NBA Investigating 76ers Regarding Joel Embiid Player Participation

The NBA is set to start an investigation on the Philadelphia 76ers regarding superstar center Joel Embiid's player participation.

ESPN's Shams Charnaia broke the news via Twitter/X.

Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts after he turned the ball over to the New York Knicks during the second half at Madison Square Garden on April 30, 2024 in New York City.... Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Embiid is out for the first week of the NBA season due to what the team is calling 'left knee management.' The 76ers have three games this week, starting on Wednesday against the Bucks, Friday against the Toronto Raptors, and Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.

Embiid and injuries. This is the reality with Embiid, and it's been like this his entire basketball career. Embiid is scheduled to miss a few weeks due to a left knee injury. The 76ers say that he is responding well to his individual plan and will ramp up his return-to-play activities this week.

He missed the entire preseason and was assessed instead by doctors. They said the goal for Embiid is to make it through the season and have his knee as close to 100 percent as possible.

The 30-year-old has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, and that was so different last season. In late Jan. 2024, he suffered a left lateral meniscus injury that caused him to miss most of the season.

Embiid's injury history is quite evident and well-documented. He didn't play in the first two years of his NBA career due to multiple foot and knee injuries. He didn't debut until the 2016-17 season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team despite only playing in 31 games.

Although he has been an NBA MVP and First-Team All-NBA in his career, he has yet to play more than 68 games. Embiid's plan moving forward is to include time off during the regular season and routine evaluations from doctors and the 76ers' medical staff.

76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN that he plans to keep Embiid and the team's newest star forward, Paul George, out for back-to-back games.

"We're going to be smart about it. Part of being smart about it is having both Paul [George] and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any," Morey said.

Embiid is on board with it and even said that he wants to be the final team standing at the end of the season.

"I've accomplished everything [individually]," Embiid told ESPN. "But there's one thing missing, which is to win a championship."

That cannot happen if Embiid is not playing in the regular season, as he must get his body ready for the grueling postseason. Nonetheless, this investigation could hurt the Sixers in more ways than one.

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