Joel Embiid Remains Hopeful for Return to 76ers This Season

Joel Embiid addressed reporters for the first time since his surgery on Thursday.

All hope isn’t lost for a Joel Embiid return to the Philadelphia 76ers this season.

When the team’s President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, spoke about the MVP big man following the trade deadline, he made it clear that the team’s multiple transactions were made with Embiid in mind.

“We're hopeful,” Morey said. “Feedback has been more good than bad since the first we've heard about what led to his procedure. So we're hopeful, and we're building the team to make it better this year. Obviously, it’s not 100 percent, but we felt like with Joel playing at an MVP level, we’re hopeful he can get back to that. This was a year that we got our real shot.”

Embiid’s knee concerns were lingering for several weeks before he underwent a surgical procedure. Prior to the Sixers’ Christmas Day clash in Miami, Embiid was ruled out for what turned out to be a four-game absence.

While the big man returned on January 2, he would last just two games before missing more time. Embiid dominated for a six-game stretch, which spanned from January 15 to the 25th. Then, some knee soreness ahead of the matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets caused Embiid to miss back-to-back outings.

When he returned to the court to face the Golden State Warriors on January 30, the reigning MVP suffered his worst setback of the season.

It was clear Embiid was a lesser version of himself in that matchup, as knee concerns were still in play. However, the situation went from bad to worse when a player fell on Embiid’s knee during the fourth quarter of the 12-point loss.

Embiid’s night ended prematurely. After 29 minutes, he checked out late in the game and never returned. The veteran center would later find out he suffered a meniscus injury and opted to undergo a medical procedure. The Sixers placed a four-week re-evaluation timeline at the start of his recovery.

On Thursday, the Sixers returned to practice to gear up for their Friday night matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. Following the session, Embiid addressed reporters for the first time since he went down with his setback last month and assured the public that the plan to return is still in play.

“That’s the plan," Embiid told reporters. "Obviously, everything has to go right as far as getting healthy and being as close as I’m supposed to be. But yeah, that’s the plan.”

As far as timelines go, nothing is set in stone.

“There’s really no timeline, it all depends on how the body reacts, especially once you start ramping up," he continued. "It all depends on how it feels. If it feels great, then that’s good. If it doesn’t feel like it’s right, then I got to keep going.”

#Sixers center Joel Embiid on coming back to play this season: pic.twitter.com/3toWaFwzlf

— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 29, 2024

Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics marked the 12th game in a row Embiid has missed since going out with his injury. He’ll remain out for Friday’s game versus Charlotte and beyond for the time being.

The Sixers hope to get Embiid back in the fold at some point before the regular season ends so they can prepare for another playoff run, with hopes of finding the same success they did earlier this year when Embiid was healthy and playing at an MVP level.