Sixers Send Cryptic Joel Embiid Tweet Before Matchup vs. Cavaliers

The Philadelphia 76ers leave fans speculating about Joel Embiid's status this weekend.

Jan 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks on / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers’ social media team drove up the X/Twitter engagements on Thursday when they sent out a simple GIF of the team’s star player, Joel Embiid.

Nothing was said in the post, so all fans could do was use their imagination.

With over one million impressions, an Embiid-centric tweet left fans speculating that the big man was going to return to the court very soon.

pic.twitter.com/W3cbwLyI0h

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 28, 2024

On Wednesday night, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse noted that the team didn’t have a target date set for Embiid’s return. However, he reiterated that the injured All-Star has been on the court working.

When the Sixers held practice on Thursday before leaving for Cleveland, Nurse confirmed that Embiid was competing against his teammates in some capacity. While that didn’t lead to the head coach finally offering a potential return date, Nurse is still admittedly optimistic that Embiid could be back on the floor before the regular season concludes.

The big man joined his teammates for their two-game road trip this time around. He won’t play on Friday night when the Sixers take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While the chances of Embiid getting the nod to take on the Toronto Raptors on Easter Sunday are likely slim, the fact that he’s traveling with the team to work closer with them in the final weeks hints he’s as close as reports speculate.

Right now, the Sixers could use all of the help they could get. Since Embiid went down in late January, Philly has struggled to maintain its position as a top Eastern Conference squad. Heading into Friday’s game, the Sixers carry a 39-34 record, placing them in the eighth seed.

Even if Embiid isn’t the absolute best version of himself when he returns late in the year, the MVP-winning big man would still be a game-changing addition to the rotation.