Joel Embiid sat out the beginning of the 2024-25 season regardless of taking part in within the 2024 Paris Olympics and never present process any offseason surgical procedures.
The mysterious flip of occasions led to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes questioning Embiid’s conditioning and dedication to the grind. Embiid would reply by engaging in a physical altercation with the reporter, resulting in a suspension that additional derailed the 76ers.
On Sunday, Embiid performed a uncommon sport — his fifth of the season — because the Sixers pulled off a 108-100 win over the Bulls. After the win, Embiid opened up concerning the mysterious nature of his knee harm, confirming that he is not coping with any structural harm however reasonably a swelling that his medical workers has been unable to diagnose.
“Miserable,” Embiid told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps of his lack of ability to play persistently. “Simply attempting to determine it out. There isn’t any harm. Simply between the swelling … we have to get it discovered. That is it. I have been saying it for the previous couple of months. It has been extraordinarily miserable. It is one thing that hasn’t been discovered, and it has been extraordinarily annoying, as a result of I’d like to play each single sport.”
It needs to be famous that Clippers star Kawhi Leonard handled an analogous knee irritation in the course of the 2024 playoffs, a difficulty that held him out of the Paris Olympics and the beginning of the 2024-25 season. Very similar to Embiid, Leonard’s docs confirmed that he wasn’t coping with structural harm whilst his knee swelled up repeatedly.
One can not help however sympathize with Embiid, who faced severe backlash for declaring his intention to not play in back-to-back video games this season. It is clear now that the 7-footer had a legitimate purpose to make the feedback. After Sunday’s win, Embiid confirmed that he’d play each sport if not for his infected knee.
“I want I might have been taking part in from the start,” Embiid stated. “I’d like to play each single sport, each single minute, however generally your physique simply says, ‘No,’ and you may’t do nothing about it. All you are able to do is simply preserve working to repair it and get higher.”
Lots of Embiid’s critics made blanket statements with out actually understanding the complexity of his knee situation. As Embiid himself confirmed, “there is no harm” however a swelling regardless, leaving each himself and the Sixers medical workers bewildered by the state of affairs.
Maybe Embiid’s critics have been a bit too harsh.
