Joel Embiid is done for the season, the 76ers announced on Friday.
The 2023 NBA MVP has struggled with a nagging knee injury this season, and instead of trying to play through it, will now focus on 2025-26.
“The Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid have been consulting with top specialists regarding ongoing issues with his left knee,” the team said in a statement regarding Embiid, who turns 31 on March 16. “After further evaluation, it has been determined that he is medically unable to play and will miss the remainder of the season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.”
As of now, the Sixers are 20-38 on the NBA season, 12th in the Eastern Conference.
Currently, they’re 2.5 games behind the 10th place Chicago Bulls for a possible spot in the Play-In Tournament.
The 76ers entered the NBA season as a team expected to be among the top Eastern Conference teams following the signing of Paul George, coinciding with an improving Tyrese Maxey and a presumably healthy Embiid fresh off an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA.
Embiid, however, hasn’t properly healed since tearing his meniscus last season, and having surgery done in early February, which sidelined him for two months.
He returned right before the playoffs, still appearing hobbled by the injured knee, while also fighting through bell’s palsy.
With Embiid, who won the 2023 NBA MVP Award, the Sixers have yet to advance beyond the second round of the NBA Playoffs, a round they’ve reached five times in six years before losing to the Knicks in before the Eastern Conference semis last year.
If the Sixers miss the playoffs, it’ll be the first time the team isn’t playing post-season basketball since 2017, Embiid’s rookie campaign.
Embiid played for Team USA last summer, albeit not entirely well, and signed a three-year, $193 million extension with Philly prior to the start of this season, a deal which runs through 2029 at his discretion.
Embiid averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in just 30.2 minutes per contest while shooting just 44 percent from the field across his 19 appearances.
The Sixers 2025 first-round draft pick is currently owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder but is protected and will remain with Philly if it’s a pick that lands between No. 1 and No. 6 overall.
If the pick lands in that range, and remains with Philly, it will be top four protected in 2026 and in 2027.
If it doesn’t convey by then, it will become a second round draft choice in 2027.