While Joel Embiid’s injury status for the Philadelphia 76ers’ opening night game is still uncertain, fans got a glimpse of what the All-Star big man is still capable of during a recent open scrimmage. Embiid took part in the 76ers’ annual Blue vs. White scrimmage between the starters and the reserves, and he showed some of his old explosiveness going up for a thunderous dunk.

In addition to Joel Embiid, the 76ers are also without Paul George due to ongoing injury rehab, although the latter did not participate in the team scrimmage. While both players have reportedly made progress during their recovery, their status for the 76ers’ opening night game against the Boston Celtics is still in question.

In Embiid’s case, the former MVP has not played a game since February of last season. He battled a knee injury for most of the year, and the decision was ultimately made to shut him down and have him undergo surgery.

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Embiid was limited to only 19 games for the 76ers, at a little over 30 minutes per game. He averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists with splits of 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 29.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 88.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The No.3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Embiid’s career has been unfortunately marred by injury issues to this point. He had a stretch from 2021-2023 where he was relatively healthy, and that was when he led the league in scoring and won the MVP award. But since coming into the NBA he’s dealt with injury issues. He did not make his league debut until two seasons after he was drafted due to injury.

Last offseason, the 76ers had potential championship aspirations after signing George as a free agent to play alongside Embiid and budding star Tyrese Maxey. But the injuries to Embiid and George ended up derailing the season as the team could not field a consistent lineup.