Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers star wing Paul George is "expected to make his season debut" against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

George has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee, keeping him sidelined alongside fellow Sixers' superstar Joel Embiid, who is also yet to play in the 2024-25 campaign.

The Sixers have officially listed George as questionable for Monday night, while Embiid (left knee injury management) remains out.

Philadelphia has been eager to see the debut of George after he was the biggest free-agent signing of the summer, and one of the biggest in Sixers' franchise history. Without George and Embiid, the Sixers have stumbled to a 1-4 start.

The expectation was that the trio of Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey would make the Sixers one of the top contenders in the NBA. The three have yet to share the court in the regular season, however, with fans eager to see them in action.

George said last month that he suffered the injury while extending for the ball in the preseason.

"I reach for [the ball], poked it out," he told reporters. "Went to go take a step to go kind of burst through, and then my leg kind of hyperextended back. I felt that it hyperextended, and immediately, it was, 'All right, I need to get taken out and look at this.' But if you ask me, I'm not too concerned about it."

As for Embiid, his injury has been more murky, but he said on Friday that it stems back to last season.

"I had surgery in February or whenever that was, and I did come back early to fight for the team and to play, try to give us a chance," Embiid told reporters. "Unfortunately, we lost (to the Knicks in the playoffs). And then I had time to recover. I've really still been managing since the last surgery. Just managing and trying to figure out the best approach, but I feel pretty good. I've started doing some live stuff and it feels pretty good, so I should be back pretty soon."

Embiid did represent the United States in the Olympics, largely serving as the team's starting center, though he split minutes with a number of players, including Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo.

Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid clapped back at his detractors Friday while working toward making his season debut.

According to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Embiid said he is "trending in the right way," and expects to be back in the lineup "pretty soon" after missing the Sixers' first four games of the season due to left knee injury management.

Embiid also had a message for those who have claimed he doesn't actually want to play, calling the narrative "bulls--t."

“When I see people saying, he doesn’t want to play, I’ve done way too much for this city putting myself at risk for people to be saying that. I do think it’s bullshit. Like that dude, he’s not here, Marcus, I’ve done way too much for this fucking city to be treated like this.” pic.twitter.com/n1Z9of1F6v

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 1, 2024

Both Embiid and wing Paul George, who also has yet to play for the 76ers this season due to a knee ailment, practiced in full Friday and took part in five-on-five scrimmages, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

There isn't yet a timeline for the return of Embiid or George, but they were both ruled out for Saturday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.

Joel Embiid, on developing trust in the knee.

"I think it's about being comfortable, trusting it.

"I want to be at my best. I don't want to be in a situation where I'm afraid if I do this, I might do something...Mentally I'm just dealing with getting that trust back. " pic.twitter.com/4nIpdsBVGv

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) November 1, 2024

As dominant as Embiid has been for much of his career, he has often been slowed down by injuries.

In addition to missing each of his first two NBA seasons in their entirety, the seven-time All-Star has appeared in 51 or fewer games in a season four other times, including last season.

On the heels of being named NBA MVP in 2023 by virtue of averaging a league-leading 33.1 points per game, a torn meniscus in his left knee limited the 7-footer to only 39 regular-season games during the 2023-24 campaign.

Embiid was excellent when healthy, averaging 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.4 three-pointers made and 1.2 steals per game, but he clearly wasn't the same player after returning from the injury.

In six playoff games, Embiid averaged 33.0 points and 10.8 rebounds, however, he shot only 44.4 percent from the field, which is well below his career regular-season mark of 50.4 percent.

Despite being less than 100 percent, Embiid played for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, helping lead the Americans to a gold medal.

Embiid took on a secondary role behind the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in Paris, though, and head coach Steve Kerr was careful with his usage, even opting to sit him for one of Team USA's games.

Coming out of training camp and the preseason, the Sixers clearly didn't believe Embiid was fully healthy yet, so the decision was made to take a cautious approach with him.

Once the 76ers held Embiid out of their lineup to start the 2024-25 season, the NBA launched an investigation into the Sixers' handling of Embiid.

The NBA determined that comments made by 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse were "inconsistent with Joel Embiid's health status and in violation of NBA rules," so the organization was fined $100,000.

Despite making seven straight playoff appearances, the 76ers have not made it past the second round during that stretch, so they go aggressive during the offseason by signing George to play alongside Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

If that trio is healthy come playoff time, the 76ers could be the Eastern Conference team with the best chance of knocking off the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Slow playing Embiid early in the season may be the Sixers' best hope of keeping him healthy for the stretch run, and they are taking their lumps right now for doing so.

Philly is off to a 1-3 start, and if Embiid and George remain out for too much longer, the 76ers may have a significant hole to dig out of in terms of playoff positioning.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is reportedly taking the next steps toward his 2024-25 debut.

ESPN's Shams Charania provided an update on Thursday's episode of ˆSportsCenter.

"I'm told he is essentially in the ramp up phase of his return process, of his debut process," Charania said. "He has completed, from what I'm told, multiple 5-on-5 scrimmages in recent days. And so the 76ers want to make sure from a conditioning perspective his knee, his body, is 100 percent before he makes it back out on the floor for his debut. He has workouts scheduled today, and on Friday, to evaluate whether he's going to be able to make a return as soon as this weekend.

"But this is all apart of what has been described to me as 'the new normal' for Joel Embiid. That's going to include periodic time off at different points during the season. It's going to include routine check-ups on his knee over the course of the season. And it is all part of the 76ers and Joel Embiid's new strategy this season on how to keep him healthy when he has never been and that's for the playoffs."

The NBA investigated the 76ers and the overall situation surrounding Embiid's lingering knee issues and fined them $100,000 for public comments.

It caught the attention of teams around the league.

"The league and other teams that I've spoken to, they've really looked at the commentary around the Joel Embiid injury status," Charania said. "And that's including comments from Nick Nurse, Daryl Morey, essentially alluding to the fact that there is no injury, that Joel Embiid's in great shape, that he lost 20-25 pounds. And that all played a part into the league's investigation and ultimately the fine of $100,000.

"The league investigation found that there is a left knee condition that Joel Embiid is rehabbing and recovering from to make sure that he is 100 percent this season. But the commentary, alluding to the fact that Joel Embiid is 100 percent healthy, that went against what the league found in its investigation."

Embiid averaged 34.7 points on 52.9 percent shooting (38.8 percent from three), 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game last season. He missed two regular-season months after suffering an injured lateral meniscus in his left knee in late January.

The seven-time All-Star returned in early April and was able to participate in the playoffs, averaging 41.4 minutes per game in a first-round series against the New York Knicks. Embiid returned to his old form as well with 33.0 PPG and 10.8 RPG.

He then represented Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris, helping the squad win gold.

Unfortunately, Embiid has dealt with the left knee issues in the lead-in to the 2024-25 campaign. On Oct. 13, the 76ers revealed that Embiid would miss the entire preseason due to left knee management.

On Oct. 22, Charania reported that Embiid would miss at least the 76ers' first two regular-season games as he ramped up for the season. However, Charania also noted that Embiid was "progressing well" and even scrimmaging.

Obviously, the 76ers need a healthy Embiid to compete for a championship. Last year, Philadelphia went 31-8 with him and 16-27 without him.

They are just 1-3 to start the 2024-25 season without him and Paul George.

The NBA fined the Philadelphia 76ers $100,000 for comments they made about star center Joel Embiid and his lingering knee trouble.

The league said the Sixers didn't violate the player participation policy but that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse made remarks "that were inconsistent with Joel Embiid's health status."

The NBA also found that the 2022-23 MVP is dealing with a "left knee condition" that's precluding him from playing right now.

Embiid underwent knee surgery this past February, which sidelined him for much of the regular season after that. He returned in time to suit up for the playoffs and then represented the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

His participation in the Olympics is part of the reason the Sixers raised some eyebrows when they said the 30-year-old would miss the start of the 2024-25 season. They haven't cited a new injury as the reason for his absence, pointing instead to maintenance of his left knee.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps detailed in an Oct. 14 story how the 76ers, who had already been monitoring Embiid's minutes for a long time, were going even further to manage his workload this year.

Embiid suggested to Bontemps he may not play both legs of a back-to-back at any point in his career moving forward, with Morey adding that Paul George's participation in back-to-backs could be limited as well.

Tuesday's announcement brings some clarity to the situation without resolving the biggest questions surrounding Embiid.

We don't know when the seven-time All-Star is going to make his season debut. We don't know how serious this left knee condition is. And we don't have any idea what his availability will look like moving forward once he does play.

The exasperation from Nurse at this point is evident.

"I'm not going to answer."

Nick Nurse shuts down questions about Joel Embiid and Paul George's injury statuses. pic.twitter.com/YzKUH4owPH

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 29, 2024

This is all less than ideal for a franchise that's trying to win a championship.

Philadelphia 76ers fans hoping to see the season debuts of star center Joel Embiid and star forward Paul George will have to wait a bit longer.

Per ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the Sixers announced that both Embiid and George will miss Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons as they continue recovering from their respective knee injuries. They will be re-evaluated later this week, with their next opportunity to play coming on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I'm not going to answer."

Nick Nurse shuts down questions about Joel Embiid and Paul George's injury statuses. pic.twitter.com/YzKUH4owPH

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 29, 2024

Embiid has been held out for the start of the season due to left knee injury management, while George suffered a bone bruise during a preseason game. Without its two stars, Philadelphia is off to a 1-2 start to the year.

Embiid is expected to be limited for much of the regular season, as Philadelphia is hoping to ensure that he's healthy for the playoffs. George, who joined the team this offseason after spending the last five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, is expected to boost the Sixers' chances of competing for an elusive NBA title.

Despite not yet playing in a game, Embiid has already been assessed a technical foul. The NBA announced the decision on Monday after Embiid waved a towel from the bench in Sunday's game while Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was shooting a free throw with 16.4 seconds left in overtime while the Sixers held a 114-111 lead. Nembhard missed the first free throw and made the second, but the Pacers suffered a 118-114 loss.

Without George and Embiid, point guard Tyrese Maxey has taken over as Philadelphia's primary option. The 23-year-old leads the team with 31.3 points per game and appears to be on the verge of superstardom.

When Embiid and George return to the lineup, they will create a dangerous combination along with Maxey as the Sixers try to make it through the competitive Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid hasn't played a game yet this season, but he is officially in the NBA's 2024-25 stat book because of a technical foul.

NBA Official announced Monday that the seven-time All-Star was assessed a postgame technical foul following Philadelphia's overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The league office reviewed the situation and issued the foul.

ESPN's Shams Charania noted the postgame technical was because Embiid waved a towel during Andrew Nembhard's late free-throw attempt.

The free throws in question happened in the final 20 seconds of overtime. The Sixers star was standing near the bench and waved the towel as Nembhard made one of two attempts to trim the deficit to two points.

Philadelphia ended up winning by four points after late free throws from Tyrese Maxey.

It was the 76ers' first win through three games of the season. They have not had Embiid or Paul George on the court yet, which has placed much of the offensive onus on Maxey. The guard responded Sunday by pouring in 45 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qX8z97mKw

While Embiid hasn't played yet this season, he has been in the headlines.

The NBA is investigating the 76ers' resting policy when it comes to the star big man. Philadelphia cited "left knee management" when explaining why he sat out in the preseason and began the campaign on the sidelines, which was notable since he suffered a torn meniscus in January.

However, he still played for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics over the summer.

Embiid also turned heads when he told ESPN's Tim Bontemps earlier this month, "If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career."

Injuries have always been a storyline during the 30-year-old's career, as he has never played more than 68 games in a season and missed his first two campaigns after he was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2014 draft.

Keeping him healthy for the playoffs is surely a priority for the team, although the NBA may disagree with how it does so depending on the results of the investigation.

For now, Embiid has more technical fouls than minutes played this season.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid reportedly had strong workouts this week amid his in-game absence due to left knee injury management.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Embiid worked out in front of media members Monday and Tuesday, and sources have said he "looks good physically."

The Sixers announced Tuesday that Embiid would miss the first week of the season to manage his knee ailment after he did not play at all during the preseason.

In response, NBA officials told ESPN's Shams Charania they were launching an investigation into Embiid's participation or lack thereof.

Charania noted that it is "typical for the NBA to review a team anytime a superstar player misses a nationally televised game," which was the case with Embiid when the 76ers lost their season-opening game to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

Per Bontemps, the 76ers are taking a cautious approach with Embiid early in the season in hopes that he will be healthy in the spring for an anticipated playoff run.

Embiid, 30, has a lengthy injury history, as he has never appeared in more than 68 games in a single NBA season.

He missed each of his first two seasons entirely due to injury and in the eight seasons since then, he has played 51 or fewer games four times.

The seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion played in a career-high 68 regular-season games in 2021-22 and followed that up with 66 in 2022-23.

After finishing second in the NBA MVP voting in 2022, he finally won it in 2023 by averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game.

Last season, the 7-footer remained dominant on a per-game basis, averaging 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 blocks, but he appeared in only 39 games due to a meniscus injury in his left knee, which required surgery.

Embiid returned to appear in six playoff games, and although he averaged 33.0 points per contest, he shot only 44.4 percent from the field. which suggested he was far from being fully healthy.

Despite his injury woes, Embiid played for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris over the summer, winning a gold medal.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was careful in usage of Embiid, as he sat out one of the team's six games and was only seventh on the team with 16.8 minutes played per contest.

Embiid is set to miss the 76ers' road games against the Toronto Raptors on Friday and the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, but if all goes well, he could potentially make his season debut against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

Philadelphia 76ers star wing Paul George will reportedly miss at least the team's next two games as he continues to recover from a left knee bone bruise, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Per that report, George "continues progressing well" but will miss the team's road trip against the Toronto Raptors on Friday and the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The team will reportedly offer an "update on his availability early next week."

Both George and superstar center Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) missed the team's season-opening 124-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

Joel Embiid and Paul George “were in most of the action” at practice today, per Nick Nurse. Said both players did do live drills and are progressing.

— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) October 24, 2024

The Embiid situation has earned the attention of the NBA after he missed the entirety of the preseason and has already been ruled out through Sunday's matchup against the Pacers. Per Charania, the league "has begun an investigation into the Sixers surrounding the player participation" of Embiid.

He added, however, that it is "typical for the NBA to review a team anytime a superstar player misses a nationally televised game, as per the player participation policy."

The Sixers, in an attempt to get injury-prone players like Embiid and George to the playoffs with a clean bill of health, have already acknowledged that the pair probably won't play both games in back-to-backs this season.

"We're going to be smart about it," president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN's Tim Bontemps in early October. "Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any."

"If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career," Embiid added.

As for George, his signing was the headlining move of Philly's offseason, and one of the biggest summer additions in the NBA, period. The nine-time All-Star is seemingly the perfect fit for the star duo of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, giving the Sixers a two-way wing who is effective as a spot-up shooter but also more than capable of creating his own shot.

The Sixers spent the offseason surrounding Embiid with complementary role players as well, prioritizing shooting and a strong backup for the star center in Andre Drummond. On paper, this is potentially the best roster the team has had in the Embiid era, and at the very least the strongest unit since the team surrounded him with Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick back in the 2018-19 campaign.

That group took the eventual champion Raptors to seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, famously losing on Kawhi Leonard's rim-bouncing three at the buzzer. This team has title-or-bust expectations, though everything rests on the long-term health of both Embiid and George.

The NBA is officially looking into the Philadelphia 76ers' resting policy for star center Joel Embiid.

After missing all of the preseason, Embiid also sat out of the Sixers' 124-109 season-opening loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. The team announced Tuesday that he won't play in any of its three games this week.

This certainly isn't the first year the Sixers have tried to be careful in managing the 2022-23 MVP's workload. He has never logged more than 68 appearances in a single season.

However, it appears Philadelphia and its best player are pushing things even further this season.

During the preseason, Embiid told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that "I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career." He also made other changes in an effort to stay healthy, such as shedding around 25 to 30 pounds and playing with a brace on his left knee.

The 30-year-old tore the meniscus in his left knee in January, and the Sixers cited the continued maintenance of that knee as why he missed the preseason and wasn't on the court this week.

The meniscus injury didn't preclude Embiid from representing Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, though, which might be part of the reason why the NBA is deciding to launch an inquiry.

While the league's new rest rules curb the extent to which teams can proactively rest their stars, there are various exceptions. Past injury history falls under that category and could potentially apply to Embiid.

Other teams around the NBA are likely following the situation with some interest. Should the league give Philly the green light for its resting plan with Embiid, it could create a blueprint for players with similar injury histories.

Paul George has been quite impressed with Philadelphia 76ers teammate Tyrese Maxey, calling him "super talented" and "mature beyond his years," among other compliments in remarks made to Tony Jones of The Athletic.

"He's super talented," said George, who arrived in Philadelphia this offseason via free agency on a four-year contract.

"The scary part is that he's still figuring out the game. He's still learning how to be the dominant Tyrese Maxey. Once he learns how to do it on every possession, he's going to be even better as a player. He's really talented, but he's also really humble and that's an amazing trait for somebody so young to have. He's mature beyond his years. My job is to help make the game easy for him, allow him to work off the ball and come off screens and do his thing. I'm here to help him, and he's been very accepting of learning from other people It's been a great partnership so far."

Maxey, 23, just enjoyed a breakout season in his fourth NBA campaign, averaging 25.9 points on 45.0 percent shooting, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. He won the NBA's Most Improved Player award and earned his first All-Star Game appearance as well.

Maxey was thrust into the spotlight last year as the 76ers' leader when Joel Embiid, the 2022-23 NBA MVP, suffered an injury to the meniscus in his left knee and missed two regular-season months.

He then proceeded to cause major problems for the New York Knicks in the playoffs, averaging 29.8 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds over six first-round games.

The 76ers lost the series, but it's clear Philadelphia has a bona fide star to build around for years to come. He's in the mix now long-term after signing a five-year, $204 million contract extension last summer.

Ultimately, it's clear George, a nine-time All-Star himself, sees something special in him. There's of course room for Maxey to continue his ascendance, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him become a perennial All-NBA player soon.