The predominant topic of discussion on Joel Embiid is almost always his injuries. The Cameroon-born star has had a career plagued by injuries, his last season as well was no exception. Therefore, Embiid said during his conversation with ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that he’s at a point in his career where he’s certain about not playing back-to-back games ever.
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“If I had to guess [Embiid said] I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.”
Last season, Embiid only played 39 regular season games. He is already ruled out for the rest of the preseason games this year. Therefore, it’s understandable why the 76ers star is looking to preserve his health in the regular season.
However, the comment from Embiid has made several people furious about his attitude toward the game. Justin Termine of SiriusXM NBA ridiculed the 76ers star’s excuse to not play back-to-back games by bringing up the example of Wilt Chamberlain.
He retweeted the comment on X with the response that players like Chamberlain played full seasons despite poor medical facilities and other drawbacks back in the day.
“Wilt was just as big and played all 82 games in his final three seasons while avg over 43mpg from age 34-36 while dealing with horrible shoes, floors, travel, and medical care. So save me from all the talk about how today’s athletes are so much better than they used to be,” Termine lashed out.
Wilt was just as big and played all 82 games in his final three seasons while avg over 43mpg from age 34-36 while dealing with horrible shoes, floors, travel, and medical care.
So save me from all the talk about how today's athletes are so much better than they used to be. https://t.co/RM0noSQCjp
— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) October 14, 2024
Termine’s frustration is understandable because athletes in the 60s used to play full seasons even during the last stretch of their careers. They used to wear Converses with little to no cushioning and had far worse medical care and travel accommodations. They were also not compensated properly for their hard work.
On the contrary, superstars like Embiid enjoy exorbitant salaries and world class medical care and other benefits. In the case of Embiid, his career is technically not even a decade long and he’s already tapping out of certain commitments. He has yet to play a 70-game season in his career. The most number of games he has played in a single season is 68 in 2021-22.
However, Termine must understand that it’s not about comparing players from different eras, but to ensure that Embiid gets the best out of his body.
After last season, he has lost 25-30 pounds to have better control over his physique. But still Embiid has taken a cautious stance on playing too many games in the regular season.
Joel Embiid says he lost about 25 to 30 pounds this offseason:
“I still got a ways to go, still want to lose more…We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I am healthy. There’s no agenda, no All-Star, no All-NBA.” pic.twitter.com/23IOnQNu0m
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) September 30, 2024
He told reporters, “We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I am healthy. There’s no agenda, no All-Star, no All-NBA.”
Therefore, the 2023 NBA MVP is determined to bring Philly some much-needed postseason success this year. And he is willing to sacrifice his regular season production and even regular season accolades to achieve that goal, no matter what critics say.
