Joel Embiid returns to 76ers lineup after missing 9 games with knee soreness

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid returned to the starting lineup for the 76ers on Sunday against Atlanta after he missed the last nine games in large part because of a sore right knee.

Embiid had played in only six of 20 games and averaged 19.7 points and 5.5 rebounds for a Sixers team that has hovered around .500 without him. The 76ers are 4-2 with Embiid.

The 76ers upgraded Embiid to questionable on the injury report on Sunday afternoon and the two-time NBA scoring champion was cleared to play after his pregame workout.

The 76ers will play for the first time this season with their All-Star trio of Embiid, oft-injured Paul George and Tyrese Maxey together in the starting lineup.

Embiid last played in the 76ers’ win over Toronto on Nov. 8 and was officially out the next night against Detroit because he wasn’t cleared to play in back-to-backs in the wake of his recovery from April surgery on his left knee. 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 just trying to get it to where he feels good enough to play,” coach Nick Nurse said before Sunday’s game.

The 76ers could use Embiid feeling good enough to play, headed into a stretch where they play four games in the next seven days that include Washington, Golden State, Milwaukee and the Lakers.

The 31-year-old Embiid was limited to 19 games last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April following an injury-plagued season that also included a sprained left foot and a sinus fracture. He was ruled out for the season in late February after averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Embiid has dealt with multiple injuries since even before he entered the NBA. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot before he was drafted out of Kansas, which cost him two years. From there, it was a bone bruise here, a meniscus tear there. A busted orbital bone. A sprained shoulder. Tendinitis. Torn ligaments. Even Bell’s palsy.

Even with all the injuries, the 76ers still signed Embiid in 2024 to a three-year, $193 million extension with a player option for the 2028-29 season that doesn’t kick in until next season.