76ers Superstar Joel Embiid Suffers Torn Meniscus
Sixers reigning NBA MVP and leading candidate for another MVP award Joel Embiid has suffered a torn left meniscus in his knee. This will sideline the superstar center for an extended period of games, although the severity of the tear has not yet been determined; the timeline ranges anywhere from four to six weeks to four to six months. The injury was sustained in a matchup against the Golden State Warriors, though it’s a bit unclear exactly when he injured the knee. A collision with Draymond Green followed by an awkward tangle between Embiid and Jonathan Kuminga likely led to the meniscus ultimately being torn. He had previously been out a handful of games with what was being listed as ‘knee soreness’ and was evidently not 100% healthy from even a casual viewer’s perspective. This is the second time that Embiid has torn his left meniscus, the previous time was seven years ago when he missed the last 37 games of the regular season and was not right in the playoffs either before ultimately having it partially removed in the offseason.
Joel Embiid had been named an All-Star starter for the sixth consecutive year and was cruising towards one of the most efficient scoring outputs in a regular season in NBA history. He was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, and was on pace to be the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to record more points than minutes played in a season. Just last week, Embiid poured in a career-high 70 points in an epic performance against freshman phenom Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. The Sixers are currently on a four-game skid, and losing their centerpiece and engine will certainly make coming up with wins tougher.
The Embiid injury puts the Sixers front office in a challenging position as the trade deadline is now just a week away. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey had been scouring the market for potential upgrades to bolster the firepower come playoff time, but that may have to be put on hold given the uncertainty of Embiid’s injury and his timeline to return to action. The Sixers will currently enter the offseason with the ability to create up to $55 million in cap space, which will give them plenty of options in terms of building around Embiid and Tyrese Maxey if that is the route they choose to go. Making a trade that returns players with multi-year contracts will inhibit that ability, but a lot of the top names on the market are on longer-term deals such as Zach Lavine, Malcolm Brogdon, and Dejounte Murray. It will be worth keeping an eye on what the team decides to do in the next week based on any injury update to Embiid.
