Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery next week on his left knee, the latest attempt to make the All-Star center healthy enough to play next season.
Embiid was ruled out for the season in late February, with the Sixers saying he would focus on treatment and rehabilitation of his left knee.
The Sixers said additional updates on Embiid would come following the surgery.
One of the preseason favorites to contend for an NBA title, the Sixers are eliminated from playoff contention and sit at 23-53 entering Thursday’s game against Milwaukee.
Counting the 164 games he missed his first two seasons after he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2014 and what’s left of this season, Embiid will have played in 452 of 883 76ers’ games by the end of this season — missing nearly 50% of the regular season.
Embiid had been hobbled by injuries all season, and served a three-game suspension for shoving a member of the media. He averaged 23.8 points — he averaged at least 30 and won two scoring titles the past three seasons.
He played just 39 games last season because of a torn meniscus in his left knee. The 76ers announced in early February of that season that he had undergone surgery. Embiid came back in early April, was part of the 76ers’ playoff run, and then won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team last year at the Paris Games.
Embiid has played only 58 regular-season games and seven play-in tournament/playoff games since he earned NBA MVP honors in the 2022-23 season.
“The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid said earlier this season. “I probably need to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level. But it’s hard to have trust when you’re not yourself.”
Embiid has dealt with multiple injuries since even before he entered the NBA. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot before he was drafted out of Kansas that cost him two years. From there, it was a bone bruise here, a meniscus tear there. A busted orbital bone. A sprained shoulder. Tendinitis. Torn ligaments. Even Bell’s palsy.
Embiid conceded he was depressed — and eventually needed therapy — to deal with the effects of his injuries.
“It’s kind of hard when you get in those moments where it’s kind of hard not to feel bad about yourself, especially when you know who you are and what you can accomplish but it’s not the way it is,” Embiid said in December. “One lesson that I learned is to try and stop feeling bad about myself and just live day by day. Enjoy good people around me, positivity and not focus on the negativity.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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