76ers Shut Down Joel Embiid for the Remainder of the Season
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 20: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on November 20, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Joel Embiid, after dealing with various issues in his knee all season long, resulting in him playing just 19 games this season, has been officially ruled out for the remainder of the season to “focus on treatment and rehabilitation.”
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 28, 2025
Embiid has had various streches of the season where he has not been able to play. He did not make his season debut until the 10th game of the season dealing with a left knee injury. After that more complications in his knee caused him to miss about 1 week in late November to early December. Than swelling in that same knee again sidelined Embiid for almost a month from January to February.
Embiid will have finished this season playing just 19 games. This is the lowest mark of his career since 2014-2016 when he did not play at all in that 2-year period. As the superstar’s knee got worse, and the team followed it was abundantly clear it was no longer worth risking Embiid’s health for a lost cause. The reality being that any one of these injuries could come to a head and become something Embiid can’t come back from if he continues to push through it.
The message is clear for this Sixers squad, capture the Flagg by any means necessary. The 76ers currently sit at 6th in the draft lottery 2 games behind Toronto, 4 behind New Orleans, 6 behind Charlotte and Utah, and 10 behind the Wizards. If the 76ers fall outside of the top 6 in the draft, the pick conveys to the Thunder. We are in for a painful stretch of Sixers basketball but remember, it’s for Cooper Flagg.
Other Sixers like Paul George, I would not be surprised if his season comes to a similar end. PG has been dealing with issues in his hand all season long that could require surgery to fix and with the idea of winning taking a backseat, this is now very possible.
This summer will be a very important one for Josh Harris. There are about a million different routes the Sixers could take. Do you fire Morey and Nurse? Do you trade Embiid? What do you do with PG? Full rebuild or try to retool?
Due to his age the only player I see being completely safe is Tyrese Maxey. Every other player and coach have a real chance of being gone next year in my opinion. Unfortunately, while for now this may be boring, we won’t truly know the answer to this until the draft lottery. It’ll obviously be a huge difference in mentality if we land the first pick as opposed to the 5th, 6th, or possible losing the pick entirely.
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Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
