The Philadelphia 76ers opened the 2024-25 season on their home floor Wednesday without several top stars, including Joel Embiid. While offseason acquisition Paul George is out with a knee injury, in the case of the one-time MVP, his absence is all part of the plan.
“He did not re-injure himself — we don’t feel he is quite ready, strong enough, light enough,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said via John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Whatever it is, they have discerned that he is not quite ready to go.”
Last season, Embiid needed surgery after suffering a torn lateral meniscus in January but returned in April before the NBA postseason. Nevertheless, after the season ended, he was healthy enough to join the United States men’s basketball team, winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Embiid didn’t suit up for the Sixers during the preseason and has yet to scrimmage five-on-five in practice. Meanwhile, at the very least, the team has ruled him out for the first three regular-season games due to “load management.”
According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, the NBA will investigate the 76ers to determine whether they’ve violated the league’s player participation policy. The guideline, approved before the 2023-24 season, ensures that healthy star players are available for “all national television and NBA In-Season Tournament games.”
Adding more fuel to the fire, Embiid recently revealed that he wouldn’t be playing in back-to-backs this season, which drew the ire of Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.
The talk about Embiid’s availability and any potential league action against the Sixers is probably much ado about nothing. Despite the lack of an injury designation, the 30-year-old was seen wearing a brace on his left knee — the same one he had surgery on — as recently as Tuesday, so the team can make a plausible argument for sitting him.
Furthermore, if the league has issues with Embiid missing time, they may want to take a look around the league.
Zion Williamson missed the New Orleans Pelicans opener with an illness, while Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard will miss “weeks” with knee inflammation. It’s easy to argue that both aren’t necessarily injured but are following a program to help sustain their effectiveness deeper into the season, similar to Embiid and the Sixers.