Joel Embiid nightmare will only get worse for the 76ers

How often does the tipoff really matter in an NBA game?

Sure, it decides the opening possession. In some arenas, it helps determine how long the home crowd is expected to remain on their feet until their squad scores its first points. But in the grand scheme of things? It's one of the most forgettable plays of the 48-minute slate, doomed to be overlooked as soon as the free-flow action gets free-flowing.

Except, of course, when Joel Embiid watched as Dominick Barlow and Neemias Queta battled for possession to open the Philadelphia 76ers' 2025-26 campaign.

Joel Embiid sent multiple troubling signals during his 2025-26 season debut

Satisfying as it may have been to kick off the calendar with a 117-116 victory over the Eastern Conference rival Boston Celtics, especially on the parquet floors of the TD Garden, Sixers fans have to feel a significant spike of anxiety. Not about Tyrese Maxey, who led the charge with 40 points and six assists. Certainly not about VJ Edgecombe, who made his NBA debut to the tune of 34 points and a record dating back to Wilt Chamberlain.

Embiid, scary as it may be at this stage of his professional career, is the fulcrum on which this Philadelphia season rests. And after his first outing, the balance is already tipping toward the undesired side.

This isn't really about Embiid's lackluster line, dismal as logging four points, six rebounds, and two assists on 1-of-9 shooting may be over his 20 minutes of run. It's about the air of timidity, the complete lack of explosion, and the general sense that, at just 31 years old, Embiid is well past a prime he can no longer even sniff.

We're talking about getting a slow-motion shot erased by Xavier Tillman, who beat him down the floor for a lumbering transition layup by such a degree that he made Embiid look stuck in molasses. About standing near the free-throw line, walking toward the ideal spot to play help defense, and not even bothering to jump and contest a Payton Pritchard layup. About — here it is again — deferring to the 6-foot-9 Dominick Barlow on the unsuccessful opening tip to preserve his geriatric joints.

Embiid, to be clear, has plenty of valid excuses. He hasn't played more than 70 regular-season games once in his career, hasn't crested the 50-contest threshold since 2022-23, and has gone under the knife often enough to have a punchcard at the surgeon's office.

But valid excuses or not, the version of the 2022-23 NBA MVP on display against the Celtics looked nothing like the dominant force of years past.

Even while he projects optimism, Sixers fans shouldn't count on vintage Joel Embiid showing up

"I'm good," Embiid said after the final buzzer sounded, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. "It's gonna take a while. Obviously, being on a minutes restriction, playing shorter stints, it's hard to kind of get in the rhythm, but I got to figure it out. That's the way they have it set up. It’s annoying, but if I want to play, I don't really have a choice, and I want to be out there as much as possible."

Again, the excuses are valid. Except this wasn't about rhythm or shorter stints. If anything, those should promote more physically draining efforts due to the added recovery time on the pine.

How many games can the team reasonably expect him to play when he looked like such a shadow of his former self? Even 50 appearances seems like a Herculean feat right now when his play indicates that, out of physical necessity, he has to avoid making the explosive, overpowering movements that have allowed him to enjoy such two-way success.

"When Joel is fully back, it's going to be a different game," Edgecombe explained after his historic debut, per Yahoo! Sports. "It's going to be better, if you ask me, because he requires so much attention."

That's all well and good, but what indication do we have that NBA coaches, who actively seek to exploit any and all weaknesses they can find, are actually going to devote that added attention to a big man who struggled to capitalize on an isolation mismatch against Sam Hauser? Are they really going to commit extra defenders to someone who seemed scared to jump, both on that opening tip and during live action?

Sixers fans hope so, and not only because Embiid is playing out just the first year of a three-year, $188 million albatross contract. NBA fans in general should, too, because basketball is a better product when the center is acting as a veritable force of nature.

Unfortunately, reality doesn't always align with desires. And as the season progresses and hope for throwback Embiid sightings swells, this actualized nightmare may only get scarier.