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The Philadelphia 76ers and superstar center Joel Embiid have had a season to forget. After signing star forward Paul George in the offseason, the Sixers were considered a legitimate threat to win a champion. Instead, Embiid and George have played 14 and 31 games respectively and the latter has been less than impressive when on the court.
Despite playing for Team USA in the Olympics, Embiid entered the season dealing with a knee injury that still hasn’t (and may never) seemed to heal. But Philadelphia has played coy about what exactly has been ailing Embiid. Sixers general manager Daryl Morey met with members of the media on Friday following the NBA trade deadline. During the press conference, he touched on Embiid’s injury status and how the team plans to proceed moving forward.
Daryl Morey, on Joel Embiid’s injury:
“His injury is one where you’re managing his symptoms: swelling, and pain. When those things happen, it’s best for him to sit out.”“We do think there will be a place in the future where the symptoms are reduced, or go to zero.” pic.twitter.com/jwUOsaRN1S
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 7, 2025
“There have been those times where, sincerely, Joel himself, the medical staff, he looks very much on the way towards playing, and primarily his injury is one where you’re managing his symptoms: swelling, pain,” Morey said. “When those things happen, it’s best for him to sit out. I know that Joel is doing everything he can and fighting to be out there as much as possible… He believes in this team. He believes in how it can come together… If he’s not out there, it’s because his symptoms aren’t allowing him to be out there.”
So, what does that mean for Embiid and the 76ers moving forward? He has a three-year, $192 million deal that doesn’t even begin until the 2026-27 season. So it’s imperative that Philadelphia finds a way to get him healthy. And Morey is optimistic about the team’s ability to do so.
“We’re optimistic long-term. Talking to the doctors and our understanding from talking with multiple experts — I think we’re at seven, eight, nine, 10 at this point — of the top people in the world, all see this as one that over time will improve, but it’s happened slower than anyone’s anticipated,” Morey stated. “We love how Joel’s fighting…. I think [the injury designation] ‘left knee injury management’ is almost perfect… This has been that since that injury… We do think there will be a place in the future where the symptoms in that are reduced or go to zero, but we’re still in the middle of that where we have to manage it, and it’s going to be based on symptoms.”
It’s hard to imagine how they could be optimistic about a 7-foot, 280-pound, 30-year-old player with chronic knee injuries. But it doesn’t do Morey much good to say otherwise. At this point, the Sixers are largely hoping for a miracle.