76ers’ Joel Embiid undergoing treatment for Bell’s Palsy, vows to do ‘whatever it takes’ and play through it

Philadelphia 76ers’ reigning MVP center Joel Embiid has been going through treatment for a “mild” case of Bell’s palsy over this past week according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski went on to say that the condition started during the 76ers’ Play-In Tournament win over the Miami Heat last Wednesday. Embiid kept the matter private because he wanted to avoid distractions for the good of the team.

Embiid told the press that his eye has been “consistently dry” and blurry on occasion, but that he’s been using eye drops to help treat the condition.

“Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. Often the weakness is short-term and improves over weeks. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop. Smiles are one-sided, and the eye on the affected side is hard to close.” (via Mayo Clinic).

Joel Embiid’s strange eye(wear) issue is finally explained

Since Philadelphia’s game one loss to the New York Knicks, Joel Embiid was spotted wearing sunglasses inside Madison Square Garden whether it was during practice or before the game.

Throughout the first few games of the series, Embiid was spotted having difficulty blinking both eyes. Embiid’s diagnosis of Bell’s palsy was the reason of what was viewed at the time as strange and alarming behavior.

So Embiid is in his Matt Murdock era and Maxey has a case of the suds, tonight's game will be fun https://t.co/mhGE3NjVfi

— Jacob Moreno (@Jacobmorenonba) April 22, 2024

Joel Embiid just dropped a a playoff career-high 50 points and 8 rebounds in Philadelphia’s game three win over New York and the fact that he was dealing with a recovering meniscus injury as well as Bell’s palsy just makes this feat even more jaw-dropping.

Embiid is averaging 37.7 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, and 5.3 assists per game, on 47.1% shooting from the field against the Knicks through three games of this playoff series.

Joel Embiid’s determination and will to suit up no matter the cost can never be understated.

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