The Philadelphia 76ers are left wondering about Joel Embiid yet again. Although the 76ers’ star is considered one of the best players in the world when healthy, Embiid has been injured throughout the majority of this season, perhaps the majority of his NBA career.
Infamously, Embiid has missed more games than he played in the last two seasons, but what about his whole career? It’s close, but he’s still played more than he’s missed.
Joel Embiid Has Missed Over 400 Games in NBA Career
Embiid’s injuries date back to the 2014 NBA Draft when the Sixers selected him No. 3 overall. Before the draft, however, he suffered a stress fracture in his navicular bone, which eventually kept him out for his entire rookie season.
A second fracture on the same bone pushed Embiid’s timeline back further, leading him to miss the entire 2015-16 season as well. Finally, entering his pseudo-rookie season in 2017, he had a brief 31-game campaign that was shortened due to swelling in his left knee, the result of a minor meniscus tear.
The next year, an orbital bone fracture and a concussion led to Embiid missing a chunk of the end of the 2018 season, but he managed to play in a then career-high 63 games. But after enjoying a relatively healthy period over the next two seasons, his problems returned in 2020.
Ticky-tacky injuries continued to pile up over the next two seasons for Embiid, with a broken finger, partially torn meniscus, another orbital bone fracture, and a ligament tear in his right thumb all keeping him out for brief periods. His healthiest season was 2021, when he played in 68 games.
Since 2024, however, the situation has gone from bad to worse. An errant landing for Jonathan Kuminga led Embiid to pursue surgery on his left knee. Staying out for four months, he returned in April.
However, the knee injury wasn’t fully healed, bothering him through the 2024 Summer Olympics, training camp, and preseason. Now that the Sixers have officially shut him down, Embiid’s games missed tally has reached 400+. Yet, in the games he’s played in throughout his career, he’s averaged a staggering 27.7 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Embiid’s constant tussle with injuries has brought what is otherwise a great career to a halting stop. Now, his future appears to be in jeopardy and will need constant monitoring in the coming months. However, the 76ers made it clear just a few days ago that they were sticking with their franchise superstar.
“Philadelphia insists that it isn’t pulling any cord out of its plug just yet. It still views Embiid as its franchise cornerstone,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported.
But with the toll his body has already taken, it is an uphill climb for the five-time All-NBA star from here.
