The Philadelphia 76ers fell 124-104 to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, dropping to 20-35 on the season. Former MVP Joel Embiid played 27 minutes in the loss, tallying 15 points, three rebounds and four assists on 3-for-9 from the field.
This was just Embiid’s 18th game of the season, as lingering knee issues have kept him off the floor for much of the year. Embiid’s lack of availability is a big reason why Philadelphia is outside of the Eastern Conference play-in picture.
While Embiid has had an incredible NBA career, making seven All-Star appearances in addition to his 2023 league MVP, injuries have undoubtedly robbed him of even more greatness.
Speaking after Thursday’s loss, Embiid made an emotional admission about where he is at physically right now.
“The way I was playing a year ago, is not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid said (h/t Kyle Neubeck of PHLY). “It sucks… it’s hard to have the trust when you’re not yourself. And yeah, l’m not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have a lot of impact on the game.”
Not only has Embiid’s availability been limited this season, but his production has been down from what fans are used to seeing. While he is still averaging 24.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists, Embiid has averaged at least 30 points in each of the last three seasons, including back-to-back scoring titles in 2022 and 2023.
Admitting he is not that player right now, Embiid was honest with reporters on Thursday night.
