There is less than one week remaining until the Philadelphia 76ers kick off their 2025-26 regular season. Joel Embiid and Paul George are continuing to progress closer to getting into game action. Jared McCain updated reporters about where he is in his recovery from thumb surgery. Check out the latest updates on two of the Sixers’ star players chances at suiting up on opening night as well as a dive into a two-way player battling for a rotation spot in a fresh edition of “76ers 3 Thoughts.”

Embiid, George Nearing Return to Game Action

The Sixers are set to kick off their regular season with a matchup against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Will Philadelphia have Embiid and George, two of its best players, available to open up the season? The chances of the star pairing suiting up in Boston are beginning to rise.

Fans got their first chance to see Embiid play in game action on Sunday, albeit only in an intra-squad scrimmage. In a surprising move, Embiid participated in the Sixers’ annual Blue x White scrimmage in Delaware. He looked good and healthy, giving fans reason for optimism about his status heading into the regular season.

Joel Embiid with the slam at Sixers’ Blue-White scrimmage: pic.twitter.com/ocr2k27ZJd

— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) October 12, 2025

Embiid playing in the Blue x White scrimmage followed up his continued ramp up during practices. He has gradually been increasing his practice activity, including playing in 5-on-5 scrimmages. However, he has yet to take the court in any of the Sixers’ preseason games. Head coach Nick Nurse on Tuesday hinted that might change heading into the team’s final preseason matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

“I think there’s some chance, yeah,” Nurse said after Tuesday’s practice, according to Paul Hudrick of Liberty Ballers. “I don’t think we’re there yet; it’s a little early in the week to decide. It still could go either way. I think we’ve got some thresholds to get over yet before we get to that point.”

Regardless of whether Embiid plays in the Sixers’ preseason finale, he is entering this season in a much better position than years past. He appears to be healthy and is not sporting any sort of bulky knee brace. Fans should continue to approach Embiid with cautious optimism, but there appears to be a good chance he should be available to begin the regular season.

Can the same be said about George? He has spent the past several weeks ramping up his activity level since undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee during the offseason. The nine time All-Star progressed from doing individual drills on the side to beginning to participate in post-practice 1-on-1s. On Wednesday, George participated in “the majority of practice,” including live-action 3-on-3s.

“I don’t know, I thought he looked really good,” Nurse said about George after Wednesday’s practice, via Hudrick of Liberty Ballers. “For live practice one, and the pace he was going, I think it was a challenge conditioning-wise and some of those things, but he looked good, played through it. You still see this like incredible shotmaker. You see it. I think he was moving very well. He didn’t seem tentative to me.”

George then participated in some 5-on-5s during Thursday’s practice. However, Nurse threw cold water on the idea of George being available for either the Sixers’ preseason finale on Friday or the regular season opener on Wednesday.

Nick Nurse on Paul George:
“He jumped into a bit of 5-on-5 today. Just trying to keep him moving in the right direction.”

On whether there’s optimism he could play tomorrow, or in the preseason opener: “Nah. Yesterday was his first day live…We have to just keep waiting.” pic.twitter.com/aRyj6kxLX9

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 16, 2025

While George has been successfully increasing his activity level at practice, there are still multiple boxes to check before he would be able to return to game action. Of the two star players, Embiid has a far clearer path to being available for the team’s season opener against the Celtics.

UPDATE: Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Thursday afternoon George is not expected to be available for the Sixers’ regular season opener against the Celtics on Wednesday. He also said George has made “significant progress” and his return to action should come “shortly into the regular season.”

McCain Speaks to Reporters About Thumb Injury, Recovery Status

“The universe is throwing haymakers at me,” McCain said. “It’s all a part of the process, I got to just continue to trust. It happens for a reason.”

McCain spoke to reporters on Wednesday for the first time since he underwent surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right thumb a few weeks ago. The past year has been a tumultuous one for the 21-year old. He was limited to just 23 games in his rookie season due to a torn meniscus. After spending the offseason recovering, it looked like he would be good to go to begin this season. However, he suffered a thumb injury during a workout in late September.

“It was such a freak, stupid little thing,” McCain said when discussing how the injury occurred. “Somebody was going to the basket, I was tagging him, I put my hand on him and I hurt it … I went to the sideline, I tried to hold a basketball and tried to shoot, and was just like, ‘Yeah, I’m cooked.’ I went to the training room and I was crying. I just immediately started crying. It was just so frustrating when that happened. Yeah. I knew something was wrong immediately. After a few days, I kind of calmed down and I got out of the depressive state, but I was good and I’m back to my normal self now.”

McCain could not be faulted for feeling as if the universe is “throwing haymakers” at him. This latest injury, coming after a lengthy recovery from a torn meniscus, is going to force him to miss the first few weeks of this season. McCain, sporting a brace over part of his hand, told reporters he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Once he gets the brace off, he will switch to a playing brace that will allow him to start doing some passing and dribbling.

As he continues his recovery from thumb surgery, McCain has continued to be all around the practice facility. He has been able to do some on-court work using only his left hand in addition to doing cardio to stay in shape. The past year has been difficult for McCain, but he is not letting it affect his relentless work ethic.

“All I know is I get here pretty early in the morning and he’s usually already out on the floor doing something,” Nurse said. “And he’s continuing to have this ‘I’m not going to be denied’ attitude.”

Will Barlow Carve Out Role in Sixers’ Rotation?

Despite the regular season opener being less than a week away, the Sixers still have some questions about a few rotation spots. One of the biggest unknowns heading into the season is how the team will divide up their power forward minutes. George has indicated a willingness to play some minutes at the four. Trendon Watford, who has missed the entirety of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring injury, will likely slot in near the top of the power forward depth chart once he is healthy. Behind those two names is a group of young, hungry players vying for minutes.

Dominick Barlow has done the most to stand out throughout training camp and the preseason. Barlow, signed to a two-way contract this offseason, received rave reviews from the coaching staff during training camp. He backed up the positive talk with some strong preseason performances. Through three games, Barlow is averaging 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game. The Sixers have been in desperate need of adding more rebounding. Barlow excels at using his size and athleticism to effectively crash the glass.

The Sixers will have a decision to make in regards to who gets the first crack at backup power forward minutes. Barlow came into training camp not expected to play much of a role. However, his strong play throughout the preseason might be enough to earn him some consistent reserve minutes for the Sixers this season.