While the bleeding has stopped a little bit for the Philadelphia 76ers following their surprising win over the Warriors, nothing much has really changed about their prospects as a team this season. Still two games behind the 10th-seeded Bulls, the playoffs remain a difficult goal to achieve for the ball club in the present campaign.
In fact, all eye are now on the 76ers and how they will navigate the upcoming offseason. And foremost on their list of priorities is getting Joel Embiid right, a venture they have already started after they expectedly shut him down for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately, all signs point to the 76ers not having a lot of options in dealing with Embiid’s delicate injury situation. They have already exhaustively searched for medical solutions to address his nagging knee issues, but so far, all they have gotten are band-aid solutions that serve no purpose but to ensure he plays in the short-term.
The 76ers could be headed to a horrible ending with Joel Embiid
Just to make things clear, Embiid technically can still play. But of course, there is really no reason for him to keep going out on the hardwood given how much his production has dipped while operating on a non-100-percent knee.
Having said that, it is difficult not to think about what could transpire if Embiid never gets back into real playing shape, that is, the kind that allowed him to play like a Most Valuable Player.
The 76ers remain persistent on finding a sustainable solution for Embiid moving forward, but the worst-case scenario is certainly a terrifying one at that. Spotrac’s Keith Smith raised a horror-filled point that at this rate, is not really completely out of the window.
If Joel Embiid is unable to play, starting on February 22, 2026 (one year after his last game), the Sixers could petition for a medical retirement.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 1, 2025
At that point, an independent doctor selected by the NBA and NBPA would examine Embiid. If agreed he can no longer play, his… https://t.co/PGmZlmLkWt
It’s almost impossible that this would happen, but that “almost” is still too big of a distressing factor to fully gloss over. Again, Embiid’s camp and the franchise have already consulted with a ton of doctors, and no one has yet to offer a lasting solution.
When the worst comes to worst, we could be looking at a frustrated career for one of the best centers to ever play basketball, and that is definitely a woeful scenario for the franchise.
Hopefully, the Philadelphia 76ers can pinpoint a solution that could work for Joel Embiid. After all, he still pretty much dictates what this franchise is capable of and without him, the upcoming years could get really ugly.