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Joel Embiid's History Against Nikola Jokic in Denver

Every season, the Sixers have a matchup that pits fanbase against fanbase and media against media.
Austin Krell|
Jan 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) hugs and talks with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) after the game at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jan 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) hugs and talks with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) after the game at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia 76ers

Every season, the Sixers have a matchup that pits fanbase against fanbase and media against media. Everyone except, you know, the actual players involved.

Tonight is the latest chapter in that matchup.

The Sixers visit the Denver Nuggets. It's an opportunity for Joel Embiid's biggest critics to bring up a somewhat-alarming trend: He almost never plays when the Sixers are in Denver. Many of his biggest critics wear Nuggets-colored glasses and see him as someone who whined his way to a stolen MVP the year Nikola Jokic led Denver to a championship.

Law Murray, a Los Angeles Clippers reporter from Philadelphia with no known ties to the Nuggets, posted this on X this afternoon:

Now let's be totally clear: This is totally accurate. There is nothing factually problematic about what was said.

But truth is only half of the responsibility in this business. The other half is context.

So, let's review.

2014-15: Embiid missed the entire season with a broken navicular bone.

2015-16: Embiid missed the whole season due to a second surgery on that foot.

2016-17: Embiid outdueled Jokic, Sixers upset the Nuggets.

2017-18: Embiid missed the game. It was the first night of a back-to-back. He played the next night in Phoenix. Embiid had not been cleared for back-to-backs that season until early February.

2018-19: Embiid got the night off with two days of rest sandwiching the matchup. There is no context.

2019-20: Embiid went for 19 points and 15 rebounds, but comitted eight turnovers. Jokic was way better, logging 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The Nuggets went on a wild fourth-quarter comeback to steal the win. There was a controversial non-call at the end of the game that benefitted the Nuggets.

2020-21: Embiid missed eight consecutive games prior to the matchup and one game after it with a bone bruise in his left knee caused by a hyperextension in a game against the Washington Wizards.

2021-22: Embiid missed five consecutive games prior to the matchup and three more games after it due to COVID-19 protocols.

2022-23: Embiid missed the game with a sore right calf. There was a day off before and after the matchup.

2023-24: Ah, the most controversial of all.

Embiid played against the Indiana Pacers two nights prior and didn't quite look like himself despite putting up his usual big numbers. He was ruled out for the game in Denver due to ongoing trouble with his left knee.

Denver radio guy Jake Shapiro asked Nick Nurse about Embiid's character in a press conference because of the big man's history of not playing the Nuggets on their home court:

Embiid went on to miss the next game two nights later. He returned against the Golden State Warriors the very next night and exited the game after Jonathan Kuminga landed on his left leg. He then missed 29 straight games with a meniscus injury in that left knee. It derailed a once promising Sixers season.

2024-25: Embiid played in just 19 games all season because the left knee was never healthy.

2025-26: Embiid will miss his 10th straight game on Tuesday after suffering an oblique injury against the Miami Heat on February 26.

So, there are some questionable instances of Embiid missing games in Denver. But there's also a lot of context that needs to be included, and that's without mentioning the brilliance Embiid has exhibited against the Nuggets in Philadelphia and Jokic in the Olympics.

It all makes for good engagement on social media, or Embiid is just very good at timing all these illnesses and injuries so as to avoid playing in Denver. And if that is what Embiid is plotting, give him credit, it's a masterful gambit.

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Austin Krell
AUSTIN KRELL

Austin Krell has covered the Sixers beat since the 2020-21 NBA season. Previous outlets include 97.3 ESPN and OnPattison.com. He also covered the NBA, at large, for USA Today. When he’s not consuming basketball in some form, he’s binge-watching a tv show, enjoying a movie, or listening to a music playlist on repeat.

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