We're a long way from seeing Joel Embiid putting up shots while wearing slippers in the Bahamas because he didn't get a chance to participate in training camp at the start of the critical offseason phase.
The Philadelphia 76ers opened up training camp on Tuesday morning with Embiid present, suited up, and practicing. After the session, the head coach, Nick Nurse, met with reporters and dropped two words that Sixers fans will love to hear: Full participant.
It's about time
That knee injury simply sucked for the star center. There really isn't any other way to put it. Anytime Embiid hinted that he might be getting back to the player he was before, swelling or discomfort would take him off the court.
After playing in 39 games during the 2023-2024 season, Embiid believed that he could ease his way into a semi-healthy year in 2024-2025. That season, he debuted after nine games. After playing in four games, he missed another seven-game stretch. With multiple stretches in and out of the lineup, the star center eventually opted for another surgery. He finished with only 19 games played.
There was progress in 2025-2026--certainly on the knee front. While other factors prevented Embiid from clearing 40 games for the first time since 2022-2023, at least his knee wasn't an issue down the stretch of the season. Going into the new basketball year, that remains the case.
Nick Nurse mentioned that Embiid "looked great" during the first session of camp. "Very, very good news from the standpoint of where it's been for the last couple of years. The last couple of summers leading into today. He looked great. Full participant all the way through," the head coach explained
Keep expectations in check
All great news from the head coach, Nick Nurse. Considering Nurse hasn't really had the chance to coach the team through training camp with a fully healthy Embiid at the start of the fall, the team reached a major milestone on Tuesday.
But when it comes to the words Embiid and health, keep those expectations in check. The knee has bothered more than just Embiid over the years, but if it's not the knee, it's something else. The cold reality is that Embiid is injury-prone. There is only so much the 76ers can do about it. While they have a plan to manage Embiid's workload throughout the preseason and eventually the regular season, the team will keep expectations in check. The Sixers are off to a promising start, but it's too early to get overly excited about practice statuses.
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