Sixers News: Joel Embiid’s Mysterious Health Concern Revealed

It’s no secret that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been battling a setback.

Back in January, the star center suffered a knee injury late in a matchup against the Golden State Warriors. After landing a diagnosis, Embiid opted for surgery. He was placed on an eight-week recovery plan throughout the second half of the regular season.

In the final weeks of the season, Embiid returned to action. He played in all but two of the Sixers’ final seven games. Once the Sixers reached postseason play, beginning with a Play-In Tournament matchup against the Miami Heat, Embiid hasn’t missed a game since.

Leading up to all three of the Sixers’ playoff games against the New York Knicks, Embiid was listed as questionable due to knee injury recovery. However, many were under the belief that Embiid was dealing with a mysterious setback.

Since the Sixers’ Game 1 loss against the Knicks last Saturday, most of Embiid’s public appearances off the court have featured him wearing sunglasses. While it’s not uncommon for NBA players to don shades off the court, even indoors, for Embiid, it’s a rare occurrence.

Following Thursday’s Game 3 victory for the Sixers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Embiid has been diagnosed with a “mild case” of Bell’s palsy.

According to Wojnarowski, the condition came about when Embiid was competing against the Miami Heat in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The star center reportedly wanted to keep it under wraps to leave the Sixers free from distractions throughout the first round.

Despite dealing with multiple setbacks since the start of the series, Embiid has played his part for Philadelphia. Over the first two games, he averaged 31 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Unfortunately, the Sixers dropped both games.

On Thursday, Embiid put together his most dominant playoff performance to date. After knocking down 13 of his 19 shots from the field, and going 19-21 from the free throw line, Embiid scored a playoff career-high 50 points on Thursday.

The Sixers picked up their first playoff win in 2024, defeating the Knicks 125-114.

While Embiid will likely remain questionable for the foreseeable future, the Sixers anticipate having the big man in the lineup as long as he’s able to push through the setbacks.