CAMDEN, New Jersey — There isn’t a definitive timeline for Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George to return from their respective knee surgeries, both players said Friday at the team’s media day.
Embiid said he feels “pretty good” but he’s taking it day by day and checking boxes as he progresses toward a return.
“There’s not necessarily an expectation; it’s more about making sure everything is right and doing everything right and then go from there,” he said. “Obviously the goal is to play consistently and not be the position that we were last year.”
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Embiid was limited to 19 games last season because of his ongoing left knee injury and a foot sprain, officially shutting down his campaign in late February. He averaged 23.8 points per game, his fewest since the 2019-20 season, and 8.2 rebounds, the former NBA MVP’s fewest since his rookie year in 2016-17.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April, with a reevaluation timeline of six weeks. Friday’s media day, however, was the first official health update since the surgery and the first time Embiid has spoken publicly since February.
Embiid was asked whether there were any on-court adjustments he could make moving forward to avoid injury.
“At times you can’t get out of yourself,” he said. “All I know is, ever since I started this, to play hard, play both ends. There’s a lot of people in the league that play one side, whether it’s offense or defense. A lot of times for me, my mentality is to do whatever it takes to win. For all of my career, it’s been having to do both.”
“I’ve gotten to this point because of how good I am at both ends of the floor. If you ask me to change the way I play, the only guess that I have is either play offense fully and take plays off defensively, which doesn’t suit me,” Embiid continued. “I don’t think I’d ever be OK with that. I don’t know. We’ll just wait and see. If it’s gotta be that way, it’s definitely going to be an adjustment, but I don’t see that happening.”
“We’re not getting into the expectations game,” said Daryl Morey, the franchise’s president of basketball operations. “The doctors’ advice, what Joel said on listening to his body, which is a big component on how doctors manage injuries — that’s going to be what carries the day this year.”
Head coach Nick Nurse said he’s hoping there’s more to manage with Embiid’s availability this season, which would mean he’s able to play more than a year ago.
“There was not a whole lot of management,” Nurse said. “He didn’t play a lot, he wasn’t allowed to play a lot. His body wasn’t allowing him to be there. I hope there’s management issues where we’re trying to figure out when he’s playing, when he’s not playing, and it’s going on for a long time. I think that’s what we’re all hoping for.”
George underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in July after suffering an injury during a workout and was expected to be reevaluated in September. He played in just 41 games last season after signing a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with Philadelphia in the summer of 2024. The nine-time NBA All-Star dealt with a number of ailments last season, before receiving injections in his left adductor muscle and left knee and shutting down his season in March.
“I’m getting better and better. Feeling stronger and stronger,” George said. “This next couple of weeks is very important, leading into the start of the season, opening night, all of that stuff. All I can do is just focus on doing that, day after day, taking it one day at a time. I do think I will be at a good place, hopefully, earlier than later.”
He said he can do “pretty much everything but full contact.” George won’t be fully ready for the start of training camp, but the swelling in his knee is going down.
“I don’t think there’s a timeline,” he said, “just how the body is doing as we’re ramping up the work.”
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged just 16.2 points last season, his fewest since his six-game 2014-15 campaign. George has played more than 56 games in a season just once since 2018-19.
“It can’t get worse than last year,” he said. “That was a rock bottom kind of season.”
Jared McCain, the Sixers’ first-round pick in 2024, looked to be on track for the start of the season after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee last December, but he suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb in a workout on Thursday. He was averaging 15.3 points before his season was cut short after 23 games.
“Some injuries are fluky. Jared’s couldn’t have been more fluky,” Morey said. “We’re still working with doctors to see when he’ll be back.”
Quentin Grimes, who would be expected to take on a bigger role with McCain sidelined, wasn’t at media day on Friday. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that Grimes is unlikely to travel with the team to Abu Dhabi for preseason games against the New York Knicks due to a contract stalemate. The restricted free agent has until Oct. 1 to accept a one-year qualifying offer.
“I think we will get to a resolution in the next few days, hopefully,” Morey said. “But we’re excited to bring him back. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do, now and into the future, if we can get things resolved.”
