A lot went wrong for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, but Joel Embiid’s left knee injury was their most glaring setback. However, Nick Nurse participated in an interview with UK radio station “talkSPORT,” and he essentially stated that the 76ers are taking a revamped approach with Embiid heading into the 2025-26 season.
“All the news is positive,” Nurse said. “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.”
The 76ers' new Embiid plan is much needed
This is seemingly a far cry from Philadelphia’s approach from last season. It put Embiid on a strict load management plan, which was frustrating for fans, but appeared to be a logical decision at the time. That was until Embiid shockingly told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that he felt he needed another procedure on his left knee during the 76ers’ 135-127 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9th.
As you could imagine, this sparked outrage amongst Philadelphia’s fandom and an unwanted media spotlight on its management. While we aren’t privy to the details of Embiid’s relationship with the 76ers’ medical staff during this period, it was obvious there was a disconnect. Eventually, Embiid was proven right to some degree as he underwent an arthroscopic operation on his left knee in April.
There hasn’t been a concrete update on Embiid’s recovery nor his timetable to return, despite Philadelphia stating he’d be re-evaluated six weeks from his procedure. For all we know, he did undergo a re-evaluation, but the 76ers chose not to release the results to the press. Fans were livid at Philadelphia because they felt it wasn’t being transparent with Embiid’s injury and some feel this issue has presented itself again.
There's still hope for Embiid
The bottom line is that we don’t know if Embiid will be cleared for training camp in September, or if he’ll miss the start of the season. Regardless, it remains to be seen whether he’ll fully return to form or not whenever he does make his debut. The laundry list of questions revolving around Embiid’s future has made fans very antsy, to say the least.
For what it’s worth, along with Nurse, Daryl Morey and Tyrese Maxey provided nothing but optimistic briefs on Embiid’s recovery. While every non-official update should be taken with a grain of salt, I don’t believe Morey or Maxey would talk in such a positive manner if something threatened Embiid’s long-term outlook.
Between Embiid’s mentality towards his rehab and Philadelphia’s optimistic tone, it feels like neither side is forcing a premature return. This is the best direction the 76ers can venture towards as Embiid potentially faces a career-decisive season.