The Philadelphia 76ers are the most unpredictable team in the NBA next season. That is pretty much how people would sum the team up ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, with early predictions for the squad’s potential finish ranging from comfortably making the playoffs as a high seed to missing the postseason outright for the second straight year and being in the lottery anew.
Part and parcel behind that degree of variance is the fact that the 76ers are still facing a nebulous outlook when it comes to the healthy and availability of their best player. Joel Embiid is still seemingly far away from making his return to the hardwood, and fans already fear the very imminent possibility of him not being in uniform to start the campaign, as was the case last season.
After a season where he only suited up in 19 total outings, Embiid was shut down early in the previous campaign in hopes of getting a headstart in his road to recovery ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 slate. However, that has not materialized at all, with the former Most Valuable Player being completely shrouded in mystery.
But now, the 76ers have dished out a more tangible update on Embiid — and it is one that will definitely make people pretty antsy.
76ers get a grim outlook when it comes to Joel Embiid to start the season
Earlier this week, head coach Nick Nurse was asked about whether or not Embiid will be ready for training camp, to which he offered a somewhat optimistic response.
”All the news is positive. I know he's working very, very hard and I think things look good. Whether he's ready for training camp or not, I think there's maybe a lot more decisions than that to make before we get there. But our main thing is that he's healthy to play and play to his nearest capabilities, because he's awesome, no doubt about that.”
On a visceral view, that seems to be a positive update, but in reality, it is far from one. The 76ers are apparently already mindful of the prospect that Embiid will be missing training camp — a grim proposition for a team already lacking chemistry with its new, supposedly fortified nucleus.
Philadelphia was fortunately gifted with a very palatable schedule to begin the season, but the team cannot just bank on the lowest-hanging fruits to get by. The year will get harder along the way, and not having Embiid from the get-go will only have adverse effects on the team gelling as a unit. More than anything, this 76ers squad is too poor that all they have is talent.
Anyway, with this soft, but definitive “confirmation”, Philadelphia 76ers fans can only hope that Joel Embiid does get back at some point. It may not be at the start of the season (it probably will not be), but the team will undoubtedly not go anywhere without their best player being in actual playing shape.