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The Philadelphia 76ers entered last season with championship aspirations. The 76ers added Paul George in free agency to pair alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Unfortunately, injuries to all three stars knocked Philadelphia out of the playoff race early in the season. Embiid faced a long road back to the court, despite support given to him by Jameer Nelson and others.
As the former MVP recovered from his most recent knee injury, Nelson steered him towards seeing a therapist. According to ESPN's Dotun Akintoye, Embiid committed to going to therapy. While the big man is skeptical, his sessions have helped him adjust his approach to the injuries he has suffered.
“To this day, I'm 100 percent committed to it, but I will not sit here and say that my belief is ever going to be 100 percent in therapy,” Embiid said. “Feeding into the pressure of you got to play, got to go out there, can't let people down and this and that. That's probably one of the reasons why I'm in this position now.”
Embiid has lived in the NBA's spotlight for years after his ascension to stardom. However, the sports media world has not done a good job of noticing when he is struggling, according to him.
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“If you don't want to listen to me, then I have to find something else, to make sure that I'm going to be listened to,” Embiid said. “When I told Lisa(Salters) that, I think it was a cry for help. … It feels like everybody refuses to acknowledge what's actually going on.”
Embiid hopes to be back and completely healthy before the 76ers kick off their training camp. After receiving knee surgery, George's re-evaluation happens before camp begins as well.
If both stars come back at full health alongside Maxey, Philadelphia has a chance to make some noise. However, Nelson and the rest of Embiid's support system deserve a lot of praise for helping one of the league's most talented players overcome his struggles on and off the court.
