Joel Embiid Will Face Surgery, Sidelined For Sometime
Embiid was playing excellently before the injury.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, the MVP of the previous NBA regular season, will require surgery to repair a meniscus injury to his left knee, which will keep him out of action indefinitely.
The two NBA reporters with the most insider knowledge, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, said on Sunday that the center will miss “an extended period of time,” though they did not specify how long.
For Joel Embiid, the MVP race is over
Since the Philadelphia star has already missed 14 games this season, the NBA now needs a minimum of 65 games played (out of 82 total regular season games) to be eligible for the year-end awards. As a result of the decision, Embiid is all but eliminated from the MVP competition.
Embiid has been playing at a high level this season despite his physical issues. He leads the league in scoring with 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.
The Sixers, who have won just one of their previous six games and are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 30-18 record, have a much more difficult time going forward with Embiid out.
It is thought that Joel Embiid would have been a serious candidate for the MVP title if he had been able to stay healthy for the required number of games, but that honor is now going to go to someone else.
