Injuries have been baked into the 76ers’ experience the past few years. Now, it’s unclear when two of their biggest stars will be ready for this season.
Paul George has played more than 56 games in just one regular season since the 2018-19 campaign and is coming off knee surgery. And Joel Embiid, limited to 19 appearances last season, wants to play consistently, but he’s continuing to recover from a season-ending knee surgery in April.
Team president Daryl Morey didn’t want to set “expectations” about when either could be back.
“We’re not getting into the expectations game,” Morey said Friday at 76ers media day regarding the ongoing availability questions surrounding Embiid and George, who will make a combined $112 million this season.
Embiid — who has never played 70 games in his career — has logged 58 regular-season games since the start of 2023-24.
The 31-year-old signed a three-year, $192 million extension almost exactly one year ago, which keeps him under contract through the 2028-29 season if he accepts a player option worth over $67 million.
“I’ve had so many injuries,” Embiid said at media day. “The only thing I’ve always told myself is you can’t give up. … I want to play. I want to play every single game. I’ve been pretty unlucky when it comes to that compared to most NBA players.”
Embiid averaged a career-high 34.7 points with 11.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three in 39 games in 2023-24.
But last year, his production dropped off to 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in just 30.2 minutes per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from 3-point range in his 19 games.
For George, his first season in Philly could’ve hardly gone worse.
In 2024-25, he recorded his usual roughly five rebounds and four assists per contest, but he was limited to 41 games, scoring 16.2 points per game while shooting just 43 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from deep. His free-throw percentage dropped to 81.4 percent per game while getting to the line 2.6 times per 36 minutes, the worst of his career.
George, 35, signed a $212 million, four-year deal as a free agent last summer, but knee and adductor injuries cut his tumultuous first year in Philly short.
“I do think I’ve still got a lot of game in me,” George said Friday.
For Embiid’s part, he does look slimmer in camp this year, listed at 270 pounds, and is just taking his health day by day with no timelines.
“I think going forward we’re just going to listen to the body,” Embiid said. “I’ll be honest and say it’s going to be unpredictable at times, and that’s OK. We’re going to work with that.”
On top of the Embiid and George questions, 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain — who looked to be a Rookie of the Year contender before tearing his meniscus and ending his year prematurely — suffered a torn UCL in his right thumb in a workout Thursday.
“We know there’s going to be games missed,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “We need to be able to forge forward immediately.”