Lost in the Tyrese Maxey fourth-quarter masterclass in Indiana was the fact that Joel Embiid moved up the Philadelphia 76ers' scoring leaderboard.
Embiid passed Billy Cunningham, who ranked No. 6 on the all-time scoring list with 13,627 points. Now, Embiid is holding the sixth spot with 13,630 points and is chasing the legendary Charles Barkley, who is holding on to his spot in the top five.
climbing the all-time list. 📈 pic.twitter.com/21Eg4spEgi
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 29, 2026
How many more to go to reach Barkley status?
Embiid needs 554 points to get to Barkley. From there, it would be a steep climb to Julius Erving at No. 4. The list fills out with Dolph Schayes, Allen Iverson, and Hal Greer. With several seasons left on his Sixers contract, Embiid should be able to pass Barkley and tease the top four, but obviously, health is an obstacle for the star center.
So far this season, Embiid has totaled 86 points in four games. Before the 76ers opened up a back-to-back set against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons, he dropped over 20 points two games in a row.
On Wednesday night, Embiid checked in for nearly 39 minutes against the Indiana Pacers on the road. He put up 17 shots from the field, making 52.9% of his attempts. He went scoreless from three-point range (three attempts) and only had three chances at the charity stripe (success on all of them). Embiid finished the game with 21 points.
As long as Embiid can remain relatively healthy throughout the 2026-2027 NBA season, the star center should be able to pass Barkley on the scoring list. With his current pace of 21.5 points per game, it could be done in under 30 matchups.
Just last season, Embiid appeared in 38 games for the Sixers. He managed to crack over 1,000 points. Even during the previous season, the big man had 452 points over a 19-game span. In the past three seasons, Embiid struggled to play in more than 39 games.
So far, Embiid has been healthy to start the year. His knee hasn't been a discussion. When he missed some action last week, the Sixers described his injury designation as plantar fasciitis management. It was an easy way of saying he's getting a night off to rest and won't push his body to the limit before we reach November.
After playing high minutes in Indiana, Embiid made it out healthy once again. The 76ers are now approaching a matchup against the New York Knicks on October 30.
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