Joel Embiid to return for Philadelphia 76ers tonight against Oklahoma City Thunder

Joel Embiid will officially return to action tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing 28 consecutive games due to a procedure on his left meniscus as earlier reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Sixers lineup with Joel back

Oubre Jr.
Harris
Embiid
Lowry
Payne pic.twitter.com/bYZg8ufSEn

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 2, 2024

Joel Embiid injury report troll job

Embiid was originally ruled out of Philadelphia’s game against Oklahoma City and was not present at the 76ers’ shoot-around this morning via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

However, Joel Embiid was upgraded to questionable two hours before tip-off and successfully went through his pre-game warmups with a knee brace on. Nick Nurse did not put a number on a potential minutes restriction during his pre-game presser according to PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck.

Joel Embiid last suited up against the Golden State Warriors on January 30th where he first injured his meniscus after colliding with Jonathan Kuminga. Embiid has reportedly spent the past few weeks ramping up his conditioning and traveled with the 76ers on their road trip last weekend.

Seeding implications of Joel Embiid’s return

The 76ers went 10-18 amid Joel Embiid’s absence and slipped down to 8th place in the Eastern Conference with a 40-35 record. Philadelphia is 1.5 games out of the 7th seed, which belongs to the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers have a 2.5-game cushion from the 76ers for 6th place. 

With Joel Embiid returning to the lineup, the 76ers’ chances of fighting their way out of the play-in tournament have greatly increased. Counting tonight’s game against Oklahoma City, Philadelphia has just 7 games left in their regular season, including a massive game against the Heat in Miami on Thursday night, which could very well determine where the 76ers finish in the standings.

Joel Embiid was on pace to win two consecutive MVP awards, which would make him the first 76er to do so since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 and 1968. Due to injury, Embiid will fail to meet the NBA’s 65 games-played requirement to qualify for in-season awards. In 34 games, Embiid led the NBA in scoring averaging 35.3 points per game, 11.5 rebounds per game, and 5.7 assists (career-high) per game.

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