The Philadelphia 76ers have had an up-and-down 10 years with former MVP center Joel Embiid. In a recent profile article from ESPN, the seven-time All-Star discussed in-depth topics like his health issues, his feelings towards the Sixers franchise, and his plans for the future.
Speaking on NBA Today, insider Bobby Marks said that this will be the most important offseason for the Sixers if they plan to keep Embiid in the long term.
“This partnership between Philadelphia and Joel Embiid, there’s no turning back,” Marks said in response to a question of if this offseason is the ‘most important offseason’ of the 31-year-old’s life. “They’ve got to make this work, certainly from the Embiid health perspective…The last year of that contract is $69 million, that is the danger zone of contracts. So for both sides, they got to make it work here, for better or worse.”
Embiid averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 44.4% shooting in just 19 regular-season games. He spent the majority of the 2024-25 season out due to lingering issues from a knee injury suffered in the previous season. He had arthroscopic surgery in April in hopes of fixing the issue.
Insiders Discuss The Sixers
The ESPN article, which features multiple interviews and extensive analysis, has been a somewhat shocking revelation for the NBA world. Although tensions between Embiid and the Sixers have occasionally surfaced over the past decade, it marked the first time the 2023 MVP publicly addressed topics that are usually kept behind closed doors.
As insiders and those who cover the league discussed the story and what it means for the center’s career going forward, Tim McMahon said that the superstar has questioned whether the Sixers have always had his best interests.
“Joel Embiid clearly feels like there’s a conflict,” McMahon said on NBA Today. “There have been a lot of issues with the Philadelphia 76ers throughout the course of his career. The constant seems to have been a lack of trust in the organization…He clearly does not feel that his best interests are always being looked out for.”
Embiid has played in 58 total regular-season games over the past two seasons. He has the highest points per game average of any player over the past five years, but has yet to lead the Sixers past the second round of the playoffs.
“Either Joel Embiid needs to go somewhere else or Daryl Morey needs to go somewhere else,” Harry Douglas said on First Take. “I do not believe this thing can be repaired, I really don’t.”
The Embiid story also came two days after news broke that Paul George underwent surgery to treat an injury suffered during a recent workout. George expects to be healthy by the start of training camp, but the news adds to growing concerns for a Philadelphia team already facing major questions.
Embiid Has Said A Lot
One of the other topics the center brought up in the article was that of his former teammate James Harden. He said that the now Los Angeles Clippers player won’t speak to him after their two-year stint together. Embiid explained that ‘it hurts’ and that he felt like he lost ‘a lot’ after Harden’s tumultuous exit from the team in 2023.
In June, Sixers’ President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said Embiid expects to be healthy by the start of training camp in September. However, in the article, he gave a far more discouraging update.
“We’re not going to push anything. For my whole career, I felt like we never took that approach,” Embiid said. “We don’t have a timeline. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
A report from The Athletic also said that Embiid has yet to begin on-court activities and remains sidelined for the time being. Embiid last appeared in an NBA game in February and has no clear timeline on when he’ll suit up again.
The Sixers ended last season with a 24-58 record, finishing with their fewest wins in the past 30 years.
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