Joel Embiid looked completely washed in his first preseason game for the new-look 76ers.
It’s not a stretch to say that the Philadelphia 76ers’ championship hopes still rest on the broad shoulders of Joel Embiid even after bringing in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown over the offseason. It’s not just that Embiid was arguably the best player in the NBA as recently as Jan. 2024, but also that Philly just doesn’t have much center depth behind him, particularly after backup Ariel Hukporti already suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in the preseason.
LeBron made his Sixers debut in the team’s second preseason game on Thursday night, but Embiid stole the show in the worst way possible. With the caveat that it’s only preseason … Embiid looked absolutely atrocious during his 24 minutes on the floor, and it already feels like a legitimate concern for the 76ers.
Embiid shot 1-of-5 from the floor and finished with eight turnovers in 24 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets. Those numbers don’t even capture how viscerally washed he looked. Embiid already had a few terrible plays early in the game, but he went mega-viral for this pathetic fastbreak attempt midway through the second quarter. Embiid was thrown a perfect alley-oop, but he didn’t jump for it, and then missed the easy layup. Watch the play all of NBA Twitter was talking about here:
Is Joel Embiid physically capable of jumping? I’m not sure after watching this clip. Seems important for a basketball player, even if you’re over 7-feet tall like Embiid.
Embiid was bad from the very start of the game, airballing a fadeaway on his first touch. He was making some incredibly sloppy decisions with the ball as Nets defenders crashed down on him in the paint, and just looked like he wasn’t locked in at all on either side of the floor. Maybe there’s nothing Embiid could have done about his physical downfall in the last couple years since his peak, but it almost feels more concerning that he’s making so many mental mistakes. This is not what you want out of the seventh highest paid player in the NBA at a tick below $58 million this season.
The Sixers are pretty deep elsewhere on the roster after a quality offseason that saw them sign Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the bench while drafting Labaron Philon out of Alabama. The one spot where the roster is really thin is at center, and that was true even before Hukporti’s Achilles tear.
Realistically, how many games can the Sixers count on Embiid to play? Over/under 45? That is going to put immense pressure on backup Adem Bona, and the Sixers are going to need some more big bodies after him. Embiid really won’t help the team much regardless of how often he plays if he’s this lackadaisical mentally and physically.
There was already a report in training camp that Embiid showed up to practice late — a theme throughout his career — and got yelled at by LeBron. Both Embiid and James shot down the report, and ESPN apologized for it. Embiid gave another sad sack comment on the report after the game:
Embiid’s professionalism has always been a question even when he was at his peak. He’s slipped so much physically at this point that he can’t afford any mental mistakes. Embiid seems like he has a “woe is me” attitude far too often. I certainly have some empathy for the amount of injuries he’s dealt with, but at a certain point making a bunch of excuses isn’t a good look for a player who is this highly paid.
Yes, it’s the preseason. It’s totally possible that the Sixers look great by May, and Embiid is a big part of the team on both ends of the floor. It’s troubling that the veteran center looks so bad after a long summer where he dropped weight and seemed to show a new commitment to his body. The Sixers are loaded offensively, but it’s only going to work if Embiid can step up defensively and on the glass. There’s no safety net behind him anymore.
It’s silly to overreact to preseason, but this game will at least serve as an important note in the Sixers’ story whether they end the season as champions or fail to win a playoff series. Embiid looked awful in his first preseason game. Let’s see where he goes from here.