WILMINGTON, Del. — The Philadelphia 76ers put on a show for the fans in the Blue X White scrimmage at their G League affiliate’s facility on Sunday afternoon. It gave fans a chance to come out and see their favorite players, and they got a surprise appearance from Joel Embiid.
Making his first public appearance since his final game of the 2024-25 season on Feb. 22, Embiid had some good moments. He moved up and down the floor, had a few vintage moves in the post and on the perimeter, and began working out with Adem Bona in an effort to see a new wrinkle on the frontline.
So, how did Embiid look? Coach Nick Nurse gave his own assessment of his superstar big man.
“I don’t know how many weeks this is, now, I’m losing track, but he’s been out there playing and and he’s, again, just trying to get him to continue to progress,” Nurse said after the scrimmage. “Today was a good progression day for him. Again, lots of running, lots of 5-on-5, lots of early practice stuff, lots of drill work, lots of 5-on-0. Just lots of getting him caught up to speed, and then he went out there and did his thing. He shot the ball well. He scored, well. He orchestrated the offense well. I thought he ran pretty good as well, both directions.”
Embiid is the key to anything the Sixers do in the upcoming season. While Nurse and his staff have begun implementing a new system that’s focused on passing as well as players moving off the ball, and making that extra pass, it will still come down to whether or not Embiid is going to be able to be that superstar big man they need him to be.
With that being said, he is making an impact on the newcomers. Guys like Jabari Walker, Dominick Barlow, and others have been in awe of Embiid in terms of his passing and being able to get guys involved out of the double teams.
“Yeah, he’s so smart, and he just, he knows what he wants, and he just makes the game easy,” Walker stated on playing with the big fella. “He directs you, puts you in your comfort spots, and he’s even more of a willing passer than I thought so far. I love playing with him.”
If Embiid continues to progress in this way and the Sixers continue to grow around him, then maybe–just maybe, mind you–they just might be able to get back into contention in the Eastern Conference.