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Joel Embiid's injuries for the Philadelphia 76ers continue to leave people dumbfounded, including former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom. On the Legends Lounge podcast, Odom wasn't pleased with the ongoing dilemma surrounding the 76ers MVP.
“They gave him a bag right, how many DNPs has he had?” Odom said. “So if I’m a general manager, this is how I know there’s no space for me in this professional space. I’ve learned and I’ve learned from being around the best. How do you give a mother f****er that money and he isn’t available?
“Get the f**k out of here man. I’ve seen a man f***ing put his pinky back in place on the court. Playing with sprained ankles, I’ve played with a torn labrum for as long as I could keep it together. You’ve got to be available.”
Odom was referring to his teammate, the late Kobe Bryant, who dislocated his finger in the middle of a game against the San Antonio Spurs. He asked the athletic trainer to pop his finger back into place. As a result, Bryant finished the game and grew his legend of being available, regardless of injuries.
Joel Embiid's injuries with the 76ers make Lamar Odom furious
Embiid who has a long injury history has played through injuries himself like a broken orbital bone, concussions, knee injuries, etc. For instance, Embiid tore his meniscus through a potential MVP season with the 76ers. Regardless, he came back and played the final part of the season and even into the playoffs. Not to mention, he participated with USA Basketball on their quest for a gold medal. While load management is a recurring theme in the NBA, sometimes, it's taken advantage of. Although Embiid has dealt with a plethora of injuries, people believe some of it is milked. Charles Barkley issued a serious take on load management at the beginning portion of the 2023-24 season. Some of it is valid but other times, it's used as a ploy.
Going back to Odom, his generation was different. They played through injuries not to look better than the competition but for other reasons. Whether it's the fans, their teammates, the game, or the organization, players made sure to play, regardless of their condition. The 76ers plan was to stay afloat during the regular season to keep Embiid healthy for a playoff run, but it may have backfired after their 4-14 start. As necessary as load management might be, Philadelphia will need Embiid to play in as many games as possible to secure a playoff spot.
