Embiid: ‘Plan’ to return in ’24
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid wants to play again this year — for the 76ers, yes, even as they fade without the injured All-Star in the playoff hunt but also this summer for the U.S. Olympic team.
The reigning NBA MVP, Embiid has been sidelined since early February when he underwent meniscus surgery on his left knee after he was hurt when a player fell on him. Embiid had already been hampered by knee injuries this season that cost him multiple games — and cost the 76ers a good spot in the standings.
When healthy, Embiid continued to perform at an MVP level. He was the NBA’s leading scorer at 35.3 points per game at the time he was hurt and averaged 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He scored a team-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds on Jan. 22 in a 133-124 victory over the Spurs.
And the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft says he’s not done yet.
“That’s the plan,” to return, Embiid told reporters Thursday at the team’s New Jersey complex. “Obviously, everything has to go right as far as getting healthy and being as close as I’m supposed to be.”
Embiid and the 76ers have said there is no timetable for his return.
The 76ers are hurting these days just as much as Embiid.
With Embiid and fellow All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers again hovered near the top of the Eastern Conference standings for most of the season under first-year coach Nick Nurse.
Without Embid, the 76ers would be lucky to avoid the draft lottery. They are 4-8 since Embiid went down in a Jan. 30 game when the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga fell on the 7-footer’s left leg. They are 7-17 overall this season without Embiid and dropped to 33-25 overall — closer to a spot in the play-in tournament even with new additions Kyle Lowry and Buddy Hield than they are making a serious run at their first NBA title since 1983.
“We are certainly hopeful of a return and as soon as possible and all that stuff,” Nurse said. “I think our job remains to try and see what we can do to get these guys better.”
Even if the 76ers plummet in the standings and the postseason seems out of reach, Embiid said he would still try and play.
“I just love playing,” he said. “I want to be on the floor as much as possible. I only have about 20 years to do this. Any chances that I get, I want to be on the floor. It doesn’t matter where we are.”
Embiid also can’t forget Paris.
Embiid told USA Basketball in October that he had picked the Americans over France as his team for the Paris Olympics.
USA Basketball doesn’t plan to announce its team until the spring of 2024, but if healthy, Embiid seemed to have a lock on one of the 12 spots on the squad.
Embiid became a U.S. citizen last year and could have also chosen to play for France — or even Cameroon, his homeland, if it qualified for the Paris Games.
The U.S. will try for a fifth consecutive gold medal at Paris next summer.
“It’s the same mindset, if I feel good, I’m playing,” Embiid said. “If it doesn’t feel right, then I’ve got to make those tough decisions.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”