Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid suffered a lateral meniscus injury to his left knee in his team’s 119-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors Tuesday.
An official timetable has yet to be established for his return, as the Sixers medical team is currently exploring several treatment options at the moment. At a minimum, Embiid will miss the next two contests against the Jazz and Nets.
The injury is believed to have occurred when Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell into Embiid while chasing after a loose ball in the 4th quarter. While he was ultimately able to leave the court under his own power, the 29 year old was in visible discomfort.
The league’s reigning MVP was in the midst of another All-NBA season, averaging 35.3pts/11.3reb/5.7ast/1.8blk while shooting .533 from the field and .366 from beyond the 3 point line. Last week Embiid poured in a career high 70pts against the San Antonio Spurs in a wild week of scoring across the association.
With the injury however, Embiid’s chances at a repeat MVP award are suddenly in serious jeopardy. The NBA’s new efforts to combat players sitting out games unnecessarily include provisions around a player’s award eligibility being tied to their games played total. Under the new rules, players cannot miss more than 17 games if they hope to make an All-NBA team or win any of the league’s major individual awards.
Given his previous usage, if Embiid misses significant time, he’ll become ineligible to repeat as MVP, even if he continues to lead the league in scoring.
More importantly for Philadelphia, an extended absence hurts their outlook for the remainder of the regular season as the team continues to jockey for position in the jam packed Eastern Conference. Currently riding a 4 game losing streak, a prolonged absence could see Sixers slide further down the standings with teams like Indiana and Miami already nipping at their heels.
For now, a myriad of options ranging from rest to surgery remain on the table.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.