The MRI confirmed what the 76ers knew: Joel Embiid has a ligament tear in his right thumb.
Ligament tears need surgery. That will come after the Sixers have completed their playoff run. But for now, Embiid will continue to play with a brace or heavy tape while battling through the pain.
The star center thinks he injured the thumb when his hand got caught in someone’s jersey during Wednesday’s Game 3 of the Sixers’ opening-round series against the Toronto Raptors. He remained in the game, and scored the game-winning three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left.
