Philadelphia 76ers Speak Out on Joel Embiid’s Injury vs Pacers

Multiple Philadelphia 76ers react to Joel Embiid's injury after the matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

Dec 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts to a play against the Indiana Pacers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Following a disappointing loss against the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers are faced with a familiar critical question: Will Joel Embiid be healthy moving forward?

For the sixth time this season, Embiid suited up for Philadelphia on Friday night. It was his second game since returning from a seven-game absence.

Before the Sixers made it to halftime, Embiid was hit in the face and sent back to the locker room early. When the team came out for the start of the second half, Embiid was absent. Shortly after the game started back up, the Sixers ruled out the star center due to “impact” on the right side of his face. Further testing was required, preventing Embiid from going back out on the court.

Joel Embiid has been ruled out with injury vs. Pacers

He will undergo further testing after 'impact to right side of face' pic.twitter.com/K0E7jrYB4F

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2024

“He’s still getting tested,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “Took a hit to the face, so he’s getting tested on that. We’ll update you when we got something.”

The Sixers didn’t have an actual diagnosis to report at the time of Nurse’s press conference.

“I’m praying for him,” Sixers veteran Kelly Oubre said. “I saw a picture of it where it happened. I’m praying for him, man, he’s tough. So, Godspeed on whatever the diagnosis is for him.”

Although the Sixers were trailing when Embiid went out, the game was within reach. While they showed signs of a potential comeback while shorthanded, the Pacers managed to gain a significant lead in crunch time and put the Sixers away for their 16th loss of the year.

“It’s difficult,” Tyrese Maxey said about losing Embiid mid-game. “That’s kinda just life. You know what I mean? I feel like we have to overcome that. We did a decent job of that, though. We got the game close and then exerted a lot of energy trying to keep it close.”

All week long, the Sixers felt they were trending in the right direction. After Embiid returned with a 31-point double-double in the win over the Chicago Bulls, Friday’s game was a chance for the Sixers to form their biggest win streak of the season.

“Listen, he’s been in a really good place all week,” Nick Nurse said. “I haven’t had a chance to see him here after the game yet, but all I can say is he practiced this week. He was in a good place. We did a lot of stuff to kind of get up to speed with him, but I imagine he’s going to feel black clouds over him a little bit like he just keeps running into something, unfortunately, right? Really, unfortunate.”

final. @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/NBR3AQDOsj

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 14, 2024

All season long, the Sixers battled with setbacks. While they’ve consistently found themselves in a difficult position, they understand there’s only so much they can control.

“Stay positive—that’s all we can do,” said Sixers’ Paul George. “Just enjoy going out there hooping, playing for one another. Injuries are a part of this game. Very aware of that. Just try to pick up the pieces and hold it down for Joel. I don’t know what the injury is or what the timetable is or what’s going on, but we just gotta keep it going.”

“We’ll practice whenever we have practice next and play the next game and have a next-man-up mentality,” Tyrese Maxey added. “The only part that sucks about this is I think we were stepping in the right direction. Guys were figuring out their roles and what the coaches want from them. We were playing the right way. We knew how we wanted to play. It’s difficult. When Joel’s there, we know how we wanna play. We knew how we wanna play without him. Now, we gotta revert our minds back, and it’s different. That’s OK. That’s how life is.”

The Sixers revealed that Embiid was officially diagnosed with a sinus fracture. He’ll be further evaluated over the weekend so the team can figure out an official recovery timeline.

In the meantime, the Sixers will get Saturday and Sunday off before returning to the court to face the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. Embiid’s status for that matchup is unknown at this time.