Joel Embiid returned after missing nine games due to right knee soreness.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Joel Embiid returned to the starting lineup for the 76ers on Sunday against Atlanta after he largely missed the previous nine games due to right knee soreness.
Embiid played just six of 20 games and averaged 19.7 points and 5.5 rebounds for a Sixers team that has been around .500 without him. The 76ers are 4-2 with Embiid.
The 76ers upgraded Embiid to questionable on the injury report Sunday afternoon and the two-time NBA scoring champion was cleared to play after a pregame workout.
The 76ers will play their All-Star trio of Embiid, oft-injured Paul George and Tyrese Maxey in the starting lineup for the first time this season.
Embiid last played In the 76ers’ win over Toronto on November 8 and the next night against Detroit, he was officially ruled out because he was not cleared to play in the back-to-back after recovering from surgery on his left knee in April. The 2023 NBA MVP, the 76ers, said it was Embiid’s right knee soreness that kept him from playing until Sunday.
“I think they’re trying to get him to where he feels good enough to play,” coach Nick Nurse said before Sunday’s game.
The 76ers can feel good enough about using Embiid to play four games over the next seven days, including Washington, Golden State, Milwaukee and the Lakers.
Embiid, 31, was limited to 19 games last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April after an injury-filled season that also included a left foot sprain and sinus fracture. He was released from the season at the end of February after averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Embiid has suffered many injuries Even before entering the NBA. Before being drafted out of Kansas he suffered a stress fracture in his right foot, causing him to miss two years. From there, there was a bone bruise here, a torn meniscus there. A broken orbital bone. Sprained shoulder. Tendinitis. torn ligaments. Even Bell’s Palsy.
Despite all the injuries, the 76ers signed Embiid to a three-year, $193 million extension in 2024 with a player option for the 2028–29 season, which will not start until next season.
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