Joel Embiid’s 2025 Season Outlook: Can the Sixers’ Star Bounce Back?
Joel Embiid was a player of limited usefulness last season, and it was a disaster for his Philadelphia 76ers, who finished with a 24-58 record.
Can he rebound (pardon the pun)? Can the Sixers? At BetOnline, the total wins prop on them is 43.5 (-115 each way), and so the assumption is that he will see substantial action, but maybe not a whole lot.
Embiid’s been falling hard
It’s hard to believe that just a couple of seasons ago, Embiid (known as “The Process”) was the league’s MVP and scoring champion, but he fell so far out of favor that there are questions as to whether he’s still going to be part of the Sixers’ plan moving forward.
Injuries have unquestionably played a big part in his career; Embiid, a native of Cameroon who was taken out of the University of Kansas with the third overall pick in 2014, missed the first two seasons of his career with foot problems. And physical problems of one kind or another have plagued him ever since.
Embiid – a dominant force….sometimes
When he’s been healthy, he’s been sensational most of the time. Embiid is a two-time scoring champion, a three-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive team, and averaged 30 points a game for three consecutive seasons (2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24).
But only four times has he been able to play 60 games in a season, and on an overall basis he has been healthy for only 52% of scheduled games.
in 2022 he had a thumb injury during a playoff series against Miami. In the 2023-24 season, he hurt his meniscus and had arthroscopic surgery.
Embiid played in the 2024 Olympics for Team USA, although he caught some criticism for not considering the Cameroon and France, both of whom he was eligible to play for.
The money, and the disaster
Last September he signed a three-year, $193 million extension with the Sixers. After that, the roof started to fall in.
He already was sidelined due to a knee problem. But on November 2, he shoved a reporter who had written some remarks about his son and his brother, who had died in a car accident in 2014. He caught a three-game suspension, which would take effect when he was declared physically able to play.
There was a point in the season when the Sixers held a players-only meeting, at which time his teammates took him to task. Tyrese Maxey’s comments were especially biting, as he emphasized that Embiid was “late for everything.”
And other stories were circulating. One of them involved James Harden, another former MVP, who was tight with Embiid at one time, but may have been driven out of Philly. Eventually, he asked GM Daryl Morey to trade him. The rumors were that he simply couldn’t deal with Morey. But it was suggested that he and Embiid had come to the end of their friendship. Embiid revealed recently that Harden still doesn’t talk to him.
You have to wonder whether the same thing might happen with 35-year-old Paul George. Once a superstar but a 43% shooter with 16 points a game last season in Philly.
What’s the aftermath with Embiid?
Embiid was ultimately shut down and had to get knee surgery. He played only 19 games (averaging 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds).
So now what? Embiid has expressed in interviews that he doesn’t know how much longer he can continue. And there is no concrete timetable for his return to basketball activities.
Would any team be interested in trading for him, betting on an upside and assuming that huge salary?
We’re guessing nobody would. And so he is a 66-1 (+6600) longshot at BetOnline to be the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
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