Philadelphia 76ers Postgame Media Availability 🎙️ | Joel Embiid | 10.17.25

Philadelphia 76ers Postgame Media Availability 🎙️ | Joel Embiid | 10.17.25

I guess the most important question is how did you come out of how did you come out of the game? Um feel pretty good. Obviously this is uh this is mostly uh learning um learning process as you know getting back seeing everything obviously feeling good on the court. Um and then you know the you know how the body reacts. Um you know we going to learn you know you know as as we go. um as every game as every game, you know, comes by. So, let’s see how it feels tomorrow. But, you know, you know, it’s been mentioned so many times. Um you know, they’re they’re going to take that um you know, uh slow approach. Um so, yeah, but I’m just going to do whatever they tell me to do. So far has over the past few weeks obviously scrimmage Sunday you’ve been practicing regularly. Is it has it sort of gone the maybe as well as you could have hoped for so far over the past few weeks in terms of ramping up and feeling pretty good to the point where you could go out there and play the way you did today? Um I mean I won’t say I feel like I like I was you know 18 years old again. Uh that’s never going to happen. But you know just taking it day by day. um you know you know like I said just learning. Some days are going to be good, some days I’m going to be you know a little bit you know tight. So you know learn learn from it and adjust and keep doing the right things. Um obviously there’s like a new kind of offensive system that Nick is trying to implement things like that. I guess how are you kind of fitting into what this new system is supposed to kind of look like on the offensive end? Um, man, I I don’t think I should fit in, but uh I think, you know, the the way I’ve always wanted to play is, you know, everybody touching the ball, the the ball moving side to side. Um, you know, people getting off the ball and just playing together. And it seems like so far seems like that’s the that’s the way at least tonight. That’s the way it was. And everybody touching the ball. I mean, I’m looking at the stats. Um, you know, Tyrese, VJ, uh, Grimes, um, you know, the 20 2020 20 and then, you know, I’m happy about the assist. So, that’s how I want to play. Um, that keeps everybody happy, keep everybody involved. Um, and, you know, but, you know, it’s fun playing that way. What’s it like watching What’s it like watching those guys fly up and down the court, especially DJ? Um, it’s good. We needed uh especially after last year, we needed some youth. Um you know, just athletic guys. Um we struggle rebounding uh shooting the ball transition. I think you know VJ um you know Q is he’s going to be I mean I know he played last year but with this team he’s going to be a big you know big boost. And obviously you still got you know Paul George coming back. Um I think he’s going to be he’s going to add a lot and obviously Ty is taking another step. Um you know that’s you know that’s you know you feel like you in a good spot. Uh so it’s all about you know just playing together and you know just uh winning games. You talked about the mental aspect of of this recovery and getting back to trusting your body and your knee. I guess where are you in that trust process cuz it looks like tonight you were moving pretty fluidly and you were getting back to the guy that you were even prior to to this. I mean I I I I don’t want to I don’t want to really just um you know think about a pass. Uh I’m just in a good space um mentally, physically um and you know just yeah I don’t know. I’m just uh I first of all I’m just happy to touch a basketball and being able to play basketball and do what I love. Um you know when you don’t get you know that you know it’s it’s tough. Um but that’s that’s what I’m most happy about. So you know today uh tonight uh that’s all I kept thinking about. I’m on the court playing basketball. Um, doing some good things, uh, helping us win and, uh, yeah, that’s that’s really what I was focused on. Joel, we first heard about you and a dim sharing the four together at the scrimmage in Delaware, obviously starting together tonight, I guess. What do you like about playing with a dim? Is that a combination that you think has potential moving into the regular season? It does. Obviously, having another big body that’s going to help rebounding. Um um you know, play hard, lose balls, um you know, set those screens and then um I mean, I got the rim. I’ve always had the rim. Um so trying to be a presence down there and then just him, you know, just, you know, doing the dirty work. And I think he’s fine with that. Uh he knows what his role is. He knows what we need from him. Um, you know, I think, you know, over my career, that’s something that I’ve always felt like, you know, he was kind of needed. Um, everybody has always been focus on shooting, stretch for, this and that. But I think just having, you know, bunch of guys around that are just going to go after every loose ball, play defense, rebound the ball, and fly up and down the court. I think that goes that goes a long way especially for me as I as I’m coming back and I’m you know trying to stay on the right path. I was going to ask most of the bigs you’ve played with have been stretch bigs. Do you feel that your responsibility changes on either end of the four playing with someone who has more size but is less of a spacing threat or do you just sort of focus on the same things? Um I guess we’re about to find out. Um I don’t know. I think you know I’ve always had to do everything on both ends. uh which you know you know I love doing it but then again you also put your body and uh you know I waste a lot a lot of time. So yeah uh you know we’re about to find out. I don’t know what that’s going to look like. Uh as long as we win um you know that’s that’s all that matters. We have time for two more. Well you hit probably three or four pretty long outlet passes tonight. I don’t know that that’s something you did all that regularly previously. Is that something that’s been a point of emphasis for you guys and how you’re going to play or is it just a function of you see all these athletes on the floor with you get? I think I just, you know, see all these guys. I want to, you know, I’m here, you know, I’m here to help. I according to uh uh a lot of your peers, I’m I’m not even a top 100 basketball player in this league. So, I guess I just got to fit in and, you know, see where I can help a team, you know, win basketball games. Um, so if that’s playing defense and stretching the floor, that’s what I’m going to do. But it’s just you got a bunch of athletes, uh, you got to release them. You know, their job is to they don’t get they don’t get the board, they got to run. And my job is, you know, to try to find them. And that also in a way that also kind of saves me um because if we get, you know, early baskets and easy baskets, I don’t have to, you know, run up and down. Uh and then, you know, I can just let those guys push push the pace, attack, and if we don’t have anything, um I’m always I’ve always tried anyways um in my career, then I can come in and we can get into the offense. that sense of excitement that you were talking about just to be on the floor again. Could you feel that throughout the day? I mean, I don’t want to overhype a preseason game, but I mean, when you officially got cleared, come into the arena, like did you feel that, okay, this is a a big moment today for me? No, I think um I was excited, but I’ve been doing this for a while now. So, um, you know, it just, you know, the just, you know, I think it just hit me when, um, I took that first terrible shot. Um, yeah, I don’t know what I was doing, but I just felt like, well, I have the ball and I don’t know if I don’t even know if anybody was in front of me. I just felt like shoot uh shooting it. I actually thought I was I made it and it wasn’t even close. But um yeah, I think you know just uh throughout the day it was the same thing you know hung out with the family you know took my nap and came to the arena and but you know it’s preseason uh but just the fact that um I was on the court um you know somewhat comfortable um you know that that was uh that was enough for me. I thank you.

Joel Embiid speaks to the media following a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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