Joel Embiid’s planned absences for the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener and their next two games has the attention of the NBA, which will likely begin an investigation this week, ESPN reported Wednesday.
Embiid, a former league Most Valuable Player with a history of injuries, missed the preseason due to what the team described last week as left knee injury management “in an individual treatment plan designed to best support his health and wellness for the 2024-25 season.”
The veteran center has been ruled out Wednesday against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, as well as for Friday’s game at Toronto and Sunday’s game at Indiana.
It’s typical for the NBA to review the situation when a superstar player misses a nationally televised game, per the league’s player participation policy, ESPN reported.
Embiid, 30, is heading into his ninth season after he averaged 34.7 points and 11.0 rebounds in just 39 games last season while undergoing surgery on his left knee for a meniscus injury. The seven-time All-Star returned to action and hobbled through the playoffs. Then he played for gold medal-winning Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer.
He recently said it’s probable that he’ll never play in back-to-back NBA games again to save wear and tear on his body.
“If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Embiid told ESPN.
Embiid also said he dropped 25 to 30 pounds in the offseason to help take pressure off the knee. He will continue to wear a brace on the left knee.
“It’s the right thing to do, and the right thing that’s going to give me the support for the rest of my career,” Embiid told ESPN. “For me, it’s a mental thing. I hated it. (But) I started telling myself, ‘OK, I have to do it, that’s the only way they’re going to let me play.'”
Embiid, who did not play for two seasons because of a foot injury after he was drafted in the first round in 2014 by Philadelphia, has averaged 27.9 points with 11.2 rebounds in 433 games for the Sixers. He was MVP in the 2022-23 season.
Coach Nick Nurse was asked on Tuesday about Embiid’s unavailability for Wednesday.
“He’s in practice, he’s looking good, he’s progressing,” Nurse said. “He’s not quite ready yet. He’ll be ready pretty soon.”
–Field Level Media