Joel Embiid’s All-Star teammate has reflected on the Philadelphia 76ers chances for the upcoming season, after a devastating report on the MVP’s health emerged.
Embiid’s storied injury history spans his entire career. The 2023 NBA MVP had an injury-plagued season once again in 2024-25, playing only 19 games before undergoing knee surgery in April.
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He called this offseason the most important of his career, but the latest reports on his injury status are not promising for the 76ers big man.
‘Growing concern’ about Joel Embiid’s injury, ‘things are bad’
The 76ers are having an injury crisis. At the start of the summer, the Sixers had five players on their injury list, including their three best players, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
Maxey’s injury was minor, but George underwent surgery on his knee after an on-court workout went wrong.
Now, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints provided the following update on Embiid, “Embiid has struggled getting back on the court this offseason, and there is a growing concern that he will not be ready for the start of training camp, league sources told ClutchPoints.
Joel Embiid’s knee is reportedly in bad shape, and he’s likely to miss the start of training camp. Some around the league believe the Sixers regret extending him, per @BrettSiegelNBA
“Embiid has struggled getting back on the court this offseason, and there is a growing concern… pic.twitter.com/m4iyPrV0NN
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 4, 2025
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“The common word associated with Embiid and his health this offseason is that things are ‘bad.’
“Several rival teams in the Eastern Conference who spoke with ClutchPoints a couple of weeks ago at NBA Summer League confirmed mixed signals coming from the Sixers regarding Embiid’s knee health, with one executive stating that the 76ers are regretting their decision to extend the big man’s contract in 2024.”
When healthy, Embiid is one of the most dominant players in NBA history. He just can’t stay on the court. His All-Star teammate detailed the Sixers chances without Embiid this season.
Tyrese Maxey says the Philadelphia 76ers ‘can’t do anything’ without Joel Embiid
Maxey, an NBA All-Star in 2024, is a close friend of Embiid. He is the team’s future beyond his teammates George and Embiid, and represents light at the end of the tunnel during their current crisis.
The point guard, speaking Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, said this about the 76ers’ upcoming season, “I mean, the biggest thing is we’ve got to get on the court together, we’ve got to be healthy and we got to have continuity.
“You can’t do anything if the guys aren’t together. If we aren’t together, if we aren’t all on the court, if we’re not all stepping in the right direction and it’s going to be extremely hard.
“So that’s my main goal. That’s something that I had to focus on and have to really help build, is the chemistry of the team and help this team step in the right direction. And then after that, then we could worry about how talented we are.”
Judging by George and Embiid’s current status, the 76ers will once again struggle to get on the court together. That means the Sixers are going nowhere, according to Maxey.
The Eastern Conference is wide open this year. Jayson Tatum is likely out for the season for the Boston Celtics, as is NBA Finalist Tyrese Haliburton for the Indiana Pacers. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks struggle to build a championship roster.
It seems the 76ers are unable to capitalise on this. Without their stars for yet another season, Philadelphia may have to face the harsh reality of their situation and think long and hard about life after Embiid.