As the rumors around the Philadelphia 76ers will continue ahead of the season, especially surrounding the injury status of star Joel Embiid, the big man would give some insight into his recovery. With the 76ers preparing for the 2025-26 season, a big question mark is Embiid and when he will play for the franchise.
During Friday's media day for Philadelphia, Embiid would not give a specific timetable for a hopeful return, but would say he's taking it “day-by-day” and continues to check boxes, but most importantly, he feels “pretty good,” per Jeff Borzello. The main goal for Embiid this upcoming season is not repeating what happened last year, when he played only 19 games.
“There's not necessarily an expectation,” Embiid said. “The goal is to play consistently and not be in a position that we were last year.”
To help with the process, Embiid underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April, as his status for training camp appears to be up in the air, though at the very least, he could be limited.
76ers' Joel Embiid on the plan in place for his injury recovery
While the 76ers' star in Embiid went through a body transformation, there's no denying that the 31-year-old is looking to rewrite the narrative of him being an injury-prone player. Looking at his approach for this specific season, Embiid said that they are “going to listen to the body” and that “everything's on schedule” regarding a plan in place for his recovery this season.
“Going forward, we're just going to listen to the body,” Embiid said, according to Derek Bodner. I'll be honest and say that it's gonna be unpredictable at times, and that's okay. We're going to work with that.”…Every single time we're on the right path, keep going. And if there's something that happens in that time, it's okay. Focus on fixing it and keep going. That's my mentality.”
“We've got a plan in place, trying to check all of the boxes,” Embiid continued, via Kyle Neubeck. “This is still kind of a feel period where we're just taking it day by day…there's been a few court sessions, everything's on schedule.”
When on the court, Embiid is one of the best players in the NBA, as it remains to be seen if he'll be available when Philadelphia opens the season against the Boston Celtics.
