76ers Coach Reacts to Joel Embiid Season-Ending Injury News

76ers officially shut down star big man for season on Friday.

Feb 9, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse looks on during the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

On Friday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid will be shut down for the remainder of the regular season. Following this big news, head coach Nick Nurse gave his thoughts on the situation.

Due to lingering issues stemming from his knee injury last season, Embiid has been fairly limited this year. Before being shut down, he appeared in a total of just 19 games. With about a month-and-a-half to go in the schedule, the Sixers now have to navigate being life without the former MVP making a return to action.

While speaking with the media pregame Saturday, Nurse opened up on the Sixers coming to the decision to sideline Embiid for the rest of the season:

”Obviously knew it was a possibility, was certainly hoping it wasn’t,” Nurse said. “Disappointed for sure. I think disappoint on a lot of fronts and not what we hoped at all for this season or for him or anybody so disappointed.”

Despite dealing with physical ailments, Embiid was still able to deliver some impressive performances this season. He ends the year with averages of 23.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG. In terms of individual outings, noteworthy occasions include his triple-double against the Dallas Mavericks and a 37-point barrage against the Portland Trail Blazers.

This is far from the situation the Sixers wanted to find themselves in at this point year. They entered the year with championship aspirations, but will end up falling way short of expectations.

Given how things have played out for them, shutting Embiid down was the best course of action. The Sixers star now has an extended period to get his body right and possibly be able to return to being an impactful force in the future.