Ben Simmons will certainly not be taking the court for the Philadelphia 76ers during their home-opener Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets. There’s a chance that the oft-injured, 2020-21 NBA MVP runner-up Joel Embiid will be out of action as well.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported late Friday morning that Embiid was practicing with his right knee heavily-wrapped, and his status for the clash against Brooklyn was up in the air.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2014, Embiid didn’t make his NBA debut until the 2016-2017 campaign due to multiple foot and knee injuries. In each of his first five pro seasons, the Cameroonian hasn’t played in more than 64 regular season contests.
He’s made four consecutive All-Star teams, has been named second-team All-Defense three times and second-team All-NBA three times as well. The Sixers have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, but have yet to make it past the Eastern Conference semifinals, despite being the No. 1 seed in the East last spring.
Embiid signed a four-year, $196 million supermax contract extension over the summer, securing his spot in Philly through the 2026-27 season.
In the team’s season-opening road win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, the big man finished with 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting, along with six rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes of action.
Victor Barbosa is a passionate follower of MLB, the NBA and NFL, with a specific interest in the Boston-area teams. As a 90s kid, he knows how spoiled he’s been, particularly with the BoSox run of championships (he grew up with a dog named Nomar and a cat named Big Papi). Now he lives with his fiancee and two pups (Hershey and Mosby) outside of Albany, NY. Follow Victor on Twitter at @vbarbosa1127.
