2 min read • February 26, 2025
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In the midst of an underperforming season, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are considering their options regarding how they manage their star center for the rest of the season, including shutting him down for the rest of the season.
Embiid underwent a knee procedure to repair a torn meniscus in early February of 2024 last season that saw him miss 29 games before returning for the playoffs in a first round exit and five of six games for USA Basketball during the Olympics this past Summer.
Since the current season began, Embiid has been dealing with constant knee inflammation and the maintenance plan included no back-to-backs, letting his body adjust to playing with pain while enduring knee draining and injections of platelet-rich plasma. However, the ongoing knee issues have only seen him play 19 out of 57 games so far this season with no resolution in sight.
Per Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Embiid could have to undergo any one of three "radical" procedures to give him a chance at resuming his career at something close to full strength.
The list of potential procedures includes a meniscus replacement, low-dose radiation therapy or something known as osteotomy that would require doctors to "break a bone in the hip to realign the joint to alleviate pressure."
Hayes noted doctors have said some of those procedures could require between six months to a full year of rehab before an athlete could return to game action.
If Joel Embiid is facing the possibility of losing out on an entire year of basketball, it comes at a terrible time for the 76ers. Embiid signed a contract extension in September of 2024 that will place him under contract for Philadelphia until the end of the 28/29 season.
After this year, Joel Embiid is owed $248.1M over the next 4 seasons:
25/26: $55.2M
26/27: $59.5M
27/28: $64.3M
28/29: $69.1M
The contract is fully guaranteed
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Doctors discuss ‘radical’ surgeries for Joel Embiid that could sideline him for as much as a year | Marcus Hayes inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-…
