PHILADELPHIA — Last spring after the Philadelphia 76ers were tossed out of the playoffs early again, Joel Embiid texted Daryl Morey. The Sixers star had a message for the franchise’s general manager. The next time around, he needed to be healthy for the postseason, no matter what.
That has been hard to attain in years past. Embiid has been hit by a laundry list of ailments during the playoffs over his career. Those injuries have slowed Embiid down and led to early postseason exits for Philadelphia.
Last April, he managed a left knee injury and then also played through Bell’s Palsy, which struck him in the team’s Play-In win against the Miami Heat and continued to affect him during the Sixers’ first-round series against the New York Knicks.
Now, Embiid is ready to do whatever it takes to be healthy at the most important time of the schedule. Even if, it seems, that costs him personal acclaim.
“This year is all about there’s no agenda, there’s no All-Star, there’s no All-NBA,” Embiid said. “There’s none of that. There is whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point where I’m ready to go. Because basically every single year in my career I’ve been hurt in the playoffs. So I think that’s the goal.
“It’s all about doing whatever it takes to get there. And physically, I’m OK. I’m not where I want to be and I know that I got the support, and they all want the same thing.”
Embiid’s 2023-24 season was cut down after he tore the meniscus in his left knee last January. The injury happened as Embiid, and other stars around the league, wrestled with the right way to approach the NBA’s new 65-game rule, which mandated they play in at least that many games to be eligible for the Most Valuable Player award and other league honors.
He had been a frontrunner for the MVP award at that point and in position to win it in back-to-back years.
But Embiid missed two months as a result of the meniscus tear, played just 39 games last season and didn’t make an All-NBA team for just the second time since he was a rookie. The injury cost Embiid but it also nearly tanked Philadelphia’s season.
The Sixers fell from the top of the Eastern Conference while he was out and had to win a Play-In game just to make the playoffs.
His health will loom, again, over Philadelphia all season. They have championship aspirations after signing Paul George this summer to pair with Embiid and All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey.
Embiid lost weight this summer in preparation — 25-to-30 pounds, he said — and is intent on being right for the playoffs. The 76ers are ready to do that, too.
Morey said the team will “be really smart” with Embiid, not forsaking the regular season, “but obviously we’re very focused on April, May, June.”
“That doesn’t mean that the time right now isn’t very important as well, but we’re going to be very smart about how we manage him through the season,” Morey said. “And there’s gonna be a lot of information as we learn about how everything’s working with the entire roster, but with Joel specifically.
“We actually have quite a few guys who we think we need to be smart about how we manage them through the season while still maintaining a high level of play and and keep the eye on the prize.”
(Photo: Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)
