The Philadelphia 76ers went ahead and surprisingly took the safest route, taking Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe with the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and putting an end to all the drama that surrounded the No. 3 selection in the lead-up the the annual event.
All the attention will be on how the 76ers will follow up their Edgecombe selection, but Daryl Morey made sure to spill the beans on one of the most important concerns around the franchise — the injury status of Joel Embiid.
Embiid, who went through another surgery to fix his knee issues last April, has been a complete mystery ever since. It also has not helped that the 76ers have similarly become tight-lipped over the situation, which remains pretty murky at this very juncture with the front office operating under a significant degree of uncertainty while continuing the rebuild the roster on the margins.
Thankfully, Morey dished out a tangible update on Embiid, breaking the seal on the matter for the first time in more than two months.
76ers make a huge announcement on Joel Embiid during the draft
During the team’s post-draft press conference, Morey told the media that Embiid is making strides in his rehab from injury.
“I spoke to Joel today. He’s very engaged attacking rehab, doing everything he can to be out there. He had a meeting with the doctor this week. Things continue to go well as expected, and we expect that to continue.”
Asked about whether Embiid will be ready for training camp, Morey added that things are on track for the superstar to be out there when that opens.
This is definitely a welcome news for Philadelphia fans, who have grown frustrated with the utter lack of progress report on what has been really going on behind the scenes with Embiid. After all, no matter what the front office does, their chances at jumping back into contention next season depend on the status and availability of Embiid, who is still easily their best player as the recently concluded season affirmed.
The Embiid front remains on wait-and-see mode, but hopefully, this starts a trend of transparency on the part of the 76ers brass. Fans deserve to know what is happening with their franchise player, as he is still the one who steers the wheel for the squad.
The Philadelphia 76ers tallied a huge win in the 2025 NBA Draft, but if Joel Embiid comes out firing next season while turning in a cleaner bill of health, that could count as an even bigger dub.