Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid has continued to make progress in his recovery from a torn meniscus in his left knee.
According to Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Embiid stated on Thursday that he felt good after participating in his first 5-on-5 scrimmage.
“It felt great,” Embiid said. “I was a little bit rusty but it felt great just running up and down. I've been doing quite a bit for the past few weeks as far as conditioning, so I felt a little bit better at the beginning. Toward the end, I was a little bit tired. But I felt great. I worked hard to get back. … I've just got to keep on working to get back to playing shape.”
Along with that, Embiid also stated that he believes he will be able to play in the preseason next week. He didn't take the floor for the preseason opener and isn't expect to play in Friday's contest against the Boston Celtics.
Article Continues BelowThis comes just a few days after head coach Brett Brown looked well in half-court, 5-on-5 scrimmages. Embiid has been eyeballing being ready in time for the season opener on Oct. 18 against the Washington Wizards.
He also took to Twitter to voice his excitement about taking part in his first 5-on-5 since the injury.
I’m on a basketball court doing things lmao…. I’m back #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/qN0WEzqFyQ
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 6, 2017
The 76ers will likely take a precautionary route with Embiid given his long history of injuries in his brief NBA career. He was limited to just 31 games played where he averaged 20.2 points with 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 25.4 minutes per contest.