Despite being one of the league’s best players since 2018, Joel Embiid has yet to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Part of the reason is the stricter postseason officiating which doesn’t allow the center to draw easy fouls. However, a more lingering concern has been Joel’s health.
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During this year’s pre-season media day, Joel Embiid announced that he has lost nearly 30 pounds in an attempt to improve his conditioning. But his strategy for postseason success had more layers to it. He told reporters,
“If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.”
While some fans viewed the decision as Embiid’s, former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas agreed with the decision. On the Gil’s Arena podcast, he said,
“You think he came up with that? That’s the organization, you know they protect their asset. He just signed his new contract.“
Not only did Philadelphia sign Embiid to a 3-year $192 million extension last month, but they also handed Tyrese Maxey a rookie max extension and acquired Paul George to build one of the best rosters in the league.
As such, it makes sense that the franchise would want to preserve their best player for their most important games. Arenas’ co-star Josiah Johnson also harkened back to 2019, when Nick Nurse deployed the same approach with Kawhi Leonard. He said,
“Similar strategy back in 2019. Kawhi [Leonard] didn’t play back-to-backs, ended up being healthy for all 24 of the Raptors’ postseason games. They went on to win a championship.“
While tried and tested, the strategy does come with its consequences. Agent Zero expressed dissatisfaction on behalf of the fans, who pay top dollar to see the best players in the world perform on the court. However, Arenas also spelled out the real implications this move could have on Embiid’s career and legacy.
Joel Embiid has little wiggle room to qualify for award consideration
If the injury-prone 30-year-old wants to be eligible for MVP and All-NBA honors, he must play at least 65 games as per the NBA’s new rules. With 15 back-to-backs on the Sixers’ schedule this season though, Embiid will – at most – play in just 67 regular season games. As Gilbert Arenas explained,
“He only got a wiggle room of two [games]…So, all the awards that he should deserve won’t be given to him.”
Even the scoring title, which Joel Embiid has won twice so far, requires a 65-game minimum. Arenas also believes that this strategy might be the reason why the Cameroonian-American center signed a contract extension last month.
His previous deal already kept him in Philly through the 2026-27 season. However, if he was to skip back-to-backs and miss out on award consideration over the next two seasons, Embiid would fall out of supermax eligibility.
General manager Daryl Morey seemingly didn’t want the center thinking about anything but the NBA championship. The team might have extended his contract in good faith, ensuring he will earn a supermax salary through 2028-29, even if he can’t meet the criteria as the team sets its sights on the ultimate goal. The seven-footer also seems to have accepted how this change could affect his career, saying,
“I’ve accomplished everything [individually], but there’s one thing missing, which is to win a championship.”
This is the final gamble of the decade-long ‘Process’. Anything short of a championship will stifle the Sixers’ future and leave a massive question mark on Joel Embiid’s legacy.
