Although it looks as if it occurred in one other period in a recreation that we’d have watched on ESPN Classic, it was solely 20 months in the past that Joel Embiid scored 70 factors towards the San Antonio Spurs. The 2023 NBA MVP was on the peak of his powers, having seemingly unlocked each side of scoring on a basketball court docket.
Since then, nevertheless, the star heart has undergone a number of knee surgical procedures and was restricted to only 19 video games final season, the first cause the Philadelphia 76ers completed 24-58. With Embiid as a consequence of make over $187 million throughout the following three seasons, it’s now honest to wonder if his contract is the worst within the NBA. Of course, the notion that he’s not definitely worth the cash goes out the window if Joel is ready to step again on the court docket with any regularity.
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Heading into the 2025-26 season, the potential vary of outcomes for Embiid is as vast as his 7-foot-5 wingspan. It will surely qualify as a really pleased shock, however it’s not inconceivable that the newest process and a summer season of relaxation did the trick for his knee, and Embiid returns to All-NBA type. On the flip aspect, it’s sadly potential that his physique simply doesn’t enable him to cope with the pains of NBA basketball anymore, and he’s compelled out of the sport in the identical vein as huge males like Yao Ming, Greg Oden, or well-known Philadelphian bowler Andrew Bynum. If I needed to guess, I’d wager probably the most possible final result is Embiid tries to battle by way of issues like he has for the final 12 months and a half, however each optimistic flash is met by one more setback. The easy reply is we have to put together for any and each potential eventuality.
Currently, we don’t even know if Embiid will probably be accessible for coaching camp. Seeing him on the observe facility with his teammates and never sporting a knee brace is definitely an encouraging signal, however we’ve lived by way of too many Ben Simmons offseason exercises to put a lot inventory in what we see in August and September. Remember that Joel participated in issues over within the Bahamas final fall, however then the good ramp up occurred, and all of a sudden he was out for the preseason, then the season opener, and eventually the primary 9 video games of the season. The level being that even in instances when we now have an affordable thought what’s going on with Embiid in the present day, we nonetheless actually do not know about tomorrow.
Ultimately, we simply need the possibility to look at Joel Embiid play basketball once more. Not simply because it’s the Sixers’ greatest likelihood of being any semblance of a contender anytime within the close to future, however as a result of it is a man who has been by way of so much and the choice is simply so darn unhappy. As illustrated in Dotun Akintoye’s terrific Embiid feature for ESPN over the summer season, Joel has made some errors and missteps over time, however he has additionally been by way of a level of bodily, psychological, and emotional trauma that many individuals thankfully by no means must cope with within the course of their very own lives, not to mention whereas being within the public highlight. While the Sixers haven’t but reached the diploma of playoff success we’d have hoped for in the course of the Embiid period, he has definitely created many memorable moments and left an indelible mark on this metropolis’s sports activities historical past. Let’s simply cross our fingers we get to witness a couple of extra.