Sixers Star Reveals Approach With Joel Embiid After Nets Loss

It’s safe to say the 2024-2025 NBA season hasn’t treated Joel Embiid well. While the Philadelphia 76ers star assumed he would miss a fair share of games due to his injury recovery plan, his body has put him on the injury report much more than he anticipated.

Even when Embiid’s cleared for action and on the court, he hasn’t been able to be the best version of himself. The seven-time All-Star revealed that much earlier this week.

"The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid told reporters after the Sixers dropped a matchup against the Boston Celtics. “It sucks, but I believe I probably need to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level, but it’s hard to have the trust when you’re not yourself."

Joel Embiid, on whether the knee is limiting him:
"The way I was playing a year ago, it's not the way I'm playing right now. It sucks. But I believe ... I probably need to fix the problem and then I'll be back at that level, but it's hard to have trust when you're not yourself."… pic.twitter.com/CneQ5zTTMA
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 21, 2025

In the 19 games he played this season, Embiid has averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. It’s the first time since the 2020-2021 season he’s producing fewer than 30 points per game. It’s also the first time since his rookie season that Embiid is not coming down with double-digit rebounds on a nightly basis.

For a guy who was an All-Star seven seasons in a row and a frequent MVP candidate, there’s been a significant drop-off in 2024-2025. In order to keep Embiid in good spirits, he needs support from other leaders in the building, such as the one-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey.

On Saturday night, Maxey revealed his approach with Embiid during these tough times.

“I just check on him,” Maxey told reporters. “We’ve grown a relationship that’s bigger than basketball, I would say. When you’re calling somebody in the summertime, and checking on somebody all the time, and making sure they’re good, not just basketball, life-wise. Checking on his family, checking on his parents, his wife, and his kids. It’s bigger than basketball for us and we just appreciate him putting his body on the line every single night and coming out here and trying to fight with us and help us get Ws.”

“It’s definitely difficult”

Sixers Tyrese Maxey Candid about watching Joel Embiid struggle with his health but #TyreseMaxey says he checks on #JoelEmbiid and tries to keep his spirits up

“difficult. I’ve seen him probably at his best”https://t.co/Cb0NYe59He pic.twitter.com/VjkQMKk971
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) February 23, 2025

The 76ers are in a tough spot with Embiid. Throughout his 39-game journey last year, the Sixers were dominant when he was on the floor but struggled without him. This year, the struggles are in play, no matter what. With Embiid, the Sixers have a losing record and have only won two games with him since the start of the new year.

All signs are pointing to Embiid being a different version of himself until he goes through another recovery period with his knee. In the meantime, keeping him right mentally is the best the Sixers can do as Embiid continues to suit up and help the Sixers work themselves into a Play-In spot.

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