The Philadelphia 76ers have no better tales to tell about the 2024-2025 season than tales of misery and despair, seeing what injuries have done to their already woeful season. Despite hopes for an impressive show upon the season’s wake, the Sixers find themselves chasing the finish line with broken legs. Head coach Nick Nurse recently shared an update regarding Joel Embiid’s injury and it’s definitely not the news fans want to hear.
In recent weeks and months, the Sixers have been plagued with severe injuries on all areas of the court, with the likes of Paul George, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, Tyrese Maxey and Andre Drummond, all having stints on the sidelines.
Unsurprisingly, the team has had to rely on hardship exceptions to abate the disaster, with Chuma Okeke and now, Phillip Wheeler coming to the rescue.
Joel Embiid, who was ruled out of the season a month ago, has been a major concern for the Sixers. Coming into the season, Embiid signed a major extension, with the team involving him as a key part of their present and future. However, he has struggled for fitness all season long, dealing with knee swelling and soreness before he was ruled out of the season.
Once the decision was made on Embiid’s season, Nick Nurse pointed out that the Sixers center would undergo a series of evaluations to determine his next recovery phase. Now, while Embiid has seen “all the specialists,” Nurse claimed it’s now “decision time.”
“I don’t want to speak definitively. I think he’s done seeing all the specialists,” Nurse said. “I think there may be one [more], and those kind of turn into some more discussions. I kind of just got up to speed on all of it today.
“But, yeah, I think it’s now decision time. There’s so many opinions and weighing all that out and seeing exactly what’s gonna happen, I think we’re close to that point of him making a decision on which route he’s gonna take. Just not quite there yet.”
Amid all of these, Embiid hasn’t been left alone with the decision-making process, having the support of many doctors and Simon Rice, the Philadelphia 76ers’ vice president of athlete care.
“I’d say it’s a collaborative decision. He’s right there involved with these doctors, and he’s very smart and understanding what all the ramifications are, what the chances, probabilities, all those kind of stuff that he’s weighing out,” Nurse said.
Though the evaluations are yet to be over, Nurse summed up the possible time frame of Embiid’s return in a word, asserting that his return would be “soon-ish.” Embiid is tied to the Sixers for a few more years. Hence, despite his limited contributions this season, the team hopes his recovery will be truly “soon-ish,” so he remains an instrumental contributor in the coming seasons.
