good month?
Remind me what the John Wall trade was again lol
OH RIGHT. They had to trade a first, Marcus Smart style, just to get off him
Why didn’t they just wait for him to have a good month or two?
The Mavs
If another surgery and rehabilitation is necessary, then it should happen sooner rather than later. But the draft pick shouldn’t control. They’re likely to lose it anyway, and can’t imagine going through another round of tanking without even getting a pick out of it.
You don’t heal faster when you age. How much cartilage is left in those knees? A guy at his height and weight is killer on the knees and eventually feet. Great player when healthy but that is almost never now.
Soooo why did they just shut him down from the beginning, tank, get a top pick and move PG at the deadline or let him get healthy too and go at it next year. Mismanaged.
The whole “process” has been bad…
It stems from the lack of veterans in the early years teaching the merits of conditioning and eating tight… Among other things…
Flopper gets injured a lot and thinks he can play for team USA. Nothing more here.
Sixers will remain loyal to him though….process trusted? They Do Not deserve a lottery pick.