Joel Embiid update leaves Andre Drummond to shoulder massive burden for 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers will go as far as Joel Embiid leads them. It's the reality that 76ers fans have long accepted, and Embiid has offered ample reason for optimism with an MVP award, two scoring titles, and five All-NBA selections.

As Embiid clarifies his plan for the 2024-25 regular season, however, backup center Andre Drummond has become one of the most important players in the NBA.

Philadelphia signed Drummond to a two-year, $10 million contract during the 2024 offseason. Most expected the 31-year-old to simply back Embiid up, but a new development has revealed that a larger role could be in store for him.

According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, the 76ers could hold Embiid out of at least one game during every back-to-back they play in 2024-25—and every season that follows.

"If I had to guess," Embiid said, "I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career."

76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey weighed in on the matter, echoing the statements made by the former MVP.

"We're going to be smart about it. Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back to backs, if any."

If Embiid is going to sit out of at least one leg of every back-to-back the 76ers play this season, then Drummond will have a rather massive role to play in the team's success.

Joel Embiid's new policy leaves top-4 seed in Andre Drummond's hands

Philadelphia will play its first back-to-back when it hosts the New York Knicks on Tuesday, November 12, and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, November 13. It will play its next when it travels to play the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, December 3, and then returns home to face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, December 4.

It'll then play back-to-back games on December 20 and 21; January 1 and 2, 14 and 15, 24 and 25, and 28 and 29; February 4 and 5, and 11 and 12; and March 3 and 4, 16 and 17, 23 and 24, and 29 and 30.

In total, the 76ers will play 26 of its 82 games in the span of a back-to-back. Assuming Embiid exclusively appears in one of the two legs of those games, he'll miss at least 13 games in 2024-25—leaving a void in the starting lineup for 15.9 percent of the season.

That figure doesn't account for any other potential games missed, meaning Drummond is on pace to start at least 13 games for the 76ers in 2024-25.

It's possible that Philadelphia will go in a different direction, but Drummond has started each of the three preseason games that he's appeared in. He's played 24 minutes in each of his past two appearances, which seemingly implies that head coach Nick Nurse is preparing the rebounding specialist for a relatively large role.

Production certainly won't be an issue if Drummond starts in 2024-25, as his 2023-24 averages of 17.7 points, 18.9 rebounds, 7.1 offensive boards, 1.9 steals, and 1.3 blocks per 36 minutes display.

The question facing Drummond is whether or not he can dispel the belief that his impact is stronger in the box score than it is on the court. Thankfully, that process began a season ago when the Chicago Bulls were 3.4 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court than when he wasn't.

If Drummond is able to step up and help the 76ers win more often than they lose in semi-regular starts, then the franchise could find a way to navigate the new Embiid rules.

If Drummond struggles in that role, however, home-court advantage could prove elusive come the postseason.