For the first time since Jan. 30, Joel Embiid will suit up and play in a basketball game. After reports indicated that the reigning NBA MVP would try to return from a meniscus injury sometime this week, the Philadelphia 76ers upgraded Embiid’s status to questionable ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Joel Embiid has been upgraded to questionable for tonight’s game.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 2, 2024
And not long after, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the plan is for Embiid to try and give it a go on Tuesday.
Sixers star Joel Embiid is indeed expected to make his return vs. Oklahoma City tonight, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/DJUiOPcEfI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 2, 2024
Embiid was on pace to go back-to-back as MVP at the time of his injury, as he’s averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 34 minutes per game for the Sixers, which found themselves towards the top of the Eastern Conference. And then, Embiid started to suffer knee issues that led to him missing time, including back-to-back games ahead of their Jan. 30 matchup against the Golden State Warriors.
In that game, Embiid was on the ground when Jonathan Kuminga dove for a loose ball and landed on his bad knee. Eventually, the decision was made for Embiid to undergo a procedure on his meniscus that would sideline him for a considerable amount of time, but left the door open for him to come back.
The Sixers are currently 40-35, which puts them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the 7-seed, and 2.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for the 6-seed. The team has seven games left in the regular season as they hope to make a major move to either avoid the Play-In Tournament, or get to host the 7-8 game.
