Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid made only 19 appearances last season before arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April took him completely out of action. With a couple of months left till September’s training camp, the 76ers are expecting Embiid to make a full recovery and join their 2025-26 campaign.
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Last week, 76ers’ president Daryl Morey spoke with Embiid hours ahead of the first round of Wednesday night’s draft. Following what seemed to be a fruitful conversation, Morey told the media that the All-Star was recovering well and making promising progress on his way back to the team.
“He’s very engaged, attacking rehab. Doing everything he can to be out there. He had a meeting with [the surgeon] this week. All things, to use a NASA term, are nominal. Things are going well and [as] expected, and we expect that to continue,” Morey revealed. But Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce isn’t buying it.
Pierce claims to have seen nothing in Embiid’s attitude to suggest a fruitful change. “No, Philly ain’t going to be there,” he said about the 76ers’ chances of winning a title next season and attributed it to Embiid’s injury concerns.
“I am not sure if Embiid’s knees are going to hold up. He’s gotta slim up, I think, just to take pressure off his knees, just because he’s heavy. The same with Zion. They have got to slim up,” Pierce added.
“When you keep having the same knee injuries, you have got to take some weight and pressure off them. It just is. This is just … It is what it is. Physics! Like dawg, I am putting too much weight on, I am pounding on wood, like come on, you have got to drop some shed. That’s the first thing I am going to look at preseason,” asserted the 2008 NBA champion.
Embiid had meniscus surgery on February 6, 2024, after Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg. He returned to the roster for the playoffs but had not made a complete recovery. That led to the current injury and surgery.
Injuries, in fact, have plagued Embiid the past couple of years. He has featured in only 58 regular-season games and 7 playoff encounters since being named NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season.
The 2014 #3 draft pick also dealt with multiple injuries even before he made it to the NBA; most notably, a stress fracture took him out for two years after being drafted out of Kansas. Since then, he’s suffered a bone bruise, meniscus tear, busted orbital bone, sprained shoulder, tendinitis, torn ligaments, and Bell’s Palsy.
Could a bodyweight reduction help him prevent future injuries? Perhaps! But it doesn’t matter, according to Pierce. He simply doesn’t believe Embiid is going to do what’s needed.
“I am going to watch … You know, you could tell a cat when they come to preseason. Oh, they shed something, okay, cool. Maybe they got something. They have been in the league so long, if he doesn’t have that mindset already, then I am not confident that moving forward, you’re going to have that approach,” said Pierce.
And Pierce, interestingly, isn’t the only veteran to think so. While he wasn’t as explicit as the Boston legend, 76ers alum Charles Barkley has also shared stories of how Embiid’s not-so-proactive approach to practice once turned off Billy Cunningham.
Barkley on why the 76ers will never win
Speaking on The Mike Missanelli Show, Barkley talked about an incident from five years ago when the legendary Cunningham showed up at the training ground to watch his former team prepare for the season. After a short time, he decided to pack up and leave, much to Barkley’s surprise.
As the story goes, after a light session in the gym, the team was informed that they were running off to practice. Weirdly, Embiid didn’t seem particularly interested, while the rest of the team went on for another hour and a half.
“And Billy says, ‘We gotta go.’ I said, ‘Why, Billy?’ He says, ‘The best player, when they sit down instead of scrimmaging, this team is never going to be successful.’ Billy was pissed,” revealed Barkley.
Chuck had also been rather critical of Embiid for missing last season’s opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. “I want to get this number right, and this is crazy, and bless the kid, No. 1; he just signed for three years, $193 million. Three years, $193 million — to play basketball. We’re not steel workers, we’re not nurses,” he said, rather angrily.
Hopefully, Embiid can prove his detractors wrong and return to training. As things stand, the 76ers are hoping he will join them for their preseason games in early October against the New York Knicks in Abu Dhabi.
