PHILADELPHIA — Last spring, after the Philadelphia 76ers were once again eliminated from the playoffs early, Joel Embiid texted Daryl Morey. The Sixers star sent a message to the team’s president of basketball operations. Next time, they needed to be healthy for the postseason no matter what.
That has been difficult to achieve in years past. Embiid has suffered countless illnesses during his career during the playoffs. These injuries slowed Embiid’s performance and led to Philadelphia’s early postseason exit.
Last April, he played through injuries to his left knee, suffering from Bell’s palsy during the team’s play-in win against the Miami Heat and during the Sixers’ first-round series against the New York Knicks. The effects continued.
Now, Embiid is ready to do whatever it takes to stay healthy during the most important period of his schedule. Even if it seems like it comes at the expense of his personal accolades.
“This year, it’s all about no agenda, no All-Stars, no All-NBA,” Embiid said. “That’s not true. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I get to where I’m ready because I’ve been injured in the playoffs basically every year of my career. That’s the goal. I think so.
“It’s all about doing whatever it takes to get there. And physically I’m fine. I’m not where I want to be, but I know I have the support and they also We all want the same thing.”
Embiid tore the meniscus in his left knee last January, resulting in his 2023-24 season being cut short. This injury plays into the NBA’s new 65-game rule, which requires Embiid and the league’s other stars to play at least that many games to qualify for Most Valuable Player and other league spots. This happened while I was contemplating whether or not I should work on it. honor.
He was the front-runner for the MVP award at that point and was in position to win it for the second straight year.
However, Embiid was sidelined for two months due to a torn meniscus and played in just 39 games last season, failing to make the All-NBA team for the second time since his rookie year. The injury cost Embiid, but it also nearly jeopardized Philadelphia’s season.
During his absence, the Sixers fell from first place in the Eastern Conference and had to win a play-in game to make the playoffs.
His health will once again loom over Philadelphia throughout the season. They have championship aspirations after signing Paul George to pair with Embiid and All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey this summer.
Embiid lost weight this summer to prepare (he says 25 to 30 pounds) and plans to be in top shape for the playoffs. The 76ers are ready to do that, too.
Morey said the team is “going to approach it very wisely” with Embiid not forgoing the regular season, “but obviously we’re very focused on April, May and June.” spoke.
“That doesn’t mean this time isn’t as important, but we’re going to be very smart about how we manage him throughout the season,” Morey said. “And we’ll have a lot of information as we learn more about how everything is working with the entire roster, especially Joel.
“In fact, we have quite a few players that we think we need to be smart about how we manage them throughout the season, maintaining a high level of play and keeping an eye on the prize money.”
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(Photo: Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
