Joel Embiid Surprisingly Changes Course on Never Playing Back-to-Back Games for Sixers

The 76ers' superstar went back on his declaration from earlier this year.
Embiid played his first game of the year on Tuesday night
Embiid played his first game of the year on Tuesday night / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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Joel Embiid finally took the court for the first time this season, playing 26 minutes in the Philadelphia 76ers' 111-99 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. The MVP big man was far from his best, hitting only two of his 11 shots from the field to finish with 13 points, five assists, and three rebounds. But that's to be expected given Embiid missed the first 11 games of the season due to a combination of left knee injury management and a suspension.

In other words, a slow ramp-up was always expected for the superstar. Especially in light of comments he made around training camp, when Embiid bluntly told reporters he did not expect to play two back-to-back games for the rest of his career. However, it seems the seven-footer may have been hasty with that declaration.

Speaking to media on Tuesday after his season debut, Embiid surprisingly reversed course and said he was trying to convince the team to let him play on Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"I know I said I will never play back-to-backs," Embiid said, per ESPN, "but I'm a troll."

Keeping players out of one leg of a back-to-back set of games is a common load management tactic in the NBA. However, it is one usually reserved for players who are a lot older than Embiid or players who have recently suffered some sort of serious injury. Embiid has a history of lower body issues and tore his meniscus in January but is simply too important to the Sixers to be sidelined for a handful of games a year just because they are on back-to-back nights.

It seems Embiid realizes that much. Philly will be careful and want him healthy for the postseason above all, but it now seems probable fans will see the center suit up more often than he previously indicated.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.