Joel Embiid Gives Personal Health Update During 76ers Media Day

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid provided a health update during Sixers media day on Friday ahead of training camp and next week’s early preseason matchup with the New York Knicks in Abu Dhabi.

Joel Embiid Underwent Arthroscopic Knee Surgery In April

Embiid spoke to reporters for the first time in months after injuries plagued his 2024-25 season. The seven-time All-Star was limited to just 19 games last season due to his ongoing left knee injury and a foot sprain.

“I feel pretty good,” Embiid said. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of months. We’ve got a plan in place, trying to check all the boxes, just taking it day-by-day.”

“Everything is on schedule. There’s not necessarily an expectation,” Embiid continued. “It’s all about making sure everything is right and doing everything right and then going from there. Obviously, the goal is to play consistently and not be the position that we were last year.”

Last season, Embiid averaged 23.8 points per game, his fewest since the 2019-20 season, and 8.2 rebounds, the former NBA MVP’s fewest since his rookie year in 2016-17.

He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April.

Embiid Did Not Provide Timetable For His Return

Embiid was then asked by reporters whether there were any on-court adjustments he could make moving forward to avoid another season-ending injury.

“At times you can’t get out of yourself,” he said. “All I know is, ever since I started this, to play hard, play both ends. There’s a lot of people in the league that play one side, whether it’s offense or defense. A lot of times for me, my mentality is to do whatever it takes to win. For all of my career, it’s been having to do both.”

“I’ve gotten to this point because of how good I am at both ends of the floor. If you ask me to change the way I play, the only guess that I have is either play offense fully and take plays off defensively, which doesn’t suit me.

“I don’t think I’d ever be OK with that. I don’t know. We’ll just wait and see. If it’s gotta be that way, it’s definitely gonna be an adjustment, but I don’t see that happening.”

In addition, the 7-footer unveiled his plan to reporters for the upcoming season, stating that “We’re just going to listen to the body” and “We’ve got to take it day by day and go from there.”

Embiid, however, did not offer a timetable for his return.

This latest update is not very reassuring, as 76ers fans were hoping that the former first-rounder would be finally healthy after he spent so much time on the bench last year.