Joel Embiid’s Uninspiring Injury Update Put Damper on Outstanding Return to 76ers

Joel Embiid returned to the court for the first time in a month on Wednesday night—and it went spectacularly.

The star big man, who last took the floor in late February, starred in the 76ers’ blowout win over the Bulls. He scored 35 points in 28 minutes on 12-for-17 shooting while dishing out seven assists to boot. Embiid helped power Philadelphia to one of its greatest offensive performances ever with the team scoring 157 points in regulation.

It was a completely unexpected performance given the win marked just Embiid’s sixth appearance on the court since the start of February. But there was no rust to shake off and the former MVP didn’t look like a center who had been battling lower-body injuries before an oblique injury knocked him out for the last month.

While the 76ers’ realistic expectations of contention are in line with their place in the standings (seventh in the East entering Thursday) a healthy and dominant Embiid is a welcome sight. However, he was asked about his latest injury-related absence after the game to reporters and shared a mixed bag of an update that didn’t inspire much optimism around his health going forward.

“My knees haven’t been an issue for a long time,” Embiid said. “The oblique was very tricky, and it still is tricky. There’s really nothing you can do about it, just got to let it ride and hope it doesn’t get worse.”

It's obviously positive that he believes his knee issues are behind him. Those issues sidelined him for all but 19 of last year’s games, leading to surgery in April 2025. He missed a stretch of nine games this fall due to lingering soreness and it’s kept him out of back-to-backs for most of the year. However, summing up the oblique injury by simply hoping it “doesn’t get worse” is far from ideal. Especially since, during Embiid’s injury-riddled career, such ailments do tend to get worse before they gets better.

There’s not much the Philadelphia star can do about that, in fairness. But the 76ers can’t let their hopes get too high in light of an injury Embiid says you can’t do much about.

How a healthy Embiid impacts 76ers’ playoff picture

The 76ers are 40–33 after Wednesday’s win, only a half-game behind the Raptors for the sixth seed (as well as the final guaranteed playoff spot outside the play-in tournament). What’s more, they’re also barely behind the Hawks for the fifth seed with only one game separating Atlanta from Philadelphia. Conversely, the Heat trail the Sixers by only one game in the eighth seed, while the Hornets and Magic are tied for 10th and 1 1/2 games back of Philly.

That narrow gap in the standings means a healthy Embiid (or something close to it) could be very impactful indeed. The 76ers’s next two opponents are Miami and Charlotte; the results of those games could wildly change the playoff seeding structure as it currently stands. Philadelphia is also facing a bit of a gauntlet down the stretch with three of its final nine games coming against genuine contenders in the West (the Rockets, Timberwolves and Spurs).

The roster is still missing Tyrese Maxey and without him it’s hard to get too excited about this 76ers team. But Embiid’s production could swing the outcome of a few games in the last weeks of the year; despite inconsistent health the big man is scoring 26.5 points per game with a few huge scoring nights. Every win is going to matter and Philadephia needs Embiid to be anywhere near its best.

The franchise is hoping against hope his body will hold up and get to the playoffs healthy. Right now the only thing standing between Embiid and that reality appears to be this tricky oblique injury.

How a healthy Embiid impacts 76ers’ playoff picture

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