Availability has long been an issue plaguing 76ers star Joel Embiid. His dominance when healthy and on the court is on par with the biggest stars in recent NBA history. But he is eminently unreliable due to injury issues. The contrast between the two aspects of the Philadelphia center has never been starker than this season.
The last few years have been tough for the former MVP big man; Embiid played in 58 games over two seasons leading into the 2025–26 campaign. He underwent knee surgery in April 2025 and played two games to kick off this season on a minutes restriction before the inevitable reports started rolling in—Embiid was ruled out of Philly’s third game of the year and would go on to appear in only four games between Oct. 28 and Nov. 28. Most concerning of all was not necessarily his inconsistent ability to get on the court but the undeniable fact that, when he was playing, Embiid looked like a physical shell of his former self.
