Joel Embiid finally made his first appearance in the NBA this season as the Sixers lost to the Knicks on Tuesday night in the in-season tournament.
Joel Embiid Makes Return
The long-awaited return of Joel Embiid finally came on Tuesday night, as the Philadelphia big man came back to the court having missed the first nine games of the season.
Embiid has been plagued by a knee injury throughout his career and it has continued to haunt the former MVP coming into the 2024 campaign.
With no preseason action for Embiid or any game time since the Olympics in the summer, it was always going to be difficult whenever he made his return to the court and that was clear against the Knicks.
Although he started in the lineup, Embiid looked exhausted after just three minutes and was seen asking to be benched for a rest. On his return Embiid played a total of 26 minutes in stints throughout the game, scoring 13 points as he looks to get back to full health.
Embiid in his first game back:
13 PTS (26 MIN)
5 AST
2-11 FG
1-5 3P
8-8 FTLed the 76ers in assists and free throws. pic.twitter.com/v3wQBrPRDQ
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 13, 2024
Despite saying last month that he would never play back to back games ever again, Embiid said after the loss on Tuesday that he was just trolling.
“I know I said I would never play back-to-backs but I’m a troll so I’m sure, at some point, I’ll play. I feel good. I feel good right now. We’re gonna see but it’s up to them.” Embiid said.
Embiid will just be happy to move on from a difficult start to his year, which also included a three game suspension from the NBA after he shoved a reporter at the beginning of November.
Without Embiid in the lineup Philadelphia has struggled at the start of 2024, with just two wins from their first nine games this year.
The Sixers struggle isn’t all down to Embiid though, as Paul George has also struggled with injuries already this season and Tyrese Maxey has been benched with a hamstring injury in a frustrating few weeks.
